Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"I... I was near the coast when I fell off my horse, which escaped away. I don't know this region, I'm from Hevnen... I was headed to Tyven to propose a deal to one of their armor dealers" Dag continued timidly, his voice trembling and frightened.

"Why did you fall off your horse?" the other bandit asked, approaching him with the axe pointed at his head.

"I've been traveling continuously since last night, I haven't slept much and... fatigue took over, making me lose my grip on the bridle. As soon as my horse saw me on the ground, he ran off like a splinter in the other direction. I heard the sound of a tree falling to the ground and I thought I could find someone who could help me..."

"What about that hammer? Are you a Hevnen warrior?" the bandit continued, scrutinizing Dag with circumspection.

"No, no! I'm just an emissary of theirs. This is a weapon they have given me so that I can defend myself in case of need" Dag continued, his hands pointed forward, in a sign of surrender.

The two bandits lowered their axes and approached Dag, who stood still in the same position, with his hands still pointed at them.

"Well, this favor you're asking you will cost you a lot of money! Hahaha" chuckled one of them.

"I have a lot of money with me... you will have them all if you help me!"

When the two men were closer, one of them stopped, staring intently at the details of Dag's leather jacket.

"Wait a minute. That symbol... I've seen it before! This man is lying, he's not coming from Hevnen!" he exclaimed, touching his companion on the shoulder, to prevent him from advancing further.

"Reidar!" yelled Dag.

An arrow flew at great speed next to Dag, grazing his shoulder and hitting the bandit closest to him in the head, killing him instantly.

As soon as the other saw the scene, he began to run away from the other side.

Dag, who still had his hands pointed forward, clenched his fists in front of him, activating one of the last skills he had learned: Shockwave.

The bandit, after being hit by the shockwave, flew a few meters, slamming his back against the wagon and falling to the ground in pain.

Reidar and Karl came out of their hiding place and reached Dag, who slowly approached the man.

He tried to get up, but the blow to his back did not allow him to do it quickly.

"What do you want? I didn't do anything... I'm just a lumberjack!" he exclaimed, pointing his hands openly at Dag, pleading for mercy.

"Until a few seconds ago, you were pointing an axe at my head. The situation reversed in less than a minute... how weird, ah?" said Dag, pulling out the hammer.

The man swallowed empty, terrified of the three warriors in front of him.

"The wood you were cutting... what's the point?" continued Dag.

"What do you think all this wood is for, stupid?!" replied the man with insolence.

Dag grabbed him by the neck, causing him to stand up.

Then he pushed it violently and the bandit slammed back into the wagon, screaming in pain and falling to the ground.

"Mmmh... I think something has broken now" Dag continued, demonstrating his physical superiority to the bandit.

"The wood is used to build houses" the man said, as he writhed on the ground.

"For whom? Are other fucking bandits like you coming to your village?" continued Dag.

"We were starting to get too tight and piled up in the two huts that are there now..." continued the lumberjack.

"Where would you have left the wood? I need to know the precise point".

"If I told you, you'd kill me soon after".

"Reidar" Dag said.

Reidar loaded another arrow on his bow.

"Who tells you I won't kill you anyway?" he continued.

"Aaagh no! Please! The warehouse... there is... there is a stone warehouse! It is located next to the house with the fireplace, you can't go wrong! My friend and I would go back to the village and pile the wood collected in that warehouse... it's the truth!" confessed the bandit.

"Well, now it's better. How many warriors are in there? I want the exact number, including the guards who stay out of the box" Dag continued, in an intimidating tone.

"What are you going to do? You're never going to be able to kick us out of our camp! You don't know Kjetil... he's going to kill all three of you before you know it... hahahah... *cough*cough*" chuckled the bandit, coughing.

Dag looked toward Reidar, who held out his bow again, pointing the arrow at the enemy's head.

"I have a wife and a son... they are far from here. I wanted to get some money so I could feed my family... Do you really want to leave a child without a father?" asked the bandit, trying to soften Dag, who sneered at him, inches from his face.

"Near your camp, there is a village... a small village of farmers... Do you know it?" he said, looking him in the eye.

The man looked away, lowering his head downwards, without answering the question.

"Your comrades have raped and killed innocent women and children... and with them, even those who tried to protect them. How dare you, scum, talk about 'family'?! You don't know what that word means!" yelled Dag, punching the wagon behind the man, causing him to jump.

The two looked at each other in the eye again.

"16 warriors and 3 guards, who change periodically, in turns… I don't know anything else, I arrived a short time ago at the camp" said the man, with tears in his eyes.

Dag stood up, without saying a word, and walked toward Reidar.

He took the arrow he had loaded and moved back to the man.

"Get up. I'm not going to kill you, I'm not shit like you" he said, urging the man to stand on his feet.