Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

The blacksmith took a huge boulder from the ground and placed it ahead of the entrance, without making the slightest effort.

Then he took another and placed it on the first: as if by magic, the two rocks joined, forming a single large stone pillar.

Within minutes, the door had been rebuilt, thanks to Weland's divine powers.

The three friends looked into each other's eyes, their faces astonished.

"Oh! I almost forgot! The name!" said Vegard, turning to dag, who looked at him as he lay on the ground.

"Uhm?" he asked, not understanding what Vegard was referring to.

"Every single creation of mine must have a name. What's the name of the axe?" he continued.

Dag closed his eyes, caught in exhaustion, and quickly thought back to everything that had happened a few hours earlier underground.

"Giantbane… it will be called 'the Giantbane'" he said, with a thread of a voice. 

Soon after, he fell asleep, unable to keep his eyes open due to exhaustion.

"Ehehe... all right, I deserved that too" Vegard chuckled, looking at Dag and his companions with affection as if they were his grandchildren.

…

A faint celestial light illuminated the faces of the three adventurers, who slept nonstop until the next morning.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Dag looked around to check if Vegard was still there.

As he imagined, the blacksmith was gone, perhaps he had returned to the Great Forge, which was his real home.

"So, brothers... the real mission for our Clan begins now! We must reach Hevnen and convince the Sons Of Freya to join us, to form the largest army ever seen!" he exclaimed, full of energy.

"So we're headed to Halm, right? From there we can take a boat to the Sjonir region" Reidar asked, summarizing the action plan.

"Yeah... guys, I don't want to be a buzzkill as usual, but..." Karl said, shrugging his shoulders as if to justify something.

"Don't worry, brother. I remember the promise you made to Agnes. Are you sure you want to pick her up now? It could be dangerous, we don't know what lies ahead in Sjonir and on the way back to Jernhest" Dag said, trying to reason with his best friend.

"Perhaps you're right, Dag. But for the first time in my life, I met a beautiful young woman who reciprocates my love. I can't risk she lose interest! Please try to understand me!" replied Karl, pleading with Dag.

Dag smiled at him, and when they rose from the ground, he put his hand on his shoulder, telling him: "It's love. There's nothing stronger. Now that you know what it's like, who am I to take away from you the chance to fall in love with a woman? We're going to take a detour, but we must be as fast as the wind! Reidar has his woman waiting for him, too… and then finally it'll be my turn!"

Karl's face lit up with joy at those words and he bowed his head in front of Dag, out of respect.

"Thank you, brother. We'll be super fast, you'll see!" he said, enthusiastically.

After collecting their equipment, the three friends came out of the cave, approaching the precipice from which they had climbed.

"Captain! The road!" exclaimed Reidar, pointing to Dag a path to the right of the cave.

Dag smiled, noting that the trees and bushes that made the path connecting the cave to the valley inaccessible, were now gone and it was walkable again, assuming that Vegard was behind that unexpected fortune.

"Vegard must have cleaned the road at night, to facilitate the descent" he said, looking at his companions, glad he didn't have to risk his life again clinging to the rock face.

Without any difficulty, they descended from the steep mountain, taking less time than expected.

Once they reached the foot of the headland, they walked quickly to the rock indentation where they tied the horses, who fortunately were still there, safe and sound.

Dag breathed a sigh of relief and stroked Aslan, while his teammates did the same, happy to see their steeds again.

"I missed you, my friend, you can't imagine what happened to us. I'm sorry if you waited so long" he said in the horse's ear, who appreciated the caresses, bowing his head towards him.

Within minutes, the three adventurers departed, while the Sun was still rising on the horizon, behind the mountains of the valley.

Within hours, they passed Tyven and Halm without a hitch.

"That's Frokost. In about 3 hours we should be able to see the hills near the village of Agnes" said Karl, who was looking forward to hugging his woman again.

In the early afternoon, they arrived at the village and when Karl caught a glimpse of the huts, he pushed his horse, which began to run in that direction.

Dag and Reidar looked at each other smiling, happy for their comrade.

Karl embraced Agnes, who ran out of her house, as soon as she saw him coming into the distance.

"I told you I'd be back soon!" exclaimed Karl, as Agnes' mother also walked out of the hut, carrying a small leather bag, containing the girl's belongings, ready to go with her man.

As Karl tied the bag to his horse, making room on the saddle to allow her to climb with him, Dag stopped to talk to the two village elders, making sure the trade proceeded well.

In no time, the horses carrying the bandit wagon seemed reborn: their short fur had regained color and their paws were much more muscular than before.

The wagon had also undergone improvements and now it looked like a real carriage.

Dag and his companions quickly greeted the villagers and headed back to Halm, with a new member joining the team.

After taking a short break by a river that carved the valley, useful to fill their bottles and quench the horses, they continued to ride towards the town, without ever stopping.