Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

All of them had improved their fighting style: Reidar finally managed to improve the accuracy of his running attacks and control the magic arrows of the Failnaught, Freydis and Gridd, constantly fighting against each other, managed to speed up their attacks even more, chaining them into lethal combinations.

Karl, on the other hand, after reading Egill's almanac twice in a row, had enriched his knowledge as a healer, finally learning his first skill, whose procedures were written in the last pages of the book: this rather rapid spell allowed to heal minor wounds, ensuring support to the whole team, which in this way could continue to fight, increasing its resistance.

Besides, thanks to his friend Dag and Gridd's stern attitude, which sometimes put him in trouble, trying to help him manage fear, Karl had improved his fighting style and was now able to take advantage of the magnificent shield given to him by Taya, which was much more durable than the common ones, made of wood or iron.

From the position of his legs to that of his arms, his positioning had changed considerably and his old tomahawk had been replaced by a spiked mace, which had a greater range that would come in handy to distance enemies without lowering the shield.

"Sander called us in the Masters building to give us the verdict of the votes. Are you all ready to know what the other Masters think?" Dag asked his companions, gathered in front of their rooms, and eager to know the outcome of the vote.

"Of course!" 

"Sure! Let's not be late!" 

All of them accepted without hesitation and left the dormitory, heading to the Crows Of Odin headquarter.

Once they arrived and entered the building, they climbed to the top floor, noting that, in addition to the three Clan Masters, three men and a woman were standing near the wall, still and composed with their arms along their hips.

"Good morning, Master Dag! Good morning, Master Gridd!" they exclaimed when Dag and the others made their entrance, in an incredibly synchronized tone of voice.

"Good morning to you!" he replied enthusiastically, after realizing that they were the four messengers sent to Temple Of Orn and Hevnen.

"Take a seat, my friends. The scrolls containing the voting results are still sealed... we waited for you to proceed" Sander said, pointing to five chairs in front of him, Kjell and Ellen, who were already in their seats.

After sitting down, Dag and his companions remained silent, anxiously waiting for Sander to read the contents of the first of the two scrolls.

He stood up, united the first seal, and cleared his voice, saying: "So, this is the scroll of the Hammers Of Thor, straight from Mount Torden..." 

To these words, two of the messengers in the room stepped forward.

"Do you confirm that the vote was carried out following the established rules and without interference?" Sander asked, officializing what he was going to say.

"We can confirm it, Master Sander!" the two men said in unison, then returned to their previous positions.

"Well... the subjects interviewed are Egil, Master Of Healing and Dargeon, Master Of Defense. Both responded 'yes' to the exploratory mission to Krypstorm and in particular, Master Egill expressed his willingness to take part in the expedition, under Master Dag's consent" Sander continued, looking up at Dag, who began to look happy at his team members, pleased with that response.

"Perfect!" Gridd exclaimed, unable to hold back her enthusiasm.

"I imagine that Master Dag's answer is yes, considering that he himself proposed the mission. Is that so?" he asked again. 

"Affirmative" Dag exclaimed, in a convinced tone, noting that at that exact moment, Ellen looked the other way, annoyed by his bold and courageous spirit.

Sander took the second parchment and repeated the entire process, asking the two emissaries to confirm the reliability of Hevnen's results.

When they both confirmed, he untied the second seal, opened the scroll, and read: "For the Sons Of Freya, the subjects interviewed are Jens, Master Of Healing and Taya, Master Of Defense. While Taya responded positively to the proposal, Jens refused".

Gridd's reaction this time was different and she looked down, astonished by that result, expecting more support from Jens, who had always been friendly and empathetic towards her.

"Master Jens made any comments after his negative answer?" Sander said, addressing the two messengers.

The Shieldmaiden stepped forward and said: "He said that, in his opinion, our Clans troops are not ready for such a journey against unknown enemies and that the losses would be excessive. He also said that, for hundreds of years, the Okstorm and Krypstorm Clans have been neutral to each other, and this is not the best time to declare war. If I may afford it, Master Sander, I will add my own consideration... I think the news of the recent attacks on the south coast of Runar has not yet reached Hevnen. While Master Taya asked us about Master Dag and Master Gridd, Master Jens didn't spend much time on our questions, leaving Fort Skjonnet after just a few minutes".

"Thank you for your detailed information, you've been very clear" Sander replied, complimenting his trusted messenger.

Dag put a hand on his sister's back and just looked her in the eye to reassure her, convinced that the proposal would still pass the votes.

"Master Gridd, as with Dag, I must also ask you to confirm your vote. Yes or no?" Sander asked, looking into the eyes of the blond-haired Shieldmaiden.

"My answer is obviously yes, Master Sander" she replied, determined.

"Well, at this point, the only ones left are me and my two colleagues. With five 'yes' and one 'no', even if our answers will be all negative, the mission would still be confirmed. Anyway, for an official matter, our opinions are these... for me, it's a yes" Sander continued, smiling at his new companions, who reciprocated with a satisfied expression.

"For me, too… it's yes" Kjell replied, standing in the chair, as usual.