Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Soon after, he grabbed Freydis's arm and moved her with him, approaching the other Masters again, to the bow of the ship.

"Hey, Dag! What's wrong? We barely showed up! It seemed that thalos liked her very much and usually animals are never wrong! She seemed nice!" Freydis exclaimed, looking at her confused boyfriend.

"Yes, she was certainly nice, I don't question that, but... Krypstorm is just around the corner... I have a feeling that soon we will arrive and I don't want to waste the free time that we have left to be together, answering questions and guiding the soldiers" he replied, who deftly managed to change the fortunes of the discourse, turning it into something romantic.

After his words, Freydis added nothing more and kissed him, reassuring him.

Claire sat on her bench and continued to stare at them for a while, silently envying Dag's girlfriend, convinced that she could make him happy in the same way, or even more than that.

When his master walked away, Thalos also moved from his position, reaching Dag and Freydis, after greeting Claire, with whom he had lived for months and who did not know that the wolf was also on Dag's trail.

It came again evening, and still nothing was visible on the horizon. 

Unlike the previous evening, this time, at the suggestion of Sander and Egill, the two most senior members of the crew, soldiers and Masters all ate together sitting in a circle, enjoying good meads lulled by the waves of the sea, while the fully unfurled sails made the boat advance at a more or less constant speed.

Kjell's bad mood seemed to be gone and when his gaze crossed that of Dag, the Crows Of Odin's Master of Offense raised his mug upwards, as if to indirectly apologize for his childish behavior.

Under Sander's watchful eyes, Dag responded with the same gesture, showing Kjell his maturity, one of his greatest merits.

After dinner, before everyone went to sleep, Dag and Freydis were lying next to each other, on a fur coat next to Thalos, and hugged, warming up from the cold of the night.

He had the feeling of being observed and, pretending to stretch, turned his head back for a moment, realizing that Claire was sitting on the ground near the bench and staring at them intently.

Dag immediately turned his gaze, trying to get that incredibly awkward scene out of his head.

'It's true, maybe the last time we saw each other I behaved very badly with her, I pretty much abandoned her while she slept. But the fact that now she's here is unbearable! How did she dare to follow me? Is she really that obsessed with me? If Freydis finds out the truth, it'd be hard to explain everything to her, considering I never even mentioned Claire. I'm innocent, but the idea that something can go wrong terrifies me! Why popping out now that we're on a mission?! Why?!" Dag thought, sighing and squinting, diving into his thoughts.

"What are you thinking? I feel you agitated, Warchief!" Freydis whispered, who, with her head resting on his chest, noticed his heartbeat slightly accelerated.

"Nothing important, Freydis... you know my mind never stops processing things, you know me" he replied, once again managing to evade the issue with his oratorical skills.

Very slowly, as he stroked his girlfriend's hair and massaged her neck, they both fell asleep deeply, as did Thalos and all their companions, with their sleep weighed down by the abundant dinner and mead, of which Sander, alone, had finished an entire bottle.

...

*clo-clo*clo-clo*

Dag opened his eyelids slightly, while his gaze was facing upwards.

Just above the boat, a large seagull hovered nimbly in the sky, peering with his attentive eyes some possible prey to begin his day, turning his head to one side and the other, pointing to the sea with his orange beak.

Dag sighed, and before he could wake up at all, someone on the ship shouted: "Laaand! There we go! Mainland! We're in Krypstorm!" 

Within seconds, most of the warriors awoke as well as Dag, Egill, and Sander, who with a sudden jump quickly rose to their feet, facing an edge of the ship's bow.

Dag rubbed his eyes still closed from sleep with his hands and tried to focus on what was visible on the horizon.

"Yes, the one before us is mainland! We did it! We arrived at Krypstorm!" he confirmed with glee, turning around and sharing that good news with the entire crew.

Each person on board ran to see the spectacle: the faint light of dawn reflected on the surface of the sea, giving it an incredibly striking, mirror-like appearance, on which it was possible to see the reflection of the Iron Emerald, which had not stopped for even a second, allowing them to reach the destination in record time.

"I think it's time... soldiers, wake up! We have to put the plan in place! Who were the two of you who had offered to accompany me on the Brass Arrow and go on recognition?" Kjell yelled, ordering the soldiers to stand up and prepare.

As all the warriors rose, two of them approached Kjell, ready to board with him on the other boat, hanging from one side of the Iron Emerald.

"Master Kjell" Dag called, drawing his attention.

"What is it?"

"Bring a torch with you and try to hurry. According to our plan, we had calculated that we would arrive off the coast of Krypstorm in the evening and that a small light signal would be enough to give the green light. But if we wait too long and let the Sun rise, it will be difficult for us to see the signal and it will be easy for the enemies to see us!" he said, punctuating the details of the plan.

"Master Dag is right, you have to hurry up and be careful!" Gridd added, who had recently risen from the ground.