Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"How could I forget? It was one of the best nights of my life. The only difference is that it was much less cold! Hahaha!" he chuckled, as images of those moments of carefreeness returned to his mind, during which love between them began to take shape.

"What do we do now? The Sun is setting... do you think Kjell and the others will be back at the Fort?" the Shieldmaiden asked, yawning, caught in exhaustion due to the intense sex session in the woods.

"We'll find out soon. In a few minutes, we will be there... I hope they give us good news" he said, riding in the direction of Fort Hvit, trying to pass the time, to make sure he would find his teammates once he arrived at his destination.

When the two lovers stopped in front of the outer walls of the Hunters Of Ullr outpost, the men perched on the towers, seeing them arrive, opened the gate.

Dag and Freydis entered and immediately got off the horse, which although had only traveled a short distance of the road, was exhausted, having brought two people on his back after months locked in a stable.

By the time they entered Fort Hvit, the appearance of the courtyard had changed dramatically: the wooden canopies lining the interior of the walls had been adjusted and wedged to each other, and the barn had been partially integrated into that structure, which had now made it larger and more spacious, giving the four horses more room to move freely.

The palace, on the other hand, always looked the same on the outside, apart from a few small improvements to the well and the door, to which a strengthening iron beam had been added, which also served as an additional security tool to the lock.

Most of the warriors who had participated in the improvements sat on large stone benches, made from old unused bricks, and proudly admired their work, as well as the Hunters Of Ullr, who could not believe that their house had that magnificent look, no more old and dilapidated.

"Wow! This place looks completely different! In just half a day you managed to make it much more beautiful and livable! I mostly like the new stable!" Dag said, approaching Egill and complimenting everyone who had participated in the work.

"Well, we only did what was necessary to ensure an operating base that could accommodate everyone in the best possible way, taking advantage of your valuable help! We never felt it was important to make these improvements because our Fort has always been as good as it was" Skaldr said, wiping sweat from his forehead and smiling.

As they discussed the work done, the gate stopped its advance upwards and one of the two men on the towers shouted: "They're coming back!"

Immediately, Dag left the reins of the horse in Skaldr's hands and approached the Fort's entrance, ready to meet Kjell and his team, joyfully noting that each of them had returned safely.

The three warriors entered the fort and got off the horses.

Dag looked at Kjell, who, with his expression, suggested the outcome of the mission.

"Then? How did it go? Did you met Kranus?" he asked.

"Yes, it went as we hoped. But there are some details that you need to know. Come, let's get in the palace, we will discuss it privately" Kjell said, leaving the horse and walking toward the white stone structure with everyone else.

When they entered, they noticed with amazement that although from outside the palace still seemed decaying, inside it had undergone significant improvements: the entrance had been reworked and many of the things present in the warehouses, such as weapons and armor, had been distributed neatly in that room, increasing considerably the space available to the warriors to sleep.

The table had been moved slightly backward and although there was a lot more stuff in the room than before, it looked bigger, thanks to the new furniture distribution.

All the Iron Alliance Masters, with their companions and the Hunters Of Ullr archers, took their seats, waiting for Kjell's explanation, who after looking into Orvar's eyes, began to speak.

"We thought we'd get to a military outpost or something like that... instead, we found Tungvek, the capital of the Giants Of Ymir..."

Starting with those words, Kjell spent about two hours to detail everything that had happened since they talked to the guards until they left the town, and Dag and the other Masters listened to everything without ever interrupting him, in a religious silence.

After storing all that information, which nevertheless hinted at the success of the mission, Dag replied: "If Kranus understood that Orvar is one of the Hunters Of Ullr, it means that we must not make the mistake of underestimating his intelligence. To come to such a conclusion just by looking at his equipment, it means that he has an incredible intuition, which makes him a fearsome enemy, thanks mainly to the numerical superiority of his army over ours."

"Master Dag, if I may interrupt... I can assure you that Master Kjell was very good with words, and if he hadn't told Kranus that you were here in Krypstorm with your weapon, we probably wouldn't be here safe now. Commander Kranus is very insightful, that's true, but also incredibly cruel. The episode you just told is true... he killed one of his men without even thinking about it as if he was an annoying ant" Terje interrupted, who unlike other confidential meetings, participated in the conversation.

Kjell was astonished by those words, believing that his harsh character would be a point against the young soldier, who seemed to respect his decisions.

"You were right to point out this aspect Terje, but... I had no doubt that Kjell would be able to complete such a difficult mission. We all know that diplomacy is not his strong point, but I am sure that in reality, even though he is always very quiet, he is a skilled orator" Dag replied, praising his colleague, who continued to marvel.