Chapter 19: Valkyries

"Are any of you going to answer, or do I have to cut open your throats to make you two react?"

Inwardly balking for a second at the threat, I responded by immediately averting my eyes off the woman in front of us, directing it to Myrddin, who realized what I was doing and did the same.

I took a deep, long breath, mentally switching gears.

"I apologize for this - it's all a huge accident." I stated as clearly as I could, visibly showing off my neck as I continued to stare away from her and her weapon. I hoped she took the action as an olive branch for trust, instead of being an insult for not looking at her in the eye. "It seems my partner Myrddin over here had walked to this place, not knowing you were taking a bath here."

For a silent moment, I regretted my course of action as it meant I couldn't visually verify her reaction. But soon enough, she finally spoke, and if her voice was slightly less angrier I didn't speak of it.

"Is that so? Tell me then - why in the name of Freya would he walk inside a dark forest in the middle of the night?"

Heaving a sigh, I replied, still looking at Myrddin, "Myrddin here was supposed to be looking for wood and water." I tilted my head, evoking a question. "Now, isn't that right, Myrddin?"

Quickly, Myrddin picked up on the opening I gave him. With rushed hands, he almost threw in front of him the water flask he was supposed to be filling. "H-Here! It was all a huge accident, really! I only saw the waterfall, and I thought I could walk into it, see how it looked like, and then I-"

I cut him off before he further aggravated the angry Valkyrie. "Right. He's sorry for accidentally walking into you bathe."

I heard the metallic ting as she lowered her knife, causing it to hit a rock. It was immediately followed by a splash of something coming out of the water, and I didn't have to look to know that the sound of something pulling on cloth meant that the woman in front of us was finally putting on her clothes.

Seeing that we were apparently easily forgiven, I walked up to my friend, pulling him up before giving him a loud smack over the head for the trouble he had quite almost pulled us into. Myrddin took the punishment without complaint, muttering beneath his breath something along the lines of 'good grief'.

It seemed that we had successfully averted what could've started a war.

"You people aren't from here. Tell me, who are you two?"

Judging that she was fully-clothed only by the fact the lack of the sound of rubbing cloth, I plastered a smile on my face as I flamboyantly spun on one foot to turn to our Valkyrie's direction.

She, quite honestly, looked like just any other female warrior in her armor. No wings, no overly flashy curves and armor plates - just a plain simple chestplate that looked like it was made in some variety of steel. Not surprising, as I realized, considering that even though she was a Valkyrie, in the end she was just another Human like me.

Her knife was inside its sheath on her waist, but I didn't want to find out if she could pull it out quickly soon.

"We're travelers, friends of Grimm Locke in a quest to find the state of the famed Vikings and Valkyries of Terraria." I announced, affecting the tone of an ambassador. She didn't do anything overt, like pulling out her knife again, so I thought it safe to continue. "My name is Rain, a magician, and my partner over here is Myrddin, a singer who dabbles in swordsmanship from time to time. May I ask for your name?"

Between the moment of her reply and I posed my question, I inwardly grimaced at the sudden change of cover I assigned for myself and Myrddin. After all, as Myrddin had quite easily showed that he was a non-combatant in heart, I couldn't fake him of being my 'protector' this time. Not to mention, in my hurry, I also still had my 'The Magician' title on - there was no way she would believe me of being a storyteller this time.

When I heard Myrddin heaved a sigh of relief behind me, I quite cheerfully stepped on his foot in return.

So much for staying under our previous cover.

"Men like you don't deserve to know it, but very well." The Valkyrie in front of us walked towards her spear beside Myrddin, pulling it out in one go before letting it hang to a hook on the back of her armor. She then turned to us, her brown eyes gleaming with pride and prejudice as she openly studied us both. "My name is Allyse, one of Freya's strongest maidens. Be grateful that you hear of it in peace, not in the middle of the battlefield."

Ah. So she is that kind of person...

Picking up on her personality, I did the course of action I perceived as the best for the situation. Taking yet another deep breath, a click went unheard inside my mind as I switched facades like masks again - this time, something far from what I usually acted like as either Rain or Brian.

With a wide sweep of my left arm and my right arm pulling down Myrddin beside me using my staff, I flamboyantly knelt and gave a courtly bow.

"Thank you for the grace you have given us, fair Valkyrie. May Odin and Freya bless you for your forgiveness."

I took the moment to absorb the shock that appeared on her face before continuing on with my act.

With an equally flashy twist of the wrist, colorful balls of light surrounded us, giving the situation a twist for the enchanted. A slight twinge of focus had them blink rhythmically, changing from reds to blues and greens and back in a lightshow I knew was a little surprising to see for the first time.

I stared into her eyes.

"Now, may I ask for you to bring us to your leader, Alysse?"

Myrddin wedged his elbow into my ribs the moment he thought it safe to do so.

It was painful.

"What was that!?" He whispered loudly to my ears as he warily looked at Alysse who was walking in front of us as she led us to the Valkyries' secret town. "That act with the bow and the Magelights and the flirting-"

"It is not flirting." I interrupted him as soon as I could, stepping with all of my weight on his foot purposely for the sake of taking revenge for my poor ribs. As I watched him jump on one foot in pain, I continued. "It was a calculated course of action I was forced to take because of you. Plus, I don't think she even took it as flirting."

Myrddin turned shocked eyes at me, forgetting his swollen foot for the moment. "Really? Are you blind? Didn't you see how she reacted after such a show? She was practically luminescent red in the face when you looked into her eyes!"

"No, I don't think it's like what you think." I persisted, knowing that my observation was the fact and that Myrddin was wrong. "Besides, she's a man-hating Valkyrie - perhaps it was rage that was on her face at the time. After all, I had been emulating one of the gods she knows..."

"Are you two going to catch up?" Allyse interrupted us from the front. Judging from her lack of volatile reaction, she hadn't heard what we were talking about. "I may just choose to leave you at the rate you two are going!"

"Oh, sorry about that." I smiled at her, not so kindly pulling on a suddenly-stiff Myrddin's arm as I ran to catch up on our guide. "Myrddin just saw something that interested him. My partner could be so easy to distract sometimes..."

Alysse's only reply to that was to huff at Myrddin, and quite interestingly, look at my face for quite a period of time before finally turning away to walk even faster ahead of us.

Myrddin let out a sigh of relief the moment he thought it was safe again. He then turned back at me, giving glances at the Valkyrie's direction for emphasis. "Tell me that you saw that and still say you think it to be nothing."

"I still think it to be nothing."

"It was rhetorical!"

"It is nothing." I pressed, walking ahead and ignoring Myrddin's sudden meep as he struggled to catch up to my fast walking pace. "Like I said just seconds ago - it's definitely not anything romantic or sexual from the way I see it. In fact, I would even bet money that it's something along the lines of curiosity."

Finally realizing I was unmovable from my opinion, Myrddin sighed. "I still think that she likes you... better than me at least.."

Sensing the opportunity in his words for some good-willed teasing to clear the suddenly serious air, I smirked at him.

Oh, this was going to be amusing.

"Are you sure it's not you who has a crush on her? Because I'm feeling like you're projecting something on me."

Predictably, Myrddin's reaction was to splutter uncontrollably at the accusation I sent at him. It took him minutes, but he did soon recover enough to reply out shakingly, "N-No way! Have you ever seen the way she acts, Rain!? I'm scared out of wits whenever she looks at me!"

"Or is it fear, really?" I asked, nodding to myself and gesturing at his bright-red face. "I'm seeing something far, far different here..."

"Oh, shut it!"

Alysse's voice came from the front of us again. "I'm leaving you two for real unless you get over here right now!"

Cowed by her threat, both of us quieted down and ran as fast as we could. But even as we rushed to catch up to our not-so-patient guide who could impale us through with her spear at any moment, I sent a fond smile at Myrddin's back as he practically sprinted in front of me.

Myrddin didn't know it, but the talk with him helped. The familiar banter was comforting at this stage.

Now, all I had to do was just act the role I chose for myself.

For all the Viking chief Brynjar had told me about the vileness of Valkyries, their town was eerily similar to that of the Vikings.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that separated or no, Thordinn (or what it used to be called as before the Vikings and Valkyries split up) still used to be their previous home before the event that caused the split happened. Sure, they habitually ransacked that town now, but sentimentality still held their grip on the Valkyries, it seemed.

Myrddin nudged at my side, pointing overhead at the tall cliff over the town. "See, told you their town would be under cover."

I shushed him to silence before Alysse turned to us again.

Our Valkyrie guide was, on the other hand, talking to one of the guards that were patrolling the town when we arrived. From the odd, deferential way they acted and talked to Alysse - to the point where it was even visible in the distance we were in - it seemed that when Alysse said that she was one of the best warriors they had, she wasn't lying.

Good thing we didn't need to fight her then. I wasn't about willing to find out my place in the power levels around here anytime soon.

When she finally came back to us, it was with another person. This time, the importance of the new person in front us was glaringly obvious - if it wasn't the winged, exquisitely crafted helmet that gave it away, it was either her gleaming gold armor or her well adorned weapon that proudly proclaimed that 'She is an important person! Tread carefully!'

At the edge of my senses, boosted by the highly capable mana manipulation abilities of the Magician, I noticed what felt like an odd energy coming from the spear in her hands. It felt quite strange really - just like the axe Brynjar back at the Vikings had, it exuded of something otherworldly.

"So you are the Seidmadr our most honorable of Valkyries had brought into our town." I didn't recognize the word she used, but I took it for granted in order to turn shocked eyes at Alysse, who apparently wasn't just one of the best Valkyries, but the best Valkyrie we could've met. Seeing my reaction, the woman in front of us narrowed her eyes. "Tell me boy, what's your name?"

Snapping out of my shock, I gave yet another bow. "My name is Rain, and my partner over here is Myrddin. May I ask-"

"My name is Brunhilda., and my last name is important." She snapped at me, not willing to wait for courtesies. "I'm the Chief of this town of Freylin, and you, who reeks of likeness to Loki, tell me what you are aiming for and I might just deign you the chance to walk out of this place alive."

Suddenly things were tense. I could even feel Myrddin suddenly freeze up like a board beside me.

I spoke out quickly, "The two of us are friends of Grimm Locke. He has sent us in search for the truth as to what has happened about this town and that of the Vikings. We come in peace and promise to stay neutral."

There was a heavy silence, of a moment of panic over 'what if Grimm's name won't help here', but it soon broke apart when Brunhilda opened her mouth and said, "Oh, is that so? Good for you then."

I heaved a sigh of relief.

She then continued, "But I don't believe you."

She waved an arm, gesturing at the suddenly-there troop of armored women behind her. "Girls, eliminate the-"

"Wait, wait!" I interrupted her, catching her arm by the wrist before it came down in what I instinctively knew was a kill signal. Brunhilda glared at me, but I kept on my grip, not willing to just die. "I have proof. Those at Thordinn didn't need to hear it, but Grimm left me a secret password just in case this happened."

"Say it then," the female chief growled, trying to pull away her arm. "Before I cut off your hand by the wrist..."

"There is no Stone!" I yelled, not knowing what I was saying but saying it nevertheless. "That's it: there is no Stone. I don't know what it means, but Grimm said it would convince those who would need to hear it."

Brunhilda froze at my words like somebody slapped her in the face, and I slowly let her wrist go, knowing that she finally believed me.

It took her a few minutes before she abruptly turned back to her town, gesturing the two of us to follow.

"Alright, I believe you. You want a story? Here, I have a story for you to hear."

Inwardly giddy at success, I shook Myrddin to sense beside me before we followed. The Valkyries around us, Alysse included, watched us carefully as we walked with their chief, but somehow I managed to ignore them. But as we walked, that was when I realized that I never heard either Alysse or Brunhilda speak anything like an accent.

"Where are we going?" I asked as soon as I considered it safe to. "We're not heading for what looks like the-"

"Should I guess, the fighting arena or the tavern?" Brunhilda scoffed, picking out the words from my mind before I voiced them. "We are not  Vikings - instead of going to such places where brutes will go to discuss things in secrecy, we have an official command hall in this town."

Alysse, who had been silent up to this point, added her two cents. "It also doubles as the place for our wounded, where they would be safest."

"You know what that means, right?" The chief warned the two of us not-so subtly. "If I see any of you two doing any kind of funny business..."

Myrddin nodded so quickly I feared for his neck. I, on the other hand, said, "Yes, of course."

The walk took quite a while, but we did finally reach our goal with our necks still intact. Said command hall didn't look anything special really, especially compared to the heavily decorated fighting arena we were welcomed to in Thordinn. Instead, it looked just like any other building - except for the fact that it was practically covered with patrolling Valkyries.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

We were soon allowed to enter with just a few glares sent our way by said Valkyries, and honestly after such a grueling walk I couldn't say I could be happier. Their piercing looks had even me fearing for the off-chance that their glares could reduce my health bar. It certainly felt like it.

We finally ended up alone with Brunhilda and Allyse inside one of the many rooms inside the large building.

That was when the chief before us suddenly changed. It was quite alarming to see, really.

The furious way her brow seemed to be permanently set in since we had met suddenly disappeared, leaving them creased in troubled folds. The anger that was visible in her face changed into tiredness, and there was a sudden slump inside the Chief's posture the moment the doors closed.

Brunhilda turned a pensive smile of appreciation at Alysse, who closed all the doors and windows without being told.

"Thank you for this, Alysse."

Alysse said nothing in return for the fond words, choosing to instead silently stand beside her suddenly tired-looking leader.

That was when I realized we were finally seeing the true colors of the Valkyrie chief before us.

For that, I sent Myrddin beside me a look. 'Keep quiet', I delivered with my eyes alone, and with a nod from the swordsman, I knew he understood what I was aiming for. After all, he of all people should know all about the situation we were facing now.

Nobody could understand facades and masks better than the two of us after all.

"I apologize for the rude welcome earlier." The chief before us started, her tones startlingly somber compared to her previous harsh way of speech.. "But I've learned before to not welcome visitors so easily."

I met Brunhilda in the eyes. Her gaze was strangely motherly as she studied me openly.

"You've heard from the Vikings already haven't you? Well, let me tell then our side of the story..."

I'll be honest; midway into the long tale Brunhilda started telling us, I had already been paying less attention than her words deserved.

After all, as much as it was the Valkyrie's side of the situation, in the end it was ultimately just a retelling of what I already knew. Sure, I spotted some minor differences here and there, details that helped me understand the big picture a bit more, but at this point I didn't really need  it.

Instead, I chose to do something else more fruitful.

I watched everyone else. I observed their reactions to her words, their behaviours, their personalities and all those details that made them who they are, made them think what they thought and do what they did.

At this point, Myrddin was a no-brainer: while he was doing an admirable job of keeping a straight face underneath the heavy looks the Valkyries gave us two, there was a slight bit of movement below his waist that I didn't fail to notice revealed his hidden fear and wish to get out of our location as soon as possible.

Still, the Syren kept on listening to the Valkyrie Chief's words, with even more attention than I was giving. It obliquely reminded me of the fact that this was the first time that Myrddin was hearing the situation with his own ears.

Like how the Vikings and Valkyries were all Adventurers, like how they all repeatedly went to conflict with each other, clashing swords and axes, shooting spears and arrows, all the while knowing that if they strike true their enemy would cease to exist entirely.

My hands formed into fists at the blatant reminder of that fact when we arrived at this town.

"After separating from the Vikings and their patriarchal foolish beliefs, we Valkyries decided to start our own town over here at Freylin." I heard Brunhilda continue to speak at the corner of my attention, her face showing minute signs of pride and triumph, "It's been ten years since those days, but now we could be proud that we are free from their tyrannous 'manly' traditions!"

It had to be praised, the way that she delivered her words with the capability to move the soul and garner respect from anyone who heard them. In fact, even under my busy thinking, my view of her had been raised a few notches - such was the charisma that Brunhilda held.

Not that the same could not be told about her Viking counterpart, Brynjar the Chief of Thordinn.

At my side, I saw Myrddin nod. With his eyes alone, I understood - at this point he had also come to the same conclusion as I did.

History.

What was it that differentiated Players from Adventurers other than Skills? It was their history.

Myrddin and I were Players; new ones, but we were still the same as the veterans by the fact that we still had a life outside Terraria. True, I knew there were people who had thrown away that life to fully devote their time inside this virtual reality, but they were the most minority of all minorities, and they usually weren't even the kind of people to form large communities in the first place. They wouldn't spend  decades  emulating a battle that had no visible end.

NPCs, on the other hand, know no such lives outside the world of Fate Online. They didn't know a life that was entirely mundane and without the magic, monsters, and excitement that usually occurred for all their lives. Not only that, NPCs also don't spontaneously pop up - they were born from parents as children, almost akin to reality if it weren't for the fact that those children didn't necessarily have to be human.

So the conclusion was simple. If a sufficiently large community existed and had a history counted in decades - especially if said history was exists outside where Players usually go to - then it was a predominantly-NPC community. Extend that logic with the fact that said community is formed by warriors, then it could be concluded that the community is formed by Adventurers.

All the Vikings and Valkyries we had met were Adventurers.

All their actions that I had seen so far had only proved that fact more - all the accents, the differences in culture, the fact that every person we had seen so far acted like we were outsiders instead of travelers - all of these only pointed to the conclusion that we weren't dealing with Players; instead, we were dealing with a community of Adventurers.

Adventurers that pointedly had no qualms with ramming swords into each other's chests and cutting off each other's limbs.

That meant that this conflict, this war between Valkyries and Vikings? It was taking lives. Virtual existences, true, but both Myrddin and I knew that meant little to the situation. Massacre, manslaughter, murder - call it whatever you want, a rose had thorns no matter how you named it.

People were dying. It was that plain and simple.

And for what? A decade-old argument nobody could even remember about all of the details.

That was I was so angered when I found out about it. That was why when Grimm mentioned to me this location I practically interrogated out of him the way to get here. Sure, in the end the orphanage caretaker had acquiesced and allowed me a 'scouting quest' to take, all so I had the excuse of seeing it all for myself, but in the end it was my wish, not his, to find out every detail about the barest scrap of rumors Grimm told me about.

And when I did, I started to question what was going on in the heads of my father and his team when they created this world, made it so perfect a simulation of reality that it repeated Earth's less than stellar history. Repeated all those flaws and crimes and things that men weren't ever supposed to hold in their hands...

Solidacium...

But now wasn't the time to think on those thoughts. Now was the time for action.

The moment I finally finished thinking, Brunhilda was already attending the attention of a Valkyrie who had entered the room. Her mask, I noticed, was back in place - gone was the softer side that we had personally witnessed, and back was the totalitarian empress of a Chief as she held her spear by her side.

Alysse was there also, a silent watcher as she stood in the corner of the room, not-so-subtly observing not only her Chief, but both Myrddin and I as well.

"Is that true?"

Almost detachedly, I observed a note of alarm inside the Chief's voice as she asked her messenger. Sure, it was practically buried beneath all the layers of calmness and self-confidence Brunhilda affected, but it couldn't quite veil her concern from my ears.

The unnamed Valkyrie gave a stiff nod.

"Yes. Alysse's efforts in finding those herbs have helped greatly - as expected from one as exemplary as her - but there are still some of our warriors who are still on the brink. We worry that infection may set into their wounds, and we are still unsure whether we can stem that from happening."

Brunhilda's reaction to that was quick. With all the grace of a warrior, she stood.

"Lead me to the worst of them then. I may not be the greatest of healers that we have, but we would take our chances, if to save more of our people."

That was when a surprising voice entered the conversation.

"If it's healing you w-want, Rain here c-could help."

I had to turn with wide eyes as I directed my attention back to my side, where Myrddin - my partner, my mind reminded almost like a whisper - opened his mouth and set loose the lock that possibly held shut the doors of hell.

Or Ragnarok, I supposed, considering the culture we were currently embroiled in.

The response was chilling.

Almost as if reminded by the presence of pests that refused to leave them, all eyes that weren't mine or Myrddin's turned to us with a distrustful glare.

Brunhilda spoke first. "And risk my disabled warriors under your Seidmadr's hands? Excuse me if I don't find the option appealing."

Over her corner, Alysse added her own two cents. "Ignore him, my Chief. That man has already made himself an idiot in my midst - it is better to treat him as if just a bit of furniture that moves on its own."

Wincing at the barrage of insults to my friend, I couldn't hold back the surge of protectiveness as Myrddin practically wilted behind me as if physically stung by the cruel words sent on his way.

So, I ended up opening my own mouth, if only to defend my party member.

"Really? And I thought you people actually cared for your wounded. At least the Vikings were gracious enough to give us enough trust to let us give them our help. So much for taking all chances, Chief Brunhilda."

I immediately regretted those words, as three separate spears were suddenly sent over my way. Thankfully, they weren't actually aimed for me - instead, they were directed to be as close as possible to my throat, my thigh, and my groin respectively without actually hitting anything other than the wall behind me.

Ironically, if I did as much as a twitch at their throws, they would've glanced a hit. Or hit Myrddin for that matter.

I was really a Fool when it really mattered, huh?

"Is that so?" To say that the females in front of us were angry was quite an understatement. In fact, if Fate Online was any less realistic, I would've expected clouds of steam escaping off the top of their heads. But as it was, instead Brunhilda just had the reddest face I had ever seen in my life. "Very well, I would allow you to the greatest of honors to aid us."

Behind me, a heavily adorned spear returned itself to its rightful owner as invisible hands carried it slowly beside my face. As soon as she regained her weapon, Brunhilda slammed the pommel of her spear on the floor, the sound of it reminiscent of a judge's hammer of verdict.

"But I swear this on Freya," Her words continued, dripping with so much intent I almost shook in spite of myself, "If you ever dare to do anything untoward to my people, I would personally make sure you two would suffer before you die a bloody death."

It was only mere minutes later that we were led to a well-secured room underneath the building we were in.

No less than eight armored women guarded the doors, and Brunhilda herself had gained a following of aides and protectors in the flights of stairs that we climbed down into what was a hidden basement of sorts. Add into that Alysse who lagged behind all of us and watching us from our backs, it was made obvious to us that there were no ways to escape at this point.

Somehow, I didn't even feel the urge to step on Myrddin's feet this time. After all, as much as he had started it, it was mainly my fault that we were in the situation we were in.

I heaved a sigh instead.

"Regretting your words now, Seidmadr?"

"You keep saying that word as if I would understand it the more you use it around me." I couldn't help but retort at Brunhilda, but thankfully she only huffed at my words instead of figuratively exploding. Or literally exploded for that matter.

"We are here."

When I turned my eyes around us, I didn't expect what I saw.

If you thought of hospitals in the real world, they were usually filled with all the manner of people, busy at all moments as men, women, and children alike were either entering or exiting the hospital with differing health statuses.

One would think in a fantasy world such as Terraria, it wouldn't be so. After all, there was healing magic, right?

Instead, what I saw were rows upon rows of beds. White curtains were all that separated them as they didn't have space for actual dividers, and more than six of the women that were injured were missing limbs or had brutal scars covering their fair faces.

It had to be more than a third of the entire population of Freylin.

It was an unsettling reminder that again, the people before me weren't Players. They didn't have the luck to revive after death or the option to simply learn healing magic over the course of weeks. Sure, there were healers that even I could see were hard at work on their patients, but a glance was all that was needed to know that they were terribly overworked.

Did Adventurers even have the same stat-based system Players have?

I grew to understand even more about the situation, as painful to see it was.

"Go ahead. Do the best you can do to help us, Seidmadr."

I closed my eyes for the moment. At that point, I had already decided - after this, I was going to end it. This war, this pointless conflict, I was going to stop it with my own two hands if I had to.

That, at least, the people of this world deserved from the son of those who had created them.

"Status Window," I murmured softly as I started to change my title to The Priest (II).

It was time for the Fool to help...

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The first steps of POV biases have finally been revealed... Like how Myrddin focuses much on what he sees as frightening and Rain, the main character himself has some things the audience does not know yet because of said POV changing.

Isn't it more interesting when there are things you do not know in a story? Kufufufu...