It turns out expedition-ing is surprisingly boring, Erika had expected… more but for the last three days they’d done nothing but move in a slow line past the farmsteads of Karl’s, the land owners, and the barracks of thralls, in the distance you could see the vast dark forests but here near the city? Nothing but windswept grassy plains.
In the end Erika had gotten bored, to start with she’d explored her caravan but that had barely held her attention, it was barely the size of a normal houses room and included a bed and a chest, that was it, apart from the front and back doors and the heating rune. Everything else you were expected to deal with outside, Erika ate with the others, wiped a whet rag over herself when she could and “visited” the woods when she needed to, Erika hated that especially and had never been quite so glad for the air of fear and respect vitki carried.
Unfortunately, that same aura stopped her from engaging in the shouted back and forth of the rest of the caravan, the mercenaries, delvers, soldiers and labourers all called back and forth to each other filling the air with vulgarity and keeping themselves entertained. Erika had instead sat in her caravan, then on the bench next to Helga until she got self-conscious then back in her caravan and the bench again and back and forth.
In the end however Erika had found the only member of the expedition that didn’t seem intimidate by her, excluding the two silver ranks of course but they intimidated her.
Bjorn Bear-strangler as he insisted on introducing himself was a massive mountain of a man clearly possessing some jotun blood back in his line, he was a good eight feet tall with hands as large as saucepans and a bear’s pelt worn as a cloak. He looked like a bandit king but he couldn’t act more differently. A kind, energetic and bright soul with a love of socialising he’d taken Erika on as a sort of pet project, after befriending her by bothering her until she gave in he’d started dragging her from group to group breaking the ice and starting conversations and eventually getting Erika to join the expeditions Wagon Rush tournament.
“Ha past the Vanaheim and into the Bloom!”
“Better than being stuck in the fog sea, nearly lost my last piece to the Gap.”
Erika looked down at the game board, Wagon Rush was incredibly popular, each of the players controlled a Bael-Vagn company and tried to bankrupt each with a map of Yggdrasil as the game board and lots of little rail pieces, but Erika had never been very good at playing it.
“Ok so I… roll the dice…. And then…. Oh I landed on the rainbow tile, that’s one of the Realmgates right?”
There was silence, then the entire table exploded with laughter, across from the vitki sat Solvor Sigsdottir who was staring open mouthed as Bjorn leaned past Erika’s shoulder and gently moved a tiny Bael-Vagn piece all the way to end of the oval board.
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“You win Erika! You got the silver you needed and opened up a new trade route to an untouched realm that puts you over the win condition!”
Solvor shrugged good naturedly overcoming her surprise. “Well done Erika that’s… what… seventeen for me and two for you?”
Erika glared for a long moment before Solvor stony expression faded and she flashed a smile of silvery teeth. “Sorry sorry, but you aren’t actually doing that badly I know it seems you are but I’ve spent decades getting good at this game, for a total beginning you’re doing great.”
Somewhat mollified Erika nodded as the tables other two occupants began resetting the board, to Erika’s left sat a short human man with white hair and bandy legs who’d introduced himself as Skard Varsson one of a pair of twin delvers who’d seemed put out nobody recognised them.
“I still can’t believe you got all of Vanaheim in your first tourney.”
On her right was someone Erika quite liked, a Gothi of Baldr called Katlin who was an alf! They were very rare outside Alfheim and Erika had been caught staring once or twice, she was an ethereally beauty with golden skin, ash white hair like Erika’s own and eyes that had no pupil, just solid green orbs. The eye thing was a bit freaky but once you got past that she was excellent company, unlike the stories Katlin wasn’t snooty and graceful she was high strung and extremely paranoid which Erika found oddly calming, maybe it was just nice to see someone else panicking for once.
“She’s very lucky… or using spells… or using luck spells… you aren’t using luck spells right?!”
The expedition had started out in a thin formation but as the days wore on the droogs had huddled closer and closer together until friends could talk face to face, people near the rear were singing a deep rich travel song, the air swam with the smell of roasting meet as one of the food wagons prepared a roast of some kind.
As the groups sang or played the day away Sol moved across the sky arcing between the limbs of the world tree until ever so slowly, she vanished from sight. Branchnight fell across the scrubby plains and within moments the line of wagons came to a halt
Erika dropped her tokens and yawned as Katlin and Skarn jumped out of the wagon, most of the delvers alternated between sitting in the wagons and walking alongside but everyone circled up for Branchnight, within minutes a bonfire was roaring and the rangers were sent out to hunt down dinner.
Erika strolled across the impromptu camp, which really just consisted of circling the wagons and stretching a few ropes and sheets between them, back towards her own pretty green caravan. She hadn't been avoiding it per say its just… it was awkward talking to Helga who was so pretty and experienced and...
Erika shook herself roughly and yelped as some grabbed her just as roughly. “Ah Erika nice to see you again.” Said Sigurn.
Erika flinched internally and externally. “Ah Sigurn… look the droog wasn't working out, ok? It was terrifying and…”
Sigurn laughed and handed Erika a flask. “That’s fine vitki, didn’t except you to take to it, how you been holding up.”
Erika thought for a moment, apart from the constant fear of her lie being found out, the back pain from the droog and the boredom from the unchanging scenery… “Not bad.” She said with surprising honesty. “It… feels like a real adventure you know.”
“I do I really do, that feeling never goes away.” Sigurn said smilingly gently all the while, a moment later she chucked a waterskin at Erika who caught it reflexively. “Make sure to drink vitki, ridings harder work than city folk think.”
Turning back to the main body of the camp Sigurn cupped her hands around her mouth. “Grubs up in half a glass, after that…” Sigurn leered at the delvers some of whom went white. “We’ve got some light entertainment planned.”