Hallik

Hallik’s footsteps fell heavy as he walked through the darkened hallways of Castle Vrodr. He should have been asleep already, but like the other students who had bunked up in the castle for the night, he’d been restless. He was returning from the well outside, a large mug of water held in one hand.

He and Elowyn had killed a draugr, and they weren’t even Grimnirs yet. As a trophy, and extra protection in case he needed it, Hallik had recovered the draugr’s saber and kept it looped through his belt. It was certainly in need of a good polish, and it could very well snap in two the moment he blocked a stroke, but he’d never owned his own sword before. He’d only ever used the weapons provided by the Grimnir’s training program.

“Hallik,” a voice hissed from the shadows.

Hallik recognized the voice and paused. Only dim firelight from the burning hearth at the end of the hall reached them. He even thought he could hear the faint sound of music.

Latshal emerged from a doorway. As one of the two Watchers that kept guard at Castle Vrodr, Latshal would often be roaming the hallways or watching the gate while students studied outside. Occasionally, she taught a lesson, but Hallik had only received a lesson from her on three or four instances over the last few years.

“Stay with the others,” Latshal instructed. “Don’t wander the halls. Khanak and I will be on alert all night in case there is trouble. You need not worry yourself.”

Hallik held up the mug. “I was just getting water for Sefrid.”

Latshal raised an eyebrow at him. “Very well, but get some sleep.”

Hallik nodded and proceeded down the hall, though the faint music he heard was indication enough that they wouldn’t be going to sleep too soon. He walked by the large hearth of the banquet hall and entered another big, elongated room on the opposite side. Some forty students were inside, trying to remain quiet as they listened to one other student who sat on a table at the far end. Kelm was the boy’s name, and he was playing a three-stringed lyre using a horsehair bow to make the deep, humming music.

Latshal poked her head in behind Hallik. “Enough of that,” she said. “Get to bed. All of you.” She didn’t wait to see if they listened, but vanished behind the door once again.

Several students groaned and blamed Hallik for leading her back to them.

Hallik waved them off and sat down next to Sefrid, handing him the water. It had been a few hours since their fight with the draugr. Lind had visited them to let them know that all the draugrs had been defeated, but they’d encouraged many students to remain at Castle Vrodr for safety purposes. Their families were already well aware of the protocol, but Hallik already spent most of his nights at the castle when he wasn’t staying at Elowyn’s place on the edge of the forest. Elowyn’s mother practically raised him ever since Elowyn had brought him home like a stray animal.

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Sefrid took a swig of water before handing the mug over to Svea. Svea took the mug, her face stuck in a permanent pout ever since hearing that they’d fought a draugr without her.

“You heard Latshal,” Elowyn said to the other students. “We’ll need our sleep anyway. Tomorrow will be like any other day with plenty of training.”

Hallik smirked as the kids’ voices faded. Most of them shuffled out of the room, heading towards the living quarters. Some of them were as young as twelve years old, though most people enrolled to become Grimnir at age fourteen. Hallik and Elowyn had both joined at twelve with encouragement from Elowyn’s mother. It was the price to pay if they wanted the magic offered by venturing into Vanalf, and the earlier they enrolled, the greater their chances of survival.

Elowyn turned her sharp gaze to Hallik. “That means you too, draugr-slayer.”

Hallik pointed at her. “You struck the killing blow.”

She smiled and shrugged in response.

“I helped too,” Sefrid said, laying back down on the blanketed floor with a grunt.

“You were a very effective distraction,” Hallik said, grabbing a spare blanket.

Sefrid breathed a laugh and shook his head.

The four of them planned to stay in this room together. That way they could remain together. Hallik was positive that Sefrid would heal alright as long as his wounds were kept clean, but his mind still whirled at the implications of the day’s events. From the way Lind had explained draugrs, didn’t they thrive on vengeance? Perhaps it was pure malice without discrimination. The draugr attacked all three of them without particular attention to any of them. The only exception was when it focused on Sefrid, but that was because he was injured. And then there was a ship full of other ones that had attacked the Grimnir Guard. Who were they after?

“At least you got to fight it,” Svea whispered to Sefrid as she placed her sword on the floor beside her and laid back. The two of them continued whispering to each other about the fight when Elowyn came and sat next to Hallik.

“Thanks for coming back,” Hallik said, placing his hands behind his head. He looked up at her green eyes that glistened in the dim candlelight. “For helping me and Sefrid. It might have killed us both.”

She jabbed a finger at him. “It would have. But I wasn’t about to let it kill you. I’d hate to hear what my mother would say if things had gone otherwise.”

Hallik smiled. “I’m sure that was your motivation.”

Elowyn’s smile faded when she saw the rusty old sword Hallik had kept with him. “Hallik, you need to get rid of that thing. It’s hardly even fit to call a weapon.”

Hallik scoffed. “Sefrid’s wounds would beg to differ.” Her distaste for the weapon made it that much more appealing to him. “I don’t have a weapon of my own anyway, and this is better than nothing.”

“We’ll have to fix that,” Elowyn said. She blew out the candle, and they all settled down.

Tomorrow would be another normal day. Back to training. Back to waiting. Maybe he’d ask the teachers if he could go to Vanalf a year early.