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Jasper was not happy. Jasper was utterly humiliated and now he boiled on the inside. That brutish nobody was showing them up again and again. And even his own hired muscle had turned on him. He had been so sure of Hallvar. The man was supposed to be a consummate professional, a mercenary from the Isles. Instead the damn half-giant had become chums with the damn outsider. Had punched him, punched his own damn employer. Jasper needed to find some way to humble the upstart berserker. Luckily, this city was more his turf then back at the Hemgård.

Here there were people of all kinds and many with a knife and a way to move unseen. People who Jasper was in good with. It was unfortunate he didn't have the silver wolf pelts of the old dwarf with him. They always fetched a good price and helped swell his coffers each visit. It was yet another thing the damn outsider owed him for. But he still had enough funds to live comfortably and more than enough of a purse that he could grease a few palms to get a knife in between the right pair of ribs.

As Hallvar moved quietly beside him, he glanced at the Half-Giant. He was another disspeointment. Hallvar had heard that executioners were peerless killers and if you got your hands on one that had yet to chose a regent to serve, you had a one of a kind killer on your payroll. But for all his stoic, terrifying presence, Hallvar had been soft. Why was everyone around him so soft. What good is power if you could not wield it with impunity.

“You are dismissed.” He said, tossing a small bag of coins at the half-giant who caught it with a raised eyebrow. “It is all there. Minus a few silver for my damn nose. If I ever see you again, I will send some true professionals after you. People who value their reputation and their clients wishes” He snarled out, an action which made Hallvar to tilt his head. His eyes had a sudden coldness to them and Jasper felt a shiver run up his spine.

“It is all here. And I am dismissed, yes?” Hallvars tone was steady and calm but his stare did not waver from the spoiled rich kid before him.

“Yes, why?” Jaspar asked, backing away a litte, his hand straying to the dagger in his belt.

Hallvar smiled. It was not a smile that held any warmth or kindness. It was more like the smile of a wolf, baring its teeth. “Good. Then I can do this.” Hallvar punched Jasper with a lot more force then he had before, his first colliding with the pompous brats face. Jasper's vision went white with pain as he flailed and crumpled onto the street. He fell face first into the mud and before he could get up again, the sole of a boot pushed him back into the winter muck of the city's large streets. Some people had stopped to look, others were giving them a wide berth. But nobody tried to stop the Half-Giant.

“If you wish to send people after me, brat. Please do so. The House of Valdur will answer in kind.” He said in a calm voice before he lifted his foot from the elves head and left. Jasper decided to lie there until he was sure Hallvar had gone. His heart was beating a mile a minute.

He was shaking slightly as he got up as even he wasn’t so dumb to as actively cross the rulers of the Withering Wind Isles. He had thought that Hallvars last name had been Half-Moon but he now realized it was an alias.

A lot of things made a whole lot more sense now. The elven broker hurried off to his inn and his associates, tabling any plans for revenge against the half-giant. He did not have enough gold for such endeavors. He still had other buisness to set right of course. And for that he had more then enough gold.

Of that he was was sure.

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Sagas were wide with wonder and darting about to take everything in as the caravan approached the main gate of the city. While the city was massive within it's multiple walls, the outside had own system of small stores, workshops and the odd residential house. Stables stood wall to wall with blacksmiths making the equivalent of horseshoes for the various mounts that people rode around on.

And there was a small zoo worth of said mounts. They saw a lot Renn that trotted around while pulling sleds or being ridden. But also great crocodile like beasts with a thick, moss colored fur that made them look like the missing link between a dinosaur and a wolf. The beast that caught sagas eyes was something else entirely. A massive, slender catlike being that slipped around and trough the crowd at a much faster pace then the other mounts, moving with a incredible agility. Its rider held on casually with hand on their saddle, but the cat creature had no reigns or any that could be used to steer the cat from what Saga could seen. Following their game Ingrid leaned in.

“That a Feiyr” She said. "Pretty aren't they?"

“Feiyr?” Saga turned to the dwarf, interest peaked.

“Mhm. They are rare, and you cannot tame them, not really. Feiyr chose their riders. They are extremely intelligent and emotional animals and anyone you see riding one has been willing to risk their life to get ahold of one.”

“Risk their life how?” Saga asked, realizing that they might not be able to just buy one.

“The Feiyr live deep within the valleys of Valdurs Teeth. And to even acquire one, you need approach them alone. And Valdurs Teeth has near constant blizzards to make it even harder. If you fail to find and connect with one, it will simply wait you out and eat you when you have frozen to death.”

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“Ok. That is pretty brutal.” Saga said, glancing to towards the distant peaks of said mountains.

“It is.” Ingrid said with a sage nod.

“I’ll think I will be fine with a Renn” Saga said to a small laugh from Ingrid.

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The gates themselves were massive things, seemingly carved out of the wooden walls. The sheer undertaking of making the wall, grown or not, was baffling to Saga. As they looked up it was like staring up at smaller high-rise. The gate itself was at least seven or eight stories tall and the wall continued up for another three or four. The people up on the top looked like ants to them. Just staring up almost gave Saga vertigo and when they finally snapped out of their staring they had stopped just outside the open gates. Ingrid hopped off and Saga did the same as they noticed everyone was disembarking.

Lenara stood by the gates, next to a bunch of heavily armed men and women. They were six in total, and stood out from the ones checking the wagons and patrolling around the gate. To start with they were all decked out in armor that looked a lot heavier and more well made then anything Saga had seen so far. They seemed better equipped then even Olaf, who Saga understood to be a high level warrior and in good standing. One of them was a older man, with a shield that looked much like Olafs with runes all over it. But his shield was massive, to the point of being overkill.

He had a equally massive, gray beard that ran down his front, braided in a single intricate braid that was tucked into his shirt. Saga idly wondered just how long such a braid took to make. The mans hard, blue eyes softened at the sight of Olaf and a large smile spread across his lips.

“My son.” He said in a booming voice that was was near thunderous.

“Father” Olaf said with a huge smile as the two embraced.

“That's nice.” Saga leaned in towards Sasha. “I can see where olaf got the beard and the massive frame from.

“You should see his mother. ” The purple haired warrior answered with a chuckle. As the father and son began to talk, the tone shifted quickly.

“Lenara has told me the short version, and we have the two traitors in custody.” The large man said and Olaf nodded. “I have also talked to the Jarl about starting to move some of our more veteran troops up north to reinforce Hemgård. I don’t know about you, but it feels like they are setting up to siege the town. No doubt to draw us out into the open field. But those are not things we discuss out in the open.”

“Traitors?” Saga asked, turning to Lenara who had taken a step away from the group upon the caravan's arrival.

“The two guards you told us about. We spotted them on a barge going south towards the city. I took a little detour, made myself a passenger and subdued them. Then dropped them off and informed Jarl and Olafs father of the ambush.

“I barely noticed you left. Does that make me a bad friend?” Saga said, who realized Lenara had managed to just slip away and saga had failed to even realize it for what must have been days.

“No. It just means I am good at what I do, and that Olaf is good at playing things close to the chest.” Lenara assured them, patting their shoulder. Saga wasn’t the worlds most attentive person to begin with and gladly took the way out

“Ah good. Yes. You two are real sneaky sneaks.” They said and Lenara chuckled.

Attrid, who had let the two finish their exchange, turned directly to Saga and fixed them with a hard stare. Saga met it with a far less severe look, mostly because they were unsure if they had done something wrong or if Vikings were just incredibly intense.

“Saga Ljungborg.” He said and reached over to do the whole warriors arms hake that Saga was starting to appreciate a whole lot. Normal handshakes were stiff and awkward and wierd. Grasping the forearm of some and standing closer should be more awkward, but it really gave you a good feel for the other person. And Attrid was every bit the warrior his son was and more.

“I am Attrid, Son of Edur, son of Aldan. My son believes you to be a great warrior and friend. As such, you are welcome within my halls and may always count on my support.” He spoke in the same loud voice he had used to welcome his son back. Saga felt a sudden surge of confidence and blinked as a Prompt appeared.

{ Attrid, Lord of the Alldag Clan, has accepted you as an ally and a friend. You will always be welcome with in his halls, and enjoy all the bonuses living within his household provides. }

“Thank you. I am Saga Ljungborg. Berserker and loyal friend of your son and his friends. As far as I am concerned, I owe a debt to them all, one that I will never forget and always strive to honor. “ Saga spoke in turn, voice steady even as their heart thumped so hard as if to try and escape their chest. They held one another's eyes for what felt like an eternity, sizing one another up. Then the man let out a laugh that was so loud it almost rattled their bones.

“I like this one!” Attrid said and slapped Saga on the the back with such force Saga felt part of their soul escape in terror. They grunted, shifted and tried to let it roll off them with a confused grin but one of the warriors that Attrid brought had winced at the sight. Such friendly violence was clearly not unusual for the large man. Saga just smiled and waited for the man to engage is son again before rubbing the paint out of their back and shoulders as best as they could manage.

“Wow.” They grunted. “I hate to see how smacks his enemies around”