Raw might and vitality rushed into his stomach, spreading across Einar’s entire body as his muscles burned and swelled momentarily. He felt stronger, but more than that, healthier. It was a mesmerising feeling. One he could get lost in if not for the giant scaly corpse in front of him. There were plenty of materials he could get from the drake. That is if she was able to harvest them.
Knowing that both its scales and the skin beneath those were though on the upper part of its body, the seeker stepped beside the wound on its neck to make use of it once again. He slid his seax beneath its skin, cutting it from inward out along the line where the tougher and softer scales met. Einar then began to pull the scaly hide upward while carving under it with his knife, splitting the skin from the stringy flesh. It was a hard but rewarding task that earned him several square feet worth of fresh hide. He split it in half, rolling up his share before putting it away into his world eater pouch.
“The hide from its belly might not be as though as the one from its back,” the warrior spoke as she stepped beside him. “But it is still good for bags or under-armour.”
The seeker turned toward her, only to see the woman holding out her left hand that held a chestnut-sized red stone. It looked like a large cloudy uncut ruby that had a spark of flame inside it while it was also wrapped in a glowing red cord.
“This...”
“It’s one of the fire stones and some of the flame cords,” she explained. “I took the other one for myself. These should help you strengthen your weapons.”
“And this should help reinforce your armour.” Einar said as he exchanged the fire-stone with the other half of the scaly upper hide he skinned off of the drake.
“This will make a fine armour,” the warrior agreed. “Can you...”
“Get the skin from its belly? I could try.” He agreed, pushing the carcass with all his might to roll it onto its back.
The woman stepped beside the corpse to help and after some effort, the drake rolled over. The young giant began to work on the softer skin, filleting it off as he did it with the previous one. By the time he was done with the task, the warrior had already removed the drake’s claws and some of its fangs. They split the materials between themselves, cutting off some meat from the beast as well as taking a few tendons and bones. Hours went by and the once mighty drake’s carcass began to look rather disturbing in its butchered state.
While the warrior cut the beast open to search for the more precious innards, Einar wiped his hands and walked over to the fig tree. During the drake’s charge, its tail slapped into the tree, snapping off a few branches and some bark. Those pieces of wood were still glowing faintly with a weak heat emanating from them. The seeker took some of the larger branches and some bark before looking up at the glowing red fruits. Feeling a heavy tug on his mind and soul he picked a fig from the tree and bit into it.
A heat, unlike anything he felt before rushed down his throat with every bite, even more powerful than the nectar he drank after defeating the drake. Its power spread across his body as tiny gusts of flames sparked along his skin. When he looked up at the rest of the fruits, the giant noticed that their lustre seemed to have faded into a softer glow than before. He didn’t feel the same tug on his soul when looking at them which made him understand that he could gain nothing from eating any more. Einar picked off the other four figs, putting one into his pouch before collecting the rest of the broken branches which he brought over to the warrior along with the figs.
“Here,” he said as he held out the fruits and the wood pieces. “These are yours.”
“There were five figs.” The woman said as she looked at the fruits in his hand.
“I ate one.” The seeker stated calmly.
“And the last one?”
“I have a blacksmith friend who is a descendant of fire giants. I plan on giving it to her.”
“I... I see,” she let out a sigh after a few seconds of silence. “It is a shame that two of the figs got crushed when the drake attacked us.”
“A sad thing,” Einar nodded along. “But this wood is also a treasure for anyone with a spear or a bow. It’s strong and it holds some traces of fire magic inside.”
“So it would seem,” the warrior agreed as she put away the fruits and the mystical branches. “I must admit, you fought well for a Northman.”
“Einar.”
“What?” She looked up into his eyes.
“My name is Einar. Einar Arnessen.”
“Alcmene,” the warrior replied as she stood up, reaching a height a good foot shorter than the seeker. “Alcmene of Sitos.”
“You fought well, Alcmene. Your skill with the spear would make many seasoned warriors envious.” The seeker admitted as the woman pointed at a few pieces of innards placed on a scrap of drake skin.
“Those are yours as well,” she stated with a slightly softer tone. “Half a heart, liver and lungs along with a kidney. I was told that they make fine offerings for the gods. Since it’s a male drake, it has other parts you can take, but I’ll leave collecting those up to you.”
The giant felt a shiver run along his spine as he realised what the woman was trying to say.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Well, Einar,” she spoke as she packed away her share of the spoils. “It’s time for me to go. Plenty of other beasts and treasures out there waiting for me.”
“Good luck then.” The seeker replied awkwardly as the warrior turned to walk away.
“And to you as well,” she threw it over her shoulder while walking. “Maybe we’ll meet again if fate wills it.”
Einar watched in silence as Alcmene slowly disappeared into the woods, his thoughts slightly in disarray. A good minute later he snapped out of it and turned his attention back to the drake. ‘I know they make for a fine offering, but this still feels wrong.’ He thought to himself as he walked over to the carcass with seax in hand. After neutering the carcass, he wrapped the pile of innards and flesh into the drake’s skin before putting them inside his world eater pouch. With everything worth taking now in his bag, the seeker looked around to make sure no one else was around before jumping into the air as black mist burst out of his body.
He turned into his raven form and flew high above the crown of the trees, trying to look for a good spot to spend the night since the sun was already falling. He flew as high as he safely could in a minute, his bird eyes searching for the right spot which he found a good distance away. The seeker barely lowered himself a few feet above the ground before his spiritual strength dried up completely, forcing him to return to his human form. ‘That was close.’ He admitted after dropping down as he began to walk away toward the direction of his next destination.
Switching between his human and raven forms, Einar reached the distant glade in about three hours, finding what he believed to be another small ruined settlement. The sparse few houses of the village encircled something that resembled a strange set of stairs. The large stone steps led upwards for a good thirty-five feet with each of the four sides resembling a roughly shaped triangle. At the top of the stairs was a stone altar, but as Einar walked closer to the strange stair, he could feel the hair on his back rise.
It was a strange feeling as if he was staring at death itself, desolate and all-devouring. Every part of him screamed at the seeker, telling him to turn around and leave, but a small fragment of his mind urged him to get closer and find out why the stairs made him want to run away. A wave of cold sweat ran down his back when he put a foot on the first step, an unseen hand pushing him fully up on the weathered stone stair. A wall of mystical energy rose from the edge of the stairs, creating a wall around the structure while an old and emotionless voice resounded in his mind.
“Death is inevitable both for mortals and gods,” the voice whispered. “It is impossible to run away from it while running towards it is also foolish. It takes a strong will to walk forward, knowing that death watches at every corner. To leave behind those you love in search of what you want. The trial of grit shall test if your will is strong enough to reach the end of your path.”
The voice went silent for a moment as the young giant felt the stairs faintly tremble beneath his feet. He looked up toward the altar, watching it with a baffled expression as new steps grew out of the top of the structure, making it seem as if the altar was steadily rising toward the clouds.
“Do not stop. Do not look back and do not back down or death will claim you. Push through greed, lust, pain, regret and contentment to conquer this trial. Stop on the bronze or silver steps to finish your journey early on, claiming a fraction of what is ordained to those with a strong mind. Your trial shall begin... now.”
With the voice announcing the start of the third trial, Einar began to walk up the stone steps, the first dozen doing nothing.
“Einar,” a familiar voice called out to him from the left, the seeker found Kari standing on the side of the strange stone structure with a child in her arms. “Please, come back home to us! Your son needs you.”
“I... my son,” the seeker muttered as he kept staring at the bundled-up child with the tiny red tuft of hair. “No. This isn’t real.”
He turned his head back toward the stairs, pushing himself forward as he felt an icy chill run down his spine. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t Kari. Einar kept walking, barely a few steps later another familiar voice calling out to him.
“My son,” the gentle voice of his mother resounded from his left, the sight of a somewhat frail and teary-eyed woman looking back at him. “Please, come back to us! I don’t want to lose you to some foolish quest for glory.”
“Mother,” he tried to look away, his heart aching from the sight of her crying like that. “I can’t. Not yet.”
He looked back at the stairs, feeling as if they had grown longer than before. His steps felt heavier as his father, his siblings and a scarce few friends tried to call out to him, all of them asking him to give up on his deadly quest for glory. After a while, he stopped looking at them at all, pushing onward with teary eyes as the voices grew more desperate, some begging, others cursing at him. Then, only silence. When he was about to let out a sigh of relief, his nose caught a familiar scent.
“Hello there my love.” The voice returned, this time, more honeyed and excited.
Slightly turning toward the origin of the voice, the young giant found Kari standing on the side of the stairs once again. This time however there was no child in her arm. She stood there alone and fully naked, giving him a sultry smile as she beckoned him closer.
“Don’t you want to join me tonight like you did on the night of the farewell feast?”
“I... damn you!” he growled as he snapped his eyes back on the stone stairs, feeling a raw heat spread through his chest. “This isn’t real. It’s not her.”
Einar tried to convince himself as he continued forward, his mouth turning dry while walking. Every few steps a new voice called out to him, first only one, then two and then even more. Unknown women appeared on both sides of the stairs, each more voluptuous than the other. They chuckled and called out to him, some even reaching out to caress his face. Their scent sank into his thoughts, their smooth-skinned bare bodies burning into his mind as he gritted his teeth, pushing forward with each step growing heavier.
It felt as if hours had gone by since he started the trial, the charming women finally growing quiet as he left them behind. As the seeker kept going, he noticed something a few steps higher. The weathered stone step ahead of him was glowing with a faded bronze hue, making him realise that he had only now reached the first point where he could stop and leave the trial. ‘I’m only at the first stop? After all of… this?’ He questioned himself, his heart pounding at the thought of what might await him further up the stairs. The young giant had to admit that this trial felt harder than either of the previous ones. Or the fight with the bear. Or the drake.
A part of him considered stopping on the glowing step, but he quickly pushed a thought aside. He came here to conquer the trial, not to walk away with some consolation prize. Making up his mind, the seeker went ahead, stepping over the glowing stone step, to continue his journey up the stairs. After a few minutes of walking, he began to notice coins appear on the stone slabs on the sides of the stairs. A few old brass coins at first, silver taking their place soon enough. Sometime later the silver coins got replaced by gold ones, their shining glow tugging on his soul as he kept walking. The coins then began to have small jewels amongst them, ornate rings and necklaces strewn across the piles of coins.