After Thomas told Jack some more information about this new world and most importantly about the remnants of the natives that may still live in the south, a sixth knight suddenly came out of the forrest behind the beach and reported something to Thomas in a foreign language. Whereupon Thomas got angry, told Jack to fuck-off and then start stomping up the mountain with his five knights following him in a hurried manner.
Jack would have laughed if he wasn’t so thankful for all the free information Thomas provided for him.
As soon as the knights vanished into the forrest Bilsor joined Jack at the helm of the ship and asked, “Chief, I wonder if your next order will be to go further south? I have to wan you chief. Us Nordars get spoiled and wither in the warm southern sun. Our home is the frozen north, and rightfully so. We draw sustenance from the sea and we draw strength from the cold. I can promise you searching for a spot for our new home further south will doom us in the long run.”
“While I think you are a little bit too dramatic I agree with you. The south will have a lot of different new races arriving like us, and with them will come chaos and conflict. The dark and light factions are made for this. But the prospect of adding more pages to the book is an interesting one. Maybe I can kill some beast tribe of the north and get additional pages that way? What do you think Bilsor?”
“Chief, I think our first priority is to find a new place to settle and then once we have some more tribe members, we can venture out for beast hunting and exploration of the south, maybe even trade. We could use some iron tools or weapons. Pls since we will be on a boat most of the time, we will probably not need any iron armour, since with it one will sink like a stone as soon as you land in the water. But I wouldn’t mind if we trade some quality shields for some fish or seafood. Could prove useful in naval warfare.”
“Good point. Turn the ship around and then we go back and cross the strait. Let’s continue along the coast of the northern landmass and look for an island to inhabit.”
They sailed the whole day back along the coast. It was only after seeing it a second time that Jack realised how much different the two landmasses are. In the north there was almost nothing but flat pine forests and here In the south jack could see mountains to the west as far as the eye could see. The looked taller than any other he knew from earth. Giant snow capped monstrosities one after the other along the coast. The coast less rough like in the north. In the north, on the way here, they found only a handful of natural bays with shingle beaches. They saw that many in just one afternoon in the south. In Jacks eyes, everything pointed to an easier time living in the south. But Jack also trusted Bilsors half a century of experience. So Jack had no option but to go back north in search of an island that fulfilled their requirements.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Before dusk, it was once again time to summon a new tribe member with the Nordar book around Jacks neck. But before completely opening it, he made sure that this time no wind would carry the page away from the boat into the water. Furthermore, he put it directly on the deck and only then opened the book. A page flew out and transformed into a Nordar. A short woman. She didn’t look like a warrior compared to Asa and most of all Ragna the warrior lady. Bilsor left the navigation rudder of the boat to welcome her together with Jack. “ Hello, Im the leader of your tribe. Welcome aboard our ship. Can you introduce yourself to us?”
The new member looked very demure and shy. And said with a soft voice, “ Hello, I am Isgerd and I’ve seen just over thirty winters. I can’t do much yet but I’m looking forward to learn.” ‘Is it just me or has the quality dropped with the last two tribe members coming out of the book? Two days ago cam Karl, always cold and shivering Karl and now its Isgerd, barely reaching my chest and never holding eye contact. I don’t mind them being who they are, but what if this happens because of something that I did? What if it is because I lost Eskil to the troll? Will that happen more in the future if I lose more of my warriors?’ Jack had so many questions, but nobody to answer them. Even Thomas, the dark knight from noon, didn’t know enough about this new world for Jacks taste. ‘ I mean all of the Information Thomas gave me, was only his own conjecture.’
Jack called over Haf and told him to explain Isgerd everything there is to know and returned to watching the coast while Bilsor resumed navigation.
It took them sailing through the evening to arrive back on the northern landmass. Even during the long evening on water, did they not see any monsters or habitants of this world. It was as if it was just them and the sea.
They continued along the coast into the west and just before it got dark, finally saw an island. “Bilsor! Let’s get the ship on the beach but set up a sentry throughout the night, since there is no telling what might live on this island.”, said Jack as they got closer to the island why standing next to Bilsor.
They landed without any mishap, cooked some dinner made of smoked fish and some octopus that Haf caught close to the shore, while Jack was talking to Thomas at noon. After telling Asa and Haf they each had to take half of sentry duty throughout the night, Jack went to bed with a smile on his face. ‘Being a leader feels so good. I can relax and tomorrow I can explore this Island with Karl and Bilsor.’