Open Chronicles A Rowdy Night [Eretejva Tundra]

[Maude]

Maude began to pick at the food on her plate, an idle task of sampling her meal to spare the company more attention for conversation. Fresh platters of roasted meats, breads, and flagons of drink were placed around the table's new occupants. A plate for each, a horn for each, along with various utensils. The Queen took a drink from her horn, fixing the massive bear that was Hugi with a sidelong glance for his guzzling, and picked up a rib from her plate, "It is good to have family to miss you. There are many in the Kingdom who do not have the privilege."

Herself included. Hugi as well. She took a bite from the rib, chewed, then swallowed before continuing.

"I am certain Valthar would like nothing more than to return to his family in Faarin, but as he knows that is not possible. You see I need his help in uncovering the truth behind the murder he was framed for. Until that truth has been found, he will be traveling with me."

 

[Gylfi Runarsson]

As he passed through the crowds he'd have pressed his free hand to the back of one man so that he could push around him..."Pardon. Passing through."

Gylfi was pushed aside for a third time. The young Nord was a tall one- hard to miss. Apparently, not fucking hard enough. A long drink from the flagon in his hand was interrupted as Magrin maneuvered around him, causing mead to slosh about the cup and spill over onto his face.

He turned to face Magrin, beer dripping from his chin. Gylfi was deaf to all noise within the mead hall, save for his heartbeat that thundered in his ears, and he forgot all about Jorn Helle's birthday and the respect that the occasion deserved. It took a great deal of patience to forgive the first two pushes, patience that he now found himself lacking as he looked down on the gray-haired man.

Gylfi swallowed the mead that he held in his mouth and belched down in the man's face.

"You smell like a dog."

He swung the flagon in his hand at Magrin's head.

 

[Baise]

There were many things of importance going on in the room. Brenna was signing towards the Queen and her entourage, bears were still wrestling, beer was spilled across the already stick floor. The Queen herself was explaining Valthar's role in the coming weeks. All because he had the scent of the killer.

All of this was going on and he was rudely staring down at the carving in his hand with a vacant smile. Men had been killed for less. He set it on the table next to a mug of ale.

Brenna was much cleaner in her work now. The carving was very much a representation of his boat. Valthar could almost taste the ocean spray, smell the haul of the day. Things most would not look forward to, but for most of his life they were all that he had known.

Valthar only looked up at the sound of a mug being smashed. That usually heralded a brawl.

 

[Brenna]

It felt like someone had just pulled the rug out from under her feet. It had been nearly three years since Brenna had seen her brother before leaving to Take the Path and two of those had been wrought with worry about whether or not he was even alive. Now he was leaving again? How long would he be gone this time? Emotions battled across her face. She seemed to consider saying something, raising her hands, and then letting them drop. And again. It was a lot of information to process in one go. Of course she had summarised from his release they had found someone else to blame but she hadn't considered at all the fact her brother would be helping them to catch that person.

Think. Her feelings weren't something a Queen would care about hearing so there was no point pointlessly pleading for Valthar to return home. Instead she should see this as the opportunity it was: a rare chance to get information from the literal top - she needed to be pragmatic. So think about the problem, is it going to impact you in any other way? It couldn't just be an average run of the mill cutthroat for Maude herself to take off after them. Was this person a danger to her home?

You suspect this is something more than a random act of violence. It was a statement of fact, her eyes shifted between the Queen, Hugi, and Aether in turn trying to gauge their reactions. Is this the beginning of a war?

 

[Magrin Kor]

He hadn’t been looking for a fight. When Gylfi Runarsson turned to face him Magrin looked on impassively, he’d hoped the taller man wouldn’t take offense but noted the mead dripping from his chin and recognized how emotions could run high, especially when drink was involved. Still Magrin had kept a low profile until now, drinking peaceably during what appeared to be a celebration.

When Gylfi belched his breath wafted over Magrin’s face causing the mans nose to scrunch, it smelled sour but it was the comment that truly affected him. Narrowing his eyes Magrin exerted some self control as he went to answer, hoping to diffuse the situation…

“Apol---”

…the flagon caught Magrin in the side of the head, shattering into a thousand pieces and causing him to stumble before he could finish his sentence. Instinctively his left arm raised, his hand pressing to the side of his head where he’d been struck as crimson started to leak from his scalp, pressing through the thick fingers that he touched his wound with. He’d been caught by surprise but he recovered quickly as the heat of his wound transformed to rage.

Regaining his stature and righting himself Magrin would come back with a wild right hand, his fist tight and the blow thrown towards the outside of Gylfi’s left side. Easily capable of being blocked and without much finesse or technique. After it came Magrin followed through by shifting his left side forward though, dropping his left arm in the process, its fingers tightened into a fist until the knuckles were white as he planted his left foot forward, tucked his chin and threw a stiff left hook level with Gylfi’s abdomen on his right side, over the liver and attempting to drill into the body of the taller man…

“You fucking whelp.”

…without his hand on the wound left by the flagon shattering against his skull the wound bled freely, mixing with the gray of his hair but Magrin barely noticed now, the muscle of his body was tight, rigid and pulsing with strength ready to unload by the anger brought on.

 

[Hugi]

Hugi chose to ignore reacting to the look, instead focusing his attention on the conversation that followed before the sounds of a fight beginning drew his attention. Bear paws gently picked at the plate on the table, something that was distinctly at odds with his large size. The rib he picked up was held delicately between pinched claws as he looked over the crowd to see who was brawling.

Even sitting, he could easily see through the gathering of heads and faces in sight to make a note of the brawlers before taking a bite of meat and turning back to the conversation. Large gathering like this was bound to have someone squaring off.

If he had to intervene however, there would be a lot more than a broken mug going around.

 

[Gylfi Runarsson]

The first punch was a wide swing, a strike that was easily pawed away by the taller man. Merely deflecting the first punch left Gylfi's hand sore, a testament to Magrin's strength. The second blow was delivered from a far more compact, trained stance. It was swift and retained much of its power, though Gylfi saw it all the way. He curled his right arm by his side, intending to block the blow with his sharp elbow.

The impact came, and though his guard absorbed much of the damage, saving Gylfi from shattered ribs, his arm was slammed into his side. The younger man staggered from the heavy blow but quickly steeled himself. One would think that Gylfi would exploit his far superior reach; not only was he tall, but his arms were long as well.

Instead, Gylfi charged Magrin and locked his hands behind his opponent's head, pressing his elbows into Magrin's shoulders to prevent him from delivering any strong blows, and used his strength to pull his head down.

His left knee shot up towards the man's gut, and a second would follow whether the first was blocked or not.

Magrin Kor

 

[Magrin Kor]

Everything was happening quickly. As soon as Magrin had thrown his first blows Gylfi was retaliating. When hands locked back around behind his head, elbows pressing his shoulders down Magrin felt the strength of his opponent. Not only was he tall, long limbed and strong but he was also quick.

After Magrin's head went down in the clinch he had some idea of what his opponent was doing and he'd instinctively cross his arms, left over right and bring out his hands to jam Glyfi's knee as it shot up towards his gut so that he could follow by extending his arms, driving them in towards his opponents hip so that he could push backwards to offbalance him marginally. Even blocking the knee Magrin still felt Glyfi's power, a combination of those knees would have ended him.

Once he'd blocked the first knee Magrin and followed by extending his arms he'd actually shoot his left arm back so that the elbow came tight to his side before the arm drove up towards the underside of Gylfi's right arm beneath the bicep, just behind the elbow. Pushing up to loosen the clinch Magrin would duck his head to slip Gylfi's grasp and step around on his opponents right side so that the second knee only glanced the outside of his hip. It stung and would leave a noticeable bruise but adrenaline was fueling Magrin now brought on from the blood leaking from his scalp down the side of his face.

As he was coming around out of the clinch on the right of his opponent Magrin's right arm would naturally drag itself across Gylfi's midsection while the left swept out to come around his lower back so that Magrin could clamp his palms together and lift up, attempting to put Gylfi into a side body lock before lifting up to slam him back down into the floor of the Mead Hall....

Gylfi Runarsson

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

The fight, happened sooner than he expected, truthfully. Between two equally idiotic entities.

Fights were expected wherever his people gathered, warranted or otherwise.

He looked towards Hugi, then to the gathered company around Maude. Despite his attacks against the undead, ghosts, Vampires, creatures of all shapes and sizes, bandits, soldiers- the entirety of the Spine thrown at him, he couldn't bring himself to move over to talk to Maude, and interrupt their conversation.

So much for courage under fire.

 

[Maude]

She'd have been blind and deaf not to notice the brawl breaking out further down the hall. Already a crowd had begun to form around the two men, jeers and cheering echoing up into the open rafters. Maude sighed and decided to drown her irritation in more food and beer. Fights tended to unwind fairly quickly during celebrations, she'd give them five minutes to get it out of their system before intervening. Maybe.

Brenna's signed words were coming to her in fits and spurts of recognition. More than violence. Beginning of war. Those she understood well enough. It behooved her to keep some things close to the chest until more information was uncovered and they were further along in their investigation. What they really needed right now was a Blod'valhar. Alive and talking.

"War, no," the Queen shook her head, picking through her plate for a piece of dark meat, "an interruption to my peace and plans? Yes."

They didn't know enough yet to understand the level of threat currently hiding in wait. She could only hope there were far less people loyal to Borvenir's cause than she thought. Maude took another bite of her meal, chewing pensively as she considered the perceptiveness of the girl before her attention settled on the carved boat.

"What have you there, Valthar?"

 

[Gylfi Runarsson]

Gylfi immediately recognized what was happening as Magrin slipped and reversed the clinch. However, as the shorter man locked his grip and lifted, Gylfi was helpless to do anything but repeatedly hammer a fist into his back in a vain struggle. As he was lifted, Gylfi's feet swung in an arc through the air, and the young man came crashing down into a table. The wood was sturdy, though, under the boy's weight aided by the forceful throw, it splintered apart with a loud crack.

The boy groaned as he scrambled off his back. A trail of blood ran down his forehead and the bridge of his nose, but he ignored that and the pain he felt in his shoulder. In a rage-fueled rush, he swiftly rose to his feet with a table leg in his hand, slipping on a chunk of wood in the process.

He threw the wood at Magrin before shooting low into the man, driving his shoulder into his midsection and grasping him behind his thighs before lifting the man up in an attempt to force his back into the floor.

 

[Baise]

"Hmm?" Valthar turned up from the table. The fight had barely registered on his attention span and even his queen's words took a few seconds to register.

"It is a small model of my boat that Brenna carved for me to welcome me home," he said plainly. He pushed the boat out onto the table where Maude could see it, but not where anyone else could reach it.

He winced as the table cracked. He turned to see a table leg getting thrown.

"That is getting out of hand now," he said with a shake of his head. When a weapon was involved, even a table leg, it was usually the time several others became Svalen and pinned them down. And then ensured they had fresh drinks.

 

[Brenna]

Brenna mulled over the Queens words whilst moving food around on her plate. They didn't exactly bring her any kind of comfort. It felt like a very diplomatic way of saying not yet. Perhaps it depended on if the killer they were after was who they suspected it was. Before she could mull it over much more she caught Valthar putting the gift she had given him onto the table. Her whole body went rigid as the abject horror that only a little sister could get for an embarrassing thing her brother did, played across her face. She silently prayed to every god she knew to let the ground open beneath her and swallow her whole. If they had been at home she might have punched him but she settled for a more subtle kick under the table at his shins as she slid down in the chair a fraction. Her face was burning.

It was only when her brother turned around to look at something over his shoulder and Maude looked past them that she realised something more was going on in the hall. Taking the opportunity to not have to think of the fact her brother had just shown off one of her crude workmanship to the Queen she turned too to have a look. It was the man that she had knocked previously that evening. Perhaps their evening could have been very different. She turned back in her seat and decided instead to focus on removing the heat still apparent on her cheeks with the alcohol in front of her.

 

[Magrin Kor]

As Gylfi got back to his feet Magrin was there to meet him. When the table leg was thrown at him Magrin bobbed his head, moving it laterally so that it passed over his shoulder rather than hitting him squarely though the momentary distraction would prove to be to his opponents advantage. As he recovered to an upright position a shoulder drove itself into his abdomen causing Magrin to clench his teeth together in discomfort.

As he was being taken off his feet Magrin had the sense of mind to wrap his arm downwards in an attempt to trap Gylfi’s head in the crevice of his arm and cinch it up in a powerful hold that saw him snaking his forearm around his throat, hooking underneath the jaw in the process. It would be a powerful hold and even when Magrin’s back slammed into the floor of the Mead Hall, rattling his bones he’d squeeze his muscles to maintain rather loosening his grip.

On his back, fresh blood mingling with dried ichor in his scalp where the earlier wound continued to bleed Magrin would blink back the jarring sensation that filled his mind following impact and bring his free arm across in a hammerfist towards what he hoped was the back of Gylfi’s neck for a stunning blow. All this so that following the strike he could extend that same arm down over the shoulder Gylfi had planted into him and try to wrap it inwards, through the armpit of the corresponding arm and cinch it under his opponents chest with his other hand to both trap that arm and lock in a tighter choke

Despite landing hard on his back, his senses reeling but quickly returning all he was beginning to see was red; perhaps it was blood leaking into the corner of one of his eyes or it was rage, growing steadily as the confrontation continued.

 

[Maude]

Maude cocked a loaded eyebrow at the girl, a wry smile crossing the Queen's lips at her apparent embarrassment. She lifted her horn of ale, loosing a good-natured chuckle over the moment and the gesture. An earnest gift from the heart from a loved one, how novel, how sweet. She went to take a drink and that was the same moment the sound of a feast hall table cracking beneath the weight of a flung body filled the spaces between the cheering.

Maude sputtered into her drink.

"This is getting out of hand now."

Did they just break a mead hall table? Jorn Helle, standing somewhere off to the side, was covered in ale and looking livid. Dammit.

Coughing, Maude stood from her seat and pulled in a deep breath of air to unleash a bellowing order,

"GET THEM OUT!"​

And many were quite willing to comply, both in human and svalen form, armored and not.

 

[Hugi]

Hugi plunked the rib back onto his plate as the wooden carving was shown. Had the loud cracking of a table not caught his attention, he might of looked it over after asking as best he could to see it. His sisters words however had him moving quickly, without bumping the table surprisingly. The bear lazily laid itself over, back as high as those seated around the table before standing on all fours and pushing his way through the crowd. Other svalen were moving towards the scuffle, and the repeated annoyed roar from Hugi had them stopping as he came into view of the pair.

The bear did little more than asses the situation for a breath, eyes scanning for the nearest door before a paw swiped at the fighter on top. Half a ton of force pushed Gylfi, the large bear moving closer as the other paw was set on the chest of the one on the ground. His full weight was not on top of Magrin, but it was ready to do so as the other continued to fend off the other one with annoyed snarls and bared teeth.

Gylfi Runarsson Magrin Kor

 

[Baise]

Brenna Ardullsson

Valthar used the distraction to slide the carving off the table and into his bag. He also used the time to rub his shin whilst grimacing at his sister.

The Queen was briefly still on her feet and most attention was turned to the loyal drinkers who were now ushering out the brawlers. Breaking a table and using the leg as a weapon was too far. They would cool off outside in the biting winds.

How is...everyone... Valthar signed before picking up his ale. He had to keep his eyes fixed on Brenna over the rim.

 

[Brenna]

Brenna had never been a big drinker but the time she was spending with the other cadets was changing that rapidly: so was the return of her brother apparently. She had downed the whole horn by the time Hugi had got up. One of the others at the table seemed to raise an eyebrow with an impressed look about their features as she put the horn back on the table. Her eyes flicked briefly to her brother as she noticed him slyly put the carving away and at his grimace she gave him a smirk. For a moment it was like they were at home again messing around. Deciding to also go back to the basic form of signs for him to get him back into the feel for the language she began:

Mother is... she thought you were dead, Val. She didn't need to expand much more on it. Brenna's accident had broken their mother in a way that could never be undone. Uncle is fine, he is looking after the Protectors now for Erik. A hesitation. When he had left she had been gearing up to be a teacher and a vital part of the community that raised the cubs. How would he take such news? And I joined him.

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

A voice snapped out of his trance, watching Maude ascend to deal with the rowdy ne'er-do-wells, and give voice to command.

As the Queen so wished.

Arnor was one of many who descended, but it was only Arnor who, in the human form, was slipping over his knuckles, something he picked up from the Orcs. They called them knuckles, which he found slightly ironic since they went over your actual knuckles. But getting punched in the face, in this case, with Dwarven steel behind a fist... was usually less than ideal. He considered the notion of going, well, to being into a giant bear and all, but, he had a list of reasons to not do that presently.

Mostly related due to him liking the shirt he was wearing.

He stood near Hugi, posed to give them even more problems than the bear was.

"I think your fight's finished, lads."

 

[Gylfi Runarsson]

The arm that slipped under his jaw was something to be concerned about. Escaping the hold was a priority, and he struggled to do so. The hammerfist that Magrin dropped missed its target, hitting Gylfi's back as a result of his desperate struggle to escape the hold and to posture up on top of the grey-haired man.

However, none of that would happen as Gylfi was knocked away from Magrin by a large, heavy paw. He hadn't heard the cheers cease, his thundering heartbeat drowned out all noise. For a moment, Gylfi struggled against the paw that held him back until gruff words rang in his ears.

"I think your fight's finished, lads."

Gylfi's booming heartbeat simmered as his breathing settled, and the young man took a glance at the crowd that had gathered. What was originally a rowdy bunch of spectators became a silent and serious group.

The word of a Queen had that effect, apparently.

Gylfi stopped trying to push past the paw and instead slumped down onto his rear end to rest. A pair of fingers tested the cut on his forehead; it was shallow and would heal by the end of the night. He shot a glance up at Arnor and those intimidating steel tools over his knuckles.

Magrin Kor Hugi Arnor Skuldsson

 

[Maude]

Maude glowered after Hugi's form, watching from where she stood at the end of the hall as he trundled through the crowd to pull apart the two brutes in question. Couldn't see who it was from here and to this she grunted, "Who is it?"

Hagen pushed forward through the crowd, looking amused and sloshing his horn of ale as he looked back, "Gylfi - I think."

Maude grumbled, "Figures...who else?"

"Don't know his face," Hagen admitted with a shrug, "he smells like a dog."

The Queen's brow furrowed at this and she gestured to the man, "Bring them here."

Hagen sighed, turned back to the crowd, and pushed his way back through.

"Dott'rhi," Aether patted at her arm as Maude took her seat again and leaned in to speak to her privately in Fiirevik, his gaze shifting to Brenna Ardullsson as they spoke. After a few moments of discussion she nodded to him.

"Brenna," Aether leaned forward from his seat, tapping a hand on the table in her direction to catch her attention, "have you notes of your expanded lexicon - written?"

Hagen appeared behind Arnor Skuldsson and stepped around into view of Hugi, looking down at Magrin Kor and then over to Gylfi Runarsson with a look of bridled enthusiasm, "Well done," his tone did not match the congratulations, "the Queen wants a word with you two."

 

[Magrin Kor]

As his opponent struggled Magrin was preparing to tighten his hold and cinch it in tio prevent him from posturing up without laboring himself further however all that seemed to come to an end when the weight of the man suddenly disappeared.

As he looked up at Hugi, his paw ontop of him Magrin only raised his left hand to check the cut he'd received to the side of the head which still bled, mixing with his grayed hair though it was slowing. By tomorrow the wound would be a distant memory. Due to his own condition it would likely be gone within the hour, perhaps a faint scar would remain somewhere in his hairline but it would be unrecognizable to anyone who didn't know what they were looking for.

Scanning the men looming over him, including Arnor Skuldsson and the other Nordenfiir Magrin only grunted out a quick..."Just wanted another drink."...but he'd never gotten that far before he and Gylfi Runarsson had engaged one another. How would it have ended? Magrin had no idea but he'd remember Gylfi, perhaps the two could settle any lingering feelings of malcontent another time.

In any event as Hagen appeared Magrin seemed to have little choice but to reply..."Alright."...before waiting to be allowed back onto his feet as he remained down on his back, laying against the floor of the Mead Hall that had broken his fall after he was tackled.

Maude

 

[Baise]

And I joined him.

Valthar had never been as simultaneously relieved and horrified by a piece of news. Valthar had lost track of everything in Pandemonium. His svalen had suddenly emerged and the world had been blood and pain and anger.

"But your injury..." he hissed.

"Brenna," Aether leaned forward from his seat, tapping a hand on the table in her direction to catch her attention, "have you notes of your expanded lexicon - written?"

Valthar fell into a sullen silence with a glare that suggested the conversation was not over.

At one time it had seemed that she would be the one to raise an axe and take after their father. His mother had never felt disappointment, but his home town certainly had when Valthar hadnt stepped into Ardul's shoes.

Ardul's name had echoed through these halls in years gone by. He even had a song. Valthar would feel nothing but pride if she were to reach such acclaim, but she was supposed to avoid any blows to the head.

 

[Brenna]

Brenna didn't need to hear in order to sense the tone of his comment and she winced. It seemed now it was her turn for the sibling ire. She wasn't even sure how to begin explaining it to him in a few stolen moments whilst they were sat at the table with the Queen and her court. But she was saved the hassle when she felt the vibrations of Aether's hand on the table. Her eyes flicked from there to his face to read his words.

Glancing briefly at Val with an expression that said a great many things she turned her attention back to Aether and nodded. She had been with the scholars before she had gone to find news on Valthar so she actually had more than usual with her in terms of her work. Quickly she rummaged through the satchel and brought out a series of carefully tied together pieces of parchment and the original book she had helped publish all those years ago.

We're working on adding tone at the moment, Brenna explained as she turned the sheets around to face him. On there were lists of written words and then exquisitely drawn images of hands in the correct posture step by step guiding the reader through the movement. It went from standard words which could be performed with just one hand whilst the other built up tone, meaning and depth. The purpose was all written down so she didn't need to explain it to him. There were bundles on a range of topics from hunting through to teaching children maths. You would like to learn? A tilt of the head. If he didn't know Signs then it would probably at least come across as a query as to why he was interested.

 

[Hugi]

Hugi allowed the man to stand, giving both a healthy look before nodding for them to lead the way back to the table. He could easily reach out and separate the pair, but if he had to turn around to do it. There wouldn't be any guarantee that another fight wouldn't start by the time he got turned around. His gaze fell to Arnor, eyes narrowing before giving a chuff at the man and moving forward.

The flower smell did not upset it, as the southland had extensive fields dedicated to them, and small places in the cities also designed just for the display of those pretty smelling flowers. No, what had annoyed him was that the man had been hanging out in some dingy corner somewhere watching while Maude addressed her guests.

His eyes moved over Arnor once more, and a gentle but firm paw kept him moving along with the other two to the table that Maude sat at.