Quest Southward [A Tundra Tale]

[Brenna]

Ensuring Maude still had the skin of meade should she need it, Bre passed her first aid supplies to Talus and Mika in case they should have need for them on top of this 'Rune Magic'. She had only ever heard of such a thing being used on weapons, not on people, and she was curious to see how it worked even if she didn't entirely trust it. Or him for that matter. But if Maude had allowed him on this trip then he must of had her blessing and the young bear was content with that. Instead she stood and decided to make herself more useful elsewhere.

Like calming Hugi down.

Walking over to where the great bear was pacing Bre gently placed a hand on his fur. It had been hard for her to really understand anything the great man had said on their trip with his helmet covering his face, instead she had been getting drips based on what others said back to him. It meant she was unsure how this would go with limited communication.

Once her first touch had Hugi's attention she gently scratched behind the big bears ear and stroked down his fur around his face gently in the aim to calm his nerves. It worked with the cubs when they were upset so why not a great hulking mountain? Sometimes people just needed touch to soothe. She made sure she kept eye contact as she spoke.

"She is ok," Brenna said the words quietly, slowly and awkwardly but she new Hugi needed to hear them. Knew she would need the same if it was Valthar laying on the ground.

 

[Solveig Odasson]

Solveig caught the hint as Magrin Kor grabbed him, and seconds before he went flying it processed into his brain. There was a slight delay in comprehension though. Shock. Confusion. Indignation. All flashed across his face before SUDDENLY he was airborn. A split second later a towering, but relatively svelt, black bear was hurtling through the air, roaring in consternation at being thrown, and roaring in pain from roaring in consternation.

Moments later the bear curled into a ball and began spinning freely. Just a breath after that, he impacted into the snow, leaving a bear shaped cannnonball dent a dozen or so feet from Maude and sending up spray of snow into the air. Coughing emerged from the pit, and then a pack was heaved up, spilling contents including food, mead, a wax sealed lead flask carved with runes, and oddly enough a set of pipes for music and even a scarf. One didn't question one's current paramour when she demanded you take an extra layer. Particularly not when her nickname was 'Bear-fist'. Hands scrabbled for a moment trying to claw out before disappearing. Muttered curses, directed at Magrin with almost affection, were heard.

 

[Gylfi Runarsson]

Gylfi, slowly but surely, made his way down the slope. At the same time that Gylfi rejoined the group, a certain idiot made a climactic entrance. Gylfi approached the hole and having recognized the bag that was tossed from it, he leaned over and looked down with a smug grin.

"Hi, Solveig." Gylfi pushed a small bit of snow into the hole with his foot and then pushed another larger pile in for good measure. Chuckling, he turned and walked away. He passed by the group around Maude and only spared a glance before approaching Brenna and Hugi.

The note, which Gylfi'd quickly stuffed into a pouch, was in his hand again. He held it out to her, a frown on his face. The young man was able to read some of the now-crumpled note- enough to get a general understanding of it, anyway.

"Can't read," he shot a sideways glance at the bear next to Brenna, "and I am not Grumpy Bear."

Embarrassment from admitting his illiteracy pacified Gylfi's normal sour attitude.

 

[Magrin Kor]

The Axe created some drag as Magrin slid down the slope towards the others, the deeper it cut through the snow the more chance it had at encountering rock which it did. As the weapon scraped across buried stone, its cleft catching here and there Magrin was able to control most of his descent. It wasn't until the last portion of the slope that he lost control and was swung forward.

Toppling forward he would have landed on hands and knees, his axe skittering out of his grasp until it lay motionless several feet from him. Breathing, Magrin would have sat backwards and reached for the Axe before rising back up to his feet. As he stood the axe went back into the leather loop on his belt where he kept it safely stowed over his right hip.

Slowly gaining his bearings he would have identified Solveig Odasson by the hole that he noticed Gylfi pushing snow into. As he approached he would have pushed past Gylfi. He wasn't trying to instigate a fight but Solveig was his ward, only Magrin was allowed to push snow down onto him. When Magrin came closer to the hole he'd have looked down inside towards Solveig, then he extended a hand. Maybe Solveig thought Magrin was reaching for him, to help him up but no he'd actually spotted the bottle of mead that had spilled out of his pack and leaned down to pick it up.

"Walk it off."...was the perennial advice that he offered the Smith before bringing the bottle of mead to his lips and uncorking it with a tug of the teeth. The Bottle was raised higher then, Magrin took a long pull from the contents and then turned as though sense he wasn't the only one that needed this.

Footsteps, crunching through the snow heralded his approach before he loomed over Maude and extended the bottle to her..."You need this."...was all he said, all but forcing the drink down and into her hand irregardless of what was happening around him before moving away. At that point he'd move back to check on Solveig.

 

[Maude]

Maude growled and glowered at the proffered skins of mead. Irritated at her shit luck dogging her steps so early in the expedition, she shoved them both aside and nodded for the Dreadlord to approach. Her knowledge of his ... people, cult, whatever it was, was severely lacking on all fronts. But Mika trusted the man and he'd given her no reason not to, aside from his penchant to finish a fight he didn't start. Couldn't hardly blame him for that.

"Go on then," she grumbled up at him, working to peel off the two separate pieces of armor covering the bleeding wound, "just don't make it any worse, eh?" A grimace settling onto her face, the Queen leaned away to give the man space to work, jaw set in preparation for ... well she had no idea what.

Talus

 

[Hugi]

Hugi continued to pace back and forth, and the approach of Brenna did little to ease his discomfort. The brown and wheat gold bear paused for a brief second, intending to get some distance between himself and the scene behind him. The scratching behind his ears felt nice though, and he remained quiet for a moment as she spoke. The snuffling nose came towards her, gently bopping her brow as he stopped attempting to pace. A small sign of thanks as the loud group showed up.

 

[Brenna]

The bop made Brenna's cheeks dimple as she smiled and she inclined her head before her eyes shifted to the group that had just arrived. Her hand stilled on Hugi's fur as Sol's black hide cannonballed into the snow. Many questions rose to mind but her attention was distracted when she caught Valthar's scent. The breath she didn't know she was holding left her and she shut her eyes, quietly thanking any Gods that were listening. She gave Hugi another scratch absentmindedly.

But then a note was being shoved into her hand and she opened her eyes again, catching the sentence just in time. Unable to read but could understand her Signs? Interesting. Bre pocketed the note quietly. Either way it seemed to be a half apology for his behaviour. She had to go on her tip toes to do so but she reached up and gently patted his cheek.

Forgiven, the gesture said.

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

After Arnor found himself situated, and recovered from the incident, he rejoined the others. Eyes downcast at the Dreadlord, having only ever met one other in his life. He wasn't a fan of her either. Arnor hadn't said anything since he was yanked out of the snow, and was standing firmly away from everyone.

Normally, Arnor was a social person- but since his expedition back to the Tundra, he had grown into a sort of social recluse. For now, he watched Maude being worked over, and kept watch to make sure the very things they were hunting weren't taking advantage of the situation at hand.

 

[Talus]

In the back of his mind he wondered just how he’d actually gotten himself here, after a few seconds his head simply shook and he crouched down besides the queen.

Without really thinking he tore off a piece of his fur cloak in one swift motion, grabbing the underside of the Queen’s leg and holding it firmly in place. The young Dreadlord was no medic, and his bedside manner was about as shit as could be.

He’d learned to do this at the Academy, and the only other person he’d used it on was himself.

Without warning Talus wiped away some of the blood from over Maude’s wound, likely sending an excruciating amount of pain through her leg.

Before she could jerk and pull away though Talus’ grip tightened, and then as the blood spilled from her wound he used it to draw a quick symbol. The rune came into being within seconds, drawn on pale flesh in deep crimson. Then as he connected the last line light poured from the Rune itself.

In an instant Maude would feel agony as her skin, muscle, and sinew suddenly began to regrow all at once.

Instead of taking months to heal, the Rune forced the Queen’s flesh to knit itself back together.

 

[Solveig Odasson]

Momentary pause at the audacity of Magrin Kor before he shook his head, eyes shining in amusement. It did little good to have such a sense of humor and love of pranks as he did, but get offended when others returned it in kind. With a heave and grunt, he was levered out of the hole with surprising agility for his size. It was in time enough to see Talus do the work on Maude , which he did spare a moment to watch.

Approaching, he watched the Dreadlord for a moment before speaking, the act causing him obvious pain, and holding up the sealed vial.

"Dragon blood. Fresh. If need for her."

Pointing at his jaw to indicate he wasn't able to speak well due to injury, he turned his eyes to Maude and the others, watching, a raised eyebrow and bowed head to the Queen indicating he was ready to help as needed.

 

[Baise]

Valthar had returned to group in what was apparently the most relaxed manner. It was a little frantic to slide down the fresh snow, but he managed it in his svalen form.

He got more snow on his fur from another one of the party landing heavily close to him. Valthar shook himself, rolling his head form side to side to flick the snow away from his coat before it sank in.

Valthar had drifted quietly through all the drama. Despite being deaf his sister was socialising with the group more than him. He felt no jealousy for that; Valthar was quite content keeping himself to himself. He found some firm ground and shifted back into his usual form.

 

[Magrin Kor]

When the Mead was rejected by Maude he knew better than to force it on her. Instead Magrin would have shrugged his shoulders as he turned away to check on Solveig Odasson. Raising the mead back to his mouth he took another drink as he came closer to Solveig.

Unlike the others Magrin seemed much more at home with the idea that the Dreadlord would heal the Queen. The Nord didn’t know Talus at all though he had some understanding of Rune Magic himself which was best left unsaid in most circumstances as its utility use was likely different in his case. Either way Magrin had heard the Queen consent to the Dreadlord’s attempt to heal her the same as the rest so it was done for him.

When he came closer to Sovleig, aware of the pain in the mans voice he’d have slapped the mead into his hand instead and offered some sage advice…”Don’t spend it all in one place.”…before wandering away. It didn’t appear he had any inclination to loom over Maude as many others did, waiting to see if the magic would heal her.

Moving through the snow Magrin would position himself on what appeared to be a small rise in elevation, a buried rocky outcropping perhaps or some other natural formation. From there he could raise his right hand, press it over his brow and take a lay of the land from their current location. He wasn’t a scout but wandering had attuned his talent for observation.

Nordengaard was a dangerous and unforgiving place but beautiful in its own right. Glancing back over his shoulder he’d have looked in the direction of the others then his eyes went forward and he looked out over the landscape…

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

This clingy part of her that had grown so attached to Maude so fast really wanted to stay by her side, but the redhead was a seasoned warrior who didn’t need anyone to hold her hand, aside from that, Mikaela trusted Talus to do a good job. When the mead was refused, Mika took a couple of steps back while holding the potentially useful goods given by Brenna close against her chest. Her heart was heavy, but when the wound started to close she knew it was a matter of time. Perhaps Maude would have to sleep and be carried, but every bear would be willing to do that. She let them be, knowing she would thank Talus later.

As she made her way to Brenna she thought to see one of their party’s members put snow back into the hole another one was climbing out. Either they were messing around or one was being childish. Throughout the journey it surely would become clear. She kept it in mind as she reached her destination.

“I think she won’t need this, but thank you. Brenna, right?” Mikaela spoke, carefully handing back the goods. “My name is Mikaela, most call me Mika.” she grinned, a friendly grin.

Now that they’ve made acquaintance, it was time to see whether Maude would move on her own or someone would carry her. Thinking about it, she wondered what was best, for someone experienced and strong to do it, or one of the younger bears - should it come to that - because if they were to be attacked, the older bears would form a way better defense.

Sharply looking around her gaze fell upon the other ‘foreigner’. She thought his name to be Magrin, but wasn’t sure. Either way, he was on the lookout, something she should have been doing even when Maude got hurt. How stupid of her, again she was failing at decently performing her task.

Heading there through the snow while attaching the shield to her back again, she looked around another time. For now everything was white, pristine. That might quickly change, and they were wide open.

“Anything that’s caught your attention so far? Magrin, right?”

* * *​

 

[Magrin Kor]

While he had heard her approach he never turned his head to regard her, suffice it to say that Magrin was exactly sure who was coming towards him but he knew it was a member of their party which ensured he remained at ease. When he heard her voice there was a familiarity in it though he hadn't spoken to Mikaela Ryurik until now, keeping the company of those he knew such as Brenna or Solveig.

Lowering his hand from his brow Magrin would glance back towards her before replying...."Only the snow."...in regards to her inquiry as to whether or not anything had caught his attention. Allowing his footing to shift in the snow so that he could adjust his stance and turn his gaze more fully onto her he'd have nodded his head once..."That's right, Magrin Kor."...up close to him she may have recognized that his features were actually distinctive to Nordengaard. Magrin wasn't a Nordenfiir but he was a Nord.

Gazing at her, the wind blowing some of his graying hair across his features he'd have went on to say..."Your name is Mikaela?"...he'd heard it in passing throughout the journey when she was mentioned and in the Mead Hall at the beginning when Maude had given out assignments, his memory was at least somewhat keen when it came to names. She had also come with the Dreadlord in her company.

Looking back out across the mountains Magrin seemed ill at ease though it wasn't uncommon for the Nord to look grim however he was soon commenting that..."Depending on how well Maude can move it might be to our benefit if we find a place to camp before it's to late. Somewhere further down and out of the wind or a cave if we're lucky enough to happen upon one."...she was the Scout but he offered his own thoughts and waited to hear what her reaction was however Maude would have the final say regardless of what the two of them discussed. It was always worthwhile to be prepared though and several of then may need some recovery time.

 

[Maude]

"RRRRAAAAAAUUUGHHHH!"

She'd managed to bite back her pain at the man-handling of her leg but the magic that had begun to heal the wound was something else entirely. Felt like fire the way they used hot iron to sterilize and seal open wounds when there was no other choice. The agony tore a snarling wail out of her, and by the time it had subsided she was so struck on breath and energy she'd felt like she'd been caught in ten avalanches.

Maude made several gasping attempts to catch her breath, collapsing back into the snow with heated fog spilling out of her lungs. For a moment a debilitating exhaustion settled into her body not unlike one she'd felt after marching for several days into battle. Sleep tried to creep in, nearly took her, then fell back at a mental well of stubborn fire. Teeth grit, the Queen pushed herself to sit up, taking a handful of snow and pressing it into her face. She wiped the frozen chill over her eyes and down her cheeks before tossing the handful away.

"We press on," a growled announcement, "we do not stop again until we reach the outpost. Everyone back in formation."

She turned a sharp look up at the Dreadlord and give him a single, silent nod of thanks. Both hands reached for her armor to strap back to her leg and then Maude was on her feet, unsteady but wholly obstinate.

The outpost was another long trek that would take them into the evening hours of the next day to reach, but they would reach it without further mishap. A seasonal snowstorm greeted them at the entrance, but not a single face appeared within the old, dark walls of what had once been Frostpeak Keep. The interior seemed silent and still as the group stepped in through the outer gate.

"There should be-" Maude, presently walking with the aid of Arnor Skuldsson had burnt through her remaining reserves of determination and now stayed awake only on the fumes of her stubbornness, "a Ranger here."

 

[Solveig Odasson]

The old keep appeared abandoned, and there was an air the Solveig associate with fallow fields and forge-coals gone dark. An air that rose the hackles on his neck. Stepping forward, he eased the axe from it's loop, spinning it deftly into his hand as he drew the long-knife from his belt, reversing the grip. The axe begin to faintly glow, and he grabbed Magrin Kor 's attention, nodding into the keep. His expression worn was clear. His antics could make him seem to be unreliable. But he was far from it. This might be a good chance to prove he had some worse. Worsening swelling in his jaw had seen him silent for the past day. But, one more time, he made the half-nod to the entrance, and waited.

 

[Hugi]

Hugi winced at the sound of pain from Maude, but did not argue with her about travelling, however his eyes narrowed at the hiss of steam that came off her. Saying nothing, he resigned himself to his original duty of escorting Valthar. Shifting eventually after some time to calm, he kept glancing at Maude.

As they traveled, a scent on the wind caught his attention. It wasn't far off the path they trekked as he strode through the snow, nose sniffing harshly as he looked back and forth, finally finding the scent of flowers and sinew in one of the tree branches he tugged at.

It smelled strangely of dried flowers, and something wild, making the hackles on Hugi rise sharply as he kept a more watchful eye until they made it to the outpost. The realization that people were missing made him shiver. How could so many just, leave or vanish? His brow drew tight, eyes trying to adjust to the dark as his hands silently brought the dual axes forward.

The large man stood beside the outer wall, eyes up and down on it before looking back to Maude. "This silence is deafening, and reeks of trouble." He sniffed again, senses heightening in preparation for a fight.

 

[Brenna]

Perhaps it was the fact Sol's jaw was basically swollen shut or maybe it was the air that hung over the group after the avalanche but the gentle banter that had been before had gone. Everyone seemed more alert, speaking low on the odd occasion or not at all. At least, it seemed, the uncomfortable air had gone from Gylfi Runarsson. She had not pushed conversation but she had offered him a bit of her mead as another quiet gesture of peace. He hadn't snorted at her so it was a marked improvement.

For the most part though she just kept her head down and focused on putting one foot in front of the other, her mind drifting to thoughts on what her brother had told her in confidence before they had left the capital. The eerie quiet didn't help such dark concerns.

As they came to a stop before the outpost she shivered and instinctively took a step closer to her brother, her nose scrunching up at the smells that came off the place.

It smells like fear.

The weight of her sword was comforting on her hip and she carefully eased her shield down and off her pack where it had hung till now.

 

[Magrin Kor]

The Trek had taken them onwards through the snow covered peak. Magrin had kept a handle on his charge, keeping close to Solveig and assisting him when appropriate but otherwise remaining out of the way so that the Smith could handle himself. He was a large man so it did him no favors to have Magrin keeping to close an eye.

The Outpost known as Frostpeak Keep was a welcome sight as the snowstorm greeted them and Magrin, clutching the woolen cloak hanging from his shoulders in one had welcomed the sight even as it appeared devoid of light or life.

As the group moved forward Magrin would have turned his head towards Solveig Odasson, the glow from his axe having caught the Nords attention. Magrin understood what he wanted, somewhere in his aft he heard Maude mention that a Ranger should have been here and he couldn't help but state the obvious..."Probably dead."...it was merely the probability of the situation but looking back at Solveig he would have said quietly...."You should let that Dreadlord lay hands on your jaw."

The Others seemed to agree that the smell of fear, of death hung silent over this place but inhaling deeply, his senses as sharp as anyone's Magrin would grunt..."Smells like shit."...before craning his head towards Solveig. Reaching for the Axe he wore over his right hip with the same hand Magrin would pull it free of the leather loop there, fingers wrapped tightly around the haft of the weapon as he let it remain at hip level, hovering in his hold.

Nodding to Solveig he would move forward, one foot over the other as he let careful strides take him further into the courtyard beyond the outer gate...

 

[Solveig Odasson]

He stalked forward, letting the comment for the Dreadlord go unanswered. It was a private battle. Not one he expected Magrin Kor to fully grasp. A talent at the forge had always overriden his quirks. But this expedition was quietly reminding him he had, perhaps, grown too comfortable in existence. Let his personality grow too large and grand.

There wasn't a need to drain the Dreadlord so he could speak. It was set. It would heal.

Setting his shoulders he peered forward as his guide led the way. Without a doubt, Magrin was the more seasoned fighter. And so he let him lead the way. Solveig scanned the sides and other places it would be hard to keep an eye on at point. And silently waited for... Whatever set a pall of dread over the place.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

An order was an order so they followed through. No stopping, not even when Mika thought that for Maude’s own health it might be better to take a break. Of course she didn’t go against the redhead, that, however, didn’t take away the worry she felt.

Fortunately there was plenty to take into account and to examine on their way down. Talus was as strong as she expected him to be. Surely it had something to do with the magic running through his veins. Now that she’s had quite some time to think about it, when she had met him he should have been dead if he had been a mere human, a frozen corpse in the snow. Yet he had marched on, a strong will was necessary, but there was more, had been from the start. Mika had simply missed it.

Rubbing the snow out of her eyes as they neared the Outpost she felt uneasy. One of the first thing she smelled, or rather didn’t, was the lack of fire. With the wind blowing in their faces surely some of the smoke coming off a nice fire would have reached them. She knew how burning wood smelled, she loved the scent. Instead of that, there was a certain reek. Too sweet and sharp to her liking, like rotten fruit. It left a taste of decay in her mouth, and by the time Maude announced that there should have been a Ranger inside Mika’s hand had detached her spear from behind the shield and other goods she was carrying.

Her eyes narrowed. Uncomfortably she shifted, sniffing.

A decomposing body?
Was that the smell?

She remained by the open gate, she wanted to see whether something was about to come at them from the side of the mountain or the side buildings as the others walked in. Unsure if this was to be a trap of sorts, the young Nordenfiir wondered if it would be best to close off the gate or make sure it wouldn’t be closed from the outside. Both options had their advantages and disadvantages.

For now she let Magrin and Broken Jaw be the vanguard. She would try to make sure nothing would hit them from the back, or at least hope to be on time to warn them properly should that would about to become the case.

* * *​

 

[Arnor Skuldsson]

The odor hit Arnor, and he let Maude down quietly, glancing to and fro.

Sure enough, there was supposed to be a Ranger meeting them here. But surely they would've noticed the party coming forward. Arnor drew his sword only slightly, to make sure it hadn't frozen in it's scabbard. He turned his head quickly to the Queen, before drawing his sword completely, as quietly as he could.

Arnor had a good intuition, and perhaps even a sixth sense. Living by himself in an environment and place that was routinely raided, pillaged and attacked every other month seemed to give him a good grasp of when danger was approaching or when they were headed into it.

The courtyard was bare, empty. And no tracks, no fires lit.

No one was here, or they had set into the warmth of the interior. But it wasn't even a heavy snowfall, and he doubted these were the kind of Norden to set themselves into comfort when they had a task to complete.

Arnor rotated the sword in his hand, turning to Maude, only halfway.

"Should be, indeed."

 

[Maude]

Maude found a large rock to set down on and gracelessly put herself there with the help of Arnor. She was spent, mind and body, and worried that sitting too long would lead to sleeping. Until they understood the status of the Outpost, that just wasn't an option. She smeared another handful of snow across her face with a deep and heavy sigh, giving Arnor a weary glance as he readied for whatever threat might greet them.

With a sound of effort she pushed herself back to her feet and made to follow the others inside. No sense in breaking up the group now.

INSIDE THE OUTPOST​

It was still and eerily quiet. To the trained Ranger or Hunter, some tracks could be seen beneath the freshly fallen snow. Enough to indicate that several people had been here, but likely not for some time. The stale scent of blood and death was on the air, faintly and not in strong abundance.

HAW

The raucous, shrill cry of a herrevan speared the silence. Maude looked up, spying the creature up on the weathervane.

HAW HAW HAAA-OOOWLS THE WOLF IN THE BEAR DEN!

Maude felt a grimace sink into her face. Herrevans weren't fully sentient creatures, but their intelligence often made them seem so. Their ability to formulate sentences ... if one could call their riddled speaking sentences ... from words learned by mimicking was uncanny to say the least. Many liked to believe it was a side effect of being first created by the witches, long before their kind were cast out from Norden society.

"The Ranger must still be here ... alive or dead. That's their herrevan. Look around, stay on your guard, do not lose sight of your charges."

 

[Talus]

Talus had rejected the vial of dragon blood, though did tell the wounded Nordenfiir that it was an incredibly valuable piece of magic.

The Queen had been healed apparently, and although the Dragon Blood would have made it easier things worked out just fine. Thus he had simply rejoined Mikaela's side and trudged along with her through the snows.

In the back of his mind he wondered what Hal and Sierra were up to in that moment. He thought Hal would have enjoyed this place.

The environment certainly suited him far more than it did Talus.

When they finally arrived at what these people called an 'outpost' Talus shifted in the heavy furs on his shoulders. The clothing was still not exactly something he was used to, and he found it itchy. Scratching along his side, Talus leaned in towards Mikaela.

"What are these Rangers?" He assumed they were the same as Rangers everywhere else, but he didn't want to be wrong.

 

[Baise]

This silence, he signed to Brenna, it is not a nice one.

Valthar liked the silence, he liked the peace and quiet. This was a silence that joined the cold in creeping up your spine. It was the calm before the storm, a depth in which something lurked.

As they stepped inside the herrevan shattered the silence, but it drew itself back together after Maude spoke. It was like an undead fiend that would keep returning.

Valthar told everyone he was a fisherman. It had been his life. Not many fighermen equated something that kept returning to their experiences in fighting the undead.

Hugi could follow Valthar, but he wasn't going to hide under his guardian's skirts. Valthar pushed open a wooden door and stepped into one of the store rooms. Hugi could follow, if he could fit through the door.