Chapter: 3 The Hunt

Queen Elsa supplied Tomas with a powerful steed. He was ebony-colored with a trimmed military mane, and a pair of eyes that looked into Tomas' with such feeling. He pet the horse and lightly smiled, "And what do they call you?" He carefully examined the stallion's collar, which read:

THOR

The name made Tomas chuckle. "God of thunder. Son of Odin. A mighty name, for a mighty horse. Let's see if you live up to it." He quickly mounted Thor and spurred him. He rode across the cobblestone streets and back to his forge. Once there, he grabbed and equipped armor he had smithed several days ago. The steel gleamed from the sunlight creeping in as he packed his satchel with food and a canteen. For a brief moment, he could have sworn his satchel shuffled on its own, but he dismissed the disturbance. Tomas' eyes scoured across the walls of the forge. He grabbed a dagger and fastened it in a hidden compartment on within his boot. He grabbed an axe and round shield to strap to his back. Lastly, he equipped a steel sword to his belt. With a deep breath, Tomas departed from his forge and remounted Thor.

He rode far out of the town, making his way back to the Ice Harvester's Tavern. He reached it by midday, and the springtime foliage was soon replaced by the snow of the North Mountain. Tomas wrapped a navy blue cloak around himself when he began to shiver. He dismounted and entered the tavern, prompting flashbacks of the previous night's rumble. The moment he stepped in, the entire cabin went silent. Harvesters and townsfolk alike just sat there, staring at Tomas.

The barmaid glared hardest, and choked up, We just cleaned this place up! What...what do you want?"

Tomas sneered, "The men who assaulted Princess Anna..." he fearlessly addressed to the tavern. "Who were they?" Everyone remained silent as Tomas slowly walked around the harvester's tables. "Surely they were no mere harvesters. Most are friends with her fiancé, and would never lay a hand on her. But these men...were on a mission." He loomed over them like a ghost, a reaper, sparking intimidation in their hearts.

His head jerked left when a female harvester spoke up, "I'd never seen those bastards before."

"No?" jeered Tomas.

She was a middle-aged blonde that was blind in one eye. "Lars had, though. Said he hired them to help lighten our workload. Didn't you, Lars?"

A younger man with shaggy brown hair gulped, "What? Keep me out of this, Eve."

Tomas slowly walked over to the man. "Something you want to tell me, Lars?"

"I'm not telling you anything!", he jeered.

"Perhaps you'd prefer to tell the queen? I'm sure she'd love to hear about how you and your conspirators planned to kidnap her sister among other acts of rebellion."

Lars began to sweat profusely, "I...I don't need this-" He stood up to leave, only to have Tomas viscously shove him back in his seat. "Leave me alone!"

"You think you're tough, you filthy little rat?" snapped Tomas. "Think you're a man? EH?!"

Lars quickly spun out of his chair and bolted for the exit. Just as he reached for the doors, Tomas struck him with his throwing axe. The man let out a scream and fell forward, tumbling down the stairs and landing in the snow. He struggled to move, the axe embedded in his right calf as Tomas marched up and kicked him over. He picked him up by his coat and growled, "A man does not harm the innocent." He gripped the axe and dug it deeper into his leg, "NOW TALK!"

Lars winced and screeched, "Okay okaaaaay! Geagh! The rest of them are held up in our ice storage. They said they'd pay me handsomely when the kingdom fell. Please that's all I know!"

"A man does not betray his queen and country." Tomas shoved him back to his feet. He pulled out a cloth from his satchel and wrapped it around Lars' leg. "Take me there. And don't you DARE limp, or I'll make sure you never walk again." Tomas felt his satchel shuffle again, but he had more important matters to attend to. He gave Lars another shove and followed him to the ice storage. Lars led Tomas through the surrounding forest and over to a frozen lake. An enormous wooden warehouse could be seen on the edge. Lars groaned in pain, prompting Tomas to sneer, "Shut up."

Lars made it to the door as he unlocked it and let Tomas in. They slowly stepped forward, and the harvester motioned for Tomas to wait there. The blacksmith kept his eyes focused on Lars as he walked further ahead. A silhouette approached him and asked, "You're not supposed to be here until midnight."

He panicked, "Yes but-"

"Who is that?" demanded the stranger.

"It's-It's-" The stranger stabbed him dead and stepped forward, gritting his teeth. As he did so, multiple other renegades emerged from the shadows of the warehouse. Others peered down from the rafters like hungry vultures. The leader was about Tomas' age, and was bald with teal eyes. "I should've known the boy would squeal. Lookie here, boys! Queen Elsa has sent another mercenary to try and stop us. She doesn't learn, does she?"

Tomas remained stern and glared back at the leader. "She learned. That's why she sent me."

The rebel cackled, "Hah! And who are you?"

Tomas cracked his neck. "The last person you will ever see."

The rebel's eyes widened. "You've got guts, stranger. But my men and I will rip them out of you." He chuckled. "Right boys?"

The other Arendellian renegades laughed and heckled behind him. Tomas sized them up,"Ohhhh boy."

The leader smirked,"What's the matter? Scaaaaared?"

Tomas simply shook his head. "Nope. Just a little upset that I'll have to paint the room with not only your blood...but that of your men."

The leader felt a twinge of fear within. He stuttered, "Ge-ge-get him!"

The men charged as Tomas readied his sword and shield. He huffed, "Let's play." He drew his sword and round shield. He slashed across the first man's stomach and shield-bashed the next in the face. As they began to swarm, Tomas bolted into the darkness, prompting them to give chase.

"Where'd he go?" snarled a rebel, firmly grasping the ice pick in his hands. Suddenly, Tomas' arm shot out of the shadows, grabbed the pick and jammed it into the man's neck.

The men began to panic as the leader barked, "Find him, you spineless- There he is!" He pointed up just as Tomas pushed over a huge slab of ice. The huge block crushed a chunk of the rebels to death. The rest looked up to see Tomas come leaping down, his sword raised high. He stabbed a man in the chest and thrusted his shield into another's legs. When the rebel feel, he kicked him across the face and retrieved his shield. As the rest of the brigands ran for Tomas, he roared like a ferocious beast. He shield-bashed several men into each other as he swung around and cut down another. He uppercutted the next man with his gauntlet, instantly bloodying his face. As he did so, an assailant leapt onto his back and tugged at his armor.

"I got him!" he grunted.

"Grab his legs!" hollered another.

Tomas viscously flailed, kicking a man so hard, he snapped his neck. He elbowed the rebel behind him, but not before the foe unfastened his armor. This allowed another enemy to strike Tomas with a pick axe. Its sharp edge cut across the left side of his chest. Tomas fought through the pain, disarmed the man of his pickaxe, and impaled him with it. After killing the final enemy with his sword, Tomas fell over, grasping his chest. His hand was bloodied and he breathed heavily. He heard a crossbow load, and summoned his strength to stand. He held up his shield just as the leader fired his weapon. The arrow struck against it as Tomas rolled into the shadows again.

"You cannot stop us!" screamed the leader as he searched for Tomas. He nervously reloaded his crossbow, "Arendelle will fall...and there's nothing you can do!" The weapon's mechanism snapped, and he kicked over a barrel in frustration. "Show yourself!" He watched as the barrel slowly rolled across the room, only to be stopped by a single boot. Tomas emerged from the shadows and stared down the rebel.

He unsheathed his sword and said, "This ends here,"

"This is just the beginning," hissed the leader as he readied his own blade. It was a crude cutlass with jagged edges. Without hesitation, he bolted for Tomas. The blacksmith did the same and their blades clashed twice. Sparks flared on the third collision before Tomas elbowed his foe in the neck. He staggered, but not before jabbing Tomas' chest wound with the butt of his sword. Tomas fell to the ground as his enemy closed in. The rebel raised his blade just as a tiny white figure sprung from Tomas' satchel. It was one of the queen's snowgies, and it bit his attacker on the arm. Tomas used the distraction to grab his sword and impale him. He drove it deep, pinning his foe to the wall.

The rebel's sleeve was torn during the skirmish, revealing the tattoo of a bird...a bird Tomas knew too well. His eyes widened, and he fully tore off the sleeve for a better look. "Where did you get this?" asked Tomas under his breath. The man began to laugh through his bloodied grin. "WHERE?!" roared Tomas as he slammed him against the wall. "I WANT ANSWERS!"

"You...are the answer," croaked the rebel. "The Raven knows you live."

"You lie,"

"Do I? He'll come for you, blacksmith. He'll destroy you...and all of Arendelle."

"The Raven was killed long ago!"

The rebel hissed, "The Raven..." he choked. "Lives..." With that, the man succumbed to death, his head hanging in front of Tomas, who angrily shoved him to the ground.

Tomas fell to his knees, as if the rebel's tattoo and words had prompted a series of traumatizing memories to replay in his head. Amidst the chaos of his own mind, he heard a squeaking. He peered down to see the tiny snowgie playfully nudging him. Tomas huffed, "Hello there...stowaway." The snowgie nodded rigorously. "I'm lucky you showed up, or I'd be in split in two right now...Say, have you got a name?" The snowgie tilted its head and shook it. Tomas scratched his chin, "Then I'll call you...Lucky. After that close call of ours." The snowgie leapt for joy and squeaked several times before hopping back into Tomas' satchel.

Tomas rose to his feet, "Well, that takes care of the rebels...for now. I'd...WE'D best report our findings to Queen Elsa." Lucky squeaked in approval. "But first...there's someone I need to see." Tomas stared at the raven tattoo on the rebels lifeless arm.