Ch. 4

Within the slum that was the village, things got better. When the chief's son returned with the herbs, he went to healer to find out what they were. The healer was curious as to what they were as well. They'd never seen anything like it before.

He'd given the herbs to his mother, hoping she'd find use for them. His mother had accidentally mixed them together with the meal she had fed the chief's youngest.

After a day and a half, the boy had gotten better. Not to the point where he could get out of bed, but enough for the healer to notice. The oldest son of the chief was elated to know the healer's power was working.

In about two weeks time, the boy was cured. The healer was handsomely repaid, but it told the chief it wasn't his powers of medicine, or the shaman's connection to the spirits. It was an outside source.

Hearing this, the wife told her husband it was probably the herbs she'd mixed the boy's meals with. Demanding to know what it was, the chief was told that she'd obtained them from the Eldest.

When confronted by the chief, he confessed that he got them from the stranger that lived in the forest known as Silver Eyes, as the teen called him. The chief ordered his son to bring the Silver Eyes to the village to properly thank him.

Walking into the forest, the Eldest tried to find him. From dawn going on to dusk, he searched. He found nothing, but his obligation to thank the stranger made him determined to find Silver Eyes. To not thank him would be ungrateful to him.

When it was dark out; crickets chirped as a breeze went by. The massive, numerous trees made it hard to know where he was. But he marked the trees in order to find his way back. Leaves crunched under his feet with every step. The moon's silver light casted shadows through branches.

He was about to give up and return home, until he spotted his target. Silver Eyes was standing near a large tree. The Eldest jogged toward his newfound friend.

Coming upon the cloaked figure, he watched as he bent behind the the tree. He found the most perplexing things he'd seen. One was an arc of wood, it's pointed ends were attached together by string. The second was a leather pouch, that was long in length. It held thin sticks, it's ends had feathers that were sewn together with string.

The Eldest had spoke to the Silver Eyes. Silver Eyes didn't respond, as if he was mute. Silver Eyes slung the pouch over his shoulder and held the wooden contraption firmly. He walked through the forest, with the Eldest trying to get his attention.

They walked for what felt like all night, but in truth was only twenty minutes. Eldest had gotten irritated by Silver Eyes's closemouthed responses. Coming behind a few shrubs, Silver Eyes crouched, Eldest was about to scream at his friend.

Before a sound came out, Silver Eyes clamped his hand over Eldest's mouth and brought him to the ground, forcefully. Grabbing his head, he shown Eldest, through the shrubs, a small lake. His eyes widened at the magnificent stag he saw drinking from the lake. Its golden pelt had a white underbelly and tail. The antlers were large and grand, they stretched far into the heavens.

His attention was grabbed by his friend, he held the wooden arc outward. Grabbing one of the wooden shafts by the feathery end, he placed it on the string and pulled back. He let go.

The projectile flew fast as, or faster, than a speeding star. It hit the large stag on the front part of its side. Yelping, it limped slightly, before falling to the ground.

Silver Eyes immediately sprang out of the shrubs. Eldest ran up behind him to carcass. The cloaked figure grabbed the arrow out of the wound.

Silver Eyes grabbed a stone dagger from inside his cloak and placed it into the hands of Eldest. He guided his hands over the wound. He let go.

Eldest looked between Silver Eyes and the still alive stag. He tried to do it, he really did. But the Eldest just couldn't do what Silver Eyes required. His new friend grabbed his shaking hands, steadying them. He pushed the blade down and shredded its vital insides slowly. The animal twitched painfully before stilling.

Eldest had a tear streaking down his cheek, he drew a shaky breath, quickly, he wiped his cheek. He looked at Silver Eyes when he was touched on the shoulder, his new friend handed him the wooden arc.

He looked down at, enamored by it's smooth feel. He looked at his friend, finding he was know where to be found. Eldest felt his chest, the leather pouch was slung over him. The stone dagger was in his hand.

He looked at the arc in his hand. Standing, he pulled on the string, holding his new tool expertly like Silver Eyes did.

What is this thing?

"A bow."

X

Astrid and Kol flew in the form of birds. Kol was in the form of a falcon and Astrid was an eagle, their sacred animals. Because of the limitless terrain to cover, Astrid suggesting scouting. And what better than to scout, than as birds of prey?

'Astrid, get over here, I think I found Alvin's fortress,' Kol's words echoed in her head.

Astrid responded, 'Where? What's your location?'

'East, look for the cliff,' Kol said.

Changing course from the north, she sped to the location of Kol. With her sharp, keen eyes, she saw purple—almost black—terrain. Geysers of indigo flames sprouted. Some rivers were filled with dark purple flames, some rivers were full of dark waters that held souls—wicked souls—of the dead. They were screaming, begging, and pleading for mercy. It was almost sad to see the mortals suffering.

Astrid spotted a dark brown bird standing at the edge of the cliff. The cliff was large, standing at about four thousand feet above the lower ground.

Landing next to the falcon god, she spoke, 'You said you found Alvin's lieutenant?'

'Look at horizon, what do you see?' Kol spoke.

She saw a large mountain. By vision, she saw large dark castle-like structure built into the mountainside of a mountain. If that didn't scream 'fortress', then she didn't know what did.

'You really think that's where Alvin is holding himself in,' Astrid asked skeptically.

'Of course,' Kol replied nonchalantly, 'Bludvist doesn't need a base of operations because he embodies the entirety of the Underworld. So that only leaves his trusted lieutenant.'

'We know exactly where he is,' Astrid felt appeased.

'Now,' Kol said flapping his wings experimentally, 'I'll go scope out the place, and you stay here.'

'I'm going,' Astrid chirped up, closer in Kol's face. 'I'm not your husband,' the falcon god flapped his wings before taking off to castle. Astrid raced behind him. Feathers billowed as let loose avian cries.

X

Camicazi and Heather stood outside a tavern within the eternal city. It was dark out, the moon shined greatly over it. Lights glowed within. Laughter and yelling was clearly heard from inside.

"Are you sure he's here?" Heather asked. Camicazi replied, "Yes, this is where he usually spends his downtime."

"Let's hope this goes well," Heather said.

Walking inside the tavern, they saw men happily drinking and merrymaking. Barmaids served them, they hastily did so to avoid overly flirtations of the men who drank too much.

Walking inside, the two goddesses made heads turn with every step they took, especially Heather. Some leered and whistled. Heather kept her face stoic while Camicazi had a tough time trying not to turn the men into melted snow with her face being a shade of red.

Coming up to a one man occupied table, they found who they were looking for. Eret, God of Heroes, Strength, Endurance, Skill, and Physical Prowess. He brought adventure and dangerous hazards to promising champions. Champions such as Perseus, Achilles, Ragnar Lothbrok, Beowulf, Mulan, or Miyamoto Musashi.

His black hair was long, with warm brown eyes. Broad shoulders were attached to a bulky frame. He wore a white tunic under a gold fur vest. His beefy arms were tattooed with battle scars. His strong chin and rugged looks drew the wandering eyes of the barmaids. Two swords, sheathed, sat next to the plate of lamb and cup of ale.

He steadily ate, preceding he heard his name be called, "Eret, son of Eret?"

Looking up he saw two very beautiful goddesses in front of him. One; small and petite with a cold look and platinum blonde locks in a ponytail. The other; buxom and voluptuous with dark hair in a plait.

"Heather and Camicazi? Strange seeing you two here? Strange seeing you two together, actually?" A maiden goddess and the love goddess standing side by side. He was sure no one in creation would believe him if he told them.

"Don't think we want to be here." Camicazi spoke as her and Heather materialized chairs, both sitting on opposite sides of Eret.

"So why are you here?" The hero god took a swig of his mug. "It obviously ain't the warm, hospitable atmosphere, or friendly occupants."

Camicazi snatched Eret's mug and started drinking as Heather spoke, "We're here for you. You see, friends of ours are interested in common goals they have with us. Goals that we have been meaning to accomplish for thousands of years. Now, one of our associates—who happens to be the sage of our little makeshift league—has took a great interest in the hero god known as Eret."

Eret shot an annoyed glance at Camicazi, who slammed the mug down on the table after downing the ale, "He'd like to see if you'd be willing to join our little association."

"Why doesn't he come to me himself?" He grabbed another mug of ale a barmaid brought him. He took a sip, "Sounds to me like your playing messenger for your master, ladies. Which, by the way ladies, does not suit you."

"We're not messengers!/He's not our master!" Heather's and Camicazi's words were synchronized as they shot Eret angry eyes.

"My apologies," Eret finished his meal, "but why should I help you and your companions? What do I gain from assisting you?"

He looked toward Heather with a questioning gaze. Heather's eyes bored into Eret's; keeping her face neutral and expressionless. Their eyes mingled with each other, conveying a silent conversation that didn't require audio or words.

Eret scowled, his voice dangerously low, "You lie, love goddess. From what I here, you have the tongue of a snake."

Camicazi leaned back, "Don't tell me you really think we came all this way just to try to fool you with deception?"

"Yes."

"Well, then," Heather spoke as she and Camicazi stood, "I guess we'll be taking our leave now. Maybe we can find someone else who seems to be better well equipped for this undertaking of ours?"

The women walked with Eret's glare glued to their backsides. Camicazi looked at Heather with curiosity, especially seeing a conniving grin on her lips.

Heather counted in her head. Five… Four… Three… Two…

"Wait!"

Eret came jogging up to the goddesses. He looked at them with suspicious eyes and a guarded body language. "I'll listen to what your friend has to say. Nothing more."

Camicazi gave him a devious grin, "That's all we're asking. Walk with us."

The newly trio walked out of the tavern. Echoes of laughter and yelling followed when the doors were opened. They, literally, didn't go far. Thirty—maybe forty—feet away from the ale house. They were in the middle of the dirt road leading to ale house the women found Eret in.

"So," Eret looked around skeptically, "this is where we'll be meeting him?"

"Yes./No." The goddesses' unitive speaking made Eret start to regret why he came with them.

'Son of Eret', a whispery voice.

He turned all around him, trying find the source of the ghostly voice. With no luck, he found out the utterance came from all around him.

"You're hearing this?" His question to the two goddesses made them nod in affirmation.

His voice filled with a steely tone, "Who are you?"

The voice laughed with humor inside of it, 'Eret, your words wound me? You really don't know who I am?'

Eret had think profusely. That's when it clicked. The crushing force of darkness. The abundance of it, even with the moon shining bright in the black sky. The dark atmosphere seemed to be darker than usual.

"The Silent One," Eret's voice was above a whisper.

The Dark One's voice laughed again, 'Yes. And now that the introductions are out of the way… let's talk business.'


A/N: There's chapter 4. The guy who mentioned Eret, thank you. I totally forgot about him. But looking at him now, in the position where he is part of Team Kol/Hiccup, it just felt right.

To all my haters: I had a revelation yesterday. Why am I getting upset about what you have to say? The only thing I know about you are these fake aliases. A friend of mine gave me some profound knowledge that I think will stay with me for the rest of days, which I hope is lengthy. People tend to hate when you're doing something right. That's all there is to it. Plus, that negativity I'm seeing is only gonna be used as fuel for the drive to prove you wrong!

Say you don't like me, or the way I write, or how my story goes, go for it! All those that have a problem with me, I encourage you to speak your mind! So, please, for all our sakes… BRING ON THE HATE!

READ, REVIEW, LIKE, FAVORITE, & FOLLOW. Much love, stay safe.