In the Forbidden Lands, upon a road that led up and down from the mountains, with a cart being pulled by donkeys and ponies, with some Rogue Viking men and their servants or 'prisoners' in tow. As they rolled under a grove of blackened trees, a low-pitched whistle sounded out, and a swarm of people in dark clothes invaded the cart, hitting hard on the Rogue Vikings, and saving the prisoners.
One of the saviors is Keldan, the leader. He shouted to the others in Norse, "Come, we must hurry before they wake up. We have to head underground!". He and his followers grabbed the freed prisoners, and led them to a moss-covered rock which hid the passage to their hideout, and Keldan lifted it up, and gestured for them to jump down and go.
And so, they all did, with Keldan looking around, paranoid, then jumped down, the rock landing above him with a thud. He crawled quickly as he knows it well as the back of his hand, and he came out, seeing a sunken valley, full of ransack huts and tents with a number of ghost dragons laying around in curiosity and calmness. With sharpened sticks and a hoop of keys, the chains was let off from the prisoners, making them truly free. Introductions was made, and they all went into Keldan's cave which was the only natural feature of the valley. Including Keldan and today's batch, it is now 30 people.
The map of the Forbidden Lands was bought out, with Aragon's castle in smack dab in the middle of the map was laid out upon a old table, with the discussion above them. "Before we start mapping and seeing out the places around, has anyone been actually inside Aragon's castle?". Shakes or shrugs came around the crowd while two people who nodded.
The first one is a young man of 20 years, his name is Ottar. The other one is a middle-aged woman of 45 years, her name is Ranveig. Ottar then spoke, "I was the servant of the chef, and he gave me one chance to do something amazing for Aragon, but a small mistake I did, has brought him into a temper, and he ordered his minions to arrest me and bring me to the mountain until you saved me. The castle is big, but the floors are the same yet different.".
Ranveig nodded as if she agreed with Ottar. She then spoke, "I was one of the servants, ordered to clean everything from the floors to the treasures, until a very unusual young lady told me of the world beyond the castle, as I has been here for so long. When I saw her get hurt one time from Aragon, I tried to stop him, but he ordered his loyal followers to take me to the prison in the mountain which has been a rumor to me for a long time until I heard it from Aragon's lips. I am so grateful that you saved me, but I am very worried for my young friend. She has sacrificed so much from what she told me.".
Keldan exhaled a breath as he realized that there weren't many unusual young women like the one Ranveig has spoken about. He then stared at Ranveig, asked, "What is her name?". Ranveig blinked as she has never seen such a young man look so serious before, and replied, "Danielle. Her name is Danielle.".
Keldan looked worried yet happy, "Dani, I finally found you, but you're stuck in the castle, with that enemy thief!". He then asked the duo of the best locations to sneak into the castle, explaining that he is Danielle's soul mate.
"You, you're her viking!". Ranveig exclaimed in shock. Then her eyes widened, realizing that she can now help her young friend, by somehow sneaking Keldan in, to find her and rescue her. Ranveig sighed, "Ottar, can you help me? Our savior deserves his happiness, and Danielle is Keldan's happiness.". Ottar nodded, and with his willing help, Ranveig, and the others then focused on the map, talking about the castle's strengths and weaknesses, with Keldan grinning for the first time in a while.
"I am coming, Dani.". Keldan whispered out loud into the air as he glanced up high over the valley's sides. His gut has wary yet happy feelings, unknowing that Danielle is feeling hopeful in her gut unconsciously.