[Minutes Later]
Godwyn and I were walking through the streets and making our way to the Red Rooster. The fish merchant was walking calmly with an expressionless face. I was following right behind him with my hood up. And all the while I couldn't get the images from what I saw earlier out of my head. You'd think after what I've seen so far from slave trading to watching a man burn to death yesterday, it would've numbed me to this by now but no. And the worst part was the guilt. Sister Aelfwyn would've never died if it wasn't for me. I know there was nothing I could do and Godwyn told me this as well but still I feel like I shouldn't have just stood there and watched her be put to death just because she spoke with me for only a couple of minutes.
In just a couple of minutes he and I had arrived at our destination. We entered, he paid the owner for a private room on the top floor and I followed him up where we entered. I did as Eadred had instructed and hanged the blue cloth out the window so when he would finally arrive he'd know which room to meet us in. Now was the part where we played my least favorite game of them all. The waiting game. For now it was just Godwyn and I but he told me that the others would be arriving on their own soon enough.
"Gonna be awhile Theo." he said taking a seat at the lone table in the middle of the room. "Game of cards?" he offered, holding up a deck for me to see.
"I don't really know any games. At least not any card games from this world anyway." I answered shrugging my shoulders.
"That's okay I'll show you a few easy to learn ones that are great for passing the time." he said gesturing for me to take a seat. I let out a sigh and sat across from him as he began dealing the cards. Soon I had a hand of ten as did he and he started going over the name of the game as well as the rules. To be honest though I was only half heartedly playing and he was winning each game. He didn't say anything at first but I think he was smart enough to know why I was so quiet. "Sister Aelfwyn's death wasn't your fault Theo. You need to let it go now." he said laying his hand face down over the table.
That was when I put my hands down with the cards facing the table. "I know I just..." I replied looking back up at him. "I just can't get those moments out of my head. The fear and sadness right before they cut off her head." I remembering how her voice quivered as she prayed and the tears were streaming down her cheeks. He was about to speak again but I cut him off. "I know you've told me that there was nothing I could've done for her and I believe you but none of this had to happen. If I never went to the orphanage and spoke to her at all she'd still be alive right now. I...I know you it's not entirely my fault but I still caused it in some way." I said looking back down at the table again.
Godwyn let out a sigh and was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "I wish I knew what to say to lift your spirits kid." he told me sincerely.
"I just wish there was something we could've done." I replied leaning back in my chair.
"Well there may not have been anything we could do for her but there's definitely something we can do for others." he getting me to look back up at him. "What we can do is help as many people escape the Inquisitor's wrath and bring them to safety like we plan to. There are plenty of men with Mamono wives and children here who are living in fear. We can help them." he told me.
"And what about the kids at the orphanage? If the Inquisitor was willing to put to death one of the nuns working there I'm willing to bet he'll be after those children too." I added.
"I believe so too yeah and we'll work on smuggling those children out too." he replied. "When the rest of the inner circle gets back we'll talk about it. I know that Alward has a cousin who's a priest. Maybe we can get him to lean on him for support. Don't worry Theo we'll get those kids out once we've come up with a solid plan to rescue everyone." he promised.
"I hope so." I replied while light squeezing the cards in my hands. "I'd really hate to see what he would do to those kids. And the worst part of this is the thought he'll get away with everything he's done." I feeling angry at this.
Godwyn only smiled at in response. "Oh I don't know about that. I think he doesn't realize yet what he's done. He thinks he can do whatever he likes and make no mistake, Inquisitors have a lot of power. But Sister Aelfwyn was well known and loved by everyone here. As soon as word of her death reaches Hearthfell, Ricfried is in a lot of trouble." he told me.
"Hearthfell?" I asked.
"It's a Kingdom far to the south and where the Citadel is located." he answered. "It's where the Pope lives and it's one of the holiest places in the world. Where the Order of Light was originally founded nearly two thousand years ago. Every Bishop and Abbot appointed their office, every holy scripture and text ever written, every Prince crowned a King, all these happen at the Citadel." he explained.
There was then a knock at the door and Godwyn looked surprised at that. "What's wrong?" I asked low enough for only him to hear me.
"That wasn't the secret knock I told the others. Get ready." he said getting up.
Both of us quickly moved to either side of the door and he drew his dagger. That was when I realized that I was unarmed. I could slap myself for such stupidity. My sword, by knife and even my Magi Gauntlet were all left behind at Eadred's house. The knock came again and Godwyn looked to me with his eyes telling me to be ready. If it came to a physical confrontation I wouldn't have any weapons to use. I was silently praying that it wasn't a guard or worse the Inquisitors.
The knock came again and this time someone spoke. "Dear?" came a feminine voice on the other side.
Godwyn immediately went from looking ready for a fight to a look of shock and concern. "Miriam." he said under his breath before unlocking the door and opening it up. In came a figure wearing a blue cloak with the hood up and from behind three smaller cloaked figures. "Miriam." he said again before closing the door and locking it.
"Oh Godwyn." she said pulling her hood down and smiling. I saw that the woman had dog like paws for hands kind of like Lyca only with brown fur and when she took her hood down she had long brown floppy dog ears on top of her autumn brown shoulder length human hair. She had bright skin and brown eyes too and I could see movement under her cloak from behind her which could only mean that her tail was wagging behind her which was exactly like what Lyca's did whenever she was happy. So she was obviously a canine like mamono but she looked less like a wolf and more like beagle. She was short too, barely standing up to the shoulders of Godwyn. And of course the three smaller cloaked figures took their hoods down as well looking like smaller versions of their mother.
Godwyn looked horrified. "Miriam what are you doing here? How did you find me? And why would you bring the girls?" he asked looking back and forth between everyone.
"I followed your scent Dear." she answered. "And I came because I haven't seen you in days and I missed you. And the girls missed you too." she said as he took her paws in his hands.
"Aren't you happy to see us Daddy?" asked one of the little beagle girls tilting her head slightly.
Godwyn fell to his knees and hugged them close, firmly and gently as a father did. "Yes yes of course I'm happy to see you." he said giving each of them a quick peck on the cheek. "But it's not safe right now, you know that." he said standing back up again.
"Don't worry Dear. The girls and I have followed your instructions very carefully. We keep our hoods up, walk outside the crowds and not through them and we're very careful to avoid the muddy puddles so that we don't leave any tracks." she replied.
One of the little ones was tugging her father's pant leg. "Daddy, who's the funny looking man?" she asked looking up at him while pointing at me.
All of them turned to me and I really didn't know how to respond so I just said "Hey." while rubbing the back of my neck.
"Uh right, well I guess since you're all here we'll get the introductions out of the way." he said smiling now. "Theodore this is my lovely little wife Miriam and these are our daughters." he said squatting to hug them from behind while they giggled in their father's arms. "This is Mary, Mercy and Mina. Girls, this is your new Uncle Theodore. He's going to help us get away from the bad men who want to hurt us." he told them.
'Wait a second, since when am I someone's uncle?' I asked inwardly.
"Well what are you all waiting for Girls? Go jump on him." he said with a cheeky smile.
"Wait, what?!" was all I could get out before the three little dog girls dashed towards me with blinding speed, much faster than I thought they could, crashed right into me and sending me flying across the room and against the wall. I found myself sitting on the floor with my back pinned against the wall with three little dog girls smiling brightly up at me. Like their mother, they all had autumn brown hair and floppy dog ears like beagles, brown eyes and bright fair skin, large brown paws in place of hands and feet and each had tails wagging happily behind them. The difference between them were the colors of their dresses. Their mother wore a yellow dress with long white sleeves from her blouse. Her daughters wore one red dress, one green and one blue.
"Nice to meet you Uncle Theodore." said Mary who tried to stay in front of her sisters.
Mercy tried going around her like she couldn't see past her sister. "Are you really gonna help Mommy and Daddy and all of us get away from the bad men?" she asked smiling.
The third one moved to the side to tug at the sleeve of my tunic. "Can we play Uncle Theodore?" Mina asked smiling and tilting her head.
"Oh yes yes yes! Let's play!" her sisters cheered and started playfully hopping up and down.
"Girls, hush now." their mother called. "You can play but you have to do so quietly." she said bring one of her paws up to her lips to remind them.
That was when there came another knock at the door. But unlike before with Miriam and her children this one was a pattern. First two knocks, then a pause followed by four more. Godwyn smiled and walked over to answer since this was the secret knock. He opened up and I saw two more hooded figures enter before the door was closed.
"Ah Godred, Cuthhelm, good to see you both." said Godwyn shaking both their hands as they took their hoods down.
Godred had short dark brown hair and grey eyes. He was wearing a dark green tunic and dark blue trousers with leather boots. His hair was cut short and he had a mustache. He looked to be in his mid twenties and the rough look of his hands clued me in that he did a lot of work by hand daily. Cuthhelm looked to be the same age and had more of a handy brown hair a little longer and slightly more curly. He had blue eyes and a mustache and goatee combo. He wore a long sleeved red tunic and dark blue trousers with leather boots. I stood up to greet them properly but I noticed how Mary climbed up onto my shoulders and gripped my hair to hold on. Mercy clung to my lower leg and sat on my foot while Mina wouldn't let me put her down.
"You three are going to be holding me hostage all day now aren't you?" I asked with a grin to which they giggled.
"You should know that Godric and Mika will not be coming tonight." said Cuthhelm. "They told me that while they want to help out however they can they refuse to be in the same room as Eadred." he explained.
"I guess we can't blame them." Godwyn replied. "After seeing what happened to Harold and knowing he was the one to put him to death why would they want to come?" he asked.
Cuthhelm took a seat at the table with Godwyn and Miriam while Godred came over to speak with me. He had a cheeky smile as he saw the little dog girls clinging to me. "Met the rest of Godwyn's family did ya?" he asked.
"And as you can probably tell I'm their new favorite uncle." I replied with a tired smile while the girls kept smiling, playing and clinging to me with their little tails wagging.
"Well just you wait when you have your own with your pretty little wife. I promise there's no feeling in the world like it." he told me.
"Oh? Do you have a mamono family as well?" I asked him.
"Yeah my lovely Helena and our little lambs." he answered with genuine happiness in his eyes and smile. "I swear I never knew what I was missing until the day I met her." he added.
'Lambs' I thought to myself. "What exactly is she?" I asked probably already knowing the answer.
"She's a Weresheep and before she had to go into hiding she worked as a wool merchant here." he answered.
"And how about your daughters? How old are they?" I asked.
He smiled again thinking about them. "Heather is twelve and Hanna is ten. They have green eyes." he answered.
"I'll bet they're both lovely." I commented.
"They are and I hope you get the chance to meet them, they're the cutest little girls ever." he replied.
I took a quick look over at Godwyn and Cuthhelm seated at the table with Miriam before turning back to Godred. "Does Cuthhelm have a mamono wife and family as well?" I asked him to which he nodded.
"His sweetheart's name is Clarabelle. She's a Holstaur, along with their daughter Isabelle. Before the Inquisition showed up the both of them worked to sells milk, butter, cream and cheese in the markets." he told me.
"Holstaurs?" I asked.
"Oh right." he replied remembering my story from earlier. "They're kind of like the Minotaurs, only smaller and softer than their larger and more warlike cousins." he explained.
I thought on that and pictured first large and women with the characteristics of a bull or an ox. An athletic body and since he said warlike I'm guessing something clad in armor and wielding large and crude weapons like axes, maces and war hammers. Then I thought about what the holstaurs must look like. He said smaller and softer so I'm going with women who have the characteristics of dairy cows. Sweet and gentle, very motherly and I'll bet like all the other mamono I've seen probably enormous tits. And it made me feel all the more sad about everyone's situation here. I remember how the northern realms were supposed to be a lot more tolerant of at least some species of mamono. But now the Inquisition is here and killing innocent people.
And all because of who they love and form families with. Perhaps this world has a lot more in common with mine than I thought. The next couple of hours would be Godwyn, Cuthhelm, Godred and Miriam at the table talking while I was playing with the kids. How I got roped into being babysitter I don't know. Although I was enjoy the time I was spending with the girls. It helped to take my mind off of the troubles and learn to relax some. And while we played I couldn't help but picture myself doing this again one day with my own. Lyca went on and on about having kids or puppies as she calls them. I wonder now if this is what it's like to have kids of your own. Once she and I finally do, I hope the both of us can find a safe and warm place away from the Order.
A couple of minutes later I heard the secret knock again and Godwyn got up and opened the door. In walked Wardric. The man looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He had a stoic but kind looking face, blonde shoulder length hair and blue eyes with fair skin and he had a soft peach fuzz on his chin. He was wearing a green tunic with reddish brown trousers and a pair of fur boots. He pulled the hood of his cloak down and shook hands with Godwyn before the door was closed and locked again. He then properly greeted Godred, Cuthhelm and Miriam before coming up to me.
"Good to see you again Son." he said as we shook hands. "You're alright I hope." he told me.
I let out a tired sigh before replying. "I'm doing better than before." I admitted.
He nodded at that. "Yeah I heard about what happened. I can't believe anyone would put Sister Aelfwyn to death but I guess there's no level of cruelty the Inquisitors aren't above committing." he replied.
"Yeah, I'm trying my best to not think about it too much." I said shifting in my seat for a moment. "So, if you're involved with inner circle I take it you too have a mamono wife and children?" I asked to change the subject.
He took a seat next to next to me and the girls and smiled. "Yes, my wife is a mamono too." he answered. "But luckily she and our eggs are already safe and sound outside the town." he told me.
"Eggs? She like a bird or a reptile or something?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Yes she's bird, a Harpy actually." he answered. "Her name is Vivi and she lives in the forest a few miles north of here. Always did so she's safe and sound with our eggs." he explained.
"How many eggs does she have?" I asked him leaning forward a little bit.
"We have three hatchlings on the way." he said proudly.
"And yet you're risking your life for the people here?" I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked back. "I grew up here and there are good and decent people who's lives are at stake because of the Inquisition." he explained.
I remember thinking back to when I was captured by Rezuta and her orcs a little while ago. I remember how during my first escape attempt I ran off on my own and left everyone else to their fates. And I remember how much of a coward and piece of shit I felt for doing so. And then came our fight for freedom in Ur'dalak where Lyca and I risked our lives to free as many prisoners and slaves as we could before battling for our freedom with them. And yeah we both came close to dying but we did it anyway and honestly I had no regrets for doing it. Yeah most of those people were strangers but I would do it again now if faced with the same decision. Nobody deserved that fate. I guess it makes sense Wardric would stay and help.
These are his people and this is his home after all. So why wouldn't he? It was right around this time there came the secret knock again and when Godwyn answered the brothers Alward and Beornward entered. They took their hoods down as soon as the door was closed and locked. Both brothers had blonde hair with Alward's being just a little lighter than his younger brother. Both of them kept it cut short and Alward had a mustache while Beornward had only a short stubble. Both men were in their mid thirties and only a year apart. They also had the same grey eyes and muscular frames from years of hard work in fields. Alward wore a dark red tunic, a green vest and blue trousers with some brown leather boots.
Beornward wore a lighter red tunic which was open slightly like a V neck and dark green trousers with the same boots as his brother. They both looked around after greeting their friends before looking around the room at everyone. That was when the younger of the two spoke up first.
"Where's Godric and Mika? I thought they would be here." he said looking left to right.
"Both of them refuse to show." Cuthhelm answered from his chair. "They both can't stand the idea of being in the same room as the man who put Harold to death. Even if he does want to help us out." he explained.
"So it's just going to be all of us waiting here for Eadred." Godwyn chimed in before turning his attention to me. "Theodore, did the Executioner actually say when he would arrive tonight?" he asked me.
I shook my head in response. "No he just instructed me to bring you all here and to wait as long as we had to until he gets here." I answered. "I'm not going to lie, we're probably going to have to wait a long while before he finally gets here. He's extremely cautious and doesn't want to risk leading the Inquisition here. If you guys are all captured all hopes of getting everyone else out safely is lost." I told him.
Godwyn nodded his head at that but looked like he wasn't all too pleased with that thought. "Well if we're going to have to wait for such a long while may as well pass the time with some cards and perhaps get something to eat." he said before turning to Wardric. "Would you head to the tavern keeper and ask them to send us up something hot and maybe some ale too?" he asked him.
"Oh and would you ask them for a jub of milk for the girls too please?" Miriam put in.
He smiled, got up from his seat and made his way to the door. "Be right back." he replied before unlocking the door and exiting the room.
I then turned to the brothers who looked back to me. "What is it?" Beornward asked.
"So how did you two get involved?" I asked him.
Alward was the first to answer. "Same as everyone else. Godwyn and several others are organizing an escape from the Inquisition so we contacted him same as you." he answered.
I stood up from my seat and once again the little dog girls wanted to remain clinging to me with one in each of my arms and one riding my shoulders. "Do either of you have mamono wives as well?" I asked them.
There was a brief pause before the younger brother answered. "No, our wives are human. So are our sons and daughters." he told me.
"Oh? Then why would you seek out Godwyn like everyone else?" I asked curiously.
"We have our reasons." said the older.
"Which is?" I asked trying to get the answer.
"None of your fucking business." said Beornward.
"Beornward! Please watch your words in front of my girls!" said Miriam in shock and anger.
"Um, okay?" I replied not really knowing how to respond to such a hostile response.
That was when Cuthhelm spoke up from his seat at the table. "It's because their-" he began before Alward cut him off.
"Shut it!" he snapped.
"Alward calm down." Godwyn replied.
"He doesn't need to know." Alward stated sternly. "Cuthhelm, don't you dare tell him. Godwyn, Miriram, you too." he told them before he turned back to me. "You don't need to worry about it. It's none of your concern. When the time comes my brother and I will handle it." he finished.
I honestly didn't know how to properly respond to that. What in the world could have Alward and Beornward be so secretive? I mean, everyone else here had mamono wives and children, so if they have human wives and children what was such a big secret that they were insistent I not find out? Well whatever it was I figured it was best not to insert myself in matters that didn't concern me. Besides, there were plenty of other people who were in need of help so I figured I'll just focus on them and I'll leave the two brothers to their secret. A couple of minutes later Wardric returned with food. He actually had to make three trips in fact. Two for all the food and one for all our drinks. It wasn't until I got a whiff I realized how bloody hungry I was.
Wardric brought back a small feast for us. Stewed beef with carrots, potatoes and onions, some spit roasted ham shank still on the bone, a medium sized basket full of bread fresh from the oven, nice and hot and still soft, mugs of ale for the adults and a jug of milk for the kids. It was this moment we decided to forget about the troubles of the world and simply enjoy ourselves and company with one another. And even taking my seat at the table the girls still insisted on clinging to me. With two of the sitting on my laps and the third still sitting on my shoulders and using the top of my head as her own personal table.
"So uh, you kids sure you don't want to sit and eat with Mom and Dad?" I asked before taking a bite of some ham.
All three of them shook their heads and continued eating. I smiled, pretty much already knowing their answer. I really didn't mind though. As we ate everyone made small talk. Most of it was about work and friends they met back up with often. I get the feeling that the people I was in the room with weren't the only people in this town who needed to escape the wrath of the Inquisition. Something told me that the next couple of days were going to be very difficult. Once we had our fill the adults played card games with several of the men taking out long pipes and started smoking. Naturally of course I was stuck with babysitting again and good grief were these girls energetic. I mean I always knew kids had a lot of energy but this was crazy.
After hours of them taking turns riding on my shoulders around the room or just chasing them back and forth which they absolutely loved doing, I noticed there were a few yawns among them which obviously meant I was making progress. We kept playing around and one by one each of them were really slowing down to the point where I was able to scoop them up in my arms, walk them over to the bed in the corner where I began tucking them in. Each little girl struggled to keep her eyes open but eventually they all drifted off to sleep and snuggled with one another under the blanket. I sat back in a chair and let out a sigh of relief that I was finally able to relax and catch my breath. In fact in just a few minutes I could fall asleep myself.
As I sat back in my chair Miriam came up to speak with me. "Thank you so much for watching and playing with my puppies Theodore." she said smiling warmly.
I gave her a tired smile in response. "You are welcome." I replied even if I didn't really have much of a choice.
"Godwyn told me that your spouse is a werewolf, is that true?" she asked.
"Her name is Lyca yeah." I answered.
She smiled again at that. "I hope that the both of you are blessed with many beautiful puppies like I was. You're going to such a wonderful father." she told me before walking over to her husband and his colleagues.
Her husband then turned to face me properly while we talked. "I'm surprised that you're only married to one werewolf and that you're able to freely travel back to human society." he remarked.
That got my attention and suddenly I wasn't able to fall asleep again. "Wait, what do you mean?" I asked.
"Most werewolves travel in packs. Packs can anywhere between twenty and sixty adult females with an alpha female leading them. And that's not counting all their offspring either." he answered.
Cuthhelm then spoke up. "And usually werewolves share males with one another. Human, elf, dwarf, it doesn't matter but for every one man brought into the pack, willing or unwilling." he said with a quick cough to clear his throat. "He'll usually mate with up to three or five females and father pups with all of them." he explained.
"And werewolves don't usually travel into human lands." Godwyn continued. "Especially into large towns and cities. They prefer to remain deep in the wilds where they can keep their mates and pups safe as well as remain close to familiar hunting grounds. The only time they really go near populated lands is when the packs are looking for more men for their younger females to mate with once they're ready. So the fact that you're married only to Lyca and that she's following you willingly into such human lands like Merseax is, sorry to say this but odd. If you don't mind my asking, how did you two meet?" he asked.
"I got lost in the woods in northern Midland." I said with a shrug. "It was late one night and I ended up wondering right into the cave she used to live in. I must've woken her up because she immediately pounced on me and...well I'm sure can guess what happened next." I said trying hard not to blush. "But she was already living by herself long before I finally came along." I told them.
Godwyn looked over to Wardric in response. "She must've been a lone wolf. Very rare among their kind." he told him.
There then came three loud knocks at the door. Not the secret knock so each of them men got up and the tension was rising quickly. If the Inquisition was behind the door we were all dead. I made my way to the door cautiously and opened it up before breathing a sigh of relief when I saw exactly who it was I was hoping for.
"Eadred." I greeted as I let my shoulders relax.
"It's good to see you again Son." he replied as he entered the room while I closed and locked the door behind him.
"As always you take your sweet time getting here." I remarked casually.
"Can't be too careful." he retorted. "While most people avoid me like I'm carrying the plague I can't risk doing anything the Inquisition or anyone else for that matter would see as suspicious." he explained. Turning back to everyone in the room, the tensions immediately began to rise. All the adults in the room stared at him with several of them having some very hostile expressions. "While I'm used to getting funny looks from people you don't look all that surprised to see that it's me." he said before looking back at me.
"I'm sorry, Eadred, I had to tell them. They wouldn't have agreed to come unless I told them it was you." I said sincerely.
"There are a few who did refuse to come once he told us the truth." Cuthhelm said crossing his arms.
Godwyn made his way around the table to meet the elderly executioner face to face. The old man still had the same stoic expression he always did. "After so many years, watching you put so many people to death since I was a young lad and even more so since the Inquisition came and started this whole nightmare, I must ask why? Why are you trying to help us now?" he asked him.
"The way you ask me that question you make it sound as if though I enjoy my work." he replied without his expression changing. "I already told the boy my story and if you want to hear it I'm sure he can tell you sometime. But rest assured I'm genuine. I do want to help you." he told him.
"Would've been nice if you helped us much sooner." said Godred still seated at the table. "Lots of wives wouldn't have lost their husbands had you not acted as Ricfried's faithful little lap dog." he remarked.
"If Thedore has already told you who I am then he must've told you that I too have much at stake." he tried saying in his defense.
Godred slammed his hands on the table, causing the sleeping girls to stir a little. "That's not good enough!" he shouted.
"Godred please, inside voice." Miriam pleaded as she rushed the bed to keep her pups from waking up.
The angry man walked around the table, almost stomping as if to give the old man a piece of his mind. "As far as we know he's set us all up. He could've made a deal with the Inquisition by turning over in exchange for sparing his own family." he suggested looking at the others.
The thought seemed to have struck a nerve with a few of the people in the room. The very idea was really putting them on edge. "Don't be daft you damn fool." Eadred snapped. "You really think a lunatic would be willing to spare any mamono? Even if I did make such an offer, which I didn't the first thing he would've done was storm my home with a hundred men and force me to watch as he slaughtered all of my children from youngest to oldest just to spite me." he told him.
Things were getting tense so I quickly got in between to try and defuse the situation. I didn't entirely know what it was I was going to do or say but just something. "Don't forget who the real enemy is here everyone." I said now getting all their eyes on me. "Ricfried and the Inquisition won't hesitate to torture and execute all of us and the people we love all while we're at each other's throats. Godwyn, Godred, Cuthhelm, everyone please. I've spent time with Eadred and his family. He took a huge risk bringing me to his home. I promise, you can trust him." I told them, hoping that it would help.
There was a brief silence before Godwyn finally spoke up. "You're right." he says with a nod. "We have our differences but we all have the same goal in mind." he said looking to the other men in the room.
"So now that most of us are here, what's the plan?" Godred asked sitting back down in his chair.
"Wardric?" Cuthhelm said looking over to him.
Wardric stepped forward and reached into his satchel before pulling out a rolled up piece of paper. He opened it up and spread it out on the table while we all gathered around to take a look. As I suspected what Wardric did was a rough drawing of a map of the town. I saw the lines meant to resemble the walls, certain checkpoints that I'm guessing are gates and a few other X's on the map I'm guessing are patrols.
"I've been carefully scouting out the whole town and keeping a close eye on guard patrols." he told us. "I'm not going to lie, security since the Inquisition arrived is tighter than a nun's asshole. There are always two guards at the three entrances at all with three different shifts. Each of them carefully check everyone and everything entering and leaving. So just walking out the front door isn't the option." he said pointing at the three gates of the town. One was in the north, another in the southwest and the last was in the east. "There is also a single guard watching carefully at each tower along the walls and there are three different patrols walking along the top of the walls from gate to gate. And there are a half dozen checkpoints where guards patrol throughout the town during the day." he finished explaining.
"So with less guards during the night that's our best chance of getting everyone else." Godwyn said looking at the map and crossing his arms while pondering.
"Any chances we can go over the walls?" Alward asked.
Wardric shook his head in response. "There's no way we'd be able to do so unseen. The walls are too high for us to scale quickly enough to evade being seen by the guards patrolling the tops. And even if we did manage to avoid being seen by them the guards on the lookout towers will spot us as soon as we try running for it." he told him.
"And we have way too many people to try something like that in one night anyway so that's off the table." said Beornward.
This got my attention. "Wait, how many people are we trying to smuggle out of here?" I asked.
"Including us in this room, we're looking at about eighteen families." Godred answered. "Families. As in one father, one mother and at least two, three and even four children. So getting this many people out in a single night even if we do find a way is the really hard part." he told me.
"Each one of us are in contact with several families and only the ones we know of." Godwyn interjected. "That away, if either one of us is captured at the very best they can't find everyone all at once." he explained.
"And it's not like we can try tunneling under the walls again." said Cuthhelm. "They already foiled our first attempt and we almost got caught when they discovered our first plan so it's safe to assume that they'll be looking underneath the floorboards of every building until for more tunnels." he added.
While they all kept talking and exchanging ideas I kept looking at the map and focusing in on the gates. He mentioned how the guards check everyone going in and out. And I remember how the guards stopped me and Lyca when we both first got here so they're definitely not lying. But then an idea clicked at that one moment and I looked up at Godwyn.
"How thoroughly do the guards inspect everyone and everything coming in and out through the gates?" I asked him, getting everyone to look all at once.
"Well naturally they make sure that you're not trying to leave with anything you may have stolen. Punishment for theft is twenty lashes." he answered. "They also check all carts both inside and underneath t make sure that nobody is hiding and trying to slip out so that's off the table." he told me.
"Well maybe not. It's obviously the one thing that the guards or the Inquisition think we already won't try so it's the very last thing that they would expect. All we have to do is give them the illusion that the carts we bring in and out are empty." I suggested with a smile.
Each person looked at one another with confused expressions before Beornward turned back to me. "What do you mean?" he asked me.
"I think we should try building fake bottoms to the carts." I answered. "They should be built low, just enough for two or three people to lay down side by side underneath and remain hidden from sight. The guards will look and see nothing at all and just let it pass. Once the cart is safely out of sight, the bottom is lifted up and the people hiding underneath can escape safely into the woods." I explained.
That was when Eadred stepped forward. "And from there I will guide them to my house where they will wait until everyone we're getting out of the town are all gathered in one place. From there, we'll make our way to Glenforrow and out of the reach of the Inquisition." he finished.
And just like that I saw how eyes were lighting up and the gears turning in their heads. "That's actually a really good idea." Wardric remarked.
"And why stop with carts?" Cuthhelm asked. "We can probably make fake bottoms for crates too. That away when they crack them open they'll see only what they want to see but not the person hiding underneath." he suggested.
"And we can probably do something similar with barrels of ale. That away when the guards pour and test the contents within, they won't see that half of the barrel as someone hiding inside." Alward added.
We all looked at Godwyn who took each of these ideas into careful consideration then smiled. "I like it." he replied. I got a few pats on the back for giving them the idea then Godwyn leaned in with his hands on the table. "So our first priority is to gather the materials to make what we need to make the fake bottoms. Not going to be easy but without the wood and nails it won't be possible." he stated.
"My brother and I can get the wood." said Beornward. "We have a cousin who works at the lumber mill so I think we can steal some boards if we're careful. Nobody ever notices if a few boards go missing from the orders." he told him.
"Good, then that just leaves the nails." Godwyn replied.
Godred crossed his arms and smiled. "You let me worry about the nails. I'm a blacksmith so I can make more than enough without anyone noticing." he replied.
"Very good." Godwyn said with a nod. "Then the last thing we need to focus on is how we proceed with the plan. I think we should get the children out first. As soon as it's clear that people are going missing the Inquisition will be doubling their efforts in hunting for mamono and their families. And in case anything goes wrong, we can at least trust that our children will survive." he said looking to Eadred.
"I give you my word, if the worst should come to pass my wife and I will bring the children safely to Glenforrow. Believe me, our family is big enough to watch over and take care of all your children." he assured him.
"We need to get the orphans out too." I interjected. "Remember that I met a group of them shortly after I arrived here so as soon as Ricfried finds this out he'll go after them too." I told him.
"Agreed." Godwyn said with another nod. "But you all understand it's going to take a considerable amount of time to get everyone out. Given how many families are in hiding it's going days to pull this off. Probably over a week." he told us.
Everyone looked at me suddenly. I shrugged my shoulders before responding. "I'm on nobody's time except my own. I'll stay and help you all as long as it takes." I promised them.
I got a few more pats on the back in response from many smiling faces. "Willing to risk your life for complete strangers. Heavenly Mother bless you Son." Cuthhelm told me with his hand giving me a friendly squeeze on the shoulder.
The lot of us would continue passing around ideas and adding more the plans and how we'll pull it off. All the while I was thinking about what Cuthhelm just told me. Riking my life. If anything happens, if anything goes wrong and I'm captured I don't think I'd be able to get out of this one. And nothing would bring me greater regret then failing to see Lyca one last time and bring her back with me to my world like I promised.
[The Far North]
Hundreds of miles in the north, a place that is dead and unbearably cold, a small group of longboats sailed by raiders from Vinterheim are rowing up the rivers. Most of them are raiders themselves with Hrothgar as their leader and commanding the ship at the very front. However each ship does have close to twenty women on board as well. They've been raiding villages in Northanglia, Merseax and Westumbria now for days and have taken many prisoners. What's really weird is that these women were separated out from all other prisoners. The thing they all had in common was they were all virgins. Mostly former nuns or maidens who've never known a man. And what's really weird is what their leader has had them do on the way up.
Each woman was forced to wear the battle uniforms fitting for Shield Maidens from Vinterheim. Each one whore a chainmail shirt over her tunic and a metal helmet on her head. Each of them were also given weapons too. Swords, axes, spears and shields though each woman was watched carefully to make sure she wouldn't try turning on them. The men also had these women sit with them at their fires, eat the same food and drink mead from curved horns like the raiders themselves. To say it was confusing for the women who were prisoners to these pirates is an understatement. But still, terrified and at least enjoying the warmth and good food they did as they were told. Also, none of the men have made any advances on them either.
Stories of raiders and pirates from the pagan lands like Vinterheim tell of how they rape the women they capture and then sell them off into slavery later. And yet their leader has discouraged his men, even threatening them if they so much as try touching them. What were they planning? The women remained silent and clutched their furs close to ward off the cold as the raiders continued rowing further up the river, breaking through the thin ice. Eventually they reached a shoreline and were told to drop anchor. Once the ships had come to a complete stop the women were all filed off and grouped together on the sandy shore. The leader of the party, Hrothgar came forward to address them. Many of them were scared of him.
His presence was always very unnerving for them whenever he came out to speak to them. "Fair maidens, you have traveled far with us. You have broken bread and drank mead with my men. As of today, you're all officially honorary Shield Maidens. Be proud, for your old lives as milk maids, priests and mid wives are over. You are warriors and have earned my respect." he said with a clap of his hands and yet a very unsettling smile. "But now there is but one task left for you." he said pointing off into the direction of the woods. "Follow that trail to the very end, once there wait for us and then the second part of your journey begins." he explained.
A few of the women looked around at one another in confusion. "How will we know when we've reached the end of the trail?" one of them asked.
He smiled at her again. "Oh don't worry, when you arrive you'll know. Now get moving." he ordered them.
They were all unsure at first but soon enough the women, all of whom just wanted to get this over with and go home did as they were told and the raiders watched as they all stayed close together in a group before filing down the trail and disappearing from sight.
Hrothgar had another sinister smile and turned to his captains. "Get ready." he ordered them and soon they all scrambled to do as they were told.
Up ahead the women walked along the trail before them. The snow crackling under their feet with every step. What were they supposed to be looking for? What was this test and why did they have to reach the end of the trail before they were told the rest of the plan? What were these men up to? They walked for what felt like an hour and then suddenly the women in the very front found a large stone monument. Dedicated to Odin, the King of Asgard and Lord of Valhalla. And at it's base was an enormous pile of treasure. Gold, silver, precious stones of every type, there it all lay sparkling in the sunlight. They all came up to it and one of the women with blonde hair and blue eyes reached in and picked out a shiny gold necklace with sapphires in the pendant.
She turned around to the others. "They...sent us on a treasure hunt?" she asked confused.
Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air and making it's mark. To everyone's horror, it went straight through her left eye and came right out the other end. They all screamed as the young women stood where she was shaking violently before collapsing to the ground. A great battle cry rang out as the raiders charged in from every direction and fell upon them all without mercy. Some of the women tried dropping their weapons and running only to be shot by archers hiding behind trees and in bushes. Others tried throwing their weapons down and begging for mercy, crying only to be cut down with a sword or an axe or be run through with a spear. Within a few minutes they all lay dead or dying with their blood staining the snow beneath them.
Hrothgar stood over the body of one young woman with brown hair and grey eyes. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks and blood spilling both from her mouth and from the open wound on her neck from where she was slashed. Within seconds of bleeding and choking the light died from her eyes as her life left her. Hrothgar smiled cruelly at the carnage all around him.
"Tell me boys, wht just happened? How did they die?' he asked.
One of his captains with a bloodied battle axe resting on his shoulder spoke up. "Dishonorably and disgracefully." he said before spitting. "Some dropped their weapons and ran like frighten children while others begged for their lives and pissing their trousers." he remarked.
Their leader was silent as his smile never left his face. "Perfect." he responded. "Now comes the next phase. Bury them where they lay. And do not mark their graves with any stones or give them any last rights. Who they once were must now be forgotten." he instructed as they all got to work.
"And the treasure Hrothgar?" another asked.
"Leave it." he ordered. "It's cursed now and must remain here among those who've failed to guard it." he told him.
Hours later after all the bodies were laid to rest Hrothgar and his men got back on board their ships and started heading back. The leader sat back down and got to work cleaning off the blood on his sword. One of his captains came up to speak with him.
"Hrothgar, what was the point to all of that?" he asked him.
"All will be revealed to you in due time Lifstaen have no fears." he answered while still focusing on his sword.
"So what happens now?" he asked.
Hrothgar looks up with another sinister smile. "We come here. Nine days and nine nights from now." he told him.
[Author's Notes] Hey guys I am so sorry it took so bloody long to upload this next chapter. I believe that you all deserve an explanation.
The first and biggest problem I had writing is that I'm completely burned out on writing. I am not even close to kidding when I say that I have little to know motivation. It's not that I don't want the story to continue, I just have such a hard time actually making myself do it. And it really doesn't help when you take into account that almost nothing really happens at all. With the exception of the ending here everything was such a chore to get through. Now some people would argue that I should just wait until I have that spark of creativity and motivation again but if you're like me, someone who's aspiring to be a full time author one day you just can't do that. In the words of my friend MickDund you just have to sit your ass down and keep going. Write something and pace yourself. So that's what I've been trying to do.
Another thing that really didn't help at all is when the weather gets colder and I can't go outside for long and relaxing walks which really helps with creativity, I get a seriously bad case of the gaming crazies. Really doesn't help when you have multiple new games to play like Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Mortal Kombat 11, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Ghost of Tsushima. So honestly, it's not surprising that it took me as long as it did to finally update the story but that I was able to update it when I did. On the plus side I seem to be getting my grove back so I should be able to update new chapters more frequently for all my stories including this one. Also on the positive note, this is the very first story I've written to reach twenty chapters and it just recently broke 100,000 views. Let's see how many more I can get right?
And another thing I've been needing help with for awhile now and if anyone would like to contact me in a PM, I really need a bete reader for spell checking. As you guys are aware, I'm dyslexic and although I try my best to correct my mistakes I don't always catch all of them. So if someone would kindly help me out if they get the time, like "Hey Dragon, I noticed you spelled the word like this when it's actually written like this." or "You wrote this when it actually makes more sense like this." I would really appreciate it. I wanna do a major spell checking and correction of previous mistakes in all my previous chapters and I really need the help.
Anyway, thank you all so much for reading my story and helping it reach twenty chapters long and achieve more than 100,000 views. This couldn't have been possible without you guys. Please leave a Review letting me know what you thought about it and if you have any ideas you wanna share or if you just wanna chat send me a PM I love talking to my readers.
This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)
P.S. You guys are probably wondering what Alward and Beornward are hiding from Theo aren't you? Have fun guessing what their dirty little secret is when it's revealed in the next chapter.