Gwynna's cabin trembled one morning, so she almost fell out of bed. The quake was caused by hooves thundering across the ground. Gwynna got up drunk asleep and went to the window, carefully opened the shutter and looked out. All she saw was a cloud of dust and the last rider on his war horse. The group quickly moved away towards the exit of the village and it was not long before the news bypassed the village: the Lord was back.
A little later a fully loaded car rattles across the village street. Obviously, the Count had made rich prey. There were also two young women sitting next to the coachman, both dressed in colourful dresses with yellow ribbons on their skirts. Obviously, prostitutes from the city. The villagers turned up their noses. There was no brothel in the village, but the two barmaids in the tavern disappeared with guests for some coins in their rooms.
The car was already expected at the castle. Several men streamed in and unloaded it, helping the girls down who were given a room in the keep. They should be available for the knights, not for the servants. The idea had come to Einar, who was fed up with the frightened village girls. He wanted an experienced woman in bed. The older of the whores, Gerhildis, was immediately led aside by him and laid over a beam in the barn. Einar raised her skirt, exposed his limb and rammed it into her vagina from behind. He ran up and grunted loudly until Gerhildis screamed. Finally, he came inside her with a triumphant cry. He straightened his pants, slapped her on the ass and disappeared.
In the evening the men sat by torchlight in the hall and ate a true feast with various roasts, bread and vegetables, raw and cooked. In addition to this, a lot of wine flowed, so that the atmosphere was soon very lively. The men told of their experiences. The girls sat on the laps of Aegir and Bernulf and were fed pieces of roast by the men. The others occasionally grabbed the passing maids and tried to hug and kiss them. One of the men sang a song that was interrupted by the screeching of the maidservants. Kurgan sat at the head of the table. He drank from a silver cup, gift of a clan lord, and watched the scene. He had been served the best piece of roast. Otherwise he did not take part in the conversations, but was deep in thought.
None of the men knew he was an immortal. They admired his martial arts and his invulnerability. From the steppes of Russia to here - yes, he had come a long way. Now he was count, ruled over large estates and had numerous subjects. He watched as Aegir stood up and disappeared with the younger whore, Gaudina, followed by the roaring and cheering cries of those present. "Come on, give her a good one! Show her what a Viking's got between his legs!
The whores weren't to Kurgan's taste. He preferred blonde women, but they didn't exist in these latitudes because they were brown- or black-haired. He decided tomorrow to ride into the village and see what was right and then go hunting to replenish the meat supplies.
"Einar! Wido! Arnulf! We'll ride to the village tomorrow. The taxes are due soon. I want to see what happened there over winter. Bernulf, you ride to the neighbouring villages and Brandolf too. Aegir, if he recovers from his fuck, can accompany you."
"Yes, sir. I have to see the blacksmith anyway. My sword has become nicked," Wido shouted.
The next morning the group set off. Kurgan rode in the front, dressed in black leather trousers and black shirt with black leather overlay, the long black hair open and without helmet, the sword girded at his side.
Einar rode right behind him. He wore a fur vest over his white shirt and black leather trousers. His blonde hair was tied into a plait, so you could see the missing ear. The brown-haired Wido also wore his hair open, but only up to his shoulder. He wore dark brown leather trousers, a light brown shirt and also a leather jacket over it. Arnulf finally had short hair, light brown with grey strands. He was also dressed in black, like his master. None of the men wore helmets. Nevertheless everyone had a weapon at his side: Kurgan his huge sword, Einar the war axe, Wido a short sword and Arnulf a morning star. They also took guns for the hunt: Spears and skewers.
They rode to the village square, directly in front of Konrad the merchant's house. He had already seen the count coming from afar and ran out nervously to greet him with a trembling voice: "Count von Krohn, what honor. What brings you to us?"
"The taxes are due soon. I hope there were no problems during my absence?" Kurgan looked at the man with his piercing eyes sternly.
"N-no sir, four villagers have died, but there have been no attacks from neighboring knights. The taxes will be paid on time..."
"Good! Send me some men from the village to the castle. The weirs must be repaired."
"Of course, sir!" Konrad bowed deep before Kurgan.
The servants of the house had hidden fearfully and now peered out from behind the windows. Just as Konrad was about to return to the house, a young woman came running down the stairs. It was Konrad's stepdaughter Jakomina who was visiting from the monastery.
"Stepfather, have you seen Gebhard? He was supposed to help me..." Jakomina remained rooted when she became aware of the knight.
Konrad jerked together and snarled at her: "Go back to the house immediately, stupid girl! You shouldn't be here!"
The young woman turned around and ran back into the house. Konrad turned to Kurgan and was aware of the malicious smile that Kurgan's face was spreading at the sight of the woman. He swore to punish the girl for her disobedience at the first opportunity.
Kurgan looked at Konrad: "See you soon", turned his horse around and rode with his men to the village tavern. When they arrived there, they brought the horses to the stable and went to the inn. The landlord Gosbert immediately expelled some men from the largest table, so that Kurgan could take a seat there. Immediately one of the bar girls brought large mugs of beer, while Kurgan ordered Gosbert to the table. Gosbert was his village informer. He always knew everything and informed the count about all events during his absence.
"... and then there's a new healer here."
"Like this?" Kurgan seemed disinterested. What did he care about an old herb woman?
"She even speaks Latin. "You might meet her in the woods where she goes to collect her herbs."
"Don't you have anything better to tell me? What kind of girl is she in Konrad's house?"
"This is Jakomina, Konrad's stepdaughter. She's raised in the monastery. Konrad wants to wed her, but he can't find a suitable suitor. She has a proper dowry from her late father. She's probably taking the veil. She's just visiting."
"Of course she is." So Gosbert was dismissed.
After they finished their beer, the group left. The men spread out in the woods in search of game. Kurgan hunted down a young deer, tied him to his horse, climbed up and rode on. He rode deeper into the forest so that his men could no longer see him. When he arrived at a small stream, he got down and watered his horse. From the corner of his eye he saw a movement on the other side of the stream. He drew his sword and stood motionless. An enemy? Here in his woods?
A slender figure, completely covered by a dark green cape with hood, appeared between the trees, only to disappear again immediately.
Gwynna, despite Brother Erland's warning, had gone alone into the forest to search for the medicinal herbs in Cedric's book. In the meantime she had found a few that she wanted to plant in the ground next to her hut. One of the herbs grew mainly near water. She looked strained on the ground, only the snorting of a horse made her look up. There, on the other side of the stream, stood the count, at least she assumed it was him. A giant with long black hair, looking in her direction and drawing his sword. Gwynna immediately turned around and disappeared between the trees. Her heart was racing and she was running like the devil was after her. Fortunately, she was completely covered by her cape, so Kurgan hadn't been able to see her face. After she realized that he was not following her, she stopped at a big tree and took a breath. She had a violent stitch. "Oh, God, that was close!" she thought. "He almost saw me. Only now did she realize that she had lost the bag of medicinal plants. "Shit, shit, shit! Now she could start all over again.
Gwynna looked quickly around. No trace of the count, so she pushed the hood to the back, which rather impaired her vision, and ran back to the village. She'd have to come back later and find the bag.
Despite his enormous size, Kurgan was able to move almost silently. He saw the figure he was persecuting run away in a blowing cape. A brown bag fell out of her hand and he picked it up. There were various plants in it. So this must have been the healer Gosbert was talking about. 'For an old herb woman, quick on her feet,' Kurgan thought. He was all the more surprised when the figure pushed her hood backwards revealing a mass of blonde hair, he'd have to take a closer look at that healer.
Kurgan broke off pursuit when Gwynna ran for the village. He'd have plenty of time for that. He put his sword back in his sheath and marched to his grazing horse. He got on his horse and rode back to the castle, where his men were already waiting for him.
Looking back, he thought, 'Yes, the village is getting interesting.'