Charlotte hauled the berserker up to his feet, the man complying without even a grunt. She took a step back as she realized that he was a full head taller than her, the woman quickly shook the thought out of her head as she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him towards the cave's exit. Soliel quickly ran up and tapped Charlotte on the shoulder, the taller woman turned her head.
"We found a shorter path through the mountains," She said as she gestured to the man, "Our friend here is either really clever at finding paths through the mountain or he has allies who are far better at scouting than he."
Charlotte nodded as she shoved the man again, the man growling a bit as he started walking, his hands bound before him. The lawbringer was outside, taking note of the landscape, he turned as the women walked out with their prisoner.
"Captain Richard," Soliel responded, "Have you seen the route marked on the map?"
"Aye," The lawbringer now known as Richard said as he pointed his halberd at a nearby ridge, "That's our route, should allow us to make it down the mountain in less than a day."
"Let's just hope none of his friends are near," Charlotte muttered, "That would make our job far more difficult."
The Viking looked at the conqueror before she shoved him again, the four following the path downward into the mountain. The path was long and winding, however, it wasn't difficult to navigate. Charlotte had been worried that the Viking's bound hands would make it difficult for him to navigate, but the man seemed to know this path like the back of his hand. Richard didn't have the same luck, his armor caused him some difficulty as they moved downward. Its weight wasn't helped by his halberd, which seemed to clang against the rocks every time he moved.
"If he had allies," Soliel commented, "Then they won't have a hard time locating us."
The lawbringer growled as he moved forward, doing his best to prevent the metal from clanging more than necessary. The peacekeeper moved throughout the cracks without much difficulty, her slender form navigating the rock without incident. The conqueror's only difficulty navigating was her morning star, which kept banging into her leg and the wall.
However, the route did seem to hold merit as they came out over a ridge that perfectly overlooked the prison camp, Richard breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the fires burning below. The trio of knights spotted a nearby path downward and shoved the Viking down towards it, he growled before he started walking down ahead of the trio. They stopped ahead of the makeshift entrance with two black stones looked over them, a Raider and another Conqueror.
"Richard," The knight yelled as the group approached, "Did you find the bastards who were attacking the caravans?"
"Found him," The lawbringer growled as he shoved the Viking forward, "Only bastard who we could find."
The raider walked forward and got a good look at the berserker, the man standing around his height before taking a step back in shock.
"Commander…may I have a word with you?" The Viking asked.
"Who are you?" The lawbringer growled, "I have not seen your face."
"He's one of our reinforcements," The conqueror responded, "Arrived yesterday."
The lawbringer growled before looking him dead in the eyes, "What is it you have to say?"
The raider cleared his throat before looking nervously at the other two knights.
"That man is known as Bjorn the Plague…he was Magnus's bro…" The raider started before a snarl from the berserker cut him off, Charlotte grabbed the man as he charged at the raider, his teeth snapping shut. The berserker clearly wanted to tear out the man's throat at that comment, the raider growled as he continued, "He was Magnus's brother, a warlord himself. It's said that he faced Apollyon in battle, and defeated her, driving her off."
"Bah," Richard spat, "A savage like him couldn't match Apollyon, but…you said he was Magnus's brother?"
The raider nodded and the lawbringer grabbed his helmeted chin in thought before turning to the other two members of his party.
"Throw him in a cell, I need to talk to Aryen about this." Richard growled, the women nodded and dragged the berserker away.
"Sir," The conqueror said as they watched the man being led away, "Aryen is away, he was investigating the ruins of the fort. He will not return for a day at least."
"I see," Richard said before looking at the tents, "Order a horse to be saddled, I intend to ride out within the hour."
In the camp…
Bjorn growled as the Blackstones jeered at him, mocking him as he passed. One even threw a rock at him, only to have the woman in the metal armor walked forward and slam her fist into his face.
"This man is our prisoner," The smaller woman yelled suddenly, "He has not been judged to be a wolf or a sheep, however, I feel like if I let him lose, he'll prove it to us."
The man took the hint and let the trio pass, the berserker looked at the small woman with silent eyes before turning his head forward. The trio walked towards the prisoner's side of the camp, some were tied to stakes while others were in cells. They all strained their necks to see the new prisoner, some even gasped as they recognized him.
A warden walked forward, his hand on his blade. He looked up at the man in front of him before looking at the two women guiding him.
"Who's this? Find while mopping up?" The warden growled.
"No," Soliel said, "He's the one who was attacking our food supplies."
"That so?" The warden growled as his hand tightened on his blade.
"Richard ordered him to be put in a cell." Charlotte ordered.
"A cell? Why not the stakes? Be a lot more fitting for him." The warden growled as he grabbed Bjorn.
"Its orders from Richard, do you really wish to defy him?" Soliel said with a smile under her mask, "Do you remember what happened to the last man who disobeyed his orders?"
"No…" The warden muttered.
"Exactly, they never found the body…do you really wish to argue?" The peacekeeper asked, the warden took a deep breath and dragged Bjorn to the cell. The wooden door opened as he shoved the berserker in, slamming it shut behind him. The Viking got to his feet with nary a sound as he looked at the warden before sitting down in front of the door, the knight growled as he walked away.
"Berserker?" A voice made the Bjorn turn to see his cellmate, a huge man, wearing a mask. The man looked forward again before the man behind him spoke again, "Animal man?"
The Viking growled as he turned to face him again, the big man looking at him with a certain amount of interest. Bjorn growled as he got to his feet and walked over to the man and stood in front of him, the Viking growled as he looked the man dead in the eyes before he sat down. The big man didn't say anything before a yelp made them both jump, they turned to see a woman in a mask nearby jumping…albeit not far as her hands were tied to a stake that had been impaled to the ground.
"Yumiko," The big man said in a comforting tone, "Dream."
The woman looked around in a panic before realizing that she had a new neighbor, she stared at him quizzically…a faint memory surfacing to her mind before he growled and looked away.
"Dream?" The big man asked sympathetically in Japanese.
"It's nothing Gorou," The woman replied in kind, "Just a nightmare…about lady Yuki."
The Viking suddenly looked at the two at the mention of that name, a snarl jumped to his lips as he growled.
"Do either of you speak the knights language?" He said in the respective language, the pair looked at each other and nodded as Yumiko looked at him.
"I do," The woman said with a bit of a surprised tone, "Lady Yuki taught me."
"What happened?" The Viking asked, "I was out in the hills when the attack came, how did the fort fall?"
"Blackstones attacked, Magnus and Godric fought valiantly but they fell…and Lady Yuki…" The woman looked away, "I failed her…I failed her…I should be dead alongside her…"
"Yumiko…" The big man started before a growl cut him off.
"You should be," The Viking responded, "You all should be."
The pair looked at him with a bit of shock.
"All of you, we took you in and look were it got us…" The berserker growled, "We should have massacred Godric when he came to us, we should have slaughtered him and his men were they stood. We should have slaughtered you as well…"
The pair looked at him as he got to his feet.
"All of you…this Union killed him…it killed Magnus," The berserker growled, "It killed him…it slaughtered my people…how many dead because we allowed our enemies to join."
Bjorn stepped forward towards Yumiko, the bars separating them.
"You should be dead, we should have slaughtered you," The berserker growled once again, "If we hadn't protected you, we could have moved along. Escaped this carnage…but no, we had to fight because out numbers were too large to escape quick enough."
The Viking growled as he grabbed the bars.
"And you bastard should be dead as well, you've brought nothing to us but ruin. Your bows failed us, your warrior's code failed us, and your blades failed us!" Bjorn yelled as he gripped the bars even tighter, "You should be dead…shouldn't you have all split your bellies? Do you not dishonor your lady with every breath you take? At least if you were dead, you could apologize to her for your failure to protect your allies! You all are cowards! Too afraid to end your worthless lives! You're a disgrace to your people! We all are!"
Yumiko had been shocked into silence while the big man started to get to his feet.
"Damn all of you!" Bjorn shouted, "Damn all of you to hell! Damn Godric and Yuki! Damn Magnus's pride! Damn the Blackstones! Damn you samurai! Damn you Apollyon!"
The big man reached out towards the man, who fell to his knees with a sob.
"Damn you all…damn you to Hel…" The Viking sobbed, "Damn me as well…I don't deserve her love."
The big man looked down at the sobbing Viking before sitting down himself, noting the snow on the man's hair. He hadn't seen another human for days, no wonder he broke down as soon as he saw the two of them. The big man looked over at Yumiko and could hear her almost silent cries, he whispered something in Japanese to her before hearing the Viking shift himself. He crawled over to the other side of the cell and laid down, he was clearly tired.
He turned to Yumiko and started speaking again, but she didn't respond. The big man looked at the ground with a sigh, this wasn't going to be easy.
In the camp…
Charlotte navigated her way through the temporary food temp, the soldiers were all celebrating the fact that they would get fresh food and booze in the near future as they ate and drank their larder. Charlotte felt a few clasps on her shoulder and back as she passed by, as well as a few on her ass but she knew that she wouldn't be able to find those who touched it. Finally, she saw the person she was looking for, the raider she had seen at the gate was drinking some of the Viking mead they had looted from the fort.
He had just refilled his mug from a nearby cask when he noticed her approaching, he laughed as he grabbed another one and filled it for her. The woman nodded as she grabbed it and started drinking it, it tasted like piss to her…but it was bearably piss nonetheless. She looked at the raider as he downed his drink before looking at her with a grin on his face.
"What can I do for you, oh great knight?" He asked as he took another drink, he was clearly drunk by this point.
"I wanted to know more about Bjorn the Plague." She asked, earning a laugh from the man.
"There's a lot of them," The man laughed out, "Some say he's the spawn of a bear and Satan, other say that he was Apollyon's bastard, and even more say that he's a knight in disguise."
"A knight in disguise? I thought you said he and Magnus were brothers?" Charlotte asked in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I said they were legends," The man said with a hiccup, "I heard that he was the elder brother of Magnus Bear Eater and that he supposedly disappeared when Magnus was young, his father thought him dead but years later…he returned! Imagine that, turning up on your family's doorstep after your younger brother is becoming a man!"
"I can imagine…" Charlotte replied, her curiosity peeked.
"After that, he somehow knew were to raid to receive the best loot, albeit without the glory of raiding whatever seems good. He was known for raids that left little glory to be gotten through blood and when he joined forces with another Viking, he was known for keeping his men's temperament small."
"Small?" Charlotte asked.
"He refused to allow his men to follow peasants as they ran away, he refused to let them rape, and he supposedly killed his best friend for defying him." The Viking said with a grin.
"I see…" The conqueror said as she contemplated this information.
"But the strangest legend was about his wife," The raider said as he took another drink, "Supposedly, he came back from a raid one day with a woman from Ashfield in tow, she was supposedly wounded in the raid and he took pity on her. She couldn't go back because after she healed, the winter had come. Her constitution wasn't strong enough to survive a trip on the seas, so she stayed with Bjorn during the months. The spring came and Bjorn set off again, leaving her behind, but supposedly he had a set jawline when he left."
The man took another drink.
"His raid took three months with periodic stops back at his land, supposedly the woman would stare at the horizon longer and longer every time he left. However, one day, the ship returned with Bjorn wounded, a warden had gotten in a strike on a return journey and he arrived home with a ghastly wound. The woman supposedly never left his side as he healed, helping him walk when he needed it. Shortly after he healed, he was seen lighting a pyre with her by his side. Shortly after that, he married her and they had a child together."
"He…married her?" Charlotte asked in a surprised tone.
"Aye," The raider responded, "I don't know what happened to her, but I hear that she's dead now."
"How did she die?" The woman responded.
"As I said, I don't know," The raider said as he finished his drink, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
The conqueror looked at the raider before she got to her feet and stormed out, passing Soliel on her way out. The peacekeeper looked at her friend in concern as she passed, Soliel followed behind her. The conqueror stormed past the new warden who was guarding the prisoners, another lawbringer, as she came to the cell were Bjorn was held. She stared at him as he noticed her and got to his feet, a snarl on his lips.
"Where did you get this?" Charlotte asked as she pulled out the doll from his lair, the Viking looked at the doll before roaring as he collided into the door, reaching for it.
"Give that back!" He yelled.
"Where did you get this?" Charlotte asked again, more forcefully this time.
"Go to hell! Give that back you whore! It belongs to my daughter!" The man screamed as he reached out for it.
"Your daughter?" The woman snarled, "You gave this trophy to your daughter?"
"Trophy?!" The man growled, "It belongs to my daughter! It's all I have left of her!"
"Her?" Charlotte asked, "Do you mean the woman you kidnapped from her home all those years ago?"
"Kidnapped, how would you know about…unless…" The man suddenly stopped struggling, "Charlotte?"
"My name is Charlotte…" The woman said before the man cut her off.
"Your mother's name was Elizabeth…wasn't it?" The berserker asked, a smile forming on his face, "A blonde woman of utmost beauty and grace?"
"My mother's name was Elizabeth and you admit to kidnapping her?" Charlotte growled.
"No…she had been wounded, violated by my brothers…I couldn't allow that…you are…by the gods…or by Jove…Charlotte…" Bjorn whispered, "I wanted to tear apart all of Ashfield to find you…to reunite you and your mother…I should have looked harder."
"Shut up barbarian," The conqueror yelled as she seized him by the throat, "You kidnapped her and you raped her to spawn your child!"
The man laughed suddenly.
"I prayed for roses, I prayed for sun, I prayed for love, and I prayed for you," He whispered, the woman's eyes went wide as she let the man go, "I remember that…your mother would sing that to her children at night…a lullaby."
Charlotte looked at him for a few seconds, before turning around and storming off. The berserker watched as she left, before turning to see the small woman nearby. She was toying with her dagger and staring at the man with deadly intent, the woman walked forward and stared the man dead in his eyes.
"I should kill you," She growled as she readied her dagger, "For making her cry."
"Woman…Soliel was it?" Bjorn said with a smile, "Please do…for if I die…it would be a good death."
The woman stared at him, before turning and walking off. The berserker turned to the big man in his cell, he walked over and patted his head. The man looked up in confusion as Bjorn turned to the cell door and started bellowing out a song, the song reached out far and wide going beyond the camp and reaching the ears of two others.
"What the hell is that?" Layla asked.
"It…it's nothing." Hilde answered as she turned to walk away.