Chapter 2: Red Dawn
Sargoth. One of the major towns of the Nordic Kingdom. Inside the walls of Sargoth lies a bustling marketplace that is never barren, despite the wars that constantly plague the land, warring factions never know when to cease, and endless bloodshed that drains the life of Calradia. Dawn is rising, and in the distance rides a lone traveler with a child. It is Clara with her only son Derik. The gate guards spot Clara and orders her to stop. " Good morning to ye. What is your business here at Sargoth?" asked the gate guard. " I am here because my village fell under attack from mountain bandits. Please you must summon your soldiers and send them to help my people at Fearichen!" pleaded Clara. The guard nodded his head and quickly relayed the message inside. Another gate guard posted asked Clara to enter the castle and stable her horse at the tavern. Clara agreed and directed the courser to the tavern. " Is father dead mother?" asked Derik. Clara, knowing that her husband wouldn't survive the attack, only answered with a silent nod.
Outside the main gate, Nordic footmen assembled and were ready for the march towards Fearichen. A captain lead the group and they began to head off towards the village. "Haste men!" yelled the captain, "This report has only yet arrived and we were told by the village woman that the attack began during the late hours of night!". With hearts filled with fury, the paced march quickly began a marathon towards Fearichen. Along the road where the army was marching towards the village, a scout on a horse spotted the group and quickly began to ride towards the mountain bandits to warn them of the army.
Back at the already plundered village, corpses of the slain villagers and its attackers where littered everywhere. Looters picking away at the hollow shells of the homes, taking everything and anything that they find might sell for a shiny denar. " Poor bastards they were!" exclaimed one looter as he was picking away at a corpse, " they don't even have a set of tools that we can sell!" "Oi aye I thought that the commander said that we aren't supposed to touch the bodies?" said the fellow looter, "Well what the commander don't know won't hurt 'em. Besides we are because he had some rel--" " what was that you were saying Bongo?" asked the fellow looter. He turns to see him but is shocked to see that a spear has been embedded through the looters chest from behind. With horror the looter quickly gets up and sees that it is the leader of the mountain bandits. "Aaahh! I swear I didn't touch the villagers bodies!" exclaimed the looter in fear. "Please don't kill me!" begs the looter. " Move along." answers the leader. The looter with a huge sign of relief gets up and moves hastily and passes his now dead friend. " You know brother you have to learn to control that temper of yours" said the leader's brother. " He was going to tell him the reason why we are here." replied the leader, "I want no one to know. Have you found Jek's body yet?" " No. We think that he may have escaped the volley." said the brother. "Escaped? I don't think that old man can outrun a volley of arrows." said the leader, "Tell your men to keep searching for the elder." " Yes brother. You shall have his head." said the brother.
As the scavengers rummaged through the slain looking for the description of the elder, the scout returns to them. " Nordic footmen are coming! Nordic footmen are coming!" yells the scout as he enters the village. The mountain bandit leader grinds his teeth with the setback. His men stare at him with fear as they watch the veins on his head begin to pulse quickly. " You fools! You let one of the villagers escape during the attack!" yelled furiously the leader. " Brother we must abandon this village and leave before we all share the same fate as our unfortunate friends here." said the leaders brother very calmly. "Damn it Ragink how can you be so calm about this!" said the leader, " I look at this unfortunate set back as our deadline that has been met. Don't you think that we have been here long enough?" said the leaders brother. Frustration ensued the leader and he ordered everyone to leave the village. The bandits quickly run to their horses and ride off into the horizon. Within minutes the village vacant and the Nordic army arrives, horrified with the scene that they see. The captain walks slowly amongst the corpses. He see's a child lying down on his face, near a tree. The captain walks towards the body and sees that even children were arming themselves against the bandits, for the boy had a small hand scythe clutched in his hand. This is the cruel reality of the Nordic way of life. Even children are taught to defend themselves. The captain returns to his group. " Men. We are obviously too late. We will stay here and bury the dead and pray that Valhalla will open its doors to these souls." Said the captain. The group gives a quite response and began to dig graves.
By the end of the day all of the bodies have been laid to rest and they hold a small prayer for the slain.