mínir sjau synir sunnan lands, verr inn átti, í val fellu.
(My seven sons in the southern land, and my husband, fell in fight all eight.)
- Guðrúnarkviða in fyrsta, 6
As the flames grew, Bruce axed the double doors. Chop! Chop! Chop!
Kibou flew behind Luna. "What a way to ruin someone's party..."
Bruce's ax chipped wood away. "C'mon, open this damn door already!"
"Þegi þú!" a bellowing voice inside angrily echoed, the speaker trudging towards the door. "Hvat er þat hlym hlymja, er ek heyri nú ti? Þegi þú!"
A shirtless, big-bellied, monstrous redhead swung the double doors open, a short-handled but huge hammer in his hand—Bruce lodged his ax in the brute's forehead. The gigantic man staggered, blood spewing out his brow as he fell over.
The wildmen looked at what disturbed their feast, horns of mead in their hands, snowflakes blown in. Bruce stood in the doorway, teeth gritted.
A nearby barbarian glowered. "Grávara!?"
Link stepped beside Bruce, growling wolves appearing behind him.
"Litast! Sá er varga vinr!" a wildman exclaimed.
The barbarians stood, those farther down the table wearing animal skins, whilst those at the very back wore mail coats, one mailed guard quite a big man. They all unsheathed their swords, though their shields were instead aligned along the walls, for the wildmen hadn't expected a disturbance.
The man at the end of the table appeared kingly with his circlet and rings, bear furs over finery, gold bands around his wrists and arms, pendants from his neck engraved. Behind him were piles of treasure. Drunkenness slowed rage, but his face reddened as he salivated, smoke and cinders gradually pouring from holes burnt through the ceiling. "Hví vartu svá djarfr, at þú fórt á minn fund! Hvat villtu hingat!?"
"I'm here for the heirloom of my fiancée," Link answered, trying to eye out where the Zora's Sapphire was amid the plunder. Like a ghost, Luna scuttled forth, the Kokiri unnoticed.
The chief looked up, realizing the hall was burning. He glared at Link. "Nú skeri ór honum hjartat...ok sé þat hans bani." He brandished his bejeweled sword. "Vega þú gakk!"
The barbarians roared, charging; Link and Bruce chopped the initial foes down, who without their shields were vulnerable. The Wolfos howled, pouring into the hall and leaping upon the wildmen, the frontal attackers of both sides rolling and wrestling wildly, teeth versus swords amid snarls and shouts.
Skǫll rammed his shoulder into a wildman, staggering him, then biting his side, hoisting him up, and slamming him against the wall. He and several wolves ran over, burying their fangs into him and using him as a chew toy.
Elsewhere, Hati leapt, kicking against the flat of an incoming sword to displace its arc. He latched onto the barbarian, biting his throat open. He leapt off, landing on his next opponent, pinning him against the table while gnawing his neck apart.
Bruce jumped atop the table, bearing his ax upon foes at either side, some Snowpeak Wolfos also going atop the table to then pounce upon enemies. Amid the vicious exchange of fangs and swords, men and beasts alike injured one another, neither side ceasing.
Link jumped over some wolves, assailing a few wildmen, wolves rushing in and clamping their jaws around the men's calves, allowing Link to easily sunder their skulls. A younger barbarian—moustached, dark-haired and wearing the skin of a stag—attacked Link. Their swords clashed and, despite the northman's youth, no wolf could knock him over.
Link's bloody sword scraped against his foe's; the wildman punched Link's face. Link winced but headbutted him, then parried the staggering foe's sword. Skǫll swerved in, tackling the lad's legs, allowing Link to dispatch him. Other snarling wolves engaged with nearby barbarians, Link withdrawing his Hookshot with her free hand. As the hall smoked heavier, Link saw a wolf with his throat clutched by a barbarian, hacking away at the beast.
Chck-THR-RR-THR-RR-THR-RR!
The Hookshot nailed the barbarian's neck. Link pulled the man to him, smashing him with the pommel. He kept his Hookshot in his free hand, using it as a parrying device, sometimes stabbing the unreleased spike, he and the wolves gradually beating back the barbarians, none of whom recovered from their drinking—a short but huge hammer boomeranged, knocking Link, Skǫll and several wolves down, then going on and smashing Bruce off the table.
The Zora landed atop a few wolves, their furry bodies cushioning his fall. He got up...
The boomeranging hammer spun off through the smoke, caught by the gigantic redhead Bruce had axed earlier. The massive man wiped blood from his brow, pointing his hammer at the Zora. "Hendi inni hægri drep ek þik Hrungnis bana, svá at þér brotnar beina hvat!"
Link regained his senses. "My Hookshot..." He couldn't find it so moved on. While he and Skǫll engaged several barbarians farther up the hall, many Snowpeak Wolfos leapt at the burly brute stomping over...
Yet, with each swing of his mighty hammer, several whimpering wolves were hurtled into the walls. The gigantic fellow raised his hammer—nearby wolves scattered—Bruce backflipping as the hammer crashed through the floorboards. Upon missing, the giant brute's face reddened. He growled, stamping his foot and shaking his head, beard swaying and hair protracting.
Bruce swung his ax upon the raging barbarian's forearm, though did little. The big man swung sideways, Bruce hooking his ax around the incoming wrist to guide it overhead. Bruce yanked himself up the shaft and unhooked it from the brute's arm, then slashed his head, though the blade bounced off his skull.
Bruce landed, thumbing his ax blade. "Getting dull..." He spun away from the next attack, throwing a chair one-handed at the brute, Hati tackling behind the big man's knee and unbalancing him. Taking advantage, the Zora leapt, axing the brute's ax, each blow seemingly doing little.
Grunting, the massive northman punched his hammer into Bruce's torso, impact throwing him through the air—several wolves turning their heads as he flew out the hall. The Zora crashed into the snow, rolled over his shoulders, and was back on his feet. Grimacing, he rubbed his sternum, unable to breathe properly. The big man kicked aside wolves, charging out the hall while Hati leapt on his back and gnawed. Bruce dodged and danced about, evading the giant hammer while cutting here and there, Hati's legs flailing as the barbarian moved...
Inside, smoke billowed through the hall, fanned by the blizzard howling through the entrance, though flying snow sizzled against cindered timbers. Yet the defenders refused to yield, even as flames grew around them.
Luna shielded herself from the heat, swerving amid violence. She reached the piles of loot, digging through them. "Ughh! I can't find it!" She gasped; Skǫll's face appeared amid the treasure. He emerged, gold falling from his fur. Luna put her hands on her hips. "Don't scare me like that! Alright, help me find the Zora's Sapphire."
Skǫll nodded. He dug through the plunder, biting bits of treasure and spitting them out. He dove headfirst into the loot, squirming in until he disappeared, Luna next. Shoulders together, Luna and Skǫll looked around the golden cave, both breathing heavily from lack of air.
Luna grunted, yanked out. She hung upside down, leg held by the chief, the Zora's Sapphire in her mouth.
"Hvat er þat it litla er ek þat löggra sék ok snapvíst snapir?" The chief plucked the Zora heirloom out Luna's teeth.
Skǫll burst from the plunder, gold coins flying everywhere. The chief reared, dropping Luna on her head and thrusting his sword at Skǫll, who bit the blade mid-air, displacing it, then drop-kicking the chief off his feet, impact hurling the Zora's Sapphire away.
While Luna ran after the sapphire, Link fenced and parried various foes' attacks, his lithe size no deterrent to his resilience, much to the northmen's surprise. The wolves regrouped, attacking from either side of the table, snapping their jaws around legs while receiving blades, their scruffs bloodied. Link approached the chief and his mailed bodyguards, who slashed back Skǫll and nearby wolves.
The mailed guards charged Link, who withdrew his bow, shooting a Fire Arrow. The fiery magic expanded upon impact, immolating the target and displacing the others. Ablaze, the mailed warrior growled, attacking Link with utmost fury. Link parried his attacks, flames whooshing from the brute's flaming arms. The Hero of Time jumped over the barbarian, flipping while slashing mid-air, sundering helm and skull alike. The guard knelt from pain, yet once Link landed, swung.
Link ducked under the sword. Lifting the front of the guard's mail shirt up, Link rammed his blade upwards into the bodyguard's stomach—blood poured. He ripped his sword out the northman's gullet, kicking him into a flaming wall, where collapsing debris buried him.
"Grímr!" one of the bodyguards cried.
Link wasted no time but a blonde man with a braided beard, wearing a bear pelt, leapt onto him, weight bearing down upon the hero. Link rolled backwards while extending his legs into his attacker's midsection, flipping him over. They got up, the blonde man shaking his head violently, frothing at the mouth while gnawing his own sword.
Link made a quizzical look. The man howled like a beat, attacking with great gusto, Link's parries sending sparks and bits of metal off their swords. Skǫll leapt, fangs bared; the northman headbutted the wolf's face, Skǫll falling onto his rump, eyes crossed. Link slid a thrust into the man but he ignored the injury; even when wolves nipped his legs, he seemed unaffected.
While the wolves kept the nearby barbarians busy, Link Jump Attacked, the northman punching his sword aside and push-kicking Link before he landed, sending the hero flying into a pillar. Grunting, Link fell to the ground. His foe roared, charging; Link grasped a handful of embers, sizzling his leather glove, and threw them into the barbarian's face. The northman reared, growling. Link thrust his sword clean through the barbarian's stomach, the impaled man grabbing Link's throat and headbutting him repeatedly.
Link gasped, his eyes rolling in his head. "HYYEAAHH!" He slid his sword upwards, lengthening the cut while the blade flicked out its host, arc cutting the northman's wrist, his hand falling from Link's neck. Link bashed his pommel into the wildman's mouth, knocking out some teeth, yet the beast of a man kept swinging his sword, Link barely withstanding the mighty blows. Blood gushing out his torn abdomen, the wild-eyed barbarian raised his sword, stepping in...
Link thrust upwards through the northman's forearm, wrenching it sideways then stabbing into his neck, pinning his hand against his own throat. Snarling, Skǫll tackled the man down, movement causing Link's sword to exit its former foe. Skǫll plunged his muzzle into the barbarian's split torso...
Link saw the chief and his bodyguards chopping down some other wolves, forcing the beasts to flee bloodied and whimpering.
The chief in turn saw Skǫll making a mess of Link's previous opponent. The chief huffed. "Guomundur numin lífi. Hann var berserkr..." More wolves jumped at him, the bodyguards stepping in to engage them. "Ek skal þá sjálfr ganga til hans!" The chief rushed Link...
Link blocked the chief's attacks, his guards going around behind, the wolves busy fighting other northmen. The Hero of Time spun gracefully, parrying attacks from all directions. "HYAAHH!" His Spin Attack hurled the guards and chief away, the wolves pouncing upon them.
The chief, however, was quite tough, throwing his lupine assailants off and getting up. He scanned the area, not disgruntled at his bodyguards' struggles against the beasts, the weight of their mail and the wolves keeping them down. The chief pulled free a fallen bodyguard, kicking back a wolf. The chief charged Link yet again.
"HaahAAHH!" Link Jump Attacked, the chief skidding to a halt and blocking Link's attack. He pommel-smashed Link's head and kneed his chest.
Link regained balance, binding his sword against his furious foe's.
"Þú hefir etnar ulfa krásir!"
"I take it that's an insult regarding me and my wolves?" Link realigned his sword around his opponent's edge, but received a push-kick to the chest and fell over his heels. The chief lunged—Skǫll latched upon his chest, burying his teeth into regal attire. Skǫll ripped his teeth out the chief's throat, kicking off and backflipping through the air as Link charged underneath. "Hei!" He rammed his sword hilt-deep in the chief's chest.
The chief staggered, blood leaking from his mouth. "Mér hefir hjörr komit hjarta it næsta..." He tottered, soon buried by wolves and their fangs. The other barbarians desired to avenge the death of their leader, though the wolves were unceasing.
Some wolves spread apart, letting Link take the chief's sword for himself. Most wildmen were on the floor, wrestling with wolves. Up above, holes were burnt across the ceiling, falling embers mixed with snowfall.
The Hero of Time gasped. "Bruce!"
Outside, the Zora was hammered off his feet, dropping his ax as his back crashed against the fence, bending it. Link rushed to the entrance, the huge brute turning while Hati scurried to and fro, biting the wildman's legs who ignored him.
Something struck Link with great force. "AAGGHHH—ah-hrah!" He sat up, the giant hammer flying backwards into the redhead's hand.
The big man lumbered into the hall, Link getting up. He jumped sideways as the hammer slammed through the floor, rolling behind the giant then twirling up the air, rotational force unleashing many cuts. Upon landing, Link spun, thrusting his sword behind the brute's knee. The giant grunted, falling to his injured knee, a bunch of wolves leaping forth and sinking their teeth into his belly. Growling, the redhead threw the wolves off himself.
Link Jump Attacked the brute. "HYAAaahh—" The hammer collided with such force he dropped his sword while crashing through the floor.
Eyes rolling in his head, dust fluttering, Link dizzily popped his head out the debris; a nail waiting for a hammer.
Leaping through smoke and cinders, Hati's jaws clamped upon the giant's hand, knuckles crackling. The northman grunted, grabbing Hati by the scruff with his free hand and squeezing until Hati yelped. Skǫll rushed in, latching his teeth around the giant's kneecap until it cracked. The brutish man staggered, more wolves tackling into him.
While the wolves kept the redhead busy, Link unearthed himself from the debris. He struggled to stand, head throbbing so much it was like his brain sloshed. He found the sword as wolves were thrown around. The brute heavily limped over, Link backflipped away from the incoming hammer. Link landed on the table, using the extra height to slash at the wildman—the giant grabbed it with one hand and flipped it over.
"Aghh!" Link fell, the table landing atop him, spilling dishes, cutlery and food. Some debris fell from the ceiling, landing around Link, the flames setting alight the table. Link's eyes widened. "Now I kinda regret giving the Golden Gauntlets back to the Gerudo..."
The gigantic redhead stepped on the burning table, pinning Link underneath. Gritting his teeth, Link extended his arm felt around the floor—found the Hookshot. The brute raised his hammer. Link aimed up and shot... Chain unable to hoist Link, it instead ripped down a burnt beam, which fell on the redhead, impact showering cinders everywhere as he fell.
Skǫll returned, grasping Link's shoulder with his teeth and dragging him from under the table.
The ceiling creaked loudly, everyone looking up as the roof collapsed. The wolves darted out faster than anyone could, Link stepping back as cinders waved over him, flames engulfing the walls. He coughed heavily, every breath fiery as smoke and cinders scorched his throat and lungs.
"Link!" Luna's voice shrieked, Kibou zigzagging through the smoke to get Link's attention.
Link leapt through a wall of fire, Luna having covered her mouth with her turtle neck, beckoning through the smoke.
"Link! This way!"
The Hero of Time ran with her, who led him past plunder, up ahead a section of collapsed wall. A flaming pillar fell over, blocking their path as the walls leaned...
Kibou rang aloud. "We're trapped!"
Coughing, Luna remarked, "You can easily fly out, Kibou! Save yourself!"
"I'm not leaving without you!"
Link withdrew his Fairy Bow, squinting from heat and smoke. He shot an Ice Arrow, the magic assembling a chunky bridge for them. "Let's go!"
They ran across the ice and leapt, everything crashing behind them and hurling embers everywhere, their scorched throats and lungs now pierced with ice-cold air. Their sooty faces smacked into snow, quenched from the heat they just escaped...
