Note: Many thanks to Bloodrayne666 for helping me with certain parts of this chapter. Really appreciate that, my friend.
Chapter 33
New Friends
The battle against the Nordlings had been won, and without any casualties for either side, just some minor injuries. And yet, the Mutopians were not really in the mood for celebration. The Nordlings on the other hand, despite being the loosing side, quickly gathered up some supplies from their ships and set about to arrange a feast, in order to celebrate their new allies.
This caught the Mutopians off guard, as they had expected the Nordlings to simply leave, even after they and Tyroth had discussed an alliance, but that was obviously not the case.
However, seeing no good reason not to have a good time, they decided to help as best they could, if only to be able to keep a close eye on their former foes, just in case.
Some, however, were busy with other tasks. After the fight was over, the few Mutopian that had hid in the inn had emerged from hiding after hearing that the fight was won, their resident doctor James being one of them.
Accompanied by Devina, he inspected all of the ones injured during the battle, regardless of side, cleaning wounds and sewing them up again when needed, while Devina finished up with her healing magic, bringing everyone back to near perfect health again.
Except for Cam, who had taken an axe in his shoulder. The wound, while not being critical, was still pretty deep, and would require several days of treatment to properly heal. Because of that, Cam would have to be off from any kind of work for the time as well.
After a short while, all the people were gathered in the town square, where a couple of bonfires had been made and food was being roasted. The Nordlings had brought dried meat from seal, shark and goat, as well as several kegs of sweet mead, while the Mutopians contributed with a collection of fruits and vegetables that they had harvested, as well as meat from fish, seagulls, wolves and the Allosaurus.
The Mutopians were a little tense at first, but after a while, they started to loosen up and joined the festivities wholeheartedly.
Before long, the two groups had intermingled and ate and talked and laughed and sang, or tried to sing at the very least.
Several hours passed before everyone finally calmed down and headed off to bed, the Mutopians to their homes, and the Nordlings settled in their ships. At that point, dawn was no more than a couple of hours away, which resulted in the entire village sleeping in to recover, not waking until it was almost noon.
That day, after lunch, Tyroth sat in the meeting room, together with Jack, Leonardo, Ragnir Donatello and the Nordling leader, Harald Stormrider, Jarl of the Wolf clan, as they needed to further discuss their future relations if they were to be allies.
"...so, you're a jarl as well?" Harald asked with a raised eyebrow and knowing smile.
"Not by choice, but I try to make the best of it." Tyroth responded with a slight sigh.
"Well, you seem to be doing well. Knowing not only how to fight, but also when not to fight, that is a skill of a great leader."
"As we have all been saying." Leonardo said with a smirk.
"Then I can safely enter this alliance without any worries." Harald said, a wide smile showing. "Together, our two clans will be able to face the whatever the future holds. My Wolf clan, and your Dragon clan."
"Not again…" Tyroth groaned.
"Hold on, Dragon clan?" Jack said, looking at first Harald, then Tyroth. "Not to be disrespectful or anything, but we barely got anything related to dragons here, aside from the boss here, and his two kids, and they are only part dragon. Sure, they're the toughest we got, but does that really make us a Dragon clan?"
"Does that matter?" Harald asked. "We have no wolves in our clan, but we still have an affinity that has followed since our clan was founded generations ago."
"Interesting." said Donatello. "Well, I guess we could use a similar logic for our name then. Since the old Mutopia wouldn't have existed if it weren't for the actions of the dragon Thaenia, the people now living in the new Mutopia could rightfully claim to be of the Dragon clan, even more so with Tyroth as our leader as well."
Tyroth sighed. "Donnie…" he said "I don't know how I can explain this, but.."
"But what?" Donatello asked.
"I know I'm the Jarl of this settlement, and as you say, Old Mutopia wouldn't have existed without Thaenia, but almost everything named here, including the calling of the Clan, has the word 'Dragon' in it."
Donatello raised an eyebrow ridge. "Is there something wrong with that?" he asked.
"Well, its not that I'm not grateful for how you guys look up to me and stuff but…using Dragon in almost every way, whether to describe the village, or the clans or anything else, it's just….how can I say this….it's getting too much."
"Too much?" Donatello asked.
"I'm the only Dragon of the Village, and okay, its hard to ignore that, but I feel like everything's focused on me, every little thing."
Donatello cocked his head on one side. "You mean like there's too much focus on you?"
"Precisely!" said Tyroth "I might be Jarl, but we all play a part in this village, whether we be turtle, lizard, human, elf, feline, insect or anything else. We can discuss this more later, so let's move on…" Tyroth cleared his throat and turned back to Harald.
"This alliance of ours will come with a few obligations, for both of our… clans. Such as… let's call it a non-aggression treaty."
"A what?" the Nordling asked.
"You don't attack us, and we don't attack you."
"Ah, right. Easy enough. Though I'm sure most of my warriors wouldn't mind sparring with your own warriors in the future."
"I don't think that's impossible." said Leonardo. "As long as we all agree on the terms and such. But that brings me to another question. Why did you attack us?"
"Our seeress had a vision and read the bones, telling us that spoils could be found here. With winter approaching, we need all we can get to ensure our survival."
"So you pillage villages for your own selfish needs?" Ragnir scoffed. "Some leader you are."
Harald's gaze hardened.
"Have you ever been to the Frozen Wastes, dwarf? The name is more than well earned. It's hostile and unforgiving even at the best of times, resources are scarce, every day is a constant battle for survival."
"Then why do you live there?" Jack asked. "Why no just move somewhere else? There has to be a place that you can live an easier life somewhere in the world."
"According to the stories passed down through generations, our ancestors were driven out of their homeland ages ago, and forced to flee where their foes would not follow them, the Frozen Wastes." Harald explained. "Ever since that day, we struggled to survive until we finally conquered our new home. But there's only so much we can gain from the lands, thus we take what we need from those more fortunate. That land is our home now, no one else dares go there, and we will not give it up."
"Sounds much like my own ancestors." said Tyroth. "They too lived in a cold and harsh land, plundering others for food, materials and valuables, becoming so infamous that they got an entire age named after them. It started as a necessity and became a part of their lifestyle and culture over time, and I imagine that it's the same for your people."
Harald nodded. "Aye, that is the truth. But I have to ask, other than peace between our clans, what else will this alliance give us?"
For a moment, Tyroth sat in deep thought. Allies helped each other, that was true, and while it would be far from impossible to allow Harald's clan to live with them in Mutopia, it was clear that they were far too proud to leave their ancestral home, no matter how hard life there was.
But the dragon guessed that that was probably just as well, as he couldn't see them giving up their ways of raiding any time soon, and he didn't want to involve Mutopia's people in that, especially not when they were on good terms with the king himself. Guilt by association could very well be a serious thing in this world.
No, it would have to be another way for them to aid each other. And Tyroth knew just the thing.
"How about trade?" he suggested. "Since it's clear that your home is lacking in some areas, how about we simply trade with each other instead? We can offer food, as well as a small amount of metal, once we get the mine going. Possibly even more things than that in the future."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound like a bad deal." Harald said, holding his chin in thought. "But what can we offer in return then?"
"Something of roughly equal value." said Leonardo. "What that might be, however, you probably know better than us."
"Well, we do have coin. I think we can spare some of that. Other than that, I don't know for sure."
"Maybe some form of artisan goods?" Donatello suggested. "Even if we don't use all of them ourselves, I do think we could sell them to the capital or other nearby settlements."
"I bet April would love to handle that part." said Jack. "She won't say it out loud, but even I can tell that she really misses her old shop."
"I will see what we have once we return home, but it does not solve our current problem." said Harald. "As I've said, winter is not far, and we need resources, at the very least enough food to make the journey here worth it."
"Understandable. And I believe we can help." Tyroth said, and turned to Donatello. "I need you to calculate how much food they need and we can spare at the moment."
"I'll see what I can do."
With a nod, Tyroth turned his attention back to Harald. "We will give you some of our food in advance, and in return, when you return to trade, you will have to bring enough to trade with for both that time, as well as for the food you get now. Or, at the very least, enough to start paying that off over several instances."
"A fair deal. On behalf of my clan, I thank you for this."
"Don't thank us just yet. There is still a lot for both of our clans to do before either of us can lean back and relax."
With the meeting over, Donatello hurried off to take a full inventory of their food stores for his calculations, while the rest went their separate ways for the moment, leaving Tyroth to give Harald a proper tour of Mutopia. And the two jarls had quite a lot to discuss during said tour.
"You named your own children after the Gods?! That is either an act of reverence or blasphemy."
"It wasn't meant as either, but we certainly meant no disrespect to the Gods with our choice." the dragon explained. "It has just been such a long time since there was any actual worship of the Gods. They have more or less faded into the history books. It's really only my own fascination with the heritage of my ancestors that has rekindled a faith of them in me. Naming Freya and Loki after the two Gods, just felt right towards my ancestors."
"Hmm, I believe I see what you mean."
"It wouldn't be the first time it's happened. Many names of the Gods have been used by people for several hundreds of years. But I think one of the major differences between our two worlds is that back on mine, Gods, regardless of what kind, are more mentioned than felt. Many don't even believe that they ever existed, that they were just figments of imaginations from the past. Honestly, I'm not even sure myself if they were ever real. But my ancestors believed in them, and I want to keep that heritage alive. It's too important to forget."
"Spoken like you were a member of my own clan." Harald said, placing his hand firmly on Tyroth's shoulder. "And I can tell you that here, the Gods are very much real. And I am not talking about simple magic like that of my sword, but true power of the Gods. I have seen Valhalla, my brother of faith."
Tyroth's eyes went wide. "You have?!"
"Aye. Back when I was but a lad, our seer used her magic to open a gateway to the fields surrounding Valhalla, so those of us whose faith was weak could see the truth. For a few precious minutes, I and several others were allowed to stand on the most holy of planes. Now, our faith can never be broken."
"Incredible…"
"More than incredible. It was… divine…" a chill ran down Harald's spine, making him shiver at the very memory. "It is a yearly tradition, so that we will never loose our faith. It is one way that we honour and pay respect to our Gods, and with how you speak, I would be willing to allow you the same."
"A chance to see Valhalla with my own eyes?" Tyroth thought for a moment. "I would lie if I said that the thought didn't excite me… I will have to think hard about it."
"Take your time. This ritual is held every year on the first of days. If you are willing, you can always send word back with our ships as our trading continues, and we can make the arrangements."
"I thank you for the offer, and I can promise that I will give it some serious thought to this."
A couple of hours later, roughly around four a clock, the Nordling longships were heavy with both crew and food.
Harald stood on the beach, shaking the hands of both Tyroth and Donatello.
"You have the thanks of my people for this gesture." he said. "And I promise you that we will repay you. I just hope that you haven't put yourself in risk for our sake."
"We should be fine." said Donatello. "While our food stores have been set back quite a lot, according to my calculations, we should still be able to survive the winter without issues, as long as our remaining harvests are good, we do some extra hunting and fishing, ration what food we gather and have a little bit of luck."
"Come spring, and we should be able to start proper trade relations with you." said Tyroth.
"I look forward to it, my friend. Farewell, and may the Gods watch over your clan."
With that, Harald joined his warriors on the ships, and they set sails towards their home across the sea, with the Mutopians waving them good bye from the shores for a short while before returning to work.
Yet, Tyroth remained for a few more minutes, his eyes lingering on the longships in the distance.
"Wish that you could go with them, don't you, hun?" he heard Sephie ask him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Part of me do, at least, I can't deny that."
"I can imagine, you've always been so proud of your heritage, and now you've met the closest thing to your own ancestors. Your Viking blood must be yearning to live that life for real."
Tyroth chuckled, but shook his head. "It does, but I know better. I understand why they do what they do, why they need to, but I could never do it. It would hurt far too many, and that's not who I am."
"You know, for someone descending from Vikings, I think that you're more of a stereotypical knight in shining armour."
"Would you still have chosen me if I was closer to my roots? A savage that takes what he wants?" Tyroth asked with a coy smile.
"Maybe, maybe not." Sephie teased. "Might have gotten kidnapped by you instead. Taken back to your home as part of your plunder. Used as a love slave, kept as a mate."
"Why are you saying this as if it is a kinky fantasy of yours?"
"Maybe it is…" Sephie said, leaning in and kissing her husband. "I've always loved the way you look in those fur clothes of yours. Ever since you first wore them back in Skyrim. There is just something so special about that wild look it give you."
"So I've noticed."
"How about we try to finish up our work, and retire to our room for the night? It's been far too long since we had some intimate time together."
"You won't have to ask me twice, love." Tyroth said, holding his mate close as he kissed her. "Gods know I need this."
"The Gods know you deserve it, stud." Sephie giggled. "And so do I."
Later that night, while everyone was asleep, the trunk of the spruce tree in the village square split open, a green portal filling the hole and expanding it.
The portal remained open for only a few short seconds, barely allowing the two travellers to exit before closing both itself and the tree without a trace.
The two travellers were none other than Karai and Zaleria, and they were both in pretty bad shape. Their clothes were torn, they had numerous still bleeding cuts and several arrows pierced their bodies, in addition to a javelin in Karai's thigh and one in Zaleria's waist. Karai supported the barely conscious Zaleria while she limped as quickly as she could, only to fall to her knees after only a few metres.
"Somebody! Help!" she cried out into the night.
Took a little while to make this done, but I'm happy with it all the same.
Now Mutopia have friendly relations with the Nordlings, and hopefully that will pay off in the future.
Whatever happened to Karai and Zaleria can't be good though.