Valkyrie Profile:

Lenneth Novelization AU:

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Chapter Ten:

The Forest of Woe I

"The Forest of Woe? We're really going in there? …Lady Valkyrie."

Lenneth took a moment to answer Llewelyn. She was busy looking over the snowy lands to their south so she could get the lay of the land.

"Yes, we are," she turned away from the cursed place to address her einherjar. "No one will be leaving until we have discovered the cause and undone it."

Llewelyn gulped.

"Understand, Ma'am, er… Lady Valkyrie," he corrected himself again.

Arngrim smirked. It'd been the third time that morning Llewelyn had corrected himself and the warrior still found it amusing. Then he made himself focus on the current situation. The five of them, Valkyrie and einherjar, stood upon the summit of Mount Monferaigne, a flat-topped massif just north of the snowy forest.

Nothing had changed since the day before to investigate the eastern sea. The region was still under siege by unnatural winter weather, an unending downfall of snow, burying it deep and making traversing it difficult.

"I still don't understand why the cursed area is shaped in a perfect circle," Jelanda said.

She glanced up at the storm clouds which mirrored the lands below in both size and shape. From where they were, the circle of eternal winter stretched out into the distance. It's rounded boundary only barely discernible.

"I have not heard of the never-ending blizzard expanding any further," Belenus stated. "So hopefully that means the curse will not overtake the whole continent. But… information has been sparse altogether. A few magi have had theories about where to look for answers, though."

"The geographical center," Lenneth said.

She turned to him intently.

"No one who has braved the storm has been successful yet, have they?" she asked.

Belenus shook his head.

"Few have even returned," Belenus answered. "I've heard rumors of vampires, Ghasts, and even rabid animals, but that's it. Nothing substantial."

"Um…" Llewelyn mumbled.

That drew everyone's attention, and he went subtly red, uncomfortable with having the floor.

"You know something of this affliction? Speak," Lenneth asked.

"Well, it's just that…" Llewelyn worked at adjusting the tightness of his bow string to avoid eye contact. "The new recruits I was with had to pass through to get to the sea."

He absently plucked at the bowstring, and nervously gave the rest of the party a glance in the corner of his eye.

"What did you see in there?" Lenneth pressed.

"Not much," Llewelyn answered. "Most of the plants and animals have died, just left out in the cold to freeze before getting buried under the snow."

He swallowed as a look of dread crossed his features.

"We didn't actually encounter much. It was mostly dead animals," he explained. "Some of them had been uncovered, and eaten, or been drained of their blood. Others were just torn apart, and their pieces were everywhere, but it didn't look like they'd been eaten."

Arngrim considered the boy's testimony.

"Your recruitment officer didn't investigate at all?" he asked.

Llewelyn shook his head.

"No. We had a schedule to keep. We did hear odds things like a woman screaming at night. We heard her a lot. We also heard horse hooves in the dark, but no rider ever approached us," he said.

"What do you think, Valkyrie?" Arngrim asked.

"Nothing definite just yet, but we will discover the answer soon. First, though…" Lenneth paused.

She turned to Llewelyn.

"Now that you are an einherjar, you will never be lacking for ammunition," she said.

She gestured to the bow strapped across his back.

"That bow I've gifted you with is from Valhalla's own storeroom, made by the elves. It gathers astral energy, shaping it into an arrow when you pull the string taut. You can shoot them as though they were normal bolts, though," she informed him. "Remember that."

"I will, Lady Valkyrie," Llewelyn replied.

"Good. Now, we are off," Lenneth ordered.

The battle maiden took off through the sky at full speed again with the fallen. They arrived within range of the abnormal cold after a short time. The icy wind and falling snowflakes were soon all around them as far as they could see.

"Br," Jelanda shivered.

With some embarrassment, she noted the men around her did not seem to share her sentiment. Flushing, she made herself stop as much as she could. Lenneth did not begin their descent at the edge of the forest. Instead, she flew over the trees until they were closer to the middle. The sky over them was completely overcast and the border of the curse's range was behind them, completely vanished over the horizon. Below, the roof of trees looked almost like snowy hilltops. Through the perpetual snowfall, it was difficult to make anything else out from that distance.

"It's worse than I thought it'd be!" Jelanda exclaimed. "How can any curse do this?"

"They normally do not. The sheer size of this affliction is… troubling," Lenneth answered.

Arngrim looked up at the clouds and watched the snow fall down on them

"If it's not a curse then what is it?" he asked. "Did one of the Jötunns get loose on Midgard?"

Arngrim focused on the frozen, covered forest below. Lenneth considered the possibility.

"If that is the case, then we are in for a bigger fight than any we have had so far," Lenneth's ton was grave. "And it would explain how a disease on the land of this kind could not only occur but endure."

"Because there are several gods who should be able counter this?" Belenus asked.

"Yes," Lenneth answered, thoughtfully. "Four of my fellow goddesses, to be precise should have something to say about this."

"Frei, Idunn, Fjordyn, and Sif," Belenus muttered.

Lenneth regarded her einherjar for a moment before dropping a question:

"How long has it been since news about this place spread?"

"Hmm…" Arngrim grunted. "Well, some merchants from the east dropped by the taverns on their way to Lassen a couple months ago. They talked about the Monferaigne wilderness suddenly startin' to turn cold, complete with snowfall. That's how I first heard of it."

"As for me," Belenus said. "I first heard of it when I had to abandon the trade route that runs through this region to find another path for my spice traders, also roughly two months back."

"Spice deliveries?" Arngrim sounded lightly amused.

"Yes, the eastern coastal towns are among my company's biggest buyers," the ex-noble replied offhandedly.

"Spice traders?" Llewelyn perked up.

He looked at Belenus for a long moment, and then his jaw dropped as his eyes lit up in recognition. He pointed at the man in shock.

"Wait, that's your face I see painted on the side of those East Lassen Spices shipments?" he was gawking at this point.

Jelanda puffed up and slapped his hand down. The young archer looked at her in surprise, but she just crossed her arms.

"It's rude to point," she scolded.

Then she turned to Belenus, looking cross.

"You were selling to Crell Monferaigne?" Jelanda huffily asked.

The Lassen noble shrugged helplessly.

"I had no choice," there was a chuckle in Belenus's voice. "It was them, or Villnore, because Artolia would not negotiate their prices."

Lenneth tuned them out again and busied herself studying the terrain from above. After a moment, Belenus noticed her.

"Can you… detect, the source, Lady Valkyrie?" he asked.

"I cannot," Lenneth replied. "There's too much interference. I cannot see the geographic center based on sight in this thick snowfall, either. The entire area has been thrown out of balance. We will need to descend and search on foot."

Below she saw a break in the trees, a clearing at the edge of a hollow. Lenneth fixed her einherjar with a firm stare before dropping.

"Be on your guard, my einherjar," she ordered. "There's no telling what foul trickery we may encounter in these spellbound lands."

Arngrim and Belenus had already drawn their swords when she began to descend them all into the Forest of Woe. Llewelyn drew the bowstring, generating an energy arrow. As they fell among the trees, they began to see how much the blizzards and snowstorms had decimated the plants and wildlife of the forest. When they neared the ground, a peculiar smell began to fill their noses.

"Ugh!" Jelanda gagged as she covered her nose. "What on Midgard is that horrible smell? It's like death!"

"Oh, right, the stench," Llewelyn's muffled voice came out between his fingers. "I forgot about that. The smell of death was everywhere the whole time we traveled through."

He retched once before getting it under control.

"Oh, I didn't miss this," he whined.

Belenus coughed and covered his nose with his sleeve. The sickly-sweet cloying smell was getting to him, too. Beside him, Arngrim's eyes narrowed as his eyes scanned below carefully, but he was completely unaffected by the disgusting odor. He knew it all too well.

"It is death," he answered.

"Is it?" Jelanda's question came out nasally with her nose plugged.

"Yes," Lenneth said. "I would say a herd of animals, or perhaps even an army, has died and been left out there from how thick it is."

Jelanda, Llewelyn, and Belenus looked daunted while Arngrim had gone stone-faced, his eyes continuing to look everywhere. Thankfully, the trees were spread apart well enough for them to see a decent distance.

"It looks like we're in the clear to set down," the ex-mercenary thought.

Lenneth hesitated above the snow-covered ground a moment, and then dropped them all down in it. She was not at all surprised to find it went up to the top of her knee-high iron boots. Behind her, Jelanda cried out at the cold, wet sensation of being so deep in the snow. The Valkyrie ignored her and looked around, searching for the source of the stench.

While Lenneth looked one way, Arngrim looked the other, covering their rear. Jelanda gripped her scepter tightly, holding it close. She was still disgusted by the smell and fearful of what might have caused so much death if not the extreme cold. Around them, the snow was intermixed with fallen leaves, which looked to have come loose from their branches sometime after the snowfall. Dead weeds stuck out of the snow's surface, bushes still stood with dead flowers hanging from their stems.

"This winter certainly did not happen naturally," Lenneth thought. "It's like it all happened out of order."

Belenus spotted some odd lumps near them on the otherwise even ground. They were scattered all around. Some in clusters, some far apart.

"Hmm. Those don't quite look like rocks or natural swelling in the earth," Belenus thought.

"Lady Valkyrie," he called.

When Lenneth turned, Belenus pointed to the bumps in the terrain.

"I believe we may have found some of the dead wildlife Llewelyn's troop encountered before," he said.

Llewelyn gave the mounds a haunted look while standing still as a statue.

"What's the matter?" Arngrim asked. "Never seen dead animals before?"

"Of course, I have," Llewelyn said, sounding a little indignant. "I was a hunter before I joined the army. I went hunting with father all my life before going by myself."

He then gestured around at the covered bodies with a sweeping motion.

"But this isn't natural," Llewelyn said.

Belenus carefully approached one of the mounds to investigate, sword still drawn. Arngrim closely followed him in case whatever was buried there sprang to life. Not far away, Lenneth walked almost parallel to Belenus to examine another mound with Jelanda close behind her.

Belenus noticed a fallen tree branch poking out of the snow about a pace out of his way and picked it up. When he was standing over the snow-covered bump, he began raking away the snow, uncovering what appeared to be frozen, matted fur. Soon, he uncovered its head, legs, and tail: it was the carcass a white-tailed deer doe. It was fully intact, albeit completely frost-bitten.

Beside them, Lenneth raised her hand over another mound and blasted the snow away with a gust of wind she conjured. Behind her, Jelanda groaned in revulsion. It was the frozen carcass of a raccoon. Also intact, also frost-bitten. Lenneth and Belenus shared a grim look and then looked at the remaining forms covered in snow. The Valkyrie pointed her finger in their direction, shooting another current of air to blow the snow away. The powdery white filled the air, revealing that they'd landed in a graveyard of fauna.

"These poor creatures all froze to death," Lenneth commented dourly. "This deadly cold came upon the forest without warning, and none within had time to prepare naturally."

Jelanda saw a dead half-grown deer faun not far from the doe Belenus had uncovered. She pitied the poor thing.

"Who would do this?" Jelanda asked morosely.

"That is what we are here to discover," Lenneth answered. "Come, my einherjar. Let us make haste. The fiend awaits."

After a moment, they found what passed for a trail and began to follow it. The trees were still not too tightly packed around them, allowing them to see into the surrounding terrain. It was very quiet. The only noises penetrating that silence was the wind blowing above and their crunching footsteps in the powdery white. There wasn't a single living creature in sight. There were, however, plenty more of the snow-covered mounds scattered all over around them. Some weren't fully covered. They could make out the fallen forms of wolves, red foxes, lynx, badgers, otters, and more. A polecat lied dead upon a tree stump they passed. Most of them were intact, but not all of them. One poor lynx looked like it had been skinned by hand and had its hide hung over a tree branch while the cat's inwards hung from the branches they were tied to.

"Disgusting!" Jelanda whined and turned away.

"That's how we found some of 'em," Llewelyn reported.

"Valkyrie, you seeing this?" Arngrim pointed to the knots the entrails were tied to the branches by.

"Yes, a villain of sick mind did this," Lenneth answered, glaring at the sheer profanity of it. "'Tis almost ritualistic."

She turned from the scene only to find another oddity. There was a pile of dead deer just off the narrow trail. Something about the way they'd been amassed did not speak of them dying that way naturally. On closer inspection, she could see body parts were missing, like they'd just been broken off their frozen bodies. Belenus glanced at Lenneth and followed her gaze.

"It looks like these poor creatures were found and collected after the fact," he said.

Lenneth got down on knee to inspect the snow around where the carcasses lied and indeed, it'd been broken and trampled down not long ago.

"I have found something, my einherjar," she beckoned.

Arngrim, Llewelyn, and Jelanda turned and gathered around her.

"Something still lives here. Observe," Lenneth directed them to the tracks.

Jelanda and Belenus tried to follow where the Valkyrie pointed, but most of the tracks were invisible to them. Arngrim and Llewelyn, however, could see the subtle signs being pointed out to them just fine. The footprints looked a lot like the beast had hands for feet. Dragging marks in the snow on either side of them hinted the creature had very long arms.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's yetis," Arngrim said. "They're not supposed to be too common this side of the mountains from what I've heard, but they'd be drawn to the cold."

"They're the cold weather cousins of the pongos, right?" Jelanda asked.

"Yep," was all Arngrim said in reply.

Lenneth followed the tracks with her eyes, but soon, they vanished over a hill some distance away.

"The snow apes are likely gathering whatever meat they can find and will be dining as a troop sometime this evening," the Valkyrie said aloud. "We better be gone by then. I have no intention of engaging with animals following their natural instincts."

She glanced down the trail, spotting more of those mounds, and one that was partially uncovered, an otter. Except… As she looked closer at the half-uncovered animal, there was something off about the way the snow had been uncovered. It edges were of the snow were jagged as though removed by hand. Without a word, she walked on ahead, approaching the dead otter. The einherjar glanced among themselves, shrugged, and followed her.

She stopped by the otter, eyes slowly moving to take in every detail. The marine mammal's front half had indeed been dug out. Moreover, something had bitten into its neck. There were two small puncture marks visible in the flesh through the fur, but that was not the cause of its death. There was no blood flow, no clotting, no healing. This animal was already dead when something came by and sunk its teeth into its jugular, absolutely mangling it. Whatever had bitten in had nearly torn it out and had squeezed the neck both at the base of the skull and at the shoulders. The perpetrator had tried to force the blood from the wound. There were no remaining flakes of snow where the throat had been squeezed, but there was ice. Telltale signs the blood drinker's body warmth had melted the snow, which had refrozen later. Lenneth held up her hand beside where the otter's neck had been squeezed. The area was roughly shaped like a hand.

Lenneth looked down at the ground around the otter. There were footprints that had been mostly refilled with snow around it. She reached down and scooped them out. It looked like the impression of a human foot.

"Vampires," Lenneth announced to the party. "The Undead have a hand in this."

"Here too?" Jelanda asked.

Lenneth stood, looking onward.

"Yes," the Valkyrie answered. "Come. We have much ground to cover."


"Something has entered the wood. Have those meddling gods finally arrived? Hmm. Yes, definitely Aesir. This presence… I've not felt it since… Could it be her? After so long?"


Lenneth leapt over a half-frozen brook, leaving her einherjar behind at a two-way fork in the road. Tall snowbanks, trees, and half-dead bushes now made up the borders of the trail they walked. She had gone ahead down the left path because it went around a bent on the other side of the water. She stopped at the end of the turn. The way ahead was also narrow, heading up into the massive slope of a bluff. The hill stretched into the distance on both directions.

The other path they could take headed away from the hills, remaining on lower ground, leading to where the trees were densely packed.

"We can check higher ground later," she decided.

The goddess turned and jumped the stream again to return to the group. When she had, she pointed down the right path.

"For now, we will explore the valleys and flats," she informed them. "If we must return to search through the hills, we will. Fall in."

Arngrim, Jelanda, Llewelyn, and Belenus began to follow her. They had gone a short distance when they heard a booming crunch in the snow from the hillside. All looked up to the slope. The thick snowfall made it impossible to see the top of the high bluff, and the trees which covered its incline did not help. The sound was followed by another, identical heavy crunch. A third, a fourth, and more came after. The party realized they were hearing footsteps.

Lenneth glanced at the tracks they'd left, deciding quickly on a course of action.

"Take cover," she ordered.

Arngrim stepped behind a tall snowbank on the side of the path closer to the bluffs, getting down on knee. Meanwhile, Belenus and Jelanda veered over to the other side of the road and hid themselves behind trees with thick trunks. Llewelyn crouched behind Arngrim. Lenneth rose a couple of feet into the air and cast another blast of wind, destroying first their footprints on their current path, and then floated over to where they'd come from, and did it again, wiping out all traces of their presence with visible distance.

She turned, seeing her lone set of tracks on both sides of the brook, but decided to leave them be. They might just lure whatever's coming down into the open. She hovered towards another large snowbank, which was back before the split in the path, and set down. She peered around its side, watching, and waiting to see who approached them.

Crunch, crunch.

They heard something largely snort and sniff from behind a row of trees.

"There," Lenneth spotted something big move along behind the trunks.

They caught glimpses of steel, a big head with a long snout, the snap of a tail. The thing finally stepped out into a gap in the trees, and they got a clear look.

"Another Dragon Servant?" Lenneth asked. "That confirms this blizzard is the work of an Undead."

The nostrils at the end of its serpentine head sniffed the air, but the snow was too thick for it catch much scent. It turned and started clumsily making its way down the slope. Behind it, a second Dragon Servant and then a third followed.

"Of course," Lenneth resignedly thought.

She glanced at her einherjar. Jelanda and Belenus both looked tense. The ex-noble had taken one peek around the side of the tree he hid behind and became very apprehensive at the prospects of facing the Dragon Servants. Jelanda clutched her staff closely and tightly. The Artolian girl reminded herself what Lenneth had taught her about magic feverishly.

"Work with the magic, like it's an extension of your own body," Jelanda reminded herself. "You're not its master, you're its partner. Work with it, instead of trying to dominate it."

Arngrim grinned in anticipation. Llewelyn pulled on his collar tensely, trying to control this breath.

"What are those things?" Llewelyn had never seen anything like them.

He looked at Arngrim ahead of him, seeing he was confidently ready to pounce.

"Alright, this is your chance, Llewelyn," he told himself. "Be brave. Think of Millia."

With her einherjar in position, Lenneth glanced back toward the slope. The Dragon Servants were heading toward them. They'd find her footprints in another minute or so.

"Hmm…" one corner of her lips pulled up into a small, wry grin.

The Dragon Servants' pounding footsteps brought them ever closer. When the leader was near to where Lenneth examined the high road, it saw her tracks. It stopped, and pointed to them with its massive, curved sword, letting out a loud roar to alert its partners. The others made purring-like noises to indication they had heard.

The alpha dragon shouldered its weapon and stomped ahead quickly to follow Lenneth's footprints. As soon as it had rounded the bend, it paused. It saw her tracks cross the stream and then just vanish up ahead. It raised its snout in the air and took several deep whiffs to try catching the scent of whoever had dared enter the territory.

"That is my cue," Lenneth thought.

She stepped out from behind the bank, fully showing herself to the draconian things.

"Looking for me?" she called out to them.

The lead dragon roared and stamped its feet challengingly. While Arngrim could barely contain a chuckle, Llewelyn, Belenus, and Jelanda tensed.

"What is she doing?" the ex-princess thought.

"Have I been chosen by a mad goddess?" Belenus wondered.

"I'm gonna die again!" Llewelyn's panicked mind screamed.

As the alpha charged across the brook, Lenneth took off, running past where her einherjar were positioned on either side of the lower road. As soon as it barreled around the corner, Arngrim sprang past it, cutting it deeply along its right side severing several nerves as he went. The draconian beast yelped in pain and its leg began to feel weak. Blood poured from the gash Arngrim had made in the creature's side as it fell onto its stomach. Llewelyn pulled on the bowstring and hesitated, not knowing where to aim. Thankfully, Belenus also leapt out from his hiding spot, landing beside the beast's head and driving his sword through its left eye and deep into its head, killing it instantly.

The subordinate dragon servants saw what happened and charged across the brook to avenge their leader. They came to a stop a few yards short of their dead alpha. The beta dragon servant on the left sucked in a breath in preparation to shoot fire at Arngrim while the other stepped back to get out of the way.

"LIGHTNING BOLT!"

Jelanda's spell hit the massive steel blade the beta dragon carried sending the electricity through the creature, which also stopped it from torching Arngrim. It seized violently as several million watts of energy tore through its being and it misfired its flames into the ice-covered tree branches above. The other beta roared and charged into the underbrush to get away from the electricity. Llewelyn tried to following it with his eyes to aim a shot, but the trees obscured it.

The first beta fell back against a tree when Jelanda's spell finished. Its mouth hung open, and it drooled out blood because it had taken a big bite of its own tongue. The creature was a mix of being too disoriented and numb to notice Arngrim and Belenus running in with their swords raised. The two men attacked the beast in a x-crossing fashion, each cleaving right through a half of the creature's stomach. They completely disemboweled the Dragon Servant. It wobbled on its feet before falling forward onto its own entrails and dying quickly.

The other beta burst through the trees onto the lower path, several yards from Lenneth and Llewelyn. The boy decided to just go for it.

"Watch out, Lady Valkyrie!" he shouted and drew the spring.

Lenneth ducked, allowing Llewelyn to fire. The shot to passed over her and hit its mark, the throat of the dragon servant. However, it failed to penetrate its hide enough to puncture its throat or jugular. The creature hissed in annoyance and knocked the dart away. Llewelyn whimpered and started to back away.

"Boy," Lenneth called over her shoulder.

Llewelyn looked at her.

"I will get you another shot," she hollered. "Aim for the weakest place you can find!"

She turned to see the Dragon Servant about to shoot fire at her. She sprinted across the ground at inhuman speed. The creature fired its breath weapon, which she weaved around gracefully as she closed the distance between them.

Llewelyn threw himself onto the ground to avoid the flame breath, covering his hand with his hands. He waited until the arching flames were gone before clamoring to his feet and scrambling though the snow to get into position.

Behind him, Belenus and Jelanda were about to follow, but Arngrim held out his arms, blocking them. Them looked at him questioningly.

"I think Valkyrie wants to see what the kid can do," he said.

Lenneth had engaged the creature, zipping around it and forcing it on the defensive. It could barely keep up with her sword slashes. She landed in front of it with her back to her einherjar. The dragon cut down, intending to cleave her in two, but the Valkyrie rocketed to the side at the last minute. The dragon's massive blade into the frozen ground. Lenneth then leapt back in before it could raise it again. Her sword came down, chopping off the fingers from one of its hands. The beast backpedaled, throwing its head back and screaming as it clutched its mutilated hand, which was gushing blood.

It charged Lenneth, jaws open. She dashed off to the side and its teeth snapped shut on air. It then spotted Llewelyn, standing before it several yards away with a shot aimed at it. He was shaking, silently praying:

"Please try it, please try it…"

It snarled at him, and jerked it head back, preparing to breathe fire. Llewelyn loosed the arrow, and it sailed right into the creature's mouth, lodging itself into the back of its throat. The beta dragon made a horrid rasping noise as it gagged and fell onto its back. They all watched it kick its last until it went still in the snow.

Llewelyn stood rooted in place, staring in stunned amazement at what he just pulled off.

"I did…" he sputtered.

He turned around, looking at his teammates stupefied and pointing at the felled creature behind him.

"Did I really…" he tried again.

"Yes, the beast is dead. Nice shot," Jelanda congratulated him.

Arngrim laid Dáinsleif across his shoulders, hooking his arms around it. He grinned as he looked back at the two dragon servants he, Belenus, and Jelanda had killed. As for Belenus, he also looked taken back by what they'd just done. Jelanda trotted around behind them, glancing at each felled dragon servant.

"Wow, that was a lot easier than last time we faced these dragon things!" she chimed.

"Last time?" Belenus and Llewelyn asked.

"Eh, we'll tell ya later," Arngrim shrugged.

Lenneth observed them. She slowly walked past the downed beta she and Llewelyn had felled. The more experienced einherjar made well-aimed strikes at weaker points, ending their enemies' life in two or three strokes. Both the alpha and one of the betas were slain without the goddess's help. All she did was maneuver their quarry into position. Lenneth was unable to contain a feeling of pride watching their skills and coordination grow.

The only one who'd needed assistance was the relatively inexperienced Llewelyn.

"That does not add up, since he saw battle before he perished," the Valkyrie thought. "Prior to serving me, Jelanda rarely even left her family's castle."

She pushed the thought away, turning her considerations elsewhere.

"Absurdities aside, if they keep performing like this, I hope I can convince Freya that Arngrim and Jelanda were a worthwhile investment," she thought. She glanced at Llewelyn, too. "He will mature with more training and time on the field."

The hillside where the Dragon Servants had come down from then drew her attention. She rejoined the group with her eyes still on the high grounds of the forest.

"Well done," Lenneth said as she finally turned toward them. "You were efficient and improvised well."

Jelanda swelled with pride, flicking back her curly hair.

"Thank you, Milady," Belenus answered.

Arngrim leaned against a nearby tree, also glancing up the hill.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', Valkyrie?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered, and pointed up the slope of bluff. "The Dragon Servants came from up there."

Jelanda cocked her head to the side questioningly.

"You think the cause is up in the hills?" she asked.

"It is likely enough to warrant changing priorities," Lenneth answered. "We will search the hills first."

"They may have wandered up there to hunt," Llewelyn suggested.

"If I am wrong, we will return to search the valley," Lenneth said. "Fall in."

As they started toward the hill, Jelanda still had more questions.

"Are you certain, Lady Valkyrie?" she asked. "They could just live here."

"Dragon servants are not natural to Midgard," Lenneth replied.

She paused at the bank of the brook before hopping it again.

"So, they were summoned, like in the undercellar of Castle Trelleborg?" Jelanda asked.

"Yes," Lenneth called back to her.

"So does that… Ulp!"

Jelanda squeaked as Arngrim suddenly hoisted her into the air and sat her on his shoulders before stomping across the water, bearing her on the way. Belenus and Llewelyn followed him, doing their best to block out the girl's protests and insistence on crossing on her own power.

"Yes," Lenneth explained in anticipation.

Jelanda grew quiet from her perch atop Arngrim's shoulders as she listened.

"Dragon Servants are summoned, normally by Necromancers, the Undead, and their demonic lords in Niflheim," Lenneth continued. "They do not have lives of their own like normal inhabitants of The Nine Realms. They are created by Hel to serve any evildoer who has the skill to control them."

"Any evildoer?" Belenus asked.

The einherjar had reached the other bank. Jelanda slid down Arngrim's back onto the ground.

"Any evildoer," Lenneth confirmed. "So long as they're reaping chaos for the upper and middle realms, she cares not about the details."

"Couldn't this be a necromancer, then?" Arngrim asked.

"Nay," Lenneth said. "Remember the dead otter? Before those dragon servants stumbled on us, we saw signs of the Undead in these lands. They are somehow responsible for this. This may even be Brahms's doing."

Lenneth again glanced up at the hillside, attempting to spot something meaningful.

"There!" her eyes found something.

At the summit, she could just see the upper corner of what could have been a roof. She pointed toward it.

"Can you see it?" she asked.

Arngrim shielded his eyes from the wind and snow with his hands and tried to follow where Lenneth directed him.

"Only barely," he stated. "Could be anything."

"Yes, but there is a structure up there," Lenneth replied. "Perhaps someone still lives and can tell us more."

"Could be one of the watchtowers the locals set up," Llewelyn proposed. "There's a base and a settlement up in these hills."

"Yes, the Skara township," Belenus said thoughtfully. "Until this cursed weather, they were an important town since it was right on one of the main trade routes. I still have a storehouse for my wares there."

"If they're insane enough to stick it out here, they might know something," Arngrim said.

Lenneth considered each point.

"…They may not have been given a choice," Lenneth mused, fingers to her chin. "In any event, the highlands here are worth investigating, if only to gather intel from any survivors we find."

"Like that?" Arngrim asked dubiously.

Lenneth noticed he was pointing right at her armor. "Just what are you saying, human?"

"You ain't exactly inconspicuous," Arngrim deadpanned.

Lenneth gave a little "humph" and then her armor, gear, and clothes rippled like the surface of water. All but Arngrim took a surprised backward step.

"What on…?" Belenus uttered.

When the rippling stopped, Lenneth had somehow changed clothes and was now dressed in a long, heavy blue winter dress with a darker blue shawl and matching long hooded coat and leather boots.

"Do I blend in better now?" she asked.

Arngrim shrugged, "Eh"-ing in response.

"Wow!" Jelanda was mesmerized by this new ability. "Can I learn to do that?"

"No," Lenneth bluntly answered.

She repeated the process and was back in her Divine Gear.

"Oh, well, perhaps we can fly there," Jelanda suggested.

Lenneth shook her head.

"Better moving slower on the ground than a target in the air," the Valkyrie responded.

Now that they had a landmark, the party began marching up the slope of the tall, tall bluff, senses alert to any threat waiting for them along the way. The path up into the hills was narrow, forcing them to go single file. Once more, Arngrim took the rear guard, watching their backs. Their progress was impeded by the plant life which had overtaken the slope before the cursed Winter, whether it tree or dead weeds, long grass, or bushes. The path twisted all around, never taking the party directly uphill.

Some twenty minutes later, the summit came into view, and so did the structure Lenneth spotted, still some distance away to their right. The upper part of the building poked over the trees.

"A watch tower," Belenus commented.

"The roof's gone," Jelanda mumbled.

They climbed the final stretch to the top. Once on level ground, it stood just twenty feet away in a large clearing along the edge of the hill.

"Looks worse up close. The whole thing's gone to shit," Arngrim said. "I'd say whoever lived here abandoned it shortly after this cold came."

The ladder was gone, likely hidden under the snow, and some of the planks for the platform above were missing. The fallen roof rested in a ruined heap beside the tower's base. On the other side of the structure was much wider, maintained road that led up from the lower grounds and went deeper into the headlands. It was clearly for official use, being broad enough for carriages and even herds or armies to go through.

"At least we found the main road," Lenneth could not hide the relief in her voice.

The Valkyrie turned and surveyed the lowlands below again but found no settlements or farms among the trees. She looked up at the lookout tower again before turning to the road leading past it.

"So, the settlement will be farther down this road?" Jelanda asked.

"Yep," Llewelyn responded. "We didn't actually go there, though."

Belenus paused, as that statement raised a very important question.

"Has anyone been up here to check on the locals?" he asked.

Llewelyn shrugged.

"One of the last things old King Calvin did before he died was to send soldiers when it first started, but most of them never returned," he said. "The ones who did had gone mad. Then His Majesty died, and his son Prince Ferdinand took the throne."

Arngrim's features darkened.

"Let me guess, the new king's been too busy flexing at Villnore and Artolia to notice his own people suffering?" he growled.

Llewelyn sighed, shrugging as he nodded again. Belenus eyed the fallen roof. Deciding it'd be worth it to take a look, he crouched next to the pile of rubbish and pulled back some of the rotted boards to peer underneath.

"A large bell was suspended from the ceiling," he announced.

Belenus dopped the rotted planks, clapped off the dirt from his hands.

"It would have been an effective alarm," Lenneth muttered. "Likely heard from miles around.

"Llewelyn," the Valkyrie turned to the young archer.

"Ye-yes, Lady Valkyrie!" he stood stiffly at attention.

"Has there been any news of the locals leaving the area?" Lenneth inquired.

Llewelyn shook his head.

"If they have, they didn't come to the capital," he said. "At least I haven't heard anything about the Skara folk."

Lenneth sighed.

"I should have expected that," she thought. "If I am perplexed by this disaster, then the local humans would have been utterly lost."

"In any event," Lenneth pointed at the abandoned watchtower. "They would not have given up their ability to raise the alarm willingly. Something made them withdraw from this post."

She glanced up at the treetops.

"I wonder if I should dare…" she thought.

After thinking about it a moment, Lenneth rose into the air, stopping just high enough to peer over the trees. As soon as she'd gotten a look, she descended back down.

"What'd you see?" Arngrim asked.

"Another watchtower," she answered. "We are a good distance away still. There was also a ringed fortress just beyond it. I could not see the village, though. Let us go."

As they began to head deeper into the highland, Arngrim regarded the watchtower again while it began to shrink behind them.

"It doesn't look like they tried to retake the tower," he said.

"Agreed," Lenneth replied. She didn't stop, but she did glance over her shoulder at him. "If any still survive, they will be barricaded someplace."

"Mm…" Arngrim grunted.

After a good while of silent walking, Lenneth slowed her pace, and looked to their left.

"What is it, Lady Valkyrie?" Belenus asked.

"Undead?" Jelanda asked and held up her scepter in preparation.

The goddess did not answer right away. She turned her head first one way, and then another as though uncertain of what she was sensing and from where it came from. Arngrim noted the Valkyrie's confused posture before looking into the trees. She didn't seem alarmed, but he still reached up and gripped Dáinsleif.

Thump!

Something heavy moved in the terrain out of view. Jelanda pointed her scepter at it, alert.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

More impacts in the snow out from among the trees.

Arngrim placed a hand on Jelanda's staff and lowered it. She looked at him questioningly.

"Easy, kid," he said. "We don't know what's what yet. Randomly shooting a fireball into the forest is a great way to draw attention."

Jelanda gulped and nodded. She looked at Lenneth.

"Lady Valkyrie?" she asked again.

Lenneth glanced at her in the corner of her eye.

"No… not Undead," the battle maiden spoke quietly. Her tone was unsure. "This is not a sapient consciousness I am detecting, but more… a strong feeling without the capacity for words. My senses usually do not detect animals. Yet what I'm sensing is pain, primal fear, confusion, aggression, frustrated anger… It's…"

She looked around, trying to pinpoint the location.

"It's coming from… all around," she still spoke softly.

"The animals are in pain?" Llewelyn asked.

"No surprise there," Belenus stated soberly. "Their territory has been decimated by this Winter curse."

Lenneth shook her head as thought trying to clear it.

"No, it's more than that. I…"

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Something was coming right at them from up the trail. Everyone reached for their weapons, ready for anything. Ready for anything, except what came running through the snow at them. A white-tailed deer buck clumsily galloped into view. It seemed unable to run in a straight line, zigzagging all over and at one point just tripped over its own legs. It went sprawling through the snow before immediately climbing back onto its feet. The buck stopped, still as stone, upon seeing the group for the first time.

The Valkyrie's party stood perfectly still, too, waiting to see what it did. Looking at it, Jelanda didn't know whether to be afraid or feel pity. The buck was a nasty, gnarled thing, all skin and bone. Its jaw seemed to have been become stuck in a crooked position, as it hung open unevenly. It remained crooked even as it opened and closed it a few times. As for Lenneth, she could feel the chaos at work in its primitive mind. It had been touched by the same curse that had made the region sick and cold. She could see its hind legs had become malformed, but it was no birth defect. The bones were too complete, but they had become bent. One hind hoof faced inward entirely. Its stomach expanded and shrunk under its deep, shuddering breaths.

"It is suffering," Lenneth realized.

The buck lowered its head and exhaled rapidly, letting out a snorting wheeze. When Arngrim and Llewelyn heard that, they readied their respective weapons.

"Shit. It's gonna charge us!" Arngrim shouted.

Lenneth's brow furrowed slightly. She didn't want to have to put this animal down, but she knew it'd be the kinder course of action.

"There is no coming back from the state its in," the Valkyrie thought.

The buck's hind legs wobbled before it took off with its head down and antlers forward, running at them with the same clumsy, disoriented gate as before. It zigged to their left, falling over onto its side briefly before springing back up and closing the final distance between them.

Everyone dodged to one side or another, and it missed them through its own clumsiness. The buck tried to stop but fell onto its rear and slid a few yards over the cold ground. It eventually turned itself around and came at them again for another try.

"Better end this," Lenneth thought.

Just as it began to charge again, Lenneth slashed her sword through the air, unleashing a wave of energy that hit the buck's legs, sweeping it completely off its feet. With a surprised grunt, it was flipped into the air and onto its back in the snow. The buck kicked at the air, twisting, and turning in a panic trying to get back up. Llewelyn drew a long dagger and leapt at it as soon as it rolled onto one of its sides. He landed behind it and drove the dagger into its throat. Within seconds, it was dead.

Everyone gathered around it as the boy pulled the blade out and took a step back. Llewelyn wore a haunted look as he got a better look at the buck.

"This thing… it is deformed," Belenus observed. "This did not happen in the womb, and I know of no disease that can do this. Tis as though everything has been reformed to be slightly wrong. Look at those ribs."

"Yeah…" Arngrim squatted next to it, feeling the uneven bones under the skin easily.

The buck had been beyond malnourished.

"This thing has so little fat and muscle left," the warrior said. "How did it still have the energy to move, let alone attack us?"

On Jelanda's part, the former princess just looked ill beholding the deformed animal.

"Why did it attack us?" she asked.

"Animals can be violent when they're scared or hurt," Llewelyn murmured. "Deer usually just run away, but not always."

He stared sadly at the downed buck.

"Even they might lash out," he turned away.

"Did you have to kill it?" Jelanda asked.

"Yes," Llewelyn answered morosely. "I didn't want to, but it was just too sick, and dangerous."

"What caused it to be like this, then?" curly blonde asked.

"This is another effect of the curse," Lenneth told them. "Its insidiousness reveals itself to be ever more intricate. It has not only created this endless blizzard, but it has infected the wildlife as well."

Jelanda looked up from the animal, face growing pale with worry.

"Something troubles thee?" Lenneth asked her.

"Yes, Milady," Jelanda's voice had died to almost a whisper. "If it can get into living creatures, too… Then what about people?"

Lenneth stared at her for a long moment.

"I had not even considered that," the Valkyrie mentally confessed.

The Valkyrie glanced ahead toward their destination, thinking of the second watchtower and the ringed fort, knowing Jelanda had a point.

"…It could," the goddess stated.

Her einherjar shared a grim look.

"So are we lookin' at deformed crazy humans, or vampires?" Arngrim asked.

He stood up, adjusting Dáinsleif on his back.

"Vampires, more than likely. After all, this is an Undead cur…" Lenneth began

Thump. Thump.

The heavy step-like noises rang out beyond the road again.

Thump. Thump.

The group formed a circle, standing back-to-back with each other. The sounds were coming from both sides and were getting closer.

"So, all that dreadful noise was not the buck?" Lenneth muttered.

She gripped her sword tightly, no longer knowing what to expect. Her einherjar were also ready for a fight. They side-stepped in circles, still keeping their backs to each other as they kept vigil watch over their surroundings.

"What do you think it is?" Jelanda asked.

"I sense dark auras," Lenneth answered. "As well as more negative emotion."

"Could be the yetis who made those tracks we saw earlier," Arngrim said.

"Lady Valkyrie, over there," Belenus pointed to some tightly clustered trees to their right. "Something just knocked the snow off a branch in the middle."

When she looked, the branch was still swaying from having been disturbed. Then in the corner of her eye, she saw something else dart between the trees.

"Over there, too," Arngrim reported from another direction.

"It looked big and white," Llewelyn said.

The others turned. A figure with long, trunk-like arms that hung almost to the ground stood as a gray outline in the misting, swirling snow before it stepped behind a large bush. They'd all seen it, and they knew what it was.

"Yetis," Arngrim gravely muttered.

"Up there!" Jelanda cried.

All looked upon a hill running alongside a bend in the path up ahead. Lenneth briefly saw something before the wind kicked up a bunch of snow up and it blew past, obscuring the figure. When it was cleared, she saw a massive, white-furred yeti walking toward them in the snow on the knuckles of its massive forepaws as it reached the peak of the hill. Llewelyn shook with fear as he looked upon the powerful ape-like creature. He couldn't even hold his bow and arrow still.

By the boy's estimation, their situation grew worse yet. Behind yeti followed what looked like six men in scale-mail, fur clothing, and horned helmets, ascending the summit as well. They bore round shields and battleaxes. At first Llewelyn wondered if they were human, but then he noticed they walked lunched over, looking almost as primal as the yeti they accompanied. Snow and ice hung from their long beards, obscuring their color. Lenneth recognized the red gleam in their eyes and knew these warriors had become Undead.

Then the yeti stopped just beyond the edge of where the path began to turn, flanked by the undead warriors. They just stood, staring at the party. Other forms began to appear on either side of the path as well, standing in the gaps between the trees.

"Valkyrie, we got Ghasts," Arngrim warned.

On their right, a group of at least twenty Ghasts approached. The ends of their jagged blades rivetted onto their right forearms were dragging through the slush. They stopped at the tree-line, prepared to attack, but also not advancing just yet. On the left, four more yetis emerged from the trees. Lenneth glanced behind her group. Nothing approached them from back the way they came, leaving the way open.

It was all Llewelyn could do not to take to the trees with the expectations to try losing them in the forest. He held his ground, trying to take calming breaths. In front of him, Belenus was also tense, but he hid it better. He did his best to always keep his enemies at least in his peripherals. Jelanda hid behind Arngrim, clutching the Elemental Scepter to her.

"Back up. Do not let yourselves get surrounded," Lenneth ordered. "Jelanda. Fire Lance, on my word."

"Ye-yes, Lady Valkyrie."

The group moved slowly back to retreat the way they'd come, away from the horde slowly closing in on them. Their enemy then stopped along the edges of the road. Lenneth looked them over closely.

"What are they waiting for?" Jelanda asked. Her scepter was raised, and Fire Lance was ready.

Lenneth motioned for them to halt, as she glanced at each grouping of their enemy.

"I know not," Lenneth answered.

"They await me."

The entire party tensed and began looking everywhere for the source of the deep, distorted voice which had spoken to them.

"That sounded so close!" Jelanda squeaked.

"There!" Lenneth directed them to the hill up ahead.

A dark form climbed to the top of the hill ahead from the other side. It was a horseback rider, standing atop the hill over the yeti and undead warriors. The horse was turned sideways allowing them to get a full look at its profile.

"Of course," Lenneth understood now what was happening. "Soldiers waiting for their commander."

As Belenus looked upon the horse and rider, and immediately felt dread.

"I hope that is not who I think it is," he thought.

The horse was a great black Clydesdale stallion with massive, feathered hooves and thick legs. The armored rider it bore was dressed to match their steed. Black from their helmed head to their plated boots. Their long cape billowed in the wind. The visor of the rider's helmet was shaped in the image of a skull. Curved bull horns decorated either side of the helmet . A massive sword rested across the rider's back.

Lenneth sensed an evil energy emanating from both the weapon and its master. Behind the eye holes, she could see gleaming yellow eyes shining like embers. Moreover, his aura was not that of an undead. And when the rider turned to face towards them, the emblem upon their chest-plate proved it. The Valkyrie's eyes widened in shock as she beheld it. The emblem was a woman's face, but only half of it was normal. The other half was that of a rotting corpse.

"Caution, my einherjar. That rider is demonic in nature," she told her einherjar. "Look at the banner they bear."

Belenus focused on the rider and went pale when he realized their allegiance.

"Thor's Beard. 'Tis Lady Hel's Lich Knight," Belenus gasped.

Lenneth blinked.

"Her what?" she demanded in utter confusion.

Her einherjar returned her question with disbelieving stares. The Valkyrie had no time question this further because the rider was descending the hill. The troops surrounding them looked to their commander, awaiting orders.

The Lich Knight drew his claymore, brandishing it in the air. The blade was black, too, but crimson runes shined across the sides of the weapon. The sword's aura was also red, pulsing like a heart. As Lenneth gazed upon it, something niggled at the back of her mind. She shook it off and readied herself for the battle about to come. And yet...

"That blade… I know it somehow… I have seen it before," her thoughts whirled as she tried to find a memory to latch onto. "Something else from the past?"

She sensed that blade had been born from ill deeds and blood shed in a manner most foul.

"Valkyrie," the voice from before now came from within the rider's helmet. "So, it is you. It has been a long time. Do you still torment the living, tearing families apart on Odin's whims?"

Lenneth sneered and pointed her sword at the Lich Knight.

"Is this eternal winter your design, Villain?" she demanded.

"You should be careful how you address the ruler of these lands," the Lich Knight said with a chuckle.

"Hmph. I thought as much," Lenneth shouted over the wind and snow. "Very well, Defiler of Souls and Nature! Your hold over these lands is at an end! Prepare thyself for judgment! Your sins run deep, against the natural order itself. What you have done is unforgiveable!"

The Lich Knight threw back his head and laughed.

"So be it, Valkyrie," he answered.

He dug his spurs into the sides of his horse, and his steed let out an unnatural whinny that didn't sound like any horse Lenneth had ever heard as it reared up on its hindlegs in preparation to charge at full gallop. The stallion stomped down, facing the party. Its subordinates prepared to charge, too. The Ghasts and undead warriors lowered themselves into fighting stances and the yetis pounded their chests, screaming at Lenneth and her einherjar.

"Here they come," Arngrim grinned in anticipation.

But then the rider pulled the reins of the horse tight, pulling the Clydesdale to a stop. Lenneth quirked her head to the side, wondering why he had stopped.

The Lich Knight suddenly turned and looked the other way, as if called. He paused, as though listening to some command, unheard by all except himself. Then he looked at Lenneth again, yellow eyes flashing fiercely, hungrily even. He spurred the Clydesdale lightly, and it began to approach. The Lich Knight raised the accursed sword again, but then his head whipped around again. He pulled the reins, making the horse stop a second time. It shuffled on its hooves uncomfortably, clearly unhappy with its rider's apparent indecisiveness.

"He is being called by something," Lenneth realized.

The dark knight's head turned toward the Valkyrie a once more. He looked between the unknown force communicating with him and her several times, as though deciding whether or not to obey, looking more agitated each time. After hearing a sterner call to return, the rider growled something indiscernible about its unseen master. Finally, he moaned and gave Lenneth one more baleful look before he turned the horse away. The stallion began to gallop back up the hill.

"Wait!" Lenneth commanded him.

The Lich Knight barked an order at the creatures he controlled and the dam broke. As the Hellish rider rode off, the enemy units crossed onto the path, ready to attack the goddess and heroic spirits. The yetis pounded their chest in challenge and charged ahead of the undead which followed them.

"Jelanda! The yetis!" Lenneth ordered, pointing to the four ape-creatures on their left.

"Yes!" Jelanda complied and aimed.

"FIRE LANCE!"

The closest yeti leapt forward with arms outstretched out and mouth wide open just as the teen mage launched a spread shot of comet-like fireballs at them. It took Jelanda's fireball to the face and chest, which hit it like a hammer. The snow ape was sent tumbling backwards toward one of its own. The next yeti side-stepped as its burned kin flew past. Two of the other yetis retreated into the trees the instant they saw the flame coming for them but were visibly doubling back to attack. The fourth stopped and ducked down, only getting lightly singed by Jelanda's attack as it sailed overhead.

While Jelanda stalled the yetis, Lenneth and the others faced the Ghasts on their right. Llewelyn fired on the nearest one, planting an arrow in its ribcage, which exploded on impact. Arngrim reached down scooping up two handfuls of snow.

"Valkyrie!" he called.

Lenneth turned as he launched a snowball at their skeletal enemy. She understood immediately, and fired an intercepting shot, incasing the snowball in crystal, midair. The Ghasts saw it coming and scattered to avoid being crushed. Belenus and Llewelyn gaped, watching that unfold. Then Arngrim turned to the yeti and undead warriors charging them from the hill ahead and hurled the second snowball toward them. Another shot from Lenneth and there was a second big ice crystal soaring at their foes. The yeti and revenants skidded to a halt, coming just short of where it landed.

Lenneth glanced around. With their enemy in disarray, they could retreat to a more defensible position.

"Into the trees!" Lenneth ordered.

As Jelanda and Llewelyn made a break for cover, they were shadowed by Belenus, guarding their backs. Lenneth and Arngrim were last, at first backing away before turning and following the rest into the trees.

"Do not let them surround you!" Lenneth shouted. "Force them to fight in tighter quarters! And above all else…"

She was interrupted by one of the Ghasts pouncing at her from behind a tree. She leaned back as its blade cut through the air about an inch from her face. Then Arngrim's sword burst through its face, shattering its skull.

"Watch each other's backs," she finished, and nodded in appreciation to Arngrim.

He grumbled something in return before they ran to regroup with the others. The ground among the trees was very uneven, with dips and swells everywhere. Large rocks, too, peppered the landscape. The three sword fighters took their stand on relatively even ground in a gap among the trees while Llewelyn stood back on a rock, already trying to aim at a new target. Jelanda stood behind Arngrim, muttering up another spell.

"Keep them off me a moment," the teen mage told the others. "I have an idea."

Lenneth and Arngrim looked at her in the corner of their eyes and nodded.

They enemies approached, snaking around the trees to get to them.

"…stral threads which move all, to invoke the right to sway the earth and sea," Jelanda quickly muttered, gathering up the energies necessary.

The Ghasts closed in first, being the nearest and most able to get through the trees and brush, but the yetis and undead warriors were not far behind. Just as the Ghasts were about to enter the little gap…

"Levitation!" Jelanda chanted.

She outstretched her scepter, holding it level with both hands. The spell snared the charging enemies, and they let out startled cries or grunts as they were swiftly hoisted into the air. Jelanda waited a moment, looking past them at the next wave coming in fast. The Ghasts were trashing around trying to either grab hold of a tree or 'swim' downwards.

As soon as the yetis, more Ghasts, and undead warriors stepped out giving her a clean shot, Jelanda propelled the skeletal fiends through the air. They crashed against their own, ending up as scattered bones strewn across the snow. They collided with the undead warriors knocking them back. They smashed into the yetis, forcing them to a halt. Jelanda also smacked them against the trees if they had no other target, breaking their bones against the hard trunks.

The nearest yeti zeroed in on Lenneth and bounded towards her. The Valkyrie held up one hand sparkling with icy power. She saw the next yeti right behind it and knew she had to lower the numbers against them, however briefly.

"Yetis, incoming," she warned Belenus and Arngrim.

Both men glanced at the snow apes, eyes darting between them and the other foes closing in. As soon as the yeti was passing between a pair of trees, Lenneth unleashed the encasing power, trapping it.

The following snow ape bounced right over the crystal with a trunk-like arm raised with its fist aimed at the goddess and einherjar.

"Shit!" Arngrim shouted.

On instinct, the three fighters sprang away, and the snow erupted from where they just were as the yeti pounded the earth. Belenus slashed the thing under its right arm, just for it to jerk its arm back and clotheslined him. The ex-noble wheezed painfully as the wind was knocked from him and the world became a blur as he tumbled through the air.

The Belenus slammed into the side of a tree. He initially landed on his feet with his back to the trunk, but his legs were shaky and gave out under the pain in his side. Belenus slid down into a sitting position, shaking from the pain. As he struggled to get back up, the shadow of the yeti fell over him.

Lenneth snarled at the snow ape, intending to take its head, but one of the undead warriors stepped between it and her, shield and ax ready. She narrowed her eyes at it.

"You will regret stepping into the path of a Valkyrie, Defiler," she threatened.

The gray lips of the bearded revenant curled into an amused crooked smile.

"We shall see," he said.


Not far away, Llewelyn had just loosed an arrow, cracking the skull of a Ghast. In his peripheral, he saw Belenus crash into tree and then saw the yeti holding its side. It turned and bared its teeth at Belenus before it began to approach him, angry and vindictive.

For a moment, Llewelyn's mind returned to the ship. He saw all the crewmates he couldn't help fall to their enemies or the sea. He couldn't save them then, and he feared he could not save this man now.

"No, not again," he panicking mind screamed. "I can't let this happen again."

Llewelyn did the only thing he could, he pulled the string and took aim, silently praying it'd hit its mark and kill the snow ape. As he did so, something awakened within him. His body burst into a greenish-yellow light which swirled around him in an aura.

The yeti felt something powerful nearby and looked right at Llewelyn.

"In the name of all the gods," the archer chanted a spell that was at once both familiar and unknown to him. "Finishing Strike!"

When he next loosed the arrow, it exploded into a yellow gleaming volley which were all homed in on their master's target. They at first spread out and then curved back in, puncturing the yeti from all directions and angles. The snow ape let out a moaning death rattle as it swayed in place before falling dead next to Belenus.

The Lassen noble stared at it, uncomprehending, before turning to Llewelyn with a look of utter astonishment. The boy was too stunned to react.

"Uh… huh…" Llewelyn sputtered.

Belenus forced himself to his feet. He clutched his side painfully as he stood. He didn't have long to recover, because the crystal incasing the other yeti was beginning to crack. The Lassen man cursed and grabbed his sword. Ignoring the pain as best he could, he gripped his weapon in both hands as the snow ape busted free and stumbled about for a moment.

Llewelyn gasped and took aim again. However, from the side came one of the undead warriors heading right for him. The boy altered his aim to the revenant, which then screamed and charged at him even faster.

"Uh…" Llewelyn uttered, beginning to back away from the big undead fighter.

The undead ax-wielder raised his weapon. Llewelyn backpedaled and fired his bow at the undead's legs. The gray-skinned warrior yelped and fell to the ground after Llewelyn's arrow got him in the ankle. The boy retreated further into the trees as his opponent got back up as the energy arrow dissipated and gave chase.


The yeti spotted its kin lying dead next to Belenus and pounded its fists against the snow, roaring at him. It rushed Belenus faster than he could move in his injured state. And yet, that moment of fear also drew out the power which the Lassen man possessed. Belenus's body unexpectedly moved with a speed and power he thought his wound would rob him of. He ducked under the yeti's hand and, gripping his sword in both hands, slashed its forearm.

Belenus wheezed in pain immediately as he moved. The beast yelped, backed away, and began licking its fresh wound. The burning pain was quickly overtaken by a different sensation, a burning in Belenus's very core. He jolted as his body unleashed a green aura similar to Llewelyn's.

"This power!" Belenus thought in astonishment. "I feel like I can… Like I can kill this foul beast."

His eyes narrowed at the snow ape.

"Feel my wrath!" Belenus shouted.

The yeti attempted to reach him but found itself frozen in place as a green circle of power appeared around it. The snow ape hooted and cried in confusion.

"Finishing Strike!" Belenus shouted. "Extreme Void!"

His sword glowed with an otherworldly power, and when he stabbed the air in the direction of the yeti, the energy was unleashed in the form of an enormous blade formed by pure energy. It crossed the distance between them and speared white ape clean through.

Belenus watched as the creature was thrown backwards and fell dead in some frozen weeds. Then as his newfound power faded, the pain in his side returned and he found himself having to lean back against the tree again. To his dismay, he saw he had no time to recover. Two of the undead warriors approached, grinning predatorily holding up their axes to cut him down.

"Oh, drat," was all Belenus's mind could conjure as he watched them approach helplessly.

One of them roared his battle cry, pumping his ax and shield in the air before running at Belenus with his cutting tool aimed to behead the former noble. Belenus weakly tried to lift his sword.

"First Aid!" Jelanda shouted from somewhere behind him.

Belenus was bathed in the green healing energies and found himself mostly restored and rejuvenated. He ducked under his enemy's stroke, which imbedded itself in the tree deeply enough, the undead fiend had trouble pulling it back out.

The ex-noble shot back up and sliced the fiend's ax arm off. While the revenant screamed, holding his bloody stump, Belenus stabbed him through the chest, ending his opponent's half-life. Belenus then leapt at the other undead warrior.

Belenus made the first strike, which was blocked with the revenant's shield. His undead opponent stabbed at him, forcing him to block. It was the revenant's turn to go on the offensive, alternating between its shield and sword to block and strike. He forced Belenus back, one step at a time.

Behind him, Belenus heard another undead warrior coming up behind him.

"Oh, no. No no," Belenus fought off the panic.

Newcomer saw the dusty empty clothes and armor of their fallen comrade and glared at Belenus. The Lassen man backed away from them both glancing between each one. The one he'd just been fighting was grinning victoriously at him.

"Feeling the pressure, pretty boy?" the smirking revenant asked.

The newcomer held out its ax and shield and clanked them together, unleashing wave of dark power which hit the ex-noble in his center hard enough to send him flying backwards and tumbling through the snow. The undead fighters laughed as they split off and began circling around Belenus as he forced himself up onto his knees, supported by his sword. He looked up and studied their every movement.

"Time to go back to the grave, little man," one of them said.


Lenneth and the undead warrior clashed. He blocked her first strike with his shield before his ax stroke came down, just to be parried by the battle maiden. He tried to hit her with his shield, but she glided away to the side. The undead warrior saw her about to make a break for the yeti about to stomp her einherjar and ran to intercept. Lenneth spotted him coming at inhuman speed with his ax drawn level and shield forward. Instead of dodging, and she leapt through the air towards him. Surprised, the undead man raised his shield instinctively and she landed on it, feet first before flipping over his head and landing behind him.

The revenant turned as Lenneth slashed at his face. He tried to block with his ax but was only half successful. Lenneth cut a gash in his forehead before zipping away again. Although half blinded with his own blood seeping into his eye, he knew she was coming up behind him again. The revenant whirled around, ax swinging out. It managed to catch her next stroke. He swung at her with his shield, but she ducked under it, spinning around as she did. She stretched one leg out, sweeping his feet.

He couldn't even make a sound as he felt his feet knocked out from under him and he landed on his back. He could still see well enough to make out the Valkyrie standing with her sword drawn high and about to impale him. He clanked his ax and shield together, unleashing wave of dark power which knocked her back. While in the air, Lenneth flipped, managing to right herself enough to land on her feet. The undead warrior jumped to his and she studied him a moment.

"Crafty," she admitted.

He grinned in return. Around Lenneth, about three of the remaining Ghasts encircled her. She glanced around at them first, and then back at her main target.

"I have to test him," she thought.

She fortified herself with a glowing protective aura and even made her sword glow for show. She held it up menacingly as though to fire a blast of energy at him. The revenant was about to take no chances. He clanked his ax and shield together, unleashing another black sphere at her. Lenneth threw herself into a slide, ducking right under it. The mass of dark energy flew right over her and instead nailed the Ghast which was coming up behind her in the ribs. The impact knocked the skeleton's center out from between its head, arms, and legs, which fell to the snowy earth, truly dead.

Then Lenneth rolled over onto her hands and knees as the two remaining Ghasts ran in from the sides and she took to the air, propelling herself forward out of their reach. Their blades came up empty.

Lenneth twisted herself around the air as she flew towards a tree. She collided feet-first with its trunk. Then she pushed off, launching herself towards her opponents. She drew her sword to the side as the Ghasts held their blade arms out defensively. At the last possible second, Lenneth dropped and cut the legs out from under them. While they were still facedown and disoriented, she looped around, landing between them and stabbed both skulls, obliterating them.

Then she looked to the undead warrior.

"…Crafty," he admitted.

Lenneth did not gloat. Her eyes turned to the ax and shield, wondering if she could discern their secret.

"I wonder," she mused.

He began banged them together, hurling out more and more dark projectiles at her. She zipped around, nimbly dodging each one. She shot an icy blast at him, and he barely leaned to the side enough to avoid becoming trapped in crystal. The revenant watched with subdued horror as the tree behind him crystalized.

Lenneth landed a scant three yards from him now with another blast ready. He smashed his weapons together and she jumped over it this time. He realized his mistake too late. He hadn't put more distance between them, and she was bearing down on him with another crystal blast ready. His body acted on instinct the instant he saw the frost-like energy coming for him. The undead warrior hurled his shield like a disc, and it took the brunt of her freezing attack. The projectiles mutually broke each other's momentum and the shield fell harmlessly into the snow at the Valkyrie's feet. The revenant stood there, gaping at his empty shield arm, unbelieving of his own impulsiveness. He looked past his hand at the wickedly smiling Valkyrie.

She stepped over his shield, placing herself between him and it. Growling in frustration, he rushed her, but she skillfully blocked his stroke. Her parry twisted his arm out of the way, and he only scarcely had enough to time to block what would have been a killing blow. It was followed immediately by another attack from her, and another. He was forced back a step. Then another, and another. His momentum was broken, and she pressed the attack, aggressively swinging her sword with surprising strength for her small frame.

Within seconds, he was no longer counterattacking her, just blocking. He was fully walking backwards as she forced him back, sword swinging faster and harder as she went. Before long, it was as though there were two of her somehow occupying the same space and he felt he was blocking two longswords at once. Until finally, his ax was sent flying to the side. He'd only just seen it spin away into the bushes before there was a sudden sharp burning, yet freezing, pain in his chest.

He looked down. Her sword was pierced his heart. Then he looked up at her, and actually smiled despite his position.

"I have lost," he conceded as he crumbled to dust.

With him gone, she turned toward where Belenus was and saw him being flanked by two of undead warriors.

"Time to go back to the grave, little man," one of them said.

A relieved sigh escaped her when she saw he hadn't gotten pulverized by the yeti. Somehow.

Without a moment to lose, she dashed to his aid, while also noting the state of her other einherjar. As she tore across the frozen ground, she saw Jelanda helping Llewelyn with the undead warrior chasing him, and Arngrim having a merry time thrashing their remaining enemies.

"Belenus first," she told herself.

Belenus shuffled about, trying to get good defensive position with the two predators keeping him flanked. Then they both bolted toward him, and he tried to run for it. However, they changed course and ran parallel to him, keeping pace on either side of him. Then they jumped in close with their battle-axes raises to chop him up.

Then something silver and blue flew in from the other direction and dropkicked one of the undeads away, sending him sprawling. The other broke away. Belenus skidded to a stop, turning himself around in mid-slide to keep his opponents in view. Just as his momentum died, Lenneth landed next to him, sword pointed at the undead soldiers.

"Hardly a fair fight," she scolded them. "Cowardice is the mark of the lowest among the lowly."

"Spare us the sermon, witch," they hissed.

"Very well," Lenneth replied. "Oblivion it is, then. By the Holy Laws, you shall be obliterated."

Lenneth and Belenus both readied themselves.

"Beware when they bang their ax and shield together," Lenneth told him.

"Oh, good," Belenus replied. "You are aware, too."

She nodded, and then the two sides charged each other again. One of the undeads banged their shield twice, one for Lenneth and the other for Belenus. Valkyrie and einherjar nimbly dove apart, avoiding the dark energy blasts without slowing down. Then they each crossed blades with an undead warrior.


"Help!" Llewelyn cried.

Jelanda looked over and saw him being chased by a gray-skinned ax-wielder twice his own size. She glanced around at the whole party, trying to decide who support first. Her eyes caught Belenus cornered by a pair of undead warriors. He was clutching his side, obviously in too much pain to fight effectively.

"First Aid!" she cast.

The spell reached him in time and Belenus was able to avoid his assailant's attack, first chopping off the revenant's arm and then killing it. Contented Belenus had his situation sorted, Jelanda gave Llewelyn her full attention. When she looked again, he'd just run around the side of a tree, barely avoiding the undead's chop.

The revenant tripped, burying the ax-blade in the frozen ground. While he was busy trying to pull it free, Llewelyn tried doubling back shoulder checking the larger man. The warrior just knocked the boy back with his shield and then wrenched his ax free of the ground.

"Ugh! Dummy," Jelanda was beyond annoyed.

The undead warrior turned on young archer, who futilely grabbed a fistful of snow and threw it at his undead accoster. The revenant gave him an amused grin and stepped forward, raising the ax again.

"Say hello to whoever greets felled puppets of the gods when they die again," he taunted.

"Fire Storm!"

As the flames burst from the ground under the undead fiend, Llewelyn protected his face with his forearms. When the flash of heat and flame had ended, the half-living warrior still stood, holding up his shield defensively and having only minor burns. When the smoke and steam cleared, Jelanda saw him glaring right at her.

"Ulp!" the little blonde yelped.

Even before Jelanda raised her scepter again in attempt to cast again, the undead warrior tore through the trees and brush toward her at impossible speed. She had no time to react, except to backpedal a few steps before he was on her. He knocked her down with his shield and raised his ax, screaming murder at her.

Jelanda cried out, feebly raising the Elemental Scepter defensively and clenched her eyes shut, awaiting his final blow. It never came, but the fiend was suddenly scurrying around and making a fuss. Jelanda opened her eyes and saw that Llewelyn had jumped onto his back, wrapping his legs around the undead's waist to hold on. He had his arm around the reanimated soldier's neck with his dagger stabbed into just above its collar and armor's neckline.

She knew she had to act quickly and aimed the scepter at the undead warrior again.

Llewelyn drew the blade out and raised his dagger to stab it again. When he brought it down, the undead grabbed his forearm, and with its unearthly strength, pulled Llewelyn off his back and sent him flying head over heel into some large bushes.

"Mystic Cross!"

The revenant didn't see it coming. The first cross-shaped missile hit him right in the face. Following that, his entire body was bombarded by the cleansing holy spell. The undead warrior shrieked as smoke rose from it as though it had been lit on fire. He crumbled to dust, leaving only his weapons and armor behind.

Jelanda collapsed onto her back, breathlessly, her curly blonde hair looking wild from the loss of her ribbon. Not far away, Llewelyn stumbled out of the bushes, trying to aim his bow but when he looked around, he didn't spot their foe anymore.

"Where'd he go?" Llewelyn asked.


The undead warrior's head fell upon the stump of a tree before it dissolved into dust. Arngrim stood over the dusted remains of his body and endless bones scattered in all directions around him. He'd had quite a bit of fun mowing down the Ghasts and undead warriors. Ahead of him, the three last Ghasts and the last undead warrior closed in. Arngrim rotated the shoulder of his dominant, right arm to work out the aches, smirking at his enemies. Arngrim also spotted the last two yetis breaking away from each other to circle around behind the unholy creatures. They were all closing in on him.

"Well, come on, then," he taunted with a broad, cocky smile. "None of us getting any younger, am I right?"

In the back of his mind, he had the perfect remedy for this situation.

"I bet I can take out all these wimps with my Soul Crush. I just need to access it," he thought.

He'd already worked up quite a fire in his system. He could feel it burning under his skin, an unquenchable flame just like his desire for more battle. He focused on the power he knew was lying inside him, willing it to surface.

The three Ghasts ran at him with blades swinging to dice him to bits. Arngrim's body reacted almost on its own. He waited until their blades were just about puncture him. His own instinctive drive to survive in the face of immanent mutilation was what did it.

In the same instant his body burst into the flames of his soul. His swing came impossibly fast, obliterating his skeletal foes in one blow.

"Finishing Strike!" he bellowed. "Final Blast!"

One of the yeti bounded in, reaching for him. His sword sliced up, rending the beast in half from its groin to its head. As the two halves of snow ape fell away from each other, Arngrim flew between them. The undead warrior leaped from his path, leaving nothing between Arngrim the last yeti. After seeing him effortlessly cut its kin in half, it hesitated and that was its last mistake. Arngrim cut its left arm away, followed by its head.

Then Arngrim whipped around to finish the undead warrior. There was a clanking sound, followed by the large Heavy Warrior taking the full brunt of a dark missile right to the face. Arngrim was slammed into the frozen ground, head and shoulders first. His boots were the last thing to come to rest in the snow. The flaming aura left him, his Soul Crush interrupted. Arngrim was left dazed where he fell as his undead adversary took his first running step towards him.


"What's the matter, little man? Hit you too hard?"

Belenus picked himself up. Skid marks across the snow were left in the wake of his tumble across a slick bit of slanted ground. The Lassen man stood, looking his enemy over, cursing how much of an advantage the shield and weapon combination gave the accursed man over a longsword user like himself.

"That shield is the problem. I must get through it somehow," Belenus thought.

The undead warrior spread its arms out to the sides. Belenus knew what he was about to do. The undead man pounded his gear together again, firing on the einherjar. The man from Lassen tried blocking the projectile with his blade, only to be sent sliding backwards on his feet even more. Belenus fell onto his knee and grabbed up handfuls of snow to slow himself. He saw another one coming for him and threw himself into a tactical roll. The blast impacted against a tree behind Belenus, sending splinters and branches everywhere. Belenus stood as the undead began walking towards him.

"Unless…" An idea formed in Belenus's mind. He didn't know if it would work, but it was the only one he'd come up with. "Nothing for it."

Belenus crouched and then ran forward at his full speed, leaning into as he rushed his enemy. The undead man fired another shot at him, which the Lassen noble evaded by banking right, and then leant left to dodge another. He maintained his momentum the whole time. Belenus held his sword in one hand as he ran keeping it level at his side, instead of preparing to a blow with it. The undead broke into a run, too.

The bearded revenant let out a battle cry to intimidate Belenus, but the fair-looking man just kept coming. Finally, Belenus raised his weapon level alongside his head when he was a few mere strides away. He feigned a forward attack but at the last second, Belenus leapt right into the shield, grabbing it in one hand as he tackled into his opponent. This left the undead warrior stunned, giving Belenus the opening he needed. His sword punctured the flesh between the undead man's left shoulder and neck, and it plunged through pure tissue into his heart.

Belenus landed behind his defeated challenger but turned to watch, wanting to ensure the dead stayed dead this time. The accursed warrior's arms fell to his sides as he took slow, dying steps. The weapons fell from his hands and eventually, he just flopped facedown on the ground before disintegrating into dust.

The Lassen noble did not linger. He began looking around for his companions, knowing they would need assistance. There was a loud crash, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the earth. Belenus turned and some distance away, saw Arngrim land on his back with the last undead warrior advancing on him.


"Damnable woman!" The undead screamed up at Lenneth.

He picked himself up from the snow and dove at her, swinging at her frenetically. The Valkyrie just continued to fly, jump, and otherwise avoid. As she did, the undead man worked himself up into more and more of a frenzy.

"Face me, wench!" he roared animalistically.

He bodily threw himself at her and she took off, leaving him attacking the air again.

She landed atop a cluster of rocks on the summit of an incline, starring impassively down at him. He bristled even more, breathing hard. Frothy drool ran down his beard, which he did not wipe away.

"Stay… still…" he growled.

"Am I obey the demands of a rabid dog now?" Lenneth asked in return.

He shook with rage in response, and began madly banging his gear, firing off several dark shots at once. Lenneth flew away, letting him destroy the hill and dislodge the rocks from where they rested. They fell from their perch on the edge and landed on the accursed man. When they both came to rest, the undead warrior was pinned under them by his legs. He had but a moment to struggle to break free before something dropped onto the ground beside him. He looked up at the Silver Valkyrie as she drove her blade down into his chest.

"Dirty trick," were his last spiteful words.

Lenneth pulled her sword from the dusted undead and turned away, scanning the battle zone.


The blow had stunned Arngrim, but he was not so dumbfounded he missed the sound of his adversary's footsteps stamping through the snow toward him. He looked up and the other fighter almost within striking distance. Arngrim forced himself up into a sitting position right before his abominable opponent attacked. He crossed his massive, armored arms in front of his head, catching the ax just under the blade, stopping the undead warrior's attack.

The half-living thing applied his body weight to try to drive his ax through Arngrim's face, but the Heavy Warrior had a trick or two. As soon as the accursed man applied his whole weight, Arngrim rolled backwards, pressing both feet against the scale-armored chest of his opponent and kicked out, using the revenant's own momentum to send him flying a short distance right over him.

Arngrim didn't wait to hear him land. He rolled over before his foe did, and they stared each other down angrily, slowly rising to their feet. The undead looked down, noting with a grin that Arngrim was still unarmed.

"Sweet as pie," he thought.

Then a distinct whistling sound drew the undead's attention. The revenant pivoted his body, turning his shield arm so the buckler was protecting his rear. One of Llewelyn's arrows harmlessly collided with it and burst. That was all the distraction Arngrim needed. He eyed his sword lying on the ground not far away and dove for it.

His fingers closed around the hilt, and then the undead warrior barreled into him, shoulder first, knocking him away from his weapon. Arngrim caught himself, mid-tumble, and climbed to his knees as just the undead warrior came in with his shield drawn back to whack him again. Arngrim caught the blow, grabbing both sides of the shield. The revenant applied his weight, trying to push Arngrim, but the Heavy Warrior dug and his heels in. The gray-skinned former man growled and swung at his ax at him, but Arngrim caught his wrist, stopping the stroke just shy of his face. The einherjar and undead wrestled with each other, both trying to gain dominance over the other.

Jelanda and Llewelyn ran towards the struggling fighters. The boy tried to line up a shot, but the two men were turning around too much.

"Damn, I can't get a clear opening," Llewelyn said.

He glanced at Jelanda, but she just shook her head.

"I might hit Arngrim," she sounded worried.

"Gotcha!" Arngrim yanked the ax from the revenant's grip.

Grinning, Arngrim was about ready to use it.

"Come on, then. Give it your best shot," the undead taunted.

Arngrim paused, suddenly suspicious. The gray-skinned man held up his shield defensively with a big smile. He even looked eager. Not the look Arngrim was customed to seeing on someone whose weapon he'd just taken.

"Does this jackass want me to attack him with his own ax?" Arngrim wondered.

"What's the matter, boyo?" the undead warrior called out. "Lost your nerve?"

"Whatever," Arngrim decided.

Arngrim took off, storming across the winter scene with his enemy's ax raised. The undead dug into the snow, ready for him. Off to the side, Llewelyn took aim, but was stopped by Jelanda, who lowered his bow. The boy looked at her questioningly. She rolled her eyes.

"You'll never hear the end of it if you interfere once he's having fun," she said.

As Arngrim sprinted through the snow, the undead warrior's grin kept growing wider with each step Arngrim bounded towards it.

"Something ain't right here," Arngrim thought. "I ignored my gut once. Never again."

As soon as he was close, he swung the ax as though to strike, but instead let it fly off to the side. The shocked undead had no time to process what Arngrim had done before he took the einherjar's right fist to his face. The undead knocked flat on its back, dazed.

Meanwhile, Arngrim seized his chance and ran for his sword. Behind him, he could already hear the revenant getting up. A moment later, he heard a 'clank' that sounded faintly familiar, and his body told him he was under attack. With his sword almost in reach, Arngrim dove for it, grabbing it while still airborne, and went into a roll. He heard the undead warrior coming and turned himself around mid-slide. He blocked the instant he was upright, catching the undead's ax.

Keeping Dáinsleif raised, he pushed up with his legs, driving the cursed warrior's ax up as well. Without stopping, Arngrim kicked his opponent in the stomach, knocking him back. The undead warrior grunted painfully as he stumbled. Arngrim marched forward and bashed Dáinsleif against his shield as hard as he could, knocking the undead back again. The pale man struggled to his footing again only to have Arngrim bring Dáinsleif down on him again, knocking him down again. The undead warrior tried to counter, but Arngrim just kept pounding away at him until he finally managed to knock the shield out of the way and drove Dáinsleif right through his defeated opponent.

"Ha-ha! Way to go!" Llewelyn called out.

Arngrim watched as the two youngster einherjar ran toward him, singing his praises. He smiled, feeling pretty pleased with someone over going against a revenant unarmed for a spell.

"That was really something!" Llewelyn praised him again.

"What are we going to do with you, old man?" Jelanda asked.

"Hey, why do you gotta be that way, little one?" Arngrim complained half-seriously.

Jelanda just melodramatically ran her hand through her golden curly locks, flicking it out. Her other hand was on her hip.

"Well, someone has to manage you when Valkyrie isn't around!" she shot back, also half-seriously.

Llewelyn just glanced between the two, trying to decide how earnest their barbs were. Ultimately, he chose to just go quiet and let the odd ones sort themselves. Not far off, he heard crunching footsteps coming toward them. When he looked as saw Lenneth, followed by Belenus approaching. The Valkyrie stopped and examined everyone.

"Welcome to the party," Arngrim deadpanned. "Hope you didn't have too much fun without us."

"Fun? Is that what this was?" Belenus raised an incredulous brow.

Arngrim grinned as he sheathed Dáinsleif.

"Not enough tea and sugar cubes for you, fancypants?" the Heavy Warrior cracked.

Belenus's indignance was interrupted by Lenneth.

"The enemy is vanquished, I see," she said.

All turned to her as she scanned the area one more time, looking with both her regular and second sight, but spotted and felt nothing nearby.

"Yes, we are finished here," she said.

She regarded her einherjar as they gathered around, who all looked more or less fine despite the ordeal they had all just survived.

"Well done, my einherjar," Lenneth said. "But there is still much to be done, and…"

Her thoughts turned to the specter they saw on the hill back at the trail. Belenus had referred to him as… what was it?

"The… Lich Knight?" Lenneth repeated to herself, aloud.

That got everyone's attention.

"That's right," Belenus recalled.

He turned to Lenneth.

"I didn't get the chance to ask you this back at the main road, Lady Valkyrie," he said. "But have you truly not heard of Lady Hel's Lich Knight?"

Lenneth looked around at her einherjar, not appreciating being put on the spot like that. Belenus, Jelanda, and Llewelyn all seemed a baffled. Arngrim leaned his shoulder against the side of a tree, seeming more neutral. Lenneth suppressed a heavy swallow, not wanting to display more weakness than she had to. It was enough she had to confess to her ignorance regarding this foe in order to learn more. She took a deep breath and began:

"As much as I am loathe to admit it, I have not."

All but Arngrim looked surprised at that revelation. Arngrim alone looked faintly resentful. Lenneth zeroed in on the claymore wielder and they locked eyes.

"Is something the matter, human?" she sharply demanded.

Arngrim just looked away, closing his eyes.

"Nothing at all," he said dismissively.

The other three einherjar glanced nervously between themselves, with Jelanda and Llewelyn both silently urging Belenus to speak up again.

"Alright, alright," Belenus mouthed back to them.

"Lady Valkyrie!" he abruptly spoke.

Lenneth looked toward him, and he realized he hadn't prepared anything to say. With their Valkyrie distracted, Jelanda turned and frowned at Arngrim.

"Stop being rude to her," she spoke in a low voice.

"Tch," was all Arngrim gave in response.

"Well," Belenus continued with some hesitance. "It's just a bit of a shock you have never heard of Hel's Lich Knight. He's become quite well-known here on Midgard."

"I have not been on Midgard for some time," Lenneth answered. "He must be a recent presence. I am curious about his title, though. A lich knight?"

"It makes little sense," she thought. "Liches are wizards who have done the unspeakable, performing necromancy upon themselves to attain eternal life. How can a horseback warrior become a lich?"

"Yes, I am aware of the discrepancy," Belenus admitted.

"They say he was a man who made a pact with Lady Hel, herself," Jelanda put in.

Lenneth starred keenly at the girl, listening to every word. Something again pulled at her mind, and she remembered his sword, with its dark aura so intense, it all but screamed for blood.

"The common belief is that Hel took it upon herself to make him that way," the Artolian princess went on. "Now he roams the land, turning people for her."

"Turning them?" Lenneth inquired. "As in, transforming them into undead as part of his own pacts."

Jelanda nodded.

"This is far more serious than I thought," Lenneth thought as grim realization set in. "For Hel to take a human and turn him into an instrument of her will…"

She glared off in the direction he had rode off in.

"What she has done is forbidden!" she spoke out loud, unintentionally. "A direct violation of the Holy Laws!"

Jelanda and Llewelyn both flinched at her outburst while Belenus only looked surprised again. Arngrim's demeanor had not changed.

"Now he walks about, seeking who he may devour," that was Arngrim.

Lenneth regarded him for a moment, and then looked in the direction of the main road.

"We move, now," she ordered. "We still have a curse on these lands to break, and I imagine this Lich Knight will be awaiting us at the source."

All but Arngrim bowed in compliance.

"But which way is the road, Lady Valkyrie?" Jelanda asked.

The others all pointed west.

"Oh," Jelanda answered self-consciously, and looked away with a slight flush. "We can't all be outdoors types."

Arngrim smirked as he walked past her, falling in line behind their Valkyrie, marching back toward the main road.

As they moved through the scene of their battle, Lenneth's mind was at work, trying to make sense of what she'd learned.

"Why has Lord Thor not been sent to dispatch this Lich Knight?" she asked herself. "And why have Lord Odin and Lady Freya tolerated this clear violation of our sacred laws?"

She looked around her at the unnatural localized winter surrounding themselves, which seemed to answer her question.

"Surely the war effort with our enemies is not so burdensome they cannot maintain law and order across the middle and lower realms," she thought.

Her eyes narrowed angrily as she recalled the Lich Knight.

"Such blithe disregard for order and nature. This outrage cannot stand," she decided right then and there. "You may have evaded Lord Thor, Lich Knight, but you will not elude me. This I promise."

"To the Skara township, my einherjar," she announced. Then added under her breath. "And hope some still live who can divulge details about what happened."