Astrid breathed a loud sigh of relief as she saw the tall red walls of Waidu ahead of them and the miles upon miles of rich, vibrant green plains around it. Under her clothes she could feel the heat radiating from her infected shoulder and an unbearable itchiness under her skin. The tremors in her… Read More…

Halvard sat down at the edge of the table, exhausted. Eilíf sat down opposite him and leant her head down on the table, too tired to eat the food Holmvé had made for them. Halvard ripped the bread beside his soup into tiny pieces and dropped them into the bowl for them to soak. He… Read More…

Jarl was fast asleep, wrapped in the wolf skin. Astrid unwound her veil from around her neck so she could push aside her tunic and look at the wound on her shoulder. She shivered as she lifted the side of her tunic and undid the bandages that were tightly wrapped across her chest, shoulder and… Read More…

“How many left?” Halvard grumbled. His back was so sore he felt as though it would snap at any moment. “Five.” Halvard growled in frustration and paused to sit down on one of the steps of the nearby houses. The rest of the squad sat down with him and tucked their baskets between their feet…. Read More…

It only took a few hours for lack of sleep to take its toll. Astrid watched as she ran alongside the pony. Jarl’s eyes were half closed. She said nothing until they stopped for midday to allow the pony to rest. Jarl dismounted, sore and tired, and sat down heavily on the grass. She had… Read More…

Systa rolled over slowly and leaned towards the fire to push a few of the unburnt logs into the red coals. The itchiness around her wound was almost unbearable and it was all she could do not to scratch at the bandages around it until her skin bled. Startled by the sound of sparks from… Read More…

Astrid rolled over in her sleep and opened her eyes to see Jarl sat against the wall of the room. He scowled as his mind wandered back to the scene by the jasmine and the red thistle. “Jarl? What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” Jarl started and then smiled down at her. “How’s your shoulder?” Astrid flexed her… Read More…

Knud had fallen asleep again. His cheek rested against the back of Jarl’s shoulder and his mouth was wide open and dribbling as usual. After two days trapped underground, Jarl had been desperate to walk in the fresh air, despite Knud’s complaints that it was too cold. It was a relief to be able to… Read More…

“Well, if the plague hasn’t killed them already, they’ll die of fright for sure,” Halvard scoffed as he was passed a large mask that resembled the masks the embalmers had worn at the king’s funeral. The mask was shaped like a death moth. “These are enough to give me nightmares.” “Just put it on Halvard!”… Read More…