Jarl had barely spoken since Halvard had left, and it was starting to make Astrid nervous. While she normally appreciated any silence on the road, this silence made her feel on edge. She could almost hear the cogs turn in Jarl’s head as he mulled what had happened over and over again. Knud had tried… Read More…

Ulf peered down at the map Melrakki had drawn on the coarse paper spread out across the low table. Garðarr, Ótama and Systa were seated around it with several of their respective captains behind them. Melrakki had both hands pressed against her stomach and a scowl on her face as the baby kicked and squirmed… Read More…

“I take it back. The ponies are useful,” Halvard wheezed as he led his pony on the narrow path. Ahead of him Jarl burst out laughing, his laugher echoing loudly around the canyon. “Why do we have to walk?” Halvard shouted up at Astrid who walked ahead of them, Knud right behind her, followed by Jarl, and lastly, by Halvard. “Until… Read More…

“I still think this is foolish!” Ótama warned Ulf as he mounted Bál. “If I was planning to kill you I would do it now, in the hunt. Why are you giving them another chance?” Ulf shook his head. “They won’t try anything. Bál will see to that.” The dragon horse snorted loudly as if… Read More…

“Is she here yet?” “No, Knud, can you please stop jumping around!” Jarl muttered tiredly. The day before had been long and hard. It had barely been possible to find the supplies they would need for the road ahead, as the markets and inns were down to their last scraps. More than one of the… Read More…

“Is he asleep yet?” Jarl yawned, one of his arms around Knud who sat in front of him, and the other on the pony’s reins. Halvard leaned forward from his own pony to look at Knud and nodded. “Yes.” “Thank Nida!” “I should take him,” Halvard suggested, but Jarl shook his head. “I don’t want… Read More…

It was cold outside the tent and the air was crisp and clear. Last night’s thunderstorm had finally washed away the thick, heavy atmosphere that had plagued the area around Lake Krewa for weeks now. The air was so clean it almost hurt to inhale it. Each ice-cold breath Ulf exhaled billowed from his mouth… Read More…

Jarl stared up at the ceiling of his room and once again traced one of the hundreds of knotted patterns which had been carved into it. The night seemed to have lasted for an eternity, but now that the gong had sounded through the city, he wished that it could last a little longer. His… Read More…

The rain had not stopped for several hours and Astrid could no longer remember what it felt like to wear dry clothes. Every single item was heavy with rain, especially her wolf skin, which weighed down on her like a dead body. The black veil around her face stuck to her like a second skin…. Read More…

The line of dwarfs outside the palace had doubled in length since his arrival in the early hours of the morning and now stretched along the entire wall of the stone hall. Some dwarfs were more richly dressed than him, but the prevalence of rough, woolen, dark blue and black cloaks, and tattered black, mud… Read More…