The Eternal Blade Saga Book 2, Chapter 11: Making Amends

“Balthazar take this blasted snow!”

Our conversation suddenly interrupted, I cursed under my breath and turned from Rugnar’s bar to find two, warmly and well-dressed figures standing in the steading’s entryway. They shook the snow from their long, fur-lined coats, paying no mind as it collected all around them on the floor. I hoped Rugnar would ignore them and return to his story about what had been plaguing the supply caravans, but his attention was now intently focused on the two strangers. Much to my dismay, the story would have to wait.

The taller of the two newcomers removed their dark, fur-lined hood and face mask to reveal a man with short sandy-brown hair. He ran his fingers through his messy tresses and smoothed them down until satisfied. His face was long and narrow, and his brow seemed to be caught in a constant state of furrowing that made him look like everything displeased him. The creases near his eyes and the silver threaded along his temples had me assuming he was in his forties. Without a second thought, the man tossed his face mask onto the steading floor.

Behind me, I heard Brynhildr mutter something disapproving under her breath.

“Horrid weather,” the man’s traveling companion complained. She removed her fur-lined hood to reveal a crown of golden curls piled high on top of her heart-shaped head and secured with a golden comb. She studied it with her narrowed bright blue eyes before settling them on Rugnar. “Can we please get a private room, one preferably with a soaking tub? I need to melt away all this cold settling in my bones.”

The norn homesteader roughly cleared his throat. “Sorry ma’am, we don’t have private rooms here,” he replied. “We’re set up to take refugees, not fancy folk like yourselves.”

“I’ll let you deal with this,” Brynhildr said aside to Rugnar as she wrinkled her nose at the newcomers. The norn woman then motioned for us to follow her to the far side of the steading.

As the others followed Brynhildr, I snuck a quick glance at the lord and lady, curious what their reaction would be to a response I guessed they weren’t used to. It became quickly obvious in the way the two highborn patrons stiffened and narrowed their brows at each other, that they were not keen on Rugnar’s response. Managing to keep my growing smile to a smirk, I turned to follow the others, but then I suddenly felt a strange and unsettling sensation from behind me. I stopped and glanced over my shoulder to find the lady staring at me, her bright blue eyes clear and focused. Did she recognize me? A sharp chill began to materialize in my chest and it felt like it was going tear through my chest. Unconsciously, I placed my hand on my chest near my clavicle for comfort.

As the lord approached Rugnar’s bar, his steps purposeful and swift, he strode through my line of sight, interrupting the awkward stare between myself and the lady. I blinked and pulled my gaze from her, puzzled by the exchange. I stole another glance over at the lady, and saw her lips curl into a smile before her attention then moved to the lord. Her smile faded as he pulled his short sword from its hilt and slammed the weapon on the bar top. I jumped slightly, startled by the unexpected sound and found my hand already poised on my axe’s pommel.

Clarkus uttered a deep throaty growl and turned from the group. His long, sharp teeth bared, the charr started to make his way towards the bar to confront the lord, but Quint grabbed his arm brace and pulled.

“Not your fight big guy,” Quint quietly assured him with a pat on his thick, furred arm. “Besides, Rugnar can handle this.”

The charr let out an unwilling huff, his feline eyes narrowed sharply at the lord. He pulled his arm free from Quint’s grasp, turned from the quarrel, and lumbered his way back to the rest of the group.

“I just built this bar,” Rugnar warned as he rested a densely muscled arm on the smooth, wooden bar top. He leaned over and furrowed his brow. “I’d appreciate if you kept your little blade off of it.”

I thought every vein in the lord’s head was going to burst. With the credibility of his weapon challenged, I was sure he would retaliate. Whether with words or with force, that was yet to be determined, but a physical altercation with a highborn would not go unnoted. No respectable lord or lady would want that sort of talk tarnishing their credit. I could thank Rhys for that bit of insight. I sighed, feeling heightened and drained all at once. Despite my initial instinct to poise for a fight, I was tired and didn’t want yet another thing to have to deal with. I turned from the possible altercation, trusting in what Quint had said to Charkus about Rugnar.

I quickly caught up with the others as Brynhildr began showing them to a few available beds, each with their own bedding, blankets, and privacy screens. After getting the others settled, the norn woman showed me to the empty bed on the end of the row, off in the corner. I thanked her and pulled the canvas privacy screen closed as soon as she left.

Immediately, I sat down on the soft bed to steady my shaking body. A biting cold had begun to burn deep inside and it felt like it was trying to fight its way out through my chest. I swallowed hard as my pulse paused for a moment and then leapt into a sprint as it thundered in my ears. I wanted to run. I wanted to run far away from everything, to take the blade and just go.

No, wait. This isn’t the way.

I forced my thoughts to turn from running to fighting as I worked to ease my labored and erratic breaths. In time, both my pulse and breathing slowed to a more manageable rate. I let out a sigh of relief and bowed my head, thankful the episode was ending. Sometime during the panic, I had tightly clenched my fists. I uncurled them now to find they were stiff and cold from the same chill that consumed me. It too, faded and I was left alone in peace.

Nearby, I heard the shuffling of the others getting settled into their own beds. I pushed my pack under the bed, which had been roughed up pretty well in the fall through the ice, and stretched out on the furs covering the simple bed. The mattress was soft and fuller than the one at Twinspur, and I could feel myself sinking comfortably into it. My eyes were heavy, so I closed them just for a moment, assuring myself it would only be for a moment.

I opened my eyes some time later at the sound of someone calling for me. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and brushed strands of red hair that had become matted to my cheek while sleeping. I yawned and looked around. Daylight had faded, and now the steading was illuminated from the flickering light given off from the braziers scattered around the steading as well as the steading’s fire pit. A small shadow shuffled impatiently on the other side of my privacy screen.

“Commander?”

“Come in, Alena,” I replied as I straightened my messy bed-hair. “You don’t have to call me commander. We don’t have a guild anymore.” The last few words rolled off my tongue in a quiet murmur.

The little asura pulled back the privacy screen and stepped through before closing it behind her. She hesitated at first, her hands clasped tightly together, but then padded quietly over to my bed, the orange feathers on her collar fluttering with every step. I motioned to the unoccupied edge of the bed and she hopped up and settled herself. Her short legs dangled off the side of the bed and she swung them back and forth.

“I have some questions, well specifically one to start,” Alena said as she looked up at me with her big, round crystalline eyes. “Why did you send us away?”

“I shouldn’t have sent you all away,” I confessed with a sigh, looking down at my hands now resting in my lap.

“The big guy took it pretty hard.”

“I can imagine,” I replied, clenching my jaw. “Is that why you came to talk to me on your own?”

Alena nodded.

“I just —I just didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting you all.” I shook my head. “Funny thing was, it didn’t feel right. There’s so much I want to tell you, all of you, and I will as soon as we get everyone back at the hall. You have my word.”

Alena’s long ears drooped and her thin lips fell into a frown. We sat in silence for some time as she studied me, until finally she spoke up. “Forgive me com– Nienna, but are you telling me the truth?”

“What do you mean?”

Alena raised her brow. “Secrets seem to be second nature to you. How can we be sure that if we all come back, you’ll actually tell us what’s really going on?”

I regarded her straight on. “These secrets have done nothing but harm. It’s time to try something different. You have my word when everyone is back at the hall, I’ll tell you all what’s going on. Please, don’t think of it as a commander’s order, but rather a friend asking for help.”

Alena remained silent, considering the request as she tapped her little thumbs together, and when satisfied, she nodded. “Okay, but only if you promise to tell us all what’s going on the moment every member is back in the hall.”

“Agreed.” I bit the inside of my lip and nodded. The idea of finally telling everyone the truth was daunting, but a promise was a promise and the cycle had to be broken. “Now I have a question for you.”

Alena perked up. “Oh? I’m guessing this is about the ice,” she said.

I nodded, my curiosity begging to be fed. “What exactly has been attacking the supply caravans here?”

“We don’t know.”

“Alena.”

“It’s true,” she shrugged, her voice cracking a little, “we really don’t know. Not everyone is hiding secrets like you.”

That stung, but I conceded. “fair enough. I deserve that.”

“Whatever it is, it’s been getting the better of our caravan guards up here and we can’t seem to locate it. It burrows into the ice, making tunnels like the one you and Quint fell into.” Alena wrinkled her pale, pink nose as she frowned. “It’s always one step ahead of us.”

I raised an eyebrow. The details were strange, of this there was no doubt. A predator that made tunnels as large as the one Quint and I were in didn’t ring any bells, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. The Vigil wouldn’t have sent Clarkus and Alena out here if they didn’t think there wasn’t any merit to the claims.

I straightened myself. “I suppose this creature would need to be found before you and Clarkus would be allowed to return.”

The asura nodded her little head, her long, pointed ears bobbing slightly along the sides of her face. “Yes, we need to figure out what is causing all this trouble as soon as possible before others are hurt,” she said simply, but then narrowed her eyes. “Why? What are you saying in between the lines?”

“What if we could –speed up the process?”

“Are you offering an assist,” Alena asked, perking up.

I nodded.

The asura brightened, flashing me a full set of small, sharp teeth as she grinned. “You mean it?”

“Well, if I want you two to come home, I don’t see a better way to make that happen.”

“Thanks, comm– uh, I mean Nienna!”

“Alena,” I said after hesitating. I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to broach this next topic, but I knew she would be my best option to talk to. “I -I was wondering if I could get your guidance on something.”

The asura cocked her head to the side, her long ears perked upwards. “My guidance? What do you need?”

“Let’s take a walk.”