Lands of Clan Halladson, The Kingdom of Ederath- Early spring 15 years AR

Erin walked along the river with Aethred, a trio of other humans, a duo of orcs, a pair of dwarves, and a quartet of Inari. The latter had been sent by Chijin Coda to assist and, she thought herself, observe them. They had packed for a two-day excursion and set out shortly after they broke from the meeting. The river in question had been a three-hour walk at a fast pace but they still had plenty of time, so the two groups split.

“Thar’s some limestone,” one of the two dwarves to come along said. Erin fought to avoid rolling her eyes as the ‘prospector’ showed just how much he sucked at his job. He wasn’t wrong but the only ones that didn’t know limestone were the Inari. The only reason they were clueless was that they knew it by a different name and had no idea they were looking for it.

Erin sighed, she didn’t get after him for stating the obvious. She knew he was trying to be helpful and the only reason why he was a prospector was because of a dumb slaver thinking all dwarves knew how to mine. She shook her head but froze. Fast-approaching steps were coming from behind, she turned to look level her glaive.

“Hi!” Tira came running out of the trees towards them.

“Ah!” a few of the Inari yelled out in fright but quickly composed themselves to the laughter of the races that were more familiar with lycans and this one in particular. Who was of course barely clothed and in her wolven form.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Jon?” Erin asked. The last she’d seen Tira she was with her brother in the caravan. She didn’t believe for one second that he was sick. She knew he was upset after having to carry out a very public execution.

“He good. I help him feel better,” Tira said with a snort from Aethred. She turned to him, “Not mating... He go find Willow and Andrew. I come here… Oh and he give list.”

Tira pulled a folded piece of parchment from her breastband and handed it to Erin. Erin took it, a little confused why Tira didn’t just put it in the pouches on her belt. She looked at it for a moment and recognized her brother's handwriting.

It was a quick list that worked its way through various metals and how to identify the ores. It also had a few other tidbits of information like looking for basalt rock, which was apparently good for making furnaces, and pumice, that could be used in place of limestone. At the end was a list of precious gemstones and how to identify them.

The list was vague and gave only basic information with a lot of common sense. Copper deposits could look like tarnished copper? who knew? If he gave a trained prospector the list, they would probably burn it and slap him for good measure but well… they didn’t have one of those. There were a few more detailed pieces so it was still useful, she didn't know iron ore could be blue. Jon and his fucking visions.

“Thanks, Tira,” Erin said as she read through the list of information again. There was nothing she could see that could make people question where he came by the information. All it would take would be sitting with a drunk prospector talking about work while taking notes. So she passed the list off for the others to read, even the Inari who she watched carefully copying the letters to translate one day. She wasn’t sure if they should share that but she stopped in her tracks when she realized she was being a stereotypical noble hiding their secrets. Well, it was a bit different with Jon’s visions but she didn’t like it.

The group, which now grew by a solitary lycan continued downriver. They made notes of various things they came across that Jon detailed in his note. Such as an outcropping of granite that also had veins of quartz running through it. It was pink quartz, which made her think of the day with the shadowcat years ago. She knew from Jon’s note that it could mean there was gold but it was probably unlikely.

One of the dwarves pointed out that the note also mentioned many ores being found near quartz deposits in general. Once they looked closer, they did come across a thin vein of iron ore. Not enough to do anything with but it meant there could be more nearby.

They didn’t search for more and marked it down on a rough map being drawn of the river. To fight against the noble stereotype she pointed towards the steel blade of her glaive and the iron ore in an attempt to inform the Inari of their discovery. She was sure they understood as they pointed to their own steel weapons and the vein, she nodded and they seemed excited. They quickly studied it and took notes, which she could only smile about.

She had studied them as well, not as much as Andrew but he did fill in some details. They didn’t have many experts and knew only basic things. Evidenced by their mudbrick walls and small huts which severely lacked craftsmanship, despite having quality crafted clothing and weapons that suggested their people were more advanced than their structures looked.

She guessed they didn’t exactly plan to need prospectors, masons, or blacksmiths when they ended up there by accident. They had who they had and now they also had information on iron deposits. She wasn’t sure if it was helpful but at the very least it meant better relations. Only the gods knew, maybe they’d already spotted a massive vein of iron ore but didn’t realize what it was until that moment.

Soon it started to get dark and they made camp in a small meadow along the fast-moving river. It didn’t take long for the group to set up their tents, get a fire going, and toss some fish traps they’d made into the water. Hoping for fresh fish for breakfast.

Erin looked over at Garrick as he set up his tent. It wasn’t a thick canvass coated with wax to keep the water out like she had or even what looked like sailcloth the Inari were using. It was random animal skins that he carefully placed over a dome-like structure of sticks he’d gathered and made.

“Is that all you have?” Erin asked abruptly and quickly covered her mouth when she realized how rude she sounded. Garrick for his part just laughed.

“Aye lassy. Thir's na need tae cop ill, part o' living in th' clans.”

“Sorry, if you’d said something… I’m sure we have an extra back at camp,” she said. He just looked at her for a moment. He had long black hair that he tied back into a ponytail, showing his slightly pointed ears. His broad nose nearly dominated his appearance if it wasn’t for the inch-long tusks and dark red eyes. He wasn’t a handsome man… by human standards at least but then again her brother had started developing a thing for fur… and Andrew might have similar taste as well. That also wasn’t bringing in the fact he might be exactly what an orc woman wanted.

It wasn’t that she was interested. Besides his looks, she knew he was a decade older than her. Plus, the other orc in their group was his wife? Partner? Did orcs marry?

She felt bad at her outburst because she’d realized that despite being frustratingly hard to understand, he’d been very helpful that day. Showing them to the river, pointing out various landmarks his clan had used to navigate the land. Even stopping them from walking on an unstable river bank... none of them realized the bank below them had completely eroded and under their feet was a thin layer of dirt held together by roots. He also cared deeply for the safety of his people.

“We're nae that different from ye southerners. We prefer tae wirk solid 'n' mak' tings ourselves. Mak's us stronger,” he finally answered

“I’m not a southerner… Well, I was born there but my parents are from Ederath.”

“An’ Ederath is sooth o' th' tribal lands!” he started barking with laughter and after a moment she did too. As absurd as it was, she was a southerner from his point of view, “Th' far sooth... I've ne'er bin 'n' thay dinnae come up this far north, so dinnae ken whit thair lik'.”

“Far sooth?” Aethred came up and sat down next to her trying to imitate Garrick’s accent. Her eyes widened because he sat really close. She knew he wasn’t as brave as others but… she deflated, there was probably a prank coming, “What’s it like in the far noorth?”

“Cold, rocky... Nae much farmland 'n' th' only toowns ur alang th' coast 'n' survive aff th' sea. In th' frozen peaks, th' mountains up north, thir's a few dwarven cities. Honestly thir's nae much tae it.”

“We normally hunt ‘erds o' caribou 'n' th' like... We did at least,” Garrick’s significant other sat down next to him. Her features were a bit more human, except the tusks and heavier brow. Still, not much of a looker by human standards but Erin had noticed that most orc women made up for it in body, with wide hips and thick thighs. Even if they weren’t gifted up top, they could be but Erin couldn't tell with the furs. Overall, the woman named Sadie was mildly attractive.

“What happened, you said you lost a… a rammy?” Aethred asked, Erin could only look at him, he was being nice and he didn’t swear once since he sat down, “They fucking kick your asses or something?”

Well, she should have expected that. Not only did he swear, even Erin realized that it wasn’t just hitting each other, people had died. She elbowed him in the ribcage and he gave her a look. The two orcs looked at each other for a moment.

“Nae th' best moment tae blether aboot it... We didnae start th' rammy 'n' thare used tae be a lot moar o' us. Is it a'right if we leave it at that?” the last question seemed to be directed towards Erin. She only nodded, she understood the feeling exactly.

“Nae mah steid bit seems ye lost a few as weel,” Sadie said.

“Not my place but…” Garrick seemed to struggle to help bridge the gap in slang mainly trying to speak in an accent that enunciated clearly. Erin got it, they pronounced stead strangely but a stead, a place, same thing.

“It’s alright, it’s been a while… we’re ummm…” She looked towards Aethred for help. For once he wasn’t grinning dumbly or looking like he was going to try to start something for his own amusement, “Yeah… our families died last summer on the solstice… ummm… you know werewolves. Some came out of the Dain down south and...”

“Knew ye fought th' wolves bit thay attacked ye?” Garrick seemed surprised and pointed to the right side of his head. Erin could only nod, his people bordered Ederath. Of course, they would recognize the tattoo that both she and Aethred bore.

“Nah, some crazy bitch came and gave us weird fates. Nearly every kid in the village fucking left on the solstice… the night they attacked. Well except those poor little shits in the mouse house…” Aethred said and Erin gasped. She’d forgotten about them, little ones told to hide under a house to start their fate. The wolves had found them and killed them all. Garrick just looked at her and sighed sadly.

“Enough o' that... Guessing by that ink that ye git them back. This is a fresh start fur ye then?” Garrick tried to change the subject. Erin reached over and took Aethred’s hand and nodded confidently.

“Ahhh… what the fuck are you doing?” Aethred said and Erin let go, trying to play it off with a laugh. She doubted it fooled anyone. Sadie gave her a look. One that Erin could only interpret as ‘fucking men’. It made her laugh genuinely, a little. She realized, she kind of liked orcs.

Late the following morning Erin walked along, holding Aethred’s hand. She was half doing it to annoy him, half because she wanted to. She was fairly certain that he only held back because it had turned into a game that he wasn’t willing to lose… No, she was certain. He had said that she’d give up long before he got annoyed by touching a… flat chested imp, like her. Fuck, she had wanted to kick him for that but she was trying to be nice. Thinking of it again… she lost. She let go of his hand and kicked him in the ankle. She even flashed him in her anger, "I'm NOT flat!"

The group around her looked at her like she was crazy while she pulled her breastband back down but soon continued on. She realized she shouldn’t have done that. Especially in front of the Inari, who seemed very affected by seeing her bare chest but at least Aethred stared for a second before he tripped over his own feet. It might have been the ankle pain but she chose to think otherwise. After a few moments, the group's conversation continued while Tira laughed and gave her a thumbs up.

“Think we could find a cliff, like Vanheim?” one of the humans of the party spoke out with a question. She could hear the tension in his voice, like a person saying ‘sooo, nice weather we’re having’ to break away from a weird situation.

“Doubt it, pretty sure that place is one of a kind.”

“That’d be nice though, merchants wud come jus’ ta see it.”

“Come here on what? There no road,” Tira said after she stopped making faces at Aethred behind his back.

“We could build one to the Elvan along the coast, then eventually through the troll hills,” Erin decided to enter the conversation.

“That’d be a long time comin’,” Aethred retorted.

“Got somewhere else to be?” She asked, looking at him with a touch of anger in her.

*Fwooooew*

“That could work,” One of the humans said.

Erin looked over at the long whistle that one of those in front had let out. They stood near the top of a waterfall but it wasn’t very impressive. It had cut through the rock rather than pouring over the edge. More water cascading down a rock crevice than thundering over a cliff like Vanheim.

It took her a moment to realize it wasn’t the waterfall they had whistled at. She walked to the edge of the short cliff, only ten feet high before going down a rocky slope after the sheer drop. Below them was a large lake that the river flowed into. It was nearly the size of the one in the Dain. From where she stood she could make out the river flowing out of it towards the sea. There was a second, smaller river coming from the left and most likely it met the first somewhere out of sight.

What made it notable was the high ground between the two. It was well above the water of the lake and relatively flat on that side with a gentle slope leading up to the south and then sharply down in a ravine where she lost sight of the second river. In the lake, there was a sizable island just offshore and best of all, very few trees. In fact, it looked like the few that were standing had been burned at some point and you could make out the fallen remains of the ones that didn't make it.

“Thar’s more limestone,” the dwarf from before stated with a wide smile. This time Erin looked to where he was pointing. It was at his feet. She looked down and she spotted limestone poking up out of the mud.

“Looks lik' th' whole thing is limestone, even th' rocks doon thare!” Garrick said while carefully leaning over the edge, “Dinnae ken how come yi''ll need it bit thare is a lot o' it.”

“Fuckin’ jings!” Aethred exclaimed. Erin lost her moment of wonder thanks to his use of clan slang. She assumed it meant he was surprised but wanted to push him over the cliff or into the water.

“Jings! Ye'r saying it wrong, best leave it tae us,” Garrick stopped him from going further with a laugh. The big difference was in the accent. With Garrick saying it, it sounded natural but Aethred saying it made him sound like an idiot. Something Erin refused to attribute to her current bias.

“Strondheim?” One of the Inari asked pointing at the location below. Erin could only nod. Unless the others found something more worthwhile upriver it had all they needed and was large enough to grow. Even with something better it was a prime spot for a future village… providing there wasn’t dangerous wildlife, the ground was actually fertile, they could haul in lumber safely to build the village, it didn’t flood, the- she stopped thinking about all the problems that could make it not worth looking at. They’d have to figure it out.

“Well let’s go set camp and take a look,” Erin said and hefted her glaive on her shoulder, “Anyone see a way down?”

**********

Jon had decided, after a night and half a day of cuddling with Tira, that he couldn't dwell on Alaric while there was much to be done. He'd left his caravan only to learn the others had already started. Rather than sit and wait, Tira led them to the river by following their scent. They decided to split after a short break by the water and he was sure she'd already found Erin's group downriver.

For Jon, he marched along the river after Willow and Andrews's group. He wasn’t sure how far ahead they were but knew from Gertrude, they planned on sticking close to the water. While he tried to catch up, he kept an eye out for ores, using the various bits of information he had gotten from a vision about prospecting. He kicked himself for not doing it earlier… he was pretty sure he’d seen white quartz with gray streaks that indicated silver ore back in the north grove but it was too late now. It likely would have meant Terra would have grown rapidly before being wiped out by the wolves anyways.

After marching up the river for a while he spotted something on the far side. It wasn’t a potential ore deposit but it looked out of place. He looked back and forth along the river and backtracked a bit to a place that had rocks to jump across to get to the other side. A few close calls, that nearly sent him into the cold water, later and he was on the north bank. He jogged upriver and soon found what he was looking for far up the bank.

It was a fucking skeleton, a human skeleton… or Elvanni or lycan, he wasn’t sure now that he thought about it. What caught his attention was the armor, even coated in mud the glint of bronze had shone through. He hesitated for a moment and then pulled the armor off while searching the remains for anything else worthwhile. Other than a copper ring and a rusted sword there was nothing there. He decided to look around the area though and soon found a large round bronze shield and a spearhead with its haft long gone.

He decided to wash his find and studied it. Besides being old he decided that the breastplate was for a woman, mainly because of its size and the way it was shaped to fit, well, breasts. The fact that the armor had a pair of nipples was also very strange. Overall it was impractical but it was something.

He also noted something even more important. Bronze tarnished. Not to the extent that iron rusted but it shouldn’t be a simple wipe of a wet cloth to bring back its finish. There was only one thing he could think of to explain the condition of the items he’d found, they were enchanted!

Jon went back to the body and after a moment gathered the bones and put them in his pack to be burned later. Whether it was an ancient Utininum or a more recent adventurer, he’d burn the remains when he caught up to the group and made camp. He started to dig out the rest and in the process, he’d also found a matching set of vambraces and grieves buried in the mud. Alongside them were pieces of other parts of the deceased person’s armor that must not have been protected by magic and a small pouch of bronze coins, tarnished as he expected. He didn’t recognize the coins but took them anyways.

Once he was done he put the smaller parts in his pack while strapping the shield and breastplate to the outside. There was nothing else to do so he continued on. Only after rinsing the mud off his hands in the cold river.

Another hour passed and he finally caught sight of them ahead… only he had never crossed to the south bank. They looked like they were getting ready to make camp so he decided to cross. He took off his pack and after a moment went downriver to take off his pants and boots. When he was ready, he walked in the water with his pack, treasure, and lower garments above his head.

“Fuck! That’s cold!” He said to himself as he descended into the water to his knees, slowly moving towards his thighs. He paused before going further than that, knowing how cold water felt going higher up. He took a breath and stood on his toes while still trying to brace against the current before taking another step… and stepped into a fucking hole!

He managed to right himself and got his head above water quickly. He shivered as he clung to his pack and the current started pulling him further downriver. He knew from previous visions, and common sense, that he couldn’t go on like that without warm clothing and an immediate source of heat.

He was an idiot, he had no idea how deep that was! He needed to get somewhere and start a fire or get to where the group was making camp. Come to think of it, he’d be walking into camp dripping wet and half-naked. Freezing to death might be better.

Even while he thought about it he moved towards the south shore and had to jump to take breaths as his pack and armor weighed him down but they also helped him from being carried away. He didn’t even think about tossing his pack. Not that he’d choose it over freezing to death or drowning, it just didn’t cross his mind in his panic.

When he finally made it he did the only thing he could do, he moved as fast as he could... which wasn't very fast. He couldn’t stop shivering and had a hard time moving right, tripping while his legs refused to work. He thought the water was bad, getting out into the breeze was even worse. It felt like thousands of tiny daggers stabbing his skin.

“Oi, what the fuck? Jon!?” He heard Willow’s voice as he focused a distant orange glow. He tried to move there but his body didn’t want to work right and he could only shuffle. She ran towards him and tried to take his pack but he couldn’t let go.

“HELP! Get your asses over here!” She yelled out and steered him further from the water. It was early spring and the water was runoff from snow melting in the troll hills, it was far from warm. Jon had expected to put on dry clothes as soon as he crossed and make his way quickly to the fire to warm his feet. He didn’t expect to be drenched from head to toe and in the water for minutes while he struggled ashore.

The other members of the party came running with weapons drawn and when they saw the situation they quickly helped carry him back to camp. Thankfully they already had the fire going strong by the time he arrived and had plenty of warm blankets. Unluckily they stripped him completely naked before wrapping him in the blankets while he shivered.

“Don’t go to sleep till I say! I see you dozing and I'm going to slap you! Got it?!” Willow said close to his face. He nodded, “Good, short of one of us stripping down and cuddling up with ya it’s all we can do.”

“Thhh-thth-ank yyy-y-you,” Jon said with his teeth still chattering.

Jon lay there and slowly stopped shaking. He looked around and noticed the others looking at him as he slowly warmed up. They went along with their conversations but he saw their glances. When he wasn’t blue in the face from cold Willow walked up to him and looked him in the eye for a moment before lifting the blankets and inspecting his naked body. He could feel her touching his thigh and moving his leg. She asked for aid and Jon looked up at Roland before the two rolled him over. Satisfied with their inspection, they laid him back down and wrapped him up again.

“Cold is bad. Injured and cold is worse. Was afraid you mighta hit some rocks and needed healing,” Willow explained while she wrapped a tunic around his head, “Just thought it’d be better to get ya warmed up a bit first… still, no sleeping.”

Jon could only nod to her instruction, he knew the dangers of that as well. Not long after his body had stopped shaking and his lips were no longer blue. Roland lent him some dry clothes as his own sat by the fire. He awkwardly walked into a tent, wrapped in a blanket, and changed before going to sleep well after midnight.

The following morning everyone was packing camp like nothing had happened. He looked for Willow and walked up to her.

“Ummm… thank you,” he said sheepishly.

“For what? We all talked, nothin’ happened last night, no one saw ya naked, no one saw ya shriveled up like a dried prune…” She looked at him and after a moment smirked, ”Jon, I’m joking. No need to thank me. Everyone agreed it was an emergency and not to talk about it… much. They're not about to be describing bits at least. Just glad you're alright. Oh, and if it makes you feel any better it could have been worse.”

“How? Sorry, I mean... Thank you for that but how could it be worse?”

“Ayla over there, the she-orc, volunteered to snuggle with ya to warm you up. Told her you’d be alright and Tira might not appreciate it,” She laughed, “Tira would probably lick her face in thanks and volunteer to snuggle her back but ya know.”

Jon looked over and saw a female orc looking at him. He gave a wave and she gave one back. He wasn’t sure how old she was, young? Maybe? She looked like she had softer features than the adults and was about Jaesmin’s height, which made him think she might even be younger than he was. Considering orcs were generally taller than humans. Age aside, having a stranger share body heat would be a bit much.

Jon walked out into the forest a few minutes later and switched out of his borrowed clothes with his own. They’d spent the night by the fire and were still toasty warm. He got back to the camp and while they finished up he donned his armor before getting handed a rough wolf fur cloak to put over himself. His own cloak was missing, he wasn’t sure when but it must have been ripped away by the current.

After realizing that he went back and checked his other gear. As far as he could tell, only the oiled leather cloak was missing. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the armor he’d found. While he looked, he thought about giving it to Willow. Though, he’d rather give her something she could use. The breastplate was enchanted and looked like it was well made but it would have to be completely reworked to fit her. He wasn't sure if it could be reworked, her body aside it was enchanted bronze.

He wasn’t sure what to do. He felt he owed her something as she’d stayed up half the night caring for him because of his own stupidity. He started thinking about her personality to think of what she’d like.

She knew how to fight, knew how to take care of people, she was friendly, trustworthy, and didn’t put up with shit. Eventually, he got an idea. He didn’t think of a reward like he’d planned but came up with a different conclusion. After all, it was only commonly done in cities but that wasn’t to say he couldn’t do it. He walked up to her while she put on her pack. He grabbed the strap and took it off her before he gently set it on the ground.

“Huh? Jon are you-

“Listen for a moment. Willow, I name you Drengr. Do you accept?” Jon asked her bluntly. He wasn’t sure if there was tradition concerning naming a Drengr and he didn’t want her to think he was trying to ask anything weird by making it an overcomplex proposal. He expected her to be flattered or maybe to refuse it politely but he didn’t expect her to look as confused as Hel in a bathhouse.

“Huh? A what?” He forgot he only learned about it a few months ago and they both grew up in the south.

Jon took a breath and started to explain what a Drengr was. What her being one of his Drengr meant for him, what it meant for her, and how they’d have to discuss her actual compensation later once his land made an income. Some perks would come before that and it wasn’t like she could spend the coin in the wilderness anyways. All the while she, along with the rest, stood and listened

“So I get to call myself Drengr Willow, which is a noble but not really. I also get a say in how your lands are built up, you buy me a new weapon and armor… which you already did. Then you’d build me a house and eventually pay me for it?” Willow asked Jon to clarify. She was mostly correct but… yeah that was the basics. He gave her a nod, “Fuck me then! I should think of a proper last name, I’m a Drengr!”