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

“A hoose? nae sure aboot a' that but-” Garrick said with a laugh but stopped his exuberance abruptly, “hold, we dinnae hae tae leave in th' summer?”

“If you haven’t noticed Garrick, we’ve got plenty of space,” Jon looked a the dumbfounded orc while Tira giggled softly and one of the Inari who seemed to understand walked up and patted Garrick on the shoulder… Either that or he took it for bad news and was trying to console the orc.

“Maybe… Maybe they could go build a village of their own somewhere, not far from Strondheim. I mean cause…” Andrew said carefully but faded away, trying to collect his thoughts.

“They like to make own way. They learn, they build. Build in Strondheim! Orcs too fun to move away,” Tira finished for him and Garrick nodded stupidly. Jon didn’t think Garrick expected to be allowed to stay but it was an easy decision for Jon. Not only did the orcs seem like decent people, he only knew them a little less than he knew the Inari or even his own people. Considering he could actually speak to them, even with their accents, he could say he knew them better than the Inari.

Compared to his own people? Hel, he had a married couple that managed to kill people with poisonous wine making wine with berries from the forest! Although, others had been tasked to collect the edible berries. He also found out that a few of his former slaves had been convicted criminals but had been bought and sold. Their previous owners failed to mention their crimes.

Only a single murder but the man claimed he had been a violent young man that had accidentally killed a person in a tavern brawl fifteen years prior. The rest were thieves, smugglers, a pair of older deserters, and a woman that had been caught with a large amount of dream dust… a substance he had never heard of but was apparently made from certain mushrooms and caused a person to dream while awake. His final two questionable slaves were former pirates but one claimed to have been tricked into it by a noble while the other said he worked on a trade cog and was pressed into service by the same group of pirates.

Jon wasn’t sure if his new people were honest with him or not but he’d accepted them. So why wouldn’t he accept the orcs? He grew up an outcast in the south, looked down upon because of his heritage and religion. So how could he look down on the orcs for the same?

“I ahhh… thank ye,” Garrick finally came to his senses and smiled. It only faltered when Tira hugged him but it came back a few moments later with a laugh, “Dinnae tell mah wif’ that I got a bit personal wi' th' lycan lassie.”

Tira hugged him and ended up clearing her throat annoyed after a moment. She didn’t let go until a few seconds after Garrick hugged back. Jon blew air out of his nose in amusement when she picked up the larger orc and squeezed him tightly before putting him down.

After a few moments of silence. Andrew cleared his throat, “Jon… what about the islands?”

“What about them?” Jon asked. Ignoring the obvious shift in conversation and looking out towards the distant rocky isles. Jon had noticed his friend had lost interest in his fellow hunter.

“What about building a port out there and I dunno... Using small ships ta move things ta here?” Andrew said after a minute. A true minute where Jon and the others stared at him.

Jon really focused on the islands now. After a minute himself, he couldn’t help but think… why not? Provided the Islands weren’t as rocky as the coast and even one of them had a halfway decent spot to build… they could…

“How… Tira can you make out if there’s rocks in the water around the islands?” Jon asked and looked over at the beautiful redhead whose eyes changed. Her irises and pupils grew to encompass the entirety of her eyes. The Inari looked at her and stepped back but Andrew placated them and tried asking them the same question. He’d been about to ask how they could check but forgot about the ability he was going to one day obtain himself.

“No? Maybe? I can see rock but not much,” Tira said after staring into the distance for a moment. Her enhanced vision focused on the distance islets.

“How bout a place to build?” Andrew asked, “flat with not as many rocks?”

“Eh… maybe… that island flatter,” Tira answered. Jon looked where she was pointing and thought about how he could see better. A flash of a vision entered his mind as he learned about lenses and binoculars, monoculars, and spy glasses. A moment passed and he stowed the new information away for a later time. He didn’t know exactly how they worked but it was something they could try when the glassworks was built. He’d probably be a grown lycan before they got it right.

The group discussed the idea further for another half hour, it was midday and they sat along the shore for their midday meal. The Inari weren’t sure about the islands and managed to communicate that they’d passed them during the storm. Jon figured their focus was elsewhere when that happened but hoped they could ask their people, perhaps someone watched the distant rocky shores as they passed.

They did manage to work out an idea on how to navigate the treacherous waters along the coast by way of using chains or ropes to guide small ships from point to point. It could lead them through a clear route until they reached a section of beach clear enough to build a pier or two.

The idea would have to wait until it was warmer because they needed to dive to find underwater outcroppings to avoid. Plus the need for a vessel to bring the divers and workers that would connect the ropes out. Before all that, the vessel would have to be able to reach the islands and ensure they could build a port there. It was a working idea though and far better than trying to figure out how to blast the rocks to pieces using black powder.

The best part about it was that quite a few of the Inari seemed to be strong swimmers. The two in their group indicated with two thumbs up when they grasped the question. Andrew managed to convey to them what they were thinking and they seemed excited but also indicated that none of the Inari were shipwrights. They knew ships and knew the design but not the process that went into building them. Or at least that’s how Andrew understood it.

“Bout fucking time we found you kid!” a yell broke them out of their conversation. The group looked around and reached for their weapons. Jon soon spotted the source, a familiar face.

“Finn?!” he yelled out to the approaching lycans and lone Elvanni. It was only four total but he recognized all of them along with Andrew, who quickly gestured to the Inari that they were friendly.

“Good to see you well my thane!” Ser Hallr yelled out, shifting into his lycan form and running down the beach towards them. Finn followed suit a moment later, leaving Neera and Ragnar behind. It didn’t take long for the two lycans to reach them and Jon could see the worry in the Inari and Garrick.

“They’re friends, we fought in the Dain together,” Jon tried to calm the orc while Andrew desperately tried to explain to the frightened Inari. Jon couldn’t blame them, they’d seen Tira in her lycan form but there was a difference between her and the two now approaching. For one, Tira was free-spirited and loved to laugh. Their biggest complaint was they weren’t used to seeing a furred form as undressed as she usually was. The second reason was Tira was nearly undressed with two axes on her hip, the two knights approaching were fully armored.

When they got to them, Jon walked in front of the others and couldn’t help but smile. Finn had caught Hallr on the run and they both stood on two feet as they neared. Jon, Tira, and Andrew walked forward to meet them.

“Been looking for ya for days!” Finn said smiling but sounding exasperated, “Where the fuck have you lot settled?”

“We thought you’d be along the coast but hadn’t seen a sign of anyone,” Hallr continued, giving a salute to Jon which was quickly repeated by Finn. Jon of course saluted back.

“We’re a few miles up the Frihe river,” Andrew informed them.

“Freedom river… not bad for the location of a settlement started with freed slaves,” Hallr chuckled, “Should inform you, my th-”

“Please don’t do that,” Jon cut him off. Hallr was Prince Erik’s right hand during the expedition and Jon had the conversation with the knight before. Even as a higher level of nobility, Jon still viewed Hallr as a superior. Plus he hated the honorifics.

“Told ya,” Finn said with a smile and kept it up despite Hallr’s glare.

“Very well, I should inform you that you’ve started a trend in Vanheim… more than a few have vowed to follow in your footsteps and some have already gone downriver to buy one or two slaves with the intent to free them.”

“Glad it’s a trend,” Jon said before asking a more pertinent question, “What are you doing here?”

“The Prince sent us… Well, sent me to meet the Inari before he left for Jorvik. Ser Finn and Ranger Neera volunteered to accompany me and my squire,” Hallr stated.

“Oh and hi Andrew and Tira, good to see you both. And nice to meet you, Inaris-,” Finn said but was cut off by Andrew.

“Inari.”

“Sorry. Inari and one random orc?” Finn finished. Hallr too looked at Garrick who looked at the plumed helmet in Hallr's hand. Jon could see that the young orc chieftain was wary, the Inari only a little less so. Jon could understand to an extent. He hadn’t even known lycans existed in his sheltered village before he’d met much, much worse.

“This is Garrick. He’s a friend. His people were forced south by another tribe and they’ve been helping us out. I actually just invited them to stay if they wanted,” Jon informed the knights with false confidence. He wasn’t sure if he could even do that or if it would violate some treaty or royal edict but the two knights nodded as Neera and Ragnar caught up. The former getting a hug from Tira.

“Good you here!”

“Gla- Tira… can’t… breath,” Neera grunted out while struggling as she was lifted off the ground in Tira’s arms. Tira quickly put her down and loosened her grip. After a few moments of catching her breath, “good to see you.”

“Ando and Usui,” Andrew interrupted the reunion to introduce the two Inari to the knights before pointing at each newly arrived in turn, “Hallr, Finn, Neera, Ragnar.”

Jon watched as one of the Inari pulled out parchment and scribbled a strange script, crossing out the word and writing it again before pointing at the Finn. Andrew seemed to know what was going on and repeated the name before explaining, “He’s writing your names to inform Chajin Coda.”

“Guessing that’s the name of their leader?” Finn asked.

“Yep. Thinkin’ Chajin is like a duke or a jarl. Sunada said there were others under him,” Andrew informed them with a shrug.

“That’s their ship?” Ragnar asked what should have been obvious, it had his attention from the moment he caught up. It was clear it wasn't his but Jon nodded just the same.

“Are they… advanced? Or are-” Hallr started but took in the ship again. Jon knew what he was thinking, it was huge, and judging by the knight's look it meant it was bigger than anything that came to the isles. “What of weapons or buildings.”

Jon looked at Andrew. He was the resident expert on the Inari and they seemed to trust him far more than anyone else. Andrew for his part seemed a little more nervous having been put on the spot, despite speaking freely just a moment before.

“Ummm… As far as I can tell? I’m not sure. I’m thinkin’ they don’t have any, ummm… any craftsmen among them or at least not many... but Sunada drew pictures of what their buildings looked like! In Soga at least. That's where they came from. It were night and day compared to Hani,” Andrew said perhaps realizing that Ser Hallr was the emissary of the crown, “That’s what they named their village but we’re tryin’ ta get them to move to Strondheim.”

“Strondheim? Shore-home?” Ragnar voiced his confusion aloud before actually asking a question, “Thought you were on a river?”

“Thay- we are... Strondheim is on th' shores o' a loch,” Garrick spoke up for the first time, still not looking at the lycan knights, “Nice tae mak yer acquaintance.”

“And yours… Your rammy? Anything Ederath has to worry about?” Ser Hallr asked. Sounding strange while pronouncing the clan slang.

“None. We didnae give offense, thay just wanted oor lands 'n' thair fresh chief isnae fond o' orcs ”

“Na kinch then!” Finn responded happily and a bit more fluently, making Garrick finally look at the young knight's face. Jon stared at his friend and former watch partner. He seemed to anticipate the question and spoke with a passable tribal accent, “Ah grew up in a wee village alang th' border. Met mah fair share o' clans 'n' tribes.”

“Don’t do that!” Neera smacked her lover with the back of her hand. Finn feigned that it actually hurt him and pointed towards Garrick. Which caused her to raise her brows and ramble an apology, “I apologize, nothing against how you speak… Just, he doesn’t speak like that! I hope you don’t take offense to his foolishness.”

“None taken, lassy,” Garrick said in response. He seemed worried still, while the Inari had given up the idea of being afraid and were quickly writing notes and whispering in their language.

“Language… Yes!” Ando spoke out. In the process revealing what they were doing. Trying to markdown words based on context. Jon felt a bit bad, he hadn’t actually known the man's name before Andrew introduced him.

“Seems smart, reminds me of Sunada,” Finn said. When they suddenly paused and looked at him, he repeated her name while tapping his head. Andrew said something in their language and it pacified them immediately, both bowing politely and taking more notes.

“Oh! Should probably let you know. Sunada, she’s the daughter of Chajin Coda,” Jon realized that he should tell them. Both to inform them of the fact and stop anyone before they said anything untoward concerning her.

“So a noblewoman with curves,” Ragnar said while tracing out a curvy form with his hands. Jon facepalmed as Ragnar did exactly what he had tried to prevent. The Inari looked up and seemed to realize who he was talking about based on the glare Usui directed at him. Ragnar smiled and only relented when he shrunk down from the collective gazes of the Inari, Andrew, Neera, Finn, and Hallr… mainly the latter, his mentor.

The Inari’s ears actually rose into a smile and they laughed at his sudden discomfort. Ando pointed at Tira and howled. Jon knew it was a pathetic attempt at a lycan howl but Tira understood what he was asking and she shifted. She looked at him while he looked her up and down before his ears did a strange little spin. His fellow Inari cuffed him immediately after and his ears drooped in disappointment while the others watched… that wasn’t disappointment though. The first to laugh was Tira.

“No! I look good! No harm saying!” She raised her voice at the one that had cuffed the other while gesturing to her body. Usui immediately drooped his ears. Tira stepped toward him and grabbed his ears and pulled them straight up into a smile. Thankfully she did it gently, “No sad.”

Usui froze as the lycan woman that towered over him played with his ears. Finn smirked while Andrew tried his best to explain, using his hands to imitate Inari ear positions. Hallr studied them and Neera somehow managed to cringe and smile at the same time. Garrick stared at the ground again and Jon… Jon facepalmed again until Usui gave her a thumbs up and she let go of his ears.

“Well… Thinkin’ that’s the Inari version of-” Andrew said and waggled his eyebrows up and down. Usui looked confused while Ando’s ears shot straight up and laughed aloud, “Ummm… Tira, they have sensitive ears… Not sure if they… ummm…”

‘Not sure if they only allow their lovers to do that,’ Jon thought and Tira came to the same conclusion, shrinking down to her human form and blushing hard at what she'd just done. Thankfully for Jon, she left it at that and didn’t try to communicate her relationship with him. Immediately after the thought, she did and she grabbed him and kissed him while pointing between them. ‘Okay, at least she didn’t mime anything else… Finn would never let it go.’

“Ahhh… Strondheim?” Hallr broke the tension. Jon and nearly everyone else could only nod to the suggestion.

They made their way down the beach to the Frihe River. They took a slightly different route and collected more clams and crabs along the way while Jon explained the situation in the settlement. He only broke when Tira opened another clam and found a second pearl. Finn and Neera both seemed shocked at the valuable item found in the shell, this one was slightly oblong but a brilliant white. Hallr just nodded with a knowing smirk.

The trip was largely uneventful. They did come across a flock of terrobirds but with three grown lycans, two of which were knights, and a Ranger among them… the two that attacked were quickly slain and the rest of the flock fled. Finn hacked the legs and head off the giant birds and it didn’t take long before they were moving again with Finn and Ragnar carrying the torsos of their future meal.

It didn’t take long before they were across the makeshift bridge and within sight of Strondheim. As the sun started to set, Jon could see the fires burning in the distance as his people prepared their meals. He also couldn’t help but smile at the progress they’d made on the manor. The framework of the second floor was visible in the failing light.

“So… This is Strondheim? Nice location I guess,” Finn said while earning a stinkeye from Neera which caused him to add, “I’m sure it’ll be nice… just starting out!”

Jon shook his head and smiled as they continued and soon made it within sight of those in the camp. A few people took in their return and went about their business. A few others did a double-take, perhaps suddenly noticing the knights.

“NEERA!” Jon heard his sister's voice call out before she ran towards them, stumbling slightly. Jon looked at her as she caught herself, a ceramic jug in her hand. She made it to them and handed the jug forcefully to Jon before hugging the woman. Jon gave it a sniff and realized they’d assembled the stills at some point after he’d left. He wondered when they’d had something fermenting but realized there was plenty of barrels of ale they could have distilled. After a moment he took a drink and felt the burn go down his throat before offering it to Ser Hallr. The knight bobbed his head a bit before taking a drink as well.

“Wasn’t planning on drinking this but…” He took a second drink, “Afgheir had me try some in the Dain. It isn’t bad.”

He passed the jug along to Tira as Willow also made her way to them. Jon noticed once again she wasn’t wearing a breastband and hoped she had taken it elsewhere. He could tell she’d had a drink but she wasn’t drunk at least.

“Ser Hallr, Ser Finn, Ranger Neera! Good to see ya again!” Willow greeted them loudly and Jon reexamined whether both of his Drengr were drunk. He wasn’t actually worried about it but with the current company, it was less than ideal… maybe. “Oh my Thane. Miss Sunada is here as well. She arvided… arrived not long a- ago!”

Yep! Willow was drunk too. Aethred walked up to Jon and leaned in close, “Tried to tell ‘em no but you realize how…. How… huh?”

And so was Aethred… Roland walked up next as the rest caught up, “Milord, been keeping an eye out and things running while you were gone. Don’t be mad at them, the first batch seemed alright but this is the second batch… it’s a bit stronger. Your sister done had some mash stored away on the wagons...”

At least Roland seemed alright and he now knew where the liquor came from but Jon wondered how many of his people were blowing off steam by getting hammered on ale, mead, and liquor. Before he could contemplate too far, the jug ended up in his hand again. It was noticeably lighter He took another drink and followed up with a third as they made their way to the campfire.

“Any issues?” Jon asked before the drink took effect.

“None, milord. Though miss Karli…” Jon stiffened as Roland paused and a smile came on his face, “Miss Karli managed to cast heal today. Minor scrape but done saw the magic with my own eyes.”

Jon looked over at the woman in question and realized her success may have been the cause for the impromptu celebration. Especially considering she was learning from scratch using a spellbook! The redheaded horse breeder was sitting on the other side of the fire. Both the look on her face and her dress told Jon she had partaken in the drinking. Mini-Tira's new style of dress of course being a mirror of Tira’s.

“Take it back, Strondheim might not be too bad,” Flinn said as a second jug was passed to him by Neera. He passed it to the Inari aftewards and they both took a small drink. Ando cringed while Usui performed only a little better. Sunada sat down next to them and they reluctantly passed it to her when she held her hand out to accept it.

Jon could tell she’d already had at least one and probably more. She didn’t seem surprised at the burn and said something to them. They both nodded. After a translation through Andrew, he understood that she had told them it was a cultural thing and how they celebrated.

Jon couldn’t really disagree as his vision started to swim. He pulled a waterskin and drank heavily from it. He hoped he wouldn’t have a hangover but laughed and smiled as the night went on.

The following morning Jon only had a slight hangover and a bit of recollection of what had happened the night before. It was a chaotic mess but in the best of ways. They drank, sang, and joked away a good part of the night before going to bed. There were antics of course and he was pretty sure he ended up in the lake… not by choice either!

When he finally opened his eyes and became aware of his surroundings he noticed three things. The first being Tira’s naked body pressed against his and the second being the fact he was naked. Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, they often slept naked and it wasn’t like the previous night had been special, they’d crawled into bed and fell asleep. The issue was they weren’t alone. An orcish woman stood over his bed.

“We've git a kinch. Thay follow’d us fur another rammy.” Sadie said bluntly. It took Jon a moment to translate, being both hungover and freshly awake. Once he gathered what kinch and rammy meant, it dawned on him what she meant.

“Shit.”

**********

Erin sat around the hungover, makeshift war council. She rubbed her temple and cursed herself for drinking as much as she did. Her only solace was in the fact that she was hardly the only one. Although some were better of than others.

“So where are they now?” Ser Hallr asked stiffly. His face betrayed that he wasn’t feeling the greatest, although she hadn't seen him drink all that much the night prior.

“The hunting party spotted them in a camp to the east… not sure if they broke camp yet or not,” Jon answered. He’d gotten all the information from the hunters after he’d woken up. Half had stayed to watch the intruders but they sent the orcs back to keep them out of harm's way and to warn the rest.

It was a dire warning, they estimated that the camp held over a thousand people. Though most seemed to be women, children, and the elderly, it still meant potentially hundreds of combatants. Even with two knights and a Ranger, it wouldn’t be enough to hold them back.

“Hani sent word this mornin’ too. A few scouts were watchin’ the village,” Andrew informed the group. It appeared they hadn’t seen Strondheim but they had located the Inari.

“We wait… If we move to Hani, we leave Strondheim unprotected if they come here… Hani at least has walls,” Jon said. It was his land and he was the highest-ranked, so his word was law but that didn’t Erin feel any better.

They didn’t have to wait long before the human hunters arrived to let them know the invading tribe had broken camp and were marching south toward Hani. Word was quickly sent and Strondheim’s guard was quickly armed as best as they could do. A group of the citizens had spent the day prior making shields but they’d only managed 20, half of the number of spears they’d had.

“I along with the Thane will speak with their leader… The Inari and the orcs have both been accepted in Ederath and to bare steel against us would be akin to declaring war,” Ser Hallr said sternly. Erin gulped but stood when the rest did and prepared to march. She wasn’t any different than Jon, she didn’t like the idea of fighting people. Her only hope was that their far numerically superior foe would see the red plumes of lycan knights and flee north.

Less than an hour later… they marched.