Morning came with a wicked evil light, that drove away the night and shone pale winter sun through the window straight into Saga's eyes. They let out noise more at the fitting of a wounded beast as they shielded their eyes. Their eyes drifted across the room, taking in the state of it. They had made it through the door alright bit after that their memory was foggy, to say the least. There were some displaced furniture on the way towards the bed and the table seemed to have been all but tossed on its side, having barred the way for a straight route. Saga assumed it had been a very good night.

As they slipped out of the large bed of furs they noticed that Sasha was nowhere to be seen. It made their heart beat a little faster as Old doubts and anxieties began to claw themselves up now that they were alone with just their hangover.

“Two silver for your thoughts Sweet Tooth” Came to a voice, cutting through the mounting uncertainty. Sagas eyes cast about and saw that Sasha now stood in the doorway, dressed in a tunic that showed her toned, tattooed arms and a pair of black trousers she tucked into knee-high leather boots. The woman had the light, cruel and unyielding to Saga's still hungover brain, framing her silhouette. Saga wasn't sure why they had to die to get so lucky as to end up with Sasha, but at this point, the ghoul had done wonders for their love life it seemed.

“Brought you breakfast” She tossed Saga a bundle of wrapped paper that contained some sort of dark bread with crunchy, salty sausage stuffed into it. It was greasy and so full of salts it would give a nutritionist a heart attack. But it was exactly what Saga needed with their terrible hangover. They closed their eyes and let the sinful greasy breakfast help stabilize their sore noggin while Sasha slipped deeper into the building and began to pick through her own, less heart-stopping meal. Her meal seemed to be some fluffy bread, almost like a pita-bread, stuffed with greens. Saga didn't even know you could get access to greens during the winter in such a place.

“I could marry you” Saga groaned as they ate.

“One step at a time.” Sasha laughed as she down and rested her head against Saga's shoulder. “Last night was nice.”

“I’ll be honest. It's a bit foggy.” Saga grimaced, really wishing they could remember more.

“That would be the meads doing. Let's just say I think you earned another date.” Sasha let out another laugh and stole a bite from Saga's now very diminished meal. Saga stared heartbroken at what was left of the sinful bread roll.

“Mhmm. Usually, I’d be a little embarrassed and timid and apologetic about not remembering. But I am thinking of marrying this sandwich too right now.”

“Such a romantic.” Sasha scoffed.

“The bread? Yes, I know.” Saga mumbled while devouring the last of the bread. Lamenting its passing like one would an old friend. Sasha tried her best to not let her eyes roll all the way back into her skull.

***

As the two of them made their way to the longhouse, the city was already waking up. Saga had slipped into some sturdy enough clothes, that were a bit less fancy than the ones they wore yesterday. They noticed that the yard outside of the longhouse was being cleaned up, with servants and workers loading various empty barrels back onto wagons and making sure that whatever that's been left unspoiled and in decent enough condition was being packed up.

“What do they do with all the food that wasn’t eaten?” Saga asked, curious as to know where all the excess went. They sure had eaten and drunk like nobody's business, but they still saw an entire hot being chopped up and put into separate portions. And there was an entire barrel's worth of food next to it while the day was just starting.

“Anything that's likely to last is being divided up and given out to people who need it the most. The Jarl is very strict about wasting anything, especially from the city's more influential and well-off folks.” Sasha explained as they headed towards the second biggest building. It wasn't as massive as the longhouse that served as both feast hall and living quarter for Attrid and Manghild but it was still a sizable building. Especially compared to the one-room hut the two warriors had shared the other night.

As they approached they could see that Olaf was already up, the giant of a man was almost fully geared up, a new shield on his back and his trusty ax at his side. He looked up from where he was tying up his boots and gave them both a wave. His massive arm was the size of Saga's head and the sight of him waving like an excited kid to his friends made for an almost comical sight to Saga.

“Morning. You vanished on us” Olaf said, a grin upon his lips. It was fairly obvious he knew exactly what had gone down and Saga suddenly had an inkling others did as well. IT was a good thing their hangover killed any sense of shame or embarrassment.

“Apologies. We-” Saga began, in an attempt to be cordial and preserve some subtle dignity but Saga had other plans. Their mouth decided to jump ahead of any hangover riddled thoughts as they spoke, hands on their hips.

"You might need a new table.” Saga finished for Sasha while she just stared at them. “What?” The berserker said with a grin that only made Sasha sigh in defeat. Olaf let out a cackle but caught himself quickly at Sasha's exasperated look. He cleared his throat and grinned at both of them.

“Well, I am glad you didn’t waste too much time,” Olaf said with an amused chuckle. I never saw people look at each other at the first glance as you two did back at Olga's place. I wasn’t sure if you were going to kill or kiss each other.” He said as Sasha eased up a bit, having shifted to another gear to keep up with the two knuckleheads she was talking to.

“At the time, the urge for both was there. Maybe it’s a dead thing?” Sasha mused, tapping her chin in thought, a habit of hers that Saga had noticed a lot as of late. When they thought about it themselves, Saga did remember the sudden pull on their very being. Maybe it had been one of those Norn thread things.

“Possibly,” Olaf said, a hint of amusement still clear in his voice. “Either way, you are here and you will be spending a lot of time together. So why not make the most of it.” He spoke hands to either side as if there was nothing more obvious in the world. Saga felt a kind of kinship with this man who beneath his many duties and constant worries for his home, was a man of very a very simple, and caring mindset.

“Speaking of death things. Where is Katla?” Sasha inquired and Saga realized they could not see the death knight anywhere.

“Katla didn’t stay too long. She was off almost immediately after talking to you Saga.” Olaf let out a small sigh as he fastened the last of the equipment and rose to his feet. Saga could tell it bothered him that he rarely got to see his sister. “She only came back because her Goddess called for her too. She should be at the Hall of Gods by now as I believe she wishes to oversee you two taking the Oath of the Deathsworn.” He slipped on his helmet and did some stretches to check that nothing sat on too loosely or too tightly then turned to the two.

“I shouldn’t complain. I was just off for a month on a vision quest myself after all. But Katla mostly goes by herself. I am her little brother, I can’t help to worry.”

“It's understandable. You are a big softie on the inside and you worry for your family. As anyone would. Luckily your sister is a BAMF.”

“BAMF?”

“Badass mother fu- Uh. Maybe you don't say it that way. Your sister is a really cool and badass lady. Is what I am saying.”

“She is pretty intimidating” Olaf agreed and Saga decided to just call it quits there before they had to explain what the term cool meant. It was something that they would have to gradually ease this world into. Instead, they focused on what was ahead of them.

“Olaf, Where is my stuff. I kinda feel naked without at least a little armor on my oh so delicate frame. “ Saga spoke while noticeably flexing one bicep. They would likely never grow tired of properly buff for the first time in their life. Sasha scoffed but Olaf was already heading towards the longhouse as soon as Saga had asked.

"Father heard what happened to your shield, and he won't have a friend of the family go into battle with anything less than the best shield we can provide them.” He said giving Saga a grin. “Come along, we put it with the rest of your gear.” He motioned for them to follow, and Saga felt that familiar pang of guilt they felt several times already. It didn’t bother them this time, however. They got lucky. But if these people wished to help them, they would not turn it down.

Olaf lead them into the longhouse that had yet to be properly cleaned from the smell of various sprits and spilled food. Saga realized that Olaf was headed for the same door they had stopped the two kids from entering. Olaf opened it slowly, and stepped aside, letting the other two-step inside before he ducked inside. Before them was their armor. Only it was different. It had the same deep blue color and red accents as their new outfit now. And what damage there had been expertly mended. But what drew their eyes was the massive round shield that rested against the mannequin. IT was at least an extra fifth of the old shield's size and made in deep, reddish-brown wood. Carved along the edges was a complicated runic pattern. Then again around the embossed middle seven runes are carved in a much larger, simpler pattern.

“Go on. Pick it up” Olaf said, a hint of pride in his voice. “I made it myself. It has been hanging on my wall for a while, waiting for someone who could wield it the way it's meant to be. My shields are all made with me in mind. They are heavier, thicker, and more complicated in their runic design. That one I made for someone like the Jarl to use.”

“For a berserker.”

“Aye.”

Saga picked the shield up and immediately had a prompt show up.

{ Runic War-shield Of Destruction.

Quality: excellent.

Creator: Olaf Attridson.

This is a runic war shield. War-shields are large and sturdy but lighter than a Guardian or Sentinels Runic Great shield. This shield has been inscribed with sacrificial runes. Each time the shield takes damage that should shatter the shield, it expends one of the runes instead. More powerful attacks might cost more than one rune at a time. These runes correspond to your affinities should you recharge them yourself.

Spiritual Affinity: Death. If charged with Death Magic, each time a sacrifice rune is expended, it explodes into the Dark Radiance spell.

Secondary Affinity not yet mastered.

Dark Radiance [Burst Spell, Instant, Cone, 5-meter range]: Death energy explodes outwards, wrapping about any target that is caught in the explosion. Targets affected by Dark Radiance have their vitality sapped by a small amount and all healing reduced by 50 percent. This effect is doubled on undead creatures.

}

“Wow. I don't know enough to compare with but this seems really good Olaf. Thank you so much! Not only will it not shatter. but depending on the rune it will either heal me rapidly, something I really could use, or weaken my enemies. Especially undead. It seems like it was made for me” Saga stared down at the shield, running fingers along the larger runes which they gathered were the sacrificial runes.

“As I said, I made it with someone like you in mind. Many less defense-oriented warriors can do with a little bit of magical blowback to keep their offense going even as they block a great hit. And you can have Sasha or someone else charges the runes for other effects as well. Ordans mother will likely teach you all about it but I figure I might teach you a little. You know how you looked into the runic stones and let your energies flow into them?”

“Yeah?”

“Runes like this can store only a set amount, so anyone with a little control can channel their affinities into them after they are spent. It is hard to do in battle since you don't exactly get the chance to meditate. But after a battle, you should always recharge runes.”

“But your shield had all their runes spent after the ambush and they looked all sorts of cracked”

“Yes. But that is because of the damage the shield itself was taking. Runes can be damaged by powerful magical spells and attacks. If you were to a take an attack that spends all your runes at once for example, I am pretty sure that shield would crack down the middle.”

“So the people who attacked you were pretty strong.”

“They were very powerful for their level no doubt. It had been really bad if the Ordan didn't keep the mage busy.” Olaf nodded, his tone dropping into a more severe, serious one. “That shield will not shatter easily, and it should make you a lot safer in the short term. But the higher-level opponents will always have enough tricks to make it past a lot of what you bring into a battle gear-wise. The gear is there to give an edge, but it cannot account for everything. It's pretty static that way.”

“I see.” Saga said, running a finger over the inert runes again. “I will keep that in mind. Still. Thank you” They closed their eyes and focused on one of the runes, fingers running through the groves of the carved symbol. They felt a tug and let it extend up to their arm, focusing on the twin stars within them. They had better control this time, their training during the caravan trip helping them funnel the magic as a slow trickle. The rune lit up with a dark purple glow before Saga let their hand slip to another rune. They furrowed their brow as their forehead grew damp with sweat. After the third rune, a prompt popped up, causing them to withdraw their hand.

{Your mana has dropped to below 50%}

They rose to their feet a little unsteadily and gave the other a grin. “Haha. That was pretty taxing.” They then promptly staggered over to a nearby tree and used it to prop themselves up as they made sure not to puke. Expending so much mana while being hungover was anything but fun.

“You are not even level 5 yet. Your mana reserves are still very small, especially since you're not on a caster path.” Olaf crossed his arms as he gave the shields a once over. The three runes were lit up in that dark purple, it was almost as if they glowed black somehow. The rune “Still. Three runes in one go are not half bad for your first attempt. And once you get a handle on your second affinity, you can begin alternating what you charge each rune with.” He gave them a clap on the back that almost bowled them over before Saga slung the shield onto their back. They opted to just carry one of their spears and their sword at their hip, letting the armor be for now. They were just going to stay in the city for a while still after all. Saga fasted her two axes in the meanwhile and she looked similarly relieved at having her weapons at hand as Saga felt with the spear on their back.

With that, the two hugged Olaf each before setting out the door towards the Hall of Gods.

It was time to find out what the whole Death Sworn thing would entail.