“Erika darling… we need to move now.” Kara whispered, a smile in her voice.

Erika made an unintelligible grumbling noise in return, refusing to remove her face from her lover’s chest, her arms were slung around Kara’s waist with Kara’s arms up around Erika’s much lower shoulders. Erika had thoroughly ignored all the other reunions and explanations in favour of running to Kara, who had done the same in return which made Erika very happy. Now apparently all the organising and strategy had been finished but she still didn’t want to move.

Before Kara could speak again thought Erika forced herself to let go, their would-be time for a more complete reunion later when they weren’t still in possible danger, although a silver rank chosen of an Aesir like Sigurn was probably the most dangerous thing in this entire place.

Regardless she didn’t have much a choice, everyone was moving and Erika wasn't staying behind, she noticed how the two sperate groups had seamlessly recombined which she was glad about, she really didn’t want to be stuck as a leader. Bjorn was once more leading a larger group of rangers with Sigurn and the heavy infantry behind them, then the precious specialists like Erika and finally the main pack of irregulars.

The ice rimed corridors stretched out head of them, lit torches casting long shadows, but they didn’t seem as deep anymore, the jangling of chainmail and the clattering of bucklers and axes was an inspiring sound, something which buoyed up the spirits of all who heard it as they marched steadily away. Erika looked up and around Kara’s arm, which was still gripping her shoulder protectively, and decided she had to actually ask some questions.

“...how many did you lose?” Erika was sure that wasn't the most romantic question to ask but it was what had been bothering her, Sigurn’s group looked reduced from what she expected and her own was…. Well… the draugr had reaped a bloody toll on it, barely a handful left.

“Not many but still to many.” Kara said warmly as she scrutinised Erika’s form, Erika would have blushed but this didn’t seem to be a romantic assessment but more of a martial one.

“I'm fine, not a scratch.” Erika reassured, which did seem to calm Kara down a bit which let Erika swivel the conversation away from awkward topics.

“So… do you lot need us to share water?” A moment after she said it Erika found herself the centre of a good dozen penetrating gazes, with a laugh she unhooked her waterskin from her belt and handed it to Kara an action which the others soon began to mirror, her former group passing water to Sigurn’s people who passed back jerky and hard rations, Erika hadn't realised how hungry she was and wolfed it down.

“Thank you,” Kara said wiping her lips on her hand. “We managed to purify a sort of river… but the dregs had been filling it for sewage and human blood so nobody wanted to risk a drink even after we cleared it out.”

A few moments, some swearing and a little spitting later the rest of the group had distracted itself with moaning about the water leaving Erika free to question Kara more.

As it turned out karas experiences were very familiar, having been swept up into the sky her portion of the expedition had landed in a huge empty frost rimed cavern of a room, however unlike Erika’s group Sigurn had taken charge easily and lead them away from there, saying how it was likely a trap which Erika kicked herself for not thinking of, although nothing had happened right? Maybe that was just because of the age of this place though.

In the end they had wandered back and forth for ages until they had found a giant-sized barracks which they had fortified and lived in, which had also given two of the scribes they had with them the chance to decipher the dots.

“Apparently this place? This huge stone temple? It’s called the tower of memories.” Kara had told Erika, gesturing to the walls as she did so. “Myths and legends lived here once, before the burning, a sage stretching back into the last age, back when They left Asgard.”

“An Aesir walked here?” Erika asked feeling almost faint.

Kara nodded with solemn but sparkling eyes. “An Aesir Eri, a real Aesir.”

After that revelation the rest of the story was rather anticlimactic, apparently Sigurn’s squad had camped out for a few days getting hungrier and hungrier before they moved their base again, here Kara got a bit evasive as she skirted around saying where they had moved to, she only said that the group had found out about the tainted water and the dregs (which apparently was the name for those weird twisted giant that Erika fought, she approved) before launching a raid on them, after killing their king and reactivating the runes which would purify the waterway they had been heading back to camp when they heard the sound of a dreg in battle, chasing after it to finish off any survivors when they ran into Erika and her group.

Tramping along, boots ringing in unison, Erika found herself relaxing and not just because of Kara’s presence, the darkness didn’t hold as deep a fear with so many armed companions around her, rangers darting ahead and heavy warriors forming a clanking rear-guard it was oddly restful even though they were nearly jogging.

The smell of cold air and giant blood had faded way, replaced with the scent of sweat and ash from their flaming torches as they marched on into the darkness.