《After Ragnarok (GL - Norse Progression Fantasy)》Arc 2 Chapter 7
Advertisement
Kara looked down at Erika and screwed up her face. “… Lady Erika you just told a former soldier that we are, potentially, part of a hostile foreign power invading his resting place and you don’t know why he’d be interested in that? Even the dead keep their prejudices.”
Erika looked up at Kara for a moment then swore loudly and turned back to the undead trapped in its altar-coffin, it still hadn't restarted its hurling but the single lidless milky eye kept staring from the shadows.
“We aren’t hostile to the people you once served we are just here for…. Flowing quickly water? Distance longer than a pace? Damn what’s the word… ah mushroom, we are here for mushroom.”
“Which one?” replied the draugr its voice seemed a bit more interested now, Erika just pointed at the fan of Respite that grew from the peak of its coffin, the dead eye rolled madly in the darkness for a moment then stared upwards, after a moment it looked back at Erika.
“Why?”
Erika went for honesty. “Our fellow delvers were injured by ambush, they have… damn what’s the… merchants of soap… favourable orchard… blood poisoning! Infection after their wounds, that mushroom helps.”
For a long moment the coffin was silent, Kara held still as well despite the doubtless agonising pain she was in, the moment tensed like a coiled wire… then Gunhilda wandered back in from the tunnel.
“Some of the little monsters nearly got away but I caught up and I killed one using another one like a club! Best day ever!”
The three humans stared at her in mute astonishment for a long moment before a rough bubbling caught their attention, a strange sort of bubbling chocking sound like pebbles dropped in a river filled with sludge, the draugr was laughing.
Advertisement
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I like this one… very well clever little breather… take the mushrooms from my coffin I care not... in exchange however… push my coffin back into its proper resting place.”
“Deal!” Shouted Erika happily.
“What deal?” Whispered Kara.
“We get the mushroom if we push his coffin back into the wall.”
Kara didn’t seem keen on that but Erika knew one thing she apparently didn’t, undead couldn’t lie, at all, if they did their souls were dragged down to Nidhogg and devoured. It was something to do with being undead her mother had said, their souls were already loosely anchored and had had their chance at life, breaking an oath even implicitly like lying got you sent to the Oathbreaker place which was, to put it lightly, not great.
Erika walked over staring into the glittery eye in the darkness, reaching up she tore a squishy handful of mushrooms from the coffins crown and tucked it in a pocket, the eye never moved, the limbs didn’t stir, the draugr simply watched her.
“Gunhilda, Kara, can you push it?”
A few sweaty seconds later the false altar toppled over, a few more and it was shoved into the hole that the wargs had tunnelled into the wall, apparently it wasn't a tunnel but instead a sort of private chamber for the honoured dead.
Kara stood next to Erika and Reidar as Gunhilda said the rites, tapping the runes on the coffin she invoked Aesir and Vanir both, alive and dead and, breath by breath, the eye in the darkness seemed to become… lesser, it didn’t move, it didn’t change, but in its pupil, there was less until suddenly something in Erika’s hindbrain told her it was a corpse again, just a corpse and nothing more.
Advertisement
The group turned away, heading back up into the light, Reidar leading and Gunhilda lagging behind, at the rear Erika tried to prop up Kara as the adrenaline of the fight washed away leaving only the agony of her arm.
“Thank you,” murmured Erika. “For saving me… I don’t know if I would have survived that throw.”
Kara managed to a ladylike smile, although the edges verged on a grimace. “We’re even then, aren’t we?”
Erika laughed. “Yeah, we are, guess you don’t need to hang around me now, right?”
“… You’re not getting rid of me that easily lady Erika.”
“It’s just Erika, Kara.”
Kara stared at Erika, a strange look in her eye, then she grinned and looked away “Ok.”
Advertisement
Hawkin. Bronze Ranked Brewer.
07/11/2022 Update: We're currently at the end of the 7th arc, out of 10. My plan is to continue to publish a chapter at least 4-5x a week for the next few months. Synopsis: Hawkin found his place in the world, far from humans and monsters. He abandoned the adventuring life long ago and left civilization, opting for peace and isolation instead. After ten years out in the northern forests, he befriends a strange creature and his life changes. A traveling trio of monks then show up in Hawkin's woods and share with him the best beer he's ever had. After that beer, Hawkin wants to do nothing but accept the brewer's path and brew. This story is intended to be slow and easy. It involves a slow progression of power and brewing more powerful beers. There is occasional conflict. Thanks for reading, and I really hope this story relieves a bit of stress from your days. Note: I'm behind on Audio, but I hope to catch up soon. Linked Audio is always free. Thanks for the support everyone. If you're into cryptocurrency, I've also got these addresses: BTC: 32chczV9eLgbpHdbRLyptQRZD7pyMxD4UX DOGE: DMRt6x8x2b5Cg7wf4PNVESLLS8WhVDhDnA ETH (ERC-20): 0x22fcaaa6a638fcb5db7a3a74b0c64f371f60e257 SOL: 2fb942xbf35ogTQrUbreTk91Z38U92RHamDEXVjw9Nzh MetaMask: 0xE8A3BEd2b353f53AeA1e1B166EbF9e231ba56647 (Cover by maxxs515 from pixabay; free use)
8 458Soldiers of Mana
(I am currently in the process of rewriting the story. The rewritten chapters will be slowly added to my website. Once I catch up to the current amount of released chapters, then I will reupload them all here. Along with a brand new chapter.) https://www.leeninnsocial.com/ ---------------------------------------------------- In a place where factions fight for resources related to increasing technology, and military strength, they will do anything to develop the strongest fighting force possible. This leads the Sky Nation of Ailiven to take children from orphanages to raise them as weapons. Niko, a young boy who lost his parents, and was separated from his friends at the orphanage will have his life slowly morph into nothing but that of a weapon.
8 108Despondent Divinity
There exists a Great Seal which split the world in two, one half ravaged by the Darkness, the other a safe haven of Light. Since the collapse of the old world, 20,000 years have passed, and the world watches on as their only protection from the Plague of Plagues slowly dissipates. Only the strong may survive the oncoming Demon horde, and the forgotten prince, Jack Calmira, fears he may not have what it takes. In a world where weakness is punished by death, what are weak men to do? Author's Note: Expect a chapter or two every month, but I'll get faster eventually. This story isn't a Wuxia, but it has a lot of eastern influence. The MC isn't OP and is flawed. Less action, more character driven. Constructive criticism would be appreciated as it's my first story. Chinese culture has inspired a lot of the novel, but much of it is an amalgamation of different cultures, some made up and some not. Think Xianxia + Shounen with a mix of western and eastern fantasy elements.
8 205ALONE
The story revolves around a 16-year old High school boy, Hittori Hasai. He considers himself alone in the society. He thinks no one can understand him in the society. It all happened when a tragedy occured and that tragedy has left him a scar. The scar is unseen in the society and also he does not know of his own scar. He suffers from Amnesia, he does not recall any memory of the tragedy but his dreams tell a tale of their own. This is a story of a boy who is Alone!
8 87Kuch Toh Hai
Naagin Ek Naye Rang Mein
8 232Are You Right For Me?~Sesshomaru Love Story~
Yuki, the daughter of the yokai of the Eastern Land (dont know if there's such a place but oh well) is being married to the Demon Lord of the Western Land, Sesshomaru. While she slowly falls in love with him...will she be able to forget her past lover? What will happen when her old lover comes back to life to find her? What is his true intention? Who will Yuki choose to be with?
8 56