Blackbeard; The Legend

Nightmare Duty

After a few more hours of traveling through the icy countryside, coupled with one more break, the sun had finally began to set beneath the skyline, and the night was beginning to emerge. The wagon halted to a stop, and Asmund hopped off to scout the area, and Akahana stiffened as she watched him disappear into the darkening woods. However, after a few minutes, he returned, carrying an armful of torn-off branches and twigs, and he kneeled, beginning to arrange them on the ground.

"It's safe." He stated after a few moments, and he nodded to Kanin. The hare leapt off the wagon and walked to the gathered bundle of sticks. She murmured, pointed towards the wood, and in an instant, the sticks erupted into a brilliant fire that pushed back the dark. Kanin whispered again, and suddenly, slabs of ice emerged up from the ground.

"Well, come on," She casually sat down. "You're going to freeze if you don't." Soon enough, everyone was seated on the makeshift seats, which were strangely not as cold as expected, and they all huddled around the campfire. Akahana sat down on one of the ice blocks next to Ryota and Takahiro, shivering as she raised her hands towards the fire. Asmund walked to the wagon and returned with a leather bag, the scent of meat inside, and Akahana's stomach growled. The Viking went around the campfire, giving strips of meat and pieces of bread to each of the passengers. 

"Thank you." She said as he gave her food, and he , before he himself sat down and began eating his fill.

"Mm!" Ryota chewed on the meat, and licked his lips. "Thish ish really gud!" He gulped. "What kind of meat is this?"

"Beowulf meat." Asmund answered, gnawed on the food. "It's quite nutritious, and it makes up for a lack of fresh fruit." He ripped the skin. "But killing a Beowulf is a challenge in of itself."

"He managed to kill one." Kanin added eagerly.

"It must've been quite the achievement." Takahiro remarked as he picked at his food. "Especially if it was hard to kill." 

"Oh, yes." Asmund swallowed and chuckled nervously. "It was quite the spectacle. You should've seen it happen. I thought that I wasn't going to make it out alive."

"You know, we fought a sea monster before we got here." Ryota said, wiping his mouth. "It was pretty huge."

"How big?" Kanin leaned in.

"Like the size of a mountain!" Ryota replied. "It had all these big teeth and these massive claws and..." Ryota continued to regale the tale of the monster attack on the ship to Asmund and Kanin, who were listening keenly as he kept talking about it. 

"...And then, suddenly, Akahana leapt into the fray and proceeded to take it down by plunging her sword into it's skull!" He exclaimed, and Akahana couldn't stop the proud smile from appearing on her face Asmund and Kanin turned to her, high esteem in their eyes.

"You really did that?" Kanin asked, admiration in her voice. 

"Yes." Akahana scratched the back of her head, and smiled shyly. "I did everything he said."

"That's incredible." Asmund praised. "The amount of skill needed to take down something like that is remarkable." 

"She's the best fighter I've seen, that's for sure!" Stormfeather piped up. "She was like an angel when she slew that beast!" Asmund raised an eyebrow at the word angel, but didn't say anything, only chewing on his morsel of food. Once everyone had finished eating, Asmund stood up and stretched.

"Alright, everyone, it's time for you to go to sleep." He instructed. "We have a long day of traveling ahead of us, so get as much sleep as you can." Walking towards the wagon, Asmund pulled out multiple sleeping bags, and he handed them to each of the passengers.