The Norse Of the North

Revenge of the Fallen: Betrayal and Retribution

King Harald and his army opened the main entrance only to come across a very horrific event. Most of the men that remained to guard the kingdom were slaughtered. Estrid moved her hand in front of her mouth, trying not to scream from the massacre she was watching. Arne rushed next to his king, holding him by his arm, as some of the women along with them fell to their knees screaming. Most of the crowd barged in, trying to identify their people, while the healers and nurses were called to assist the wounded.

"To the dungeon Arne run to the dungeon. Something tells me Igor that is Igor's work."

Arne, following his command, ran downstairs as Sarah kept standing at the door, a few memories flashing before her eyes as she shook her head, trying to cast away the bad emotions. She took a stroll along the room, touching her surroundings. Torsten was kneeling in the corner of the room, shaking like a leaf from terror. His eyes were filled with tears. He kept staring at a dead person. Sarah approached him while feeling his shoulder with her hand. She leaned down next to him, pressing her lips against his forehead as she held him close. Not many words were exchanged; the situation spoke for itself.

"Is it your dad?" she asked with a tone of sorrow in her voice.

Torsten didn't even speak he just nodded. At this moment Arne entered shouting, "they escaped! It was them that killed our people. Harald they were both tied up in very strong chains that were not broken but unlocked. Who could have done this?

"They must have left someone behind" the king replied.

"Those bastards we are going to avenge them. I swear to Odin I will feast on their bloody flesh while I rip their hearts off their chest with my bare hands."

Estrid, who had been quiet until now, raised her head and stopped helping the wounded. "It's not a good time for that, Arne. You need to calm down." She exchanged a look with Harald as if she were calling him to speak, but he motioned back that he didn't know what to say—one more time that he comes up short on his responsibilities as a king. She got up to her throne and sat down before she spoke.

"I know you are all suffering; what we faced once entering is horrific, and I would not wish it even on my worst enemy, but we need to stick together and move forward. Now we are going to mourn our dead, heal our wounded, and then we will return. Our kingdom will go quiet, and we shall make no moves that trigger our opponents. We will give them the small satisfaction of winning the battle, but we will win the war. On the crown that I am wearing and on the gods that I believe in, we will blow our horns and invade their homes, slaughter their loved ones once again like they did with ours, and after they think everything is over, we will give them a tormented death unlike others. Soldiers, are you with me?" She shouted as she stood up while a group of furious and hurt men kept praising her and King Harald.

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Igor and his brothers run with all of their power. As Frode decided to take a moment to breathe in, the small quantity of food and the quality of the water kept giving him sharp pains on his stomach. He grabbed his brothers by their shoulders, trying to look up.

"I can't run anymore. Can we please stop? I need to take a breath. My stomach hurts so much."

"Frode, we can't stop. We have to keep going. We're not that far from the castle. They can hear us." The advisor picked him up and kept walking him while holding his stomach.

"Hear those cowards saying they will avenge. You're nothing, Harald, a pure nothing, you will come to avenge, but I will be expecting you with open arms, you hear me?" He shouts as he roars, filling his lungs with air.

"Hush, Igor, stop being arrogant and walk away, we shouldn't be heard, when will you ever stop testing your luck? We barely escaped a tormenting death; God knows what Harald could have done to us. Just keep moving!"

"He would have done nothing because he is a weak king; look at him now, his men and women slaughtered, and what did he do? Sit there and keep the crown. He even let his own woman make a speech. What honorable king would have backed down and left his wife to handle his military business? He wouldn't avenge his dead if it wasn't for her."

Odger grabbed Igor's arms, dragging him to the outer part of the path as they both got on their boats and paddled along the river. The night kept covering their traces as the advisor kept whispering, "Get in quick before they send tracers on our backs. Move the paddles. Let's go."

The group of brothers paddled as fast as they could, trying to put as much distance between them and the kingdom as possible. Igor kept muttering under his breath, cursing King Harald and his army. He was still seething with anger and couldn't believe that they had managed to escape. However, a small part of him was also relieved that they had made it out alive.

As they paddled along, the darkness of the night made it difficult to see where they were going. The only thing they could rely on was the sound of the river and the occasional glimmer of moonlight. They knew that they had to keep going until they were sure that they were safe.

Igor remained angry and bitter, convinced that Harald was weak and that their escape had been too easy. Odger, on the other hand, was more cautious and pragmatic, reminding his brothers that they had to remain alert and avoid any further risks

After what seemed like hours, they finally reached a small inlet that led to a hidden cave. It was a place that they had used before when they needed to hide from their enemies. Odger signaled for them to stop paddling and then carefully navigated the boat into the cave. Once they were safely inside, they pulled the boat up onto the shore and collapsed onto the ground.

Frode was still doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain. The advisor came over to him and handed him a small flask. "Drink this, it will help with the sharp pain"

Frode took the flask and gulped down the liquid inside. It tasted bitter, but it did ease the pain somewhat. He looked up at the advisor and nodded his thanks, grateful for his help. Odger then turned to the rest of his brothers and spoke in a low, urgent tone, "We cannot stay here for long. Harald will not rest until he has found us. We must move on and find a safe place to regroup."

The group nodded in agreement, knowing that they had to keep moving if they were to stay alive. They quickly gathered their belongings and got back onto the boats, paddling out of the cave and into the open river. They knew that they were still in danger, but they also knew that they had each other and the will to survive.

As they paddled on through the darkness, Igor's anger slowly began to subside, replaced by a sense of determination. He knew that they had to keep going, to keep fighting until they could overthrow Harald and restore their rightful place in the kingdom. And with his brothers by his side, he knew that they could accomplish anything.