Blood And Stone

Chapter 18: A Wolf, Bear, and an Eagle

Ghosts of the sun stabbed through the low-hanging clouds in the valley as if the gods were blessing the fauna that it touched. The clouds hung low, tickling at the blades of grass as they crept their way around, snaking through trees and bushes delicately. The cool air hung heavy with moisture as the sky above let out its humbling roar of the impending storm. Finding solace in the darker side of mother nature, Rissa crouched still, prone with her bow drawn and ready to fire.

The deer that grazed in the fields seemed to sense nothing that concerned them. They ate and moved gracefully through the tall grass, feeding and watching the horizon for dangers. It almost made Rissa sad to know that she was going to end this beautiful peace for one of them. Such was the way of life. One minute you are enjoying the world the gods created for you and the next, you are dead and being made into a stew or a cloak for some lumbering moron. Rissa let her bow relax and placed the arrow back in its quiver. She would need to hunt and bring back some animals today but, not one of these deer. They were far too majestic and beautiful for her dare strike one down.

Opting for peace at this moment, she sat back in the grass and watched the rangale live. A newborn fawn wobbled its way over to his mother and played around its legs. Rissa felt the smile as it curled her lips, making her eyes squint just a bit as she watched. The young animal focused on its mother's legs for a few moments before a small butterfly flew its way across the deer's path. As any typical young thing would do, the fawn followed the butterfly for more fun and games.

The drizzle began to grow heavier and soon turned into a full but delicate rain. The sound of the water hitting the leaves brought Rissa back to the events of this morning. Her eyes had been focusing on the world outside the window as she listened to the bickering of her people. Petty squabbles about property lines, who could fish where, and at what times but, the worst were the two sheep farmers being angry about taxes. Of course, she had found a solution, making things even but, they had not been happy. She had to take some sheep from one farmer and give them to the other so that they each had the same amount and therefore, the amount of taxes was justified. Of course, the one who had to give up the sheep moaned about losing income but, Frandril stepped in and cleared that up quickly by suggesting they impose taxes as the English did, based on income. That would raise everyone's taxes and quickly silenced the farmer.

Hours of these little problems took up her morning and greatly raised her irritation level. She wanted to be Jarl and to make her father proud but Rissa couldn't help but feel these types of issues were a waste of her time. Especially with winter beginning to draw close. She had then taken it upon herself to assign duties to the villagers and her Ulfheðnar warriors. Many of the warriors were helping make repairs to the longhouse and to the village homes, sealing them tightly for the winter months. Another group was sent to gather firewood while the best of the warriors were training the young men of the village. The hunters were to go out daily and bring back as much meat to be salted as they could, same with the fishermen. Rissa announced that her dinners were not to be grand but to be cut back to what was normally consumed, making it easier to stock up on food for winter. That way, the food could be shared by them all and not hidden away for her to grow fat like her father had done.

Though these decisions and meetings felt insignificant to Rissa, her people all seemed generally happy with them overall. Many people's taxes were lowered and new positions and jobs were created to help spread the wealth. That was something she wanted deeply, which was for all of them to have a manageable life and be as comfortable as possible. She did see a few sneers at her choices and made a mental note to keep an eye on those men.

Rissa's eyes ran over the horizon and watched the clouds sink even lower. The weather was dreary today but her mood stayed relatively light. It remained that way as she stepped from her spot and began to walk through the clearing, passing the family of deer. She walked along, bow slung over her shoulder, as her eyes darted around, soaking in the beauty that was her home. Just as she was about to enter the woods again to hunt, she heard a delightful yup. She slowed to a stop and listened again. Her eyes looked around her, searching the tall grass as the rain trickled down.