NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22: The Druids
Bebbenburg was in pandemonium, the daughter of King Alle, Blaeja of Northumbria had gone missing. Not only that but multiple guards had been found washed up on the shore. If things could be worse Lord Uhtred didn't know how, not only had he hidden the knowledge of a killer from the King, but now because of his actions he was responsible for his daughter's disappearance. Lord Uhtred couldn't let the King discover his knowledge of this incident, it would change a potentially mild punishment for having too lax a security to a sure execution of him and the destitution of his family.
Lord Uhtred had everyone searching every room for Blaeja, or for anything that may indicate where she could've gone. He personally questioned all the guards and servants but as of yet he did not find anything. One of the worst discoveries of all was that of his treasury, he had opened the door to find that over half of his immense wealth was gone, and he almost destroyed the door with his fists when he saw it. His shouts of rage could be heard throughout the castle. Whoever had done this to him he declared eternal enmity towards, that wealth was the result of decades of accumulation and now some scum had taken it.
"FIND ME MY DAUGHTER NOW!" King Aelle boomed from the hall. His wife and daughter both sat holding each other with tears in their eyes at the loss of their family member. Uhtred sat silently in his seat stewing in anger at the loss of his treasure. Even the shouting of the King at how pathetic and useless he was did not phase him. "My Lord!" A guard shouted as he rushed through the open doors with a young servant in his grasp.
"Why have you disturbed us! Have you found my daughter yet!" King Aelle shouted at the poor guard.
"Tell him what you told me!" The guard shouted at the servant pushing her forward.
"I-I s-saw her milord..." the guard said in a low tone. King Aelle approached the young girl, his large form dwarfing her as he stepped in front of her.
"Speak girl, where is my daughter!" He said loudly to her.
The girl tried to speak but the presence of the king in front of her intimidated her greatly and she found herself choking on her words. "SPEAK GIRL!" The king shouted.
"S-She l-left milord! A m-man with hair like snow was with her," she stuttered out. Judith lifted her head at the servant's words, the shock was apparent on her face when she heard what the servant had said 'Edward?!' She thought to herself, she had only known one person in this castle who had that colour hair, but she knew he would never hurt his sister or anyone. He loved to learn and read, so there must have been some other explanation for what the servant had seen.
"Where did you see him, girl!?" The king asked.
"T-The early hours of the morning milord, I saw them rowing just off the shore," the servant said.
King Aelle looked to Lord Uhtred who still sat in his seat with a blank expression on his face. "WELL YOU HEARD THE GIRL START SENDING OUT SEARCH PARTIES!!!" He booked out.
Lord Uhtred didn't respond for a moment but he then looked up and nodded to the guards who all rushed out of the room. They had not sent search parties outside the area yet, Uhtred knew it would be a useless endeavour but he couldn't defy the king. However, a thought did spark in his mind 'Perhaps the man who took her stole my silver.' It was too much of a coincidence that they both happened at the same time.
"Get all available guards and peasants out and looking for Blaeja, any who find her will get five hundred silver pieces," He told the guard that stood next to him.
"Yes my lord," the guard said before rushing out.
"The person who brings me my daughter and the man who took her shall have their weight in silver and gold!!!" King Aelle added.
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(Two weeks later)
Rebekah watched as men packed the Jarl's ships full of supplies, the journey to the west was soon and it was all the town could speak of. For Rebekah however it was her chance to see Thorfinn again, she hoped that her briers would keep his world and bring her love home. There was much she needed to tell him, but most of all let him know that he would soon be a father. Elijah had been taking special care of Rebekah ever since he had found out she was with child, he would hardly let her do anything by herself.
Even coming to watch the ships Elijah had accompanied her, was frustrating, to say the least. In the past month the size of her bump had increased, it had started to stretch out her dresses slightly which scared her. If their father found out then she didn't know what would happen, she could only hope that Elijah's plan would work. Rebekah enjoyed the crisp breeze brushing against her skin as she watched men storing chickens and barrels of water on the ships. She even saw Ragnar and his wife Lagertha helping; Rebekah liked Lagertha despite not knowing her, Thorfinn had told her much about Ragnar and his family and she felt like she had come to know them personally despite never meeting them.
"Sister." Rebekah heard a voice echo from behind her. When she turned she saw Elijah approaching her with a familiar face by his side.
"Hild?!" Rebekah said with visible shock on her face.
Hild offered Rebekah a courteous smile as she made eye contact with her. Rebekah offered one back but her smile quickly melted away when she saw the bump on her belly. "Hild, it has been a while, I trust you have been well," Rebekah said cordially.
"It has been a challenge getting Thorfinns land in order, but with everything bought for the house all that remains is getting the farmland and mines in order, something I have been having a little trouble with," She explained.
"I am sure once Thorfinn comes back he will have much to do," Rebekah said, though her only focus was on Hild's stomach.
Rebekah turned to Elijah "Can I talk to you for a moment brother?" She asked. Elijah nodded and signalled Hild to wait for a moment while Rebekah and he went further down the beach.
"Brother, why have you brought her here?" She hissed out.
Elijah sighed "You need a servant to take care of you, one that you can trust with your... condition, Hild is bound to Thorfinn, when I told her of the situation she said she would do anything to assist you," he explained.
"Have you seen her belly, it swells with a child of her own," Rebekah said in a grim tone.
Elijah's face turned grim as well as he nodded "Has she told you the father of the child?" Rebekah asked.
"No she would not say his name, but it isn't difficult to guess who it is," Elijah commented.
Rebekah covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes started to water. She pushed past Elijah and walked down the beach to the water staring across the fjord into the sea. She felt disgusted at herself, at Thorfinn, at Hild, she felt mad and upset; she felt it all in such strong and short increments that she didn't truly know how to feel, but what she did know was that she was going kill Thorfinn for keeping this from her.
"Rebekah..."
She wiped her eyes before turning to face Hild who was now next to her "I want you to know I will do my best to care for you and your baby," she said in a gentle reassuring voice.
Rebekah only glared at the older girl "What makes you believe I wish for you to be anywhere near my household," she spat out.
Hild only smiled at her "Thorfinn loves you more deeply than anyone I've ever seen, you are irreplaceable in his life, you have nothing to fear when it comes to me," she said as she took Rebekah's hands in her own.
"My only wish is to share in your happiness, to serve the one who saved me from the darkness," Hild explained.
Rebekah turned away from Hild wiping tears away from her eyes again "He doesn't want me anymore, the effort to make me his wife is not worth it, he has land and soon he'll have wealth, any woman in Kattegat would offer themselves to him," she said hopelessly.
Hild wrapped her arms around Rebekah and hugged her "He is doing this all for you Rebekah, you will be married of that I am certain, but for now, let me help you in caring for you and your baby," she requested.
Rebekah could do nothing but nod her head in acceptance. Elijah felt relieved as he had been listening to their conversation from afar. He had been worried about leaving his sister with no one to care for her which was what prompted him to visit Hild in the first place. Of course, when he discovered her pregnancy he was enraged, the temptation to tell his family about Thorfinn and Rebekah was immense, had it not been for Rebekah he would've thrown Thorfinn to the wolves.
"Brother, are you ready?" Elijah heard from next to him as Niklaus walked over with a crate in his arms. He was helping the others load supplies onto the ship, he was almost as excited as Ragnar at the prospect of going back.
"More than ready..." Elijah replied as his thoughts went to finding Thorfinn.
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It had been a week since Thorfinn, Arwyn and Blaeja left Bebbenburg, they didn't sail for long down the coast before landing and stealing a horse and cart, it made transporting the silver as well themselves a lot easier. They had been tracking Eowyn through the forest for a week, it wasn't very difficult between Arwyns enhanced senses and Thorfinns tracking skills, but the people that had taken Eowyn had somehow managed to stay ahead of them despite how much they travelled. Blaeja had been struggling at first, as a princess she was used to luxury living, soft beds and fine food. It was an adjustment for her to get used to the way Thorfinn lived, but she loved every moment of it; the new experiences were worth more than gold to her and she would gladly sleep rough for more.
Thorfinn had managed to think about Eowyn during the long nights he sat alone. He was angry that she had tried to kill him, in truth he thought that the loyalty of her sister towards him would hold her back from doing such a thing. He concluded that the baby must've changed her priorities, he knew he could never take her back into his service, but he would take his child back from her. After she had given birth he hadn't decided what he would do yet; Arwyn would be the child's mother, that much he knew, but whether he would kill Eowyn he wasn't sure.
Thorfinn sat in front of a campfire wiping oil across his blade, even at night it seemed to shine unnaturally. Arwyn slept close by not even bothering to use the tent while Blaeja sat across the fire from him "You haven't told me much of why you came to this land," Blaeja said breaking the silence between them.
Thorfinn looked up at her chuckling lightly "I doubt you'd find it very interesting," he replied.
"You come from a land I've never seen or even heard of, why would I not find such a thing interesting," she said with a raised brow.
"I came here to gain riches and a reputation that will be sung or for years to come," Thorfinn said as he continued to clean his weapon.
"You came a long way for such a thing... your land must be poor," Blaeja commented.
"We are mostly farmers, every summer we choose a place to raid, before we discovered your land we raided places as poor as we were," he said with a nod.
"But things have changed, I find myself much more of the same mind as you," he added
"The knowledge I found in these books is more incredible than all the wealth in those chests, I want to travel and learn more," Thorfinn said as he picked up one of his favourite books —one on constructing war machines.
Blaeja smiled brightly at this and she quickly rushed around the campfire and sat next to Thorfinn "Where do you want to go! There are so many places I haven't seen before," she said as she reached into a knapsack and pulled out a large life of parchment.
She unrolled it and showed it to Thorfinn who put his sword down and focused on it "What is this place, what does it show?" He asked.
"Constantinople, the greatest city in the world," she said with excitement in his eyes.
"These drawings are the buildings, the city must be huge," Thorfinn commented as he traced his fingers across the parchment.
Blaeja nodded "A wanderer told me that the city stood tall for over a thousand years, think of the knowledge contained within," she said as he grabbed his arm.
Thorfinn nodded almost as excited as Blaeja "I will travel here, such a place must have sights beyond imagining," he said.
"You will take me with you?" Blaeja asked, while she knew that was their deal she still wanted to make sure.
Thorfinn nodded "It would be more enjoyable to travel there with someone who appreciates it the same way I do," he said which reassured her greatly.
Thorfinn and Blaeja spent the rest of the night until they slept speaking of the different places they would travel to and the things they expected to find there. The next morning they continued trying to track Eowyn, they had picked up their pace to try and catch up and were making progress.
Arwyn grabbed hold of Thorfinns arm stopping him from moving. "I can smell a lot of people, they are not far now," She whispered to Thorfinn.
Thorfinn held up his hand signalling Blaeja to stop the cart which she did. Thorfinn went and drew his sword from the back and tied it to his belt 'I need to get a new shield,' he thought to himself. His one had been badly damaged in the fight between the werewolf and only made worse when he fought Offa and his men. He decided to leave it behind for now, he hoped he wouldn't regret that decision 'I'll find out soon enough,'
"Blaeja stay with the cart," Thorfinn instructed her. She nodded as she knew she wouldn't be much help in a fight.
"Arwyn let's go, you circle and try to sneak up behind them," he told the blonde girl.
"Yes Lord," she replied as she quickly ran off.
Thorfinn walked through the trees following the direction that was given to him. He looked down at the mud and saw a large number of footprints, they were covered well and if he didn't have a sharp eye then he would've missed them entirely. He continued walking through the forest but soon realised he wasn't alone when the sounds of insects and animals stopped and there was only dead silence. It was so silent that he could hear the sound of his own heart beating in his chest.
"Come out," his voice echoed out through the forest. He looked around and saw nothing, but when his gaze faced forward again he saw a figure in green rags standing there.
"Thorfinn you are not welcome here, leave now or be prepared to face the consequences," The man said in a clear voice as he held a wooden staff in front of him.
Thorfinn didn't reply and instead inspected the man before him "Might I assume that you are the people who have taken my wife?" Thorfinn asked.
"We know Eowyn is not your wife, merely a poor girl who was taken by you," the man replied as he looked at Thorfinn in disgust.
"No different from what you are doing," Thorfinn said as he took a step closer to the man.
The man looked at Thorfinn with disgust "What we are doing is a noble mission to restore magic to this land, to bring peace and prosperity!" He shouted.
Thorfinn chuckled "Eowyn may be smart but I do not believe she is that smart," he commented.
"Eowyn is a means to an end, once she has birthed the king she will no longer be needed," the man stated.
Thorfinns smile melted away from his face and a blank expression formed in return. "What plans have you for my child?" he said emotionlessly.
"I won't say this again, leave now or you will die, we have an entire camp of people dedicated to removing scum like you by force," the man said ignoring his question.
Thorfinn started to walk towards the man. "Stop now!" The man shouted at Thorfinn, but he didn't and he continued walking towards him. The man attempted to aim his staff at Thorfinn, but pushing off his back legs he jumped forward and thrust his sword straight into the man's heart. He twisted the blade before drawing it out arching it over his head and decapitating him.
"Caleb!!!" Someone shouted as they emerged from behind a tree. One by one more and more Druids emerged from their hiding places and surrounded Thorfinn.
Thorfinn stood ready to fight even though he was outnumbered. One of them slammed their staff against the ground and chanted in a language similar to English. Tree roots burst from the ground which shocked Thorfinn as he came to the realisation that they were all sorcerers.
The Druids looked relieved as they saw the vines shoot to Thorfinn intent on impaling him. When they got close to his body they fell limply to the ground, the Druid looked confused and tried again only for his spell to fail. More and more Druids started casting spells but none of them even scratched Thorfinn.
*Screech*
Thorfinn looked up to see a hawk sitting on the tree above him. A dark smile stretched across his face as he looked at the Druids who looked shocked at their inability to hurt him. "You tried to use Freyja's domain to hurt one of her blessed, now that it has failed what will you do?" Thorfinn asked them. None of them responded they just kept on trying to cast spells until the hawk screeched again.
"My magic... I cannot feel nature anymore," One of them said in horror as he touched his head to the ground trying to regain the severed connection.
"This will be easier than I thought," Thorfinn said aloud.
...
Eowyn was shaken awake by Carden who looked nervous, sweat poured from his face as he picked Eowyn up and dragged her out of the tent she was confined to. "What are you doing, let go of me!" She shouted.
"Silence! Thorfinn has come, do you think you'd be better off with him!" He shouted at her as he continued dragging her out of camp and off into the woods. Eowyn looked behind and saw lots of Druids running away from something, she heard the screams of the dying and even saw the flash of a sword as it cut a man from shoulder to hip.
Carden was running but he couldn't seem to go fast enough, he could still hear the sounds of his brothers and sisters dying. He needed to get across the river, hopefully he would lose them that way, but it was difficult when Eowyn was fighting him every step of the way. He drew his hand back and slapped her "Stop struggling or we will both die!" He shouted at her.
Eowyn laughed at him "He won't kill me, at least not yet," she said, not buying into his bluff.
However, despite her constant fighting, she was still too weak to resist and so she was dragged to the river. However, in his panic, Carden had overshot and ended up going to a cliff that overlooked the river instead of the shore. "Look what you've made me do!" Carden said in a panic. He had lost his connection to nature, his navigation of the woods was reduced to his eyes and normal senses. They didn't have time to backtrack, they had to jump.
*ROAR*
Carden turned as he heard the roar of what could only be a werewolf "It's midday! They can't be out now!" He said to himself in a panic. Eowyn took this chance to shake loose of him, he tried to grab her again but they both ended up stumbling. He managed to catch himself on a boulder but Eowyn wasn't so lucky and she fell straight from the cliff into the rushing rapids of the river.
"No!" She shouted in frustration, Emrys was counting on him to bring the girl back to him. He had to go after her, but without his magic, he would surely drown. He felt helpless and useless without his connection to nature, how did he lose it, what had happened. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He shouted as he bashed his fists against the rock.
"You."
Carden turned around and his blood froze. Thorfinn stood before him and not a single part of his body was not covered in blood. "Where is she?" Thorfinn asked in a calm tone as he held his sword up. Blood dripped off the sword in almost straight lines making the scene that much more horrifying to Carden.
Carden didn't reply so Thorfinn walked closer to him, with every step Carden's heart beat five times. "Where... is... she," Thorfinn said again as he stood directly in front of Carden.
"A-Are m-my people dead?" Carden finally asked.
"Yes I killed them all, those who ran were taken care of by my companion, now tell me where Eowyn is." Thorfinns deathly calm demeanour only terrified Carden more, he had thought he would be able to crush the arrogant boy before him when he showed up, but with no magic he was defenceless.
"She's gone, she fell from the cliff and drowned," he said the truth not seeing any other reason to lie.
"Will you leave me alone now!" He pleaded as he backed away from the younger man.
"Drowned..." Thorfinn repeated with a dark expression on his face.
"Then you can share her fate," he responded before spinning around slicing his legs off at the thigh and kicking him into the river. He watched with cold eyes as the man screamed and flailed in the water as he struggled to keep himself upright in the water.
Thorfinn didn't feel any better, he had just learned that he had a child yesterday and just as quickly he learn that it was now dead. Thorfinn had not experienced heartbreak before but he believed that this must be what he was feeling. His excitement to be a father was only shrank by his desire to learn.
Thorfinn just collapsed to his knees as he kept looking down at the water. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he hoped that maybe some hint of their survival would reveal itself.
As blood dripped down his face and body a few drops of clear liquid made its way down his cheeks before falling onto his lap. He would never get to know his child, and all because of these people.
"I will kill any of these people I get my hands across!" He shouted to himself as he clenched his fists tightly, but after the rage had come and gone, the only thing that had persisted was the sadness.
Right now he just wanted to go home.
(AN: So the next raid is happening and the Druids are dealt with. Eowyn and her baby are now out of the picture with their fate left up in the air. I'm gonna hopefully be going into more Viking stuff now instead of supernatural. Plus a lot of land improvement back at his home land. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
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