NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52: Darkness Descends
(AN: Last one for a while, only have 3 more chapters ahead, need to stock up)
A week after Thorfinn had failed to apprehend the stranger Kattegat had slowly succumbed into chaos. It started slowly, with more and more people being afflicted by this mysterious illness. All Thorfinn could do was to keep restraining them all while Kol tried to find a remedy to this illness, but he had not and things kept getting worse. Now poles and cages lined the street and courtyard as they struggled to restrain all those that were affected, those who weren't sick were either conscripted to help or confined to their homes.
Days seemed to be shorter and nights seemed to stretch forever, some of the men even whispered that the darkness from the forest had followed them back to Kattegat. Now on a night that was usually full of the sounds of laughter and feasting, there were only screams of panic and the sounds of a more ominous laughter.
"Get the buckets before the fire spreads!" A man yelled out as somebody's home was engulfed in flames. Thorfinn who had been helping hold down one of the afflicted looked over to see the house that had just exploded into flames. "Rollo!" Thorfinn shouted, getting the big man's attention.
Rollo had just lifted one of the afflicted up and slammed him into the ground before wrapping his arms and legs in rope. When Thorfinn called for him he looked up "Hold him down!" Thorfinn instructed him. The big man nodded and moved over to them pressing his knee into the afflicted man's centre, allowing Thorfinn and the other man restraining him to get up and go help with the fire. The afflicted one beneath him tried to struggle but stopped when Rollo brought a meaty fist down into his face breaking his nose. However the laughing didn't cease.
It never did.
Thorfinn rushed over to the flaming building covering his eyes at the brightness of it. "What happened!" He shouted to one of the others.
"We don't know it just happened!" He replied as he grabbed a bucket and threw it on the growing fire. Thorfinn wracked his mind as tried to think of a spell or enchantment that would let him put out the fire, with how quickly it was spreading it wouldn't be long before it reached the neighbouring building, and the water which they filled from the sea was too slow in quelling the flames. In the end, he didn't know one, he hadn't studied the whole book and only knew a dozen or so spells. He cursed at himself for this, he should've prepared more for events such as this.
In the end, Thorfinn only took a bucket and threw the water on the fire quelling it. "Who lives here?" Thorfinn shouted to Magni who was nearby.
"Hulda and her daughter!" He replied throwing more water onto the fire.
"Has anyone seen them?" Thorfinn asked only to be ignored as Magni ran back to the sea to get more water. Thorfinn covered his eyes as he moved closer to the fire, a shutter fell to the ground as the fire burnt and turned the hinges into ash, this allowed Thorfinn to see into the house. His eyes widened as he saw Hulda and her daughter, the former holding her daughter and rocking back and forth, except only one of them was crying.
The other was laughing.
Hulda held her daughter tightly as she giggled, her daughter struggled in her grasp and tried to move but she couldn't, her mother's grip was too tight. "They're still in there!" Thorfinn shouted to the others panicking them even further. He could see the fire in the house get closer to their bodies, it started to lick against the skin of Hulda, her feet were bare and they started to turn red and blister, but despite that, the laughter never ceased. Her daughter screamed and cried as she coughed trying to get out of her mother's grasp to escape.
"Someone help me!" Thorfinn shouted as he rushed forward to the house only to fall back as fire exploded out of the open window —having come into contact with some cooking lard.
"Thorfinn!" Someone shouted as they dragged him back. He looked up and saw it was Ragnar.
"You can't help them, the fire has grown too much!" Ragnar shouted over the sounds of the crowd around them.
Thorfiinn growled he had one thing he could try, but he was hesitant to because he didn't want to collapse the building on top of them. What blows out a candle, water obviously, but more commonly is someone's breath. That's what Thorfinn needed to do, he needed to blow out the fire.
'Just like a candle,' he thought to himself as he stood up with Ragnar's help.
"Stand back! All of you!" Thorfinn shouted to his men. At first, they didn't hear him and continued to try and put out the fire, but Ragnar and a few others who had heard him relayed his command and they all stepped back. They watched as Thorfinn stepped closer to the building, he saw Hulda laughing as she made eye contact with him. Then she leaned down to her daughter's ear and she started to whisper something. Thorfinn frowned as he saw the expression on her daughter's face change, one from fear and sadness to one of jubilance. Her daughter stopped struggling and trying to escape and lay limp in her mother's arms; she stopped crying and started laughing just like her mother.
Thorfinn had seen enough, his anger building inside him, with a roar he drew his hand back covering it in a white aura that slowly built up into a sphere. He then threw his fist forward, to everyone else it looked as if he'd just simply thrown a punch in the air. Except they all knew it wasn't true when they heard what sounded like a pot shattering. Men felt vibrations move through the air burrowing deep into their bodies. A moment later the wind rocketed forward and towards the house, the flame which had built and slowly risen was smashed sideways as what looked like levels of wind not seen outside of a storm smothered the flames. The house trembled and bits of the roof and wall came apart, but it otherwise held strong. It only took five seconds and the fire which had turned into a raging inferno was smothered. Thorfinn breathed heavily afterwards, drawing on the power of the leviathan was always tiring no matter how much he trained it.
Men started to whisper to each other at what they saw, many were not present when Thorfinn had used this power for the first time. Thorfinn didn't want them to think he was divine or had divine blood, he didn't want them to think that was the reason he had come far rather than his own skill. He cast those thoughts aside however and instead focused on Hulda and her daughter. "Go inside and restrain them," he instructed. The men snapped out of their thoughts and hurriedly went to follow his orders, his showing of power encouraging them.
"Your strength never ceases to impress me Thorfinn," Ragnar said as he stood next to him. They both watched as a couple of men dragged Hulda and her daughter out of the house both of them struggling as they laughed. "I am curious why you did not use this power in Northumbria?" he asked casually.
Thorfinn slightly confused at why he was asking such a question now turned to him. "I didn't have it when I went west with you, I got this from consuming part of the leviathan, a small object that looks like a fruit burrowed in its heart," he replied.
"I see." Ragnar rubbed his jaw as listened to the information Thorfinn gave him. He wouldn't lie and say that he didn't think Thorfinn might've had some Aesir blood allowing him to do these great feats, but knowing that it was simply the power from the leviathan and that it could be attained by anyone. It was interesting.
They were both snapped out of their thoughts when they heard the sounds of laughter. One of the men that carried Hulda dropped her and started laughing, he then drew out his daughter and buried it in the neck of the other man carrying her.
Thorfinn cursed and rushed forward, the laughing man saw him run forward and drew his dagger out of the man's neck and went to slash at Thorfinn. But the young Jarl easily ducked under the swing and grabbed his arm before throwing him over his shoulder to the ground. A few others came after and helped Thorfinn restrain the man which allowed him to get up.
"This whole damn place is cursed!" He heard one of the men shout in frustration as he struggled to hold an afflicted one down.
Thorfinn frowned, but he couldn't deny what the man had said. This was a curse, one he had no idea how to cure. As if reading his thoughts Ragnar approached him. "Things are quickly getting out of hand Thorfinn, have you made any progress on a remedy?" He asked.
Thorfinn shook his head "Apart from discovering this was a curse of some kind no," he replied. "I have Kol trying to discover a remedy, and I was going to check on his progress before the fire started."
Ragnar seemed to think for a moment his features scrunching up. "What's wrong Ragnar?" Thorfinn asked.
"I just find it strange," He said as he rubbed his chin.
"Find what strange?" Thorfinn asked.
"The afflicted do not do anything if left alone, yet one of them starts a fire in their own home?" He said. "Why? It's strange is it not?"
Thorfinn nodded slowly. It was strange, they barely do anything when they're left alone, as long as they're not restrained they just stand there and laugh. Why did they start to sabotage now, what could they have possibly gained from it?
"Thorfinn!!!"
Thorfinn and Ragnar turned to see Floki running towards them. "Another fire! At the harbour! We have to save the ships!" He shouted to them.
"Everyone to the harbour!" Thorfinn commanded them. They couldn't afford to lose their ships, especially with winter coming. Everyone who wasn't restraining someone followed Floki and Thorfinn, their harbour was their point trade and they all knew what would happen if they lost it.
As Ragnar ran he had a passing thought, something that ran through his mind for less than a second. He thought that setting fires like this was a good way to distract someone, and for a moment he considered that they were being attacked. But under closer scrutiny, he knew that wasn't possible as the ones causing the fires were afflicted ones.
He still thought it was strange.
...
Thorfinn felt his muscles scream in protest as he walked back to the longhouse. Five more fires had lit up and had to be put out, they'd worked for over six hours putting them out and restraining the afflicted trying to bring Kattegat to some semblance of order. He hoped that Kol would have a solution to this, they couldn't keep this up much longer. He imagined a week from now the number of afflicted would outnumber the amount of people left in Kattegat... he didn't want to imagine what would happen after that.
He needed to wash himself, he was covered in ash and soot, his hands were slightly burned and he could barely keep his eyes open. All he wanted at the moment was to crawl into bed, with maybe Arwyn or Thyri, while he didn't think he'd have the energy to fuck he'd definitely enjoy their mouths.
As he passed into the courtyard in front of his longhouse he moved past the guards and the poles that contained restrained the afflicted. Men whispered that they should kill them and be done with it, and he wouldn't lie, the thought had occurred to him. But he couldn't, he needed everyone, they'd already lost a lot of fighting men, and if their population dropped anymore they'd undoubtedly be conquered by a neighbouring Jarl.
He tiredly walked up the steps and crossed the threshold into the longhouse which was currently filled with people. He had made the decision that all the fighting men loyal to him would stay here. He did this for two reasons. One so that they'd be close by instead anything happened as well as protect him and the others should an afflicted try to come inside. The second reason was so any afflicted guard could easily be restrained. They were armed with chainmail and good-quality swords, they could cause damage if infected.
In the corner of the longhouse, there was a small area that had been set up for Kol. This housed all his ingredients for his tonics and potions, it also had a table where an afflicted was strapped down. Thorfinn walked straight over to him as he was using a mortar and pedestal to grind up some herbs. When he saw Thorfinn approach him he looked up.
A laugh escaped his lips at the state he was in. "Here comes our illustrious Jarl, been playing in the mud again," he commented. However, his words did not amuse Thorfinn.
"Have you discovered a solution," Thorfinn growled out ignoring his earlier comment.
Kol shook his head putting the pedestal down on the table. "I've tried everything I can, spells, potions, rituals, it doesn't work," Kol explained.
"That's not what I was hoping to hear," Thorfinn growled out as he clenched his fists.
Kol looked up at him and shrugged. "That's how it is, whatever magic has caused this is beyond me," he replied before getting closer to the laughing man who started struggling.
"Whatever curse has done this has made it possible for the afflicted to survive without food or water," Kol started to explain. "Their bodies are feeding off of magic that is being given to them, I imagine that if the source of the magic is stopped the spell will as well."
Thorfinn nodded, he rubbed his forehead as his frustration started to build. He had already known someone was responsible for this, he had even come close to capturing him, but he had failed. "Is there any other way we can stop this?" Thorfinn asked.
Kol shrugged "Find my mother, she is the only one more knowledgeable than I, she may have a solution, but short of killing them or the one responsible I have no solution."
Thorfinn sighed. "Alright, thank you Kol, let me know if you can come up with anything to help," he said before walking away. He moved over to the throne and sat down in it leaning back in the seat and closing his eyes. He sat there trying to rest but found himself unable to, he felt such a huge weight on his shoulders. It had not even been a month since he'd become Jarl and Kattegat was crumbling.
*Snap*
The wood cracked as he gripped it, he stood up from the throne. He wouldn't sit here and do nothing. Moving quickly through the hall and into his room he shut the door and bolted it closed, he didn't want to be disturbed by this as he didn't know what would happen. He walked toward the centre of the room moving the fur rug out of the way, underneath it was a hatch, one he'd found when he first acquired this room. The Jarl kept a good amount of silver in the hatch though it was clearly not his hoard.
Opening the hatch Thorfinn reached down and grabbed a large chest and placed it on the ground. He lifted the lid and let it thump backwards. Inside was not gold or silver, but treasure of another kind. The pieces of flesh that he had harvested from the leviathan, he'd cut them into pieces and cured them so he could store them for later use.
He guessed that later use was now.
Thorfinn unwrapped the first piece of flesh and sank his teeth into it. Despite him killing the leviathan over a month ago it was still fresh and bloody. Thorfinn kept on chewing the flesh and swallowing it down, the taste of blood filled his mouth, it was difficult to eat and didn't taste good but he needed the power it gave him. It only took six bites to finish the first one; Thorfinn then moved onto the second eating it even faster than the first.
One after the other Thorfinn devoured all the meat he had in the chest, blood soaked his hands and dripped onto his tunic. Despite nearly losing the contents of his stomach a few times he continued eating, he ate until the there was no meat left. Thorfinn panted as he knelt in front of the chest, his stomach felt like it had been stretched to its limits, he felt sick. He was glad it was all over.
Suddenly Thorfinn grabbed his head as a sharp pain pierced his mind. He yelled out as the pain only increased tenfold. Thorfinn fell forward oncoming the chest to the ground as he wriggled around on the ground the pain flooding his body more than anything he'd ever experienced. It felt like his head was cracking open, soon he no longer yelled as he had ripped his vocal cords due to how loud he was being.
On the edge of his awareness, he could hear people banging against the door trying to get in and asking if he was okay. But at the moment he couldn't bring himself to care, the pain had only continued to grow; Thorfinn scratched claw marks into the floorboards as his body arched. He didn't know how long he'd been like this, but he soon passed out.
When he woke up he was immediately assaulted by the aftershocks of the pain he'd just felt. He looked around wondering how long he'd been unconscious for. 'Must not be that long, my bloods not dried...' he thought to himself. Though he recoiled slightly as he wondered how he'd noticed that small detail, he hadn't been focusing on it.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
"shut up!" Thorfinn tried to yell out, but his voice was low and hoarse.
He struggled up, dragging himself to the wall he pushed himself up and then limped over to the door. He unbolted the door and opened it. "Lord are you okay!?" They asked as he appeared in the doorway.
"I'm fine," he whispered. "just tired."
He then closed the door on them and bolted it again. His voice was sore and he didn't feel much like trying to reassure them, they had more important things to worry about. He limped over to his bed before sitting down, his head was throbbing with pain.
In hindsight it wasn't smart to do that, he knew about the pain that came with eating the leviathan meat, and it's clear that it would only increase the more he ate. It was a heat-of-the-moment decision, he had felt weak, he felt helpless. He wanted to get stronger and this was the fastest way to do it.
He knew it worked, at least partially, he wouldn't know how much it had affected him until the pain had settled and the changes became apparent. At the moment everything hurt, his eyes, his ears, his skin. Even his nostrils stung. His thoughts were jumbled, he was thinking too much, and he couldn't keep up with his own thoughts. There was something else though, something new.
He didn't know how to describe it but it felt as if he had a sort of awareness that extended beyond himself. Like even with his eyes closed he knew that there guards were still at the door, he could feel them as they walked back into the main room. He could feel the candle moving behind him, it was strange, this was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Before he could attempt to explore this however one of the guards started banging at the door again.
Thorfinn growled. His ears were sensitive at the moment, he could hear a lot more than he usually could. He moved over to the door, a little easier than he did last time. He opened the door, he immediately noticed the fear on the guard's face, his skin was slightly flushed and there was a bead of sweat falling down his cheek. His sword was already out, but there was no sound of fighting. "What's wrong with them, have the afflicted done something again?" Thorfinn asked.
"No Lord... I mean yes Lord... t-they've stopped Lord," the guard stuttered.
"Stopped what?" Thorfinn asked with a frown.
"Laughing..." the guard said with a chill.
Thorfinn opened the door and followed the guard out of his room and moved into the corridor. He Used the wall to support himself Thorfinn moved back into the main hall where Kol was closely inspecting the afflicted that had been strapped to the table.
He had stopped laughing. The smile had completely disappeared from his face and he just lay there with a disturbingly blank expression. "What happened?" Thorfinn asked.
Kol looked up at him "I'm not sure, they just stopped, he isn't even struggling anymore," he replied.
'That made no sense,' Thorfinn thought to himself as he limped through the hall and to the throne.
He was missing something, his mind was racing now. He knew the leviathan meat made his thoughts faster, and gave him a higher level of intelligence, but he ate it all too fast, now his mind was jumbled and he couldn't follow any thoughts before he moved on to another. 'What is it I'm missing? Why would they just stop!' Thorfinn thought to himself as he grabbed the arms of the throne.
They've been cursed... he knew that, but why, why would they be cursed? Why would the stranger want them like this? To take over Kattegat? Maybe? But then why have they just stopped? Thorfinn grabbed his head in frustration as he tried to think, he tuned out all the shouts of panic and the people arguing with each other over what to do.
'Wait...'
Thorfinns thoughts drifted back to earlier that night, the fires. The afflicted had been responsible, but why, that made no sense. The entire time up to that they had done the same thing, why would they suddenly start burning the place down? 'Come on! Think! Why would they do that? Why would the curse make them do that!' Thorfinn slapped his head, but suddenly stopped.
'Kill the dreamer'
'Their bodies are feeding off the magic being given to them'
Thorfinns eyes widened in realisation.
'It's not a curse, or an affliction...'
Thorfinn stood up and moved slowly towards the main entrance. Outside he saw the afflicted ones standing still, no longer laughing.
'The fire earlier was a distraction...'
'They are being controlled'
'And the one controlling them is now here...'
————————————————————-
Mikael sat in front of the fire pit drinking deeply from a cup of mead, he needed to drink a lot ever since his wife had enhanced him as he found the effects were rather diminished. Ever since he had returned from Darkmoon forest he had felt the fire that once burned inside him diminished. All his plans, his future that was full of riches and power beyond imagination were gone. All of it was dashed away by a boy thirty winters younger than him.
He hated Thorfinn, but in the end, he had to accept his loss, he would gain nothing from fighting. People thought him a mindless brute, but you did not get as rich and powerful as he was by not thinking. He would sit and he would wait and when he found a weakness or anything he could exploit he would take advantage of it. For now, he would let Thorfinn play the Jarl, he would no doubt gain a few advantages as his daughter would be his wife.
Mikael looked up to Finn who was sitting with his own drink looking at the flames. While he'd never admit it, he still felt a pain in his chest from when Finn had betrayed him. He knew he couldn't help it, the boy was more wolf than man, he ran only on his instincts, no love, no loyalty. His other son Niklaus was out helping the Jarl try and bring order to Kattegat, even Kol was attempting to help.
Niklaus had saved his life in the forest and yet he still could not bring himself to show the boy even an ounce of affection. There was something not right about him, he didn't know what it was but one day he would find out.
Mikael's ears twitched as he heard his guards shout from outside. Their voices were muffled and he couldn't understand what they were saying. What he did understand was their screams and what sounded like their necks snapping. Mikael looked to Finn who looked back at him and nodded. He picked up his sword and drew it before throwing his sheath down, Mikael picked up his axe ready to take the anger that had been building up inside him on whoever had decided to intrude upon his home tonight.
A breeze rushed through the house and the candles blew out, as did the fire pit leaving them all in darkness.
*creak*
They could both hear it, the wood straining as someone walked down the corridor that led to the main hall.
*whisper*
Both of them heard it, the whispers, it made them shiver. "Get out here creature!" Mikael shouted to the corridor that had been engulfed in darkness.
*creak*
*creak*
*creak*
A beautiful woman stepped out into the main hall from the corridor. She had dark Raven hair that fell down her shoulders, her eyes were violet and seemed to pulse with power. She wore a black gown and a fur cloak.
"Is that any way to speak to family?" She said with a grin.
(AN: She is here, main antagonist is here, well... other main antagonist. Anyways I'm thinking four more chapters?, I know I said that last chapter but I feel like two would be better and more consistent with the amount of words I do. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
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