A chant could be heard, followed by the pulling of oars. "Huah! Huah! Huah!... ", it went over and over. Styrk was laying down on a carpet and big pillows. An easterling woman with healing lacerations around her arms sitting beside him and pouring him wine from one of the stolen barrels. "Row!! Rooooow!!" .. he shouted with a large spoiled smile on his bearded face. He glanced at the men on the oars, except for Bjorstein all of them were grinning. The raid had made sure they were rich already and they were only even starting! They'd be worth a king's ransom by the time they were back. "Look at this little thing serving me, as she rightly should! Hahahah!", he glanced at the monstrous man that had been dangling his head over the side. Horrid grunts came out and the sound of some matter splashing in the sea, "Look at this little weaselgirl worshipping me! Shivering as if I was a god myself, hahah!" He looked at her and she could not comprehend fully as he spoke, "And you better keep doing so ..or I'll feed you to him overthere." Forstrang turned his face, miserable from the voyage, "HREH?!", he grunted and it made her startle. The brute stood up, "Toss her over?", he asked after barely hearing Styrk. The bald man was grinning, but he then shook his head, "No, I am having too much fun with this one heheheh.."
Uxinn a man with a nose broken so often it was like a smear of meat on his face glanced up from rowing, "Hé Styrk, shouldn't we go say hello overthere?" Half the wyrm-ship glanced into the western distance. Styrk looked at the other ships, "Seems they have missed it. Good spotting Ox, Bjorstein, the horn!" Bjorstein set a curled goathorn on his mouth and a haunting call later the fleet turned towards the shores. Wild laughter coming from most!
"Do not harm us! NO!" Bjorstein hacked mercilessly down on the fishermen they had caught unawares. A faint grimace appearing on the aging man's face while red beads splattered in the graying braids of his once golden hair, "My sword still aches for more.." Styrk patted his belly, "You will nourish it some more soon brother, come on." They marched through a dry forest, their numbers diminished by the last fight, but still counting in the hundreds. It had gotten less hot the more they were returning to the realm of king Brand. What would've been many months on foot had been a journey of mere weeks for them by ship and even then only by merit of being so heavily loaded. Now the next town was lying in wait and it wasn't unlike the last one. Stone walls indicating wealth and broad roads that suggested much traffic as some scouts had pointed out. The order was to go by night and thus the waiting game started, only a few hours of delay.
Styrk was looking at his best men or those among them atleast.. Bjorstein, Forstrang, Uxinn .. there were others too, however their roles were of lesser importance in the coming battle. "I want you all to stick close to me. Just like last time, we do our job and we take anything that isn't nailed to the floor. Any questions? Bjorstein shook his head while cleaning his blade. Forstrang was staring into space while idly sticking and twisting a finger in his ear, "Wruererghh.." Uxinn flexed the massive boulders for muscle in his arms, "Just let me at them Styrk! The Svertings will sing in horror of me haha!" In all fairness, Styrk was amazed at how he got these misfits to band together without tearing eachother apart.. Perhaps it was just another display of his genius.
Night began to fall, traffic on the road diminished to barely anyone and lights were lit on the walls. "I spotted atleast several fat merchants. I will seek them out and squeeze to paste heheh!", uttered Uxinn.. "Sure, I will squeeze their wallets in the meantime.", Styrk joked. Bjorstein was just laying there, "Move aside you fat bastard..I can't see a thing." Forstrang looked behind him, balling an angry fist at Bjorstein in reply, "Grr!" Then at the call they all began to move forwards. "These peoples deserve to be robbed for being so ill-prepared.", thought Styrk and then he whispered, "Remember, stick with me as close as a bloodsucker. When I give the sign we split off from the main group and go get in our private haul. Remember, the gods favour me and through me you will be favored with bounties too! "
Suddenly the leader of the raid raised his voice, "To us the spoils!! Take this city and it's coins!" The guardsmen at the gate went wide eyed and pitifully raised their spears in time only to be mown down be a dozen blows from axes and swords! Once more the northmen had managed to enter a town. Once more did the same tactics apply and a roof of shields was raised, "No resistance! Go have some fun men!!" Styrk needn't have been told twice. Lights were going on everywhere now while he and his crew marched through the streets.. a single drunk they found lying on the road with a bottle of some liquor still at hand. "Bwuehehe.. sleeps .." Bjorstein looked like he could not be arsed to kill this man. "Do him in?", Uxinn asked.. "Nah!", Styrk said while lifting the bottle to have a drink, he wiped his lips, "Let him wake up tomorrow. It'll teach him not to be so careless with booze! Huheheh!" They kept going, till they found a small wall within the town that separated the mediocre looking neighborhood from something else, "This is where the good stuff must be hidden behind, let's hurry while the others have not show up yet. Get the hooks.." "There!! Die bandit!!", a swarthy man yelled that came running with his armor half tossed over him.. his dozen or so friends not at all better dressed. Styrk pulled his sword from the sheathe, "Now remember boys.. give them a fair fight!" Bjorstein went in first, "Glory!!", he shouted while his shield was raised! He warded off the blow from a curved blade and struck through his sword going deep in the man.. but only so because from behind Uxinn had charged in like a wild buffalo! He had grabbed Bjorstein by the waist and ran with him straight into the easterlings only now to crash down upon them in a heap of bodies!! Forstrang followed, tongue lolling out of his mouth and carving deeply into his opponents while Uxinn kept several pinned beneath him and his comrade in arms. "Let go of me you idiot!", Bjorstein shouted with venomous anger, he started to give hits with his elbows into Uxinn's side , but the man held on stubbornly!! 'No! They must sing of me first!!" A few gruesome moments later Forstrang knelt next to the last one, sweating hands grabbing his massive arms in an attempt to push back. The easterling's eyes went wide in panic as the long knife Forstrang held inexorably came down and shortly after dug in his sternum.. , then a twist and he was for the afterlife. "Did you hear that Ox? His ass sang so loud he shat himself.", Styrk says.. Uxinn got up and looked pleased, oblivious to Bjorstein's murderous glare. "Pfeh! Fors kept his mouth shut with his hand! That doesn't really count!" All ignored his complaint and Styrk then pointed on the walls. In the distance wails of panic and the cry of men mingled with laughter and the sound of battle. "Odd, nobody on these walls yet. have we interrupted something?", Styrk bent forward and indeed after a quick search he found a large key, it was akin to holding an axe. They found a reinforced door or two, but it was at the one thereafter they found their luck and it opened to a large green garden. Forstrang and Uxinn peeped in first and as others began to follow they noticed movement in the dark beyond. "Shields!", Styrk cried out and bitter laughter came out of his mouth when a command was shouted on the other side, arrows flying in on them!
"Looks like they have some fight in them after all! Give them a treat of iron!" Every few steps arrows flew in, only picking off an unlucky man here and there.. Styrk was glancing nervously, his breathing heavy and sweat ran along his face, "They will run in a moment.. Ox! Fors! Go and charge at that doorway and disrupt their retreat!" Both the small man and the tall man looked at eachother, "Want us dead.. hrurh..?", Forstrang half asked, half stated. "I know the solution, Bjorstein give me your shield ..!", Uxinn replied "Stay off you dolt or I'll feed you your own guts!" Arrows came thudding in again! "Grab the shield of Wulfmar overthere! He won't need it anymore, now get moving!", Styrk shouted.. heedless of having no roof nor wall of shields to protect him Uxinn rushed to get one.. laughing contently upon return, "I am ready! Coming Fors?!" "WRUAARRGHH!!" "Open!" , Styrk yelled aloud. The easterling leader suspecting trickery called for a fire that instant the rabid duo came rushing out, shield held out front and being pierced by several arrows atleast!
In those few feet the gap was closed before the archers could be given command to fall back and they paid dearly for it! With all their mass the two men crashed into the line as they started to flee on their own accord! A muffle cry came out of a man as the shieldboss slammed in the back of his head and the shield splintered to pieces! "Sing you Svertings!! SING!! Hahahaha!" Forstrang mindlessly swung around himself again and again! Blood squirted and sprayed in all directions as soon as he got hold of any of them! "Forward!", Styrk shouted.. Uxinn laughed all the more, heedless of the panic he was causing and with only his bare hands left after obliterating his protection by continuous blows to the last he choked a man to death.., "Bet you did not think that is how you'd end eh? Such an honor! Heheheh!" "Ransack the place!", Styrk commanded and a cheer went in the air for the raiders, "Forstrang.. Ox, stay here and guard the entrance." Uxinn dropped his final victim and wiped a hand through his fine strawlike hair, behind him Forstrang raised up to his full height. The man was covered in red from top to bottom, but none of it appeared his own. He spat when some threatened to leak in his mouth!
The two stood there for some time amidst the pile of bodies that they had created, "Good fight.. hruhuh..Turned them into.. hrmgrr.. into butchered meat! The gods will be happy.. bwuehe!" "Yep! Wish we could have some more of them before the night is through!" "Why stay here..?", Forstrang asked eventually.. "Uhhm.. no idea." They glanced at one another and even their dim minds understood rather swiftly that neither of the other would have a decent answer. Then they could hear cries of panic , weeping and footsteps coming from the door they had entered through. "Why is the door open?", a confused female voice asked.. "Ah! Look!", another yelled, "It is one of those horrible men!" "Oh no.. they got here too, we are doomed!" "No look he is dead. The lord must have gotten rid of them." "But where are he and his men now then? Think they entered the city?" "Not for us to know, but let's find a place to hide till the men can sort this out!"
The group of women snuck to a nearby building next to the bigger one.. Forstrang and Uxinn soon to follow... "Hey ladies! Anyone here who minds making big strong babies with me?" Cries of panic went up in the air. "Fors! They want me!" "Bwueheh..!"
Come dawn, Styrk had eventually returned from the large building. A bag stuffed with jingling trinkets on his back and smears of red across his face. Bjorstein next to him did not appear any different. All the men were carrying something of value. "Where are those two trolls? Did they get killed?", Styrk asked.. "Hopefully.", Bjorstein grumbled coldly. Yet then their ears caught the laughter of what sounded suspiciously like the giggles of Uxinn and the grunts of Forstrang... They followed it till they came upon the gardenhouse and their eyes went wide as they glanced inside. Uxinn was sprawled on a carpet with the brute next to him. Gorging themselves on wine and other things served by the women that had fled earlier that night. Uxinn glanced up, "You are right Styrk, this is a lot of fun!" Forstrang glanced up and pointed at the men carrying the loot, "Pfeheh, .. joah! Gods favour us too, wrargh..!"
