The Berserker

27

We walked for days with nothing to show. It was clear Freya wasn't heading in this direction.

"We will set up camp for the night, and head back at first light."

The small part of me was glad we didn't run in to Freya. I wasn't ready to battle. I also felt guilty for not being able to save my friend.

"Do you think she would have gone North?" I thought about Tomard every day. Was he still alive? Is he unharmed? There was no way for us to communicate. I can only pray he, too, was turning around and heading back to the main camp.

"We have little supplies," I tell Igor as I pull out the rations. We are down to the last of our dried meat, which means hunting some game before we move.

Igor was our hunter. I trailed alongside him, while he taught me how to be stealth, and make some sneer traps. Knud had been useful in netting some small fry when we stopped to rest near a water hole. This helped immensely with the rations I carried in my sac.

After a few days, I became at ease with Knud and Briger, but I still preferred to nestle in beside Igor.

I woke up to what sounded like rustling in the shrubs nearby.

"Igor," I whispered, so only he could hear. Igor kept snoring and turned on his side. I had no choice but to pinch the soft section of his backside. Making his eyes fly open and glare down at me.

He goes to talk, but quickly placed my hand over his mouth. Warning him to be quiet. I glance around the camp to see if Knud and Briger are still sleeping next to the burned out fire. The smoke is still billowing above it. So it had just gone out within the hour.

The twig snapping had me face Igor. Our eyes bulged at what was approaching our way. It wasn't an animal. The sound was louder than any stag. Igor reached over to grab his weapon and slowly stood, taking care not to make a sound.

I tried to stand, but Igor placed his hand on my shoulder, holding me down. I glance up to see him shaking his head, before pointing in the direction of the others. He wanted me to get in between them.

Igor was the front man, the beast they would have to get through first. I didn't argue with him. I've learned there is no point. Crawling across the ground towards Knud and Briger, I quietly whispered for them to wake up. Knud was the first. He was more alert than Briger. Which is probably why Igor had him lead. Knud stood, gripping his axe in his hand. Briger took his stance too. And then there is me, the mouse, between two ogres. My fingers trembled around the hilt of my dagger. I was able to hold my own, but that was with Igor's guidance. I knew deep down he would never kill me. I have the assumption, whomever lurks in the shadows will show no mercy.

We waited for whoever was lurking to come out and face us. My heart pounds against my chest. The emptiness of my stomach churned. The three men formed a triangle with me in the middle.

"Show yourself!" Igor demands.

A chuckle is heard from the darkest part of the bushes. My head jerks in the direction. A chill runs down my spine.

"As you wish!"

A man not much small that Igor steps into view. His hands held up in surrender. "I mean no harm," he declares. "I merely seek food and warmth."

"We have no provisions to share," Igor firmly responds.

"Then I shall be on my way," he retorts. I glance over Igor's shoulder just in time to see him peer down at me. When our eyes meet, I am no longer in the middle of three large berserkers. It is just this stranger, and I. Still in the middle of the forest.

I glance around for Igor, or Knud, even Briger. Whom I barely speak except to offer him seconds in food. "It's ok, Kari," the man says. "They are still here..." He stays a seat on a fallen long. "You haven't physically moved, just your mind."

"I don't understand," I murmur.

The man splays his legs out in front of him. "Your mind has wandered, but you are still very much protected." He turned to face me. "You need not to be alarmed. If I were to hurt you, I would have, back in Brockenburk."

Brockenburk was a town a few days ride from here. It was our second stop. Igor wanted to stop for supplies and to scout about. Well, I had to be the ears. They wouldn't find someone like me terrifying. But it was clear Freya wasn't venturing into the townships.

"I came to warn you."

"Warn me?" I repeat. "Warn me of what?" Then I remembered why I was venturing these woods. Tormad was only worried about one war. The war with his father. I shut that memory down. No good comes from the past.

"There is a threat to you."

I scoff and glance away from his intriguing eyes. They seem to lure me in. The gold flecks flash at random times. "Or more to your kin." He briefly glances at my stomach. With a heavy sigh, he stands and shuffles over to me. Every ounce of me wants to run, but I find myself unable to move.

He towers over me, and I crane my neck up to watch him with caution. Not that I would be able to run to save myself. I'm at his mercy.

"I don't have as much time as I thought," he states. "Don't travel back home. The battle is North. But..." He pauses and places his hand on my shoulder. "It's paramount. You protect yourself for the sake of the future."

"North!" My mind wandered to Tormad.

"The Berserker has his own means to knowledge." Referring to Tormad's gifts. A gift that he hasn't been able to use since that night... I shake my head, shutting down that battle.

"I must go now," he says. "Your protector is doing his job well." If I wasn't watching him so closely, I would have missed the light lift from his lips. "But be mindful of who you have close to you."

"We will set up camp for the night, and head back at first light." I shiver ran down my spine. I have this eerie feeling that I can't shake. We keep walking, Knud in the lead. Igor and me in the middle, with Briger taking the rear.

North is where the battle is. "Do you think she would have gone North?" My mind echoes.

"If she did, Tormad would have gotten to her by now."

We set up camp, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being here before. Watching Knud fish in that same spot. Briger off in the forest searching for wood.

The night falls upon us and our bellies were full from Knud's catch. The fire is crackling. Igor stands and takes my hand in his. "We will be back."

He leads me away from the two men, and halts at the same tree I remember us sleeping under. Just when I don't remember. "What is it?"

I look up at him. "I have seen my brother with the same look you have. He too, looked scared out of his mind."

"I think we need to head North," I blurt out. Igor nods and folds his arm across his torso.

"Then North we shall go?"