The morning comes far too early and my muscles weep from the gift of soreness the stiff ground has given them. Frode lays to my right still sleeping, at least I hope he is. I knock my foot into the top of his and he scrunches up his nose and turns over with a small grumble. At least one of us got some sleep.
Across our makeshift camp, Haralda and Iver stand quietly whispering to themselves. I attempt to read their lips but I can't make out any words. A feint discoloration surrounds some of her wounds she received yesterday. Most likely starting to decay much like my own but it is not as far gone from what I can tell. I need to keep my situation to just Iver and myself, at least for now. No need to worry everyone. Langley sits close with a disheartened look as he fumbles with a copper leaf in his hands.
"How are you holding up," I whisper as I lean in closer to him.
"I'm doing okay. Just trying to figure out how to be useful is all," he replies letting the leaf drift slowly to the ground.
I stand up and walk over to kneel beside him, "You are the one keeping this team heading forward. Saved my hide a time or two already. How can you think what you do has no value?"
"It was really Haralda who saved you. I was just...there. But when I'm on my own, like with Bo, I just-" he trails off scrunching his knees into his chest. I didn't realize how much losing Bo was upsetting him.
I grab my axe and hold it firmly, "Stand up. Grab your spear."
"What is going on? Is someone attacking?" He questions, squirming to his feet and steadying his spear in his hands."
I know I could never find the words that could comfort him but words aren't what he needs. "You want to be useful? Then I will help you get stronger. Allow me to teach you how to fight."
*****
"Keep a side profile with your left leg back, less of a target to hit." I say as I adjust Langley's stance. "Keep your left hand on the butt of the spear and then find the center of the weapon. That is where you want to place your right hand. "
Langley looks at his spear and then back up at me, "I think I got it."
"Alright. Then lets go."
Langley launches his spear towards me and I quickly deflect and rise my handaxe towards his throat. "Keep your spear up high. Always. Bring it back swiftly to protect your face and other vital spots on your body. You can be quick to strike back too. Alright... Again!"
Langley grips his spear and looks at me with determination. We continue trading blows and a small smile creeps onto his face, his troubled thoughts dissipating from his head. His next thrust sails over my left shoulder and I step towards him, sweeping his feet out from under him and he hits the ground with a thud.
"Your reach is your greatest ally in a fight. Take every advantage you have. You have lost once your opponent has gotten too close. " I smile and extend my hand to him.
"Now you are just being an ass." He chuckles as he clasps my hand and stands to his feet.
"Looks like you boys are having some fun over here," Haralda comments as she strolls over to where Langley and I are having our sparing session. Her large sword rests on her shoulder.
"I'm sure he has been having fun knocking me around," Langley remarks jabbing his elbow into my side but his smile has still not left his face.
He walks past Haralda and sits on the ground close by. Past him, Bjorn sits on a dead log with a hauntingly blank expression, presumably watching us the entire time. Frode, unaffected by the sound of Langley's and my skirmish, is still fast asleep with Iver close by tending to a new fire.
"He is a tough kid. Sometimes you have to end up on the ground so you can stand up again. That's the way I was taught," I chuckle.
Langley's cheery smiles turn conniving as he opens his mouth, "Why don't you two Spar so I can see how two experienced fighters hold themselves."
Haralda's eyes light up from his words, "I haven't had a good spar in ages!"
"I think we have had enough fighting for one day, I blurt out giving side eyes to Langley who covers his mouth holding in a laugh.
"Oh come on. You can take it easy on me right?" Haralda laughs as the tip of her sword crashes into the ground.
I let out a timid laugh, "Yeah. I guess we have some time."
I take back up my handaxe and distance myself from Haralda who lifts he sword from the dirt and exclaims, "ready?"
Before I can even nod in agreement, Haralda bolts towards me, closing the distance between us in an instant. I dive to my right and her large sword slams into the ground where I once stood.
I sprawl back onto my feet, "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I believed you had enough skill to dodge," Haralda jokes.
I parry the next swing of her sword, using the weight of her blow to guide the sword away from me. A sharp ring hangs in the air when our blades collide on the next swing. The handles of my axes reverberate in my hands.
"And if I didn't dodge?" I ask through some heavy sips of air.
Haralda just raises her shoulders with a sly smile and charges towards me again. A fire burning in her eyes. I side step her next thrust and my blades pause a few inches from her throat. "Yield."
Haralda's eyes narrow and she raises her sword in a burst of speed. It clashes into my axe and frees it from my hand. Her shoulder slams into my chest and I find myself with my back against the dirt.
"Another chance to stand up again," Haralda snickers extending her hand out to me.
Iver claps while I brush off some dirt, "Alright fellas. Let's get ready to move out soon." Everyone nods and heads back to the center of our camp to gather up what little gear we have.
"Hey you dropped this," Langley sounds from behind me.
Before I even turn, I know what he holds. It must have fallen out in the scuffle with Haralda. I feel naked, like I'm missing a part of myself. Sweat lines my hairline watching his filthy fingers clasp the key. Images of myself forcibly freeing the key from Langley's hands flash in my mind. Do it. Take it. It's yours. Before I can act on the beckoning of the key, a figure moves behind Langley. Edlyn. She nods her head, snapping me out of my trance.
"Thanks kid." I say as warm as I can, taking the key from him.
The worlds weight lifts from my shoulder as my fingers surround its metal. I give a sly smile and jab my elbow into Langley, pushing past him to follow the after image of Edlyn deeper into the forest.
Once I'm deep enough to be certain the others are out of eat shot I whisper, "Edlyn. Edlyn, show yourself."
"I'm here Asger," Edlyn gently whispers in my ear, "you must be wary of Asger."
"I know. It feels like I'm losing myself here in this place. In this key. If you weren't there... I'm afraid what I could've..."
Edlyn interrupts me, "Yes, you must be wary of the key, but also be wary of what it's draw does to others."
Her words dance around my ear and then fade "Wait! Don't go!"
I turn and bump into Bjorn's hulking demeanor. "Wandered a long way from camp," he grins.
I take a step past him with my hand hovering by the hilt of my axes, "yeah I just needed to clear my head. Let's get back."
Greed consumes his eyes as I pass him. I grab my axes and swing them over my head, colliding with his hammer. The handles of the axes tense and splinter in my hand under his forceful blow. I hastily retaliate leaving one axe to hold back his hammer. Bjorn refusing to dodge, allows my axe to slice into his forearm with nothing but laughter. The handle from the axe gives away and crumbles in my hand.
"I like it when they fight back," Bjorn chuckles and he slams my back into a tree. He presses his arm across my chest, pinning me. "Your friends aren't here to save you this time. Now where is it! Where is the key!"
His free hand pushes and pulls on my gear until the key tumbles on to the ground with ting. Bjorn's eyes fixate on it and he tosses me to the side like garbage. The key's pull must be masking every thought in his head, whispering sweet promises in his ear. But those are my promises.
I jump to my feet, "Give it back! Give it back right now!"
I charge at him with my remaining axe, his attention still focused on the key. My next swing carves a gash across his back and Bjorn's lets out a hearty groan. With one hand, he swings his hammer around him, nearly missing me and crashing into the tree beside him. The hammer runs through the tree like butter and it creaks and cries on its decent to the forest floor. The leaves throughout the forest vibrate and severe winds blow past Bjorn and I. A feint whisper sounds from no clear direction.
Breaks us. Burns us. Uses without a care. Time for yous to nourish the dirts beneath my roots.