"What d'ye think? It's like the Hollow, but much bigger. Big enough t' house all of us and even more, while hidin' us from the other clans and makin' it easier t' defend if they ever find us. And I'd say it's even better than the Hollow. There's a river not far from here that flows toward the sea in the east, which could give us fish, and there's also a forest that stretches farther north." Hilde paused briefly before adding, "Though I don't know yet if there's much game there. We haven't properly checked the forest."
Hilde spoke while taking in the sight before her. Even though this was already the second time she had seen the place, she still could not help but feel proud of herself for finding a place that matched the conditions Ivar had asked them to look for a sennight before.
After escorting Skapti and the others back to the Hollow, where the remains of her former clansman would spend the rest of their lives, Hilde had continued farther north with her companions instead of immediately returning to their camp. It was during that journey that they discovered the place now spread out before them from atop the high ground where they stood.
Ivar did not reply immediately. Instead, he continued silently observing the place before them, carefully studying the terrain, the surrounding cliffs, and the distant forest stretching farther north. Only after several long moments did he finally speak.
"Aye. Ye're right," he admitted. "This place is much better than the Hollow." He paused briefly before adding, "But let's look around first before we decide anythin'."
The two of them and their companions then spent the next several hours walking through the area while carefully examining every part of the place. The farther they went, the more Ivar began to understand why Hilde had been so confident in bringing him here. Much like the Hollow, the place was naturally hidden between cliffs and uneven ridges, making it difficult to spot unless someone already knew where to look. But unlike the Hollow, this place was far larger and far less cramped. If Ivar had to guess, even five thousand people could gather within the valley at the center and still have enough room to move about comfortably.
Still, there was one thing he did not like about the place.
There were too many heart trees.
Everywhere he looked, pale trunks and blood-red leaves stood scattered across the valley and the nearby slopes, especially in the north side of the valley. Some were small and twisted, while others towered over the surrounding trees like silent watchers staring down upon the land. Ivar did not know much about the old gods, but even he found the sheer number of heart trees here unsettling.
Eventually, the group made their way toward the river Hilde had mentioned earlier. The water flowed swiftly between sheets of ice, cold and clear beneath the sunlight. After spending some time checking the riverbanks and the shallower parts of the water, Ivar finally spotted movement beneath the surface.
Fish.
Not many near the edges, but enough for him to know the river could support them if properly managed.
Afterward, they headed farther north toward the forest. The trees there grew denser the deeper they traveled, and before long, Ivar began spotting tracks buried beneath the snow. Deer. Smaller animals too. Then, after another hour of searching, they finally caught sight of a small herd cautiously moving between the trees in the distance.
Game.
By the time the sun had begun lowering toward the horizon, Ivar had already made his decision.
As he stood overlooking the valley once more with the cold wind brushing against his furs, he finally spoke.
"Let's make this place our home, at least fer a few years," he said quietly, but it was enough for Hilde and their companions to hear.
After a moment, he turned toward Hilde and added, "But I'm curious why no one's taken this place fer their own. Surely others would covet a place like this just as much as us."
"Aye. Me curious too," Hilde admitted with a nod. "But I didn't have time t' investigate. Wanted t' show the place t' ye as soon as possible."
Ivar fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Aye. No matter. I remember we passed by two settlements while comin' here. Observe them first. If they turn out t' be friendly, trade with 'em using whatever ye have, then ask about this place. If there's a reason no one settled here before, then we need t' know it."
"You won't come with me? We'll pass those settlements on the way back," Hilde asked.
Ivar shook his head. "I need t' head back quickly. We've already spent two days travelin' here. Can't afford t' leave the men and the others behind fer much longer, especially since Ulf reported before we left that he found signs o' fightin' more than a day's walk south o' where we settled." He paused briefly before adding, "Anyway, ye can check the settlements yerself and tell me what ye learn afterward. O'ryt?"
Hilde nodded at that. "Aye."
"Good." Ivar sat down on a nearby stone before turning toward the others. "We'll make camp here fer the night and I'll leave first thing on the morrow. Maera, prepare the food. Boroq, ye take the first watch."
"Aye."
"Aye."
Hearing their replies, Ivar finally allowed himself to relax. The moment he sat properly, he could already feel the soreness creeping through his legs and feet. After arriving earlier, he had wasted no time and immediately began inspecting the area instead of resting first. Only now did he realize he had not truly stopped moving since they arrived.
His companions were likely just as tired as he was, but it was one of the few things he liked about being the leader. Even while exhausted, he could still order others around while taking a moment to rest himself. Of course, he had no intention of abusing that authority. Once he had rested enough, he would make sure Maera and Boroq got their own chance to rest afterward as well.
The next day, before the sun had fully risen, Ivar departed after eating the leftovers from the previous night's meal. However, instead of immediately heading south toward their camp, he followed the river eastward and ran along its banks through the cold morning air together with his beast companions.
He wanted to find out for himself how far the sea was from the place he had chosen for their future settlement. More importantly, he wanted to check the eastern shores and see whether other clans or settlements already lived near the coast. If they truly intended to remain there for years, then knowing who their neighbors might be was just as important as finding food and shelter.
Before the sun could rise much higher above the horizon, Ivar arrived near the mouth of the river where it emptied into the sea. However, he did not move any closer after spotting a settlement built along the river's mouth and seeing people wandering about within it.
Something was wrong.
Several crude huts and tents still smoldered faintly, as though they had been burning only the night before and had only recently been put out. Thin trails of smoke still drifted into the cold air. As Ivar quietly observed the settlement from afar, he also noticed that many of the people moving around seemed to be crying or sobbing softly amongst themselves.
More importantly, he could not spot a single warrior carrying a weapon. It was almost as if the settlement itself was inviting attack from its enemies. Still, Ivar already had a strong suspicion that the settlement had indeed been attacked the day before, and the people wandering about now were merely the survivors left behind afterward.
His first thought was that perhaps Jorund or Sylas had somehow reached this far north. But the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed. If either group had traveled this far along the eastern shore, then surely he and his band would have noticed signs of them already. They had spent more than a moon searching the lands surrounding their current settlement looking for both men. Furthermore, Ulf had only recently discovered traces of fighting south of where they currently stayed. Unless the two somehow knew magic and could teleport themselves across the True North, there was no way they could have reached this place so quickly without leaving any signs behind.
After a moment, Ivar shook his head and pushed the thoughts aside. There was no point wasting time on guesses. If he wanted the truth, then he would have to ask the survivors himself about what had truly happened here.
He turned toward his beast companions, who immediately looked back at him. "Go. Hide and hunt fer now. I'll call fer ye two once I'm done with this little episode."
Both beasts immediately moved toward him and licked his cheeks before jumping back just as he was about to smack their heads away.
"Ye two…" Ivar muttered while shaking his head at their antics as he watched them disappear into the trees.
Once they were gone, he focused on the matter at hand. Reaching into his belongings, he pulled out a piece of white fur he had begun keeping for situations like this. If he wanted to avoid being attacked the moment he revealed himself, then he needed to appear peaceful from the start. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of what had happened with the Frostbornes, where he and his people had nearly been slaughtered the moment they entered the settlement.
Truthfully, he did not even know why he had started carrying white fur around in the first place. Somewhere along the way, he had also influenced the others in his band to carry one whenever they traveled. Perhaps it was simply a habit carried over from his first life, where white flags were often used whenever people wanted to parley instead of fight.
After fastening the white fur onto a branch, Ivar carefully checked his surroundings once more and, finding nothing suspicious, finally moved forward. One hand held the branch with the white fur tied to it, while his other remained open and clearly free of any weapon.
He was not overly worried for his safety. Even if the settlement misunderstood his intentions and tried to attack him, he was confident he could still escape without much trouble.
As he approached closer, he noticed a few people spotting him from the settlement. Then more heads slowly turned in his direction. Ivar immediately raised the branch higher and waved the white fur tied to it before calling out loudly enough for them to hear.
"I come in peace."
At once, the two women he had already noticed earlier as the only ones carrying weapons raised their bows toward him.
"I come in peace," he repeated before stopping where he stood. Not close enough to threaten them, yet not far enough to appear fearful either. Just enough distance to show he meant no harm.
The children immediately ran from the sight of him. Some hid behind their mothers while others disappeared into the burned huts and damaged tents scattered throughout the settlement.
For several long moments, no one spoke.
Then one of the women keeping her bow aimed at him slowly shifted her footing to get a better look. After realizing that he was not one of the men who had attacked them, she relaxed slightly, though her bow remained raised toward him.
"Who're ye?" she asked cautiously.
The other woman also shifted slightly from her position while keeping her arrow drawn. "What're ye doin' here?" she demanded. "Careful now. One wrong move and I swear I'll loose this arrow straight through ye."
Yet Ivar remained calm despite their threats and merely shrugged. "I came here alone after seein' the smoke. Just wanted t' know who attacked yer clan…" He paused briefly before adding, "Because me own clan might be in danger too if the ones who attacked ye decide t' prey on us next."
The two women exchanged glances before the one who appeared less hostile finally spoke.
"Southron bastards attacked us. Darker skin and sailin' great ships. Took most o' our people while killin' those who fought back." Her grip on the bow loosened slightly before she added, "Now go. Begone before me arms grow tired holdin' this arro..."
She never finished her sentence.
The other woman suddenly loosed her arrow straight at Ivar.
But before the shaft could even come close, Ivar effortlessly stepped aside. And before the woman could nock another arrow, he was already retreating beyond her range, disappearing quickly into the distance.
The woman could only lower her bow in frustration.
After a moment, the other woman hurried toward her. "What're ye doin'?" she hissed. "He wasn't the enemy!"
The woman who had fired the arrow frowned darkly before spitting onto the ground. "Now that man knows we're weak, it won't take long before his clan comes attackin' us and takin' whatever we have left. Didn't ye listen to his answer earlier? That his clan might be endangered too? That means his clan must be nearby."
She then smacked the other woman lightly on the head before continuing angrily, "Why'd ye answer him instead o' shootin' him? Now we've got no choice but t' leave before he returns with his people upon us. Urgh!"
She spat once more before turning toward the rest of the settlement and shouting loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Pack whatever ye can! We leave as soon as possible!"
—-----
Ivar wiped the sweat from his forehead despite the cold before muttering to himself, "Women."
Then he simply shook his head and continued running before letting out a sharp whistle a few moments later.
Several minutes afterward, his beast companions emerged from the trees and quickly fell into step beside him.
This time, Ivar headed straight back toward their current settlement without stopping again. The information the woman had given him earlier was already enough for him to piece together what had happened.
Pirates and slavers.
And just the thought of them made him feel slightly excited.
Well, not the pirates and slavers themselves. There was nothing exciting about them. It was their ships that interested him.
Now, he only needed to capture one for himself. If he managed that, then he would have another path open to him should his plans involving the prince who would one day come north end up failing.
As he continued running, Ivar could not help the slight curl forming at the corner of his lips as yet another option opened itself before him. His mood had improved so much that he barely even felt tired anymore. In fact, he continued running long after night had fallen and only finally slowed down once he spotted the distant fires of their settlement flickering ahead through the darkness.
Only then did he notice that his beast companions had their tongues hanging out from exhaustion after following him through what had practically turned into a marathon.
Ivar let out a soft chuckle before patting their heads. "Sorry. Just treat this as exercise. We'll have meat served fer us soon enough. This time, ye two won't even need t' hunt."
That at least earned an excited reaction from both beasts as they immediately tried to lick his face again. But this time, Ivar was ready and quickly blocked their mouths with both hands.
"Now, now… ye two already know I don't like yer saliva."
He then straightened himself before adding, "Let's walk from here. We're already near."
After saying that, Ivar began walking toward the settlement with his beast companions quietly following behind him. The cold night wind brushed against his furs while the distant fires ahead slowly grew larger with every step. Compared to the silence of the wilderness, the familiar sight of their camp almost felt welcoming now.
As they neared the outer edges of the settlement, several watchmen stationed near the perimeter immediately noticed movement approaching through the darkness. One of them quickly grabbed the horn hanging by his side and was about to blow it to alert the others.
"Wait!" another suddenly hissed while squinting toward the approaching figure. "That's Ivar!"
The man holding the horn immediately lowered it while the others relaxed slightly after recognizing both Ivar and the two shadowcats following beside him.
"We weren't expectin' ye back fer a few more days," one of the watchmen muttered while rubbing the sleep from his eyes once Ivar finally approached them.
"Was worried about ye lot, so I hurried back first and left Hilde and the others behind," Ivar replied casually. "Anythin' happen while I was gone?"
The watchmen exchanged glances before one of them shrugged. "Nothin' much. Some hunters returned earlier with two deer. Aside from that, everythin's been quiet. No news o' Jorund or Sylas nearby either." After pausing for a moment, the man suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh, and Alfyn came by durin' the day lookin' fer ye."
Then the watchman gave him a rather strange look. The others soon followed.
Ivar immediately recognized their look. He already knew the kind of nonsense Haldor had been spreading around the camp, though he still had not found the time to properly punish the man for it.
Soon, he noted silently to himself.
Ivar simply nodded toward the watchman before saying, "Good. Keep watch. And drink some broth t' keep yerself awake."
"Aye."
After waving them goodbye, Ivar headed straight toward the makeshift kitchen where several pots still hung above weak fires kept alive through the night. One of the guards assigned there, in which Ivar recognized as one of Freya's assistants, looked up in surprise the moment he saw him arrive.
Without wasting time, Ivar pointed toward the food and said, "Serve me food."
Then he gestured toward the two shadowcats trailing behind him. "Me cats included."
The guards immediately rose from where they had been sitting, and the one who had recognized him earlier quickly answered, "Aye." Then, thinking Ivar could not hear him, the man muttered quietly to himself, "Thankfully, there's still meat left."
Ivar let out a soft chuckle after hearing that before sitting down on the long bench beside one of the tables. He had the benches and tables built after they realized they would be staying here far longer than originally planned. Now that he had decided they would move again soon, he already intended to have even better ones made once they settled in their new home.
As he waited for the food to arrive, Ivar looked around the camp. It had clearly grown larger again while he was away. More fires now burned throughout the settlement, especially near the outer areas where the newest arrivals seemed to be camping.
It appeared Haldor and the others had not stopped recruiting even while he was gone.
Ivar could only hope the place Hilde had discovered would truly be capable of feeding all of them and more.
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A/N: Please don't forget to rate and review the story after reading. And if you want to read ahead. You know where to look.