Dragon's Legacy

Chapter 12: Stone Circle

There is a Faulkie expression that states: "Drink hearty so long as the sun does not see you." Considering that weather in the jarldoms could be anywhere between stormy, overcast, and foggy, the Faulk are always eager to party.

Some (small) part of Rael felt upset about not getting to even see Nize from the slave ship. They got a full experience of the Stone Circle however, when Rael and Azmond followed Jarl Feldon's procession. They got off the ships, the captains played their bagpipes, and the skalds played their own instruments behind them as the crew followed. They were laughing and cheering as the locals passed them horns brimming with mead and baskets full of fruits. When they saw Azmond, their eyes widened and gave him a wide berth, whispering in the reverent tones of those seeing a living legend. This parade flowed from the docks down bridges across several more of the floating sections of the city, people joining the festivities until a massive crowd stood before the biggest longhouse Rael had ever seen. Norn's Hall.

It was nestled between the weaves that held the baskets to the earth, on the highest point of the rocky hill. The longhouses in Feldon were flipped boats, no longer than twenty meters long and five meters wide. But this one was less a flipped boat and more an ark that never expected to touch the water. The rounded keel stretched a dozen meters high and was more than twice as long as any longhouse in Feldon, and nearly as thick as it was long. Norn's Hall was almost bowl shaped, its planks so tightly bound together, only the barest shadows gave any hint as to where one piece of wood ended and another began.

Warriors in white crocodile leather slammed their fists against their armor and turned around to pull open the giant pair of doors. The scent of braised meats and sweet wines washed over the crowd, the sound of a riotous celebration inside dying down with the new arrivals.

"Presenting Jarl Feldon, Avenger of Lark, and Shieldmaiden Edith the Battlemaster!" Skald Pequit called into the longhouse.

Feldon and Edith passed the threshold, the crowd inside and out slamming their feet on the ground in an uproar. They walked easily towards the last empty table and sat down casually.

"Shaman Bak the Wise!" Pequit introduced, the shaman patted Rael's back before he entered, giving them a gentle smile of encouragement. He nodded sagely at the clamoring crowd and sat at Feldon's table.

"Captain Derrol the Bloodsworn! Captain Ulric the Righteous! Captain Kip Morrisson!" Each name was welcomed with thunderous approval, though Kip's seemed to be lacking compared to the others.

Rael's heart beat so loudly in their chest that it drowned out the clamor around them. Every fiber of their being wanted to run away, be free from the expectant stares of scores of people. There must have been thousands of people. They felt a small hand wiggle into their clenched fist and entwine small fingers between their own. Az was beamed at Rael, and their worries melted away.

"Dragonward Rael Demonslayer and their ward, Azmond the Scaled!" The stunned pause inside the longhouse was swept up in the cheers coming from outside. The pair entered the longhouse and sat by the captains. The rest of the crew were given cursory introductions until everyone was settled at the table and the doors closed behind the skalds, sealing the excited crowd's jubilations.

Meaty dishes laden with bread and grain were brought to the table, followed by flagons of mead. Whereas normal servants brought them all food, Azmond's share was brought by a crone in long robes. The crew did not seem to recognize her, but Bak and Feldon kept their eyes on her. Her skin and body sagged with age, yet her eyes were clearer than river water. She ran her index and middle finger from the crown of Azmond's head to between his brows and she smiled. The crone left a flagon of spiced milk for the Child of Dragons bowing to him and Rael in turn before walking away.