Cry For War

Chapter Eighteen

"What? Your destiny? Are you sure?" Hector retorted, releasing the princess's shoulders and taking a step back, turning his head toward Celica and Ephraim who seemed equally astonished by her words. "Look, pipsqueak, we can't just rush into this sort of thing. We've all fought a war once before. We could all die, here and now. That thing wasn't human, it would have killed you if we weren't there, and now you've got the gall to face it alone?"

"Hector..." Celica intruded, placing her hand on the Ostian's back and slowly tracing her fingers across the skin, which was mostly hidden beneath cloth and armor. "We have fought our battles, now, it's her turn to do the same." She hated to admit it, but Veronica wasn't a child anymore. "If you have an idea," she said, "let's hear it."

"Of course. If you wish to receive our blessing, hand forth your weapons, and we will grant them strength. As for our protection..." Tyr answered, raising her left hand to whistle into her fingers. It was within seconds that a goshawk swooped in through the window, wings barely wet with flecks of rain. Fortunately, its flying feathers had yet to be wet, allowing it to glide through the beginnings of a storm and land itself upon the shoulder of the god. "This should suffice. Keep it with you and you will have the eyes of the gods overlooking you." With that, she took the small amulet bearing an arrow shaped rune, encircled by a bent piece of iron, twirled in a symbol similarly to infinity, yet had two coils at its second end from the powerful claws of the bird of prey. "And we will ward off the strength of these monsters ourselves."

Veronica looked over the small trinket as Tyr offered it to her, rubbing her finger over the metal and small emblem. It was so small, so fragile... She was certain it would break if she pushed on it even slightly. "It will ward away monsters? Does it possess magical properties?"

Tyr gave her a hearty laugh as she approached once more, placing her hand upon the small of the princess's back. "You will understand its strength soon enough. But for now, settle in. Mjölnir's strike causes great rifts in the environment. It would be unwise to set back toward your homes before the storm passes. Make yourselves at home... I will set some stew over the fire. Recover, then you may return at daybreak."

Thórr seemed displeased by this prospect, but didn't dare protest direct orders from the elder god who gave her direct instructions for the night ahead. She opted to keep watch over those who stood idly by in the corner, leaving the four heroes to discuss their plan.

Ephraim wasn't at all focused upon the discussion anymore. He had never been too good with studying, finding it much too boring to keep him oriented toward any given subject that didn't involve taking a foe head on with his lance. He was uncomfortable with studying history or any sort of literature or mathematics, no matter how much he tried, so it was little wonder that he'd lost interest in anything that didn't involve himself piercing this Fenrir character's body until it stopped moving. The fact that a second enemy had already gotten away from their posse simply didn't sit right with him, and he couldn't help but associate the two events with one another. What if they did have correlation? If Loki had created these beasts as they'd said, then surely she was pulling the strings somewhere.

"Gods, Celica. I can't-" Hector grumbled in mild irritation, pinching the bridge of his nose as Veronica sat herself in front of the fireplace with intentions to observe the small talisman that had been gifted to her by the pair of gods. He couldn't imagine himself fighting another war. He had plans back in Ostia, and if he died here... would his daughter, which he'd met in this world, ever be born? If he were to die on the battlefield here, would that fate follow him back to the 'World of Blazing' as the Order called it?

"You'll be fine. We all have one another and-" Before Celica could even finish her sentence, she was disrupted by the violent cracking of lightning outside and the rumbling roar of the thunder that followed. The wind aided the storm, causing raindrops to whip against the sides of the small structure like an endless stream of drums. She wasn't entirely certain what that would mean for their travels come the morning, but one could only hope that the travel would not become too difficult for them to bear on their own. It seemed like anyone who didn't have a mount would be able to get back with such torrential rains coming down, but at the least, they had each other and somewhere to stay dry and keep warm. "...I am certain the storm will pass in no time, and then we may return to Askr and sort this accordingly." Celica knew well that it was a fool's choice to not ask for help, leaving her to make a mental note to tell Alm of their discovery as soon as they were able, for his own safety.

It was clearly going to be a long night, of that much the four of them were certain. The storm was showing no sign of letting up, even as the god returned to them with warm stew to fill their bellies and warm their hands.

The mission that lay ahead would not be an easy one. To defeat monsters that were created to defeat and defile the gods themselves would be a feat considered impossible without the talisman they had been granted, alongside the total of eight legendary weapons between the four of them. Armads, Maltet, the Royal Sword, Ragnarok, Hliðskjálf, Ífingr, Siegmund, and Garm... Would they even be enough to accomplish such a feat?

Veronica wasn't sure, even as she examined the small stone in her hand, that she couldn't help but realize had been fashioned conveniently into a necklace. It would protect them, or at least the wearer from doom, which seemed increasingly likely considering the situation that they had gotten themselves into. It was so small, leaving her in disbelief that such a frail looking amulet could contain such power. It didn't seem possible that a small rune such as this would be able to ward away evil but who was she to tell them that they were wrong? She tried not to think about it, especially not as she finally picked up the small wooden spoon placed in her bowl to sip at the thick stew.

Hearty, meaty. It tasted nothing like what Veronica was used to. She tried to take another sip, but nervousness twirled in her stomach like a vortex. She leaned in closer to the bowl, as though to take a drink straight from the source, but found no luck in doing so. She tried to get that feeling to leave her alone, that reminder that she had brought this upon her friends with her presence alone. It made her near ill to imagine that the fault was entirely hers.

When she finally got the bowl to her lips again, she could no longer tolerate its taste. It was salty and dry, like whoever had made it hadn't eaten anything of true substance in eons. Perhaps she was just picky, being fed fine meals in Embla... but this was the most awful thing she'd ever tasted in her life.

She glanced to her allies, gauging their expressions to see if they too thought this meal was foul. Whatever was in it was excruciatingly bitter, and there was a lot of it. So much bitterness. She had to swallow more than she thought she could handle. She was ravenous for much of the evening, yet still didn't feel hungry after swallowing down this stew, it was like her hunger just... went away.

Veronica's brow furrowed, and as she turned back to the window she spied a flash of a shape in the glow of the lightning. She noted its head had moved to one side, and there was something... sinister in nature about its form. Sharp and rigid, a threatening beast. And in the blink of an eye, it was gone, like it had never existed at all in the eye of the storm.

As the night drew forth, it seemed fair for the four of them to settle in, to get some much needed rest after their fight. The sleeping situation was less than ideal, being that there was a quilted blanket on the floor and nothing else. It wasn't comfortable by any means, laying atop a wood floor with a thin layer of fabric blocking away the nails and whatever else there was down there. By the fire light, there was little chatter, as Celica and Veronica had both turned in early, leaving the two lords to discuss the task that would begin to unfold come the morning, the battle plan in graphic detail.

They would be ready then.