Chapter 52: The way of the warriors
Chapter 52: The way of the warriors
Ansgar, who was climbing the steep terrain of the mountain, could feel his foot slip off the stone where he leaned.
Holding onto some stones, he avoided falling into the void; although he avoided death, his hands hurt because his weight made the edge of the rocks hurt his hands.
This caused Ansgar to scream, so he use all his strength to get his feet back on some rocks.
When he finally rested his feet on the rocks, he lowered his head and closed his eyes to bear the pain; after a short moment, he opened his eyes to start climbing again.
As he climbed that mountain, his hands began to bleed, so when he ascended to the small peak, he lay down in the snow to catch his breath.
While his eyes were closed, he was able to remember how he had come to that place.
“WE HAVE TO KEEP RUNNING, DERICK.”
Ansgar said as he ran with all his might through the trees.
Derick, who was next to him, reloaded his crossbow and turned to shoot at one of the white bears that were following him.
Ansgar could see that a few meters from them, the trees ended abruptly, so he turned his head and realized that Derick was distracted.
So using his hand, he pushed him to the side, thus preventing him from falling over the ledge, but it was at that moment that Ansgar felt like a white bear was pushing him.
This caused Ansgar and the bear to fall down the small ledge, causing Ansgar to lose consciousness.
When Ansgar regained consciousness, the first thing he could see was the corpse of a white bear, which was completely dismembered.
His stomach was open, and his intestines were scattered in the snow, while many of his bones were so broken that they protruded from the skin.
His face was disfigured entirely, but there was a crossbow bolt on it, so Ansgar knew why the stupid bear had pushed him.
He got up from the snow with great care and looked up where he could see that he had been lucky because he realized that the ledge from where he fell was not very high.
There were a lot of stones, so if he had fallen a little closer or farther from where he was, he could have died like the bear in front of him.
Using his hands, he checked his entire body to see if he had any injuries, but having felt nothing, he only took his horn from his chest and removed the wooden cover.
To be able to have a few shots of liquor, when he was done, he covered the horn again and began to shout, “Derick, if you’re listening, we will meet in the tribe.
If you find Elof tell him to follow you and not forget that we have to mark where we pass even though we are separated.
That way, at least if one of us survives, we can make our journey worthwhile. “
After saying those words, he approached the white bear’s body to be able to cut some meat because due to the persecution of the bears, he did not have any food with him.
Remembering that moment, Ansgar opened his eyes as the pain in his hands woke him up. “I have to find a place to spend the night, or I will die.”
Rising from the snow, he made his way through the snow on that mountain.
For his part, Elof, who was looking at one of his broken feet, which had the bone, visibly looked curiously at the place where he had fallen after escaping the surprise attack that the white bears had made.
The place where it was, was a complete ice cave, which was only visible by the light that came from the hole where it had fallen.
Beyond where the light did not reach, you could only see absolute darkness, and you could hear the noise of an underground river that seemed to run through that place.
He could also hear the noise of the drops of water falling from different parts of the cave.
When trying to move from where he was, he realized that not only was his foot broken, but he realized that he could not feel his feet, so he clenched his fist and hit the wall of the cave.
After thinking for a while, a smile formed on his face, so he looked at the hole where he had fallen and took his horn from his side, which he calmly opened and then drank all the liquor that was inside.
When he felt the burning that the alcohol caused him as it ran down his throat, he could only feel some tears that ran down his face when he remembered his family who was waiting for his return.
When he finished drinking, he took his dagger from his chest and began to carve some runes on the horn.
“It is a shame that I cannot go back to my wife and see my children, but Midgard at the request of my body and Valhalla calls me.
I only hope that if, in the future, someone finds my remains, I can return them to my family so they can give me a burial worthy of a warrior. “
When he finished writing the runes on his horn, he put it aside and then tried to crawl over to where his crossbow was.
As he leaned over to crawl through the cold, he could feel immense pain in his back, so he gritted his teeth and began the tortuous path to his crossbow.
Every time he advanced with his arms across the ice floor of that cave, he could only think of his family and everything he would leave behind.
What was only a few meters became a penance for Elof, who advanced slowly but steadily towards the crossbow that was illuminated by the light from the hole.
When Elof’s hand touched that crossbow, he dragged it to his chest, and using his hands while resisting the pain, he was able to sit up and lean his body against the wall of ice.
Resisting the urge to faint, he took one of the bolts from his side and, with his trembling hand, placed it inside the crossbow, which was already ready to fire.
Having the crossbow loaded and ready to fire, he set it on his feet and pointed it at his heart.
Ignoring the pain in his back, he took a deep breath and leaned his head against the ice wall. “If I only have the path of death left, I will take my life into my own hands.
Why that is what a warrior does, Derick and Ansgar, I hope they can reach our tribe.
That way, my death will become a legend; I will wait for you in Valhalla with Kaj and Galt. “
When he finished saying those words, Elof pulled the metal trigger of his crossbow; the impact he could feel left him breathless.
At that moment, feeling the cold of the wood of the bolt, he was able to remember his whole life while some tears came from his eyes.
Recalling all his life, he was able to reach the moment when he was talking to Derick, and some white bears attacked them.
They defended themselves, but in the end, they ended up separating, so he ran with all his might through the snow until when he stepped on the part of the snow, he fell into that hole.
He kept remembering until he got to the moment where he took his crossbow and shot himself; at the end of that memory, suddenly everything began to turn black, and it was at that moment that his life came to an end.