Growing the legend...

Posted on Mon Sep 30th, 2024 @ 6:38pm by Lieutenant Betaras K'ner
Edited on on Mon Sep 30th, 2024 @ 11:30pm

Mission: Deep freeze
Location: around Faeryjar
Timeline: pre-current

Knowing where they were going was helpful for a distance, but K’ner’s team hadn’t actually been in this valley of the second day of travel, where this new Jarl was set up. Chbet had met them the next afternoon after their initial reunion while ranging for some game. The team had bagged a large boar and had it dressed and ready to take back after their meeting.

Kotsoo was a little taken aback when three figures appeared. Dilisk was only calm because Chbet was. That was good enough for him, even though for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why he always accepted everything the large creature said as absolute. But as he was introduced to them, the one called K’ner, he had the odd urge to call Chief.

Chbet seemed to be old friends with them, even though their names had never come up before. When Chbet had returned the previous night, it had seemed like the mood had changed, for the better. His old friend was practically smiling… like a secret was being withheld. Perhaps this had been it. Kotsoo stayed out of the conversation for the most part, but contributed a piece here and there when Chbet was unsure.

Now it was the final day of the journey, they should reach the Jarl’s community at some point later in the day. This never-ending swirl of snowy cloud had settled lower where they’d dropped from the shallow pass in the line of hills, into the valley below.

Kotsoo noticed his unease all along the initial journey had lessened the previous day after meeting Chbet’s friends, but now it had ratcheted back up. Given Chbet’s frequent pauses to listen around them, he wasn’t the only one. The group they were with seemed none-the-wiser.

Hearing a sound, Dilisk found himself diving to the side, bringing his weapon out in the move. That momentary confusion was matched when he saw Chbet had done the same thing, only on the other side of the trail. Had he heard it? It sounded so familiar yet, he couldn’t identify it.

There it was again! No, different this time. Somehow he knew he had a target somewhere in his AoE… incoming… what the heck is an AoE? He let the confusion slide away to suss out later, the white wall was alive, he could feel it. He didn’t dare look, but somehow he knew Chbet was similarly set up behind him. The caravan continued to slowly move on, but at their pace they weren’t going far before whatever this was… happened…

And that’s when everything erupted! One second the wind whooshed lightly through the trees, swirling the white flakes around, then there was a high-pitched scream, mixed with a low rumble that vibrated in his chest… What kind of beast could make such a sound?!?! He heard a horse scream ahead just as a dark spot enlarged in front of him, swinging a clawed paw through the air where he should’ve been, would’ve been moments before.

He swung hard, two-handed, tip up, raising his arms as he was rising. He felt a hard impact, but he and Chbet had spent countless hours, honing the fine steel blades the village was known for, and now he knew this had probably just saved his life as it barely pierced the creature’s hide, but pierce it did and he shoved it home, expecting this might be his only advantage as the sheer size became clear as it carried into and over him in the process.

Up and down the wagon train, the eerie screams now mixed with other voices. There were the panicked wails from the villagers, but the others, it rose above it all, carried on the winds like a battle cry. Kotsoo’s mind cleared and he stood, withdrawing the blade the beast had helped him impale it with. He only took a moment to ensure it was dead and tilted his head back to echo the cry of rage and vengeance that closed in on the attacking beasts. They thought they had the perfect ambush, but they hadn’t expected this… them… and he knew… he was one of them!

Leaping over the carcass he ran up the left side of the caravan, first coming across another beast mistakenly thinking it was safe enough to munch on the horse it had brought down. The morsel in its mouth muffled the brief bleat of pain that shot through its back suddenly! There was an unfamiliar weight to it. It wouldn’t shake off and the pain increased. It tossed aside the leg it had ripped from its meal and tried to reach behind, to dislodge whatever had befallen it. But that pain was met by another, and another, weakness followed, and darkness came with the confusion…

Chbet was bloodied by not slowed, tearing down the right side of the little caravan. A beast had cornered a couple under their wagon and was taunting them, enjoying their screams. Chbet realized they must not have many predators willing to take them on, especially if they hunt in packs, and now they were very overconfident and reckless. This one would pay dearly for that. Once this one was down, it was time to rejoin Kotsoo and double-team the rest!

K’ner sunk the axe deeply in the creature’s chest, nearly splitting it in two at the top. She was sure it was quite the gory sight for the family that had almost perished, two men down in front of them, but at least they would be alive to tell the tale, however that went for them. There was no time to sooth spirits now, the beasts own cries of attack had changed in pitch as they realized this wasn’t the easy prey they’d come to expect.

K’ner moved forward with purpose, but not haste. This ground was both advantage and disadvantage, and she intended to leverage the former and force the beasts into the latter. Now that the beasts were realizing they were now the hunted, their previous targets were ignored as they cast about for the new problem, not realizing the severity of this new danger.

K’ner smiled almost madly, crying out again to both draw the beast’s attentions, plus instill a little fear into their foe, should it be smart enough to contemplate the end of life with any pause. She had shed the outer furs and cinched down her harnesses, just as the others would have. Now they were lithe conduits of death, delivered down from the gods on high (or at least the ’Norris in orbit, somewhere). She heard the battle-cries from the others down the line, recognizing each and feeling a thread of satisfaction hearing Kotsoo sending his own into the skies at the other end.

The beasts lost more to their number before the realization seeped in as the possibility of a definite maybe they were dying quickly and a few managed to escape. Two of K’ner’s team signaled and trailed a pair, intent on tracking them to a lair so they could put an end to this threat. Undoubtedly they had lost much of their force multiplier and would have to choose smaller groups of victims, but even those would respond to hunger and range outward again. K’ner wasn’t going to allow that, not in the lands she protected…

K’ner quickly moved through the wagons, triage, assisting the worst wounds briefly; her team had already pulled back in case there were any opportunists lurking plus to keep from being recognized unnecessarily. The villagers had taken a few casualties but fortunately it seemed the beasts preferred the larger meat targets of the horses and oxen over the puny humanoids, which took the larger toll.

All too quickly, as the adrenaline and fear abated, the people moved out of what safety they had found, coming together for a headcount, recounts of the battle, giving respects to those precious few lost in the carnage that had so, so quickly overwhelmed them all.

“It’s like they dropped down from the heavens with a war cry and to mete out vengeance upon them all. And then, they were gone… we couldn’t even thank them. And they took the warriors we hired, Kots and Chbje too from where they’d fallen…”

“Valkyries…” said another, with quiet reverence. "They were the Valkyries! They’ve taken them to Valhalla!”


OFF:

Lt Betaras K'ner
Hazard Team Combat Medic TL-B / CMO
USS Chuck Norris


:o)