Kar ignores Avina. “Lod, bring Slode here. Arnor, locate Grim Woods in the Shield and Anchor tavern. I don’t care if he is fucking one woman or five, we need him urgently. Boys,” he jabs a finger at both of them, “Discreetly bring them straight here.”
The boys nod and then leave through the back door. Kar pulls out a chair at the table for her to sit.
“Alright, Bloodstone.” He takes the opposite seat with focused energy. “What’s your plan?”
She sighs in relief. “We have a long night.” She settles into the chair while Ingirid sets cups of tea before them.
“I need parchment, a quill, and ink. It is time to summon my troops.”
January 11th, Year 100, 9th Era
Cabin in the Woods, Salt Province
Since the night Thrain and her father seized her warrior from her, the sky has refused to shift from a dreary gray. Even the bright snowfall, which has a way of lifting her spirits, yields to a whistling wind through the forest.
She has hardly slept or eaten in the days since her Prince’s imprisonment.
Is he still alive?
Has Thrain broken him?
Her plot to rescue Sigvid keeps her body churning through the short days and endless nights.
Their side has more to consider than just rescuing the Prince of Salt,a sentiment Kar was quick to remind her about when her focus quickly narrowed to only her Beast.
Kar’s scout intelligence revealed enough evidence to suspect Thrain would sacrifice the people of Toftlund to keep his brother locked in the dungeons. His exact plan is unclear, but none are willing to risk Thrain’s plan.
After a few days, she snuck back into Blackwood and removed Nellie, Carrot Chubbs, Reef, and Nautilus to Sjoby to keep their animals safe. In the tiny hamlet, they join an unhappy, desperate-for-attention Frida and a stir-crazy, knife-wielding Thora. A local farmer who lives far from Toftlund and the path the armies would take temporary custody of his farm animals.
I will relax once my troops arrive in Salt.
A thick white wolf pelt wraps around Avina’s shoulders, fending off the cold she hardly heeds anymore. The Timber Army should arrive any day.
In preparation, she has spent much of the last two days pacing before the hearth of the hunting cabin Sigvid had once ravaged her inside. Unlike before, she, Bertie, and Grim have turned it into a livable space.
The Drengr spend much of their time silently evacuating the city to alleviate any leverage Thrain has over their people. With Salt and Ridge guards crawling the roads looking for Avina, she is swiftly sidelined, unable to take a more active hand in operations.
A reality that tears her apart at the seams.
“Shadow!” Bertie bursts through the front door of the cabin with a wide smile. The recent fuzz on his usually clean-shaven face still seems out of sorts. “They are here.”
Her lips twist into a smile, and she tails him into the cold afternoon air. She mounts Sigvid’s horse, Hest, and they ride hard along the deer trail through the blackwood forest.
Her heart thuds at the prospect of seeing her generals again. Will they think less of their Queen for allowing the Beast to seize her back to Salt? They may have agreed to join forces to save Treland from Thrain’s power grab, yet that did nothing to signal their support for Avina.
Instead, she focuses on the rhythmic beat of their horses' hooves pounding through the thick snow filling the underbrush.
It’s hard to imagine Hest is the same horse she was tied up on the back of by Finn almost three months ago. Sigvid had rescued her in the nick of time, even when he considered her an enemy.
Will she be as punctual? Will she save him before Thrain’s torture either ends or breaks him?
She gasps when they leave the protection of the dark canopies to ride into a vast field of canvas tents. Leading Timber is not enough to desensitize her to the sheer size of the twenty-thousand-strong army that rushes about constructing their encampment along the western slope of Fjell Mountain.
As Lord Commander, Sigvid commanded roughly two hundred fifty Drengr and an additional fifteen thousand troops in the Salt Army. Unfortunately, his Salt troops now fell under the control of King Thrain. Of course, this was after he condemned Sigvid as a traitor to the crown, province, and country.
Once the remaining Ridge troops arrive for her father, the seven thousand fighters would be at Thrain’s disposal.
They are only slightly outnumbered.
