Chương 42: Chapter 41 - Grumir - Arc 2 Start

One day before the Grumir gem exploded… Sverre barrelled through the western streets of Stronghold Hatir. In front of his eyes was a gaping crevasse in the middle of a once glorious wall that prevented enemies and corruption alike from penetrating the strongest bastion of Dragus. A quick glare at slackers, sitting out and about, caused them to snap back up and run towards their work area. However, he couldn't blame them. The materials Viscount Magnus delivered for the wall repair was an inadequate amount.

It was barely enough to even repair 1/5th of the broken wall, and now the winter moons were in full force. A cave-in had slowed down production significantly and even killed some of the Viscount's men. Though, the timing was too curious as a recluse legend broke the Stronghold's walls weeks after. Pandor might've had a hand in this events. It's just too suspicious not to connect the two.

Arriving at the makeshift repair office, a tent nearby the wall, Sverre reeled back and snapped his hands to the sword on his hip. Inside the tent was a woman with blonde hair flowing as if underwater and the face of an endless void. Something was on its back, but he couldn't tell. Maybe a single wing made of pure white feathers, yet also wings made of black bones. Flesh and veins crawled throughout the tent, devouring its walls and assimilating parts of its own. It pulsed and pulsed… and pulsed… and pulsed….

"Administrator Sverre, are you alright?" a female voice asked. A single blink of his eyes, the aberration disappeared and the world returned to normal. He recognized the woman in front of him. She wore a white button up blouse and a cloak that hung by the backrest of a chair. Her deep blue eyes complemented her long straight hair along with a beauty mark just at the side of her right eye.

"Dagny, sorry. I haven't much sleep," Sverre said. She's always been a constant after his late-wife passed away. One day, he'd treat her better, possibly after the war with Pandor toned down.

"It's alright. Take your time with the documents today. Not like we're going to get anything done anyway," Dagny said, sighing. Walking past her, he sat down on the main seat of the round table, placing his sword by the side. On the table were scrolls stacked up on each other. A wax sealed envelope sat on top of the pile and on the corner was a closed Yin metal flask with a green star emblem.

"It's fine. I can just go home earlier," Sverre said as he placed the wax envelope to the side. In the corner of his vision, he saw Dagny exit the tent with her cloak, leaving him alone to his peace. Ever since the recluse legend wearing the devil's helmet broke through the walls of Hatir, Nightmares continued to haunt Sverre each time he slept. Night after night, he'd wake up from cold sweat as visions of corrupted beings dug into his belly with its sharp claws, eating his guts whilst he watched.

Through the sleepless night, he found solace from the small amounts of curious liquid transported to the stronghold via Sleider's Coast. The locals called it 'Cup of Cub'; a strange name for a drink, yet fitting as a drink of comfort. After all, if he couldn't sleep, the dreams couldn't harm him. Flipping through each stacked document, he signed off on multiple requests for supplies, though, not that it mattered. The Viscount may only be able to give them supplies in the 3rd moon of the next Ter.

For hours, he signed, monotonically doing his job as the Lord's head administrator. Finally, after finishing all the documents, he moved on to the last piece of the puzzle: Viscount Magnus' envelope. But before that, he took the flask, twisted it open and took a swig of the last few gulps. He'd have to tell one of his assistants to fetch him more later. It was unfortunate he might have to sleep tonight.

Twisting the flask back closed, he set it down at the corner of his table and then opened up the Viscount's letter. To the Administrator of Stronghold Hatir, Sverre, I write to you informing you of perils that may reach the stronghold soon. My territory was lucky as the summoned heroes passed by and culled a growing mutation near my manor. The corruption soon falls upon Nulfrae. I suggest the administrator do a full inspection of the whole stronghold for any mutations.

The corruption may use any of such as a foothold. Do not let a single one in. Guard the wall with all your might. Have your men rotate their guards at night. Sacrifice your men if you have to. Sincerely, Viscount Magnus Sverre's right eye brow raised. The Viscount has never addressed him directly before. Why now of all times? It was truly strange times. The letter presented even stranger content. Corruption of past generations never had 'mutations' nor have it breached the northern strongholds this fast.

Before dismissing the letter, Sverre thought about it more. Itzae did appear north of Hatir. That could've presented the corruption an opportunity to slip through the defense line. Possible, but highly unlikely. Nevertheless, he wasn't one to take any warning lightly, especially if what he said about the summoned heroes were true.

"It seems I have a task," Dagny said. A chill ran through his spine. Dagny stood there staring at him with a blank smile. For a couple of seconds, he noticed she hadn't blinked at all. Her pupils dilated, not showing him any of the deep blue iris. He was sure that she had left the tent already. Has she perhaps been there for hours, watching him work through the documents? That wasn't possible. From the shadow he saw through the tent, it was now mid afternoon.

A more possible explanation was that she could have entered the tent when he was reading the letter. Yet the timing of her question felt uncanny. It was at the exact time he finished reading the Viscount's letter.

"Sverre?" Dagny knocked on his desk. Sverre quickly rubbed his eyes. Upon meeting her gaze once again, Dagny's iris and blinks returned to normal. He sighed, thinking it was the effect of not having slept the past couple of days.

"Dagny, gather the knights and do a round of inspections throughout all streets and homes within the stronghold."

"An arduous task in this cold winter's afternoon," she said.

"Perhaps a reason is needed to give the knights. So, may I ask what that is?"

"The Viscount…" Sverre started, unsure whether this kind of letter that seemed to be ramblings of a mad man should be taken seriously.

"Viscount Magnus had gave us warnings of the corruption taking footholds in his territory. A quick inspection is of no harm during these slow times."

"These slow times are when the cold bites the most. Does a quick inspection require us to barge in homes and see the contents ourselves?" Dagny groaned.

"Right. Morale is already low. Then forget the inspection within the homes. Just outside the home is enough."

"Are you sure?"

"It's best to keep the men warm. We need to increase night patrols and the defense on the broken wall. Have more men rotate during the night. Keep them alert at all times and no sleeping during their shifts."

"Is the Viscount's warning truly that bad?"

"A warning's a warning. From a Viscount no less." Sverre stood up, fixing up his own cloak and strapping his sword back to his hip.

"You go with the men. I'll go on a patrol myself." Dagny saluted.

"Make sure you eat dinner today. It's on the dining table."

"I will. I'll see you home later."

"Well, probably not."

"Why not?"

"You told me to round up the knights and schedule the night watch."

"Right… thanks." Dagny smiled.

"Just… treat me to something sweet later."

"I'll tell the assistants to get more Cup of Cubs delivered to our house." Sverre softly smiled back at her.

"That's a promise!"

"Promise." Dagny saluted again, more exaggerated this time, then exited the tent. Her footsteps crunched against the snow as she quickly made her way through the streets, the sound soon fading as she turned the corner of the street. His heart ached at the thought of eating alone tonight. There was only one other time that happened this Ter, and that was when the recluse legend destroyed the wall. Sverre exited the tent himself.

When he looked around, there were no mutations or anything that might've looked like corruption. Not even the sign of undeath plague could be seen from any citizen or guard walking by. With Grumir still in place, the corruption couldn't create a foothold within the stronghold. It would erase any corrupted creature that even came near. Still, the best thing he could do is to continue walking through the street while also serving as a way to keep him awake without the Cup of Cub drink.

Street after street, he didn't see any sign. Children fluffed up by their wool coats walked along the street. A few had built a few snow forts right at the corners of buildings. A snowball war had formed in front of him that he easily slipped through. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. A woman walked hand in hand with her husband. Her eyes peered into the stores that she passed by while her husband clearly looked disinterested in the items.

When guards passed by him, they all saluted while going on in their merry way. It was all just a normal day. No corruption and no mutations that he could see. The Viscount really lacked a description of what a 'mutation' looked like in his letter. A pity. Looking up at the sky, the sun was about to set. The day was came to an end. It was time to go back home, and Sverre did exactly that. The hallucinations should stop tomorrow when he finally gets some rest.

But just as he passed an alley on the way home, he smelled something awful that made him gag immediately. Bile crawled up to his mouth before being forced back down. Sverre traced his steps back and peered into the alley he had just passed. His eyes widened as he saw multiple bodies on the ground, all mutilated by what looked like sharp claws. Their eyes were all gouged out, bellies missing their contents. Each one had the expression of a frozen scream. In his peripheral vision, he saw the pulsing once again.

The alley was no longer the narrow cobblestone corridor it once was. Flesh assimilated the walls. 7 small hearts beat at random placements in the wall, totalling the amount of bodies on the ground. Veins wriggled all around as though it had a mind of its own. Its reach expanded each time it reached for material outside its skin. The thumping grew louder and louder the more Sverre stared. A whisper in his ear, a female voice, a demonic growl. Th… si… nd… me… king… sl….

Sverre couldn't decipher the meaning, but a part of him knew what it wanted. It told him to touch the flesh. But why would it want him to touch the flesh? He didn't want to, yet his hand raised itself and reached for the flesh on the wall. Suddenly, he forced his raised hand to slap himself in the face. When he looked back in the alley, it was all gone. No more bodies, no more flesh wall, and the stench was no longer there. Sleep. That's what he needed to get rid of these hallucinations.

Walking forward a couple of more buildings, he took the steps up the building to his left. He fished the keys out of his pocket, inserted it into the lock, and turned the door open. Once he was in, he placed his sword by the door and immediately walked to his bed without washing up, only taking off his cloak. As soon as his head hit the pillow, the world turned black. A few moments of reprieve. … … … A shock snapped his eyes open as Sverre gasped for air.

The images of a tall winged woman wearing a crown of black thorns lingered in his vision. She had whispered to him many things of the future, though none remained in his memory after waking up. What woke him up was her claw entering his chest and pulling out his heart. Before he could linger on the thought, at the corner of his eyes, he saw a silhouette by the corner. It scratched the wall with what sounded like its nails flinching randomly as it did.

Quickly, he turned his head towards the unseen shadow, but saw nothing. I must be losing my mind. Shaking his head cleansed away his drowsiness. Sverre turned his eyes out the window. By the position of the moon, it was midnight. Getting up, he noticed he still had his previous day's clothes on. To make better use of the time, it was best to head to the main castle. The dreams shall not win over my mind. He exited his room, eventually making his way outside.

Peering over the hill, there was a small campfire coming from the broken part of the wall. From this far, it was hard to tell how many were there, especially in the dead of the night. Turning around, he walked up towards the main castle. Sverre passed a couple of main streets, then walked into the main square. Once in the square, the main gate of the castle stood in front of him. He walked to the side and entered through the side door. After a couple of more minutes, he entered the castle.

The main cobblestone stair well presented itself to him. This castle was more like a defense layer against Pandor and the corruption. It wasn't grand or aesthetically pleasing. It was all rugged, rough, more to do with function rather than catering to nobles' preferences. Sverre went up the steps until he reached the 4th floor, the 2nd last until the Lord's floor. Before he could walk into his own office, in his peripheral vision, he saw a shadow pass by going down from the 5th floor.

It was oddly familiar like he'd seen it before, and it was distinctly a female form. How strange. The Lord hasn't had any interest in women since the Lady had passed. Just as the thought finished, the sound of a woman sobbing came from above the stairs. Her voice was familiar as though he had heard it everyday. But who could it be? Sverre, compelled to know, took the first step to the Lord's floor. Slowly, he climbed up and the weeping became clearer. It sounded like Dagny's voice.

That girl did always stick to him like glue, and he knew her feelings. But he couldn't betray his late wife by pursuing her younger sister. However, he had the urge to know why she was crying at the Lord's floor? Perhaps the Lord has chosen her. A lord, after all, needed an heir. That didn't sit right with Sverre. Suddenly, the weeping became louder. He had to find out. Why was she in the Lord's quarters? Hearing her weep like this… maybe the Lord hurt her. The thought left an even worse taste in his mouth.

The Lord had met Dagny multiple times, and he should have known that they were related. Quickly climbing up the steps, when he reached the last step, he turned left at where the Lord's quarters was. That was also where the weeping came from. Sverre took quick and hurried steps until the last door of the corridor. It was then the weeping stopped. Slowly, his hand reached for the doorknob and twisted. He quietly cracked the door open and peeked one eye in.

Dagny's form, her flowing straight blonde hair, unclothed from the bosom up, sat up on the bed where Lord Hatir laid. Yet the scene wasn't what he expected. Splatters of blood painted her form. On her hand was a crooked dagger that somehow held a beating heart of what Sverre presumed to be the Lord's. Dagny's head turned around to the door where he peeked through. Her eyes smiled as deranged as her lips.

"Sverre." She said with a voice full of innocence, the same one she had used this morning. Sverre bolted through the corridor and down the steps as fast as he could. His sister-in-law had just killed a man. Not just any man, the Lord of the Stronghold. He had to warn the head of knights. After reaching the bottom of the stairwell, he lunged through the door and turned left only to stop. The thing in his dreams appeared before him. A woman towering over him wearing a crown of thorns.

Her flowing hair moved against the non existent current as if underwater. She wore torn purple robes that looked like rags, melding into her dark green skinned body at the top. On her hand was a human skull without any flesh. Majestic wings sprouted from her back, though she was no angel and more like… a mutation. Behind her was the body of a fully armoured knight. The blue sword emblem represented the head of the knights. The minimum requirement for one to be the head was that of a ranker.

In other words, the thing in front of him could not be beaten by his weak fists. Surprisingly, it made no move against him.

"Sverre~" Dagny said embracing him from behind, her bosom pressing against his back. Even through winter's cold, he could feel her warmth. How she could maintain her own warmth or how she didn't shiver in this weather was beyond his understanding.

"Dagny, what is the meaning of this?"

"Don't you find it tiring, Sverre?"

"What…?"

"The insufferable Lord gave you all his work. Isn't it better to let go?"

"That does not give you the right to kill the Stronghold's Lord."

"Is the Lord free of judgement just for being the Lord of the stronghold?" Dagny stepped back, allowing him some space. However, Sverre kept his eyes on the mutation beside the dead head knight.

"Look at me, Sverre. It won't harm us." Dagny said, her voice whispered into his ears as if she were right in front of them.

"Please." Turning around, Sverre saw Dagny, uncovered from the waist up. Her unblemished body in front of him. He dared not look down below her face.

"Is the Lord free of judgement?"

"His merit goes beyond these walls. Only the Royal Crown can judge him."

"Then do we, the common folk, bare the brunt of the unfair actions of nobles?"

"The stronghold we live in is for the greater good, regardless of these nobles actions," Sverre said. But even he could barely believe what he said. He definitely witnessed the nobles live out their corrupt lives treating the commoners as fodder for their own entertainment whether that be in torture chambers or in the sleeping chambers.

"Tell me, Sverre. Would you feel the same should I have entered the Lord's chamber for his entertainment?" He winced, not knowing what to say. The Lord did always take glances at Dagny whenever she was with him in the castle. Being possessive of one's own sister-in-law wasn't a virtue, so he always ignored the bubbling feeling of jealousy. But… what would he really have done had he really seen them doing the act?

"Have you no feelings for me?" Dagny asked, spreading her arms as if asking for a hug.

"Does it matter when the Lord is dead?" Sverre asked. Suddenly, he felt the thing behind him move. It moved around him, walking, or maybe hovering, towards Dagny's side. Somehow, its steps oddly did not match the amount of distance each step covered.

"A first step towards a better Nulfrae. A Lord that sullies his subjects is not fit for the title." Dagny smiled, widely, deranged. She moved in to embrace him once more, pulling him tight onto her chest.

"He dares lust after me when my heart only has you. I'm sorry, Sverre, you had to see that." A sudden feeling of comfort washed over him as her warmth spread through him. But just as fast as it came, anger bubbled up at the thought of the Lord's lust casting its gaze on Dagny.

"You say the Lord asked you for his chamber tonight?"

"Its ok… he is dead. And we can be free. The nobles of this world, all of them, corrupt to their bones." Bliss drowned him as he realized that the act in the chamber was Dagny murdering the Lord, and not the act of being defiled. She was still his. The Lord was better off dead if he had to give up Dagny. Sverre's eyes turned up at the towering thing over both of them. Its eyes seemed to pierce through its hair, watching them silently.

"Have you awakened to a Golden Generation, Dagny?"

"Even better." Dagny laughed innocently.

"The Mohr gave me strength. They allowed me to right the wrongs of those looking at the helpless as playthings." She softly lifted his head up and stared into her eyes.

"You've known my feelings for you, right?" Sverre nodded.

"This half life we live. We work day in, day out, living for a meaningless war the crown and nobles wage for their petty squabbles." Dagny said.

"Is it not tiring?" A deep exhale of relief came out of Sverre's chest. She was right. The past few weeks had been sleepless nights, and the Lord seemed to not even care about his own well being. For what purpose did he even bothering serving the corrupt Duke that cared not for his own people? Dagny was right.

"Its really… tiring."

"Do you love me, Sverre?" Sverre paused for a couple of seconds. His late wife was dead, gone forever. If Dagny truly loved him, then was there any more purpose for holding back his own feeling? His feelings too were sincere.

"I do love you, Dagny."

"Do you have the keys for Grumir?"

"Why do you need it?" Sverre asked.

"The Mohr said they need it for us to be together forever." She smiled softly at him, without the derangedness from before.

"Forever means even in death, Sverre."

"Is that possible?"

"If recluse legends exist, how could it not be possible?"

"Right…" Sverre reached for his back pocket and gave it to Dagny.

"Thank you, Sverre. You know I love you, right?"

"I know. Then we can be together… forever without the annoying nobles." Sverre felt himself smile, but it was weird. He hadn't smiled this wide before. Dagny handed the key over to the thing beside her. It took the key and faded to a wisp of purple smoke, flowing back into the entrance of the castle and moving up the stair well. Her soft warm hands took his own, dragging it to the field of snow.

She laid down in the middle of it, and so did he, both looking up at the slowly rotating Grumir gem at the peak of the castle. The snow didn't feel cold at all, especially not with her leaning her head onto his shoulders. Both of their eyes saw the door behind Grumir open, the only entryway where there was no barrier. What came out was the thing Dagny had controlled. The thing wearing the black crown of thorns hovered just in front of Grumir. Purple smoke emitted from the thing and engulfed Grumir.

The falling snow stopped and the clouds veiling the moon dissipated from the single pulse the giant Fraedium gem emitted. In a couple of more seconds, the beautiful teal explosion lit up the night sky. Purple smokey wisps flowed along it, making the scene even more surreal under the river of stars.

"I love that I could share this moment with you," Dagny said, softly squeezing his intertwined hands.

"I love it too. Thank you, Dagny. I already feel much freer."

"There are more moments like this to come in the future."

"We'll be together for those times too." Sverre squeezed her hand in reply.