PROLOGUE: The Frontiers VI: Pen and Sword

SEASON OF SPRING, 485 - FIEGAELN, THE ISLE

It was just a normal day in the town of Fiegaeln, or so it would seem. The sun was shining, merchants were haggling with one another, children were playing whilst their mothers and elders were looking after them, and the men worked the fields, as militia patrolled the perimeter of the town. But, it would soon change..

The loud thud of marching permeated through the once-quiet land as heavily armored raiders marched in the direction of the town. At the front were a younger and older man, walking ahead of the column. A lightly armored man with a bow slung around his body soon approached the two. "I saw a town ahead, Koernil! Saw s'um patrols, I did." The man spoke as one of the men nodded. "Good! Go back to your brothers." Hagarr spoke as the former returned back to the column. 

"That must be the town you were talking about, Virumm. What was it called again?" Hagarr asked as he scratched his chin. "It is called Fiegaeln, Koernil." Virumm said as they kept walking. "I shall be ahead, I will see if they are more amenable to... giving up their property willingly." He spoke as he fixed his helm, and Hagarr raised his eyebrows. "Why? We could just attack them. We have trained warriors, and they have militia that swings their weapons as if they are fully made of steel!" The younger man argued incredulously.

Virumm sighed, "We are in unfriendly land, Koernil." He started. "We have, what, four scores¹ of men? We have lost a score just getting a beach head here. They are many, and will be able to reinforce quickly should we attack them. I will just simply scare them, pull the wool over their eyes; Make them believe that we are much stronger, much numerous, than we really are." Virumm finished as Hagarr sighed.

"Very well. You may go, but you will bring some men along to get your point through." Hagarr said as he turned to the column before him. "Björn, Urnvikk! Come, come!" He called out, as the column halted in its path. "Accompany our good Commander Virumm here! We have some sheep that need good herding!" As he finished speaking, a giant of a man, half naked and adorned with a bear skin broke and a muscular man wearing scale armor and a helm with a face plate depicting an eagle's face covering his face broke from the column and came to the two.

"You two, come with me. We shall have a good word with our friends." Virumm spoke as the two nodded, and the three men soon walked ahead of the main column. As they neared the fields surrounding the town, they were spotted by a sentry. "Halt! Who are you and what is your business?" The soldier asked, tensing at the sight of the men, who seemed out of place. "We come in peace! We mean you and your comrades no harm! Not yet, anyways...." Virumm raised his hands up in surrender, and looked to the other two, who did the same thing.

The sentry looked at them with suspicion. "You speak with an accent; you are not from here. What is your purpose here, Ossensettiraen²?" The soldier asked as he tightened his hold on his spear. "We simply need to speak to your commanding officer, good man!" Virumm continued, as the sentry narrowed his eyes. 

"And for what reason, if I may ask?" The soldier asked. "Simply for a proposition that I am very sure your superior will find very appealing! I just need to speak with him!" Virumm said as the sentry nodded. "I shall call the Kummandaent. Do not try anything funny, Ossensettiraen. Come near the gate." He said as he led the three men to the walls of the town, and went inside. 

As several minutes passed, several figures appeared on top of the wall's ramparts, looking down on Virumm and the others. "I am Skirmen-Kummandaent Thaeusz Wilz, the man you are looking for, I presume. Who are you, Ossensettiraen?" One of the men spoke, narrowing his eyes, light bouncing off of his helm.

Virumm cleared his throat, as he began to speak, looking up at the men. "I am Virumm Stiegelsson! I have come to you with a single demand: Surrender twenty silver ingots' worth of goods, whether they be food, slaves, arms, even the metals themselves, and many others more! As I am speaking, there are currently many more of my comrades behind me, waiting for the moment to strike like lightning in a stormy night!" He spoke with a loud voice as all was quiet. Thaeusz glared at Virumm, as some of the men laughed at what the latter said. 

"You dare to speak with such boldness.. when there are three of you, and many of us? You must be jesting, you dull-witted, old fool!" Thaeusz spoke with incredulity as some of the men roared in laughter. "Believe me when I speak, good man, when I say that my companions here are worth ten of your men each. My good friend here, Björn, is not a man of many words, but can take on ten men and still come out on top. Björn, are you happy?" Virrum asked the giant as some of the men tensed at the sight of such a large man. "Not yet, Commander." Björn rumbled out, his deep and gravelly voice growling, as some of the men's skins crawled with nervousness. "You see, Björn here will be happy if you comply with my demands. If not, you will not have a good day, believe me." Virumm said as he continued to stare down

Thaeusz.

"Let us say... what you were saying is true; How are you to guarantee that what you say is no trickery, to fool us into being frightened by something that is not there?" Thaeusz asked, still weary from what the stranger before him has said. "I am many things, but treacherous and deceitful is not one of those. You have my word that you will not be fooled and suffer in return." Virumm assured as he waited for a response.

Thaeusz sighed as he relented. "Very well then, but I will only bring twelve silver ingots' worth of goods, then you shall scram and never show your face here again." Thaeusz said as he crossed his hands, the looks on his subordinates' faces souring. "Now, Commander, I think we can do better than that; sixteen silver ingots' worth of goods." Virumm haggled as Thaeusz narrowed his eyes.

"Do not try your luck with me, Ossensettiraen. I will give you fourteen silver ingots' worth of goods, nothing more." Thaeusz shot back. "Fifteen silver ingots' worth of goods and you have my guarantee that my men will not attack those under your jurisdiction if they specify that they are from this settlement. That is my final offer." Virumm countered as silence took its hold.

"I.."

"-...refuse! Take yourself and that beast-man of yours out of my sight! You dare to demand such things when you, are the one asking? Such boldness!" Thaeusz broke the silence as he exclaimed in outrage. "This is your only opportunity to leave, lest you hang from a tree, for threatening an official!" As he finished, the soldiers readied their weapons around the two men, as Virumm shook his head in disappointment.

"You will really give away the lives of your people for material possessions? We will take what we want, regardless if collateral is in the way!" Virumm voiced out loud as Thaeusz sneered. "I would like to see you try, Ossensettiraen. Leave, and never come back!" Thaeusz said, as Virumm sighed. "So be it! You shall suffer for the folly you have committed!" Virumm proclaimed as he and Björn left, returning to Hagarr. "What are you lot standing around for? Go back to your duties!" Thaeusz ordered as the soldiers hastily went back to their duties.

Virumm and Björn soon returned to their fellow raiders, as Hagarr came to them. "Well? How did your plan go?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, as Virumm sighed. "Unfortunately, my charming of them did not go well. We will have to either leave them alone and go for Haernuey and try our luck there, or, attack Fiegaeln now." Virumm said as Hagarr smirked.

"Ah, you know what I will choose, Virumm! Men, fall in! We shall show those wretches what it means to refuse us of our prizes!" Hagarr echoed out, as the raiders cheered and hollered, disturbing the quiet land. "We march now!" Hagarr ordered.

The mass of raiders rushed forth, as the town came into view once more. The loud thudding of boots alerted militiamen patrolling, as they rushed back to the town to alert their comrades.

"Men, charge!" Hagarr shouted as the raiders sped up their pace, now going at a full sprint as warcries echoed out. "Bowmen! Pick off the ones on the ramparts! Axes! Break down the gate!" Hagarr commanded quickly as the bowmen halted and nocked their arrows. The whistling of arrows echoed as the bowmen released them, hitting and killing several soldiers on the wall's ramparts.

The raiders, armed with axes, made way for several Frakkonni, as they hacker at the gate, tearing holes into the wooden gate. Soon, it gave in as it collapsed, and the raiders came pouring in. "Kill anybody that resists! Take anything you can carry! Onwards, to victory!" Hagarr shouted as the raiders let out a loud cheer. "Virumm and you lot, come with me!" Hagarr said as the older man nodded, coming with him, along with several raiders.

They came upon a group of militia rushing in to help aid in the defense of the town, but were immediately halted. "I'll slit ye'r throat, whoreson!" One of the raiders exclaimed as he rushed down the militia, axe raised high. Hagarr and the others let out war cries as they charged headlong as well.

The two groups crashed into each other as Hagarr's two-handed axe came crashing down, dismembering a lightly armored militiaman, screaming in pain as he was cut down. The militia fell one by one, as the remaining men were slain, or scattered, running for their lives. "Storm the houses, men! Strip them clean!" Hagarr exclaimed as the raiders split off, kicking the doors of the houses open, taking anything valuable they could carry, whilst the townspeople hid in terror and fear.

As Hagarr and Virumm intruded a particularly larger house, a man swung a knife at Virumm, to which the latter dodged, brandishing his sword as he skewered the man in the chest as he staggered to the ground in pain, shouting out what seemed to be profanities. Hagarr snorted and stomped on the man's head, finishing him off as he heard the whimper of what seemed to come from a child. Hagarr raised his eyebrow, as he turned to the direction of the sound, a door, and came closer. "To whom do we have here, I wonder...?" He murmured to himself as he went to open the door, finding it to have been barricaded off. Hagarr frowned and kicked down the door several times, as it finally collapsed and fell, only to find a frightened woman, holding two little girls at her side on top of a bed.

Hagarr smirked, as he came closer. The woman huddled the children closer to her as she braced for imminent death, but received none of it, as she opened her eyes, seeing that her soon-to-be slayer was stopped by an older man. "Leave them be, Koernil. I shall take them in as my property." Virumm said, as Hagarr turned to the older man in confusion. "What in the gods' good graces are you speaking of, Virumm?" Hagarr asked in exasperation. "I said that I will take them with me." Virumm grounded out every word, as he kept staring resolutely at the younger man. "Very well then. But you will have the responsibility of tending to them, and not letting the others get handsy with them, old man." Hagarr scoffed, as he lowered his axe. Virumm nodded. 

The older man looked at the woman and the children. "Come with me, now." Virumm spoke with a harsh, accented voice as the woman looked at him with a frightened look. Hesitantly, one of the young girls came near to the older man, as his harsh stare faltered. "I shall exit now, Virumm. I need to take account of our plunder. Meet me at the gate after you are done with what you are doing." Hagarr whispered as he swiftly left Virumm, exiting the house. The older man sighed, as he looked at the other two expectantly. 

The woman whispered something to the other child quietly, as the two got off the bed, and came closer to the older man. Virumm nodded and gestured to follow them. They exited, as the woman and her children huddled close together. Fires raged in the town, as thatch houses burned, and the screams of the dying echoed and the bodies of the dead lie on the paths.

Virumm walked ahead, with the women and the children following suit, as they neared the gate. A raider came upon the older man, as he checked the women behind him. "Oi, c'mmand'r! Who're those lasses behind ye'?" The raider asked as he came closer to the three, as the children huddled to the women in fear. 

Virumm frowned, and halted the raider. "None that concerns you. Away with you, for our good Koernil must have a need for you other than wandering around like a fool." He said as the raider shrugged. "Eh, I s'pose you're c'rect." The raider said as he went away, and the older man nodded to the women, and kept walking, soon coming upon a pile of a vast array of goods.

Weaponry, valuables of all sorts, and even the odd bars of silver were piled atop. A loud, booming laugh shook the women and the children, as Hagarr came to pat Virumm on the back. "Oh, Virumm! These wretches had everything! The men even found some silver ingots in this shite-hole's barracks!" Hagarr exclaimed, as Virumm checked one of the ingots. "I'll be damned. This pile must be worth over a score and five silver ingots in any marketplace. It seems our gamble has payed off." He said in surprise. "That it did!" Hagarr said as he had a large smirk on his face.

"We must leave now. Such plunder like this will take plenty of time to load up on our ships. How many have we lost?" Virumm said as he frowned. "Bah! You need not worry so much, Virumm!" Hagarr exclaimed, disregarding the older man's words, as he turned his sight to the woman. "Pretty thing, is she not? A shame she is a widow now." Hagarr said with a low voice, as he clutched her chin with his hand. Virumm dropped the ingot and got up as he reached out to the younger man. "Hagarr..."

As the woman struggled to break the man's hold, Hagarr felt some pain on one of his legs as he looked down, he saw one of the little girls look at him with anger. "Firlâzaen meine muoter los!" The girl exclaimed in an unknown language.

Hagarr raised his eyebrows, then smirked as he let go of the woman. "Fierce little tyke, ain't she?" He said as he chuckled. The woman hastily went to the child, as she clutched the little girl tightly, looking up at Hagarr with a fearful expression. "Bitti, nicht taerôn ihr waeh!" She seemed to beg as Virumm clasped Hagarr's arm.

"Leave it, Hagarr. She is just a girl." Virumm said as he stared at the younger man. Hagarr snorted and pulled his arm away from the older man's grasp. "As if I will punch a young girl. Have you always thought of me so lowly, old man?" He asked rhetorically in mock-outrage, as Virumm sighed.

"Have some men load up our gains on the boats, now. We will not be overstaying our welcome here." Virumm said as he checked on the woman. "Yes, yes. I shall call the men. We shall leave this shite-hole by the end of the day!" Hagarr said as he left Virumm. "Damn that boy..." He sighed as he questioned if the woman was alright.