Hulsnir had been very quite throughout the whole day, a little uncharacteristic of his regular behavior but sometimes people had those kinds of days. He was wearing a helmet made out of an Artic Bear's skull that cover most of his face. It was very difficult to see his features.
The anxious behavior of the elder and the quietness of some of the party members made the last day of the journey extremely awkward.
They arrived at the Orc Clan once the sun had set and were received by some of the important figures of the Frostwolf Clan. Chief Mogho was not present to receive them and this was understandable as he was a chief with equal standing to Cerdic.
Besides Hulsnir that stood at the back of the group most of the delegation exchanged pleasantries with the Orcs. They had been enemies in the past but they respected each other as warriors.
Elder Bear and the Supreme Elder of the Orcs were kindred spirits and both were followers of the Mystic path and couldn't wait to exchange stories over a couple of drinks.
The Delegation group was lead to the Chief's tent were Chief Mogho was waiting along a sumptuous meal. They paid their respects and sat down to eat the many delicacies on the table. There was quite a selection. Most of it consisted of grilled meats and fruits but it was quite spectacular nonetheless. The Orcs lived in the Northwest area, and about 300 miles north of their village you could see the sea. On the table there were various kinds of grill fish and creatures that could only be found on this side of the woods.
As the night passed, the Orcs brought out entertainment. As a Warrior tribe, the entertainment consisted of elders and their best warriors dancing and displaying their tattoos, a source of a lot pride that symbolized their success as a hunter, and a fighter.
Throughout the dinner Chief Mogho gaze keep inadvertently floating over the massive Hulsnir. He didn't know why but every time he looked over, he felt his blood boiling and he wanted to rush over and challenge him to a duel. Mogho was a Rager (second evolution Berserker) and had not felt the urge to challenge anybody in a long time. The only person that made him feel this way was Cerdic, but the person in front of him was a lot shorter.
At the end of the meal, the delegation team was brought over to a couple of tents that were assigned to them by the Frostwolfs.
Everybody was stuffed and ready to sleep. Spots was laying down with his stomach bulging and was already dosing off. Hulsnir picked up the first vigilance shift and sat close to the tent door with sword in hand. Hulsnir reach into his leather pouch and took out a little box. He opened the box and in it there was a sharpening stone, 2 rags and a bottle full of oil. Without further ado he started cleaning his weapon.
Back at Helgahvall village. Rahz and the Elite Team arrived from their mine expedition and were extremely elated with the amount progress they made. There was a question in Rahz mind and that was what to do with his share of the money .
He never had to buy or felt that he needed anything outside of what he already had.
Noticing his pensive face Blaire asked. "Why the long face?"
"I was just thinking that I never had money before so I don't know what to do with it".
Blaire put her biggest smile forward and said to him " you can always give to me".
Pufff
"Never!! What about you Bhirl?"
"I heard from my dad that every 3 months there is a convoy from the village to a big town to the Southeast of the village. That is the place where we trade ores, skins and spirit herbs".
"There are many wonderful things that you can't find in the village. Also, there are people from all sorts of races and even second evolution fighters".
The more Rahz listened to Bhirl, the more his eyes shone.
Rahz's bubble was bursted by Blaire very quickly. She stated that nobody below level 8 could take the task and the competition was fierce. Only one group could go each time and the trips were so far in between that it might be years before they could see the town.
"Anyways we are pretty young now so there is plenty of time for that. I suggest you save your money until then".
Rahz nodded his head repeatedly to everything Blaire and Bhirl said while dreaming of the possibilities.
When the elite team step into the village, the merry atmosphere from the past couple of days came to an abrupt end.
The streets of the village were empty and only the guards with somber faces were around.
Bhirl quickly made his way to one of the guards and ask . "Whats going on? Where is everybody?"
The young guard turn his head in the direction of the voice and focus on the speaker's face.
"Oh! is the young lord. Where you out performing a task?"
"Aye!"
"No wonder young lord doesn't know. There was an incident yesterday and and Derek from the scout division was killed by an assassin during an important mission. Today is his departure ceremony".
For as long as Rahz and his team were alive, there had never been a death in the village. The Barbarian race had an amazing life force to begin with and through their levels they manage to live to about 200 years . The more powerful fighters reached the peak of their combat at around 70 years old. If they were still gaining levels, it was very difficult to determine how long they will be able to live.
The team quickly made their way to the main square where an altar as tall as a tent was erected. At the top of the altar there was a body. On the platform where the altar laid there were many objects that belong to Derek. His weapons, the 2 machetes he used against Legolas were laid in a cross faction against his chest.
It was usually Elder Bear's responsibility to oversee the funeral rites but since he was out in an important task the duty fell onto the second elder of the village, Elder Wolf.
" With this fire we light up the road,
With this song we show you the way home,
Go find your place in the hall of the brave,
And please watch over our future Heirs".
Once the elder finished speaking, everyone gathered around and started singing the village battle song while the body and his belonging burned in order for Derek's soul to have a pleasant and heroic journey to the afterlife.
After everything was set and done, all the ashes and belongings were gathered and deposit under the earth and a tumulus was raise as his grave.
Frostwolf Village. Meeting Hall
"On behalf of the village of Helgahvall we would like to thank Great Chief Mogho for his hospitality thus far".
Chief Mogho nodded and said " Please speak clearly supreme elder of Helgahvall, I am not much for this jibber-jabber".
Elder bear nodded and said " Chief Mogho probably heard that our Young Lord was attack during his hunting test a few days ago and this is the arrow that tried to take his life."
Chief Mogho looked at the arrow and frown. He knew this was a Frostwolf arrow, there was no doubt about it. He looked around the hall waiting for somebody to give an explanation but nobody knew what was going on.
Elder Bear studied the faces of the people that were present and determine that in fact their guess was on point and the dark elf's party was the one behind the scenes trying to promote a war between the 2 villages.
" We believe there might be a third party trying to start a conflict between us. Has anything happened lately?"
"Yes, a young one went missing at the border between the 2 territories and we still have not been able to find him."
" I want to assure Chief Mogho that Helgahvall has nothing to do with it and this might be the act of somebody that wants our Clans to fight".
Mogho thought about the information for a few seconds and then said, " Please let Chief Cerdic know that the Frostwolfs are not cowards, no self respecting member of my clan will shoot an arrow and run like a little bitch."
RAAAWR!! the tent burst up in Manly roars after Chief Mogho's statement.
With a smile on his face Chief Mogho continued " I have received Chief Cerdic message and will not blame Helgahvall for the disappearance of our youngling. I hope we can maintain the peace we have enjoyed since the last war."
The delegation party pay their respects and proceeded to head back to the village immediately. One day after they left the Frostwolf village, they finally reached the area that was used as a camp a few days before.
When they were about 30 feet from the camp, the team saw Hulsnir with his shield in hand appeared out of nowhere in front of them.
CLANK!!!
"Kekeke! Not bad boy. Kekeke!"
Following the voice, a group of 4 shadows started to appear in front of the delegation team.