Sven was already a decent distance from Helga when he noticed a woman waiting at the edge of the city. She wore a black dress that hung low exposing her cleavage. It was a rather short dress compared to what Sven usually saw. He noticed it was the woman from last night. She was waving at him with a smile. He was stuck in thought about her being in front of him so casually. He completely forgot Helga was chasing him. She snuck up behind him and quickly got him in a chokehold. Sven looked over and noticed who it was.
"Seduced you did I?" She said while choking him.
Then he pointed forward. Helga looked over and saw Astrid. Dropping Sven she drew her bow quickly lining up a shot. She didn't care if someone saw her drop her in the city. Astrid had a grin on her face and looked like she was gonna attack. Sven put his hand out stopping Helga.
"Wait, I saw the man in the inn before catching up. He was bragging about sleeping with her. No injuries were visible any longer, and he seemed perfectly fine. From what it sounded like he went for her. Maybe she isn't bad. Didn't you say not all tera live to kill humans right? Let's see what she has to say" Sven presented a decent argument.
Helga wanted to hurt her out of jealousy but then thought about how Sven would see it. So she stopped and listened to Sven. Astrid walked up slowly.
"So your smart, and handsome," Astrid said while walking up to him.
"What do you want?" Sven demanded.
"Oh, I just want you. Wherever you go I go." Astrid proclaimed
"Now why would we want you around, and don't go deciding that on your own!" Helga replied no longer wanting to stay quiet.
"Well, I've been here for ten years. I'm very familiar with the area. I also have other skills."She said while winking at Sven.
"What do you get out of this?" Sven asked
"Well more of your blood of course," Astrid said while licking her lips.
"No fucking way!" Helga protested.
"Helga it's fine. I think it's better than her feeding on humans, and you know how fast I heal. Also, I forgot something." Sven said as he reached for his bag, and retrieved the necklace he bought. He walked behind Helga placing it around her neck.
"I got this for you because it reminded me of your eyes," Sven said
She heard that and after seeing the gift became very happy. Then she grinned at Astrid giving her the finger. She no longer felt insecure about her position in Sven's eyes. For this morning they shared a special moment. Then after receiving a gift from Sven she no longer felt threatened by Astrid's presence
"Fine you can come, but you better be useful," Helga said.
"So where we headed?" Astrid asked.
Sven took out the gold plate Lilith gave him back in Greenland. He handed it to Astrid. She began looking it over. When noticing the insignia on it she smiled.
"So you're looking for the sanctuary then. I've met a few people claiming to have lived there but never seen it myself. They told me it was a place where tera live peacefully with humans, but I just assumed it was a trap. I can't take you there exactly, but I can get us going in the right direction. " Astrid said while handing the plate back.
"Guess she will have some use after all," Helga said with an irritable tone.
"Helga if she's gonna be with us you need to try to get along together. Thank you Astrid please lead the way." Sven said hoping to defuse the situation.
The group began traveling Southwest. While they walked along the road Sven began observing his surroundings. He had seen only two farms since leaving the city. If the land was truly so prosperous like it seems. Why haven't more tried to settle here? The soil here was far better than what his family used in England. He then remembered Helga mentioning problems with natives. So he began watching out for potential ambush points. Lilith mentioned that the man she was seeking was from a tribe called the Cree. So they had to be some of the natives Helga mentioned. Not knowing how many tribes could be out there caused him to worry about how to tell friend from foe. Just in case there was contact he kept the plate in his bag ready to grab when he could hoping it would defuse the situation if it was familiar to them. They traveled for three days with no problems. Besides Helga, and Astrid going at it from time to time.
It was the fourth day of travel. The sun began setting, and they were looking for a place to set up camp. They found a clearing after drifting off from the road. It was a nice flat field, with a lake close by. The trees in the area were rather thin compared to what they saw on the road. Which would be ideal for seeing enemies coming. Not to mention it would allow them to bathe, and get water easily.
"This is a good as spot as we're gonna find. Helga, can you look around for something to eat? I would like to avoid going into the supplies from town as long as we can. Astrid, can you search the surrounding area for any signs of people being in the area recently? Better to not get caught off guard by anyone. I'll build up a place to sleep, and then check to see if any fish are in the lake." Sven said as he began looking for something to build a shelter from.
"I will start after she leaves first," Helga demanded. She clearly didn't want Sven alone with Astrid for even a minute.
"Fine, ill go first if it really makes you feel better. You don't have to be so worried all the time. There's nothing wrong with sharing you know." Astrid stated as she winked at Helga.
After teasing her she walked away. Once she was out of sight Helga went off to do her part. Sven finally got to work. He quickly builds a shelter big enough for the three of them to sleep in for the night. Knowing Helga would be too pissed if they were to close together. Since the first morning they were together she was cuddling on Sven when Helga woke up. It was what started the first fight of many over the past three days. So the more space the better. After he was done with the shelter he searched around. He walked off to check out the lake first. He took his clothes off and dove in to look around. He could find no fish in the lake so he swam deeper. He noticed that there were skeletons piled up at the bottom next to a small passage. Seeing this he quickly swam back up to the surface. Wasting no time in drying off to get his gear back on. He barely had his pants, and boots on as he could sense something heading his way.