The sorceress finally reached the lower level of the palace dungeon.
"So far, all is quiet," the girl moved slowly along the corridor. "Ah, there's a guard."
At a table sat a pair of guards, whom Victoria had recently scolded.
"Have you seen anything suspicious?" Liri pushed one of them, but there was no response. "Hey!"
The girl pushed the guard harder, and he banged his nose against the table. A small arrow was sticking out of his back, but he was still alive. Someone had paralyzed the guards to avoid raising an alarm, and the rest of the guards had gathered in the castle. However, this someone managed to sneak in here unnoticed and might be nearby.
Liri gathered electrical charges in her hands and cautiously proceeded to the last door. After two turns, she should have arrived in the corridor leading to Aileen's cell, but there were no intruders here. Peering around the corner, the sorceress noticed Werner, the swordsman, pressing against the door with his sword at the ready.
"Phew, Werner, you're alright," the girl attempted to call out to him, but he gestured for her to stop.
"Don't come closer, he's still here!" The swordsman's hands trembled; dark crimson stains were visible on his clothes. "I know, you can't hear or see him, but he's attacking quite seriously."
The guy was holding on with his last strength; it seemed he could block the enemy's attacks, but he still received wounds. Now, he was weakened due to loss of blood.
"And how can we fight someone like that?" The girl slowly backed away, trying to press herself against the wall. Werner could last this long only because one side was unnoticed for him to be approached. But at this junction, the attack could come from any direction. "We can't see or hear who you are."
The girl closed her eyes and tried to focus on her other senses. She tried to feel the breeze blowing around her, its movement, but the enemy seemed to evade even this sense. At some point, the electrical charges gathered at the tips of her fingers distorted and sparkled towards the side. Liri leaped to the side, and the cold blade only grazed her cheek.
"There you are," the girl watched as the steel blade vanished into thin air again. "No matter what you do, the sword remains iron."
Liri gathered the remnants of her strength into one ball of lightning and threw it towards the center of the junction. The electricity explosion pushed her away, but it also hit the attacker. At the other end of the corridor, a figure wrapped in a black hood fell to the floor; his whole body was covered in dark leather armor, and he held two blades still crackling with electrical discharges.
"What are you?" Liri tried to get up, but the last two spells had drained too much of her strength. The assassin, however, only received a slight charge of electricity in response. "I need a little more."
The girl gathered all the available magic in her palms, but the assassin was already getting closer to his prey. Before he could strike, a dark crimson glow blocked his path.
"Liri, do something!" Werner halted the attack, but wounds forced him to kneel. "I won't be able to hold him for long."
"I'm almost done," the girl clenched the air in her palms to the maximum and released the charge into the attacker's chest.
The blow was so powerful that it threw the killer about ten meters away, slamming him hard against the wall, but that wasn't enough for him. Rubbing the impact site, the criminal shot a malevolent glance at the couple and began to stealthily dissolve into thin air.
His body blended completely with the wall, but the blades continued to shimmer from electric discharges. However, the killer refrained from attacking and vanished as the footsteps of approaching guards were heard.
In the snowy woods of Nordrune, on the edge of a clearing, stood a log cabin half-buried in the ground, and a group of travelers approached it. The sun was already setting, and the already harsh northern lands became even less hospitable.
"Helen?" a quiet female voice came from the room, followed by the soft scraping of a steel blade.
"No need to grab your weapon immediately when someone comes to visit," Freya was the first to enter the room, and the others followed, hesitating for a moment.
"Hmm, didn't expect to see you again," a woman in her late thirties lay on the bed with long silver hair, not boasting the muscular figure characteristic of northern women, though she held a sizable sword in her hands. "So they found this cabin not by chance."
"Yes, they recently attempted on me and Zig, and I was worried they would come here too."
"Don't worry, they are no match for me, although I've lost my edge during these long years of inactivity," the woman coughed, clutching her left side. "I wouldn't have let them injure me so easily before."
"Mom, do you know them?" the girl who accompanied the travelers finally sheathed her sword.
"Helen, you could have been more respectful to the senior Valkyrie."
"Is that true? I apologize for my rudeness; I only wanted to protect my mom," the girl humbly bowed her head.
"Don't worry about it so much; I was also curious to see how you fight. I see Freya has trained you well, although I never agreed with her teaching methods."
"That's because you rely solely on strength," the woman playfully nudged her old friend.
"But still, I was stronger than you, even with my 'uncouth moves'."
"Ha-ha, a ten to eight advantage is not that significant. So who are your companions?"
"This is my daughter Hilda, and her comrades: Grain, an earth mage from Verania; Ragnalia from the Black Dragons; Asura from the Yukitori clan, and even one of the Gray Dragons, Reines," Freya introduced the visitors one by one, and at that moment, three white heads peered out from behind the door. "And, of course, our little companions Arzan, Zarisa, and Asarina."
"What a motley crew; I'm almost embarrassed to ask what brought them together."
"We wanted to help Mom," the little girl ran up to Hilda and hid behind her from the strangers.
"Yes, strangely enough, these companions are my daughter's friends who assist in apprehending criminals."
"And are you really ready to go through with this? It could be dangerous," Frigg measured the companions with a skeptical gaze.
"What's so special about it? We're ready to help our friend, and besides, she wasn't the only one targeted because of these actions," Ragni pouted in displeasure.
"Hmm, then maybe I should tell you everything I know. But you've been living here all this time; what could you possibly know?"
"Ha, why can't I have hobbies like observing what's happening in the country and keeping an eye on suspicious guests?" Freya smirked and playfully nudged her friend, causing her to cough involuntarily. "Do you know something?"
"Not sure, but recently, I've noticed a few unusual trade caravans carrying silks from Leran."
"They often come to us, so what's the big deal?"
"Well, they were heading to the northwest lands for some reason and returned empty-handed."
"What's in that city?" Ragni leaned toward Hilda.
"There are no cities there," the princess shrugged. "Just a dozen small hunter villages. And I doubt anyone there has the means for such merchandise."
"Yeah, unless Hel got a wild idea to completely revamp her wardrobe, I can't think of any reason they would go there. But something else bothers me. The wagons were heavily overloaded, as if they weren't carrying fabrics at all."
"Gold, perhaps?" Freya frowned.
"Looks like it, or maybe weapons. Someone there seems to have gathered an indecent amount of resources, and I wanted to warn you about it, but I couldn't in time," Frigg winced, touching the bandage on her side.
"Do you think the lords of these lands orchestrated the attack?" Grain turned to the Valkyries.
"I would never believe that the old woman Hel would resort to something like this. She would have declared a crusade against demons and charged into the hellish portal instead," Freya chuckled heartily.
"Hmm, you hold her in high regard."
"Of course, she served the great Jarls of Nordrune even during my grandmother's time and never gave any reason to doubt her."
"How old is she?"
"Heh, I think you'll have to meet her in person to understand that. Just be careful; they say she throws herself at every man who sets foot in her lands."
"I'm getting less and less interested in meeting her."
"But you'll have to," Frigg returned to the conversation. "Those who received this payment are currently residing in her lands, and you'll need her help to evict them."
"And who are they?"
"An ancient, albeit not the most honorable clan, whose leader lost his place in the council of lords."
"Please don't tell me that Krig is involved in this."
"I believe I've heard that name before," Asura frowned, recalling unpleasant memories. "A mercenary squad that helped attack my clan, what were they called?"
"The Bear's Paw, once a warrior clan of Nordrune, now just a band of mercenaries."
"And they are hiding in Hel's woods because no one dares to enter there. And she is unlikely to have the strength to drive them out."
"But she's a thane, doesn't she have her own army?"
"Well, she's a bit different... She's her own army and her own commander. If it weren't for the whole Bear's Paw clan, she would deal with them herself, but she's too proud to ask for help. She's too proud for that."
"Finally, we have real suspects. Now we just need to capture them," Hilda grinned, but her mother wasn't as joyous.
"There are many of them, about three thousand hardened thugs. We'll need to gather an army."
"We don't have time for that. We'll try to outwit them, though capturing their leader should be enough."
"I don't want to let you go, but there seems to be no other choice. We can't organize a campaign for your friend's trial."
"We'll manage, but first, Lady Reines, you should examine the injured," Hilda nodded toward Frigg. "You were wounded in the side by one of those poisoned blades, right?"
"Do you know how to cure it?" Helen perked up immediately. "I've tried everything, but my mom isn't getting any better."
"I'll try, but I'm not sure it will work this time," Reines leaned over the patient. "The main thing is to get rid of the source of the infection."
From the claws of the necromancer, a black mist began to descend and seep through the bandages that covered the wound. The sorceress studied the wound for a long time but ended up grimacing in frustration.
"The wound was too close to the heart; I can't simply cut out the infection. We need a mage with strong healing abilities."
"Do you have anyone in mind?" Freya could barely conceal her concern for her friend.
"The only one that comes to mind is the rector, but the Academy is far away, and the poison spreads very quickly."
"Don't worry about me. You must catch Krig, and I will go to your healer," Frigg's voice trembled.
"I'll take her there, and you go to Hel," Freya nodded to her daughter.
"Helen, see the guests off; I want to talk to my old friend."
"Alright," the girl let the travelers go ahead and followed them to where they left the horses.
"She has grown up," Frigg struggled to sit on the bed. "Thank you for taking care of her all this time."
"You know I loved both of my daughters. Maybe we acted too harshly back then."
"Maybe, but Hilda is better at magic than Helen. I believe she would have triumphed in a battle between them."
"But you taught Helen to fight much better; she could have become a wonderful princess too."
"No, she knows nothing about dealing with people, but she will make an excellent warrior. I want you to take care of her when I'm gone."
"Don't be so hasty."
"Ha, whom are you trying to fool? We won't make it to the Academy in time, no matter how fast we go, and I don't want to die such a pathetic death. I would like to cross blades with you one last time, a true fight till the end. Will you grant this last request of your old friend?"
Footsteps were heard in the hallway, and the front door slammed shut.
"Oh... looks like we were overheard..." Freya peeked out the door. "And she took your sword."
"She's a clever girl, although it will be hard for her without me, she'll manage."
"Should I go after her?"
"No, she understands everything and won't cry about not being able to help me. She'll try to seek revenge, so let her stay with her sister."
The warrior slowly made her way to the exit and picked up a small sword from the corner, similar in shape to the Valkyrie's sword but much smaller.
"I once ordered it for my daughter, and now it's the only weapon I have left."
"Are you going to fight me with this trinket?" Freya glanced at the blade disdainfully.
"Why do you always attach too much importance to the size? With this wound, it would be difficult for me to handle a two-handed sword."
The two once best warriors of the North proceeded to the clearing in front of the house. Frigg didn't wear armor, but she skillfully parried the strikes of the chief Valkyrie with ease. They didn't rely on magic, trusting only in their mastery of the sword. However, the wound exhausted the Valkyrie too quickly, and in the end, she missed a strike that pierced her heart.
"Take care of our daughters."