As the Silver Fox was gliding through the dancing waves of the sea, they felt the great winter coming. It wasn't snowing yet, but the temperature was dropping fast and the small puffs of breath coming from their noses and mouths became visible. The children of the North knew this weather well, they had seen many winters come and go.

The cold wind sneaked up under their clothes and crept into their bones. A long and merciless winter was about to come, and they had no time to waste. If the heavy and thick snow clouds descended from the mountains, the snow would completely block their way. Not to mention the ice-floats on the sea.

They needed to get to the mysterious location, find whatever was hidden there, then find a shelter for the winter fast. There they could finally find some rest, plan the next move and gather supplies for the final journey.

The land marked by the map was now in sight, it was only a matter of hours until they reach it. Excitement was touchable in the air as the crew eyed the shores from the distance. The mountains rose so high to the sky that it could have been a fine place for even Asgard. Along the rocky shore, a big forest took place. Its pine trees standing there looked like an army of old men standing straight, still bearing the scars of countless winters and storms.

According to the map they had to march into the forest and follow a small river up to the mountains where a cave hid what they were searching for. After all, what they have been through, the crew finally started to believe again, and they just couldn't wait to set their feet on this new land.

The mood was quite good on the deck, as they were paddling towards the shore. The wind wasn't generous this time. It was blowing the opposite way they needed it, so they had to take the sail down and paddle with great force against the reckless waves. The weather was about to get stormy. Dark clouds were gathering above the sea and the waves got higher each time they collided with the ship's stem.

To pass time the men chatted while Carolus played some of his songs to entertain them. When he ran out of those, he started into funny impersonations of his friends, composing it all into small songs. Most of the crew took it well and laughed heartfeltly at each other.

Except for Olaf, who didn't take the critique quite well. When Carolus sang a little poem about his infamous horse stew, he burst out with pure annoyance in his voice:

"Enough! Why don't you just skip this one and start on someone else?"

„Oh, you don't like the melody of truth in my music?" the skald smote his lyre with a mischievous grin.

„You know, it would hurt less if you hit me with that damned lute instead of playing on it!" the cook teased him back, achieving approving laughs and shouts from his friends.

"Are you assuming that I can't play?" Carolus took up the word fight placing a hand dramatically on his wide chest.

"And that you hit like my mom!" came the final stab from Olaf.

"Haha, I'd pay to see you two fight when we arrive! Both of you hit like an old woman from the town! Also, I wouldn't mind if that lute got hurt during the event." Bjarne joined in laughing.

Friendly duels like this were common among them, especially when they had nothing to do and they wanted to test their strength against each other for fun.

"I'd bet my half arm that these babies couldn't take each other down, but you know, I'm running low on those." came a weak voice from the end of the ship. Every head turned that way, following the voice to its owner, Gunnar. Aside from the fact that he lost his arm, his humour was still quite well. He always loved teasing and mocking the others, and in his short moment of sanity he just couldn't sit this one out. It was good to see him cheerful even if it lasted for a short minute only.

The last day his state didn't get any better, just as they assumed. His wound got inflammated and he got the fever. Small pearls of cold sweat covered his forehead and his entire face. He shivered and felt very hot at the same time. Frode's potions only eased his pain and delayed the inevitable for a few more hours. It was clear that his time was about to come and the valkyries were near to take his soul to Valhalla.

Before anyone else could reply or continue the word fight, Ivar's sharp voice broke the silence as his eagle eyes scanned the horizon and his fingers pointed out to the East:

"I hate being the one to ruin the fun, but we have company! Look, there! I see two ships coming fast after us!"

Egil stood beside the archer and gazed into the direction Ivar pointed. Two ships with sails in the colours of red and yellow.

"Boys, it looks like that pig Ingolf found the way too! They are coming fast, Njord's winds make them fly faster than a hawk. Halfdan! What are our chances? Can we dock before them?"

"No way, Egil! With these waves, it's impossible to maneuver through those rocks! That would instantly end up in a shipwreck, and I ain't breaking this beauty!" the steersman furrowed his brows as he eyed the ground coming closer. He was more worried about his ship than his own life.

"Then my friends, we have no other choice, we fight them here on the sea! Everyone prepare your weapons, it's gonna be like six summers ago with the king's fleet!"

His words were greeted by enthusiastic and cheerful shouts as the sweet old memories came back to the crew's mind.

"Hey! Someone help me up to my feet and hand me my sword! If I have to die, I want to do it with glory, like a real man!" they heard the rusty voice of Gunnar again. He already said his goodbyes to his brothers -mostly cursing and obscene jokes for old times' sakes. He was ready to go.

As Olaf helped him, the others started to put on their armours and searched their trunks for their weapons. The ship was busy with everyone quickly moving around, fixing their helmets and gathering their swords, knives, axes, and shields. Lìfa did the same, while she turned to Thorvald beside her:

"What happened six years ago? I remember the stories about the Thirteens fighting by the king's side, but nothing else."

The big man turned to her with a warm smile while fixing his brinja and placing his steel helmet on his bald head:

"That was our greatest raid! We fought a sea battle against some traitors because the king hired us as mercenaries. It was hell of a fight, but we got the biggest price of all times!"

As she listened, Lìfa's eyes grew wide open in excitement. She had never experienced a sea-fight before, and she couldn't imagine what other takings it could provide than glory.

"What do you think, where did we get the Silver Fox?" a huge hand patted her back with great force. As she looked up, her unmatched eyes met the glare of Halfdan. The sweet memory of getting his beloved ship made him forget his feeling towards the girl for a minute.

"Everyone get ready! They are here! They try to surround the Fox!" Vidar's voice sliced through the air, guiding all their attention to the two knarrs approaching their ship. As she looked around, Lìfa saw them murmuring one last prayer and tightening their grip on their swords.

Lìfa could feel the tension growing bigger with every second as one of the ships sailed closer to them. They were now so close to each other that she could see the mercenaries lining up along the ship, ready to fight. It caught her attention that only the mercenaries' ship was about to collide with them, while the other – probably on which Ingolf was sitting with his most trusted men – was fastly gliding towards the shore.

She didn't have more time to think about this as the first hook was thrown overboard. It was followed by many others, and the enemy was slowly pulling their ship by the ropes closer to the Fox. When there were only inches between the two ships, it all began.

The enemy tried to jump over to the Fox, but in the prow of the ship stood their greatest champion, Thorvald. He unleashed his berserk powers and he was cutting the enemy faster than the lightning above them. By his side stood Sveinn and Bjarne, covering his sides with their shields and fighting off the other enemy warriors.

They couldn't keep their position for long, soon the foe made its way aboard and pushed them back further. A few moments later the whole ship was flooded by Ingolf's men. Suddenly another lightning struck down, followed by a thunder that strong, it seemed like it was about to cut the sky in two. The deafening sound muted every other noise for a second.

Lìfa now found herself in front of a giant man pushing right towards her with his sword raised to strike. Fortunately, a wave shook the ship as the wind was growing wilder, knocking the man off balance. Lìfa took the chance and swung her axe towards the man's ribcage. Her enemy recovered fast and blocked her strike with his shield and at the very same moment, he thrust his sword forward.

Lightning. As the world went completely dark just to light up in a sharp flash again, Lìfa quickly jumped away and took up defending position.

Thunder. The sound of metal clashing against metal and the battlecries went all muffled as the violent roar of the skies ringed in her ear.

Her enemy struck again, this time aiming for her legs. Lìfa hit hard down on his sword with her shield, knocking it off his grip. Then without giving him time to react, she buried her axe in his skull and knocked the body into the cold waves.

Lightning. The lights turn off and then on again.

Thunder. The deafening strike muting everything else around.

The crew still stood their ground, they knocked many warriors off the ship but there were still many to go. Inch by inch, they got pushed back into the farther end of the ship. It didn't help their cause that it suddenly started to rain. The cold water was pouring hard from the sky and the wind was now howling like a mad wolf. The waves were effortlessly throwing both ships back and forth like they were only children's toys.

Among all these noises Lìfa heard something else too. She heard the wicked laughter coming from the sky. She recognised the cold tone immediately. So far her god was mostly helping her out, but now she couldn't see how this storm or war would help their cause. She felt like he did it only for joy, to watch people suffer and to play around with them.

"What do you want from us? What is your damned plan?" Lìfa turned her head angrily to the black clouds. She tried to shout above the voice of the wind, but there was no use. The laughter just intensified as the gods started their tafl game from above.

Before she could shout again, a new enemy made his way to her. She lifted her shield in the last minute to save her arm from being cut down. The enemy's axe sliced through easily the wood of her shield and the man tore it away from her hand, leaving the girl defenceless. Seeing her situation, Olaf helped her out in the fight. He jumped by her side, providing coverage for both of them with his shield.

The mercenary's mouth only pulled into a dirty smile, he didn't mind cutting down two at a time. He struck again, pretending to aim for Lìfa, but in the last moment he changed the direction of his swing and struck down at Olaf. He barely managed to block the hit with his sword and he pushed back the attacker with his shield. At the same moment, Lìfa cut into his calf with her axe, bringing the man to his knees.

Lightning. The man rose again, placing all his weight now on his good leg. He took up defending position as Lìfa and Olaf lunged at him at the same time. Olaf hit him from above, while the girl aimed for his side.

Thunder. As their weapons collided with their target, blood splashed in their faces. Olaf pushed him to the sea with his shield and moved on to his next target, leaving Lìfa alone.

By now most of the mercenaries boarded the Silver Fox and they surrounded the crew. As she looked around searching the constantly moving crowd for her friends, suddenly she felt a strong hit on her head. The helmet took most of the impact, but her head was still hurting like hell, and it sent white stars all over her vision. She quickly turned around raising her axe to defend her torso and she found herself eye to eye with another warrior. He didn't have a shield either, only a long scramasax in his hands.

Using her distraction and pain, he jumped ahead again, trying to stab the girl, but a huge wave shook the ship again, throwing both of them to the deck. Lìfa quickly rolled away with her head still hurting. She grabbed her axe and forced herself to stand up. Her vision was still blurry and she felt pain struck in the scar on her side again.

Lighting. In the second of darkness, she lost track of her enemy. In the white flash, she saw him again lunging toward her with his sword in hand.

Thunder. She tried to back away, but her back bumped against the railing of the ship. She was cornered. She decided not to wait for the man to strike, she lunged forward, swinging her axe towards the man's chest. The man simply jumped to the side avoiding her hit and with his shoulder, he knocked Lìfa off the ship.

As she tripped over the railing, she heard the wicked laughter from above one last time before the black waves swallowed her...

A/N:
Hi guys! Sorry for taking this chapter for so long, I was busy with university. I'll try to write chapters more often again! I hope this chapter will make up for the waiting since we are at the finish line! Soon Book One will end, I hope you liked it so far!
Thank you for reading, I love you all! 💙