Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Hrym took in the surroundings, his gaze lazily drifting across the room until it settled on Balder. For a few seconds, he squinted as if unsure, then a slow, knowing grin spread across his face.
Without hesitation, he sat up, paying little attention to the woman whose head slipped from his arm onto the mattress. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, naked and unashamed, before stepping forward and embracing his brother, who found the situation awkward, since Hrym was still naked, but Balder returned the hug after a moment.
“So, I take it he truly is your brother?” the lord asked, his voice calm but tinged with mild disapproval. He barely acknowledged the woman stirring in the bed, her expression shifting from drowsiness to dawning realization.
“Yeah, he’s my brother”, Hrym answered happily.
“Since when have you been here?”, Hrym asked, still grinning.
Balder took a moment to answer while looking at his brother. As children the two of them had always looked similar in appearance despite having different mothers, so much so that their father had problems with telling them apart, but now their contrast was apparent.
While Balder liked to keep at least a short beard, his brothers face was shaven clean, which was untypical for a northerner. His brown, well kempt hair on the other hand was reaching up to his shoulders, which was untypical for a northerner as well, as it was hindering in combat. Not that it mattered for Hrym, since his muscles, which he had gotten throughout many years of constant training with the sword had almost fully disappeared, making it apparent, that it had been a while since he had last seen combat.
“Is everything alright?”, Hrym asked after a moment, his smile faltering slightly.
Balder smirked: “You reek of sweat.”
“You don't exactly have the nicest scent either”, Hrym answered chuckling, “So, tell me what had happened to you these last few months?”
Before Balder could respond, a sharp gasp filled the room. The blonde woman had fully woken and was staring frantically around the chamber, her wide eyes locking onto the lord standing nearby.
“Father?!”, she exclaimed in alarm.
Hrym sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He then walked over to a nearby closet and grabbed some clothes out of it before dragging his confused brother out of the room, slamming the door behind them just as the lord began scolding the woman.
They walked briskly down the corridor, Balder watching silently as his brother fumbled to dress himself on the move. The two of them entered a large chamber: the conference hall.
Inside of the big room stood a roundtable with enough space for thirty people, which was usually filled with the thirty most powerful counts, barons and mayors within the territory, but the dusty condition of the room made it clear that it had been a while since it had been used.
They now stepped over the red carpet, filling out the entire floor, while Balder closely examined the paintings on the wall. Balder noticed, that some of the paintings had been taken down, since he had last seen the room, but for now he had more pressing issues.
Hrym seated himself and gestured for Balder to do the same.
“What is all of this about?”, Balder asked, suspicion creeping into his tone.
“Has no one told you anything?”, Hrym responded.
“Not much”, Balder answered.
“Then I probably owe you an explanation”, Hrym said.
Balder nodded while looking at his brother with ever-growing suspicion. The moment of joy about him being alive had quickly vanished, as Hrym was almost looking like an imperial though to his clean-shaven face, long hair and even the clothes he had just picked.
“I didn’t submit, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Hrym added quickly.
“What do the imperials do here then?”, Balder asked.
“We made a deal”, Hrym explained, “The imperials showed up with an army and started a siege a while back.”
“And they won?”, Balder asked further.
“No,” Hrym clarified, pride evident in his tone. “There was barely any fighting. They just ensured no one left or entered the fortress. But I never surrendered.”
“How did they get in here then?”, Balder asked again, more annoyed this time.
“It’s just that... after I heard that father was killed at Csata I didn’t see a point in continuing on”, he explained.
“And then you surrendered?”, Balder asked who was starting to get angry by now.
“No, I negotiated”, Hrym corrected.
“How did these ‘negotiations’ turn out?”, Balder asked again.
Hrym stood up and walked towards the other side of the table, where he picked up a singular sheet of paper, which Balder had failed to notice so far. Hrym now walked back to his brother and handed it to his brother with the words: “You can read, right?”
Balder nodded but still looked at his brother confused who then added: “the imperials like to do everything very formal.”
Balder started reading what was written on the sheet, which's contents were the following:
136th moon cycle of the 2156th Year after the foundation of the Empire
With the signing of the following paper do the two contractors Adair Tarto and Hrym Bjornson agree to the following terms in exchange for an immediate ceasefire:
- Hrym Bjornson recognizes Adair Tarto as his overlord and will reintegrate Orcs end into the provinces administrative structure
2. Adair Tarto gives up all claims he has to Orcs end and will permanently cease the fortress to Hrym Bjornson and his descendants
3. Hrym Bjornson will be named as the heir to all territories controlled by the Tarto family as long as he agrees to remain an imperial vassal
4. Hrym Bjornson agrees to take Edyna Tarto as his first wife and not to take a second before an heir has been born
5. All men and women, currently under Hrym Bjornson’s command will be recognized as imperial citizens
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
6. The worship of both Emberi and Haburo will remain permanently legal in the province
At the bottom of the page were two red stamps: one was the banner of the family Tarto, while the other was the head of a wolf.
“We didn’t have one yet, so I just picked one”, Hrym quickly added.
Balder continued scanning the parchment, struggling to believe what he was reading.
“What do you think of it?”, Hrym asked cautiously.
Balder stared for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. His brother looked at him confused.
“I assume, that the man who questioned me is Adair Tarto right?”, Balder asked, to which his brother nodded, “I thought he looked smart, apparently I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”, Hrym asked.
“He doesn’t get anything from this deal. The only concession you have to do is paying lip service to the emperor”, Balder explained, “Let's be honest: the local lords have just been doing whatever they want for decades, as the emperor has no way to enforce his will on them.”
Hrym studied Balder’s expression carefully, his smile tinged with uncertainty: "I thought you'd be mad about this."
“For what? Stealing the little territory the Tartos still hold? Or for fucking his daughter? You even inherit his army once he’s dead. You did everything right”, Balder said proudly.
“I guess, if you put it like that your right”, Hrym admitted, “but many of our people don’t see it this way.”
Balder’s smirk faded: "With Ivarr dead, you're the leader now. You decide where we go from here."
Hrym smiled slightly and then began to speak quickly: “...Now you know what I’ve been doing for the last few months, but you still haven't told me what happened to you. The last information I got was that you took father’s ashes after Csata and left with a part of Ivarr’s army.”
Balder didn’t answer, instead he looked at his brother in shock and began breathing heavily. How could he have forgotten? He had promised that he would bring the ashes north, but as of now he didn’t even know if they were still there.
“W-Where are my things?”, the words stumbled out of him.
“What?”, Hrym asked in confusion.
“The things of the captured prisoners where are they?”, Balder asked again, more pressuring this time.
“In the storage rooms in the basement I think”, Hrym replied hesitantly.
Balder bolted out of the room, his brother scrambling to follow. He charged down the corridor, past the elaborate paintings that adorned the walls, and descended the staircase. The guards attempted to halt him, but Hrym raised a hand, signaling them to let him pass.
At the bottom of the stairs, Balder turned frantically to Hrym, searching for direction. His brother pointed to the left.
Balder wasted no time. He shoved open the door and sprinted down another set of stairs. At the base lay a vast storeroom, barrels and crates stacked in towering rows along the back wall. At the front of the room was a table on which 2 people sat, while a third one was bringing them a few things from a nearby chest.
On the table now lay a few weapons, armour pieces, scrolls and various other things. One of the men was inspecting a sword: “Note: Number 117, northern standard sword, medium quality, pure steel, no rust, reusable.”
The other man was writing these things down, as Balder rushed past him.
“H-hello”, the man said happily.
Balder turned around and looked straight at the man: it was Felem.
“Are my things in this chest?”, Balder asked expressionlessly.
Felem swallowed and nodded: "Y-Yes."
Balder stormed to the chest, fell to his knees before it and began digging through its contents.
"It has to be here," he murmured.
His hands finally found the familiar linen sack, pulling it free. But the weight was wrong. It was too light. His heart pounded as he realized, the top hadn't been properly sealed.
Balder carefully placed the sack next to himself and then just started to throw things out of the box in hope of finding the missing mass, while lonely tears of both anger and sadness started running down his face.
Hrym lay a hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to calm him, but Balder instead took one hand away from the chest and started hitting his own leg.
“I only had one task, one fucking task”, Balder said, “I promised it to him.”
Hrym straightened, addressing one of the men nearby. "You. Empty this chest and put every grain of ash into this sack."
The man looked at him confused for a moment, then he started to carefully walk towards them, but Balder refused to give him the sack.
“Listen Balder: I promise you that Its going to be taken care of”, Hrym tried to calm him, “You did all you could. How about I order the servants to fill a bathtub for you, and I stay here and make sure that nothing gets lost.”
Balder stared at him, his breathing uneven. Then, slowly, he nodded. "I think... I’d like that."
Hrym slowly took the sack out of Balders hand, then he looked towards Felem: “Tell the servants to fill the bathtub... the big one.”
Felem nodded quickly before rushing up the stairs.
“You know where it is right?”, Hrym asked Balder while again laying a hand on his shoulder, Balder nodded.
Balder now slowly walked towards the stairs again, but just before he reached them, he turned around: “One more thing, the people I came here with-”
“They will be freed before the night is over”, Hrym interrupted him with a smile on his face, “go take your bath.”
Balder walked up the two sets of stairs, then along the corridor. He knew exactly where the baths were.
he moment he entered, the warm air enveloped him, thick with steam. The marble walls gleamed faintly in the flickering candlelight, and at the back of the room stretched the enormous, stone-carved tub, filled with hot water. Other than that, the room was empty with the exception of two wooden buckets, which the servants had used to transport the water up here, one of which was still full.
He undressed, but before entering the tub, he walked over to the full bucket and poured the water over his head, as his body was still very dirty and he didn’t want too much of that filth swimming in the tub with him.
He now entered the tub. Out of all the things he lacked in the field compared to living in a castle, this was what he had missed the most. When laying in this tub, it was as if all pain, both emotional and physical, that he had accumulated over the past few months had just gone away, never to return.
Balder closed his eyes and listened to the few sounds that were there. He felt like he could just fall asleep right here. He slowly led his hand through his short, brown hair and beard. He could feel the dirt falling out of it, but he didn’t care.
Suddenly he heard the door open, and he opened his eyes. Hrym had entered the room and was now sitting at the edge of the tub.
“It’s done”, He said and offered Balder the sack.
“Give it to me later”, Balder said and closed his eyes again.
“I would have sent you a maid or two to this room, but we lack unmarried women in this department or any for that matter”, Hrym said.
Balder arched a brow: "Since when does that matter?"
Hrym grinned, and Balder chuckled.
“Women aren’t the most important of my concerns though”, Balder said.
“Come on, don’t say you’re not at least a bit interested”, Hrym said.
“Why are there to few women?”, Balder said, quickly changing the topic, “These are war times, shouldn’t there be an overflow of women compared to men?”
“Our people didn’t bring any and as for the imperials let's just say, that the orcs had a field day, while most men were out on the field fighting our father instead of protecting their cities”, Hrym explained bluntly, “but if you really need one, I’m sure we find an imperial, who could pass for one, if we make him wear a skirt.”
Balder laughed: “You aren’t just here to talk about that kind of stuff though, right?”
Hrym’s smile instantly disappeared: “You’re right... you’re planning to head back north with some of the men, aren’t you?”
Balder nodded: “I made a promise.”
“Listen... I am glad, that you like the treaty I signed, but the truth is I wasn’t planning to continue fighting for too much longer anyway”, Hrym revealed hesitantly.
Balder frowned: "What do you mean?"
“The truth is, I don’t think, that there is a point in continuing the fight. Let’s be realistic: Even if we would somehow manage to kill all Orcs in the province humanity would survive another twenty years in the best case. This isn’t something we can win”, Hrym said.
Balder wasn’t sure how to respond to this but he had to say something: “then why are you still doing this all?”
Hrym smiled a bit again: “I have all the food and acohol I could ever ask for and a beautiful fiancé, which hates me, but is still ready to do whatever I say. The truth is I want to live my remaining, short life in peace and I would like you to be there.”
“Why?”, Balder asked, not sure what to think of it.
“You’re my brother... but you’re also a friend, the best one I’ve ever had”, he answered, “look I can give you everything here, I even let you pick a wife and get rid of her husband for you... please Balder, I don’t want you to die alone in the dead land, live your life good and when the walls finally fall we can still fight to the death and make our god proud.”
Balder still wasn’t sure what to say about this. Was he angry? Sad? He couldn’t form words nor thoughts; he just looked at Hrym.
Hrym stood up: "You don’t have to decide now. Just think about it."
Then he left, leaving Balder alone once more.