“Hah! What do you think, Jarl Harik? We dealt a great blow to those invaders!” Thovok suddenly yelled as he walked out from behind a boulder.
The sudden yelling startled them. There had been no warning of his approach. Even Skovi stared at the dwarf in surprise. Thovok revealed a gleeful expression as he glanced at them.
“What do you expect? I’m a dwarf in the mountains! Of course, I know how to move about undetected!” Thovok burst out into laughter.
However, before Harik could say anything about it, Thovok moved closer as more dwarves in shining armour marched in among them. Harik’s eyes went wide. There were only fifty of them, but the fact they had come so close without anyone noticing sent a chill down his spine. ‘How many times have we been in the mountains? And how many of those times could a dwarf have been this close to us without our noticing?’
It gave Harik a headache to think about it. But Ania stepped forward and gracefully thanked the dwarves for their aid. This seemed to please the dwarven warriors who had come with Thovok. Harik could only frown at that sight. He would never have openly made it clear that they needed them. This was to preserve Skardian honour. However, his daughter had thrown away all pretences when dealing with that situation and seemed to win their ally’s approval.
“No need to humble yourself too much, Lady Ania. You are Exile’s head oracle, after all. We understand the greatness of your position, but we thank you nonetheless.” Thovok nodded with embarrassment. “Now, should we discuss the defence of this mountain?”
Harik nodded as he called the warriors who would be the Captains to a meeting. It seemed like the new dwarves served a similar role in their army. Food and alcohol were served to them as they took their seats in a circle, on rocks or anything else nearby. The rest of the Skardian force began to pile rocks and such on the path to make a loose makeshift wall.
“Hm, first, we should understand what numbers we have to work with. We have seven hundred warriors. Gathered from Eraldsfen, Korden, and a few surrounding villages that have accepted me as their new Jarl of Yugrund. Unfortunately, the war has taken a toll on the number of Skardians in my territory that are fit for war.” Harik decided to lay everything on the table. Being open and honest with the dwarves was for the best, so they fully understood the situation.
Thovok clicked his tongue as he stroked his beard. “Seven hundred you say?”
Harik felt his heart sink when he heard the tone of Thovok’s voice. It was as if the dwarf was disappointed. “It was the best we could manage. If this problem had not come for a few more months, we could have gathered more.”
“Ah, no. I’m not disappointed in how many men you brought, Jarl Harik. I know your situation quite well. We are here to do Exile’s work, so what you can contribute does not matter as long as you have done the best you can.” Thovok paused as he turned and nodded to one of the dwarven Captains who disappeared into the mountains. “I’m just disappointed that much of our dwarven steel will go to waste.”
Harik cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but Thovok held up a hand to keep him silent. The group waited, and eventually, they heard the bleating of goats. This caused more confusion until the captain returned with a herd of goats and more dwarves. Between them, they were carrying platforms stacked with dwarven weaponry!
“This is a gift from my king. Dwarven swords, spears, axes, hammers, and shields. Enough to arm two thousand Skardians. I guess the rest will have to wait until you can establish a larger force, Jarl Harik.” Thovok grinned madly as the Skardians halted their work to gather excitedly around the gleaming gifts.
“Thovok… I gratefully accept these gifts.” Harik bowed his head after examing the weaponry. The craftsmanship of them went beyond anything they had ever seen.
“It is nothing.” Thovok smiled. “Just a mere token of our sincerity towards our alliance in the name of Exile.”
Harik grimaced as he heard that. ‘A mere token he says… We could never match something like this and call it a token lightly. This is extravagance. No Jarl or even king could arm their warriors in such finery without bleeding their treasuries dry and it would still not be enough.’
“One more thing. You left Eraldsfen before everything was ready. But I sent someone to pick it up.” Thovok snapped his fingers and four wrapped bundles were taken from a goat. A dwarf quickly handed one of these to Harik before stepping back beside Thovok.
“What is this?” Harik frowned.
“I mentioned it when Exile was among us. This is the King’s armour and sword. Crafted for you alone.” Thovok nodded with a gleam in his eye.
“But, I’m not a king.”
“Yet. But we will help to make it so. It is Exile’s wish for you to rule Skardia, and our king agrees. It will only make our alliance stronger if Skardia is united.” Thovok chuckled.
Harik did not know what to say as he unwrapped the package to reveal what was inside. A golden scalemail shirt, trousers, boots, and gauntlets lay within. A fine fur coat, cloak and decorative items accompanied them. It was clearly made in the Skardian style, and the furs and leathers that would go over the armour would dull the amount of gold that could be seen. It gave an air of authority and grandeur.
That was when he saw the helmet. Golden, with fur in-lining. A golden ridge ran down the outer centre of it, engraved with Skardian designs. At the rear, the ridge connected to a white wolf tail that had been added as a decorative item. While the area that would sit over his brow depicted the emblem of the Ragnarok Pantheon that Exile wore on his chest.
Harik almost did not want to wear it. He could only imagine how much it would cost to ask for such a personal piece crafted by the dwarves. There was also a golden round shield with silver embellishments and a long sword sheathed in fine leather with golden metal designs. He held his breath as he drew the blade. It was simple steel. Or so he thought at first glance. But when he turned it in certain ways, there was also gold to be seen.
“What is this made of?” He could not help but ask.
“Royal steel. I can’t say more than that. Dwarven secrets and all. But I guarantee it’s stronger than anything that humans can make.” Thovok chuckled at the look in Harik’s eyes.
“And what of those?” Harik pointed at the other packages with his blade.
“Ah, now these…” Thovok snapped his fingers again, and the dwarf handed one to Bjorn and another to Ania. Before stepping back while holding the last package.
Harik turned a curious look towards Bjorn as he opened his package first. A black coat was the first item that could be seen. But it was not just a coat. It had squares of black metal attached to the outside to act as armour. As he held it up, the length of it reached down to his knees. Beneath that was a pair of black fur boots, housing the same black metal to protect the top of the foot and shin.
Bjorn burst out laughing when he discovered the helmet that had been crafted for him. It was a full helmet, but the faceguard had been crafted to look like a bear growling. He understood that the dwarves had taken inspiration from Skourj when crafting it. A two-handed war hammer was also counted among his gifts. The shaft depicted images of a man fighting with a great bear. While the flat parts of the hammer’s head that would be used to strike, his enemies had been shaped into giant bear paws, complete with claws.
“Considering the gifts that Exile gave you for defeating Skourj, we thought a shield would be wasted on you now. But it doesn’t hurt to have a bit more armour.” Thovok chuckled when he saw how delighted Bjorn was.
All eyes turned to Ania at that point. Her armour was of silver scalemail. The shirt reached to the knees and was slim fitting. An embroidered leather belt would be used to tighten it to her waist. Scale trousers, boots and gauntlets completed the set with white furs and leather to be worn over the top. Her own helmet matched the same colour scheme, but hers came with metal wings on either side of her head.
She smiled at the design, even if she would have preferred a wolf one as well. The silver round shield crafted for her was engraved with Skardian designs and even had wings coming from its centre to protrude from the sides. ‘They’re sharp, I can use them to slash at my opponent.’．
However, it was the spear that caught her attention. White and silver metals wrapped around each other to form the shaft. All the way up to the tip, which the dwarves had fashioned into a sharp feather to add some grandeur to it. Ania could not help but shoot a questioning look towards Thovok, seeking an explanation for the design choice of her armour.
The dwarf laughed as a gleam appeared in his eyes. He knew exactly what she was asking with that look. “The kingdoms of the gods are in the heavens, right? So, only winged creatures can get the closest to the gods here in our world. I think it’s very fitting for you. Don’t you?”