Bjorn grumbled after spending hours poking around the village. The Skardians living there had turned out to be quite welcoming. Some even offered him a room for the day and to feed him. ‘There’s nothing to find here. The elves have definitely left.’
Bjorn stood in the elven temple, looking at the carved faces of their gods on the wall. A wave of disgust ran through his mind as he glared at them. ‘How can any Skardian accept these gods into their lives.’ He trembled at the thought.
Voices yelled outside as Bjorn exited the temple. Ania and Fjora rode at the head of three hundred warriors belonging to Fenrir as they entered the village. The villagers that were not out hunting gathered around and stared at the gleaming metal.
“What’s the situation, Bjorn?” Ania asked as she jumped off her horse and removed her helm.
“There are no elves here, Princess Ania,” Bjorn stated, using her royal title to help the villagers understand the situation. “As you can see, these people worship elven gods. So they’ve been here at some point.”
Ania glanced around at those gathered with a cold gaze. “Is there anyone here that can speak for the whole village?”
Eventually, an old woman stepped forward. Ania noticed the look in the eyes of the others and decided she did not like it. ‘These people are ready to fight.’ Ania frowned as she looked at the determined gaze of the village elder.
“Where did the elves go?” Ania asked as she approached the elder.
“Lafertia has gone home.” The elder replied while gazing beyond Ania to the warriors. “She has done nothing wrong. Why do you hunt her?”
“Lafertia?” Ania hummed. “This elf has turned good Skardians away from the gods they should believe in. Skardian gods, with Skardian interests in mind. Do you have any idea what’s been happening in the South? Of the Sommerdan invasion and the gods that stood beside us?”
“Gods that stood beside you, you mean.” The elder chuckled. “Lafertia and her gods were the ones who stood by us. They saved us from starvation! They are the gods who are really looking out for us!”
“You are mistaken. Lord Exile watches over all of Skardia!” Ania rebuked as her face turned red.
“I have heard of this god called Exile. What has he ever done for us? Do you know, this village was plagued by terrible visions? We know there’s a goddess that stands by Exile’s side that is capable of that.” The elder glared at Ania. “The elves saved us from that. Can you tell me that your god is not responsible for our suffering?”
Ania went silent as her hand came up to her throat where Exile’s symbol hung. ‘Exile would never do that to our people. It has to be the elves. But how do I make them see sense? Exile, please help me. I don’t want to have to kill a whole village because they’ve been misguided.’
Ania sighed as she tried to think of a way to make the villagers see reason. The atmosphere grew tense as she saw some of her warriors spreading out with their hands on the handles of their weapons.
“Well, it seems I’ve stumbled into something here.” An old man called out as he stepped out from the crowd wrapped in a grey cloak. His dirty grey hair and beard reached his chest as he lowered his hood.
Ania noticed the villagers looking at him with suspicion and curiosity. It seemed to her, that none of them recognised the man.
“Sir, if you’re just passing through here then I would ask you to stand behind my men. For your own safety.” Ania called out, grateful that there was at least one life there she could spare.
“Oh no, don’t mind me. It’s just, the way I see it, things are going to get messy here because of what the elder spoke about.” The old man replied as he walked forward while grasping a walking staff in his left hand. “My name’s Skalr. I travel these lands healing the sick and finding the reason behind strange events. It seems to me if you find the elves or evidence of what caused the illusions then all of this can be resolved without bloodshed.” ｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏ𝚖
Ania cocked her eyebrow at the old man. “If we could do that then we would. But Bjorn here says there’s no sign of the elves or anything else suspicious we can make use of.”
“Oh, but if gods or elven magic is at work, how would you find it?” Skalr replied with a slight chuckle.
“Are you saying you know a way?” Bjorn asked as he stepped forward. He eyed the old man with curiosity.
“The answer is quite simple. Use the old words.” Skalr replied while nodding his head.
“There’s no one alive who knows the old words.” Bjorn sighed as he glanced at Ania. “I’m afraid this old man may be touched in the head.”
“Oh, but Bjorn, the old words still exist. Just because you don’t know them, that doesn’t mean there aren’t those of us who have handed them down.” Skalr chuckled as he turned his gaze to Ania. “I can help you, Princess. If you let me.”
Ania stood there quietly. When she glanced at Bjorn she noticed some excitement in his eyes as he stared at Skalr.
“Bjorn, what are your thoughts on this?” Ania asked.
“If Skalr is capable of using the old words then we should let him. Especially if it proves these allegations against Exile to be false.” Bjorn hurriedly said as he kept his eyes on Skalr. “If it proves to be a success, then I’d like to learn from Skalr if he were willing to teach the old ways.”
“What say you, Skalr? Will you lend us your aid and teach Bjorn your ways?” Ania asked after hesitating for several moments.
“I am happy to be of service.” Skalr bowed his head as he glanced at the villagers. “It would be my honour to help spread the old words again. Skardia has gone too long without this knowledge.”
“Very well,” Ania replied as she whistled three of her warriors over. “These three will guard you to make sure nothing happens. Everyone here is invited to join our investigation. So you know the truth. Is that acceptable?”
The elder nodded as she met Ania’s gaze. Ania could only stare at Skalr and hope he spoke the truth. She did not know what the old words were, but she trusted Bjorn’s judgement.
“Please, Skalr, let us begin. I’d appreciate it if you explained what you are doing as we go.” Bjorn said with a grin as he stood next to Skalr.
Skalr chuckled as he pulled several smooth stones from a pocket inside his cloak. He used a clean knife to score a symbol on the stone with a smile. He handed the stone to Bjorn and told him it was the old word for discovery. Skalr lowered his voice as he explained how to use it.
Ania’s curiosity was piqued as Skalr led everyone inside the elven temple. When everyone was gathered, Skalr held up his hands for silence.
“Usually I start in the most suspicious place. This temple is unusual for two reasons. The first is that it doesn’t belong to Skardian gods.” Skalr began as the villagers cried in outrage. “The second being that I can tell houses used to sit on this land.”
“Well, that’s nothing!” The village elder cried out. “Exile had this land cursed! It’s where the visions started! We had to rip down the homes and build the temple here so the elven gods could suppress the curse!”
“Is that so?” Skalr asked with a slight smile. “Bjorn, would you do the honours?”
Bjorn glanced at the small stone in his hand dubiously before glancing at Ania. It was clear to her that Bjorn seemed to want to convey his concerns that things could get ugly either way. Ania nodded to him as she prepared herself to give the order to attack if the villagers went out of control. No matter what might happen.
Bjorn whispered a few words before placing the stone on the temple floor. Ania groaned as nothing happened. Several moments passed and everyone’s gaze turned to Skalr. Even Bjorn wore a disappointed expression as he stared at the elderly man. ‘I knew it was too good to be true. The old words are lost forever. It would have been nice if he were telling the truth.’
Suddenly, the stone lit up with a dull golden light. The stone pulsed and washed over the temple and the people inside of it. Bjorn’s eyes went wide as he stared at that strange event. ‘It can’t be! Skalr was telling the truth!’ Bjorn’s mind raced as he tried to imagine the future of Skardia with the return of this knowledge. He looked at Skalr as if he were the greatest treasure in the world!
A circular area of the floor suddenly disappeared, revealing a tunnel that ran underneath the temple. Shocked gasps sounded in the temple as everyone looked at Skalr in awe.
“What kind of magic is this?” The village elder asked as she chewed on her lower lip.
“This is old magic. It’s called a runestone. We carve the language of the gods on these stones and miracles happen.” Skalr chuckled as he picked up the stone now that its job was done. “I’m Skalr, the last Runelord.”
Bjorn’s eyes went wide as he stared at the old man in shock. Even Fjora revealed a deep frown as Ania just looked confused.
“What, exactly, is a Runelord?” Ania asked while looking at Bjorn for an answer.
