Viking Rune Smith 2 by Michael-Scott Earle

Author:Michael-Scott Earle
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Michael-Scott Earle
Published: 2021-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

“We’l blend in better, though,” I pointed out. “And these hides are warmer than ours were.”

“They’l serve us wel on the coast,” Vegvisir agreed. “The wind bites something fierce out there.”

Eir didn’t look convinced. “To wear the hides of an enemy clan is one of the most humiliating punishments a Farthegn can endure.”

“Don’t think of it as a punishment,” I said while I mounted up.

“Think of it as a trophy you earned off the backs of our slaughtered enemies.”

My wife raised her brow at the notion, and it seemed to ease her conscience a little. She looked less disgusted by her shaggy white coat as she climbed up onto Dyggur’s back, and the effect of the blotched fur was instantaneous. Our brown beasts stil stood out, but the change in furs did a lot to make us less immediately visible.

We left our campsite behind and descended the slope, and we were able to keep up a steady canter through the mountains from there on out. It was another frigid day, but the snowfal had let up for now, and working our way through the ravines gave us some cover from the chil ing wind. I could already smel the brine in the air, and the dampness of the cold felt so familiar that my veins buzzed impatiently as we neared the western coast.

I focused on studying the changing scenery as we went, and it was pretty early into the trek that I realized why Vegvisir wanted us to travel along the coast for the next leg of this trip. For starters, the snow at lower elevations was littered with more animal tracks than I could keep tabs on, and I noted several bloody carcasses that looked like they’d been hunted just last night. The carrion was being picked over now by scabby, hairless badgers who hissed every time we passed, but these were only one of the new species I got a glimpse of.

The animals that concerned me more seemed to make up a larger percent of the population in this range. We passed over three dozen of their dens and burrows within only a few miles, and al of them were occupied by droves of pissed off porcupine-looking guys, but this comparison only worked because they had quil s.

Beyond that, the similarities ended.

These creatures were as black as the trees, and while their quil s covered the entire expanse of their pel ety bodies, they were forward-facing and tipped with poison. They were also ornery as shit, and every den we passed brought a flock of the prickly bastards rol ing down the sides of the ravines like growling wrecking bal s.

This would’ve been less startling if they were smal er, but the creatures were as tal as my legs were long.

According to Vegvisir, they were cal ed athrada, and they were delicious if you could kil them before their quil s kil ed you.

We ended up taking our route in gal oping bursts whenever another drove of athrada

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.