Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons 279 CCLXXIX. Apologize

...

The Sun began to make its way through the leaves of the large trees of the Runar Forest, partially illuminating the soil and the undergrowth, in which its inhabitants awoke for a new day.

A sudden noise coming from a bush near his hideout caused Dag to wake up, opening his eyes wide and sitting, resting his hands on his weapons, ready to pull them out despite still being sleepy.

The bushes and branches continued to move, causing a group of squirrels hidden inside of them to escape, and dangling after acknowledging rumors, Dag calmed down, resting his back against the rock face.

"In my opinion, we are not far away, his footprints lead to... Oh! Here he is! Captain!" Reidar exclaimed, who made his way through the thick vegetation, followed by Gridd, whose eyes twinkled with happiness after seeing his brother, safe and sound.

"Hello, guys..." Dag said, scratching his head and discovering with surprise that he no longer had the two horns.

"Dag, you're fine! Your face and eyes... it all seems normal! How do you feel?" Gridd asked, moving Reidar and leaning down towards Dag, stroking his face.

"Uhm... Yes. I think so" Dag replied, continuing to scratch his head and starting to breathe slowly again, warning that even the capacity of his lungs had diminished, after returning to his human form.

"Captain, what happened to you is incredible! Karl and I believed your body wouldn't be able to hold so much energy!" Reidar replied, staring at Dag, relieved he was fine.

"I had no choice... we wouldn't have been able to face Roar and Freydis otherwise. It was the only solution that crossed my mind. But I risked harming everyone, I felt deep anger, as well as an uncontrollable hunger... I was forced to run away from Skjegg... rather, tell me, how is Freydis?" he asked, recalling that he had ripped a piece of flesh out of her neck.

"Freydis is fine, brother, don't worry. Everybody's fine. Thanks to Karl and Ellen's care, their wounds will be fully healed at this point. We don't know anything else, Reidar and I spent the night looking for you in the woods" Gridd added, stretching her arms upwards and sighing deeply.

"I think because of me, the Crows Of Odin won't want to be part of the Iron Alliance anymore... who would choose to put their people constantly in danger?" Dag said, looking down. 

"There's only one way to find it out. Come on, let's go back to Skjegg and get on the Rocky Crown. Once we get there, we'll figure out what to do" Gridd continued, helping his brother to get up from the ground.

The three companions walked through the dense vegetation of that stretch of the forest until they found a path leading to the crossroad just outside Skjegg.

To his astonishment, Dag noticed that he had not actually traveled much, even though he had strayed several miles into his mind. 

When they arrived in front of the city's entrance gallery, the guards let them pass them without questions. 

With no hesitation, they climbed the walls through the huge wooden elevators.

Dag felt a strange sensation, as if he sensed deeply guilty, despite having managed with his only strength to eliminate the threat, killing Roar and saving Freydis, who continued to float in his mind. 

At the top of the Rocky Crown, a group of warriors carried wheelbarrows containing boulders and wooden beams, as well as other tools, such as hammers, ropes, and more. 

The three of them got out of the elevator, making room for the warriors in front of them, who, in all likelihood, lead to the Altar of the Raven's Square, to repair the damage caused the day before.

"Well, let's say that... the issue of the square, also called 'the holiest place in the city', may be the only major problem, since we fought among its walls without thinking about the consequences..." Gridd thought aloud, looking at those people with tools and making Dag think about that particular.

The path engraved on the top of the mountain led them to the Masters' palace, where their allies, including Karl and Freydis, who for obvious reasons had not gone deep with them into the forest, were supposed to be.

Before they entered the gray brick building, someone walked out the door at a brisk pace.

Sander, seeing them arrive towards his palace, rushed to welcome them.

"Master Dag... the only thing I wish to say is that... I'm really happy that you're okay" he exclaimed, slightly bowing his head, as his thick black beard curled under his chin, skimming his abundant belly. 

"Thank you, Master Sander. I too feared I wouldn't make it. Anyway, I owe you and your colleagues my humble apologies. After absorbing Roar's powers, something changed within me and an animal instinct took over my human consciousness. I know it's not a valid justification, but just remember that when I tried to attack you, I wasn't able to control my actions" Dag replied, bowing in turn and trying to be as polite as possible, acknowledging that he was not the one who could dictate rules there, despite being the Iron Alliance Warchief.

"For a moment, yesterday I thought you were going to kill me and steal my emblem, kid!" exclaimed Kjell, joining the conversation, walking slowly out the door, his face smiling but tired after the battle.

A bandage of white fabric covered his forehead, from which he had lost a lot of blood after Roar's frame.

"I apologize to all of you, but especially to you, Master Kjell. In those moments, losing control, I wasn't even aware of fighting you. In my vision, you were just another obstacle between me and my prey. It was disgusting, believe me" Dag continued, feeling a strong sense of shame.

Chapter end