Hornfoots (2)

"Wo, wo, wo!"

Blake heard a groan from behind him as he carved an arrow, for his bow arrows were larger than normal, and he had expended almost all of them while hunting.

He left the tent and returned shortly after with a sheep.

"Beee."

Blake tied the ewe's legs together, laid her down, revealing her udders, and carried the little gray-furred pup, who, when placed in front of the udders, crawled awkwardly up to bite one and suck milk.

"You seem to attract to yourself strange and dangerous things, boy."

Blake on this occasion was in Oswin's tent, which was the largest of the group, and where he could best attend to the puppy.

"Beeee, Beeee!"

The sheep didn't look at all happy with the she-wolf, but Blake had tied her up nicely, so she wouldn't be able to move.

"The sheep is so scared it might die, that beast will cause us a lot of trouble if you bring it with us, it would have been better if you had killed it along with its mother."

Oswin, lying in the hammock of his tent while biting into a piece of roasted onion, continued to say as he watched the sheep tremble.

Blake continued to carve arrows as the she-wolf ate but paused briefly listening to Oswin's words.

"Everything told her to die... But before all odds the she-wolf fought for her life, if she can't stand the journey and dies, so be it, but it won't be by my hands."

Oswin looked at his son's back for a long time without responding, many said his son was a monster, but he better than anyone knew Blake's true nature. The black axe tribe was already large enough, in fact, having more people at this point would only bring internal problems, but Blake kept insisting that he gather as many men as possible, and he was doing so, rather than for profit it was to keep the others from killing them.

"If she survives, I hope you can keep her under control, wolves aren't like dogs, you can never really tame them."

Blake shrugged.

"Just like free folk, but we still managed to get them to obey us."

Oswin bared his teeth with a grin.

They had arrived at the Hornfoots' settlement at a great time, as they had had a lot of trouble this winter.

The Hornfoots had been harassed by a pack of Direwolf all winter, they were killing hunters, eating sheep, and had recently devoured an entire family.

With these Direwolf pestering, many of the Hornfoots' resources had been consumed, which facilitated the arrival of the caravan.

They brought not only the bodies of the Direwolf that had caused them so much trouble but also food.

The leader of the Hornfoots, an old man with a thick white beard, welcomed them with honors for bringing so many good things in the middle of winter.

Winter meant death, and yet one tribe was willing to exchange food, something that only showed the enormous power they controlled.

Due to the scarcity of food, the Hornfoots could not give their sheep but offered skins, wool, ivory, and even their own daughters.

(Hahahahaha, why do I need more women? In my tribe there are too many already!)

Was Oswin's answer, and he offered to bring whoever wanted to follow him, to the black axe tribe.

The tribe was already famous since they destroyed the cannibals of the Milkwater River, and news of their conquest of the Men of the Frozen Shore was already spreading.

A strong place, with food, shelter, clothing, where elders did not need to sacrifice, and daughters were not abducted.

These were his words as he uncovered 7 wagons, showing all the food he would give them.

A good part of the tribe decided to follow him, and Zafar's men had to divide again to bring these people to the tribe.

Blake planned to settle them at the first settlement, and then send some of them back in a last negotiation, so that they would tell them that the promises were real and more of the Hornfoots would defect to the black axe tribe.

The Hornfoots' chieftain was more than happy with this, as this way the people's food would last longer in case the winter dragged on.

Blake for his part had asked him for a ewe that had recently had her young, which was provided in exchange for some quality clothing which he had no problem giving.

"We'd better get going as soon as possible, we don't know when another storm will hit us."

Blake said.

"The men got enough rest in Thenn, so we'll leave tomorrow, according to Gerd it's 20 moons to get to the giants."

Blake began to do calculations listening to his father's answer.

20 days of walking in the middle of a storm could be as long as a lifetime, as the air was much thinner, and the men tired more easily, so they needed to be well prepared.

"I'm going to inspect the wagons, the food, and the tents."

Blake took the puppy, placed it on a fur pillow near the campfire, took the sheep, and left the tent.

Supper had already been eaten, so the sun was setting and the men were inside the tents.

Blake first checked the wagons, walked to the center of the camp, and gave a slight nod to 2 warriors who were on guard duty.

At least a dozen wheels were chipped and could break at any moment.

Each wagon had a spare wheel, so Blake simply used these spares to replace the wheels in poor condition, he would need to prepare replacements promptly.

As for the food, it was all in good condition, the weather had helped a lot, although the milk had started to go sour, so Blake decided to give it tomorrow for breakfast before it finished spoiling, these men had even eaten rotten meat on a few occasions, so somewhat sour milk would not be a problem for them.

Blake then began to inspect the tents, first checking them on the outside and then going inside to inspect the interior.

Some men were sleeping, others who were awake greeted him, and others who were having fun with the Hornfoots' women also gave him a greeting.

These women had come to them of their own free will, seeking shelter or food for their children.

Blake only reminded his warriors that they would not be able to take these women along on the journey, they would have to send them back to the tribe or give him their possessions as compensation.

"H-hi, m-my father sent me t-to-to serve y-you..."

As Blake continued to check the tents, a tall girl with dirty blonde hair and front teeth protruding from her lips approached him shyly as she stammered.

"I'm fine, tell your father it's not necessary."

Blake, without ceasing to check the tents, answered the girl slowly.

The girl turned, walked a few steps, then stopped, walked back, and finally returned to Blake after walking a few feet away.

"M-m-my father s-said I had to-to s-s-serve you... Or-or s-s-s-something b-bad would happen to m-me."

Blake paused from his work and looked up to meet the girl's eyes directly.

As he had thought, the girl was startled when she looked into his eyes, as were many others. Most of the time this was enough to ward off approaching women, but Blake noticed that, even though the girl in front of him was afraid of him, she seemed to harbor more fear towards something else.

"Tell me Thyri, do you have children?"

Blake continued his work, speaking towards the girl, but not looking at her.

"N-no."

She replied, almost surprised that Blake remembered her name.

"And have you had a husband?"

Blake asked again, not sure if the girl was stuttering or just really scared.

"B-before winter s-s-started a boy t-tried t-to take me, b-but my f--ffather k-killed him, saying I-i wasn't s-s-s-sstrong enough."

Blake turned to her, looking at her again.

"And your father didn't take you for a wife either?"

"No."

The girl hesitated briefly but finally lowered her head as she answered.

Blake thought for a few seconds and finally came up with something.

"Well, follow me."

The girl's face lit up at Blake's words, but she was briefly startled as he led her to the tent where Magnar Oswin was. She knew Blake was Oswin's son, but she didn't think he would take her to the same place where the Magnar slept.

She stood for a few seconds outside the tent, hesitating, but remembering something that made her lips contort, she entered the tent.

"Finally you arrive."

Thyri glanced nervously at Oswin, who was sleeping, then her gaze shifted to Blake, who out of her expectations, instead of taking off his clothes was putting on leather armor.

"I-i'm here t-to serve you...."

She said, averting her gaze again to Oswin.

"Good."

Blake replied, placing the Quiver of arrows on his back, finally noticing the nervous girl, and how she looked doubtfully at Oswin.

"No, he won't do anything to you."

He said, walking over to where the puppy was, and carrying her in his gloved hand.

"I want you to serve me, taking care of her for the night, she's shivering, but I can't provide the warmth she needs."

Blake placed the puppy in Thyri's trembling, pale hands, pointing to her hammock.

"You can sleep there, there are furs and robes in that chest, you can take them to cover yourself, there is also food on the table, eat what you want."

Blake after saying this, took his Bow and walked out of the tent, leaving a very doubtful Thyri, not knowing what to do.