Chapter 2

We have been traveling for a week and so far things are going well. Aela has found a trail and we hope it leads to people. Over this past week I have spent time acclimating to this new body. We had come across a stream and I was able to see my reflection. I had blonde hair and pale blue eyes. My hair was in a braid and so was my beard. I want to say I look handsome, but I can't really tell with all the hair covering my face.

I'm hoping to reach Winterfell soon, I know for a fact we're in the north. Somewhere in the Wolfwoods, the only problem is that I don't know which direction to go. Hell, I'm not even sure when we are. No point in stressing about things out of my control. I'll know what I need to know when the time comes.

Suddenly Floki and Sceolang began growling. I looked towards Aela and noticed she was crouched, eyeing the area ahead. The others also noticed and came to a halt as one, each gripping their weapon, ready for anything.

After some moments Aela made sharp hand gestures. 'Two, making their way towards us. We will wait and intercept, and gather information.'

We all nodded and spread out silently. I was near the rear with Ivar behind me. Floki and Sceolang were at my side while Gentle and Gunnar took the front. Aela was nowhere to be seen but that was normal.

We waited for an hour before I could hear the crunching of snow. Peering from around a tree I saw two individuals walking towards us. They didn't seem to know they were being watched. A man and a boy, they have bows, perhaps hunters. A father teaching his son how to hunt?

The others are sure to have seen them as well but they won't engage unless I give the word, not even Gentle. I decided to let them get closer, enough so that they passed where Gentle and Gunnar are posted. This way we'll have them surrounded.

Once they were close enough I stepped out from cover and the two immediately halted after seeing me. The boy appeared to be shaking, staring wide eyed at me, or maybe at my beasts. I stood a few paces from them but I didn't speak. My father always said silence was a weapon of itself, and I wasn't ready to designate these two as friendly.

The man looked at me threateningly as he positioned himself between me and the boy. The man had on thick furs and had dark hair and eyes. He was older, perhaps late thirties. The boy must have been thirteen. They both eyed me suspiciously and neither of them initiated conversation.

That was fine by me, I am a patient man and willing to play the waiting game. I stared directly at the father, into his eyes as blankly as I could. We held eye contact for a few seconds before he looked away. I had won the first battle.

He instead eyed my sword and armor with dread. Then he laid eyes on my beasts, I recognized fear in his eyes. He was terrified yet he didn't show it in his body. Brave man, braver than most I'd say. Seemingly unable to take the silence he spoke.

"Who are ye?"

His voice was surprisingly steady, I like this man. I could clearly see the fear in his eyes, yet his body hasn't betrayed him. Even his voice, clear, as if making idle chat with a friendly stranger. I was thankful that I could understand him, I had feared that wouldn't be the case.

Now that I have established that we are able to converse, let's see what else he is willing to say. I don't speak, I just continue to stare directly into his eyes, undaunted by the tense atmosphere.

I could see the man constantly flexing his grip on his bow, the sweat trickling down the side of his face. His eyes never stayed on mine for longer than a few seconds. Eventually he stopped looking into my eyes altogether. Unable to look at my beasts he took to looking at my feet.

"I- I ain't got nothing for ya. We just passing through. We don't want no trouble." Saying so he made to walk in a different direction, urging his boy to move along.

"Grrrrrrrrr."

The man and boy froze at the sudden and frighteningly deep growl of Floki and Sceolang. It sounded deep and guttural, like rocks being ground together, or boulders rolling down a cliffside. The boy was shaking now, he looked all but ready to pass out. The man was pale and his pupils were dilated. Feeling satisfied with their current state I decided to begin.

"Ho there, why don't we just calm down. I didn't mean to scare you and your boy. Can't be too sure nowadays, you know?" As I spoke I gave a light hearted smile but I didn't ease my stance and didn't make an attempt to close the distance. Surely if I took a single step the man would either fight or run and a chase is not what I want.

"I'm lost." I finished and waited to see how the man would respond.

"Y- you said you was lost? Well, we don't mind helping a friend out. We got a place, a village not too far from here. Only a little ways away. Could get you a place to stay, out of this cold and all. It's only a few minutes that way."

The man was giving me a lot of information without me saying much. He doesn't even know my name or if I'm alone, yet here he is giving away the location of his village. I opted to stay silent to see what else he would say. After what I'd imagine to be an awkward silence for the two the man spoke up again.

"My name's Tobas, this here's my son Corren. We could take ya back with us, get you a warm meal. We don't have much, and it ain't nothing fancy, but we could spare a meal for a friend."

This man is crazy, he has given up so much information without much effort on my part. Well, let's move things along.

"That would be very kind, lead the way." I gestured with a hand and waited for him to walk. He stood there for a moment before registering what I said and turning in the direction he came with his boy in tow. As they walked I made a few hand gestures and followed the foolish pair.

We walked in silence for about an hour. The man constantly looked over his shoulder at me and my beasts. Maybe he figured this to all be a dream and if he looked back I wouldn't be there. We eventually walked into a clearing and I spotted a few houses surrounded by a makeshift wooden fence.

As we neared I spotted children playing and women not too far away, keeping an eye on the young ones. It looked like a small village, about five houses. As we neared we drew the attention of the villagers and the women quickly ushered the children away while some men came to greet us.

Four men and six older looking boys met us halfway to the wooden fence. They all eyed me and my beasts with unmasked trepidation.

"Tobas, who's this you've brought with you?" One of the men asked, he seemed to be the leader of the group as the others took a wait and see approach.

"Jaren, this here is, um, well, we found him in the woods and he said he was lost and wanted some help. Food, a place to rest his head until he moved on. He seemed like he needed some help so I figured we could help him out."

This man is truly foolish, he seems to have concocted a story all on his own. I hardly said a word to the man, yet here he is painting me as a helpless wanderer.

"Is that so?" Jaren replied, not agreeing or disagreeing, just waiting to see what I had to say. Having accomplished my objective, I made my way past Tobas the fool and towards Jaren, the leader of this group.

Jaren and the other men beside him all took a collective step back. I towered above them all and my beasts stood five feet seven inches at the shoulder, we were an intimidating sight for a bunch of common peasants. I still had my horned helmet on, further adding to the grisly appearance.

"Ho there, I would appreciate some assistance. I don't mean to put you in a tough spot but, I won't take up much of your time." I said amiably.

"Of course, of course, how can we help?" Jaren replied.

"My companions and I have been traveling for some time now and we could use a break. A place to rest if you will, we don't mind pulling our own weight while we're here of course." I finished with an easy smile.

"Companions?" Jaren asked, eyeing Tobas with a questioning look. Tobas for his part looked at his feet, as if fascinated by his shoes and how they connected to the earth. We might have a budding Issac Newton over here.

"Yes, my companions." Without wasting a moment I gave a sharp whistle, not long after four figures emerged from the tree line. As they neared I could hear them all take a collective breath at the sight of my group. As they stood at a pace behind me, the villagers all stared up at the giant strangers.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves. This here is Svenn the gentle, beside him is Gunnar half beard, on my other side is Aela the huntress and lastly is Ivar the boneless. I am known as Ragnar Lothbruk and these are my beasts Floki and Sceolang."

As I spoke I used my hand to indicate each member of my group, when I introduced Gentle, the younger boys made an audible gulping sound. When my hand passed Gunnar their undisguised fear took on an uglier shade. As my hand passed over Aela, they did a complete one eighty. After introducing Ivar they hardly paid him any attention. Yet when introducing Floki and Sceolang they seemed confused that I would offer such respect to mear beasts.

"Well, it's good to meet all of you. Why don't you all come to the main hall, it's warmer and we could see to fixing you something to eat." Jaren replied while gesturing for us to follow.

I nodded my head and we made our way further into the village. As we passed I noticed most if not all the houses were abandoned. Once we neared the rear of the village we came across a building that dwarfed the others. This must be where all the families stay during winter, this way they must be able to keep warm together rather than each family struggling to survive alone.

Entering the main hall was like stepping into a different world. Whereas the outside was like a frozen wonderland, inside gave the feeling of a warm and cozy cottage. The cold had no effect on me and the others, yet I could clearly feel the warmth emanating from the multiple hearths in the spacious living area. I could see multiple partitions hung up, no doubt separating and providing privacy to each family. In the center of the room was a large fire pit that had some animal being cooked above. I spotted some women eyeing us from said fire pit while children were peeking from various hiding spots.

Various animal skins hung on the walls and on the ground with all manner of trinkets giving the place a lived in feeling. Around the fire pit were large tables set in a box formation with an opening facing the open door.

"Stelsa, we have guests! Make room at the table for them." Jaren bellowed to one of the women around the fire.

The woman named Stelsa nodded and directed the others into motion. She was a mature looking woman with brown hair and brown eyes. The oldest of the flock, and clearly taking the role as matriarch of this cozy little village. I'd wager her to be the wife of good man Jaren.

"If you'd like, you can place your gear by the entrance. We don't allow weapons into the home." Jaren turned to inform me. I saw no threat in doing so and didn't want to offend our hosts, so with a nod we all left our weapons at the door. After depositing our weapons at the door we were guided to the table. After being shown our seats with myself at the immediate right of Jaren who sat at the head we waited for the food to be served.

"So, you say you've been traveling in the woods for some time. Where are you from if you don't mind my asking?" Jaren began.

"Correct, we have been trying to find people to direct us. Where we are from, a land far from here. Even we are unsure of how we came to these woods, yet here we are." I replied.

Nodding his head Jaren steepled his fingers on the table.

"I see, well we don't mind helping you and your companions out. Seeing as you don't know where you are I'll start with that. This village is in the Wolfswood, not too far from Sea Dragon Point, north of here is deepwood motte and southeast lies Winterfell, seat of house Stark, wardens of the north."

"Winterfell?" I asked

"Yes, are you not familiar with it?" Jaren asked.

"We come from the west, this is the first time we've set foot on these lands." I added.

"So you were shipwrecked, and west you say. Why, there's nothing out west besides the sunset sea. Could that be where you're from? Past the sunset sea?" He asked with intense curiosity.

"I can't say for certain, but what is this house Stark you speak of?" I asked, attempting to steer the conversation in a more productive direction.

"Ay, house Stark are the lords of these lands. They own the entire north, with other houses managing smaller parts throughout in their name."

"And who manages the lands of Sea Dragon Point?"

"Well, no one does. It's just part of the Starks lands if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty. But these lands aren't owned by another house. Ah, looks like food is ready."

True enough, plates were being set by the women and it appeared to be a stew with a side of meat and bread. As the ladies laid out the plates, more and more people appeared taking a seat. Without wasting a moment they all started digging in and looking to my left I could see Jaren doing the same. Noticing my stare, Jaren looked up.

"No need to be all fancy, dig in while it's hot."

Looking down at my own bowl I could see the broth steaming and what appeared to be potatoes in the mix. Taking in a deep breath I could tell there weren't many spices mixed in, yet the food did look good and filling. I looked at my companions and noticed them gorging themselves on the hearty meal. Gentle was practically shoveling the contents of his bowl into his maw with gusto. He'd occasionally come up for air to take a bite out of his bread and the piece of meat on his plate.

Gunnar wasn't any better in his table manners while Aela at least tried to be less messy. Yet after a moment she too gave in and followed Gentle and Gunnar in wolfing it all down. Ivar was displaying much more etiquette in his eating. No surprise there. Looking down I was pleased to see Floki and Sceolang each with their heads buried in a bowl of their own.

Nodding to myself I took my first spoonful and was pleasantly surprised at the flavors in the broth. It was simple but did wonders in leaving a home cooked meal feeling, the type of food mama would make. These women sure knew how to cook. I had expected the food to taste bland, lacking much if any seasoning. Yet here I am, arm a blur as I continued to take in spoonfuls of the flavorful broth.

After some time of nothing but sounds of slurping and requests of refills by one person or another we sat back, filled and content. A mug was placed before each of us and looking into the contents I noticed water. Not at all what I would have expected after a meal like that, at least it was cold. I would have preferred some mead, but we do with what we have.

"What's this, water!? I'll not wash down this wonderful meal with mere water!" Gentle exclaimed loudly. Before I could reprimand him, A tankard suddenly appeared on the table. I was shocked at the spectacle and so were the others present.

"Come and grab a mug of Kyne's mead, best you'll ever have, made by yours truly!"

After overcoming the shock, many at the table lined up for a mug, especially the men. One after another they took a sip.

"By the old gods and the new! This is amazing!"

"Yes, it tastes so rich."

"Is that honey? Oh my, it's hidden so well and leaves a wondrous aftertaste."

Over and over the villagers commented on the wondrous taste of the mead. Apparently Gentle still has access to his inventory, that's the only explanation for the sudden appearance of the tankard. How could I have overlooked such a thing? I'll need to investigate later in private.

"Let good old Gentle sing ye a tune, Ivar!"

"On it Gentle." Ivar replied, and just as Gentle had done he produced an instrument out of seemingly nowhere. He began strumming a familiar tune, one I had heard many a time in the taverns of Skyrim.

"Don't leave me out." Aela said and she too produced an instrument. It appeared to be a flute of some kind, and she began playing alongside Ivar. Without a word Gunnar produced a harp-like instrument and began plucking away. The hall was filled with a wondrous tune and the kids ran to and fro in glee while the adults spread out and enjoyed the unforeseen but welcomed entertainment. At that moment, Gentle began singing and I couldn't hold it back anymore. I chuckled at what I was hearing.

"There once was a hero named Ragnar the red, who came riding to Whitrun from ole Rorikstaad." He went on and on singing the familiar song and the villagers clapped along. I leaned back into my seat with Jaren beside me doing the same.

"We haven't had anything like this in a long time, thank you for that friend." I waved off his thanks and laughed a bit.

"Don't worry about it, it's the least we could do after the meal you shared with us." I replied.

"Nonsense, if there's anything you need just say the word."

Leaning into him with a serious expression I whispered.

"Why don't you tell me more about Winterfell and how we can get in touch with its lord."