Servant of Set Thor Part II

Burying his shovel into the ground, Thor wiped his brow as he looked upon the graves he had dug. His eyes were red, drooping from a lack of sleep, how could he? He had killed his father, his mother dead also. That was the second family he had lost, the second family he had failed to save.

Was that his curse?

To continually lose everyone he ever loved? What kind of existence was that?

'Come to me.' Gritting his teeth, Thor glared at the house, the voice constantly whispering in his head still present. There, lodged into a tree stump that he and his father had cut down, was an axe.

Rising to his feet, Thor left the graves, marching towards the house. On the way, he ripped the axe free and slammed open the door before entering inside to find the helmet his father had worn. The helmet they had picked up when fishing yesterday. The helmet where the voices originated from within.

It was there, upon the tabletop.

Raising his axe into the air, Thor brought it down with a shout of rage. All his strength was behind that strike, all his rage and pain, everything fuelled that strike. Yet it was not the helmet that was destroyed, it was his axe, a powerful shockwave erupting out from the helmet that threw Thor back. He smashed through the wall of his house, rolling along the ground, the table breaking apart.

Pushing himself to his, Thor snarled in anger, ripping a piece of metal from his shoulder, part of the shattered axehead. He then reached out, taking a hold of the shovel beside him and marched back indoors.

Blinded by rage and a need to destroy the helmet, Thor raised the shovel into the air and brought it back down upon the unscathed helmet. But once more, Thor was thrown, back, shovel destroyed and helmet undamaged. For you see, the power within it acted defensively, ensuring that anything that attempted to destroy it would be struck by a wave of energy.

'Come to me.' And like always, the voice kept ringing in his head.

-X- Line Break -X-

Leaning against the side of the carriage, Thor kept a tight grip upon the bag between his legs, one hand resting upon the handle of the blade he had stolen from town before leaving. Around him, a few other people were sat, old and young, men and women who had paid the driver to help take them out of Stygia.

War was coming and as a coastal village, there was a risk of a naval force attacking them. It was common for many inhabitants to leave if they could afford to. Thor hadn't done so in the past, his family unable to pay the cost for all of them to escape.

They had been lucky in the past to not be attacked.

Thor, however, had no reason nor any desire to remain behind in that village. He needed to leave and get away from that village, find something or someone who knew what this helmet was and how to destroy it. Someone had to know something and Thor wouldn't stop until he found the answers he was looking for.

There was some ancient power and entity within this helmet. Whether destroying it would kill them or not, Thor didn't know. Even if destroying the helmet wouldn't kill the entity connected to it, Thor would destroy it anyway and then go out to hunt them down.

They would all pay.

"Where exactly did you say you were going?" A young man, around the same age as him, came up to Thor. The older couple beside him shuffled along up to the free space as to allow the young man to sit beside him.

Thor looked to him, noticing his slim, but well-fed form. His clothes were also clean and looked to be well-made. He definitely had more money than most gathered here. 'Probably from another town, one of the wealthier children. Or a thief.' Thor thought to himself, turning away. "I didn't."

His reply was shot and simple, dismissing the guy entirely who kept that same smile upon his face. "Well, you've been part of this caravan since Stygia and haven't left for over a month. We've already made our way through Shem and about halfway through Koth. So, you must be going further north somewhere. I'm going there too though I hear it's gotten pretty dangerous recently."

Thor turned, his interest peaked.

"I see that caught your attention." The young man said, smile growing wider. "I'll tell you what I know if you tell me your name. I'm, Bareo."

"Bjorn."

"Well, Bjorn, there's a darkness falling upon the North, mostly upon Hyperborea. Strange creatures of all kinds running freely under some kind of Dark King, as they call him. Heard that Pictland, Cimmeria, Brythunia and a lot of the other northern nations are gathering a huge force to go deal with them. Should be some dangerous times ahead." Bareo explained, Thor, looking to him with a raised brow.

"If it's so dangerous, why are you going there? Surely it would be safer in Stygia or going further south?"

Bareo smiled. "True, except I'm not looking for safety. I'm looking for profit and well, there's nothing quite like easy pickings than an army camp."

As soon as those words were uttered, Thor knew instantly who this man was. He wasn't from a wealthy family, he was a thief, plain and simple. He'd already seen the potential profit and weighed the risks, he would go north take what he could before leaving it behind. All the while no doubt staying as far away from all the conflict.

"Why tell me that?" Thor asked.

"Because I could use some muscle to make sure I'm protected," Bareo answered, wrapping one arm over Thor's shoulders. "Besides, I'll pay you. Make sure you have lodgings and food, women and gold, whatever you want, Bareo will provide. What'd you say, not a bad deal?"

-X- Line Break -X-

"Hey, thief! Stop right there!" Numerous soldiers rushed down the streets of a nearby village. Their planned conscription of young men was abandoned after finding themselves bereft of coin to convince people.

Each of them brandished their weapons, spears, swords and one large man wielding a huge battleaxe, he trailing behind the rest. All the while Bareo pulled ahead, laughing to himself happily as he pulled into a small back alley, coming out the other end. A few more turns and he cut back inside another back alley only to come to a halt when he looked upon the large battleaxe wielding soldier.

He had trailed behind the rest, weighed down by his armour and weapon. It was purely by chance that he was stood in Bareo's path. But it left Bareo trapped, the remaining soldiers standing at the other end, all slowly closing in upon him.

"Do you know the punishment of thievery?" One questioned.

Bareo shrugged nonchalantly. "A smack on the wrists. Besides, you've got it all wrong, I'm not a thief." He rose his hands in surrender, openly flaunting the large pouch of gold embroidered with the insignia of the Cimmeria royal family.

"You're holding it in your hand!" Another soldier shouted, spear pointed at Bareo who just continued to smile joyfully.

Bareo looked to the pouch, feigning ignorance. "What, this? No, this is something I picked up ages ago." He then smirked, watching as a figure moved to stand beside the small group of soldiers blocking one entrance of the alleyway. "Besides, I think you've got bigger things to worry about."

"Wha-"

Thor struck out at that moment, one hand picking up the rearmost soldier like he weighed nothing and then slammed him face-first into the ground with enough force to knock him out. The soldiers quickly turned but Thor was upon them, a fist smashing into one's jaw, breaking it. An elbow to the face of the next burst his nose wide open.

Another swung his sword down, but Thor dodged, grabbing his head and slamming him into the ground. It was quick, brutal and powerful, the soldiers being dispatched one by one with minimal effort.

Until only the big one behind Bareo was left.

The thief in question just skipped merrily over to Thor, standing behind him as the big soldier gripped his battleaxe in nervousness as Thor walked towards him. In terms of size, Thor was slightly smaller, even his muscles looked smaller and that filled the soldier with confidence, he raised his battleaxe into the air.

He then brought it down with a roar, Thor just stepped to one side, easily avoiding the strike. As he did, he swung one fist around, burying it into the soldier's side who gasped out in pain. He collapsed to his knees clutching his side in pain, completely exposed to the follow-up punch that struck him in the face.

"Ah, that was fun," Bareo noted, Thor reaching down and picking up the battleaxe, resting it upon his shoulders. "I see you're taking your fair share of the rewards."

"You're still paying me," Thor stated, Bareo gasping mock horror.

"But you've got that thing. You still need me to pay you as well."

"You can always try your luck on your own." Thor shot back, Bareo smirking.

"How about some of the local girls instead? There were a few that were looking to you when we first arrived." Thor paused, before continuing on. "Is that a no? It's not like you turn down an offer like that."

"Hurry up, Bareo."