Chapter 16: Chapter 16 - Right Here in This Mud and Snow

The headquarters Lady Isolde Fenrir had provided was a disused grain storehouse on the outskirts of Stormkeep’s lower town. A single brazier glowed feebly in the center, struggling against the pervasive chill. It was a reminder, deliberate or not, of House Fenrir’s diminished state.

Eirik surveyed the gloom. Leif Fenrir slumped on a crate near the far wall, the fight seemed to leach out of him. Beside him, Isolde stood rigidly. Her eyes, however, held a trapped-animal wariness whenever they flickered towards Eirik.

“Lady Fenrir,” Eirik began. “Your son lives. As I promised. Now comes the difficult part.”

Isolde gripped her cloak.

“Your tasks are twofold,” Eirik continued. “First, coin. House Fenrir pledged resources to establish this company. I need one thousand talons delivered to me, discreetly, within today. Not promises. Actual coin.” He saw the protest forming on her lips and silenced it with a look. “We all know the stakes for this fight. And I will win. With your help.”

Eirik watched her absorb the reality. “Second, equipment. Fifty men need basic arms and armor. Spears. Stout clubs. Rust-free helms if possible, thick leather jerkins otherwise. Shields — wood and hide will suffice for now. Blunt practice blades for the wargame. I need it assembled, stored here, and ready for inspection in two days.”

Isolde’s eyes widened. “One thousand talons and equipment for fifty men? Today and within two days? Lord Eirik, that’s impossible! We are not Ravenscroft! Selling everything we own might raise a thousand talons… but then we’d have nothing left to equip even ten men, let alone fifty!”

Eirik assessed her rapidly. He let a flicker of icy displeasure cross his face, enough to make Isolde flinch.

“Are you refusing your pledge, Lady Fenrir?” His voice was dangerously soft. “After swearing renewed devotion in the Great Hall? After I secured Leif’s life and a chance at Brynn’s freedom? You offered resources freely. Was that mere lip service?” He took a step closer. “Explain. Quickly. Why shouldn’t I walk straight back to Cedric and tell him House Fenrir’s loyalty crumbles at the first practical demand?”

“No, Lord Eirik!” she protested. “I refuse nothing! But… please, understand! If I sell everything today… yes, I could hand you a thousand talons and mountains of gear tomorrow.” She took a shaky step forward. “But House Fenrir would be utterly destitute. I would be destitute. And a destitute, powerless widow and her ruined house are useless to you. Especially… especially if you intend to venture north? Wouldn’t a functional, indebted vassal house, however diminished, serve you better in the long term?”

Eirik studied her, and Isolde continued.

“We will honor our pledge! But not everything at once! Please!”

Eirik considered it. She’s right about the logistics. Stormkeep’s markets are tight-fisted, especially in deep winter. Rushing would invite notice and price gouging.

“Here are the amended terms, Lady Fenrir.” Eirik finally said. “One, you deliver three hundred talons to me today. Consider it a gesture of good faith and initial capital. The rest you will deliver to me after the wargame, win or lose.” He held up two fingers. “Two, you will provide me with warriors. Twenty-five of House Fenrir’s best. Loyal enough to follow orders in a fight. They will report to me here tomorrow morning.”

“Twenty-five warriors? Lord Eirik, House Fenrir… our forces are… diminished. Twenty-five men is more than all of our remaining household guards!”

“I didn’t ask for elite knights, Lady Fenrir,” Eirik countered flatly. “I ask for twenty capable warriors loyal to House Fenrir. And to be plain with you, I quickly grow tired of this petty little game of back-and-forth price haggling. I delivered — above and beyond — what I’d promised to you and House Fenrir, and now, you risk appearing to act faithlessly by finding all sorts of reasons for not delivering on your end. Keep in mind your appeal to the ruin of your house only mattered to me if I deem your House has value, which I do, but you are making me reconsider it.”

“I will see to it immediately, Lord Eirik.” Isolde took a deep, steadying breath.“But… twenty-five? Where will we find the rest of the men willing to join… this?”

Eirik offered a cold smile. “Don’t concern yourself with it, Lady Fenrir. Focus on your tasks and leave the unsavory bits to me.”

“It will be done, Lord Eirik.” The title still tasted like poison, but she forced it out.

Eirik shifted his attention to the slumped figure. “Leif Fenrir.”

Leif’s head jerked up. “What?”

“Stand up.”

Slowly, like an old man, Leif pushed himself off the crate.

Eirik focused inward. His mana reserves had replenished since this morning — five points nestled in his core. He visualized the [Identify] ability slotted into his first Mana Slot. A familiar icy tingle spread through him as he willed mana towards the ability, targeting Leif.

Blue text materialized.

[CASTING: IDENTIFY]

[MANA: 5/5 → 4/5]

[TARGET: LEIF FENRIR]

[REALM: SNOW (RANK 3)]

[STATS: STR 11, END 13, AGI 17, INT 7, CHA 10; Mana: 7/15]

[SKILLS: LONGSWORD: (C); SHIELD: (D-); RIDING: (D); OTHERS (F)]

[TALENTS: FROST AFFINITY (PASSIVE): Enhanced resilience to cold; minor boost to Frost-aligned abilities.]

[ABILITIES: FROSTBITE EDGE]

“Snow Realm Rank Three. A whole two ranks above me.” Eirik saw Leif stiffen at the assessment. “But right now, Leif Fenrir, you are a liability.”

“What do you want?” Leif’s fists clenched.

“I want the warrior potential buried under all this petulant garbage,” Eirik shot back, stepping closer. “Your task is simple: when the gear Lady Fenrir procures arrives, you will help inventory it. You will carry crates. You will clean rust off blades. You will obey Harkin or whoever I put in charge of you. You will not complain. Understood?”

Leif’s jaw worked. He looked like he wanted to spit. Finally, a barely audible grunt escaped him.

“Understood.”

“Good.” Eirik turned away.

The heavy wooden door groaned open, letting in a blast of frigid air and weak daylight. Harkin straightened as two figures shuffled in behind him. One was Yorick, he looked paler than usual, clutching a heavy, worn leather satchel against his chest like a shield. His eyes darted nervously around the dismal storehouse, widening when they landed on Leif and Lady Fenrir.

The other man was Olaf Stenson. He’d clearly taken Eirik’s advice about not smelling like a troll pit. His shaggy brown hair was damp, roughly combed back, and he wore relatively clean, albeit threadbare, woolens. The scars on his arms and the hard glint in his eyes remained. He scanned the room, taking in the disgraced noble heir, the pale noblewoman, the imposing Harkin, and finally Eirik.

“Lord Eirik,” Harkin announced formally. “Yorick, as requested. And Olaf Stenson. Found him asking for you at Stormkeep.”

Eirik nodded. “Harkin. Well done.” He focused on the newcomers. “Yorick. Your satchel looks heavy. Did you bring what belongs to me?”

Yorick flinched as if struck. He clutched the satchel tighter. “M-my lord… the…the fee?”

“The fee,” Eirik said coldly, “was not getting dragged to the Ice Cells. The fee was your continued freedom. Do I need to renegotiate?”

Yorick’s face crumpled. With trembling hands, he lurched forward and placed the satchel heavily on a relatively clean crate near Eirik. “N-no, m’lord! Two hundred and seventy-three talons! Counted three times. It’s all there, every coin!”

Eirik didn’t touch the satchel. He turned to Olaf. “Stenson. Impressive punctuality. And you look… marginally less offensive.” He gestured around. “Welcome to the foundation of Stormcrow’s Talon. Glorious, isn’t it?”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Olaf’s gaze swept the dingy storehouse again, lingering on Leif’s slumped form and Isolde’s strained expression. “Glorious ain’t the word I’d use, Lord Stormcrow. But it’s a sight warmer than the Frost Pit.” He hefted the small pouch Isolde had tossed him yesterday. “And twenty talons buys more than gruel. What’s the catch? What’s the work?”

“Straight to the point,” Eirik approved. “Good.” He pointed at Yorick, who was shrinking back towards the wall. “That man is Yorick. He’s good with numbers. Or at least, he fears what happens when numbers go missing enough to be careful. Yorick, your new role is quartermaster and accountant. You will track every copper spent and every nail acquired for this company. You will report solely to me. Screw it up, and the Ice Cells will seem like a summer resort. Understood?”

Yorick bobbed his head frantically. “Yes, m’lord! Quartermaster! Accountant! Yes! Understood!”

“Olaf,” Eirik continued. “Your task requires less… precision and more… discretion. You survived the Pit. You know others who did. Men who have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” He met Olaf’s wary gaze. “Find them. The clever ones. The desperate ones. The ones who fought beasts or men and lived. Tell them there’s work. Dangerous work, but work that pays real silver. Work that offers a path out of the gutters and the gibbet. Recruitment starts now. Bring potential candidates here. I will vet them. Focus on finding a few to start. Five or six, including yourself. Good ones. Scouts, hunters, brawlers, anyone who can move quietly or hit hard. Then use your initial men to find twenty more, and they needn’t be that good.”

Olaf digested this, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “Recruiting gutter trash and branded men for a noble’s company? That’s… bold.”

“Find me men who can fight who crave the chance we’re offering.” Eirik stated flatly. “You get three silver talons for every recruit I accept. If I accept all of them, that’s seventy-five talons for you.”

By the Frost! Seventy-five talons?! Olaf’s eyes widened in surprise. Years of risking his neck and smelling like a troll hadn’t even come close to that.

“Aye! I know where to look.”

“Good. Harkin,” Eirik turned to his most trusted ally. “Your task is more specialized. Find me an alchemist. A discreet one. Preferably one who understands battlefield applications. Smoke powders, blinding agents, anything that gives an advantage without technically breaking the ‘no mana’ rule of the wargame.” He gestured towards Yorick and the satchel. “Yorick will advance you funds. Be persuasive.”

“I’ll find one.” Harkin’s lips twitched in a grim approximation of a smile.

Infantry, scouts, and chemical support starting to shape, Eirik thought, feeling the nascent structure of his force. But the foundation, the teeth of the trap… that needs setting now. His gaze snapped back to Harkin.

“One more thing. Where is Jens?”

Harkin gestured towards the door. “Waiting outside, Lord Eirik. Didn’t want to crowd the place.”

“Good. Tell him we leave for the Blackroot Forest. Now.”

———

Within the sleigh, wrapped in thick furs, Eirik maintained an aloof silence. Jens drove at the reins. Eirik appreciated the stark beauty of the snow-covered landscape — jagged pines dusted white, frozen streams like shattered glass, the vast, pale dome of the winter sky. They left the sleigh near the edge of the logging trails. Snow crunched under their boots. The air bit with a clean, pine-scented cold, a stark relief after the storehouse’s rot.

Blackroot Forest swallowed them.

Ancient pines towered overhead, blocking most of the weak winter sun. What light filtered through danced weakly on a thick carpet of decaying needles and frost-heaved roots that threatened to trip unwary feet. A profound silence pressed in, broken only by the crunch of their boots and the occasional skitter of some unseen creature fleeing deeper into the gloom.

“Jens, let’s look for killing grounds.”

Jens nodded, eyes wide. “Killing grounds, m’lord?”

“Places where numbers mean nothing,” Eirik explained, scanning the path ahead. “Narrow spots. Points where men are forced together, like sheep in a chute.” He pointed towards a section where massive pines crowded the trail, their trunks thicker than a man’s waist, forcing the path into a natural bottleneck barely wide enough for two men abreast. “Like that. Places where fifty men become fifty targets, not a formation.”

Chokepoints, he thought. Where Gunnar’s disciplined veterans would be forced into a slow, clumped target. Where Garrick’s rash charge could be ambushed mid-stride.

“Mark it,” Eirik ordered. “Find others. Stream crossing with only one good ford. Gaps between big rocks. Fallen logs blocking easy ways around. Any place that funnels men. Look for two things specifically at each spot…” He paused, ensuring Jens was tracking. “First, the narrowest part of the gap itself. Second…” He pointed ahead where two immense pines stood sentinel on either side of the trail, perhaps fifteen feet apart. “Pairs of strong trees like those. Healthy. No rot. Thick trunks. Branches about chest-high.”

Jens squinted at the trees. “Why chest-high, m’lord?”

“For leverage, Jens. For leverage and force.” Eirik stepped closer to one tree, thumping the thick, frost-rimed bark. “These will be our anchors. For each good chokepoint you find trees like this, you mark it. A small pile of stones, Jens. Nothing obvious. Just enough for us to find again. Understood?”

“Aye, m’lord! Chokepints! Tree pairs. Stone markers. Got it,” Jens confirmed, pulling out a small, worn notebook and a stub of charcoal. He sketched quickly, marking the location relative to a distinctive lightening-struck pine nearby. Eirik noted with approval.

They walked deeper into the forest, Eirik pointing out potential traps. “Logging trails twist and turn,” Eirik murmured, more to himself than Jens. “Visibility is poor. Gunnar will rely on scouts, but scouts can be… distracted.” He filed that thought away.

“Remember, Jens,” Eirik said aloud, pulling Jens from his note-taking. “Speed and secrecy are everything. Cedric gave us seven days, but Gunnar will have scouts watching this forest long before the wargame. We have maybe four days before his eyes are everywhere.”

Jens paled slightly. “Four days? To build… whatever you’re planning, m’lord?”

“To build the teeth of our defense,” Eirik corrected. “Tomorrow and the next day, you scout. Focus solely on finding those chokepoints with the tree pairs. Map them. Mark them subtly.” He gestured towards the dense undergrowth flanking the trail. “While you’re out here, keep an eye out for anything useful. Old logging camps. Mill sites. Even abandoned mine shafts. Places where men left things behind.”

“What kind of things, m’lord?”

“Heavy rope,” Eirik stated. “Thick as your thumb or bigger. The kind used for hauling timber. Pulleys. Any wheel-and-rope contraption. Especially pulleys.” He mimed the motion. “Anything that changes the direction of a pull. Iron stakes. Big nails. Anything we can drive deep into wood.”

Jens nodded, scribbling furiously. “Rope. Pulleys. Iron spikes. Aye. Old camps near the north ridge might have some, near where they cut oak for the keep gates last year.”

“Good. Start there,” Eirik approved. “On the third day, you gather. Haul everything you find to a central hidden spot — a dry cave, a thicket deep off the trail. Somewhere there is no way to casually stumble.”

“And then?” Jens asked.

“Then,” Eirik said, stopping at another promising chokepoint — a rocky defile where the trail squeezed between two moss-covered boulders, with sturdy pines flanking the exit. “Then you build.”

He stepped into the defile, turning to face Jens. “For each chokepoint you marked, Jens, we build one thing: A barrier.”

Jens frowned. “Like a wall, m’lord?”

“Not quite. A moving wall.” Eirik pointed to the trees flanking the exit. “Imagine a heavy log. As long as you are tall. Thick as your leg. We drill or carve holes in both ends.” He mimed the action. “Thread thick rope through the holes. Tie knots so it’s secure. Test it — that rope must hold the log’s weight swinging.”

Understanding dawned on Jen’s face. “Swinging? Like… a battering ram?”

“A barrier ram,” Eirik corrected. “Hidden. On the side of the trail, in the bushes.” He pointed to a patch of dense undergrowth near one anchor tree. “Now, the anchor trees.” He walked to one thick pine. “We drive an iron spike deep into this tree, here.”

He indicated a spot chest-high. “Same on the opposite tree. Then, we attach pulleys to those spikes.” He mimed hooking a pulley onto a spike. “We run our rope through those pulleys.” His hands traced an invisible line through the air, from one pulley, across the trail, to the hidden log. “The rope attached to the log runs through these pulleys, changing direction.”

Jens’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “So… pulling on the rope here…” He gestured towards the anchor tree beside him.

“... would pull the log across the trail,” Eirik finished. “Exactly. But we don’t want to stand here pulling when enemies come. So…” He looked around, spotted a thick tangle of brush about twenty feet away, slightly uphill and off the main trail. “We run a separate rope. A long one. From the pulley mechanism here, back to a hidden spot there. We tie it with a special knot — a slipknot or a quick-release. That’s the trigger rope.”

He walked over to the brush pile, crouching. “Here. Hidden. We mark this spot with stones, too, just for our men. We train two men per trap. Their job is simple: Hide here. Wait. When the enemy force starts moving through the chokepoint, they pull this rope hard when I give the signal.”

Jens scrambled to join him, picturing it. “The log swings across the trail? At chest height?”

“Yes,” Eirik said. “It won’t kill with wooden weapons, but it will smash into three, maybe four men. Knock them down and create instant chaos. The log blocks the path. Anyone behind it piles up. They don’t know where it came from. They’re tangled. Disorganized. Perfect targets for an ambush.” Or forced into the path of Garrick’s reckless charge, he added silently.

“Brilliant, m’lord!” Jens breathed. “Simple and uses the forest.”

“Exactly,” Eirik said. “Simplicity is key. Test every rope, Jens. Every knot. Every pulley. Twice. If a rope breaks, the trap fails, and men might die.” He locked eyes with Jens. “On the fifth day, camouflage. Cover all ropes with leaves, moss, and snow. Hide the pulleys behind branches. Make the hidden log look like natural debris. Scrape away any fresh tool marks.”

Jens nodded solemnly, understanding the weight.

“On the sixth day,” Eirik continued, “you train the trigger men. For each trap location, you assign two men. Show them exactly where their hiding spot is. Show them the trigger rope. Drill them on the signal.”

“The signal?” Jens asked.

“A bird call. Something common but distinct. Three sharp whistles. When they hear it, it means ‘enemies in the gap’. Then they count.” Eirik held up five fingers. “Not too fast, not too slow. A steady count to five. Then pull. Hard and fast. Then…” He made a sharp, shooing gesture. “...they run. Get away from the trigger spot immediately. Don’t linger to watch.”

“Pull and run,” Jens repeated, committing it to memory. “Because the enemies will look for where it came from.”

“Smart,” Eirik acknowledged. “Their job ends with the pull. They must escape to fight another moment.”

He walked Jens back towards the trailhead, reinforcing the plan. “Remember, Jens, one man tangled under a log can’t fight. Five men confused about where the attack came from are slower to react than five men charging. We break their formation. We break their momentum. That’s how we fight giants.”

Jens walked beside him, shoulders straighter now. “Aye, m’lord. I understand. I won’t let you down.”

Eirik stopped at the forest edge, looking back into the shadowed depths. We’re building more than traps, Jens. We’re building a reputation. We’re building the legend of Eirik Stormcrow right here in this mud and snow.

“I know you won’t, Jens,” he said quietly. “Start scouting.”

Jens nodded and melted back into the trees, becoming just another shadow among the ancient pines. Eirik watched him go.