章 53: Chapter 53

'I'm getting too old for this shit…!' Sjorn thought to himself while he stood on the highest point in Hoelbrak, atop the great hall, his people had remodelled into a look out that could oversee the whole valley that laid below Hoelbrak and then some.

After the distraught troop of rangers had came rushing into Hoelbrak, yelling about invading enemies, Sjorn and the commanders under him had rushed to the look out and tried to spot the enemy to gauge what they were up against.

They had better not done so to save themselves the trouble to come up with an idea to win this fight.

'Fucking impossible to win this…' Sjorn thought to himself while observing the hundreds upon hundreds of enemies, ranging from normal Norn to creatures that stunk of corrupted magic for miles let alone the humongous dragon like thing which was without a doubt one of Jormag's champions.

Putting down the spyglasses in his hand the old man let out a frustrated sigh that told stories of weariness and exhaustion after fighting for years on years, and what for? To be overrun in one single night when his people had finally spotted a glimmer of light on the darkening horizon.

'Now what to do…' Sjorn continued his musings. Turning around he came face to face with his equally shocked subordinates, some of them arguing amongst each other for gods know what while other remained silent like the grave they would all soon welcome as their new homes.

Letting out another sigh Sjorn expelled all exhaustion from his mind and used the frustration inside of himself to fuel the anger in his core at the unfairness of the whole situation until it all erupted outwards in quite the volume. "Will you all SHUT UP for just one second?! Some of us are trying to think here and your pathetic whining won't help us get anywhere! Now, any ideas how we could get out of this fuckery?" Sjorn asked after he had made himself known to nearly everybody in the great hall below his feet, thanks to his strong lungs, and silenced his subordinates who immediately snapped to attention as none of them liked to land on Sjorn's bad side, especially on a day like this…

"We could try to attack them with small unit's from the nearby forests to slow their advance and diminish their forces before they surge against our walls." One of Sjorn's subordinates answered after a few seconds of contemplative silence which earned the man a few nods from his colleagues alongside Sjorn who thought the tactic wasn't bad but…

"Unfortunately we aren't only up against Norn like us, otherwise I may have considered giving the strategy a try. With the beasts from Jormag's creation and his champion it wouldn't be impossible for them to simply flatten the forest or just ignore our tries to lure them away. Any other ideas?" Sjorn asked once again though it took a little bit longer for the men and women to answer this time.

"How about we reinforce the walls through magic and cause the ground to collapse below their feet while we rain arrows down upon their heads? Their own weight and numbers could be an advantage for us if our mages are capable of such feats of course." A woman responded this time causing Sjorn to hum in thought for a little bit. The idea had merit for sure but once again Jormag's champion and creations screwed those ideas over.

"Not possible. His champion and casters could simple conjure a thick sheen of ice over which they could attack us. But I think a combination of all these ideas could make up an alright strategy. Get back to your men. I'll meet with the Havroune to discuss my idea on how to go about this while you prepare the troops in my absence. Dismissed!" Sjorn said while waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, already in motion to rush of to find the Havroune, all the while only passively noticing the salutations from his subordinates before they rushed off to carry out his orders.

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After Alvar and his grandparents had stepped out into the freezing December night what greeted their eyes was pure chaos. Families were rushing around Hoelbrak with bags and weapons thrown over their shoulders running to gods know where, the faint cries of children echoing through the biting winds all the while which gave the whole scene an eerie quality. One that Alvar immediately knew he didn't like one fucking bit!

Once he had observed the scene for a few seconds he followed after his grandparents though he was surprised when they didn't lead him into the direction of the entrance gates into Hoelbrak. After all Alvar had at first thought they had decided to escape the enemies, no matter how foolish he thought that to be…

But instead they lead him into the direction of the great hall, which was rather convenient for Alvar as he could pick up a spear and a round shield on his way there. After he had done so the trio continued their way to the biggest building in Hoelbrak and the further they got along on their approach the thicker the crowd got until they literally had to squeeze themselves through the masses.

While Alvar made way for his old grandmother by roughly shoving his fellow Norn out of the way he passively heard what some men or women in the crowd were yelling into the direction of the great hall where the Havroune must be standing, judging by the words spoken.

"Who is attacking us? The sons of Jormag again? Do something for gods sake!" One Norn yelled and Alvar couldn't but mentally facepalm at the idiocy of the man.

'What exactly are we supposed to do? Attack the enemy head on? We would be crushed in minutes you fool!' Alvar thought with a mental snarl that contained all his frustrations but he still managed to contain his bubbling emotions as he had been trained to well to let his control slip now of all times.

Once they reached the front of the crowd though Alvar was dumbfounded when a pair of arms he only knew too well grabbed him and pulled him out of the masses. Before him stood Sjorn with a grim face but what the man wanted from him in a situation like this was beyond Alvar…