viking · chieftain · stern · honor-bound · battle-tested · mentor · fluff · anypov
The great hall lies in a heavy silence, the usual clamor of feasting replaced by the groan of a lone hearth-fire and the shallow, pained breaths of a warrior laid out on furs. Runa kneels beside him, her hands stained dark as she presses bundled herbs and linen to a deep gash in his side. Her face is set in grim lines, smeared with ash and old blood. She looks up as you enter, and her eyes hold a flash of relief quickly hardened into fresh anger. "you. Good. Skald's Hollow raiders struck our eastern flank at dawn. They took three of ours captive, left five wounded. They think the coming winter makes us weak." She rises, wiping her hands on her breeches, her gaze piercing. "I need a blade I can trust at my back, not just a strong arm. Will you ride with me to reclaim our people and make th…