No Elves in Sovngarde Book Two, NEIS continued Options

[Elisabeth Hollow]

No Elves in Sovngarde Book One is here, and is currently being spiced and touched up, bit by bit.

For those who don't want to read the first book, or need a refresher on what has previously happened, I have included a brief summary of the first book, which will be written later, when I'm not freaking out about how to write a summary.

I really am terrible with summaries. To prove my point, here's my summary of Toy Story:

"After sitting here with my fingers frozen above the keyboard, all I can say about Toy Story is that it made me terrified of having toys as a kid, and gave me nightmares. The only thing I took away from that movie is that you shouldn't judge others by appearance. Except the bad kids. They wear skulls so you can identify them easily."

-shakes head in shame-

Anyways, I've got a prologue written up. The summary should be up, hopefully, within the next few days or so. Or when my computer's plate isn't so full, lol.

Enjoy!

[Elisabeth Hollow]

I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the fangs thing! I was laughing so hard writing it, and my husband was like "What?" and I would go "THITH ITH THOOOOO FUNNY!"

The look he gave me, lmfao!

Treydog, you need to catch up! Hurry! HURRY!!! XD

And welcome, DE! Maybe this book will be more to your liking? XD

And to those who think they're late when they read-Shush. For real. You're fine. Look at treydog and DE. Reading when an entire book is done. One or two or ten chapters behind won't kill me. Calm down XD

CHAPTER TWO

Erik's sword sliced through the neck in nearly one swing. The vampire gurgled, her hair stuck and matted on her face with her own blood, covering her mouth and nose. She fell with a hard thud. Uthgerd patted his back.

"Good job. That's another nest." The tall Nord female wiped away the sweat from her forehead with a steel-plated hand. Her eyes traveled around the dark cavern, lit up only by torches on the walls, and one roaring fire in the center. They hadn't found Asta's nest this time, but Uthgerd felt like they were close. Where others saw sheer madness, she saw desperation. She glanced at Mjoll, the other blonde Nord wiping her blade, Grimsever, clean.

"Mjoll, first watch tonight?"

"Sure." Mjoll wiped her brow with her also steel-plated hand. The two Nordic women were similar in the regards that they were both female and wore the same type of armor. Where Mjoll was blonde, Uthgerd had a tinge of red to her locks, giving her the look of a strawberry-blonde. Uthgerd's green eyes were hard and unforgiving, whilst Mjoll's blue eyes shone with compassion. Uthgerd turned her nose up at the vampires while Mjoll shook her head in sadness.

"These were children," she said to herself. She glanced at Erik. The red-maned barbarian was wiping his sword clean silently, his blue eyes focused on the silver blade.

"You say that every nest, Mjoll," Uthgerd said. She looked down at Mjoll over her nose. "When are you going to grow a thick skin?"

"The day she gets used to putting a sword into the heart of a child is the day she leaves this group," Erik snapped. The sharp ice of Erik's glare peirced the hardened green of Uthgerd's nearly unwavering gaze. She huffed and began cleaning her axe. Mjoll sheathed her sword and put a hand on Erik's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"No need." Erik ignored Mjoll's hand on his shoulder, continuing to wipe his blade clean. "I'll take first watch. You get some sleep."

"You know I can't sleep after a raid."

"Then we watch together."

The unhappy trio pulled the bodies out one by one and burned them, allowing them the luxery of a nearly stenchless cave. Nearly. Mjoll and Erik sat near the entrance of the cave, Erik watching one side while she watched the other.

Mjoll was startled when Erik spoke. "How's Aerin?" He asked politely. Not wanting the night to be completely silent, she thought to herself.

She responded nonchalantly, "He's fine. Worried sick about me. He acts as if I can't defend myself. He has seen me bash a thief's head into a rail and kick him into the canal, and he still asks me if I'm alright." Mjoll chuckles.

Erik was silent for a moment. "Don't write him off."

"What?"

"Don't write the guy off." He turned towards her, but wasn't quite looking at her. He searched her face, but looked disappointed in what he saw. His normally icy blue eyes misted for a moment. He blinked. Gone. He turned away again.

"When a man cares like that for you, you should give him a chance. Maybe you'll be surprised."

"He's not my type."

"And what is your type, Mjoll? You've never told me in the year that we've traveled together. A strong warrior, maybe? Or a mage with enough power to crumble cities? Certainly not a common man." He added under his breath, "Not a common farmer."

Mjoll's eyebrow knitted together. "Are we still talking about Aerin?"

"Nevermind."

Mjoll let out an exasperated breath. She turned her eyes to the starlit sky. She took in a deep breath of crisp, cool air and allowed her mind to wander.

Erik kept his eyes trained on the terrain below. The stench from the cave was burning in his nostrils still. He wiped his nose on the back of his hand and groaned in frustration when he realized he still had vampire gore on the back of his hand. He choked back a coughing fit and pulled on the shirt under his armor and wiped his face with it.

He looked back at Mjoll, but she didn't appear to have heard him. He turned back to the swampy terrain. He remembered a story Kayla had told him when she first came to Rorikstead and stayed at his father's inn. He had scoffed at her when she offered to train him, but she said "That is fine. I wouldn't want someone who killed the Dark Brotherhood to train me either."

Erik had done a double-take and stared at her grinning face. Many soldiers who had came through had told stories of the elf who had came to Dragon Bridge with a bag full of heads claiming they were the last remaining members of the Dark Brotherhood. A smile crept up on his face at the memory.

Erik had dismissed her and waved her off as mad. Later that night, three men attacked their inn, knocking his father out and taunting Erik. The closest thing Erik had to a sword at the time was the dagger his father kept under the counter for those who didn't need to be told twice. These men wanted bloodshed.

Kayla had lured one man into her bedroom and knocked him out, while the other two she had taken out with a firebolt to the face. Kayla had pulled Erik up and he realized that even though he was tall, she was still taller than him by half a head. He suddenly saw all of the scars on her, with her armor not covering them. She had mirth in her eyes and teased him about wanting to be an adventurer, but couldn't even take care of some low-life bandits.

Their training had started the next day. Kayla was not a "practice paddling on the safety of land" type. She was a "throw you in the water and see if you could figure it out," but not with cruelty. She critiqued his form and threw pointers while they fought wolves, and at the end of the week, she offered to pay for his armor. She said he had great potential, and could see him being a wonderful partner for another adventurer. Erik's heart had leapt with joy.

While her own armor was being repaired, she stayed at the Frostfruit Inn, laughing with his father over a glass of wine. She seemed more amiable and loose at this time, and Erik's father saw the look he gave her and stood up, slapping his hand on the table.

"I need to go clean a few dishes. I'll be back later."

Kayla had waved to Mralki and trained her eyes in Erik. That ever-shining look of mirth in her eyes was intensified by the alcohol. She gave him a half smile and pointed at him to take a seat. He did, and she rested her chin on her hands and gave him an odd look.

"What?" he had asked.

"Nothing," she said, smiling. "You're doing so well with training, and I think that you'll be ready by the time I leave."

"By the time YOU leave? I'm not coming with you?"

She shook her head, the smile gone. "I work alone, Erik. I always have. But," She reached under the table and put her hand on his leg. "There's no reason why we can't leave on good terms."

Erik glanced at the table, the color in his face rising. He saw she had only had three glasses of wine and figured it would not be enough to alter her thinking. He pulled her up and lead her to his room, the only room with a door. He had heard couples make love plenty of times in their stay at the inn, in the wee hours of the morning when no one else was awake, and he thought he recognized the sounds well enough to figure she was satisfied. She was quiet and demure during, blushing and making delighted gasps. Erik supposed that for his first time, he had done a good job.

Kayla had fallen asleep soon after they were finished, and Erik fell asleep as well. When he had awoken a few hours later, Kayla was awake, her clothes back on but her hair still disheveled. She gave him another odd look before shaking her head and leaving his room. She left the next morning without a word.

At that time, Erik was confused. He had learned later on that Nord woman can handle their alcohol much better than Elven women, and Kayla was not just tipsy, she was one sip away from being smashed. Erik had chastised himself for letting his lower head do his thinking for him. His course of action would have been much different had he known.

He snapped out of his memory when the scrape and clank of Uthger's armor could be heard, getting up, like always, early for her shift. He looked behind him and Mjoll was already heading down the cave entrance, her blue eyes blinking sleepily. Erik nodded to Uthgerd and she took Mjoll's spot, her green eyes never leaving the terrain. Erik sighed and walked down the cave entrance, hoping to get some sleep.

This post has been edited by Elisabeth Hollow: Apr 2 2013, 06:09 PM