"We're going to the Rocky Crown, Freydis. If you need more time with your friend, go ahead, we'll wait for you up there" Dag said, walking alongside his companions in the direction of the wooden platforms.

"Ragna and I will have other opportunities to speak. What matters is to have you reviewed and know that you are safe. Live your life without remorse, sister... we made it!" exclaimed Freydis, trying to hearten the sad soul of her friend, indelibly marked by past events, that gripped her mind to such an extent that it limited her use of the word.

After greeting each other, Ragna approached her father, who had witnessed the scene smiling, and Freydis moved to Dag, who, proud of her, rested his arm on her shoulders, looking tenderly at her big brown eyes.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Dag, trying to understand his woman's intentions.

"I really feared I wouldn't see you again, Dag. I believe that, with the permission of my Masters, without giving up my Clan, I will follow you and your companions. As long as this is what you want..." answered her, continuing to look him in the eye and shaking his hand between hers.

Dag did not answer, merely smiling and looking forward, confirming that obvious question.

As the crowd gathered behind them, following them to the elevators, leading warriors to the walls, climbing and descending nonstop, Dag and the others stopped there in front, waiting for their turn in line after Sander and Kjell.

"Psst!" whispered Dag, trying to catch Gridd's attention, with one hand resting on his chest. 

She turned to him, approaching her ear to his mouth.

"The Bjelke Sphere, that device that can trace emblems around my neck... every time I'm next to Kjell, it doesn't stop vibrating!" he continued, looking from behind the Crows Of Odin's Master of Offense.

"Aha! I knew it! I knew the rumors I had heard were true! If I remember correctly, you told me that the vibration intensity is proportional to the emblem's rank, right?" asked Gridd softly, trying not to be heard by the subject in question.

"Yes, it should work like this... it has never vibrated so loudly, that means that if Kjell has an emblem, its rank is much higher than mine!" replied Dag.

"Then? Are you going to challenge him?" asked Gridd again, noting that his brother looked at Kjell with an interested air, as if he was already beginning to study his movements. 

"Yes, I will challenge him. Master Sander told us that Kjell would probably oppose my leaders.h.i.+p in the Iron Alliance and try to steal my t.i.tle. I'm going to wait for that moment and try to kill two birds with one stone... he can't refuse" Dag continued, climbing the elevator with the others, who didn't hear a word of the speech made in confidence with Gridd.

When everyone was on the Rocky Crown, Sander turned to them, still dirty with mud and blood. 

"I will personally escort you to your rooms, where you can rest and wash. When you're done, we'll see each other in the library, where we first met, okay?" he asked, also dirty after the battle.

"All right, we'll see each other there in a few hours" Dag confirmed, following Sander to a very wide, hundreds of-meter-long, curved building that followed the stone circ.u.mference of the Rocky Crown.

The five friends entered the dormitory, which was not much different from the Temple Of Orn, only from the colder architecture and dull colors, like every building in Skjegg, gray and sad. 

Sander pointed to three free rooms, one next to the other, specifying that the central one was slightly larger than the other two because it was located at a corner of the building.

"In about 4 hours. See you out here in four hours. Rest and clean up, my friends... the hardest part is over" Dag said, giving a precise time and a meeting point to his teammates.

This time, it was Karl who shared the room with Reidar, while Gridd entered another and Dag and Freydis in the central one.

A single large bed was located in the middle of the room, under which was a white fur rug with brown patches.

On one side of the room, a large clay tub was filled to the brim of tepid water and next to it, a kind of wooden rack was resting on the wall, with the function of a dress holder.

As soon as he entered the room, after locking the door for some privacy, Dag took off his belt with his weapons, resting it on the ground, at the foot of the rack.

Soon after, he untied the top of his armor, which despite being very light, given his tiredness and the fact that it was soaked in blood and earth, it looked very heavy on his shoulders.

After placing it on the ground, he also removed the linen under it, remaining s.h.i.+rtless.

He approached the tub and plunged his face into the water, rubbing it with his hands to rinse off the dirt and wash the wounds, which were already healing thanks to his accelerated power of self-regeneration.

As the water began to stain with blood, Freydis's warm hands stroked his back.

Dag paused, squinting: drops of water fell from his face, bathing the floor, while Freydis continued to touch his back, then moving on his arms, lingering on his right one, covered with runic scars. 

The fingers of her small hands gently brushed every imperfection of Dag's skin and the fingertips softly touched the scars, while her face also rested on his shoulders and the caresses soon became a warm embrace.