121 CXXI. The Flower

"I never expected there to be a swamp in here! I'll write it right in my notebook" replied Karl, who took pen and paper.

Dag got off the horse, scaring the toad that plunged into the water, disappearing into the slime.

All three of them tied their horses to a nearby tree and began searching for the flower of Egill's almanac: the Crimson Tooth.

"Is this, by any chance?" asked Reidar, who detached a plant from the ground showing it to Karl.

"No, Reidar. That's a 'Typha Latifolia'... I told you it's a plant with red flowers and a thorny stem" Karl replied, annoyed.

Reidar threw the freshly picked plant into the pond and turned the other way, looking at Dag and grimacing, to tease Karl and his schoolmasterly tone.

Dag chuckled softly.

"Unbelievable. This is a wonderful discovery!" said Karl, leaning down to the ground as Dag and Reidar approached.

With a small knife, he eradicated a plant from the mud.

"It's this one! Look and learn, Reidar" Karl continued, with a plant with large red flowers in his hand.

"Hahaha! Very good, Karl! I told you we could find it!" exclaimed Dag, satisfied.

"Yes, I thought it was impossible... but it also happens to the best to be wrong" Karl chuckled, acknowledging his mistakes.

"Now that you've seen how it's made, pick it up as much as we can, I don't think we'll ever come back to this place and this plant doesn't grow near Jernhest" he continued, as Dag and Reidar went on the lookout again.

When the Sun set, they had managed to pick up a bunch of those red flowers, which Karl carefully placed in a fabric bag, avoiding ruining them.

"Well! And now… what do we do?" he exclaimed, looking at Dag and waiting for orders.

"Let's stop here for this night. We will be more careful and stay together all the time. Reidar's wounds will continue to heal, and you can study all possible uses of this 'Crimson Tooth', not to waste a single piece of it, considering its rarity. And then... we should toast our discovery!" said Dag, pulling a small jug of clay from one of the bags attached to the horse's saddle.

"Good mead is just what I need!" replied Reidar enthusiastically, admiring the jug as if it was gold.

The three explorers camped a few feet away from the swamp and began eating and drinking a sip of mead each.

"Let's not waste it all. I think we're going to need it again! Hahaha!" said Dag.

"Let me take a look at your wounds, Reidar" Karl said, as he finished eating his portion.

He changed the bandages that enveloped Reidar's wounds, replaced them with clean ones, and smeared an ointment on the stitches, which would speed up cicatrization.

After the medication, Reidar, while he was sitting down, leaned against a tree with his back.

The neck of his leather jacket widened slightly and Dag caught a glimpse of a silver pendant hanging around his neck.

"What a beautiful necklace. What is it?" he asked, to snoop and pass the time.

Reidar took the pendant in his hands, clutching it.

It was a very simple pendant, in the shape of an anchor.

"A girl gave it to you... tell us the truth..." Karl said, touching Reidar's shoulder with his own.

Reidar smiled: "Yes. Someone's waiting for me in Hevnen. I have agreed to follow you on this mission not only because I share Dag's ideals... but also because I hope to see Turid again. She's the love of my life".

Dag smiled back and approached his friend.

"I know what that means, Reidar. I have someone waiting for me, too. You're going to see your Turid again, no matter what. Is it part of the Sons Of Freya Clan?" he asked.

"No, she's not a Shieldmaiden. She followed in her father's footsteps and she's now one of Hevnen's best seamstress, despite being only 17 years old..." continued Reidar, clutching the pendant on his chest.

"Then she can make some improvements to our armor! I'd like to have a tailor I can trust!" continued Dag, trying to cheer his friend.

"You have to know that this idiot had the brilliant idea of falling in love with my sister" Karl interrupted, referring to Dag.

"Hahaha! Really? Is that why you know each other?" asked Reidar, laughing.

"Karl and I met when we were kids. We started training in the Arena around the same time. And yes, it's all true… her name is Freydis" Dag said, with melancholy.

After uttering her name, he felt a squeeze to his chest.

He was deeply in love with her.

"Obviously without my help, he would never have been able to win her heart!" said Karl, devaluing Dag's manhood.

"Hahaha!" laughed Reidar.

Laughing and chatting, time passed and the night fell.

Reidar had already fallen asleep and Dag began his guard duty.

The situation was similar to the previous night: absolute silence reigned in the forest.

The only difference was that this time Dag and his companions had left their weapons at hand, ready to take them if they were needed.

As Dag threw small stones into the pond, trying to pass the time, he sneezed.

Then another sneeze, right after.

He didn't notice much and continued to throw rocks into the water until he heard a noise coming from behind a tree.

He immediately stood up and picked up the hammer from the ground, beside the fire.

He stood still, waiting to better understand where the noises came from. They looked like footsteps.

From behind a tree that stood a few feet in front of him, a hooded person came out, walking toward him.

Judging by the sheer stat and the walk, she looked like a woman.

"Who are you? Show me your face, otherwise I will be forced to hit you!" said Dag.

After these words, suddenly rose again the Sun, which illuminated the hooded figure, which stopped before him.