143 CXLIII. Frokos

"Your eyes! Your eyes have turned black as dark, I had never seen them like that! Reidar and I thought you were dying!" said Karl, pointing to Reidar, who was still sitting on the trunk, trying to recover from the scare.

"Thank you for your apprehension, my friends, but I'm fine. I actually feel in great shape. I feel my muscles toned and rested and my mind is clear and active... a moment ago I thought death had come, but now... here I am" said Dag, glad to be still alive.

Despite the relief, he still could not feel any significant change within his body, although the amount of blood Karl had injected him was not as small as he initially believed.

His body had very willingly accepted that unknown liquid, acting autonomously, as if reasoning with a brain of its own.

"I think... I think I remember..." said Dag with a confused air, looking down.

"What are you talking about, Captain?" asked Reidar, standing up.

"During the paralysis... I had hallucinations. I saw mountains, a river flowing down the valley... and the wind... I felt the cold wind crashing against my face. I was in heaven and I could see everything from above. I also remember grabbing a hare and lifting it off the ground, I don't know how. You know, I think it's the memories of the hawk" Dag said, leaving his companions speechless.

"If I hadn't known you in a lifetime and hadn't seen what are you capable of, using your powers, I probably would have said you're a fool... because this is completely absurd!" said Karl, squinting and trying to imagine the scene described by Dag.

"The memories? How could you have seen the memories of the hawk? I don't understand what its blood has to do with it" Reidar said.

"I don't know, believe me... I really have no idea. I know it's just like that, I feel it, inside me. I think the reason is that it wasn't a normal hawk and its blood wasn't normal too" Dag continued, thinking aloud.

As the three companions discussed the incident, a female voice called them from behind: "Karl! Karl, what happened?!"

It was Agnes.

Behind her, the child who had seen Dag writhing hid leaning against her dress.

"Nothing, don't worry. Let's say we experimented something, but it's all right" Karl replied, approaching Agnes and the child, reassuring them.

"Does that liquid that you had me store secretly have anything to do with this? Just today I noticed that it was no longer in its place".

Karl sighed, looking at Agnes with a smile.

She lowered herself towards the child, who when he saw Karl became frightened and hid completely behind Agnes' dress.

"Hey, kid. You can feel comfortable, it's okay. My friend wasn't feeling well, but now he's fine! Look at him, he's over there!" he said, pointing to Dag, who greeted the child with his hand, holding the game.

"Did you see? He's fine! Now go, go back to play with your friends" Karl continued, stroking the child's head, which calmed down and walked away towards the other farmers.

"Then should I worry? I could hear screams coming from here" Agnes continued, inquiring about what really happened.

"Yes, I told you there's nothing to worry about" Karl replied, gently touching her hair.

"I don't want to interrupt you, but... we have to hurry now that we are so close to our destination. We'll be back soon" Dag said, drawing the attention of his companion, taken from his woman.

"Yes, Dag is right. Remember the promise I made to you... we'll see each other in a few days. In the meantime, pack your things" Karl continued, looking Agnes in the eye.

She nodded.

The three adventurers, after greeting the village farmers, mounted on horseback and headed north.

The horses, despite having side pockets full of riches, did not seem to be weighed down. Ace also managed to carry the extra weight, although he was less robust than the other two.

Dag and his companions rode through the wheat fields, orienting themselves with the Sun, which shone high in the sky.

"There are two other villages on the coast, before Tyven. I think we could take a look" Reidar said.

"Yes, all right. We should sell some of the stuff we got from the bandit loot. A few extra bucks can only do good to us, being constantly on the road" Dag said, continuing to ride.

The Sun began to set when the three friends saw the coast again: the hills separating the sea and the hinterland had gradually disappeared.

There was a vast plain that gently descended to the sea, turning its fertile land into sand and pebbles.

"Without hills to overcome, it will be much easier to reach the east side of the region. Once we're by the sea, we'll just have to continue north to reach Tyven. There you can see another village, look" Dag said, pointing to a small town miles away.

"That should be Frokost, one of the villages I was telling you about before" Reidar said.

"Let's get closer" Dag continued, deviating from the straight path he cut through the fields.

After riding for a couple of hours, they arrived at the village: it consisted of a small town and a little, lush wood behind it.

The houses were about twenty and peasants were walking through the streets of the village, beginning to look carefully at Dag and his companions, who were crossing the entrance.

Although Frokost was a village whose yield was mainly derived from agriculture, it did not seem at all poor.

Each corner was decorated with flowers and small fountains, taken care of in detail.

There was an air of peace and the smell of warm bread.

Dag and his companions followed that smell, finding themselves in front of a hut with the doors wide open, from which white smoke came out.

"Wait for me here" he said, getting off his horse and entering the hut.