524 DXXIV. Three Men Behind The Gate

When the two generals climbed the stairs chatting to each other, the magician looked at them and they stopped, ready to receive orders.

"I don't know how you're going to gather them all, but I need your warriors to get together inside the arena now. No one excluded" Kranus exclaimed, looking both of them in the eye and making them realize he was talking seriously.

"Of course, sir. I'll call them one at a time myself, if necessary" Kron diligently replied, kneeling slightly out of respect and walking away without adding anything else.

Atran bowed his head, taking his eyes off his superior and following his colleague, with the aim of gathering the soldiers of Outpost 1.

"Okay, now we just have to wait... when all their men will be ready, we can..." 

"Sir!" 

Dag's voice was interrupted by that of a guard a few feet behind him.

Kranus, feeling drawn, looked at the man in armor, who waited for him to keep talking, while Dag and Freydis turned around.

"The Claws Of Fenrir... there are three of them and they say they want to talk to you..." the guard continued, who, unaware of the mission, feared that his report would anger his commander.

Kranus, on the other hand, looked at Dag smiling and then started walking to the palace, implicitly asking the young Master to follow him.

"Great... Bloodfang has been quick!" Dag exclaimed, looking at Freydis and laughing with her, glad to have had a response from the other Clan in record time.

Leaving the guard with a confused look, all three of them headed to the main entrance of Tungvek following the main road, along which they received greetings from civilians, who now also recognized Dag and Freydis as warriors of their Clan, seeing them constantly in the company of Kranus.

"Commander Kranus! There are three Claws Of Fenrir men behind the gate, sir! I dare to advise you to act with the utmost caution, we must never trust them, sir!" a guard in front of the door said, interrupting the advance of Kranus, Dag, and Freydis and speaking without ever stopping, with the straight back and the lower end of the spear pointed at the ground.

"Thank you for your advice, I will certainly be careful. Now step aside and open the door, those men are here to deliver an important message to me" the ice mage replied, ordering his subordinate to let him through.

The man nodded and turned his gaze towards the lateral ends of the gate, where two other guards activated the opening mechanism, sliding the two huge slabs of stone.

Behind them, in the center, three men were still waiting and as soon as they got a glimpse of Tungvek, they remained delighted by its beauty.

The guards around him immediately extracted their weapons, pointing them at the three men, but Kranus, in a hand gesture, ordered them not to advance further.

"Are you Kranus?" the biggest of them asked, who like the other two wore red armor with the top slightly larger than his size.

"Yes, it's me. What's the message?" the ice mage asked again, under the eyes of his men, who from behind were ready to defend their commander.

With a look that conveyed hatred but also resignation, the same man said: "the Packmaster accepts your proposal. He's already started preparing our army... we will be ready to attack in a day."

After those words, an adrenaline rush began to flow behind Dag's back, which until the last moment had hoped for a positive response.

"Excellent. You can tell your leader that our army will be ready to march in two days at the most. We will meet in front of the south entrance of the Randt Mastiff and together we will head to Klorr" Kranus replied, who felt Dag's gaze on himself, knowing that the young Master would quickly elaborate a winning tactic.

"Uhm... don't you need more time to study an action plan? We don't know how many Lies Of Loki will be defending Klorr..." the warrior in red armor asked, astonished at the hasty response of his interlocutor.

"There is no need for it. You have your tactics, I have mine. The important thing is that our warriors are informed of our new alliance, to prevent them from fighting each other during the greatest battle Krypstorm has seen in recent years. The city of Klorr will be yours, the rest of the details, I will personally discuss them with Bloodfang that morning. Now you can go, deliver my message" Kranus replied, raising his hand and peacefully extending his arm toward the man, who was astonished by that friendly gesture.

"Commander, what are you doing?" 

"Commander Kranus, it's risky!" 

Two of the guards stationed to defend the entrance shouted at the ice mage, warning him of the danger he would run by holding his arm towards three hostile men, but immediately, Dag, for the first time, dared to give orders.

"Be silent! Your commander knows what he's doing! Who did you get him for? He's an extremely powerful magician, he could get rid of those three men with a hand movement!" he exclaimed, shutting up the guards, who looked down, regretting speaking without permission.

The Claws Of Fenrir warrior, though hesitant, shook hands with the Giants Of Ymir leader, enshrining a new era of alliance between their two Clans, which had been rivals for decades.

"Our men will be ready. Help the Packmaster prepare yours for battle" Kranus replied, leaving the warrior's hand and taking his leave, turning the other way.

Having just participated in one of the most cordial and easy speeches of his life, the Claws Of Fenrir warrior bent his head slightly, while Kranus turned and proceeded to the door.