Chapter 264 Another Falls...



Morning came but it did not come with the peace or quiet that came with that time of the day. 

It came with a dreadful stench of death. 

It came with the death of Kolbeinn who had died from his injuries, the news gripped everyone in the camp and now they called for Skaði's head. 

She was the one that killed Kolbeinn, it was her stab that put him in that state and Tyr was just going to send her back?

They were not having, two Chieftains died in the space of twenty-four hours, this was a huge blow to their military prowess but it made Tyr the unopposed ruler to these two clans. 

Gudrun was hysterical, she cried and cried but Tyr stood there, motionless because he actually thought that Kolbeinn would scale through so this was a surprise. 

Tyr walked into the house where he was and he saw his lifeless body, he could not believe this single battle came with so many casualties. 

Kolbeinn was cold, the wound he had gotten looked darker than the rest of his body, there was no doubt that that was what killed him. 

Tyr closed his eyes and like a reel, everything he had experienced with Kolbeinn played through his mind.

Tyr, however, was not feeling this on an emotional level but rather mental, he saw this as a loss overall. 

News flew around the camp about how a Sturlungar clan member killed him in the cover of the dark but everyone denied it. 

The tension was boiling over but Tyr ignored it all because he was inside and with the corpse of Kolbeinn.

Gudrun soon joined in despite the guards' best efforts to keep her out as she was not in the right frame of mind to deal with something so traumatic.

"F-Father…" Gudrun muttered before looking at Tyr with tears in her eyes.

"Y-You said he would be fine!" Gundrun lashed out at Tyr, she needed someone to fix her anger on and Tyr happened to be there. 

She began stroking him repeatedly, repeating the same thing over and over again. 

Tyr did not move an inch or even try to stop her, he allowed her to do it. 

"I should have been by his side, Tyr! He died alone! You promised me, you did!" Gudrun said, she was shaking and her strikes stopped. 

"I am sorry Gudrun…" These were the only words that escaped his lips, he knew she needed to feel what she had to. 

There was no rushing grief, he was not going to tell her that everything would be alright because he knew she already knew that deep down, he knew she would scale through this but right now, he wanted her to experience loss without telling her how she should process it, there is no fixed way to. 

Gudrun cried in his chest as Tyr stared blankly at the corpse before him.

And the echoing outside calling for Skaði's head grew louder, she was the prime suspect in this but Tyr had given her his word so would he break it on this account?

He went outside, after spending the entire day in the tent where Kolbeinn had died with Gudrun, and he saw the sight; the people there had gotten more violent as they began beating the prisoners. 

Tyr did not say a word and just watched, he wanted to see the truth behind their actions but Tyr soon brought an end to this. 

"Enough!" Tyr screamed, and the noise ceased, silence fell and the boy that had conquered them remained as his cold gaze was focused on Skaði.

Skaði looked worried, which was a far cry from her calm and collected attitude from the night before. 

"Skaði, give me your answer…" This was all Tyr said, and Skaði knew denying him would be certain death but she also wanted to test his word. 

Would he still hold it even when everyone wanted her dead?

"You gave me your word Chieftain and I have decided to return to my camp," Skaði said, she could feel the murderous glares around her.

"Very well then," Tyr gestured for them to release her but Skaði stood like she was waiting for something else but she never said what. 

Tyr, however, picked up on it because she was not subtle at all but the was a chance to test Skaði's will to live.

"I never said I would grant the others freedom, they will be dead before nightfall and I have the perfect means to test the loyalty of those that gave their allegiance to me. You can stay and die with them or you can save yourself," Tyr gave her a condition and she did not need much convincing, she jumped at the chance at saving herself, and the disbelief from some of the faces of her men said everything there was but some understood this decision so they were split. 

This was just what Tyr needed, if they were split they could not stand tall and act as one.

Tyr had expertly sliced through the middle of their loyalty without violence but rather, with a perceived act of kindness as the honorable thing would be dying with her men. 

Skaði shamelessly retreated but she left with one important thing and that was information. 

The men looked at Tyr, they knew that they were all going to die but they did not want to die a coward's death and pleaded with Tyr to let them die as warriors. 

"I am not killing you but I cannot let you go just yet. I just wanted to show you how little your lives mean to them yet you want to throw it away for some cause? Tell me, are your lives not equal to hers?" This was all Tyr said as he returned to the place approximately twenty-five minutes after, to what he now called his house, leaving the prisoners to ponder on something worth thinking about. 

"Fuck! Kolbeinn, you stupid son of a bitch!" Tyr cussed under his breath, clenching his fist as he mourned the death of his friend but behind him, stood a cloaked figure with a dagger in hand.