408 CDVIII. Whos With Me? (1/2)

”I haven't been able to see the village before, even when I looked from the top of this cliff, but that's not why I'm pessimistic... what are we going to do once we get there? That man confessed to me and Gridd that their boss wants revenge for the death of his son... they will attack us on sight! What do we do if their number is much higher than ours? I don't want to lose any more men, Egill, I wouldn't stand it” Dag confessed, venting his nervousness with his former Master and looking at him with sincere eyes, as if he was asking for help from someone who, like him, had more experience in this sort of thing.

Egill put his hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

”Before we left, we trained our men to fight the Jotunns. The only battle we've fought since we got here was against enemies we'd never faced, obviously there were losses, we were already prepared for that. But against the Giants... you'll see, it will be different. Our soldiers are ready to fight, Dag… and more... they are also ready to reach Valhalla, fighting for what they believe. The question is... is their Warchief ready too?”

After those words, a shiver ran through Dag's back, who had just listened to the words he most feared in his subconscious, emphasized by Egill's superhuman calm, which as if he was reading in his thought, had managed to identify his perplexities from a simple glance.

”I don't know, Egill. I don't know if I'm ready to die. There are too many things I don't know... dying and leaving all these unresolved issues would be the worst thing that could happen to me. I feel like I haven't taken advantage of the time my life has given me. I need to know who my parents are and...”

”Enough, boy. Stop it. I figured it out. You're not going to die now, Dag from Earth, your time hasn't come yet. But these soldiers don't need a leader who's afraid to die. Teach them how to deal with these difficult moments, as only you can do” Egill continued, smiling and leaving Dag's shoulder, turning the other way and continuing to prepare his belongings, tucking several items into his healer bag.

Dag stood still for a few seconds looking at the ground, reflecting on those words.

Once again, Egill's wisdom had served him to regain the courage that was easy to lose during those difficult moments, finding himself in an unknown and hostile place.

”Yes, commander!”

”Let's kill all those bastards, from the first to the last!”

”My friend's family was in that village when those sons of bitch arrived!