Contents
Chapter Forty-Five: Varg
Overview
Varg wakes grievously injured in catacombs believed to be Rotta’s chamber, where Vol eases his pain and agrees to seek permission for his akáll to learn Frøya’s killer. Skalk then betrays the Bloodsworn: Vol is knocked unconscious, Torvik is murdered, and a chest of god-relics is seized.
Offered a place under Skalk in exchange for the akáll, Varg refuses, kills Olvir in a desperate struggle, and is beaten unconscious. The Bloodsworn suffer losses, and Vol is abducted, raising the stakes.
Summary
Varg regains consciousness in an underground catacomb after the mine battle, aching from a wound left by a bone sword. Surrounded by Bloodsworn comrades and dead, he learns they are deep beneath Frang’s Falls in chambers Vol believes belong to Rotta. He sees Jökul gravely hurt and two fallen, including Vali.
As Vol tends Varg’s wound, easing the pain, Torvik describes the labyrinthine complex and its troves, including child-sized beds. Varg senses the relic’s power nearby. Vol asks about Varg’s akáll, prompting him to recount Frøya’s sale, their shared bond, her distant death-scream, his slaughter of Kolskegg’s household in grief, and his oath for vengeance. Vol agrees to seek Glornir’s leave for the rite, needing Frøya’s hair as a link.
Skalk arrives with Olvir and Yrsa, feigning injury, then suddenly clubs Vol unconscious. When Torvik moves, Yrsa spears him through the throat, killing him as Varg watches, helpless and wounded. Skalk offers Varg a choice: swear to him in exchange for the akáll. Yrsa brings a chest containing the bone sword and other potent items; its power thrums so strongly that Varg reels.
Refusing to yield, Varg feigns compliance, seizes his moment, and grapples Olvir, savagely biting his throat until Olvir dies. Skalk then kicks Varg in his injured ribs, knocking him senseless. Vol is taken, Torvik lies dead, and the traitors depart with the chest, leaving the Bloodsworn betrayed and diminished.
Who Appears
- VargWakes injured in Rotta’s catacombs; seeks an akáll for Frøya; kills Olvir; is knocked unconscious.
- SkalkBetrays the Bloodsworn; knocks Vol out, orchestrates theft of relics; offers Varg allegiance for an akáll.
- VolHeals Varg and agrees to pursue his akáll; is ambushed and abducted by Skalk’s faction.
- TorvikVarg’s friend and supporter; comforts him; is murdered by Yrsa’s spear.
- YrsaAllied with Skalk; kills Torvik; helps seize the relic chest; carries off Vol.
- OlvirSkalk’s warrior; threatens Varg; is overpowered and killed in close struggle.
- JökulLies unconscious with a head wound among the Bloodsworn casualties.
- SvikChecks on Varg post-battle; present before Skalk’s ambush.
- RøkiaPraises Varg’s readiness in battle; with the Bloodsworn in the catacombs.
- EinarBloodsworn warrior, present as Varg wakes among the wounded and dead.
- HaljaMourns a fallen comrade among the shrouded dead.