Contents
Chapter Twenty-Two: Orka
Overview
Under cover of night, Orka infiltrates Fellur, frees Mord and Lif, and assaults Jarl Sigrún in her chamber. She kills Sigrún’s lover, grievously wounds Sigrún, and mortally wounds the wolf-kin thrall Vafri, forcing a confession that Hakon and his agent Drekr ordered Breca’s seizure. Pursued by Guðvarr’s warriors, Orka escapes by boat with the brothers.
Summary
Before dawn, Orka slips into Fellur, bypassing the empty gate and crossing a sleeping village. In the courtyard she finds Virk’s sons, Mord and Lif, staked for attempting to kill Guðvarr. She kills a lone guard on the mead hall steps, cuts the brothers free, and orders them to prepare a boat at the fjord.
Orka enters Jarl Sigrún’s chamber through a window and finds Sigrún abed with a lover while the wolf-kin thrall watches the room. Orka slits the lover’s throat, strikes Sigrún senseless, and confronts the thrall at blade-point. Under threat, the thrall—Vafri—admits her master is Hakon, son of Queen Helka, and names Drekr as the handler who ordered reports of the Tainted and directed Breca’s taking.
When Sigrún reaches for her sword, Vafri attacks. Orka breaks Vafri’s arm, headbutts her, and stabs her belly, leaving the thrall dying. Drengrs burst in, led by Guðvarr. Orka throws a seax to scatter them, scars Sigrún with a sweeping cut as the jarl charges, then dives back out the window.
With alarms and horns rising across Fellur, Orka sprints to the fjord where Mord and Lif wait. Under a hail of threats from Guðvarr on the pier, they row hard into the darkness, escaping south toward the sea with the revelation that Hakon and Drekr are behind Breca’s abduction.
Who Appears
- OrkaProtagonist; infiltrates Fellur, frees Mord and Lif, kills and wounds foes, learns Hakon and Drekr ordered Breca’s taking, then escapes.
- VafriWolf-kin thrall; admits serving Hakon and naming Drekr; previously tasted Thorkel’s blood; mortally wounded by Orka.
- Jarl SigrúnFellur’s jarl; surprised in bed, grievously scarred by Orka; rouses drengrs as Orka flees.
- GuðvarrSigrún’s kinsman and foe of Virk; leads drengrs into the chamber; nearly struck by a thrown seax; pursues and threatens.
- LifVirk’s younger son; staked for attempted murder of Guðvarr; freed by Orka; rows the escape boat.
- MordVirk’s elder son; injured and staked; freed by Orka; helps row their escape.
- Sigrún’s loverUnnamed man in Sigrún’s bed; swiftly killed by Orka’s opening strike.
- Sleeping guardFemale guard on mead hall steps; silently throat‑slain by Orka during the infiltration.