Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

A high-pitched whine was the only thing Eadric could hear.

It pierced through his skull, drowning out the screams, the shouts, and the concept of thought.

Thick white smoke swallowed the room, stinging Eadric’s eyes and burning the back of his throat with the taste of sulfur.

Suddenly, a crushing weight slammed into him from above, driving him flat into the hay-covered floor.

For a second, Eadric thought one of the ceiling beams had collapsed on top of him.

It was Ulf.

Eadric lay paralyzed beneath the Viking’s chest, his eyes wide and unblinking in the blinding smoke.

Then, he felt a hot liquid began dripping onto his face, drenching his skin, soaking into his tunic.

It was Ulf’s blood.

Eadric wanted to scream, to shove the corpse off him, but his muscles refused to obey.

Hot, meaty fragments slid down Eadric’s neck.

The mighty Ulf, a warrior who looked like he could wrestle a bear and win, had been swatted out of existence in less than a second.

Slowly, the white smoke began to thin, swirling in the drafty barn.

A small sound cut through the ringing in Eadric’s ears. He shifted his eyes, barely able to turn his head beneath Ulf’s weight.

Just inches away from his face, nestled in the bloody hay, was the glass vial. It had slipped right out of Ivar’s grasp.

Eadric’s hearing began to return, first in muffled pulses, and then with clarity.

"Please... Don’t kill me...!"

It was Ivar.

Eadric peeked out from under Ulf’s arm, his breath hitching.

Ivar the Boneless, the mastermind of the rebellion, the man who had just minutes ago spoken of burning cities and killing gods... was on his knees.

He was shaking, his intricate brass crutch discarded on the floor.

Both of his hands were raised high above his head.

"Take the gold!" Ivar cried out, his voice cracking. Tears streamed down his face.

"Take everything! Just spare my life... I’ll give you the names! I have all the names of the secret financiers in the capital! I’ll work for you, Oden, I swear it! Just don’t shoot! Please!"

Eadric felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over him, it was from the disgust welling up in his chest.

This is him? This is the legendary rebel? The man I was ready to throw my life away for?

Before Oden could even respond to Ivar’s pathetic begging, the tension in the barn snapped.

A secondary explosion rocked the room, followed instantly by a blood-curdling scream.

One of Oden’s elite guards had overloaded his musket with far too much black powder.

In the chaos of the first volley, the breech of the weapon had failed, exploding right in the guard’s face.

"Aaaaaagh! My eyes! My eyes!" the man shrieked, dropping the shattered remnants of his weapon.

The right side of his black mask and uniform had caught fire, burning brightly in the dim barn.

Two guards dropped their weapons and rushed to their comrade, slapping at the flames on his face and chest, shouting over his screams.

Oden the Ormr was caught completely off guard. The backblast of the explosion sent a wave of thick smoke directly into his face.

"Cough... Idiots!" Oden roared, coughing as he waved the smoke away from his pale eyes.

"Put him out, you useless fools! Put him out!"

Oden finally recovered from his coughing fit. He stomped forward, ignoring the burning guard, and stopped right in front of the sobbing Ivar.

Without a single word, Oden pulled back his boot and kicked Ivar squarely in the face.

Ivar was sent sprawling backward into the dirt, spitting out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth.

He scrambled backward, still weeping.

Oden smoothly drew a musket from his long coat and aimed it at Ivar’s head.

Eadric shifted his gaze. His eyes locked onto the green bottle resting in the hay, just a few inches from his nose. And then, he saw something else.

Right next to the bottle, gleaming in the dim light, was Ulf’s dagger. It must have slipped from the giant’s belt when he fell.

"Make sure the giant is dead." Oden barked over his shoulder, "And collect this gold from the table. I want to get out of this stinking mess before the city watch arrives to investigate the noise."

Eadric’s had two choices right now.

He could push Ulf’s body off, crawl out into the open, and join Ivar in the dirt. He could cry, he could beg, he could promise to count coal for Osberht for the rest of his miserable life, praying they would take pity on a crippled man.

Or...

Crunch... crunch...

Heavy footsteps began moving toward him. One of the masked guards had left the frantic group and was walking directly toward Ulf’s massive, unmoving form.

Crunch... crunch...

Eadric felt a strange calm wash over his entire body.

The footsteps stopped right at the top of Ulf’s head. Eadric could see the black leather of the guard’s boots right in front of him.

The guard shifted his weight, his boot accidentally crushing down on the edge of Ulf’s hair.

With silence, Eadric moved his hands.

His right hand slid through the blood-soaked hay, his fingers wrapping around the leather-wrapped hilt of Ulf’s dagger.

At the exact same time, his left hand reached out and gripped the neck of the glass vial containing the alchemical fire.

Above him, the guard let out a sigh, clearly annoyed by the gruesome task.

Eadric heard the rustle of clothing as the guard leaned over, his hands reaching down to grab Ulf’s shoulder to turn the corpse over and check for a pulse.

He waited for the moment the guard’s hand touched the body.

’Just a little closer...’

’Come on...’

"Do I have to touch this bleeding giant?" the guard grumbled, stopping inches from Eadric’s hidden face.

"I said make sure, you idiot!" Oden barked from across the smoky room. "Check his pulse!"

"Fine," the guard sighed. "Let’s see..." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

A dark glove reached down into the bloody hay.