Macrendil-Ysmir

The Chaos intervention-poll (ch. 19) will close in a couple of days. This chapter's poll will close in a week.

I also want to say something regarding Warhammer-lore timeline & characters. The timeline is roughly 2500 IC. What I mean by 'roughly' is that I'll be shuffling around with events to better fit my narrative. (So Warhammer-purists, be warned.)

As for famous Warhammer characters: I plan to have Erik meet a lot of them. Befriend, fight and love some, which will also cause major deviation from Warhammer-lore.

(An example being Erik out&about and chancing upon Karl Franz, (future?)Emperor of The Empire, unarmed and unguarded. If Erik then kills Karl Franz, this will destroy the established lore.) (Again, an example. Even IF Erik were to kill Karl Franz at some point it won't happen for a LONG while yet.)

The next day it was time to inspect the spoils obtained from Yrret. As an honourable Thane, even if he was less than 30 years old, the amount of wealth and treasures should be considerable.

When Erik’s regular group of three approached the hall, Erik was quite surprised to see the size of his new abode.

His cabin had been spacious and comfortable, but Yrret’s place was far larger and even had a small plot of farmland in the backyard. It was laid out similarly to a Roman villa with a tall hall in the front and stretching out to the side and back with a wooden wall. On the inside of this wall a series of one story cabins and bungalows hogged the wall, making space for the aforementioned plot of farmland as well as a small pasture & stable for livestock. Other notable buildings include three large storehouses, a multi-story thrall barracks a stables for horses and a kennel for hounds.

Sadly, the hounds had either perished during hunting expeditions or been designated to be cremated together with Yrret’s body.

The hall itself was huge. Where the Great Hall allowed for a feast with well over 200 visitors, Erik’s new hall could fit in 100. Multiple fireplaces kept the inside warm and similar to the Great Hall, huge iron inlaid doors lead to the inner quarters and the courtyards.

The number of thralls, both in- and outside thralls, was also on another scale than those Erik won from Krir and Rokar. The servant thralls alone numbered well over 100, tending to the farmland, cleaning, cooking, looking after the animals and all other activities required to keep such a large mansion-like building functioning. As for the outside thralls, suffice to say there were more than enough.

‘I won’t have to fear running out of suitable sacrifices for training for a long time. I can probably perform 2 sets of sacrifices every day, morning and afternoon, to keep the buff up all day and I still wouldn’t run out for at least a year… not to mention the new year’s raids will also continue to add more to the numbers…’

This was all detailed to Erik by one of the men sent by Jarl Ingolf to oversee the handover. And he continued by going over the contents of the stockpiles and supplies stored in the warehouses.

Large ironbound chests filled with bronze and silver coins, gem inlaid gold jewellery and other metallic fineries filled many shelves of one warehouse. Tusks of mammoth ivory, a huge assortment of different furs, hides and pelts from many different beasts and monsters including Ice Wolves, Trolls and even a Manticore filled up another part.

Other valuables included different weapons taken as loot from across the world, bits and pieces of armour and a huge pile of metal ores and scraps. And in the desolate north, iron was inarguably more valuable than gold simply due to the lack of natural resources, the difficulty of gathering it in the harsh environment and the constant demand of new iron and steel tools, weapons and armour.

Seeing all these treasures laid out before them, shelf after shelf, Sven couldn’t help but speak out in awe.

“There must be enough stuff in here to live a life of finery and luxury for years! You really made a killing this time, Erik!”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. Well, a lot of this will probably be spent on the upkeep and maintenance of the estate and the servants and the like, but it is undeniable that I just became incredibly rich!”

As they walked back to the hall to inspect Erik’s new private quarters, something seemed to be a little off about it. In the front, right behind the doors leading to the private quarters, a small shrine to Khorne was built as was custom for the endlessly warlike Norscans. But the luxurious ambience permeating the rest of the area was very much unlike that of a regular Norscan home.

Expensive fabrics instead of hides covered the walls like curtains. The floor strewn with the softest furs imaginable, if the furs on the floor here were compared to the animal skins in the warehouses, these ones would likely fetch a higher price in the markets of the Empire to the south and beyond.

Half-closed windows let in sufficient sunlight but even now there were many candles lit on stands and chandeliers. And to the back of the main room a huge bed complete with silk and muslin curtains sprang into the eye.

Taking in this dictionary example of luxury and opulence, Erik voiced his suspicions.

“During my fight with Yrret, I noticed a purple mist being emitted from him. Evidently, he really has made some sort of deal with a Daemon of Slaanesh and it seems the deal was concluded quite a while ago.”

Sven turned his nose up at the display of excessive wealth and snorted loudly to express his displeasure.

“What’s the use of all this except to stroke his ego? Tsk, good riddance.”

Sigrun on the other hand seemed quite intrigued at the quite tastefully arranged room, but kept quiet after hearing her brother’s displeasure.

Then a voice came out of the shadowy depths past another set of silk drapes, both sensuous yet not quite natural. The best comparison Erik could draw was that of listening to a bad recording of an otherwise pleasant voice.

“Well yes, Yrret summoned me quite a while ago, begging me to grant his to desires. It would not be an exaggeration to say he only managed to become a Thane thanks to my power.

And all it cost him initially was most of his wife and a regular stream of virgin sacrifices on the Altar of Pleasure and Excess he built under my guidance back here.”

Turning towards the sound, what appeared from the shadows in front of Erik and co was Skadi, Yrret’s widow.

Surprised, Erik asked a question.

“What do you mean it cost him most of his wife? Who are you?”

“Ahahaha, oh my but, we’ve already met briefly the day before yesterday didn’t we? The purple mist coming from that oaf Yrret was a part of me after all.

I am just a lowly Daemon in service to our Dark Prince, Champion. And after these years of inhabiting this body I have grown quite attached to the name Skadi, so you may call me that. It’s actually not far off from the truth, since I was summoned here after Yrret offered up his wife’s soul in sacrifice and I descended in the presented vessel.”

Sigrun and Sven backed away a little, realising that they were suddenly faced by a Daemon, and quite a powerful one at that.

“So dare I ask? Why didn’t you go back to the Chaos Wastes after your contractor was killed? The bargain is over, your supply of souls cut.”

Skadi seemed amused at Erik’s questioning, moving out of the shadow and into the well-lit room. She was revealed to have a beautiful appearance although Erik couldn’t help but feel it was a slightly artificial kind of beauty. Similar to the incongruity caused by a light face lift or when a fractured cheekbone is reconstructed. It’s difficult to point out what exactly is strange, but you instinctively know something is off.

Raven black hair with a streak of white on one side combined with a rosy, heart shaped face with amber eyes and milky soft skin gave Skadi a very enchanting beauty.

When the ample breasts and thin waistline, giving her that desired hourglass figure, were added to the equation, Skadi truly was a bombshell of a beauty not the slightest bit inferior to Sigrun (or Helles, but Erik would never speak those words aloud).

Smiling, she replied to Erik’s question:

“Quite simple really, I want to make a new pact with you! You have already proven yourself to be incredibly strong for such a young age and on top of that you bear the Mark of Slaanesh.

It would be foolish and a waste to not try and gain benefits from such an opportunity! You can supply me with souls to grow my power and in exchange I can serve you however you wish!

I can let you obtain any woman you want, give you a boost to your power, serve you in bed and act according to every fetish imaginable.”

Now it was Erik’s turn to be a little amused. Daemons, especially the highly intelligent kind as Skadi seemed to be, ought to be cunning creatures seeking benefits by tricking mortals above all else. Evidently, there was something Skadi wasn’t telling him, some reason she didn’t want or dared to return to the Chaos Wastes. Why else would she so brazenly propose something this equally satisfying?

Erik sunk into thought as he judged whether or not to trust the Daemon, but Sigrun interrupted by pointing out one thing Skadi had omitted.

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t leave your vessel and incorporeally sought him out! What’s up with that?”

At the mention of this, Erik sharply gazed at the paling Skadi as she cast down her gaze and dully admitted to her predicament.

“Hah, fine. You’re a sharp one girly, I’ll give you that…

Ugh, so there might be higher ranked Daemon back home that has it in for me so I can’t really go back. Aside from that, I have spent such a long time in this vessel after consuming its soul that I sorta kinda got tied to it and separating from it would cost me a lot…”

After Skadi’s confession, a light lit up in Erik’s eyes as he came up with a plan. This Daemon was clearly quite powerful, just that she’d been weakened and had few options in her current circumstances.

Contracting a powerful Daemon could potentially give Erik a lot of benefits and bonuses, especially with his game-like aspects and the GAO. And after checking his newly updated Encyclopaedia, Erik told Sven to go and get Scaldar as he started proposing terms for the contract.