"So it will lead there! If the rainwater cos from the surface, these tunnels lead there, right?" the sa Shieldmaiden asked again, glad she had the right intuition.
"Yes, that's right. There's only one problem though. We don't know if the width of these tunnels remains constant all the way long. The rock face is very high, maybe more than 200 ters. If during the climb, the tunnel were to narrow suddenly, we would be stuck for a few minutes in the rock, overloading it with our weight and risking to cause a landslide, which would have devastating consequences" Dag replied, touching the short blonde beard, which had been appearing on his face in recent months.
"How do we do then?" Sander asked from behind, walking in that direction with Egill, both intrigued by the scientific explanation.
"So of us should give it a try, trying to climb all the way. If they'll reach the surface, it would be enough to throw an object down to let us know if it is feasible. But I don't know if any of us are willing to take such a risk, walking alone for hundreds of ters in the rock. We should also hope that the tunnel leads sowhere, otherwise, the lack of oxygen would extinguish the fire of the torches would force the volunteer to grope in the dark" Dag continued, trying to consider all possible variables.
"I'll do it. I'm going to go up the tunnel!" a female voice said from behind them.
Dag and the others turned around and he discovered that the voice was that of Claire, that although she was not a real Shieldmaiden, wanted to prove her worth.
"Maybe you should try soone with a stronger physique... I an... the path will be long and it won't be easy to get to the end" Dag said, implicitly trying to advise Claire against being brave because she would risk her life.
"Well, I think her physique is perfect... if you feel you can do it, you're going to go in there. We will remain under you if anything happens. What's your na, girl?" Sander asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.
"Claire... my na is Claire" she replied, looking at Dag out of the corner of her eye, sohow trying to make herself desired by him, who instead looked away, knowing that Freydis was right next to him.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Egill intervened, who also asked about the physical and ntal condition of the volunteer, who confird her intentions with a hand gesture.
"Well! Let the first attempt begin then! A torch! Soone light a torch and give it to young Claire, who will check for us if these tunnels lead to the surface!" Sander continued, raising his voice, which rumbled into the cave.
A soldier, using flintstone and a kind of rudintary steel, lit a torch and passed it to Claire, who after getting rid of a leather bag that she carried behind her back, without hesitation, entered the hole in the wall, beginning to follow its pseudo-vertical trajectory, with spaces suitable to thread her feet.
"Pssst! Captain!" Reidar whispered, drawing Dag's attention and calling him on the sidelines.
He moved towards his friend, while everyone else was busy looking towards the rock face, looking the torchlight and trying to follow it with his eyes, when after a few minutes, it disappeared at the first bend.
"But that girl who just walked in... Master Sander called her Claire... Is it 'that' Claire?!" the archer asked, who had an excellent photographic mory and had already seen the girl's face, as well as Karl and Gridd, who being on the other side of the cave had not yet noticed her.
"Yes, let's just forget about it... I discovered this last night when we were almost there. She had disguised herself deftly, running as a volunteer among the warriors of the Sons Of Freya... my sister has never been good at rembering people's faces..." Dag answered, confirming the doubts of his friend, who looked upward, thoughtful.
"But... but... doing so, she only took a place of a true warrior! Why is she doing such a thing?! Does she want to commit suicide?" Reidar asked again, speaking softly and looking into his captain's eyes.
"I'm afraid this has sothing to do with , my friend... what have I done to deserve all this? That girl seems to be obsessed with ! I would never question that, but... now that I finally managed to see Freydis again and save her, this is not what I needed!"
"Do you think she will make Freydis know? I an... know of her attraction to you?"
"I don't know and I don't care. In any case, I know for a fact that I have always been faithful to my woman, even during monts of weakness, during which it was really difficult to resist temptation. So if she wants to, she can say whatever she wants, I'm sure my Freydis won't even listen to her envious words" Dag concluded, recalling that episode with the two girls at Temple Of Orn when he was forced to flee from their room, while they were both naked in front of him, ready to be possessed.
"Well... that's the important thing. You'll see, everything will be fine, now let's focus on the mission!" Reidar said, smiling at his best friend.
"What's going to be all right?" Freydis suddenly interrupted, who had approached them without making any noise, aided by the sound of the waves on the rocks.
Dag and Reidar jolted in unison, frightened like two scared rabbits.
"Fr... Freydis! Oh my goodness, you you scared us! We didn't hear you coming!" Dag exclaid, who for a mont feared that she had heard everything about Claire.
"Scary? Why is that? What are you two up to?" she asked in a joking tone, smiling.
"Nothing, nothing, Freydis! All right! The Captain was just perplexed about those tunnels, we were wondering if we'd be able to get into them!" Reidar intervened, drawing up a credible excuse in a few seconds, which seed to satisfy Freydis.
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