[b]A day after their exile, the group finds themselves trodding further and further away from their old homes. Family, friends, rivals, everything was left behind and nothing but the equipment in their hands and the clothes on their backs were taken with them. None the less the group walked on. What else was there to do? The gods themselves had seen fit to let this group be exiled. And it was up to them to earn back the right to Valhalla.[/b]

 “It's a test.”Audrunar spoke with a soft voice, moreso to himself than anyone else, but something in his voice sounded like he meant for them to hear. He looked up from his feet and spoke again. “It has to be a test. We have done nothing wrong. Odin must be testing us. For Valhalla, you see?” Audrunar tried to talk sense into the jarl's decision, but it was a god forsaken task. It was clear that even Audrunar didn't believe what he was saying. And if the fact that they were exiled wasn't enough, they were also lost. Someone in the group had said that they should travel west, inlands, to get away from the coast where bad men lurked and roamed. The decision was quickly made, in the midst of the hectical experience of being exiled. Nobody had thought of a place to go, nobody had cared enough to set out a destination. 

Not that it mattered where they went, a group of exiles was easy to spot. The fact that they carried little more than some rag-tag items, and a smithee and his wife carrying some tonnes of equipment, that all said enough. These people were not just travellers, they were pisspoor and looked the part, too. Audrunar looked in front of him, watching the entire group. What were these people? What was the great plan Odin had made for them? And why them? Audrunar shook his head, annoyed at the headache he was giving himself. “Just keep walking,” Once again, he spoke to himself, having no former friends in the group to speak to. “... just keep walking. That's all there is.”

His boots stepped through the muddy deer-trail that they were following. It was very silent in the group, and only the occasional crow cawwing broke this silence. It reminded Audrunar of the very first battle he had with this warband. After the fight, they were picking the spoils of battle, and often had to shoo away the crows, picking at the bodies, picking at the dead men their eyeballs, fingers and what else.. yet somehow, the circling of these crows over the battlefield had a nice touch to it - it was almost calming to see that at long last the battle had died down, to hear the crows cawwing and flying, waiting for the warriors to claim their spoils. But it was clear there had been no battle here, and that these crows were just mocking the group travelling. But then, the silence was broken once more. Not by a crow, but by the sound of water running slowly, clashing against the soil.

[center][img]http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs44/i/2009/096/2/5/Following_the_Vikings_by_jchanders.jpg[/img][/center]

Audrunar let out a sigh. The water meant that it was time for them to set up camp for the night, to eat and drink together and sit at a fire - something he and the others desperately needed and wanted. However, there was tension in the air and everyone could feel it, smell it.. almost taste it. There were a few decisions that had to be made, and none of them really wanted to discuss it. Never the less.. in order to survive, it was necessary. And Audrunar was certain one of them would step up and try to become the leader of the group, as was expected.

The group came to a stop and looked at eachother, Audrunar being the last in line to arrive. He looked around at the group and sighed. How would they ever survive? This was a question probably entering the heads of the entire group now, something undeniably demoralizing. Audrunar sat down in the grass near the edge of the water and looked out over it, trying to see if there was any activity on the other shoreline of the river. Atleast, as far as he could see, as the reeds blocked his view mostly. However nothing caught his eye. “I don't see anyone there. I think we should be fine. What's next? Anyone got any suggestions?” The question was aimed at the group in general.. what would they do next?