3. A Flurry of Feathers

At the break of dawn, Ten Sing Norway had already crossed a great distance. The sun rose on the horizon, colouring the highest tower of Ulstin castle red, as the fellowship turned to get a last gaze of it. The road in front of them took a sudden turn to the left, leading directly to the ferry waiting for them several miles ahead. The group moved fast, with a light heart, despite the uncertainty of what was waiting them.

This uncertainty ascended to an anxiety when the group arrived at the ferry landing. Ahead of them, beyond the archipelago, a mighty mountain rose towards the still blushing sky. The peak of the mountain was wreathed in a bluish haze, making it impossible to see exactly where the summit and the heavens met. Feeling a bit uneasy about the journey, the group made their way on board the boat, which then began to prepare for departure toward the isle.

“Is that the place Petter talked about? Runde, wasn’t it?” Ingrid Elise’s voice seemed as mirthful as always. But there was a concerned expression all over her face.
“The mountain has numerous names, many of them in tongues that we are incapable of understanding, but yes, amongst the scribes and scholars of our world, it is known as the island of Runde,” said Kristin, in her usual, composed voice, seemingly unaffected by the worry amongst the others.

Contrary to what you would think while reading a story as epic as this, the voyage didn’t pose any problems. After a while, the ferry came to its landing, where a tall, evil character waited (the fact that he was evil was not known to Ten Sing Norway at this point, but soon they would know the true depths of his evil character).

“Greetings, travellers!” said the tall figure as they walked ashore. “I’m Raudun, the one to guide you during your trip on this mountain. Petter sent me for your protection, as the perils of Runde are great for those who haven’t treaded its ground before. Walk this way!” The group was a bit puzzled, as Petter had not mentioned this Raudun before. But he looked harmless enough, so they tagged along behind him.

The mountainside was steep, the path was narrow, and the party therefore moved with a slow pace on the way to the apex. Although it was a wearisome ascend, their spirits were lifted at the thought of the legendary birds that they hopefully would encounter.

All of a sudden, the company found themselves surrounded by an impenetrable fog, that made it difficult to see further than a few feet in front of them. They lost sight of each other, and one after one, started to panic. The members tumbled around in some sort of Brownian motion[1], with Kristin and Andreas as the only ones composed enough to take responsibility.

“Stop this madness! No use running around like fools,” Andreas cried out. When the rest of the troop calmed down, he continued: “Flock around me, and we’ll count on Raudun to lead us.”

“…But where is he?” Marte asked.
“He scouted the road in front of us when this fog arrived. Maybe he didn’t hear that we lost track of him?” Ingrid Elise said.
“Hello, where are you?” someone shouted in the distance.
“It’s Raudun!” said Linda. The tension in the group fell away.
“We’re trying to find you now” shouted Hanne, as they started moving towards the voice.
“Just come to me, and I’ll lead you out of the fog” answered Raudun.

They walked together, holding hands, so as not to get lost from each other. All of a sudden, Linda and Ingrid Elise, who walked in front, lost their footing. They slid down a steep mountainside, and the others were dragged along. Kristin and Geir held their stand for a second in a frantic attempt to prevent the others from falling, but the combined weight of the rest of the party proved too much. Suddenly, they all found themselves in midair, with nothing to hold on to but each other. They screamed out in terror, and braced themselves for the impact, which would surely be fatal.

As they plummeted downwards, they soon came clear of the fog. The view of the surrounding islands and mountains was astonishing, but no one had time to offer a thought to that. The imminent doom was on everyone’s mind, to the extent that no one noticed the approaching flock of birds. A hoard of the majestic Lunde birds suddenly flew all around them, and began grabbing hold of all nine of them.

“It seems like you needed some help!” cried a voice. “And why are you falling like this?” Behind them, their long awaited companion Harald swooped in. He had arrived at last, at the best moment possible, riding the winds on a flock of birds.

“Harald!” shouted Linda. “How good to see you! And thank you for saving us.” They had stopped falling, and were now levitating by the grasp of hundreds of Lunde birds, which seemed to be almost tame.

“We were betrayed,” exclaimed Geir. “A man called Raudun set up a trap to get us all killed.”
“I know,” answered Harald. “I came to Ulstin castle, where I was greeted by Petter. He had received word of a man, Raudun, who met you at the foot of Runde. He sensed the danger, and sent me with this cohort of birds to help you. Now we know that our plan has already been leaked. Therefore we must go to Ostland immediately, where we can begin the preparations for our quest.”
As he finished his sentence the birds had already changed their course, flying at high pace towards south-east.

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1)Brownian motion (named in honor of the botanist Robert Brown) is the random movement of particles suspended in a liquid or gas or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements.