BXBX NOVEL Chapter 383 It Begins...
Not much changed after that day and a couple of days went by, King Rugalf and King Ragnar had a change of heart and included Askild in their plan.
They brought him into the fold and as they expected, he was not going on the expedition himself and would rather act as an observer. This decision was based on wanting Bjorn to partake in it and Lagertha advised him to.
King Ragnar could think of going because he knew that Lagertha was strong enough to eliminate any threat that would come forth even if she was pregnant.
There was no way she could tag along, Ragnar forbade it because they have been trying for so long for another child and the fact that she took in was excellent news.
Ragnar was not going to risk it but something did worry him about Bjorn, he did not know what his son intended to do but he knew it was something that Bjorn had no intention of backing down from. He kept his lips sealed, Bjorn must have had his reasons for not telling Lagertha.
He respected that decision because Bjorn was no longer a child.
Ragnar used the days leading up to the expedition to heighten the defences of Vestfold as he also stopped taking in immigrants after that crazy man was put to death.
He could not risk something endangering his wife because Raganr had a lot more to protect now and that was his third child on the way.
King Ragnar was assembling his Commanders, Gudleif was one of the more prominent ones because he got along well with everyone but Ragnar knew that the other two in his ranks were two of the most dangerous men he had watched over.
They were even more dangerous than Erik The Berserker and Ragnar kept them away from Vestfold by giving them lands in one of their smaller territories.
Unlike Erik, their depravity was confined to their enemies and not their citizens.
The moment they stepped into Vestfold, even Gudleif could not look them directly in their eyes.
Everyone greeted them and this was expected as they were revered as the swords of Vestfold.
They were warriors whose reputation was so terrible that it was erased from the world itself, everyone thought they were a myth but they were real.
Baard was a man with a long woven brown beard that had a sharp metal shard at the tip, his hair was just as long and styled in the same way as his beard with a sharp metal shard at the tip.
The other one had their face covered from head to toe with bandages except her torso but it was obvious from the chest that this was a lady.
She had average-sized breasts and a rather fit stomach, abs breaking through it.
No one knew what to call her, she never had a name and only responded to Baard.
This was why they were always together and everyone began to call them the "Masochistic Duo" even though they have not shown that they do in fact like pain.
Baard and the lady got in front of King Ragnar and got on one knee, Ragnar was delighted that they were there as he thought about leaving Vestfold under their protection and taking Gudleif but he needed their strength.
King Ragnar decided to do the opposite and that was leaving Gudleif while taking these two with him. One thing he knew with them around was the enemy would never get close to him as they were extremely loyal to Ragnar.
Ragnar found them locked up when he assumed the throne of Vestfold and he knew that they were war criminals but their crimes were directed towards their enemies,
Asmund had condemned them here because he knew what fate awaited him if they ever saw him as their enemy.
They would most certainly come for his head and not being a fan of their method or way of life, it was only a matter of time before this happens.
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Ruglaf was content with what was going on and left Grjötgard in charge of it, one could say it was Grjötgard that influenced the decision to include Askild on this expedition.
Grjötgard knew he had to show Askild that he was an ally or things might fall apart before they even began. It did not take much convincing from Rugalf to make Ragnar agree.
Skarde was a man that saw past emotions and hostility, he agreed with the Gardssons that ostracizing Kattegat was not in their best interest.
Grjötgard had no plans on taking Vegard with him despite the young warrior's insistence and with their enemy in Iceland seemingly standing down as they had withdrawn their troops from a foreign land and back in Iceland.
This meant that they could allocate more fighting power to this expedition and Rugalf planned to do just that, He did not just send Grjötgard, but Salgard and Thorgard as well.
He sent three of his brothers because he knew that with Salgard and Grjötgard there.
They would most certainly return and this in turn will give everyone peace of mind,
Tyr was supposed to stay back but he did not agree to this and told Rugalf outright that he wanted to explore lands beyond Norway.
Rugalf knew better than to stand in the way of a man's ambition for a man's ambition is what gave him that fire.
The gods must have brought him back to life because they saw a fate that must come to pass.
Maybe that fate was to conquer England? Rugalf was not much of a superstitious man but he slowly began to believe in this idea each passing day.
He wanted to exclude Tyr because the young warrior looked terrible, the eye bags were more defined and he had lost weight as well.
The night he told Estrid he could not sleep, she did not try to comfort him or tell him that things would be better.
All she did was instruct him to come over to bed and she wrapped her arms around him, making Tyr the little spoon as they cuddled and for some strange reason, this seemed to do the trick.
Tye slept like a baby and that was for one reason alone, he felt safe around her.
Estrid had been gone for a few days however as she went to further her study on medicine so she could be of use to her husband if he ever fell ill.
She did not like feeling helpless and maybe with the right herbs, she could help him sleep as well. Tyr found that with this he would become dependent on his wife and this was something he did not like the idea of.
He had a taste of this and now found himself wanting more like an addict waiting for his next fix.
Tyr knew he had to go on this expedition but what was this recurring nightmare that had the warrior shook?
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King Askild got the invitation and he knew that Grjötgard had a hand to play in it.
He allowed Bjorn to lead the expedition but he planned on having Rolf tag alongside him.
This was to keep a watchful eye on him after Liv told Askild about the series of discussions she had with the young warrior.
He wanted Ulf to tag along but he did not want to risk his pawn falling in battle or his plan for Iceland might fall apart.
Askild was meticulous in his planning and how Vestfold fell was proof of this.
He was a man that could outsmart Asmund, a seasoned warrior and strategist, this was no small feat but one could say Asmund's leniency was what brought about his downfall.
A man of honour but honour knows no place in war, Asmund learned this through his death.
Liv had whispered in Bjorn's ear that she wanted to break free from her husband, Bjorn mistook her for the missing piece in his plan because Liv had genuine reasons to hate Askild.
He was the cause for her family's downfall and her hatred for him was not news.
Everyone knew she hated him, she became a shadow of herself hence Bjorn making a mistake that would prove to be fatal.
He guaranteed Liv that she would soon be free of Askild but this was all he said, he did not go into details because she had no business knowing it but the message was clear.
Bjorn was scheduled to meet her one on one again to explain what he meant but he was a no-show seeing as Askild was back.
Askild knew what Bjorn meant by this, Bjorn planned to take his life but Askild was not worried as the warrior did not have the skills to enact this.
Askild was good at playing pretend, the old Askild would have executed or tortured him on the spot but he saw the fruit of that when Kattegat fell and people turned against him.
That, and Bjorn was the son of a King, he could not act carelessly when it came to him.
This was what happened during the days leading up to the expedition.