The news of Signy's abduction reached Asmund and Asmund did not react to this news whatsoever. This reaction bothered Kjell because maybe he did not see his son missing as anything of concern.
"Ah, I knew this might happen," Asmund muttered to himself, and just then, the rain began to descend from the sky, the water pellets soaking them in no time.
"We should get some cover, King Asmund," Kjell advised but Asmund chose to remain on the wall, staring blankly into the field. Without saying another word, Kjell excused himself because it was clear Asmund wanted to be alone.
He knew what happened the last time Kattegat held one of their own but he knew Askild would not be that stupid because Signy was the most valuable hostage he could ask for.
But Signy was also the best chance they had at making Askild surrender, this was thanks to his expertise in diplomacy, and this was the time to put his travels to use.
Asmund was a father when it came to it, he couldn't help but worry about the safety of his only child.
"You are worried, are you not?" A voice said, Asmund jerked his head backward, this was a voice he was not familiar with. His eyes met a strange man with red inscriptions tattooed at the side of his face, he had his brown hair tied in a ponytail.
"Who are you?" Asmund asked and the man immediately got on his knees, his wrinkled face creasing into a polite smile despite his intimidating aura.
"I go by the name, Vigar, the son of Earl Hakon, My king…" The hairy man introduced himself and Asmund found it strange that he had not heard of him or recognized him begging the question of who he was.
"You may not know me as King Asmund as we have never met." The boy in his late teens said, and Asmund was non-reactive because they looked nothing alike, and if he was going by first glance then one would assume that this must be a bastard son of his.
He had an unpleasant face, Asmund knew that looks were the least important thing in their world but what he wanted to know was what he was doing here.
"I am here because I heard about your son, King Asmund. It is most unfortunate but if you allow me to lead a party. I can get him back," Vigar said and all Asmund did in response to this was return his gaze to the empty field.
"Can you defeat Ragnar, Erik, or Askild? You will risk the life of my son to stroke your ego?" Asmund asked, Vigar was visibly irritated by this response.
"I didn't mean it that way but we cannot leave Signy in their hands, we do not know the kind of information they can extract from him," Vigar responded, Asmund understood his concern as he had now become a liability but there was no way in hell that his son would betray Vestfold.
Even if it meant taking his life.
"I see, so you do not want to save him, do you?" Asmund asked, and this shocked Vigar as he was certain that he had not let his intention slip so how did Asmund pick up on it?
Vigar did not utter a word but his silence gave Asmund his answer.
"That was not a bad idea but king Askild is no fool, he will see you coming and what do you think happens if you cannot rescue my son?" Asmund asked, Vigar clenched his teeth in shame as he admitted that he had not thought about this as extensively as Asmund just did in seconds.
"They have more hostages…" Vigar admitted his mistake with this statement.
"I have heard about you, Vigar Hakonson. I have heard about how your father has been training you to succeed him despite you having no interest in being Earl," Asmund said, Vigar was surprised because Amsund just said he did not know who he yet knew more about him than most as his father does not disclose this information to just anyone.
"You did not want to become a warrior, you wanted to become a tactician. You cannot keep up with the warriors in terms of strength but you excel in the fight of the mind. I do not need a warrior right now, VIgar… I need a tactician…" Asmund said and Vigar's eyes lit up.
He was flattered that Asmund knew so much about him as well as the fact that he recognized what so many had overlooked, including his father.
"Yes, my king!" Vigar shouted, he was almost in tears as he was a very emotional individual despite his looks and Asmund smiled as he was now soaking in rain.
"I think we should go inside before we catch a cold," Asmund said and Vigar concurred but not before letting out his thoughts.
"King Asmund, I do not think the oil will work, they will be expecting…" Vigar started speaking, he was not about to miss the opportunity to impress Asmund and this was it.
This war was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to impress their various kings.
"What do you say we do instead?" Asmund asked like a student eager to learn as they walked down the stairs of the wall. What Vigar said impressed him because he patted him on the back right before entering the building.
Asmund saw that his son's abduction did not affect the morale of his soldiers, this was an excellent thing. Vigar moved away from Asmund as he had gotten the approval of the king to implement his strategy.
"Ready yourselves men, I believe King Askild will soon make his demands…" Asmund said but the moment he said this, his legs wobbled. Luckily, he was able to catch himself in time.
"I am fine, I am just a bit tired…" Asmund said, flashing a weak smile.
"Man the walls 24/7, we cannot afford to be blind-sighted," Asmund instructed right before excusing himself. The moment he was alone, he clutched his abdomen in pain.
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