Hagen had finished the gate; it was stronger than it was the day before despite it being sealed; it was barred because he could not risk compromising the mechanics as he did not fully understand it.
Hagen jammed it, and he examined the second gate. He noticed that Skarde had a high temperature, but something was wrong with him; he still had yet to wake up.
It was worrying because the majority had already woken up or been declared dead, but he was hanging between life and death.
"Hagen! We have finished with the gate!" A voice called out, he was a younger man with a scar right across his neck, but it was not gotten from this war.
"That is great! Check on Skarde. How is he doing?" Hagen instructed the man, and he did so immediately. Skarde was a man they could not afford to lose, they had already lost Sven.
"Skarde is not looking good!" He responded. Hagen knew at this rate Skarde might never wake up, citizens were watching them with suspicious eyes, but they were not stupid enough to try and harm anyone of them because these were men that had taken Vestfold, there was no way they would fall to warriors of their caliber, and they knew it.
A girl was watching; she was intrigued because these men were more like beasts than humans; she could feel these things.
But she wanted to help, she walked forward, and the whispers from those around her were enough to see that everyone was just as curious as to why she was walking forward.
A Viking stopped her from Kattegat as he pointed his blade at her.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" The man said, but he noticed that she was on the busty side, and only one thought popped up in his mind: it was not a holy one.
Before he could carry on with whatever he had in mind, Hagen stepped in to take charge before things escalated.
They were the vanquished, and Hagen knew there was no way they would accept them right now, but showing them that they were lawless would only make it even more difficult.
This is why King Askild was not reckless in his dealings either; he knew they had to show these people that they respected their laws, which was the first step to acceptance.
"What do you think you are doing? Lower your weapon…." Hagen commanded, and all Hagen got was a dirty look from him.
"Who made you a commander? You are just a measly boat builder…." The man challenged Hagen. Hagen was trying to do the right thing, but this man was right.
These were the spoils of war, not just the treasures but the women.
"I wonder what King Askild would think with you threatening the man that has gained his praise…." Hagen pulled this card because he knew anything associated with Askild's name struck fear into their warriors.
He suddenly became less arrogant because Hagen was right. They all saw Askild praise him, which already meant that Hagen had gained the favor of their King.
A man that no one dared cross, and this bluff was effective, and he lowered his weapon allowing the lady passage.
"I apologize, but we are still on high alert. We meant no offense." Hagen apologized, but the woman's attention was not on Hagen but on Skarde.
She kept walking forward, and Hagen did not try to stop her; everyone watched.
The spotlight was on her as Hagen gestured for everyone to watch her.
He wanted to see what she wanted to do; she knelt beside Skarde.
It was strange enough that he was outside, but this was unfamiliar territory.
They did not want to venture or leave their men in vulnerable locations. They had already lost too many men to have them spread out; this would make them susceptible to being picked one by one.
The girl touched his forehead, which was burning; she looked at Skarde like she knew him from somewhere, but that was impossible because this was his first time in Vestfold.
She looked concerned, and the whispering began, and these whispers did not escape Hagen's ears.
-
Ragnar Lothbrok was chosen as King by this blind man, and everyone was shocked, especially his children, as they wondered what it meant.
On the other hand, Ulf hated this because this meant that his brother only ascended further, leaving him in the dust, but he did not regret not killing him on the battlefield.
Some part of him was happy for his brother, and another was jealous; Birger chuckled upon hearing the man.
"Askild, do you have a problem with this declaration?" Birger asked. Now was the time to test Askild's pride because everyone was watching; there was no way that Askild could be in two places simultaneously. He needed someone to watch over Vestfold if he would rule over them, and Ragnar had already shown he could be trusted.
Ragnar could act as a temporary King subservient to King Askild because Askild had every intention to expand Kattegat, including absorbing Vestfold into Kattegat to make them one, but even he could not overlook such vast territories alone.
Askild was also aware that power changes people; even the humblest of people can get corrupted by power.
"Ragnar Lothbrok, what do you have to say about this? Do you want to be King?" Askild questioned, a clever deflection as he had put Ragnar in the spotlight to see how he would react to this news.
"I have no interest in being King, King Askild," Ragnar said, and a feeling of nostalgia shot through his entire being; it reminded him of King Xenophanes.
He sounded exactly like Xenophanes, and then it hit him, listening to what the old man had said.
Akild could not believe he had missed it. All these years, he thought that the person Xenophanes wanted to make King was Birger. It was not. It was Ragnar Lothbrok.
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