The day was coming to an end, the major events had played out and Kattegat claimed victory in the first battle. But despite this, they could not help but feel they lost something greater.
King Askild and his men continued on their way to Vestfold, they were well-fed and energized so they could travel faster than when they were famished.
They marched forward to Vestfold but Jan did not follow them, he simply assigned his troops to King Askild as they swore that he was their leader until the war had concluded.
Jan spoke to Birger in private as Ragnar watched in suspicion but he heard his name being called, it was the voice of his brother.
"What is it, Ulf?" Ragnar asked and Ulf gestured for him to follow to which Ragnar complied, he had no reason not to trust his older brother as he was yet to betray him.
They went to a private corner and Ulf was ready to tell Ragnar why he brought him here.
"Brother, there is something I want to tell you…" Ulf said hesitantly, this was unusual behavior for his brother and Ragnar noticed his hands fidgeting.
"I am listening," Ragnar said, resting his back against the wall as he waited for Ulf to spill whatever it was he wanted to tell him.
"That ship, the blueprint… I got it from a fishing village near the docks on the outskirts of Kattegat," Ulf came clean because he feared that Birger would use this very information to blackmail him into doing something but Ragnar did not look bothered by this information.
"Is that it?" Ragnar asked and before Ulf could speak, Ragnar cut him off completely.
"We are Vikings. You did what you needed to do, theft is nothing heinous," Ragnar dismissed with a sigh, he could not believe that Ulf wasted his time with such nonsense but the look in Ulf's eyes told Ragnar he had more to say, a lot more.
"What are you not telling me?" Ragnar asked, his tone sounding a lot more serious.
"They did not just hand it to me and I did not steal it either…" Ulf said, pausing and hoping that his brother puts things together.
"Stop beating around the bush, brother. What did you do?" Ragnar asked his brother directly and noticed Ulf was uneasy. Ragnar instinctively knew what he did but he wanted the words to leave his lips.
"I slaughtered them all and that place was…" Ulf paused as he noticed his brother's face turn to rage.
"It was the birthplace of Hagen," Ragnar muttered under his breath, it all made sense and it explained why Ulf and Hagen did not get along on a fundamental level despite Hagen having no idea that Ulf was responsible for the massacre.
"Why are you telling me this now?" Ragnar asked, swallowing his emotions as he wanted to know what brought about this sudden confession.
"Birger, he knows about it too and I wanted you to hear it from my mouth rather than his. King Askild would probably have my head if this gets out," Ulf said but Ragnar took a deep breath before placing his hand on the shoulder of his bigger brother.
"You did what any Viking does, you raided and plundered. It is unfortunate that the village just happened to be where Hagen comes from but I think you need to tell him and not me. I am not the one that will remove the burden you carry because that act is what brought us here." Ragnar comforted Ulf despite not agreeing with his actions on a moral level, but in the Viking world just because you do not agree with something does not make it wrong.
Ragnar understood this world more than anyone and it was not in his place to judge for he too, had done atrocious things in the past.
"Hagen already hates me," Ulf said with a nervous smile.
"So it should not matter if he hates a little more, right brother?" Ragnar said with a chuckle and this brought about an equal smile from Ulf. He felt like the younger brother in this interaction but Ragnar was glad that his brother trusted him enough to tell him this.
But he also realized how big of a nuisance that Birger is proving to be.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Ragnar asked his brother, this was partly why he kept his emotions under control because if he acted out then there would be no way Ulf would trust him with any information as private as that.
Ulf hesitated for a moment before putting his own hand on Ragnar's shoulder.
"No brother, there is nothing. I should probably go now. Thank you for this… It really means a lot to me." Ulf said, before walking away but the smile on Ragnar's face faded.
"He is lying…" This was the only thought in Ragnar's head.
They continued their journey to Vestfold for hours and thanks to their rest in Jan's kingdom, they did not need breaks mid-journey as they kept going and going.
And they finally left the kingdom of Vingulmark, they crossed the border and the moment they did, they could feel the shift in the atmosphere.
The border had a few Vikings of Vestfold but they were sparsely spread as they were not there to fight but they were there to alert the others of any danger.
They could see a man on a horse, and they knew that if they messed up or were sighted, the man on the horse will be alerted and he would retreat to inform the others.
This would take away their element of surprise.
They were crouched over a hill with everyone contemplating what to do but there was no way to get to the man on the horse without passing through the Vikings around.
In other words, there was no way to reach the horseman without being seen and their arrows could not reach that far either. the sun had descended as well, barely illuminating the sky.
They were stuck and did not know what to do. Bjorn noticed that this might just be his chance to take the spotlight.
"I have an idea," Bjorn muttered, drawing everyone's attention to him.
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