Night came but the marching of Askild and his troops did not come to a halt, they kept going while keeping a wary eye on Birger. Hagen was there, and Ragnar noticed by this mood that Ulf had not told Hagen what he told him and it was not in his place to interfere.
Ragnar already knew Birger was dangerous but what was this feeling of uneasiness upon seeing that he was trying to blackmail Ulf?
He knew his brother kept something from him in that conversation and this only confirmed that Birger had his claws in Ulf, but Ragnar believed in his heart of hearts that Ulf would not betray Kattegat.
They advanced with the information of the patrol of the enemy in mind, Birger knowing how his brother's mind worked did not recognize such a tactic as Asmund had never used it.
Bjorn looked eager, and nervous at the same time, and Asger noticed this because despite being a warrior, he was still just a child.
"Do you want to know a story?" Asger whispered to Bjorn and he nodded excitedly, he wanted to hear the adventures of Asger because he looked up to him.
"How about I tell you after we win this war?" Asger said in a suggestive tone and this little gesture was enough to fire Bjorn up.
"You better not go back on your word!" Bjorn exclaimed as he felt a sudden rush of energy coursing through his body, and Asger noticed Ragnar's gaze on him as both men nodded to one another.
Skarde was unnaturally quiet, but he was only talkative when he had booze in him as he walked beside Ragnar. He sensed that Ragnar would ascend in status and knew that he might be the man to take Kattegat to the next stage.
He was not stupid, he knew that the war with Vestfold would only make the other kingdoms more hostile towards Kattegat and this might ultimately affect their ability to trade and in turn, affect Kattegat's earning potential.
This meant that King Askild not only had to win the war but hold Vestfold because they played a major role in the trades with other kingdoms making them an economic powerhouse in that sense. Skarde knew that Askild had to hold Vestfold without needing to have a conversation like Ragnar did.
"What is wrong Skarde?" Ragnar asked him because this was the quietest he has seen him since they got to know each other in that tavern. He had hoped that that brought them closer to one another as that was the point of the meeting.
"Ragnar Lothbrok! I cannot wait to see your battle skills on the battlefield!" Skarde said loudly and Ragnar regretted even asking because it drew people's attention to them.
"Why are you so loud?" Ragnar asked as he shook his head in disappointment.
"I am excited. It is hard keeping it together but I fear we cannot go to Valhalla with the future of Kattegat uncertain…" Skarde said, slowly easing towards what was bothering him.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "I am worried that Kattegat might fall even with King Askild on our side…" Skarde said in a tone only Ragnar could hear as anyone else hearing this could cause potential trouble for him.
"I know what you mean but these are thoughts you cannot entertain right now…" Ragnar responded, trying to ease his new friend.
"We cannot hold Vestfold, Ragnar. I am sure you are aware of this. The kingdom is massive and what makes you think they will willingly surrender just because their king is dead?" Skarde said, and this was exactly what Ragnar thought as well.
"That is the way of the Vikings. Asmund mustn't die until Askild can defeat him in combat in front of his warriors." Ragnar said and Skarde chuckled.
"What's funny?" Ragnar asked, looking him right in the eyes.
"Asmund is a monster, I have heard tales about him and he has killed men stronger than Askild in his prime. The only reason why Askild has a chance is that age is on his side." Skarde said bluntly and Ragnar was curious as to why he thought this way.
"What do you mean?" Ragnar asked him. If this was going on in the mind of Skarde then why exactly was he excited?
"Asmund in his prime was like the reincarnation of Odin, there was no one that could come close to his strength and that is why his warriors love him but there was something that happened to him in a battle that forced him to loathe battle going forward…" Skard said, pausing to gauge Ragnar's interest in his story before continuing.
"What do you mean something happened to him?" Ragnar questioned, he was too invested in the story and this gave Skarde the go-ahead to speak.
"I would also like to find out, my dear friend…" Skarde responded as he did not know what happened to Asmund either but there was no way that Birger would not know.
"Did it have anything to do with Birger?" Ragnar asked and he got no response from Skarde about his question.
"Focus Ragnar, we have a long night ahead of us…" Skarde said, bringing an abrupt end to the conversation they were just having.
"You are right," Ragnar responded because he did not want to push on information that Skarde did not have a full grasp on, he knew he would have to ask Birger if he truly wanted to know the kind of man Asmund was and why his brother betrayed not just him, but his kingdom.
There had to be a reason that he sought refuge in Kattegat, not only that, he was protected. Ragnar's mind tried frantically to connect the dots.
Xenophanes was the previous king of Kattegat before losing in the duel against Askild, but Ragnar felt like he was missing a crucial piece to this puzzle, just like he had told Skarde earlier, now was not the time for irrelevant thoughts.
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