The Son Of Ragnar



Gudleif swung his blade to take off his head but he halted it right before he made contact with the Priest's neck, Uttredus did not flinch.

"You…" Gudleif muttered, realising that this man spoke their language but how?

"What are Norsemen doing here?" Uttredus questioned, the monks behind him surprised that the Priest could speak the languages of pagans.

Gudleif knew something was off with the man before him because he was the only one that did not show visible fear the moment he heard that they were Norsemen. 

This was why Gudleif swung his sword and Uttredus not flinching confirmed this. 

"How do you speak our language?" Gudleif asked as he saw the shorter men behind him holding their cross and muttering to themselves. 

"This is God's land, what do you want?" Uttredus questions him, he had no intention of answering a question that would not further this conversation.

"God? Do you mean the gods?" Gudleif asked with a raised brow, he knew he had to make a good first impression on the other Kingdoms present as he had no intention of making King Ragnar look bad.

Bjorn and Tyr soon joined in the conversation as they held equal authority with Gudleif so they did not see why he should be the one to make the decisions. 

"Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour! You pagans will not understand but before my God shows his judgement, I advise you all to turn back without inconveniencing us further!" Uttredus warned and the audacity he had was intriguing because he had no means of protecting himself. 

"Jesus Christ?" Gudleif muttered but before he could tackle the question at hand, Bjorn and Tyr took over the conversation.

"What kind of weapon does he wield!?" Tyr asked anxiously with Bjorn chipping in. 

"I bet he cannot beat the All-Father!" Bjorn added.

"You truly are pagans…" Uttredus said but Gudleif slapped him the moment he said this. 

"Do not mistake my patience for tolerance…" Gudleif said as he glanced over Tyr and Bjorn who clearly disapproved of his action. 

"Do not forget why we are here. We are here to raid and plunder…" Gudleif reminded the boys. 

Bjorn was surprised this was the same man he met back at Kattegat. 

The monks cowered at this sight, brandishing their crosses in the direction of the perceived Pagans. 

Gudleif saw a man crucified on the cross and was surprised by this depiction. 

"Your God is bound to a cross? How does he protect you then?" Gudleif questioned as the elderly Uttredus got back to his feet and said. 

"We are Christians, we do not believe in violence nor do we believe in hate. Jesus guides us through love…" Uttredus said but Gudleif spat right in his face. 

"You say all this yet you smell of a Viking, you traitor," Gudleif said as he grabbed Uttredus by the neck. 

"I have no interest in you or your God. All I want is gold and silver so take me to it," Gudleif commanded. 

He could not kill Uttredus because he was the only one that spoke their language. 

Gudleif briefly let go of his neck and walked right to Wychard with his weapon brandished. 

".... Before I start killing Christians," Gudleif mocked him as the Vikings that were in the dark came into view, each unit serving a different person.

"All you can do is kill us, Pagan," Uttredus said, he had no intentions of folding but unfortunately for him, the monks behind him did not have this same resolve. 

Gudleif found a weak point as he saw them trembling in fear of what was about to happen. 

"You are first…" Gudleif said, looking right at Wychard with a grin following up soon after. 

Wychard did not know what he said but he knew his life was in danger, this was the time his faith would be tested and all he did was close his eyes to embrace death. Yet the sting of death never came with Wychard slowly opening his eyes to see a dark-skinned boy standing right in front of him, he had blocked Gudleif's attack with his axe with Bjorn's blade on his neck. 

"That is enough, Gudleif…" Bjorn said; Gudleif could not even react to this simultaneous move by the brothers.

"You are not in charge of the expedition, your influence ends with your men. Do not act rashly without consulting us or you will be the one to lose your head," Tyr added, everyone was in awe but Gudleif's men were visibly uneasy as they took a battle stance. 

But there was a dilemma, these were children of their King so what could they do?

Wychard for a moment, thought Tyr to be his guardian angel but that illusion was dispelled just as quickly. 

Fortunately, they did not have to do anything as Gudleif gestured for them to stand down.

Gudleif lowered his sword as well because he knew it would be arrogant of him to think he could subdue these two without killing them. 

They were the children of Ragnar, this alone gave them the edge in this expedition. 

"You are both right, forgive me. I got carried away…" Gudleif said and this was all it took to dissipate the tension.

"Wow! They are so cool!" Thorgard thought to himself with Vegard wrapped around his neck as usual. 

Tyr walked to Uttredus, he knew why this man might be opposed to handing them what they requested but he would rather they be no bloodshed.

He had to try and convince him, Bjorn was on his side so by majority rule, Gudleif's approach became null. 

"I do not know you but I understand why you view me as your enemy, it is because I am…" Tyr said bluntly as he momentarily paused to look at the frail old man. 

"... You are not just responsible for your life. Look around you, would you rather we burn your home to the ground and slaughter every last one of you?" Tyr questioned but there was something about his tone that made even his brother uneasy, it sounded like this was an action he was willing to carry out. 

"... If you were a Viking, you know of our way because we may yet still find what we are looking for even after you are all dead so do you wish to die in vain?" Tyr asked and Uttredus's stern expression softened the moment he was asked this question. 

"You are right…" Uttredus muttered weakly with Gudleif looking fascinated by how easily words rolled off Tyr's tongue. 

"Now I understand…" Gudleif thought to himself.