The Son Of Ragnar

There was no way that any of them had the means to kill him because he was a fearless man who knew that his fate was much more than this.

The Christian returned with a messenger and Bjorn was surprised that the King of Northumbria listened to him.

He had no reason to yet he did, making him wonder what it was that Tyr told him.

"King Ælla needs confirmation of life before he considers your reques-!" The man who was translating what the Christian warrior was saying lost his head.

Everyone looked on in confusion, they were too far to know what was going on but they knew that this was an act of aggression from their leader.

They didn't know if this meant that they would have to charge forward to fight but the Christian warriors weren't making a move to attack him.

"If I wanted to speak about such stupid things, I wouldn't be here…" Tyr said, grabbing the decapitated head of the warrior he had just slain and placing it in the hands of the messenger.

Tyr was ready for war and he knew that he had the greatest card to bargain with and as long as that card existed, there was no way that the King of Northumbria would do anything daring.

He knew the man didn't understand what he said but this should be more than enough to send the message which he wanted to but all in all, where was Ecgberht?

-

Alf and Thorgard had managed to survive through the night but upon waking up, they saw that Ecgberht was nowhere to be seen.

"Thorgard! Wake up!" Alf woke the young warrior and Thorgard sprung to his feet immediately.

"Alf, you were supposed to keep watch!" Thorgard exclaimed, he couldn't believe they had allowed him to slip away.

One would think that Ecgberht would want to stay here considering that his uncle had tried to kill him and pinned it on the Vikings however, this meant that Ecgberht was well aware that he was going to be used in some sort of deal to free their King.

There was no telling what Ælla would do to him considering the failed assassination attempt.

"We need to find him!" Thorgard was panicking because this was the only thing that Tyr had assigned him to do.

He knew that his new brother would be disappointed that he couldn't even handle such a simple task.

But there was no way that this could be a coincidence or so Thorgard thought.

Thorgard was angry but he was also suspicious, looking Alf right in the eyes.

"What the fuck did you do?" Thorgard asked but this question surprised Alf seeing as it was out of the blue.

Thorgard knew there was no way in hell that Alf would let him slip away, he was a slaver and should be a master at keeping prisoners so this could only mean one thing.

Ecgberht wasn't here because Alf had allowed him to leave, this was what Thorgard was sticking with.

"What do you mean? Are you accusing me of something?" Alf asked outright and the silence that followed was a perfect reflection of the tension in the air.

"Ha! Got you!" Thorgard said with a laugh but the moment he said this, he unsheathed his sword with such speed that it should be impossible to defend against if caught unaware yet Alf managed to defend against it.

Alf was expecting an attack but he shouldn't have been expecting one if he was truly innocent.

"It is just as I thought, what did he offer you?" Thorgard questioned but Alf didn't give him a reply.

"A slaver will always choose money over honour…" Thorgard muttered to himself, angry that the man who was supposed to be Tyr's ally was betraying him.

Thorgard noticed the footsteps leading in the opposite direction and knew that it belonged to Ecgberht. He just had to get past Alf but it wasn't going to be easy.

Thorgard quickly moved away from him and Alf took this opportunity to swing his sword, almost cutting the inexperienced warrior in half but he managed to get out of the way in time.

Alf knew with that attack that the fighting skill of this man was limited and with this new information, he rushed towards the younger warrior.

He kept swinging and thrusting his sword with Thorgard barely defending against them and in no time, his defence was overwhelmed.

Thorgard was about to be killed and with the inswinging trajectory of Alf's sword aimed to deliver the finishing blow to his head.

Thorgard smirked, he fought with Tyr and learned a thing or two from the dark-skinned warrior.

A strike not perceived by the enemy is the single strike needed to win a fight and this was exactly the opportunity that Thorgard was waiting for.

Thorgard not only dodged the swing with no difficulty but smashed the hilt of his sword right into Alf's jaw to knock him unconscious.

Thorgard gave chase, hoping that Ecgberht hadn't gone too far because there was no telling what would happen if they lost him but he was aware of what could potentially happen if he did.

The war would be over but this was the side effect of the language barrier, Thorgard didn't know what they discussed and only knew what Alf told him Ecgberht said.

Alf could have said anything whatsoever and Thorgard would have no other choice but to believe as he had no reason not to.

He saw clues but he also saw horse tracks, but it wasn't just one but multiple.

That wasn't the only interesting thing, he noted that there was some sort of struggle here.

He couldn't place his fingers around it but he knew that Ecgberht might have been taken against his will.

"What?" Thorgard thought; he realized that Alf wasn't working with the hostage but Alf was working with the very people he tricked Tyr into believing he was against.

But didn't they want him dead? Why didn't Alf just kill him?

Was he hoping to maintain his cover by delegating this task to another?

"Huh?" Thorgard was confused as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, an attack he couldn't even perceive.

A warm liquid streamed down his arm and onto the ground, this was when he realized that an arrow had managed to find him.

Thorgard looked in the direction in which it came, realizing that there were enemies all around him but he wasn't scared.

He could take them on, there was no way he could fall here and he noticed that a few of them were on horses.

There was no doubt that these were the people that took Ecgberht but he had to conquer them so he could save the young man.

"You are something else…" Alf said from behind him and Thorgard turned to face him, surprised that he had regained consciousness so fast.

"What have you done?" Thorgard asked.

"How could you betray Tyr!?" Thorgard barked but Alf didn't look impressed by this and simply smirked upon hearing this.

"Betray?" Alf asked, walking casually as the men hidden slowly came into view, Thorgard was surrounded. There was no escape.

"Tyr is only here because I helped him but my service can be bought. You see, I don't believe in loyalty if it doesn't make me money," Alf said but Thorgard knew he would be at a disadvantage fighting him so he had to be smart.

"Can it be bought? How about it Thorgard, I double whatever it is that they are offering you if you get me out of this mess…" Thorgard proposed and this interested Alf but there was no way they could match the wealth that was offered to him even though he still gave Thorgard a chance at wooing him.

Thorgard knew the only thing keeping him alive was the fact that the archers hadn't let loose and that was thanks to Alf.

"What do you have to offer?" Alf requested.

"Land! I don't know what you were offered here but you can play both parts, Alf… I will make you an Earl and give you your land to spend your riches on, all the women you want and the law will be as you deem fit. You will become a god but I forgot the best part…" Thorgard said, pausing to see if he had caught the slaver's attention.

"... Go on," Alf gave him the go-ahead he was looking for.

"I will make sure my brother, King Rugalf, not only gives you treasure but gives you the freedom to operate your slave trade without tax," Thorgard spoke on the spot but this offer was way more valuable than what he was offered her.

This would set him up for life but he couldn't trust Thorgard's words.

"How can I trust you to hold up your word?" Alf asked to which Thorgard smiled.

"It is simple… I'm a Gardsson," Thorgard said and Alf knew that there was one thing known about this family.

"A Gardsson always keeps his word," Thorgard reassured him and this was an example of why a good reputation was important, it was because of this reputation that Thorgard survived.

*" Lower your bows, he is with me,"* Alf spoke to the Christians and they did just that.

Did Thorgard have any intention of honoring these words he just spoke or was this a ploy for something greater?

"I will take you to Ecgberht but that is all I'm doing," Alf said but this was more than enough for Thorgard.