Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 3 Lord
Once he was sure Olaf was dead, Vig helped Ragnar up from the ground. "You're welcome. Consider it repayment for that meal and drinks."

In fact, Vig didn't know why he did it. It all seemed to be driven by some unseen force, as if he was destined to save this man.

Suppressing his nausea, Vig severed the lord's head and threw it into the open space outside the door, roaring at the group of shield guards: "Olaf is dead, there's no point in continuing the fight."

Upon learning of the lord's death, the remaining twenty shield guards laid down their weapons. Seeing this, one of Ragnar's companions suddenly suggested, "Olav has violated tradition by murdering a guest. His family is unworthy to rule Gothenburg. Ragnar is the best candidate to succeed Yar."

(Jarl is a title for a lord in the Nordic region, whose status is second only to the king.)
Led by the blond, burly man, the remaining nine companions chanted Ragnar's name in unison. The cold wind howled, and the firelight cast long, long shadows of them.
Half an hour later, urged on by the horns, seven hundred residents gathered in the open space in front of the lord's longhouse, their expressions varying from admiration and fear to suspicion and hatred.

Facing his subjects, Ragnar cleared his throat. "Ahem, Olaf is greedy by nature, and we have no choice but to retaliate. As the new lord, I swear to treat the residents of Gothenburg well, and taxes will be halved for the next two years!"

The atmosphere eased considerably upon hearing this news. He smiled and nodded, then looked at the remaining shield guards. "If anyone disagrees, I am willing to duel him under the watchful eyes of the gods and let the gods decide everything."

The crowd fell silent, tacitly acknowledging the legendary pirate's rule over Gothenburg.

The most dangerous moment had finally passed. Ragnar's gaze shifted to his followers, first to the blond, burly man. "Gunnar, my closest friend, thank you for your help over the past ten years. Without you, my body would have long since rotted in the soil of East Frankish soil."

“Ivar, my eldest son, your enemies fear you and call you ‘the Boneless One,’ and I am deeply honored by this. Your existence is the most precious gift Odin has given me.”

“Bjorn, my second son, although you have just come of age, you have already shown enough courage to the gods and the world. No one else is worthy of the title ‘Iron Bones’ except you.”

“Nils, my nephew, your archery skills are superb. You were born with the blessing of Ullr. May you never stray from your goal.”

Finally, he looked at a young man he had just met and managed to squeeze out a kind word, "Vig Hackenson, although we have only known each other for a short time, I still cherish our precious friendship."

To be honest, Ragnar only gave the other person a piece of lamb chop because he felt sorry for them. He was used to doing this kind of thing and never expected anything in return.

"This person has a good appearance, and he has a special aura about him, but unfortunately he has no combat experience. Oh well, I'll take him in as a shield guard for now, and hopefully he'll learn martial arts well this winter."

After praising his trusted confidants, Ragnar pointed to the lord's longhouse behind him, "Go, my beloved brothers, go and take what you want!"

Amidst a burst of excited shouts, Vig followed the group into the lord's longhouse.

The longhouse is a single-story building constructed entirely of sturdy and durable oak. It is approximately 40 meters long and 12 meters wide, with a towering roof that makes it look like an overturned Viking longship.

Upon entering, you enter the lord's hall, where a rectangular stone hearth stands in the center. Directly in front of it is the lord's exclusive seat, and on either side of the hearth, there are rows of long tables for entertaining guests.

Thick furs hung at the far end of the hall, where the lord and lord's bedroom was located. Rooms on either side of the hall were for the guards. The outermost rooms were the coldest, serving as storage; a large wine cellar had been specially dug beneath them, as Olaf had a fondness for mead.

The lord's bedroom. "This longsword belongs to me!" Ivar took the longsword hanging on the wall, admiring the red agate inlaid on the hilt.

“This chainmail is nice, but the style is a bit strange,” Bjorn said, feeling that it fit him inexplicably well as he put it on.

Gunnar rummaged through the lockers for a long time and found a bull horn with gold inlaid at the end. "Haha, I've heard that Olaf likes to drink with a golden bull horn. This thing is mine."

Niels took a bow and arrows, the rest of the men grabbed a handful of silver coins and ran off to plunder treasures elsewhere, leaving only Vig without any loot, still tirelessly searching.

Ivar was quite surprised by his new companion's strange behavior. "Hey, what are you looking for? Gold, women, or jewels?"

"Five parchment scrolls, depicting the locations of farmland in Gothenburg, which were used to collect taxes every autumn. Hmm, where did they go?"

This item resembles a fish-scale map from the Ming Dynasty. It was key to Ragnar's team's rule over Gothenburg and was more valuable than all the treasures in the house.

The Nordic coast is characterized by numerous fjords and rugged terrain, creating harsh living conditions. In the area surrounding Gothenburg, most farms are isolated, with very few forming village clusters.

Take Vig as an example. His nearest neighbor, Yolen, lives only 200 meters away from his house. Sometimes they don't exchange a single word for days, which is equivalent to living a secluded life.

To collect taxes from the scattered farmers, the earliest lord of Gothenburg created parchment scrolls. If the owner of a plot of land refused to pay taxes, he would immediately send his guards to collect them, greatly increasing the territory's income. This practice was passed down through generations until it reached Olaf.

"Tax collection is a top priority for a ruling group. If this thing can't be found, there's going to be some interesting things to watch later."

After searching for a while, Vig collapsed to the ground in frustration. Ivar also realized the seriousness of the matter and quickly gathered his companions, asking them to search for the parchment scroll separately.

The search continued into the morning of the following day, when Ragnar was forced to gather his people and offer a reward for the whereabouts of the scrolls.
"Each scroll is worth two pounds of silver, and there is also a reward for providing information!"

The next moment, a man raised his hand, “I saw Olaf’s wife and two children run away in the middle of the night, with a stack of things under their arms, probably the parchment book you’re looking for.”

Upon hearing this devastating news, a murmur erupted from the crowd, further shattering Ragnar's already precarious position.

After everyone dispersed, he keenly realized that this matter was far from over, and summoned all his trusted confidants into the lord's hall.
“Gunnar, Niels, go and inform those old friends that Ragnar needs their help.”

“Bjorn, go home and bring Lagosa and Hafdan over. Don’t dawdle for too long.”

“Ivar, you take the rest of the men and be responsible for guarding the territory, and also teach Vig how to fight.”

(End of this chapter)