The Son Of Ragnar



Morning came and most Vikings were passed out from the drinks and meat that they ingested. 

Tyr was sober and kept an eye on not only Wychard but the kids as well. 

He was still deliberating what to do with them as he knew killing them would be the easier course of action but something inside him did not allow him to take this action. 

He knew that if he crossed this line then there would be nothing making him any different from Erik The Berserker. 

Tyr contemplated and reached a solution that he thought to be best. He had gotten all the information he needed from Wychard so in hindsight, there was no reason to take him back so what if he left him here to take care of the kids?

He could start a new monastery and raise the kids properly, judging from what Tyr had heard Christianity had no place in this world of chaos but this island protected them from that chaos. 

He did not know how the slavers would feel about Uttredus being dead but Tyr was curious if these slavers were the same as the ones who took him. 

Tyr recalled their faces, and he felt this unspoken rage towards them as they tore him from the life he knew. 

Wychard had told him that they would arrive in the next couple of days with the next shipment.

Tyr knew they had nothing to lose by waiting except time, they had a realistic timeframe to return because the Kings put into account that these monks might fight back but that was not the case. 

Tyr also knew if they returned, he had no idea when their next expedition might be approved so he was left wondering.

He had to talk to Bjorn and Gudleif for starters, unlike before he needed both their cooperation because if one boat returned, questions about the others were sure to surface.

This was not part of the task given to them so Tyr would be acting on his agenda. 

It took little more than ten minutes to gather these men, as expected they had controlled their alcohol so they were more than sober when morning came. 

"Tyr Ragnarsson, what is so urgent that you would request to speak to us privately?" Gudleif asked, he respected Tyr but he did not fear him. 

"Forgive me but I have a favour to ask of you both," Tyr started, getting right to the point but Bjorn chipped in at that moment. 

"What do you intend to do with the monk and kids?" Bjorn asked and quite frankly, he was beginning to get on Tyr's nerves. Not every one that did not wield a weapon is harmless and one would think Bjorn would have learned that by now but his kindness might prove to be his weakness. 

"I have decided to leave Wychard here to take care of the kids, he has told me all he knows so there is no need to kill as he may prove to be an ally in the future hm but the reason I am leaving him alive is that I cannot bring myself to condemn those kids…" Tyr said, picking his words carefully as he knew just what Bjorn wanted to hear and Bjorn has proven easy to manipulate in the past. Why would now be any different?

"... But there is a problem…" Tyr said; Bjorn's question allowed Tyr to manipulate the situation to his advantage.

"What problem?" Bjorn asked with Gudleif looking just as curious. 

"The slavers… I am afraid they will not take kindly to Uttredus' death and might finish what we started…" Tyr said; Bjorn knew that this was a possibility if they were Vikings. They only dealt with them because of Uttredus, a fellow Viking. 

"I do not think it is our business what happens here…" Gudleif said bluntly and looking at things objectively, he was right. They had raided and now it was time to go. 

"Would you change your mind if I told you that there are other Kingdoms beyond these lands?" Tyr said and this surely got Gudleif's attention. 

"Kingdoms? That cannot be possible…" Gudleif responded; they had raided smaller islands around Norway and none posed a real threat and could barely be called a Kingdom, this made him believe that Norway was the place where true warriors resided. 

"We are yet to understand just how big this world is… But I want us to protect these children by all means necessary and I need all your support to do that.." Tyr said, if more children were already on their way then leaving Wychard was the best possible choice. 

He noticed that there were crops on their way here, meaning that they grew their food which was good.

Tyr, however, could not underestimate the importance of money. They had taken more than enough so leaving a few of those goods would not dent their pockets in any way but it would be a good way to show Wychard that they are not monsters, increasing the possibility that he would cooperate with them in the future. It was like an investment in a sense. 

Tur knew how mind games worked and confirmed how important it was, he could not do any of this alone and needed people to play the roles he needed them to play to achieve this goal. 

"Hm…" Gudleif pondered on this, he knew he could not give his answer so quickly because a lot of things could go wrong if they stayed here for too long. 

"You have my support…" Bjorn said; Tyr already knew his brother's support was guaranteed even though he suspected his brother of betraying him. 

Bjorn was gullible when it came to it, Tyr was convinced of this now without a doubt. 

"You will only have my support if you share the information you have regarding this new Kingdom…" Gudleif said and Tyr had baited him perfectly too. 

There's one thing all Vikings had in common and that was conquering new lands. 

If there was something even greater, they would want to experience it for it will only make them more worthy of Valhalla.

"Very well then…" Tyr muttered.