raven ↠ vikings

TEN

King Horik gave Ragnar a very important task after Uppsala. There was a man that was threatening war against him, and the King wanted Ragnar to go to the man as an emissary to represent him. His goal was to avoid war and settle the dispute before it escalated too quickly. Ragnar chose only a few people to ride with him to Horik's kingdom. It was a long and cold trek that would take days. We had to go all the way to Gotland, Sweden to the Earldom of Jarl Borg. 

Luckily, I was finally going along with Ragnar instead of being left at home to do chores all day. Bjorn was also riding with us along with Arne, Rollo, and Floki. For most the trip, it was raining on us, and it wasn't a pleasant rain. It was the kind of rain that blinded you and made your bones shiver. The wind was always harsh, and my hands felt frozen to the reins of my horse. 

The thundering of hooves carried through the air as I spotted Gotland in the distance. Mountains towered above all the quaint houses that sat in the valley. A wall went for miles around the village, and guards were standing in small towers that were built on opposite sides of it. An eerie feeling arose in my stomach as the gates were pulled open for us. Something about this place set my mind on edge. 

Jarl Borg's house was at the end of the main dirt path in the village. People eyed us cautiously as we walked by, but I was too focused on how my wet cloak was sticking to my freezing body to pay much attention to anything else. I wanted to change and get dry as soon as possible. We traveled such a long way, and my legs were aching. I glanced at Bjorn, and he looked just as tired as I was. 

Once we were finally inside Jarl Borg's house, which had two stories and a decorate main hall where several people sat by a warm fire, I let out a breath of relief. I was beyond glad to get away from the bitter wind for a while, but no one came to welcome us. It was like we weren't even there. The people by the fire carried on with their conversation.

"Why don't they let us dry ourselves and get warm?" Floki asked through his chattering teeth. I was wondering the same thing. "If I stay like this I will rust."

"What kind of fellow is the Jarl Borg?" Rollo added as he glared at the men by the fire. "This is no way to treat guests, whoever they are."

"Especially if they've been traveling for days on end," Arne said with agitation. 

My grey gaze fell on the man sitting in the center of the table by the flickering fire. He had a scruffy face and blonde hair that went to his shoulders. He was only giving everyone half of his attention, as if he had a million other important things to do. I guessed that he was Jarl Borg because the others in the room seemed intimidated by him. 

After a few more freezing minutes, Jarl Borg noticed us. He held up his hand and motioned for us to come to join him by the fire, "Are you the emissaries from King Horik?" Ragnar nodded as he hovered his hands over the fire. I felt warmth returning to my body. "Well, I can tell you at once you're wasting your time. It's my land, and I want it returned to me. That's all I have to say."

Glad to know he was open-minded.  Jarl Borg took a big sip of his drink as Ragnar spoke up, "He wants to make peace with you and come to some kind of agreement."

"Then tell him if he leaves my land, we can have peace," Jarl Borg insisted, "but not before."

Ragnar smiled and shook his head, "How can you make peace, Jarl Borg, if you insist on humiliating him?"

"If I invade and defeat him will he not be even more humiliated?" Jarl Borg asked.

Ragnar laughed, "Not if he fights well." Through their conversation, my eyes were trained on Jarl Borg. I already didn't like him very much. His eyes reminded me of snakes, "In any case, I'm sure that he would relish a fight."