Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 14 Return
In late August, the caravan left Constantinople carrying spices and silk, along with three grim-faced officials.

They returned to the mouth of the Dnieper River along the same route they had come from, and sold the two extra boats at a low price. Spices and silk took up very little space, so one cargo ship was more than enough.

Two months later, as autumn approached, Rurik maneuvered his cargo ship to the middle reaches of the Dnieper River. With the river about to freeze over, the caravan would have to spend the winter at his father-in-law's tribe, waiting until the river thawed in March of the following year before resuming their journey.

Faced with a six-month-long period of free time, Vig decided to find something to do. In addition to exercising for two hours every day, he spent the rest of his time learning runes from a Viking immigrant.

Runes consist of twenty-four letters and are currently only suitable for short inscriptions, not for long texts, thus limiting their circulation. Vigé pondered this during his studies and decided to spend two years privately refining the writing system. If the results did not meet his expectations, he would have to dedicate himself to learning Latin.

Meanwhile, Eastern Roman envoys traveled throughout the surrounding regions, persuading these Rus' tribes to fight against the Pechenegs. Their reasoning was simply that the nomadic threat was growing daily, and if it wasn't contained soon, it would one day escalate into a nomadic frenzy like that of Attila the Hun (the Hunnic leader who dealt a heavy blow to the Roman Empire, known as the Scourge of God).

In return, the empire would send artisans to teach advanced farming techniques and sell weapons and armor.

The Rus' leaders hesitated. The nomadic forces on the west bank of the Dnieper were weak. In contrast, the eastern bank had vast steppes dotted with numerous nomadic tribes, large and small. What if they angered the Khan, who might then gather tens of thousands of cavalry for retaliation?

After much deliberation, the tribal leaders came up with a compromise: allowing their people to travel to the Eastern Roman outposts on the northern shore of the Black Sea to serve as mercenaries in their individual capacities, provided that the Empire paid a sufficient price.

"Barbarian mercenaries, not a bad idea."

The envoy fell into deep thought and found the idea quite reasonable. Compared to Greek soldiers, the barbarians of Eastern and Northern Europe were tall, strong, and hardworking, making them the most suitable for serving as heavily armored infantry.

After a brief discussion with his colleagues, he reached an agreement with these tribes on behalf of the empire, intending to use this agreement to report back home. As for the specific effectiveness of the barbarian mercenaries, that was a matter for the generals to consider; he had done his duty, after all.

The following April, the caravan set off again, and two Viking shield guards decided to settle there. Although they were quite reluctant to leave, they had completed their hunt, and Ivar had no reason to stop them.

At this point, only six members remained in the pursuit team.

Because the cargo ships needed to sail against the current, it took much longer than last year. By the time they arrived at Lake Ladoga again, it was already late September.

Upon parting, Ivar invited Rurik to visit Gothenburg, but Rurik politely declined.

"Farewell, my brothers. It was truly a pleasure to be with you all, but my future is destined to belong to this black soil. I hope that many years from now, we can sit down and drink together again."

After saying this, Rurik embraced and bid farewell to the six Viking strongmen one by one: Vig, Ivar, Bjorn, Niels, Gunnar, and Om, and then watched their ships disappear into the distance.

The long journey, which began in the spring of 841 and ended in the winter of 842, took nearly two years.

Upon seeing Ragnar again, Vig noticed a woman he had never seen before accompanying him, holding a newborn baby in her arms. He learned from others that she was Ragnar's new wife, named Sora, and also King Eric's youngest sister.

Bjorn complained with a gloomy face, "We went out for a walk and found out he even has a child."

Unlike his brother, Ivar was very open-minded. "Many years ago, a prophet made a prediction that one day my father would wear a crown and have three wives and five children. This was the destiny set for him by the gods, and it could not be changed."

After saying that, Ivar stepped forward and hugged the newborn baby. "His name is Uber? Ah, a good name. May he grow up to be an excellent Viking warrior."

Uber? Vig recalled Ragnar's five sons in history, pondering to himself,

"The Boneless" Ivar

"Iron Man" Bjorn,

"White Shirt" Hafdan,

"Brave" Uber,

"Snake Eyes" Sigurd.

So, will Ragnar marry another wife in the future and have a fifth child – “Snake Eyes” Sigurd?

According to historical records, Ragnar's five sons each had their own strengths, but due to the butterfly effect caused by the time traveler, Vig could not guarantee that they would experience the same life trajectory and could only take it one step at a time.

He then temporarily put the idea aside and boasted about his adventures to the other soldiers at the banquet.

"After being attacked by nomadic riders, everyone scattered and fled into the woods. I ran alone for a while, when suddenly I heard a strange noise coming from the bushes by the roadside."

To be honest, Vig doesn't like to boast, but he has to. Viking society reveres heroes, and he must do his best to spread his fame until it reaches a certain level, making him a legendary figure like Ragnar or Raghtha. At that point, a large number of warriors and shield maidens will come to follow him.

Only then will my own career be just beginning.

"Upon arriving in Rome on the northern shore of the Black Sea, I stumbled upon Lord Borg's trail and immediately gave chase. He rode his white horse recklessly through the streets, and I raced across the rooftops, finally tackling him off his horse and snapping his neck."

"Look, this is the Damascus steel sword I won in a duel before the emperor. Queen Theodora didn't believe I could kill ten nomads in one battle, so she sent a skilled fighter to duel with me, but he was defeated in just a couple of moves."

As he drank cup after cup of mead, Vig's words became increasingly incoherent. He found a spot, clutched the Dragon's Breath Sword, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he was woken up by Ivar, who said, "Wake up, let's split the profits!"

After dragging Vig to a relatively quiet room, Ivar and the remaining four members began to divide the goods.

First, aside from everyone's expenses in Constantinople, such as the superior steel sword 'Heartbreaker' purchased by Ivar, the pile of nautical charts of questionable authenticity bought by Bjorn, and the high-end jewelry Gunnar bought for his wife and children.
Calculations showed that Vig spent the least money and therefore received the most goods. Based on Nordic prices, this was worth at least twenty pounds of silver, equivalent to two years' worth of taxes in Gothenburg!

When he heard the number, he was momentarily incredulous. But then he thought, including the farmers in the surrounding areas, Gothenburg only had two thousand inhabitants, not enough to extract more income. The land was so barren, no wonder the Vikings were so obsessed with raiding.

After the profits were divided, Ivar asked everyone in turn to make sure no one had any objections, and then announced the successful conclusion of this two-year adventure.

"Brothers, you've had a long and arduous journey. Thank you for accompanying me on this adventure. From now on, if anyone dares to offend you, just come and find me, Ivar!"

(End of this chapter)