Chapter 71 Detour

King Askild and the rest of his crew found comfort in Vingulmark, they rested and by doing so they extended their journey to Vestfold.

Vingulmark was a strange place, there were not many citizens but there were multiple high-quality structures as this was what one would call a Viking city. A city comprised strictly of warriors and the ones that were not in battle were those that sustained injuries one way or another.

Ragnar was suspicious of the people around them, he did not trust this man that called himself Jan. Ragnar was going to allow them to help but he was not going to let down his guard, not even for a second.

"This place is different," Skarde said. He was amazed by the structure erected, he had never seen some of these yet there were so many things here that he never even thought existed.

"Ulf…" Birger called out to the older brother of Ragnar, Ulf was sticking beside him and Ragnar was too distracted with Jan so his attention was shifted away from Birger.

Ulf was beside Birger. Birger only spoke in low whispers so no one but Ulf could hear him.

"When did you make contact with him?" Ulf asked Birger, he wanted to know, considering Birger wanted his trust for reasons unknown to him. He grew suspicious of Birger's interest in him because he knew he was keeping things from him.

"I made contact with Jan before we sailed," Birger responded to his question with little to no hesitation but was the contact made while Ulf was watching him or before?

Ulf wanted to dig further but he did not want to make Birger cautious of him but he started to think of some of the questionable things Birger had been saying.

But Birger did promise to make his dream come true, and this was one thing Ulf lived for, and that was why he joined this war.

"Where did you get the blueprint for that ship…?" Birger asked a question of his own and Ulf's body immediately froze because he knew he could not just play it off like he did his brother.

"Hahaha, why the sudden interest?" Ulf asked Birger but he knew that Birger was not finding his tone humorous.

"I asked a question, Ulf," Birger said. His voice was cold and sent shivers down Ulf's spine. This felt different than the menacing energy King Askild exuded but it made him uncomfortable nonetheless.

He looked Birger right in the eyes and kissed his teeth.

"I am not your slave or servant, address me with more respect," Ulf said, he was getting tired of being addressed like a child and that had to stop because frankly, it was getting disrespectful.

Birger chuckled, before going into full-on manic laughter.

This drew the attention of everyone to his direction as this was the first time anyone had heard him laugh since coming to Kattegat. Ulf chuckled lightly in response because he did not know exactly what was funny as Birger threw an arm over him.

Ragnar was not liking the familiarity one bit and Asger was fuming with how comfortable he was. Ulf noticed the hateful stares and tried to break away from Birger's embrace but he was surprised by his strength.

"You see… Just like that, I can make everyone think we are best friends. Do you want to be the odd one out among your peers? Do you want them to doubt your loyalty to your King? I can only imagine the pain that comes with such a thing…" Birger whispered into Ulf's ear and he gulped in response to this revelation. Birger had him wrapped around his fingers and Ulf was realizing that this man did not just pose a threat because of his superior combat skills but his cunning mind.

"I won't ask again, Ulf…" Birger said, pausing to allow Ulf to answer the question he was asked moments ago.

"It was something I found in one of my raids in the past, it was guided just like they would a treasure so I thought it must have some sort of value…" Ulf said. He was vague with the details and hoped that this summary was enough to satisfy Birger's curiosity.

"So you were the one, fate is indeed an interesting thing…" Birger said, letting go of Ulf but what he said gave Ulf the impression that he knew just what exactly he was talking about.

He became the curious one and wanted to know what it was that Birger knew but he knew now was not the time.

"Fate is fascinating," Ulf responded, officially bringing an end to the conversation because if he pried further, it also allowed Birger the same right.

They finally reached a stop, they were in the heart of a kingdom and there was no King.

Bjorn was the only one confused as to why there was not a king in such a kingdom.

"Why is there no king?" Bjorn asked Asger, and Asger proceeded to explain in detail.

"Earls are rulers that watch over a part of the king's lands, they act as the de facto king as they can implement their own rules and carry out what they deem to be justice but they ultimately answer to their king but it seems that this man called Jan wants more than just a single piece of the kingdom," Asger said, telling Bjorn of Jan's betrayal to his King.

This disgusted Bjorn, he chose Asger because Asger was a warrior worthy of respect, honor was what Bjorn valued above all else and a man that could not stay loyal to his King was the worst of them all. He could tell he was not the only one that held this sentiment as Asger looked at Jan with pure disgust, the fact that he was associated with Birger could mean nothing but bad news.

They were ushered into a hall where food and snacks were given to the warriors as they could not fight a war on an empty stomach and no one knew when this war would end.

They all dug in, all except the commanders and King Askild as they did not trust this man one bit.