Ch 14: Return Trip

In late August, a caravan carrying spices and silk departed Constantinople, also carrying three officials with bitter expressions.

Following the same route back to the mouth of the Dnieper River, they sold off the two extra ships at a low price. The spices and silk took up very little space; one cargo ship was more than enough.

Two months later, with the autumn wind howling, Rurik steered the cargo ship to the Middle Dnieper River. Now that the river was about to freeze, the caravan could only spend the winter in his father-in-law’s tribe, waiting until the river thawed in March to continue their journey.

Faced with half a year of free time, Vig decided to find something to do. Besides spending two hours a day exercising, he spent the rest of his time learning Runic script from a Viking immigrant.

The Runic script has twenty-four letters. Currently, it is only suitable for short inscriptions, not for long writings, and its circulation is very narrow. During his studies, Vig repeatedly pondered and decided to privately improve this writing system in two years. If the effect does not meet expectations, he will have to settle down and learn Latin.

Meanwhile, an envoy from the Eastern Roman Empire was running around the surrounding areas, persuading the Rus’ tribes to fight against the Pechenegs. The reason given was that the nomadic threat was increasing day by day. If they did not find a way to curb it, one day it would lead to a nomadic frenzy like Attila（, the Hunnic chieftain, who severely damaged the Roman Empire and was 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’ chieftains were hesitant. The nomadic forces on the West Bank of the Dnieper River were weak. In contrast, the steppe on the East Bank was vast, filled with large and small nomadic tribes. What if they angered the Great Khan? If he retaliated by mustering ten thousand cavalry, what would they do then?

After much deliberation, the various unit leaders came up with a compromise: to allow their people to go to the Eastern Roman outpost on the Northern Black Sea Coast to serve as mercenaries in their individual capacities, provided that the Empire paid enough.

“Barbarian mercenaries, not a bad idea.”

The envoy fell into thought, finding this method quite reasonable. Compared to Greek soldiers, the barbarians from Eastern Europe and Northern Europe were tall and strong, hardy, and most suitable for serving as heavily armed heavy infantry.

After discussing with his colleagues for a moment, he reached an agreement with these tribes on behalf of the Empire and intended to return home to report with this agreement. As for the specific effect of the barbarian mercenaries, that was something the generals should consider; he had done his duty.

In April of the following year, the caravan set off again. Two Viking shield-bearers decided to settle down there. Although they were quite reluctant, they had completed their pursuit mission, and Ivar had no reason to stop them.

At this point, only six remained in the pursuit squad.

Because the cargo ship needed to sail upstream, it took much longer than the previous year. By the time they reached Lake Ladoga again, it was already late September.

At their parting, Ivar invited Rurik to Gothenburg, but the latter refused.

“Farewell, my brother. It was indeed fun being with you. However, my future is destined for this black land. I hope that many years from now, we can still sit down and drink together.”

After saying this, Rurik hugged each of the six Viking strongmen goodbye—Vig, Ivar, Bjorn, Niels, Gunnar, and Orm—and then watched their ship disappear from sight.

Departing in the spring of 841 and returning to Gothenburg in the winter of 842, this long journey took nearly two years.

Seeing Ragnar again, Vig found a woman he had never seen before beside him, holding a newborn baby. He learned from others that she was Ragnar’s newly married wife, named Sola, and also King Eric’s youngest sister.

Bjorn complained gloomily, “We went out for a spin, and he even has a child.”

Unlike his younger brother, Ivar’s attitude was very open-minded. “Many years ago, a prophet made a prediction that our father would one day wear a crown, have three wives and five offspring. This is the fate set by the Gods for him, and it cannot be changed.”

After saying this, Ivar stepped forward and hugged the newborn baby. “His name is Ubbe? Heh, a good name. May he become an outstanding Viking warrior.”

Ubbe?

Vig recalled Ragnar’s five offspring in history and pondered to himself,

“Boneless” Ivar,

“Iron-boned” Bjorn,

“White Shirt” Halfdan,

“The Brave” Ubbe,

“Snake Eye” Sigurd.

So, in the future, Ragnar will marry another wife and have a fifth child—”Snake Eye” Sigurd?

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

Afterwards, he temporarily put this thought aside and boasted about his adventures at the banquet with other warriors.

“After being attacked by nomad cavalry, everyone scattered and fled into the forest. I ran alone for a while, and suddenly heard something moving in the bushes by the roadside.”

To be honest, Vig didn’t like boasting, but he had to. Viking society admired brave warriors, and he had to do his best to promote his reputation until it accumulated to a certain level, becoming a legendary figure like Ragnar and Ragnheid. Then a large number of warriors and shield-maidens would come to follow him.

Only then would his own career truly begin.

“Arriving at the Roman city on the Northern Black Sea coast, I accidentally discovered Lord Borg’s whereabouts and pursued him. He was running around on the streets on a white horse, and I ran desperately on the roofs, finally knocked him off his horse, and snapped his neck.”

“Look, this is the Damascus steel sword I won in a royal duel. Empress Dowager Theodora didn’t believe that I had killed ten nomads in one battle, so she assigned an expert to fight me. I defeated him in two moves.”

As cup after cup of honey wine went down, Vig’s words became more and more confused. He found a place to lie down and fell asleep, hugging the Dragon’s Breath sword.

The next morning, Ivar woke him up, “Don’t sleep, settlement of accounts!”

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

First, they deducted everyone’s expenses in Constantinople, such as Ivar’s purchase of the high-quality steel sword ‘Heartbreaker’, Bjorn’s purchase of a pile of dubious charts, and Gunnar’s purchase of high-end jewelry for his wife and children.

After the calculation, Vig had spent the least, so he received the most goods. According to the selling price in Northern Europe, it was worth at least twenty pounds of silver, equivalent to two years’ tax in Gothenburg!

When he heard this number, he was momentarily incredulous. But on second thought, including the surrounding peasants, Gothenburg only had two thousand subjects and could not extract more income. The land was so barren that it was no wonder that Vikings were obsessed with going out for pillaging.

After the settlement of accounts, Ivar asked everyone one by one to confirm that there were no objections and announced that this two-year adventure had come to a successful end.

“Brothers, you’ve all worked hard. Thank you for accompanying me on this adventure. From now on, if anyone dares to offend you, just come to me, Ivar!”