Chapter 7

Present Day

By midday the next morning, the three of us had met up with a group of other farmers that lived in the area that were also going to the Ding, which I had learnt was the official name for the town meeting/ceremony.

As we walked over the hill in front of us, the small town of Kattegat came into view.

Kattegat is the domain of Earl Haraldson, who is the man who runs the village and gives the orders. I had never met the man personally but Ragnar always spoke bitterly of him so I supposed he was not exactly a moral citizen that everyone admired for heroic acts of bravery.

Ragnar, Bjorn and I walked through the markets. People were selling, trading and purchasing things of all shapes and sizes. The narrow paths between the stalls were packed and loud and I struggled to squeeze through the crowds of people.

Many people tried to get me to purchase anything from their stalls. I felt bad that I did not have any money to help them.

The three of us moved on without even a second glance at the markets. Ragnar was a man on a mission.

We walked though street after street, Bjorn and I not really having much idea of where we were going. I hoped Ragnar did.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a man appeared, taking Bjorn into his arms and raising the small boy off the ground. I momentarily panicked before realising that it was only Ragnar's brother Rollo.

"Hello Rollo," I said politely, offering him a small smile to which he returned to an extent.

Ragnar said his greetings and the three of them talked. I heard mention of the Ding but I wasn't paying too much attention.

It had been several months since I had last seen the man. His brown hair was even longer than it was the last time I saw him and his facial hair had also grown quite significantly.

He was wearing many layers. I didn't blame him. It was always cold in Kattegat. The wind that blew in from the sea made the small town like an icicle for the town sat on the waters edge.

"Come," Rollo smiled. I focused my attention on our growing group and watched as Rollo turned and headed off through the maze of streets. The three of us followed hastily, eager to get out of the cold.

Only moments later we were being ushered into a large - by comparison - house. Inside, the home seemed smaller than it did on the outside.

The hearth was crackling happily in one corner. There was a table placed in the centre of the room and none of the windows were open, which was probably wise, knowing that it was freezing outside. The fact that it was still so cold confused me. Spring was literally just around the corner.

The four of us sat at the table after Rollo invited us to. He poured us all a glass of ale and we sat in silence, drinking our ale.

Slowly, we began to converse about anything. At first it was the Ding and then we somehow moved onto the summer raids for this year.

Bjorn had had at least three full glasses of ale and we could all tell that he'd had too much. He had a stupid smile on his face and he was blinking every few seconds. Poor boy had a pretty low tolerance for alcohol.

"Boy, you've had enough now. Why don't you go lie down," Ragnar smiled, kissing his sons forehead as Bjorn stood up and wobbled over to his bed which had already been set up for him.

I watched Bjorn for another few moments, smiling at his innocence.

"Where do you suppose the Earl will send us to raid this summer?" Rollo asked his brother, taking another mouthful of his ale.

"The East," Ragnar answered without thought.

"Those bastards to the East are as poor as we are," Rollo replied, chuckling. Ragnar gave a small smile, showing that he appreciated the humour but then it was gone again, replaced by a serious expression.

"What about the West?" Ragnar asked, sitting forward and staring at his older brother.

"There are no lands to the West and even if there were, we can't get there," Rollo replied, placing his now empty cup on the table.

"But maybe there is."

"What?" I asked. No. That couldn't be. Why hadn't Ragnar mentioned this earlier? Since when has he had a way to travel West?

"Have you found a way, brother?" Rollo asked, seeming sceptical.

Ragnar grinned again, lifting himself from his seat. He walked to his pack and rummaged through it, looking for something. A moment later he pulled out a large object wrapped in a cloth.

"What is that?" Rollo asked, voicing my thoughts.

"This, my brother, is a way West."

I choked on my drink. No, come on, really?! Ragnar looked at me strangely but didn't say anything. He turned back to Rollo.

"This is a board," Rollo said, sounding extremely sceptical.

"Get some water," Ragnar disregarded his previous comment.

After Rollo didn't immediately jump up to get the liquid, I stood up. I walked to the basin and dipped a wooden bucket into its depths. The water poured into the container and I quickly hurried back to the two men who were watching me impatiently.

"Now watch," Ragnar said, looking up and glancing at the both of us quickly.

He placed the board into the water.

The board was quite simple. It was round and there was a small point that stuck out in the middle. At two points around the board, there were drawn circles. No, there was no way that this small wooden board could give them the directions to go West. 

Rollo looked at Ragnar as if he were insane, which was completely rational thinking given the circumstances.

"Now..." Ragnar trailed off, looking around. He picked up a lit candle.

"Imagine this is the sun," He began to explain, gesturing to the candle in his left hand.

Rollo nodded. Ragnar went on to explain how when the sun is at different times of the day at different positions, the shadow from the point will be at different points around the drawn circle and he also explained how you would be able to tell what direction you needed to travel more towards to get to your location.

"What about when it's cloudy?" Rollo asked.

"If there's no sun how do you expect to find your way?" I added, thinking along the same lines as the eldest brother of the two.

"You use this," Ragnar smirked, pulling a murky crystal from somewhere unknown.

"Come," he said, noting the looks of scepticism on both of our faces.

He led us to the door of the home and glanced at us once more before opening the wooden door.

He made sure we were watching what he was doing and then he raised the crystal into the air, moving it around a little.

"There," he said, pointing to a random spot in the sky.

"There is the sun."

That's when I noticed the glare from the crystal on Ragnar's face. It was the sun.

"This might just change everything."

(a/n: so guys, what do you think? Also, has anyone seen yesterdays episode?! Things are looking intense for this season. If you haven't heard, I wrote a one-shot about Ragnar re-uniting with Athelstan after season three, so if you haven't read it, please do. I love feedback. Anyways, until next time, happy raiding Northmen!)

Updated on the 21st of February, 2016.