Sophia screamed in horror as the arrow hit Ragnar in the back. He fell onto his knees with her. Ragnar refused to let out a groan as he got the arrow. "D-Don't pull it out!"

Ragnar let go as he noticed a group of Vikings coming their way; he recognized them. "Sophia! Ragnar!"

"A-Arne! Wh-What are you doing here!?"

Arne and some of his men stopped before the duo; Arne got off his horse as he saw the situation. "I noticed you two going away from the city. I told my father what I had seen, and he permitted me to see what you two are up to. By the gods, what were you two doing!?"

"I-I'll explain later; we must take Ragnar back to the city and take the arrow out. Please!" Arne noticed the arrow in Ragnar's back; he shook his head. He asked for another of his men to help put Ragnar on a horse. Ragnar let out deep groans as the pressure of the arrow was felt throughout his entire back. "Arne, please take him back to the city as quickly as possible. I will try to catch up."

Arne was silent momentarily but commanded men and horses to go forward; Sophia ran back to where the group was. Once she got there, there were many dead bodies on the ground. However, many of them were Frode's men; some of Arne's men stayed behind to help Brynhild and her people. Brynhild was with her people to see if there were any more casualties. The shieldmaiden noticed Sophia; she immediately went to her and pushed her. "By the gods, woman! Why have you run!? I saw Ragnar being ridden away with an arrow on his back!"

"I-I saw Frode from afar; he was the one who led the attack. If Ragnar and I hadn't come to you when we did, he would have attacked you and your people! Arne followed us, and he and his men helped you and your people."

"And where is that old coot?"

"I shot him, and he was injured, but he ran away when he saw Arne and his men. Lady Brynhild, I need to make haste to take heal Ragnar." Suddenly, Sophia heard a cry from afar and remembered the infant, Eric. The older woman still had the infant in her arms. Sophia went to the older woman, relieved both were alive and well. When the infant saw her, he stopped crying. "Thank you for caring for him; I had to stop a madman. I can take this child; I know you have been troubled."

"It is no trouble, young one. I saw what you did, and you are brave. It saddens me that this child no longer has a mother and father."

Sophia was given the child, but the older woman wrapped her in a long cloth where Eric could be held as Sophia went back to the city. Once done, the young woman thanked the older woman and slowly walked to Eric and his wife, who were being put in a pile of dead bodies. A large grave was being dug for the couple. "They were the only casualties within my people." Brynhild walked next to Sophia. The shieldmaiden noticed the infant in Sophia's arms, who was beginning to fall asleep. "What will you do with the child?"

"I'm to blame for his parents' death. I-"

"You are not to blame, Sophia. You saw they were in need and had the heart to help them. Everything happens for a reason; the gods deemed it."

"Gods..." Sophia remembered the vision of the other figure she had never seen before, the man with one eye. Her eyes widened, and then she shook her head. "If that were true, then the gods are cruel; I will be this child's mother. Eric and his wife envisioned their son's bright future. I will ride ahead to help Ragnar. Are you sure that you will be well?"

"Yes, the city is not far from here, and we will bury our dead. We won't take long; go on."

Sophia nodded as she carefully got onto her horse with the infant cradled within the wrapped cloth. She commanded the horse to move on forward toward the city.

Meanwhile, Frode rode away from the village and onto the path to his home. It would take two nights to get there, and he felt pain in his stomach due to the arrow that punctured him. He realized the puncture was deep and felt his blood dripping, but he refused to go down. "That cursed witch will pay; I will stick her head on a tree."

He kept riding for hours, but as he continued on the path, he noticed a figure sitting on a boulder. As Frode got closer, he saw who the figure was; he commanded his horse to stop to keep his distance. "By the gods, look at your state. It seems your little plan didn't go so well."

"Itzvar, you have come all this way to mock me."

"I wouldn't mock you if you arrived victorious, but by the looks of it, you failed...again." Itzvar ate the last piece of meat he brought and slowly stood up as he threw the bone. "When I arrived at your little home, I thought you would be useful, but you are making me lose many men that would help kill Ragnar." Itzvar got an axe, and ten men escaped their hiding spots with weapons. "You proved to me that you passed your prime, Frode. You will only bring me and my ambitions to the mud, so I have no use for you anymore."

Frode noticed that Itzvar's men were closing in on him; he was betrayed. He felt like a fool for allowing Itzvar to stay close to him all this time. The Viking had no weapon so that he couldn't fight back. He could try to override them but wouldn't get far; he felt that Itzvar had planned something else. Frode knew that Itzvar wasn't going to let him go out alive. He was tired of running and being entrapped with a vengeance against Ragnar. Every attack he planned failed; he wondered if the gods were on Ragnar's side all this time. He would never kill Ragnar; he knew he would die today.

Suddenly, Frode shouted as he commanded his horse to charge toward Itzvar, surprising Itzvar. "To Valhalla!" As Frode got closer, Itzvar readied his axe and threw it toward the older Viking, puncturing his face and head. Frode fell from the horse with the axe still intact but not moving.

Itzvar slowly walked toward the older man as he slowly got his axe; blood poured like a river. "

Frode was dead.