Ch 57: Transaction

“This is Surtr, the fire giant, breathing. We disturbed his slumber.”

Faced with the celestial phenomenon, the vast majority of Vikings collapsed to the ground, begging the Aesir Gods for salvation. Until nightfall, the black smoke did not cease, the night sky was dyed dark red, volcanic ash fell in a shower, like falling black snowflakes. They huddled in the still unfinished temple, quietly waiting for the end of their lives.

In the morning, the Vikings, having endured the night, left the temple and came to the mountaintop to gaze north. That muffled sound gradually ceased, it seemed the fire giant had not taken further action, but had returned to the underworld to continue its hibernation.

“Hurry and repair the ships, and leave this cursed land before he wakes again!”

Undoubtedly, this defeatist statement elicited agreement from most people. Bjorn made no statement, his gaze sweeping over each member one by one. Some bowed their heads to avoid his eyes, while others raised their heads to meet his gaze.

To rally the people, Bjorn said in a loud voice: “This is still Midgard, last night’s volcanic eruption was merely a natural phenomenon!”

（Midgard, in Norse mythology, one of the “Nine Realms,” is the world where mortals dwell.）

He pointed in the direction of the volcanic eruption, “The fire giant lives in Muspelheim, that world is full of high temperatures and magma, and no other life can survive. Since there are trees, birds, and river fish on the island, it proves that this place is definitely not Muspelheim!”

After Bjorn’s repeated persuasion, a few decided to stay for a while longer. The remaining eighty-plus people were unwilling to listen to his nonsense, spending three days hastily repairing their ships and forcibly carrying most of their supplies out to sea.

After this incident, the settlement’s size was reduced to fifty-three people. Bjorn had the remaining residents continue building houses and smoking whale dried meat.

In the following days, small pieces of sailcloth, wooden barrels, and broken ship hulls floated ashore one by one. Bjorn collected the fragments and discovered that these pieces of sailcloth came from two different sails, proving that both ships of those who left had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

“My countrymen, I have some bad news to announce.”

He squeezed out an extremely mournful expression, “The eighty-plus people who left earlier perished at sea. It is likely that their cowardice angered the Gods, thus incurring Odin’s punishment. Alas, this kind of death will prevent them from entering the Hall of the Slain. What a pity.”

Sensing the faint fear emanating from the crowd, Bjorn was secretly pleased. At least in the short term, they would not have any more thoughts of leaving. He had fortunately survived his first test.

At the same time, Tyne.

After spreading the word for six months, four stonemasons arrived from various places. Vig made a brief inspection and dismissed the one with the worst skill, employing the remaining three at a high price.

Subsequently, he asked the three stonemasons to each submit a construction plan, with the following specific requirements:

The outer wall of Tyne Town would be changed to a stone structure, 6 meters high, 3.5 meters thick at the bottom, and 2.5 meters thick at the top.

The inner walls of Tyne Castle would also be changed to a stone structure, with similar specifications to the above. In addition, a main keep approximately fifteen meters high would be built.

After exploration, the construction cost given by the three stonemasons was roughly similar. The outer wall would require 250-350 pounds of silver, the inner wall 60 pounds of silver, and the main keep an estimated 100 pounds of silver.

Vig and Herigifu went to a corner and whispered, then asked the artisans: “It’s too expensive, can we save some?”

“Master, Madam, this is already the lowest price. According to construction experience, the cost of stone quarrying accounts for twenty percent of the total budget, and transportation costs account for forty percent. Fortunately, you can utilize the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall to quarry stone and then transport it by ship, so the construction cost is greatly reduced. Otherwise, the total expenditure would exceed one thousand pounds of silver.”

That night, the Lord and Lady stayed up all night. The treasury’s savings could only cover the inner wall and the main keep. As for the outer wall, with a construction cost of 300 pounds of silver, it was forced to be temporarily shelved.

According to Vig’s idea, building city defenses was to block the attacks of raiders, especially during times when he was out and the territory’s defense was weak.

In the worst-case scenario, a large number of raiders would attack while he was away. In that case, Herigifu would have to hold the main keep for at least a month.

“First repair the main keep, then the inner wall, and finally the outer wall of Tyne Town. The current outer wall is about four meters high, enough to withstand the attack of a small group of troops. If the number of raiders exceeds five hundred, have all the shield-bearers retreat into the castle for a long-term defense.”

Having made up his mind, Vig conscripted the subjects within the territory to work, planning to complete the project in two years.

With no news from Bjorn, unwilling to delay, he had the stonemasons prepare lime mortar using traditional methods. The recipe is as follows:

High-temperature calcination of limestone, mixed with water and sand to form mortar. Then add a small amount of egg white and plant fiber, which is said to further enhance toughness.

“Egg white? Exactly how many eggs will we need?” Vig was surprised by such extravagant use of materials and couldn’t help but complain.

Out of rigor, Herigifu stayed in the collection of books all day, finding a passage from the biography of a Roman senator.

“My dear, this person once served as a local official in the Gaul province. There was a lack of volcanic ash there, and when they built city walls and elevated irrigation ditches, the recipe used by the artisans was not much different from the current one, adding egg white, flax fiber, reeds, and other materials.”

“Really? Conscripting so many eggs from the subjects will probably make our reputation plummet.”

In June, Tyne became a busy and noisy construction site. Considering this was the family’s foundation, Vig and Herigifu devoted a large amount of time to it. When Ivar’s envoy found him, at first glance he looked like some helper responsible for carrying stones.

Using well water to simply cleanse his face, Vig tore off his sour-smelling linen shirt, returned to the bedroom, changed into a decent robe, and summoned the envoy. “What does Ivar want? Is he looking for me to attack some settlement again?”

“No, the war has continued incessantly, military supplies have been severely depleted. My master needs a large number of bows and arrows, shields, and weapons.”

“You should go to York. The royal armory has thirty blacksmiths. His Majesty is never stingy in this respect, especially when the supplicant is his eldest son.”

Suddenly, the envoy showed a slightly embarrassed smile, “A while ago, my master captured a wooden fort and looted a precious ruby and gold necklace. At the victory banquet, someone suggested giving it to the Queen. At the time, my master was completely drunk and made a joking remark, which angered the King and Queen. Reinforcements are out of the question.”

I’d rather hang it around some *woman’s* neck than give it to that damned witch.

These were Ivar’s exact words. Upon hearing the news, Ragnar was furious. He dispatched an envoy to severely reprimand his eldest son and ordered him to apologize to the Queen.

Knowing he was wrong, Ivar sent a large number of gifts, including the ruby necklace, barely earning his father’s forgiveness. Thus, the internal conflicts of the Northumbrian royal family were completely laid bare.