Ch 7: The Long Journey

Learning that Borg had fled disgracefully, Ragnar and his two sons intended to pursue him, but King Eric stopped them.

“Ragnar, we are about to launch the largest-scale pillage in history, and we need your help to lead the way. How about this: I and six other nobles will jointly contribute twenty pounds of silver as a bounty for Borg’s head. What do you think?”

Eric’s tone was ostensibly a consultation, but it revealed an irresistible momentum. The other six nobles didn’t say much, silently standing behind Eric, collectively pressuring Ragnar.

Faced with difficulties, Ivar was the first to calm down, “Father will follow you to Britain. Bjorn and I will take a few people to continue the pursuit. Even if Borg hides in Jotunheim, I will find him and kill him!”

After saying this, he turned to the group of shield-bearers, “Who is willing to pursue that scoundrel?”

The incident was sudden, and everyone hesitated. Unexpectedly, Vig suddenly felt inspired, “Count me in.”

Finding that the usually inconspicuous fellow volunteered, the remaining shield-bearers also expressed their willingness to go east, eventually forming a ten-person pursuit squad.

After traveling to many places, Ivar finally learned of Borg’s whereabouts in Stockholm. He discovered that the fellow had left for the Rus’ lands three days ago by ship, and he couldn’t help but sneer.

“Good, he actually hid in someone else’s territory. He’s a cunning piece of game.”

Selling their horses, Ivar and his group sailed east and arrived at the Neva River Mouth （the future site of Saint Petersburg）, sailed up the Neva River, and came to a village on the shore of Lake Ladoga.

Surrounding the village was a two-person-high oak fence. Inside the fence were many semi-subterranean wooden houses. The thatched roofs had a little remaining snow, and the muddy paths were full of sled scratches and hoof prints.

Vig inquired around and learned that the local crops were rye and barley. Due to the harsh climate, the production quota was about the same as in Northern Europe. To improve their impoverished lives, some people chose to trade, buying fur, amber, and slaves, and following the complex river networks of Eastern Europe to Constantinople to sell them, thus seeking high profits.

After taking a walk around, he had a bad premonition. Could it be that the target didn’t stay here but continued to flee south?

In the evening, the pursuit squad gathered in the open space in front of the lord’s longhouse. Ivar, with a gloomy face, announced some bad news, “Brothers, take out all the money you have; we have a long way to go.”

Obviously, Vig’s guess was correct. This journey had just begun, and he was going to take a trip to Constantinople.

During this period, the Vikings’ route to Constantinople was roughly as follows: entering Lake Ladoga via the Neva River, reaching the Black Sea via the Volkhov River and the Dnieper River system, and finally reaching Constantinople along the west coastline.

To cope with the long journey ahead, Ivar found a merchant to travel with. The latter’s name was Rurik. He was a Viking who had been active in Eastern Europe for many years. He was tall and strong, with a head of messy light red hair, and he looked quite strong.

Before departure, Rurik patiently instructed his new comrades, “The environment of the Eastern European steppe is different from the North Sea. For the sake of your lives, I hope you will follow my suggestions.”

After a brief contact, Ivar understood that Rurik was also a ruthless character. He nodded, “Alright, you’ll be in charge of the journey. We’ll part ways after arriving in Constantinople. We won’t delay your money-making, and you won’t delay our killing.”

After buying enough white fox pelts and amber, Rurik announced his departure. Including him and four attendants, there were a total of fifteen passengers on the ship, all strong and sturdy men. Seven people were arranged on each side to row, and Rurik personally steered the ship at the stern.

Under his control, the cargo ship followed a river to the shore of Lake Ilmen. There was a town called Novgorod, a trade center for the Rus’ and Vikings. The streets were bustling with people, and the sounds of merchants hawking their wares were endless.

Seeing this, Rurik stretched, exhaling a breath of cold air, “Let’s rest for two days. The journey ahead will be very difficult.”

Two days later, the cargo ship continued south along the river channel and then moored at a shallow area.

“What’s the situation?” Vig turned his head to look at the stern and found that Rurik was dismantling the rudder and also calling the attendants to take down the sail.

After a while, Rurik called everyone ashore, informing them that they would need to tow the ship on land and instructing them to fell trees to build a slide track.

Obviously, this was an extremely arduous task. To prevent damage to the hull, logs needed to be laid under the ship to form a sliding track （similar to a railroad）.

During movement, some people pulled the rope in front, and the remaining people needed to move the logs from the rear to the bow, repeating this cycle.

For Vig, there was only one feeling—tired.

They woke up at six every day, ate breakfast hastily, and started working. They took a short break at noon and then continued working until evening. They only traveled four kilometers a day, like a turtle crawling. Sometimes they encountered steep slopes, and they even needed to use pulleys and ropes to hoist the cargo ship up.

The only fortunate thing was that Ivar, Niels, and the others were top hunters. They could always catch various game along the way. Thanks to sufficient nutrition, Vig’s body didn’t completely collapse.

After an unknown amount of time, as his spirit gradually became numb, the scenery suddenly opened up before him.

Under the spring sunshine, at the end of the lush steppe, a flat, open river flowed quietly. Flocks of birds circled and danced above the river surface, as if congratulating everyone on completing this arduous journey.

“Is this the Dnieper River? Heavens above, it’s finally over.”

Vig rushed to the shore, staring at his grimy reflection in the river water, then raised his calloused hands, feeling a sense of relief after surviving a disaster.

After reassembling the rudder, everyone worked together to push the cargo ship into the river, then collapsed one by one into the ship, feeling the current gently rocking the hull, their distracting thoughts dissipating, feeling that everything in the world was so beautiful.

After letting them enjoy this leisure time, Rurik cleared his throat, “Brothers, uh, actually, we still have to tow the ship seven more times.”

Seven times!

Seven times of overland boat travel!

Vig completely lost it, “The cargo ship follows the Dnieper River into the Black Sea. Why do we still have to go ashore? Are you making fun of me?!”

Besides him, Ivar and the others also couldn’t help but burst into curses. They had been working hard from early morning to late at night, even harder than livestock.

“Calm down, I’m not trying to make things difficult for you,” Rurik quickly explained, “There are seven sections of the Dnieper River with fast currents, and no one dares to sail in those areas. We can only go ashore and bypass them. When you see how dangerous those places are, you will naturally understand my plight.”