Vestfold was calm, but Ragnar felt more vulnerable than he would like to admit without Skarde: luckily, he had his wife keep him company.

This was the first time that the people of Vestfold had laid eyes on Lagertha, she was a beauty.

Lagertha was in her prime and she only got prettier as she aged so one wondered if she would ever leave it.

She sat beside Ragnar, Ragnar knew that this was where she belonged but he knew she could not renounce her loyalty to King Askild so easily.

It was strange, a Queen that was bound to serve another Kingdom.

Ragnar knew that Lagerha would be happier here but he also knew she was in Kattegat to protect Bjorn from Askild.

One would think Askild's influence would have been affected but he had learned a thing or two from Fredrik because it looked like his hold on the world was only strengthening.

Birger did his best to put Askild in a compromising position while an internal power struggle was already in place. Askild was only increasing his influence, making it harder to replace him.

Xenophanes was a King but he made all the wrong choices as he was a man guided by his emotions and loyalty to his friends rather than his people.

In a sense, Xenophanes was not fit to be a King if things continued the way they did, Kattegat would have plunged into a chaotic state.

But what troubled Ragnar was what Bjorn told him that day, Bjorn told Ragnar that Kattegat would fall soon and if the time should come that he needs his father's aid, he hoped Ragnar would respond.

Bjorn was cryptic, this was the only thing he told his father but Ragnar wondered why he was keeping Lagertha out of the loop seeing as she would prove to be invaluable in terms of combat.

Bjorn was talking about committing treason and he did not want Lagertha to be punished should he fail. historical

Bjorn renewed his vow to King as this was formality considering what happened in Rogaland and the fact that he was to lead the expedition.

It was a bit strange but Bjorn did not question it seeing as it was something that he had done already.

But little did he know that this was Askild's attempt to play mind games with his younger brother.

Bjorn never said a word to Askild but Askild was no dullard. He had years of experience under his belt and noticed the change in Bjorn ever since he returned.

The fact that he did not kill Tyr told him one thing, Tyr won him over.

King Askild entertained the possibility that his involvement in this had gotten to Bjorn somehow.

This was a thought but Askild could tell by the look in Bjorn's eyes that he held genuine hatred for him.

Eyes Bjorn did not possess before setting out on his journey, eyes that were once focused on his brother were now focused on him.

But Askild could not do anything rash, Bjorn was not just a random warrior and the only reason he was alive was because he was a son of Ragnar.

Unfortunately for Bjorn, Tyr believed this deception showing just how much faith he has in his older brother.

Their bond was fragile and could be shattered with a drop of stone. This was due to Bjorn's ever-shifting loyalty.

Vestfold still had an immigration problem, they were reaching their capacity to house these people but Ragnar saw this as an opportunity to expand his territory.

In the end, Ragnar was a King and Viking, conquering was in his blood and he did just that.

Ragnar conquered a territory known as Larvik, it was a small village whose inhabitants were suffering and dying at a rather rapid pace so in Ragnar conquering them, he inadvertently saved their lives because their living conditions drastically improved.

But this was one thing people never saw coming and that was Ragnar redirecting every single migrant that had been pouring into Larvik and away from the main Kingdom.

Larvik had quite the unexplored land and this meant that it had the potential to expand as the villagers had not even explored half of its potential.

The migrants made it possible but this threw a huge wrench in Signy's plans as Ragnar had effectively purged them out of Vestfold but in such a way that he could still keep an eye on them.

Now, they could not move as they pleased and Ragnar could easily pick out those that might be a potential threat as it was easier to distinguish them.

He had a fixed set of Vikings patrolling that area to protect the villages but in actuality, it was to keep a watchful eye on them.

-

Grj?tgard knew he had to be careful in dealing with Asilld judging from his reputation.

Asking was a cert cunning man that could turn any opportunity into an advantage.

He was well aware that Rugalf would not take kindly to his talks with Askild behind his back.

However, Rugalf owed Askild a favour considering Askild saved his niece.

Grj?tgard made plans in silence, reaching out to Askild as he trusted Askild to make the necessary arrangements for their move to Iceland.

Grj?tgard knew they would need all the firepower they could get but he also hoped to get Rugalf on his side before then or they could not hit Iceland with full force.

He considered an assassination but this was a man that kill his brothers, who were quite strong in their own right not to mention Ingólfur was an extremely paranoid individual. Ingólfur could not be allowed to expand his influence or no one would be able to stop it when the time does come.

He had to be taken care of now and he needed to make Rugalf understand the urgency of this matter.

Rugalf always allowed the enemies to strike first, a habit that resulted in the loss of something precious to Grj?tgard and that was his brothers.

He was not going to let that happen.