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Two weeks later we were already in Jorvik ... it was good to be in a familiar land and not spend days in the saddle. After a short rest and soaking my ass in hot water ... I went to see Leif.

- How many people do we have? Count only those capable of fighting, even slightly wounded will be of no use. (Ulf)

- Counting the garrison, those who came with you ... and there are still those who come with merchants, together it will be no more than 1200 people. (Leif)

- There must be 150-200 men left in Jorvik for defense, so I have a thousand warriors at my disposal. (Ulf)

- If you need more we can send ships to Kattegat. Two or three weeks and you'll have another thousand warriors here. (Leif)

- No, a thousand is not much, but it is enough for my needs. I'm going on a rescue mission, not a war. (Ulf)

- What is it about saving Christians? One-Eye told me something, but I couldn't understand much of it. You also had to explain what was going on with these slaves from Wales. (Leif)

- I'll start with these slaves. Almost all of Wales has been conquered by us, of course there are areas that we cannot reach or conquering them would be too expensive. Apart from those we killed or captured, there are also those who managed to escape ... That's why I handed over control of Wales to King Ecbert. (Ulf)

- I understand, but what's the profit in it? (Leif)

- Our captives know we were hired to conquer Wales by the King of Wessex. If our prisoners run away or let them go, they will return home, or rather their ruins, and see Ecbert's men there, they will surely fight against him. (Ulf)

- You want to use their anger to make them fight, and even if the Welsh don't have a good chance of winning, they will deal losses to Ecbert anyway. (Leif)

- Exactly, let them kill each other ... and when I'm not Mercia and Wessex anymore, we'll go back to Wales and bring peace ... Send the children and women to Kattegat. We will only release men and boys over four years old ... I don't want them to reproduce too much. (Ulf)

- I understand, when you go with these thousand warriors I will organize their escape somehow. Now explain ... (Leif)

- Those Christians... Do you know who Charlemagne is? (Ulf)

- Yes, you told about him. A few years ago we conquered several settlements in his country. (Leif)

- King Ecbert has friends at the court of Charlemagne and although they are not allies, Charlemagne will certainly help him if he has problems ... so Charlemagne must be busy elsewhere. There is peace in the east of his kingdom. Charlemagne has already dealt with the rebellious Saxons. (Ulf)

- And what's next? (Leif)

- The country of Charlemagne, who is a Christian, borders on a country governed by Muslims who believe in Allah. It's a different god. We will go to the lands of the followers of Allah as the army of Charlemagne. We will kill them, burn their temples, but we will spare Christians. (Ulf)

- You want to start a war between the two Kingdoms? This is crazy ... but if we do it quickly, by surprise ... it might work. (Leif)

Of course Leif was right, the plan was crazy and risky. I had to make sure that there were no mistakes... sometimes one misunderstanding of an order can bring a deplorable effect. Like in 1939 when Hi.tler wanted a glass of juice and his officers understood to gas the Je.ws.

(King Ecbert / Ealdorman Eadric POV)

- Anyone watching the son of the King of Norway spend his days? (King Ecbert)

- Yes, Lord. We have assigned two men to protect him, maids and other servants also report on his activities. (Ealdorman Eadric)

- Is there something strange about his behavior? Doesn't he act suspiciously, doesn't plan to escape? (King Ecbert)

- The prince is cautious and distrustful, he hardly parted with this warrior left here by King Ulf ... but it is understandable. He spends his days mainly training with the sword and sometimes goes fishing as well. Nothing suspicious. (Ealdorman Eadric)

- You have to keep an eye on him when we defeat King Offa, I'm not going to let the Prince out of my hands, he's too valuable a hostage. (King Ecbert)

- What about those damn heathens and their king? If we don't give him his son, he'll probably attack us. (Ealdorman Eadric)

- Nothing, I'll have his son so he won't do anything... what about Wales? (King Ecbert)

- Our people report that King Ulf was telling the truth, Wales is almost completely conquered and no one will oppose us. Unless in some remote parts of these lands, but subjugating them will not be a problem. (Ealdorman Eadric)

- Send a small garrison over there, no more than three hundred men, and someone with a head on the neck to know what to do. (King Ecbert)

- Yes, Lord.. and Princess Judith? (Ealdorman Eadric)

- We need her, her origin will help us convince the nobles born in Northumbria. Thanks to this, we will unite England more easily and together we will defeat the invaders. (King Ecbert)

(End POV)

The following days I spent preparing the expedition, organizing ships, crews and supplies. With the help of a few merchants who came to Jorvik, apart from slaves, I also sent a message to Lagertha that my stay in England might be extended... My people showed high morale, especially as I stimulated their imaginations with stories about new lands ... nothing encourages action more than good motivation.

Less than two weeks later, we set off with a thousand men and seventeen ships.