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- Lord, Trygve came from Jorvik. (Hirdmen)

- Bring him ... no, let him wait. I talk to him outside. (Ulf)

Since Trygve came from Jorvik, it means King Ecbert wants to make a move ... I don't know if my attempts to create a conflict between the Kingdom of the Franks and the Arabs in Spain have been successful, but if Charlemagne does not take advantage of this opportunity, he will be a fool. To my knowledge of history, Abd ar-Rahman I should die this year, which will cause internal conflicts among Arabs... and if I don't know something, I have to assume that my plans have failed and prepare for the worst.

A few minutes later I headed towards the port. Trygve stood on the pier giving orders to his men on the boat.

- Haven't seen you for a long time, what news are you bringing from England this time? (Ulf)

- Lord, King Ecbert sent a messenger to Jorvik. He plans to attack the Kingdom of Mercia this summer. He counts that we will present ourselves in large numbers on the battlefield. (Trygve)

- So we have three or four months to prepare ... What do you know about Ecbert's army? (Ulf)

- From what we learned from the merchants, king Ecbert recruits anyone capable of fighting, and he increased the number of garrisons in Wales. His people control larger settlements and cities, but as soon as they leave the walls, they are attacked by the locals. (Trygve)

- Did anything else happen there? (Ulf)

- We did raids on Scotland, some coastal settlements. Leif tried to sell the prisoners, but without success. Maybe it can be done in Kattegat, there is a bigger port and more merchants. (Trygve)

- Leif doesn't have to worry about it, if he didn't sell them now, we'll do it after we get Mercia and Wessex. We will load the captives on ships and sell them directly to Arabs or a Jews in Spain ... we will bypass the middlemen. (Ulf)

- I'll tell him when I get back ... (Trygve)

- One more thing, you said that King Ecbert increased the number of garrison in Wales ... I know that the Welsh "escaped" us from our captivity, but where do they have weapons to attack Ecbert's soldiers? (Ulf)

- From us, at Leif's order, one of our merchants sold them some spears, swords, and axes. Helmets and shields too. Of course, the Welsh thinks the merchant is doing it without our knowledge or consent. (Trygve)

- King Ecbert can recognize our weapons and tie them to us. Leif's idea was good, but the execution was not the best, and are they paying? There is a wilderness left of Wales ... (Ulf)

- Lord, don't worry. We sell them weapons obtained in Wales, Scotland and Mercia. It turns out that there are several mines in Wales, including copper, silver and gold. (Trygve)

At first, this information surprised me a bit, a gold mine in Wales. I was not an expert on natural resources ... it took a moment to remember that the British royal family had a tradition of Welsh gold wedding rings. Good to know about it for the future, when the entire British Isles will be under our control.

- Rest two days and head back to Jorvik. If I need you, you'll be called. (Ulf)

I left Trygve with his men and went home. I need to inform my Jarls to prepare for war, I was not going to take more than 4,000 men with me, along with those in Jorvik, I will have 4,500 to 5,000 soldiers at my disposal. Ecbert's army is unlikely to exceed 4,000 ... The Kingdom of Mercia, although I do not have precise data, King Offa's army will be comparable in number. Will the Kingdom of the Franks help Ecbert at this stage of the war? Rather not, the struggle of the two Christian kingdoms is none of their business, but if the pagans attack Wessex, Charlemagne may come to the rescue...

I called my father-in-law ...

- Send messengers to all regions with a call to war. Each of the chiefs and jarls is to provide at least two ships with full crews. They have two months to do so. (Ulf)

- Food and supplies? (Arne)

- Just for a few days, the rest will be provided. (Ulf)

After issuing the orders, I decided to go to the slaves' quarters, and more specifically to the quarters of Arab women. The smell was not very pleasant ... the hygiene of all slaves left much to be desired, but it was negligent on my part. In order for the tools to serve for a long time, they must be kept in good condition.

I didn't care about men, most of them were doing hard physical work, if they die we'll find new ones to replace them ... but women, I have to take care of these tools.

I went deeper into the barracks, there was not much lighting here, but I could see the figures huddled on the beds. The whole room was filled with rows of bunk beds, there was also a second smaller room which served as a toilet, there were several buckets.

- Which of you understand me? Which of you knows our language? (Ulf)

None of the slaves answered my question, either they did not know the language or they were very uncultured ... for a few months they had to learn at least some basic phrases ... eat, drink, undress, bend over.

- The person who applies will be able to leave this place, will also get a lot of food and will not have to sleep with anyone. Which of you knows our language? (Ulf)

On one of the beds on the right, someone raised a hand. I approached her.

- Do you know our language? (Ulf)

- Yes. (Slave)

- Can you read and write in Arabic? (Ulf)

- No. (Slave)

Idiot, she wasted my time, if it weren't for the fact that she was pregnant ...

- I can write and read, Lord. (Another Slave)