47 Undercurrents insight Violence

Frode pushed on his glasses once again as he tried to concentrate. With a quick toss, the man attempted to weigh it on his palm, "This is about 5 pounds of pure gems. If we tried to sell this on the market, we'd get around 5000 to 10000 in silver. Depends on the amount of sapphire and ruby in this haul. Most of the pieces here are flawless, with Ruby being the most expensive, alongside sapphire. I will need time to sift through all the jewels and ensure they are counted correctly.

Ragnar nodded as he remembered that diamonds were not as popular as they were in the future. Colored jewels were currently placed at a higher value, "Alright, Frode, let's get the rest opened up as well."

With a nod, Frode strode to the other chests, opening them one by one to take note of their contents. The other chests held a motley of silver and gold, with the largest chest retaining a piece of high-quality equipment that was most likely stolen from a high ranking official in the Duke's entourage. The sheer amount of plunder within this enclosure made Ragnar wonder how the looters weren't killed by now.

The Baron grinned at the Duke's crest embossed on the piece of armor, "Looks like we have another offering on our hands. Travel to the Duke's this time around should turn out to be fruitful." He said as he felt the seam of the metal pieces in appreciation.

Astrid slowly glided over, "You're headed to visit the Duke? That will be another day's travel. Why don't the lot of you stay in our enclosure and rest for tonight?" As she put an arm softly on Ragnar's shoulder with a gentle smile.

Ragnar ignored the woman for a moment as he finished barking out orders for where the chests should be accounted for, eventually turning to look the woman in the eye. Her keen blue eyes held a hint of scheming as it wavered under his gaze for a second.

In a flash, the lady's throat was in his grasp as he pulled her towards him and snarled, "Do not think your charm has any sway over me. I want you out before nightfall. We will be taking this camp for ourselves."

The fear in the lady's eyes was evident as she fell to the floor. Astrid slowly got up and patted herself down as her men rushed to her side, all sneering as they struggled to control their anger. "Now now, let's not get ourselves killed out in the open. We will get our chance soon enough." She whispered with a slight smile, rubbing her throat to soothe the burning sensation that persisted.

The day slowly turned to night as men distributed the rations, kept account of the chests, and held the captives in a particular location as the able-bodied men got their goods onto the two boats for them to set out.

Ragnar lounged in one of the thatched houses, eating a mix of cheese, grapes and beer brought on the journey. The evening red sun cut through the gaps in the door, streaming over Ragnar's face as he sighed in relaxation. "This is the life, father. Travelling and capturing thieves. Exploring the various areas surrounding our Barony. Father, we should think of plans to start expanding our territory."

Harald scoffed as he nibbled on some cheese, "The Duke will never allow his vassals to get too powerful. He's dealing with too much as is. Therefore, he holds a tight reign on his subjects, which led the previous Baron to be so stupid in the first place. If we want to expand our region, it will have to be a provoked response to another Lord."

Ragnar roared in laughter as he thought of the sly Eve, "I have just the person to create a response. The question is, who would be the best target."

Harald stroked his grizzly beard in thought, "It will be tough to — " the Baron stopped speaking as his ear's perked up with the sound of a soft grunt resounding out in front of their door.

The two looked at each other with realization in their eyes as they had less than a couple of seconds to prepare for the intruders. As such, both Ragnar and Harald scampered to get their weapons when the door flew off its hinges.

"GUARDS!" Ragnar roared as the clean whistle of metal sliding out of his sheathe rung out in the room, using its motion to intercept a strike to his head. The tight space made Ragnar grimace as he realized his sword was a bit too long for close combat, but it would have to do, as he swept his leg out to knock the person to the floor.

Twisting on his knee to intercept the other opponent's strike to his midriff while unsheathing his knife using his free hand as he jabbed it into the man's ribs.

Blood pooled in the Viking's mouth as Ragnar rose to his full height and caved in his chest with a powerful kick, sending the man back out the door.

He looked around the room to see his father facing off the other two men who were desperately attempting to end his life so they could assist their other companion. Ragnar quickly charged at the man who got up to his feet and stabbed with his sword.

At the last second, the Viking enemy moved his head out of the way, receiving a nick on the cheek as fresh blood poured from the wound.

The man moved to the right and swung his sword at Ragnar's open neck but suddenly lost all strength as his head hit the floor. Ragnar's tremendous speed had allowed him to switch motions, converting the thrust into the swing as soon as he realized he would miss.

With the men now even in numbers, Ragnar and Harald quickly took out the other two as Marquise ran into the room with a spear in hand.

Ragnar fumed as he walked up to the man and struck him across the jaw, "GET ME THAT DAMN WHORE NOW!" as he roared.

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Oooo, she in for it now. Why do you guys think she would play such a risky maneuver to kill the Sigvalds?

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