Ch 58 The Black Ship

(Two Weeks Later)

Two ships rowed into the Kattegat bay as I sat on the roof of my Great Hall with my two daughters.

I looked at them closely with my Odin's eye and spotted the flag of King Horik flying on both....one of the ships also had a very small crew aboard.

It seemed my new ship and hundred pounds of gold were here.

I grabbed both of my little flowers and carried them down to the second story balcony.

"Little flowers go to your rooms, I have a meeting to attend...it seems I'll go away for another trip soon." I spoke to them softly and kissed their cheeks.

"Daddy, Will you come back home soon?" Lilyvetta asked cutely and yawned while resting her head on my shoulder.

Papa, Will you go fight again?" Athwyn asked and closed her eyes from tiredness.

"I don't expect any fighting to happen little flowers, I won't be gone too long I promise." I spoke and kissed their foreheads and entered their room.

There were all kinds of toys, dolls, and fancy items everywhere since my daughters only get the best.

Two of their personal handmaidens sat nearby as they waited for orders.

I set my daughters down on their large shared bed and kissed their cheeks as they yawned and snuggled up to each other.

"Goodnight little flowers." I spoke and walked out as they said their goodbyes to me softly.

I headed to the main Hall where Balgrud and twenty of my men were gambling with dice made of walrus ivory.

"finish quickly and get into formation." I ordered and they rushed to throw their dice.

"YAHHHHH!!!! I WIN AGAIN!!! IM GOING TO GET KYRA A NEW DRESS WITH ALL OF THESE COINS HAHAHA." Balgrud spoke proudly as my men talked trash and put on their helmets and cloaks from nearby then moved to their positions lining the walls.

Before long a Slave from the docks scurried in.

"Master Thenn, Two ships from King Horik have arrived at Port." The slave spoke and bowed deeply.

"Good Job, Return to your station." I spoke and the man scurried away.

I sat on my high chair with my full armor and bear cloak on as I waited for my visitors.

It was necessary to always maintain my reputation and this was the way to do it.

Before long an attendant walked in through a side door and Spoke.

"My Lord, men Carrying a large chest have disembarked their ship and are approaching your Hall.... They number sixty on the ships and seven of them approach here now." The attendant spoke respectfully.

"Let them inside after a few minutes of waiting." I ordered and he nodded before scurrying back outside to direct the visitors.

Before long the large double doors opened and the cryer spoke.

"ENTERING IS HARDIK RED BEARD!!! CAPTAIN IN KING HORIK OF DENMARKS FLEET!!!" The cryer spoke aloud and Hardik walked in along with six men carrying the chest.

He walked all the way to the center of the room and stopped as his men set down the heavy chest.

"Earl Thenn Odinson, I am Hardik the red and it is my deepest honor to meet your in person." The man spoke and bowed his head respectfully for a moment.

"We have come to deliver a ship and this chest of Gold from King Horik, along with this letter." The man spoke and pulled as wooden container from his belt and pulling out a sealed scroll.

I motioned and Balgrud walked forward slowly while eyeing Hardik up and measuring his strength.

Balgrud took the scroll and walked back to me as his heavy feet thudded on the hardwood floor.

I took the scroll from him, immediately I broke the seal before reading. 

[To my new Ally Earl Thenn Odinson, in the chest is one hundred pounds of gold as was our deal. Along with the Gold is a new ship, I wish you luck and good fortune in your trip to Gottland. - King Horik Gøttrikson Of Denmark]

After I finished reading the scroll I tossed it into the Flames nearby and nodded.

"Thank you Hardik, you are to be given a room in my Hall for the night.... Your crew may stay in the loft of my barn, it is not much but it is dry and warm..." I spoke.

"Thank you My Lord, we appreciate anything that isn't sleeping on that damn cold ocean for a night." He spoke respectfully.

Seeing that he wasn't an asshole I continued speaking.

"Your men may resupply their water at my Wells and rations from my personal stores....Stew and ale will be brought for them tonight so they'll eat well...I expect them to behave themselves while in Kattegat for even the smallest of crimes is not forgiven within my walls." I spoke and he nodded.

"Aye, it should not be an issue My Lord but I'll remind the men to behave and thank you for your generosity." He spoke and bowed before I waved him off.

I called forward a few of my slaves with a scale and they began to weigh out the gold....a full hundred pounds.

"Balgrud, divide that between all full members of my crew." I spoke and my men's eyes widened.

"ARE YOU SURE BOSS? ITS A LOT OF GOLD..." He spoke and scratched his head.

"Kyra would smack you for refusing it, you need it for your upcoming child after all." I spoke and he smiled shyly before moving to split the gold while Anguy helped him count.

A hundred pounds of gold was nice but their eternal loyalty was far more valuable....and my coffers wouldn't suffer from not seeing some of that.

After finishing there I returned to my room where my women were laying unconscious.

I stepped in and found all of them sound asleep on the huge bed.

All of them except Siggy, Anna, and Lagerta were pregnant now that I lost myself a bit.

I walked up to Mom who laid on the edge of the bed and knelt down beside her as I undid her nightdress buttons to reveal her large swollen stomach.

I brought my face close to her soft warm belly and gave it a gentle kiss and held myself there for a while as I took in mother's scent for a few long moments.

Before long I felt her hand gently rubbing through my hair, I looked up at her face and saw a beautiful smile.

"Mom, sorry to wake you." I spoke and kissed her belly once more.

"Don't worry about that Baby, Climb into bed with Mommy....you've spent so much time fucking us but I want to cuddle with you~" she spoke with her honey like voice.

I climbed into bed and we intertwined with each other as I buried my face into her chest while breathing in her sweet motherly scent as she hummed softly and brushed my hair with her soft warm hands.

My mind and body relaxed while buried in her scent and soon I had drifted off into a deep beautiful sleep.....

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(Few Hours Later)

I was awoken by a banging on my door which made me fly up out of bed and walk toward it with my sword in hand.

I opened it and found two of my warriors.

 "Sir, we caught four of Hardik's warriors trying to rape a beggar woman from town...." My warrior spoke and I nodded.

"Are they in custody? Is the woman safe?" I asked.

"Yes, your Wolfdogs made a ruckus as they tried to drag her away, We have all of the men bound." He spoke.

"Wake up all the men tell them they need to be ready in case things get violent." I spoke and immediately they dashed off.

I dressed in my armor and bear cloak quickly before strapping on my weapons and walking out in annoyance, I was sleeping so soundly in mom's arms until these cunts decided to act up.

I walked out to the courtyard and found fifty something of Hardik's men standing half naked behind Hardik.

Ten of my men stood over the four bound men and the woman with half torn clothes stood nearby thanking one of my warriors.

"You four have the right to a trial, but seeing that my warriors found you, and the state of this woman's clothes I doubt you'll be found innocent...You, are you freeborn?" I asked the Woman who was clutched to one of my warriors for safety.

She bowed low and spoke. "Yes My Lord Earl, I am freeborn, Ingstea is my Sister." The woman spoke so I turned back to the tied up men.

"Too bad for you lot, if she were a slave you would've gotten away with a few whippings and a fine." I spoke with a sigh and turned to Hardik.

"I expect your men to stay within their quarters for the night, the trial of these four will be held tomorrow, I doubt they will survive their punishment so I recommend you all just leave early." I spoke and Hardik nodded.

"What if they take a battle trial?" Hardik asked.

"They'll face me." I spoke and immediately I saw their faces turn pale and one man tried to run but was leg sweeped hard and kicked in his teeth by a heavy leather boot before he got very far.

Blood and teeth spilled onto the floor and the man was stood up once more, he didn't dare try that again.

I heard grumbles from some of Hardik's crewmen but my warriors who stood nearby kept them orderly.

I returned to the Great Hall and sat in my high chair as I drank some mead to get me in the mood to sleep again.

There were still a few hours til daylight after all.....

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(Many Hours Later)

Hardik and his crew left after saying their goodbyes to the four prisoners.

I stood outside watching the four men being pelted by small rocks as they were marched to the town center for their punishment.

"THESE FOUR OUTSIDERS TRIED TO RAPE A FREEBORN WOMAN.....THEIR PUNISHMENT FOR THIS ATTEMPTED ATROCITY IS GELDING WITH A HOT KNIFE....." Tostig spoke aloud as everyone watched on in amusement.

One of my warriors walked up and set down a flaming brazier nearby with a hooked knife inside which was heating up more and more with every passing moment.

The crowd was getting rowdy while baying for blood to be spilled.

"Commence the punishment, they shall see no mercy from me today." I spoke aloud and the four men had their pants dropped.

Immediately the crowd began laughing and pointing fingers at the bound up men as their little peckers dangled on the cold wind.

My warrior walked forward to the first and and grabbed his cock and balls with a glove before moving the glowing hot knife toward the first man.

"PLEASE!!! I'LL DO ANYTHING!!! I CAN BE A SLAVE!!! I'LL BEHAVE I SWEAR IT....AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" The man's screams echoed loudly as the searing hot blade sizzled and steamed as it slowly sliced through the mans cock and balls as he shook against his restraints as his legs and body spasmed wildly from the pain.

Although the blade was red hot it did nothing to cauterize the wound except cook a small ammount of flesh while searing the tender meat.

Blood spewed forth like a waterfall from his gash as the men in the crowd winced and the women laughed at his suffering.

The three other prisoners tried to resist against their bidings but to little effect, the 'executioner' stood and tossed the man's balls to a nearby stray dog and his family jewels and sceptre were taken happily and munched on by the mutt.

My citizens all laughed and praised the mangy beast for his help in punishment.

After a minute the castrated man slumped and went quiet from the massive loss of blood and the executioner moved on to the next man.

This time he sliced slowly and carefully as his hooked blade sizzled and steamed against the soft flesh of the attempted rapist.

"MERCY!!! PLEASE IM SORRY!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The hooked blade moved slowly and soon enough the rod and balls dangled off in the executioners hand and he threw them to the dog once more who gladly ripped into them with glee as the man's screams Resounded.

The punishment finished and I headed back to the Great Hall when I heard a familiar giggle.

I looked over and saw Floki riding his short Gray horse toward me with an excited but tired look on his face.

"AHAHAHA...THENN!!! I FINISHED IT!!!... HAHAAHAH....YOU MUST SEE!!! YOU MUST SEE!!!!" He spoke excitedly while twitching and making strange movements.

I could see his tiredness clear as day, Madman probably stayed up for days with his slaves as they toiled away at the longship.

"Floki my friend, We shall go see the ship soon....but I need you to get some sleep first, you look half dead." I spoke and he shook his head.

"Hahah....I am fine Thenn, the Gods have allowed me to stay awake so the ship will be fini...." He spoke and immediately slumped over in the saddle, fainted from exhaustion no doubt.

I grabbed him off the saddle and returned to the great hall as one of my men took his little horse to the stables.

Soon enough I entered one of the spare bedrooms in my home and dropped Floki off so he could get some much needed rest...

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(A few hours later)

I rode on the huge black stallion Ignu along with my two daughters.

Lilyvetta and Athwyn wanted to see the new longship so I rode with them on the giant horse as it turned it's head back to take dried fruits from my daughters hands gently.

"Here's another one mister horsey!!!" Lilyvetta spoke cutely, immediately the giant horse turned it's massive head back then took the dried fig gently and whinnied as thanks.

 thirty of my warriors who would crew the new ship as we went out to sea followed close behind on their own mounts.

After an hour we lowered into the cove where Floki's shipyard was and immediately I spotted the most beautiful ship I'd ever seen, it was jet black and dry docked so we could see the vessel in all it's glory.

It was fifty percent longer than a normal longship and far more sleek.

"Floki....It's perfect..." I spoke as we got closer and Dismounted.

"Hahaha...Yes..but it was not me who made it...haha....it was the Gods who gave me the knowledge." He spoke happily and jumped aboard.

I got on along with my daughters and Floki began showing me all it's features.

"Look!!! With this you can now fit more horses than a regular longship!!!" 

"And this draft is better than a regular ship because the shape of it's bow!!" 

"Look at the storage space for all the wealth you'll get!!!"

"Look at the blackened wood!! It's not paint, I found a way to blacken wood with iron and vinegar!!! Hahahahah!!!" 

"There's even built in clamps to fit our waxed tarps so we don't get wet while we sleep!!!" 

"Look!! I placed a hook on the Dragons mouth so you can mount an enemy on the prow as we sail!!! Hahahahah!!!!" 

We spent an hour as Floki showed me every part of the ship, it was entirely black in color with a huge dragon on the prow.

It was all beautifully engraved and fitted together, my men all looked in wonder at the new ship.

"Girls do you want to sail?" I asked my cute daughters that were jumping around the ship and climbing in the various compartments.

"YES DADDY LETS SAIL!!!" Lilyvetta yelled and jumped up and down in excitement.

"PAPA I WANT TO GO ON THE SEA!!!" Athwyn cried out cutely after popping out from one of the compartments.

I got them off the ship and we rolled the longship out to sea as we had done many times before with other ships.

Surprisingly it was seemingly the same weight even though it was far larger.

Floki saw our surprise and giggled madly. 

"FLOKI WHAT DID YOU DO TO THIS THING!!! SHOULDN'T THIS BOAT BE MORE HEAVY?" Balgrud asked as he pushed along with us but Floki only giggled more.

"Hahahahah.....it's....it's.....it's a secret...I wont tell." He spoke with a smile, Balgrud growled at him and pushed even harder.

Before long the ship was floating in the water and we all looked inside curiously....no leaks.

I brought my daughters and placed them inside before most of my warriors jumped in, the rest of them would take the horses back.

Immediately Ignu neighed loudly and clopped over, the huge stallion stomped his hoof while chuffing at me as if asking to be let on board.

I walked forward and grabbed the huge beast before hevaving it up and onto the deck as it let out a strange noise from being moved like a ragdoll.

It was heavy as fuck but my improved strength made lifting the stallion possible.

Once on the deck Ignu neighed in appreciation before walking over to one of the horse stations and laid down, normally a horse needed to be tied down but I had a feeling this one was smart enough not to fall overboard.

I climbed aboard and sat beside Balgrud as my two daughters moved to the captain position.

I passed them my war horn and they played rock paper scissors to decide which one would get to sound it and set us off.

Eventually Lilyvetta won.

"~~~~~~TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT~~~~~~~" 

The warhorn Resounded and we began rowing the oars in amusement at the two little captains who stood on the prow.

Athwyn turned around and shouted cutely.

"I THOUGHT PAPAS WARRIORS WERE FASTER THAN THIS!!!" She shouted a challenge to the crew and Ignu neighed loudly in agreement with her.

My men all laughed in good humor at my daughter's challenge.

"YOU WANT TO GO FAST LITTLE CAPTAINS!!! WE SHALL SHOW YOU WHAT IS FAST!!!" Balgrud bellowed out 

Immediately a song to get us into rhythm.

"~!!!WE ARE VIKINGS FROM THE COLD HARD NORTH!!!~ 

"~!!!TO YOUR RICH HOMELANDS WE'LL ROW FORTH!!!~ 

"~!!!WE BRING SHARP AXES TO CLEAVE IN TWAIN!!!~"

"~!!!OH HOW YOU'LL CRY WHEN YOU DIE IN VAIN!!!~"

"~!!!AESIR BLESS OUR SAILS AND PART OUR FOES ASUNDER!!~"

"~!!!TO KATTEGAT WE'LL RETURN WITH ALL OUR PLUNDER!!~"

My Black longship flew forward as if gliding over the water without resistance as my daughters giggled and cheered us on happily at our speed.

I turned to Floki and I could see a gleeful look on his eyes as he looked over the edge and at the wonderful ship he built as it moved perfectly.

Once out of the bay Lilyvetta stood up and turned to us.

"DROP THE SAILS!!! TAKE US HOME MY FAITHFUL WARRIORS!!!" She cried cutely while waving the horn.

""YES CAPTAIN!!!"" My men bellowed out in response and immediately moved to follow her orders.

Eventually we made our way to the port of Kattegat and dismounted as people oggled the huge and beautiful longship as it sat at port while we all dismounted.

Ignu jumped onto the docks without much issue and neighed loudly at the people in anger that they blocked our way.

We made our way back to the Great Hall soon after, I'd have a journey to Gottland and I wanted to enjoy the time with my family before going away again just before true winter kicked in.....