098

I was sitting in the kitchen sipping a beer waiting for the news of my next baby to be born ... this will be the fourth ... fucking hell ... fourth child ... no, I drank too little to think about it.

It must have been two hours, or so I thought ... in real time ... it was three mugs of beer and two mugs of mead ago ... when one of the midwives informed me about the birth of my son. I told her to bring him to show me ... but it didn't really make much sense, when you saw one child you saw all of them, the difference can only be in the details.

A few minutes later the midwife showed up with the baby wrapped in a large scarf ... she handed it to me, I tried to be gentle. When I looked at my son ... it was what I expected, my son looked the same as all the other kids he was small, red and wrinkled ... but there was also one big exception ... he was ginger.

He inherited his hair from Hild, but it could have been worse, it could have been another daughter ... Not much worse. I wonder what other flaws he will inherit from his mother and what advantages he will inherit from me.

- I must give you a name, something that sounds good ... you are the son of a slave, but also my son ... I will call you Bjorn (Bear).

I handed Bjorn to the midwife, I got up from the table ... I think the floor warped a little because I couldn't stand upright ... I was leaning a little to the right. I gasped in my lungs, took two steps forward and one backward ... tomorrow I definitely have to check the floor.

I went to the room where Hild was ... there was a strange smell in the room mixed with the scent of blood ... Hild was lying on the bed ... and looked unattractive. Apparently, the beauty of a woman radiates after childbirth ... in this case, the reactor must have overheated... but at least she lost some weight.

She looked more exhausted than the day I had her finger cut off or when she was in the slave quarters.

- How are you? Does it hurt a lot? (Ulf)

- No Lord, I feel well ... Is everything with the baby ... (Hild)

- The baby is fine, I named our son Bjorn. You don't have to worry either, as I promised I will consider him my child and he will be part of my house. However, your status will not change, you will remain our bed slave. (Ulf)

- Thank you, Lord. (Hild)

- You do not have to thank me, and now rest, the next months will not be the easiest for you. (Ulf)

I left Hild to rest, of course I had to throw a little party for my hrid now and sacrifice someone ... not that it was required, but people will have a spectacle ... and then evacuate to the island prepared by Erik, I refuse to work on better ballistae, catapults and other siege engines.

The next day, my entire hrid and many of the inhabitants of Kattegat gathered in front of a wooden platform at the entrance to the temple.

I was dressed in white robes, a priest was standing next to me and one of the midwives holding Bjorn in his arms ... after a while the first slave was led to the platform ... the priest gave a short prayer, and when he finished he gave me a signal to slit the victim's throat, the man's blood was collected one of the bowls ... then the second victim was brought ... the third ... fourth ... and finally the fifth. I had to cut everyone's throats... I spotted the figure of Athelstan in the crowd making the sign of the cross when he saw I was making human sacrifices.

The priest dipped birch twigs in each of the bowls and sprinkled the assembled crowd, then dipped two fingers in the blood and drew two lines across Bjorn's face from forehead to chin ... it was some kind of blessing.

With the religious service over, now was the time to party ... all of the Kattegat was celebrating ... people were eating, drinking and fucking ... sometimes they did it all at once.

The party at my house had been going on for several hours, people were very drunk and the atmosphere was very cheerful.

- When winter is over, take two or three hundred captives and two hundred warriors, in my name you will become a Jarl in Hordaland, your seat will be a small settlement called Bergen. (Ulf)

- I know that you are planning to create a second settlement similar to Kattegat, but it will not be easy. (Erik)

- Nothing comes easy in life, but it is very important. You managed the Kattegat on my behalf most of the year ... and you even expanded the settlement, so you already have experience. Apart from the sea route, we will have to connect Kattegat and Bergen by land ... fortunately, we do not lack slaves. (Ulf)

- I will need a lot of materials, wood, stone ... I will probably find these there, but iron, copper, limestone, tools ... (Erik)

- As far as possible, we will transport the necessary things to Bergrn, but try to attract new settlers and find some local resources ... I need to get some air. (Ulf)

A crowd of people, screams, laughter, the smell of alcohol and food ... my head was starting to hurt. I decided to go outside and breathe in the cool evening air ... as I enjoyed the peace and quiet, I heard a noise coming from my workshop. Of course, I decided to check it out.

I never closed the door to the workshop, it is unlikely that someone would want to steal my tools ... I gently opened the door ... and my eyes saw the figure of Floki lying on the floor ... Helga was lying on him and Torstein was kneeling behind her ...

- Ulf? (Helga)

- Don't disturb yourselves ... Helga, when you're done, clean the workshop. (Ulf)