Contents
Chapter Twenty: Varg
Overview
Queen Helka arrives in Liga with Úlfhéðnar bodyguards, halting the clash between Jaromir and Jarl Logur, and draws the dispute into council. Varg confronts his first remembered kill and learns to claim spoils, straining customs with Sulich. Glornir accepts Helka’s commission to slay a northern menace, taking Skalk and two warriors aboard as the Sea-Wolf departs.
Summary
On Liga’s docks, Varg stares at his bloodied hands and the dead druzhina he felled, nausea overtaking him as the standoff between Jarl Logur’s warriors, the Bloodsworn, and Prince Jaromir’s mounted druzhina simmers. Røkia identifies his shaken state as a first remembered kill and bluntly tells him it gets easier.
Three great drakkars bearing Queen Helka arrive, their eagle sails silencing the docks. Helka disembarks with tattooed, thrall-collared Úlfhéðnar, her son Hakon, and her skáld and Galdurman Skalk. She defuses the confrontation, directing Logur and Jaromir to take their dispute to the hall and inviting Glornir to attend, while her guard’s bleak presence unsettles Varg.
As the crowds disperse, Svik names the wolf-pack as Úlfhéðnar and points out Hakon and Skalk. Sulich honors the druzhina Varg killed and offers Varg the fallen man’s helm as rightful spoils, but Varg recoils, unintentionally insulting Sulich and breaching warrior custom. With Svik’s guidance, Varg reluctantly strips the body for arms and armor, accepting the reality of battle-fame and plunder.
Glornir returns from parley with Skalk and two of Helka’s warriors and orders the Bloodsworn to make ready. The Sea-Wolf is readied; Varg stows his new gear, takes an oar, and the crew pulls away from Liga under Glornir’s command. Glornir announces Helka’s charge: a deadly problem in her northern realm that must be hunted and slain.
As they row into the fjord, Vol takes the bow, Skalk and Helka’s warriors join the crew on oars, and song rises among the Bloodsworn. Despite lingering guilt, Varg feels exhilaration at sailing the whale road as one of the Bloodsworn, bound for danger and fame.
Who Appears
- VargShaken by his first remembered kill; learns to claim spoils; rows with the Bloodsworn as they depart Liga.
- GlornirBloodsworn captain; joins Helka’s council; accepts task to hunt a northern threat; orders immediate departure.
- Queen HelkaArrives with Úlfhéðnar; halts the dockside clash; shifts talks to Logur’s hall; sponsors the northern hunt.
- SvikGuides Varg through warrior customs and plunder; offers practical support and levity.
- RøkiaNotes Varg’s first kill; bluntly critiques his battle mistakes but acknowledges his survival.
- SulichHonors the fallen druzhina; urges Varg to accept rightful spoils; offended by Varg’s refusal.
- Jarl LogurMaintains order on the docks; escorts Helka to council to address Jaromir’s grievances.
- Prince JaromirDemands redress before Helka; his druzhina opposed the Bloodsworn in the skirmish.
- SkalkHelka’s skáld and Galdurman; joins the Sea-Wolf’s crew for the northern hunt.
- HakonHelka’s son; arrives with her retinue, conferring with Skalk.
- Einar Half-TrollLeads rowing cadence and ship readiness; hammers the mast-lock; calls the oars.
- VolTakes position at the bow as they depart, supporting Glornir’s command.
- ÚlfhéðnarHelka’s thralled wolf-warrior bodyguards; fearsome yet miserable; their presence quells conflict.