King Ælle received news about the invaders landing onshore and his anger was visible.
He gripped his fist because he did not expect Bishop Calvin to fail in deterring them.
Ælle was furious and this also meant that the possibility that he would even want to negotiate with them was exceedingly low.
Ælle knew he would seem weak if he negotiated with them, they should not negotiate with Pagans for they were everything that Christians stood for.
He had to crush them and send them to hell where they belong but he also knew he could use this to his advantage.
"King Ælle, what should we do?" A man asked, one knee bent to show his submission to his superior.
King Ælle was curious to see what kind of people these Pagans were as he had only heard of them but he had never seen them with his own eyes.
"We will play their games but I want the head of their King before nightfall..." King Ælle said with a sinister grin, the fact that he thought it would be this easy showed how much he underestimated them.
But he wasn't a fool, he knew this area better than them and the only way he could negotiate with them would be on his terms.
He knew he had to do this before the sunset as he did not want the Vikings getting too comfortable otherwise it would prove to give them a false perception of their limitations.
King Ælle knew he had to be careful because for them to defeat Calvin, it meant that they at least had a certain level of skill, he would lose men no doubt if he confronted them head-on even though he knew he would emerge victorious.
This will shake the faith of those who follow him if they see that Pagans could prove to be a threat, even if they win.
And this was why King Ælle implemented the plan he had in mind.
-
The day progressed and the sun was setting, the lady that Ragnar had sent returned to the shores and this meant that they had the location of the castle.
"King Ragnar, what do we do now?" Hagen asked his best friend but Ragnar had no answers to this for now because there was an envoy that came for negotiation.
Ragnar knew that whatever Hagen wanted to discuss with him had to wait.
The men here were different from the ones that had clothed Calvin, they had on armour and they looked a lot more equipped for combat than the quivering men that they met here earlier.
They had a different aura and everyone present realized that maybe Christians were not snivelling cowards.
Grjötgard was the first to intercept this envoy, the men stopping in their tracks as they unmounted their horses the moment they saw the giant stand in front of them.
They were in awe that such a big man existed and they rightly perceived him as a threat.
They noticed among all the men in armour, there was one that wasn't but he had a bag over his head.
A man almost as big as Grjötgard stood in front of him to read from a scroll that was handed to him by the King.
These words contained the words of their King and Alf was at the forefront to welcome this news. Alf stood beside Grjötgard to receive and translate what was about to be said.
"King Ælle has heard your request and being a man of God has offered a chance at dialogue so we may solve this without bloodshed. He has offered an audience to your King in the castle but in turn, he gives you his nephew as a hostage to guarantee that your King returns to you unharmed. If harm comes to him, you have the right to take the life of his nephew," The man read and Alf translated it word for word.
Before anyone could protest or verbalize their thoughts, King Ragnar stepped forward.
He had nothing to hide and he knew this was the best-case scenario he could ask for.
"How do we know that he is indeed the nephew of the King?" Ragnar asked and Alf didn't translate this to them.
"I can tell you, King Ragnar... I have seen Ecgberht on numerous occasions," Alf said and Ragnar liked that he knew even his name.
This meant that they could not trick him by bringing someone who was not even related to the King. Alf proceeded to tell them to remove the bag from the man's head.
They did just that and Alf confirmed it was in fact Ecgberht but knowing Ecgberht, he was curious as to what King Ælle must have offered him to get his cooperation.
The last time he checked, they did not get along so what could he possibly be offering him to get him to willingly enter such a dire situation?
Tyr kept quiet, he did not worry about his father because Ragnar was a warrior that he respected, he knew that his father must have a plan as he was not only wiser but smarter than his sons.
Bjorn too was quiet, he did not think much of this because Ragnar had already told them what to do even though it would be a lot trickier if he was within the enemy's walls.
Ragnar needed to know the kind of man King Ælle was but he also needed to make sure that his plan worked.
It was easy to identify Ragnar due to the crown he wore, he stood out and this aura around him was different from everyone else here.
Ragnar looked back at Tyr and Bjorn.
"I will be f-!" Ragnar was cut short.
"Father, do not be so dramatic... You are just going to talk, the only thing I worry about is you boring their King to death!" Tyr said, rolling his eyes in the process.
"Hahaha! Father will probably get himself killed by telling a bad joke!" Bjorn countered.
"Then King Ælle will be doing all of us a favour!" Tyr added to the joke that the Vikings around did their best to hold in their laughter because they did not understand this dynamic that these people shared.
"You know what, I might just get myself killed so you both live with the guilt," Ragnar responded immaturely and the warriors around could no longer contain their laughter as they burst out laughing.
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