One month later, at the end of December in the year 865, the atmosphere in Dunkeld was pure celebration. Inside the great hall, Hárekr shared horns of mead with his men, all euphoric over the victory and the success of the recent battles.
The surviving Pictish nobles remained locked up but well looked after, as Hárekr intended to keep his word to the letter. Torstein, sitting beside him with a jug in his hand, asked with genuine concern:
"Boy... What are we going to do with such an amount of loot?"
He asked it very prudently. Advancing toward the war in Northumbria to join the other jarls and the great sons of Ragnarr while carrying all that treasure was too great a temptation for anyone and an unnecessary risk.
Hárekr glanced at him and replied between drinks:
"Old man, you take it all and return to Norway."
Torstein refused instantly and reproached him in a paternal tone:
"The jarl Lagertha will not accept this loot that belongs to you, you know well how our Jarl is. Besides... Wasn’t this gold destined to finance your future army?"
Hárekr nodded slowly and admitted:
"Yes... But carrying so much gold on a campaign is extremely dangerous."
Thorir, who was listening to the conversation on the side, intervened:
"We could take it with us on the ships. After all, no foreigner will dare to touch our snekkjur."
Torstein looked at him seriously and shook his head, aware of the constant danger that human greed meant:
"Even though our warriors are loyal, betrayal is always a possibility if the temptation is too great."
He implied that even among his own, someone might talk too much, which would unleash chaos in the ranks.
Hárekr let out a laugh. A little dizzy from the drink, he proposed carelessly:
"Then let’s bury it. In a secret place that only we know."
Thorir and Torstein stayed thinking about the idea for a few seconds. They concluded that, indeed, it was the most sensible decision to protect the riches. With that matter resolved, they changed the subject and continued drinking by the warmth of the fire. Follow the newest chapters on NovelPing.
Miles away, in the capital of the Kingdom of Alba, King Constantine I was going mad trying to gather the immense required tribute. After weeks of pressure and desperate collections, he managed to gather the required sum.
When consulting his captains newly arrived at the court, they only advised him to march to war as soon as winter ended. However, it was the worst possible advice: the reputation of the Great Heathen Army camped in the south was well known by all, and attacking the Northmen at that moment would only draw that enormous host directly to their borders.
They knew how hungry for glory the men of the north were. Furthermore, the traders and informants accompanying Hárekr had taken it upon themselves to spread the rumor throughout the island, reaching the ears of his half-brothers:
"A new son of Ragnarr has landed in Pictish lands. He plundered their fortresses and bent the arm of the king of Alba himself."
The news began to mobilize dozens of independent Vikings seeking to enlist under the command of this new chieftain.
In the south, the leaders of the Great Heathen Army —Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan "White Shirt", Ubbe, and the recently arrived Bj?rn "Ironside", who was returning from his famous raids in the Mediterranean— heard the rumor from the mouths of their scouts.
In the south of the island, the Ragnarrsson brothers remained gathered around a great bonfire. Ivar the Boneless, who acted as the main mind of the army, took the floor to give his opinion on the rumors coming from the north:
"You know how our father was... Will this be another bastard?"
Bj?rn Ironside, contemplating the flames with an analytical gaze after having spent years sailing and raiding the coasts of the Mediterranean and Europe, intervened calmly:
"Whoever he is, if he landed on this island to avenge our father and support the great raid, we must receive him as a brother."
Halfdan shook his head immediately and refuted aggressively:
"It doesn’t convince me. If he is using our father’s name just to gain quick fame, we should execute him."
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye listened in silence next to the pyre, as did Ubbe, who, not being the son of Queen Aslaug, shared to some extent that condition of humble origin within the lineage.
Ivar spoke again, asserting his weight as the strategist in command of the army:
"No one in their right mind would dare to use our surname falsely in our lands."
They immediately summoned one of the scouts to give a more detailed report on the actions in the north. The informant bowed and explained:
"According to the traders, they know him as the son of Lagertha."
That name resonated with enormous force among those present. Ivar understood the situation instantly, looked at his brothers, and declared:
"Then he is indeed a true son of our father. You know that shieldmaiden well; she was by his side in his early years of glory."
Sigurd, curious, asked him:
"How do you know that so well, Ivar?"
Ivar replied with a slight bitter smile:
"Our father always praised her in life. He considered her an equal and his woman. In his day, he asked me that if at any moment she needed help in Norway, we should support her without hesitation."
Then he looked at each of his brothers around the fire and added:
"Surely he knew perfectly well that he would have a son with her."
The brothers let out a shared laugh, assimilating the news with blood pride.
Back in Dunkeld, Hárekr completely ignored what was being said about him beyond the city walls; it was impossible for him to guess the thoughts of his famous half-brothers in the south.
However, Hárekr had deliberately allowed the rumors of his victories to spread throughout the region for a very simple reason: he needed to attract warriors to his ranks. His destiny was not limited to avenging Ragnarr’s death; he wished to carve out his own path of conquests and achieve the necessary reputation.
Along the course of the River Tay advanced a vessel loaded to the brim with the agreed loot. On board came only three men: Cináed, the strategist of the Pictish king, and two of his trusted sailors.
His order was to leave the treasure on the shore near the city and not advance a single meter further. Besides delivering the riches, Cináed had the personal mission to watch carefully that Hárekr fulfilled his part of the deal and completely vacated the lands of the Kingdom of Alba with his entire host.
At the river mouth, old Einar, who remained in charge of the river guard, spotted in the distance the sails of the enemy ship slowly approaching.
Without losing a second, he summoned one of his fastest scouts and ordered him to ride out at a gallop toward the city to immediately warn Hárekr that the payment had finally arrived.