Chapter 178: The Two Jarls

Sven walked forward with a hateful face as he looked at the man before him. Despite the hate he openly wore, he was able to contain himself from any extreme actions, something his son, Harek, seemed to be struggling to do. "Calm down, boy," Sven spoke harshly, and Harek looked up at him in annoyance but listened.

A lanky man with a wolf pelt around his shoulders turned and smiled. He could see the deep mocking in it and Sven fought the urge to spilt his skull there. "Sven." He walked over reaching out for a handshake and Sven looked at it with sharp eyes before grabbing it. Right now he had to play the ally. "I’m very glad you came." Turning to face the person next to him he laughed. "This must be your son. I must say he looks nothing like his brother."

"You fucking bastar..." Sven raised his hand to stop Harek and gave a cold smile.

"I will warn you only once Leif. Don’t push me." Sven took a step closer and whilst Leif was taller Sven didn’t look small. Leif laughed at the display and grabbed his shoulder much to the disgust of Sven.

"It was a joke. Calm down. Besides, for now, we are friends. After all, we have a much bigger issue to deal with."

"Harek, go talk to the others. I have to deal with this." Sven pushed his son away and threw the arm around him off. Leif didn’t care and smirked as he led Sven to a tent. Inside he saw the second person who could cause such a feeling of hate. He was a plump man, but the large battle axe by his side told that beneath that fat was an immense strength.

Oluf looked up at Sevn, but unlike Leif’s playful mockings, he was wary and full of distrust. Sven could see it and knew things wouldn’t be easy. "Sven. Take a seat please." It was polite and Leif sat himself down looking at Sven with a small grin. Oluf sighed once Sven sat.

"I’ll be honest with you. I don’t trust you at all. I don’t think you want to work with us. I think you will kill me in battle given the chance." Sven chuckled hearing the honest words and shook his head. He was always a simple man Oluf, who said what was on his mind.

"I don’t blame you. If we are being honest. When I accepted your deal the first thing I was going to do was kill you. But I decided against it."

"Are you sure you could. Two of you have already failed." Leif poked a jab at him getting a hard glare from Oluf.

"Shut up Leif," Oluf said sharply and the man playfully threw his hands up and backed down, yet his grin never left his face. "Ignore him. He pisses me off too, but you know what he’s like." Sven nodded. He knew the two were allied through marriage but they were such contrast in character that it was a surprise it hadn’t fallen through yet.

"Right. I don’t trust you and you sure as hell don’t trust me. So what can we do to clear the air? Because I don’t want to fight that whore whilst worrying about my back." Sven asked and the two looked at each other giving a nod.

Oluf raised his hand, lifting three fingers. "One. Have your son marry my daughter. Simple and easy, I mean she’s here right now. Two, become my blood brother. We both know blood feuds end in blood, no matter the way. Three, swear in front of the Gods and those outside you renounce the blood feud."

Sven clicked his tongue at the options. He was in no place to bargain. "I will need time to think about it. The marriage requires my son’s approval and becoming blood brothers is not a simple thing."

"Of course." Looking to Leif the man gave a single nod in agreement. "That being said, we can still plan. The more we delay the more our enemy gains."

"She commands a lot of soldiers. Granted she killed quite a few, but even with us three, we are still outnumbered." Sven said pessimistically and Leif scoffed.

"What are you so worried about? She is a woman. What does she know about war? Besides, she has to attack us. The numbers don’t matter." Leif said casually, not an ounce of worry in his voice.

"You are narrow minded Leif. She was trained for her role as Jarl by Erik. Even if she’s useless she has the bannerman of those four under her. They can quite easily make up for her lack of knowledge." Despite his words, Sven knew that Helga was anything but a simple woman. He had met her and could only pity Leif for his lack of knowledge.

"He’s right." Oluf agreed. "Whether she’s a woman or not, the point stands. She commands an army of seasoned warriors, who can make up for any of her faults." Leif just grunted at their words but said nothing more. "For now I think we should let those frontier villages fall. We need to draw her into those places with better defences and favourable terrain."

"Shall we split our forces?" Sven asked and Oluf looked to Leif.

"I have men on the way to watch her. We shall see what she does and act upon that." Sven nodded, hoping Helga didn’t split her troops. He had to be close to the two when the time came to switch sides.

"We have enough food to last till year’s end. Are you sending any Sven?"

"Weekly conveys. If you two have enough till year-end, adding mine we should have just enough for nearly a year and a half. But I doubt the war will drag that long." For the first time, Leif nodded in agreement with Sven’s words.

"Perfect." Oluf smiled. "Whilst I would love to continue, you have some thinking to do Sven. Go make your choice and when you return, we will begin to move. Don’t take too long." The conversation was over and Sven got up seeing neither wanted to talk to him.

Whilst he found Oluf tolerable, knowing the man’s personality, his angry eyes lingered on Leif. He was the biggest scum he had ever met. Grunting he let himself out and Leif spun himself to look at Oluf.

"He’s really angry." He playfully joked chuckling. Oluf’s reply was a pair of annoyed eyes getting Leif to click his tongue. "You’re not much more fun."

"I’m not here to have fun Leif. We have a war of survival on our hands and you act like a clown. Get a grip." His fist slammed the table after speaking and Leif looked at it his smile growing wider.

"That’s all there is to life Oluf. You should learn that. That being said, you say a battle for survival yet you invite him to join us."

"Because I must. We need his men if we are to survive and your stupid jokes hinder this every time." Leif raised his hand in a playful manner giving an exaggerated shiver as Oluf slammed his finger in his chest.

"I will stop then. Is that what you want to hear." Getting up he looked down on Oluf. "But don’t just come at me. You killed the guy’s father." He said happily leaving the tent. Oluf looked at the exit and sighed grabbing his head.

’Why did I ever have to be allied with that man.’Whilst he said that he knew it was his fault. He started the blood feud when he killed Sven’s father. Leif was already in the same boat as him, it was only natural. But sometimes he wondered if things would have been easier if he had been allied with Sven from the start. He was a better man than Leif, Oluf knew that.

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"Harek," Sven called his son over to speak privately. Looking around to make sure no one was truly around he quietly spoke. "How far are you willing to go for revenge?"

It was a sudden question that shocked him, but in seconds his eyes went hard. "Any length father. If I can kill that son of a bitch who killed my brother."

Sven smiled at the resolve in his son’s voice. Grabbing his shoulder he looked deep into his eyes. "Would you shake their hand and smile at their jokes? Eat the food they give you without hesitation. Fight alongside them?" He paused taking a deep breath and increasing the strength of his hand. "Marry their daughter?"

"What are you getting at father?" Harek looked at his silent father. "Surely not. You haven’t just signed away my marriage have you." He threw the hand on his shoulder off. "You know I have someone in mind already."

"Harek. I haven’t signed off anything yet. I am just asking how far you would go for your revenge. Would you marry your enemy’s daughter?"

Harek fell silent but eventually nodded. "If I had to, then yes."

"Then. Could you kill her after marriage?" Harek fell silent but it was a harder question. As much as he wanted to reply yes, he knew it wasn’t that simple. Sven saw the hesitation in his son.

"I believe I could."

"Even if she was pregnant."

"What are you getting at Father." Annoyed, Harek asked and Sven sighed.

"They gave me the choice to gain their trust. One of them involves a marriage between you and Oluf’s daughter. It’s the easiest one for our family."

"What were the others?"

"Blood brother or swearing to the Gods." Harek made a face that showed his distaste for the two opinions and he understood why his father asked him the questions.

"If she was pregnant, I don’t think I could. It’s my child. It may not be born yet, but it’s still kin slaying in a sense."

"I understand." Sven grabbed his son’s shoulders and rested his forehead against his. "I’m asking a lot. Think about it and come back to me. I don’t need an answer now. But I do need you to contain yourself. Let your anger grow but keep a smile on your face." Harek nodded pushing his father off gently.