Chapter 31: Chapter 31

FJORN

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, and I slowly scooted out of bed, careful not to wake her. Easing down the ladder, I tiptoed to the back of the house. The door there didn’t creak so loudly. Sneaking out the door, I walked to the mead hall.

Although the place was filled with the usual banter, there was an abnormal amount of tension in the air. So it wasn’t just me. I nodded to a few men and exchanged a few words with others as I walked deeper into the room. It didn’t take me long to find Ulf and Sten. Walking up to their table, I sat down and poured myself a cup. “We need to talk,” I said, turning to them.

I heaved a sigh, lifting my drink and draining it in one go. I yearned for this tranquil moment to stretch on indefinitely, but I knew it was a fleeting respite. It had been a fortnight since our clash with Ingrid and the clansmen she had talked into aiding her.

I was clueless about whatever lies Ingrid must have spun to rally them to her cause, but it was irrelevant now. I had dispatched men to the majority of the other clans, seeking a meeting, but the responses were few and far between, which didn’t bode well. Responses were usually much swifter.

“We need to strengthen our defenses before they strike,” I declared, turning to Sten and Ulf.

Sten’s face broke into a mischievous grin. “Say no more,” he responded, producing a pile of papers seemingly out of thin air and spreading them across the table. Ulf and I exchanged wide-eyed glances. The papers were adorned with sketches of towering wooden spikes and pit traps teeming with wild beasts.

I leaned back, an incredulous expression on my face as I took in Sten. “How long have you been scheming this?” I inquired, picking up a few of the drawings.

“Do you recall when we constructed that barn?” he asked, a note of pride in his voice.

“The first year we arrived here?” I questioned, my incredulity mounting.

“Exactly! Around that time,” he replied, chuckling lightly.

For all Ulf’s talk about skinning people alive, of the two, Sten had always been the one to unsettle me slightly. As children, he would devise all sorts of traps to catch rats in his family’s grain store. It was beneficial, and some of the other village families even adopted his methods, but it still left me uneasy.

“All right,” I said after studying the sketches for a few minutes. The ideas were good, and with no other options, we had no choice but to rely on them. “How long will it take to implement something like this?” I asked, pouring myself another cup of mead.

“Everything? More time than we probably have.” Sten scratched his chin thoughtfully. “With a good-sized crew, though, we could probably manage this,” he said, pointing to a drawing, “as well as this and this in about a week.”

I nodded. “Let’s pray we have that much time,” I murmured, sighing heavily. “I also want more guards posted. And let’s double the watch. Something doesn’t add up, and I don’t want to be caught by surprise again. I’ve learned my lesson.”

A man walked up and bowed slightly. “Good evening, Jarl Fjorn. Can we talk?”

I lifted my head and eyed the man. He was a good warrior, admired for his bravery and strategic thinking. I nodded.

“Some of the men and I were talking. Sir, ever since Ingrid came here with clansmen from the north… Well, we were hoping you could give us some assurances.”

The room grew still, as if each person had been silently longing for this precise moment, and I could feel the weight of their stares, their focus almost palpable, as they awaited my response.

I stood and cleared my throat. “I was going to call a meeting tomorrow, but since most of us are here, we might as well discuss things tonight,” I said, my voice loud and clear. “Our clan may be large, but when it comes to rumors, it’s a small world and gossip spreads like wildfire.” A few people chuckled, but the room grew quiet quickly.

“Therefore, I know you know Ingrid blamed me for my brother’s death, and I also know you are all aware she had her sights set on being my frue.” I waited a few moments. “If anyone agreed with Ingrid, show yourselves out the door.”

Someone coughed. Otherwise, no one moved.

“I don’t know what stories Ingrid spread to compel others to attack, but I know she aimed to kill Frue Kendra and me. Now, I’ve sent messages asking for intelligence and allegiance from our allies. I’m not going to lie. Responses have been slow. It doesn’t, however, mean we can’t rally against whatever’s coming our way.”

“Do you have a plan?” someone in the crowd yelled out, and I smiled. “That’s what the meeting tomorrow was going to be about.”

A few people laughed again.

“Listen up,” I said. “This is going to take a while.”

After discussing the plan with Sten, Ulf, and several members of the clan deep into the night, and with a meeting for the next day set, I slipped back into bed beside Kendra. I wrapped my arms around her, my hand resting gently on her belly. “Don’t worry, little one. Daddy will keep you both safe,” I whispered. As I closed my eyes, sleep claimed me.