"May the gods protect him." "Always." " Thank you, my Lord." " I hope your boy brings you profit." " That's the last one, My Lord." " Thank you." "May I ask you something?" "Am I still your slave?" "Does it matter?" "It matters because I have noticed that in your world, slaves are often treated worse than dogs." " Do I treat you like a dog?" " That's not my point." "Legally you could beat me to death, and there would be no penalty." " Everyone else in your world is subject to the law." " That's just the way it is." "A man can rape his female slave but not a free woman." "It is true that we distinguish between those captured in battle, and our own free men and women." "In any case, why do you say "your world"?" "You live here now, this is your world." "And I've never seen you try to escape." "I am less and less interested in escaping now." "Even if I could." "But I would like to be a free man." "If it matters so much to you." "It does." "What are you preparing for?" "What do you mean?" "I've watched you." "You are about to do something." "You have made yourself very strong." "Perhaps not strong enough." "What do the gods say?" "What do you know about our gods, priest?" "Finish the fish." "In silence." "Let the man who thinks that he has descended from the gods, learn that he is human after all." "We're under attack." "Gyda." "Bjorn." "Get Bjorn." "Take this." "Stay back." "Athelstan." "Take this." "What shall we do?" " Should we run?" " No, we stay." " Your father will be back." " But there are too many of them." "Stay strong." "Be ready." "Burn everything!" "He's in the house, my Lord!" "Father!" " You're hurt." " We have to go now." " What's happening?" " Father, please tell me." "You have to get to the boat." " Are you coming?" " Go." "Quickly, Gyda!" "Come on, boy." " Father, I won't go without you." " Boy, don't argue!" "Father, I don't want to go without you." "Ragnar Lothbrok!" "I'm right behind you." "Now go." "Go on, quick." "Go, boy, go." "Ragnar Lothbrok!" "Show yourself!" "Show yourself!" "There's one!" "Come on." "Come on." "Help!" "Help!" "Do you accept that you are a criminal?" "That you are worthy only of defeat, worthy only of death?" "I accept my fate." "Let me speak with my god." "Get down!" "Hurry!" "Odin," "Lord of Lords, Father, help me." "After him." "Burn the house!" " Bring him back alive." " Yes, Lord." "There!" "There he is." "Where is he?" "Can you see him?" "Where is Father?" "He's there somewhere." "Where are they?" "Father!" "Is he dead?" "He's dead, isn't he?" "He's dead!" "Is he dead?" "I don't know, Lord." " Seize his boat." " Yes, Lord." "He's a criminal." "He's not entitled to property." "And if you come across his family, bring them here, so we can talk to them." "Yes, Lord Haraldson." "You let him escape." "I will not forget that." "Floki!" "Floki!" "Floki!" " Who are you?" " I must speak with Floki." "Is he here?" " Bjorn?" " My father is dying." "Helga, get the bark of the ash, and the garlic and the sage." "Get the sage." "We make a paste to put on the wounds." "But first, we must clean them." "And the only way to make them clean is with fire." "Bjorn, get more logs back there." "A knife..." "We must bid welcome to our guest." "Guest?" "You didn't tell me to expect a guest!" "This is Earl Bjarni." "He is a Swede." "This is my wife, Siggy, and my daughter, Thyri." "You are welcome, my Lord." "Thank you." "It was a very hard crossing, I must say." "You're right." "She's very pretty, my Lord Haraldson." "Come, feast with us." "Sit over here." "So that you may get to know each other a little bit better." "Forgive me, but why would they get to know each other better?" "Because they are being married." " But he's..." " It's arranged." "May I?" "You will have no regrets, my dear child." "I will make you a good husband, and you will provide me with many sons, of that I am quite certain." "The celebration shall be later this year, when I shall return, laden with gifts." "In the meantime, please accept this as a token of my affection." "Here, let me." "What do you say, Thyri?" "Thank you, my Lord." "You are very kind." "Give that to me." "I dedicate this blade to the goddess." "To Freyr." "Wisdom might you give us, Freyr, and healing hands while we live." "Hail to the Aesir." "Please, Freyr, heal my father." "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under the sun." "A time to be born, and a time to die." "A time to plant, and to pluck up what is planted." "A time to kill, and a time to heal." "Mary, mother of God, listen to me." "Do not let this man die." "How could you?" "It's an excellent match." "He's a powerful man, and he's the cousin of King Horik." " He's old and he's ugly!" " You don't judge a man by the way he looks." "We've struck a good deal." "Oh!" "He'll give us 20 pounds of silver for her." "Don't you care for her happiness?" "I care for her security and her future." "And ours." "This marriage will bring us land and important alliances." "The gods must have seen that we need them." "You told me nothing of this marriage." "You have treated me with utter contempt." "You don't care!" "I stopped caring about a lot of things when our boys were murdered." "They died." "You buried them." "And for you, it was the end of the matter." "But for me!" "They were my sons." "I bore them." "I brought them into this world." "I watched them as they grew." "And I loved them, just as I loved you." "The killers, they dug a shallow grave." "And before they buried them," "they cut their heads off." "And when they laid them in the ground, they..." "They put their faces against their asses as a sign of disrespect." "If I ever find the man who did that," "I will..." "I took these locks of hair from their heads." "See Siggy, when you have such knowledge," "being married to a rich, old man isn't so bad." "Is it true?" "He's here?" "He's still weak." "But his wounds are beginning to heal, thanks to Floki's magic." "Torstein." "Ragnar, see who's here." "Ragnar, my friend." " How are you?" " Save me from these people." " How did you know I was here?" " I didn't." "I only know Earl Haraldson is looking for you." "It was Rollo who said that if you're alive, you might be here." "Then why did he not come himself?" "Because he thought the Earl's men would be looking for him especially." "It is no secret that all of the crew are being watched." "But I made sure no one followed me." "Let's eat." " It is good to see you." " You too, my friend." " This is Helga." " Hello, Helga." "Don't wriggle your maggot in her face." "She's taken." "Sit down." "I heard they burned down your farm." "They also slaughtered all our livestock." "We have nothing left." "You are alive." "Ragnar is alive." "Your children are alive." "You have everything left." "We also need to eat." "And we are already eating some of your winter supplies, Floki." "And I am ashamed." "The gods will provide." "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." "A time to be born, and a time to die." "Just eat your soup, priest." "Sometimes your god sounds a lot like one of ours." "Why did the gods keep me alive?" "That is the question I keep asking myself." "What are you going to do?" "I can do nothing until I am well." "Where's the boat?" "Haraldson has confiscated the boat." "His daughter is getting married to a man from Svealand." "The boat is her dowry." "Floki can always build us another one." "And the Earl?" "Come on." "What for?" "If you don't come now, I promise, you will regret it." "I don't remember inviting you to my daughter's wedding." "Well, Lord, I assumed you'd just forgotten." "So, I came anyway." "Here's to happiness for your daughter." "May she be blessed with many sons." "That could be you dancing with my daughter." "I often think about it." "Still, I was not fated to marry her." "Maybe that old man was." "Why are you here?" "We should talk." "All right." "Later." "Let my daughter enjoy her wedding day." "Silence!" "Silence!" "It is time for the husband and wife to go to the matrimonial chamber." "So, what do you want to talk about?" "I don't want your thugs, like these fellows, following me around everywhere." " It's a waste of everyone's time." " Oh, I disagree." "If you lead them to Ragnar Lothbrok, it will be time well spent." "Ragnar is dead." " Do you swear that on your arm ring?" " No." " Then why..." " I cannot swear because I have not seen a body." "But I have heard nothing, and he is my brother." "I am sure in my heart he is dead." "What about his wife and children?" "They too have disappeared." "So I heard." "Thought you'd had them killed, frankly." "By those fellows there." "So why should I trust you?" " As you've already betrayed me." " I didn't betray you." "I told the truth." "Shouldn't you trust someone who tells the truth?" "So tell me the truth now." "The truth is, you run everything here." "You own the ships." "You decide where it is we raid." "I need to be a part of that." "I don't want to be on the outside." "I want to raid and fight." "It's what I was born to do." "I understand." "And you must understand it will take time for me to trust you." "And I do not give my trust easily." "But you can stay here, eat at my expense, work on my boats, prepare for the season." "Then we shall see." "Agreed?" "Agreed." "Good." "So if Odin lives in Valhalla, is he the only god who lives in a great hall?" "No, there are many halls." "Thor lives in Thrudheim." "And Freyr was given the hall at Alfheim when he cut his first tooth!" "And nearby is Valhalla, vast and gold-bright." "And every day, Odin chooses slain men to join him." "They arm themselves and fight in the great courtyard." "They kill one another." "But every night they rise again, and ride back to the hall, and feast." "The roof is made out of shields." "The rafters are spears." "Coats of mail litter the benches." "A wolf stands at the western door, and an eagle hovers above it." "It has 540 doors, and when Ragnarok comes," "800 warriors will march out of each door, shoulder to shoulder." "What is Ragnarok?" "Well, then..." "How was the Earth created?" "The Earth was made from the Ymir's flesh and oceans from his blood, when the titan was thawed from the ice." "The gods, they made hills out of his bones, and trees from his hairs, and the sky dome is his skull." "And out of his brain they shaped the welling dark clouds." "So, how do you think it was made, priest?" "Siggy." "No." "I was sure!" "I've come to warn you." "You must leave at once." "Today." "My husband, he hates you." "He has shown me nothing but respect since I came here." "Rollo." "Believe me." "Get away." "Where's Ragnar Lothbrok?" "Where is he?" "He's dead." "Are you sure?" "You said that you always tell the truth." "You seem to have a little trouble opening your mouth." "Perhaps I could make that a little easier for you." "When will he be better?" "It's taking too long already." "In a few weeks' time your father's wounds will be healed." "If he is careful." "You must have patience, Father." ""You must have patience, Father." Shut up." "Torstein!" "I found him wandering around the marshes." "I was lost." "I was visited in great secrecy by Earl Haraldson's wife, Siggy." "She told me that her husband had played a trick on Rollo, and imprisoned him, trying to find where you were." "Then he tortured him." "He tortured my brother?" "Yes." "Siggy is sure, her husband means to kill him, because Rollo will not, in any way, admit to where you are." "It's a trap for you, Ragnar." "Floki." "I have another favor to ask of you." "I want you to go in to Kattegat." "I want you to ask for a meeting with the Earl." "And when you meet him, challenge him to a personal combat." "With me." "Tell him, if he refuses, shame will stalk him for the rest of his life, and Odin will never permit him into Valhalla."