Chapter 57 Transaction

"This is the breathing of the fire giant Surtur. We have disturbed his sleep." 

Faced with the strange phenomenon of the heavens and the earth, most of the Vikings fell to the ground, begging the Aesir for salvation. Until the night, the black smoke did not dissipate, the night sky was reflected in a dark red, and volcanic ash fell one after another, like black snowflakes. They huddled in the unfinished temple, quietly awaiting the end of their lives. 

…

Early in the morning, the Vikings, who had survived a difficult night, left the temple and climbed to the top of the mountain to look to the north. The dull sound gradually died down, as if the fire giant did not take any further action, but returned to the earth to continue sleeping. 

"Quickly repair the ship and leave this cursed land before it wakes up!"

This defeatist speech was certainly met with approval from the majority. Björn did not express his opinion, but merely glanced at everyone present. Some lowered their heads to avoid him, while others raised their heads to look at him. 

To win the hearts of the people, Björn said loudly, "This is still Midgard. The volcanic eruption last night was just a natural phenomenon!" 

(Midgard is one of the "Nine Worlds" in Norse mythology. It is the world where mortals live.)

He pointed in the direction of the volcanic eruption and said, "The fire giants live in Muspelheim. This world is full of heat and magma, and no other life is possible there. Since there are trees, birds, and river fish on the island, it proves that it is definitely not Muspelheim!"

After repeated persuasion from Björn, several men decided to stay. The rest, more than 80 people, did not want to listen to his nonsense. They spent three days hastily rebuilding the boat and forcibly transported most of the supplies to the sea.

After this storm, the settlement was reduced to 53 people. Björn asked the remaining inhabitants to continue building houses and smoking whale meat.

Over the next few days, small pieces of canvas, wooden barrels, and fragments of hulls washed ashore. Björn collected the debris and discovered that the pieces of canvas belonged to two different sails, proving that two of the departed drakkars had sunk.

"Compatriots, I have bad news,"

with a sad expression on his face, he said: "More than 80 people who left earlier were buried at sea. Their cowardice must have angered the gods and brought down Odin's punishment. Alas, such a death will not allow them to enter Valhalla, what a pity."

Feeling a slight fear emanating from the crowd, Bjorn was secretly satisfied that at least the thought of leaving would not occur to them any time soon, and he was lucky to have survived the first test...

Meanwhile, the castle of Tain.

Six months after the rumor spread, four masons came from all directions. Vig conducted a brief inspection, threw out the worst of the masters and hired the remaining three at a high price.

He then asked three masons to submit a building plan with the following specific requirements:

The outer wall of the town of Tyne was to be replaced with a stone structure 5 meters high, with a base of 3.5 meters and a top of 2.5 meters.

The inner wall of Tyne Castle was also to be replaced with a stone structure with similar specifications as above. In addition, a main bailey of about 15 meters was to be built.

After research, the three masons gave roughly the same prices. The outer wall would require between 250 and 350 pounds of silver, the inner wall 60 pounds of silver, and the main bailey was expected to require 100 pounds of silver.

The Whigs went into a corner, whispered, and then asked the masters, "This is too expensive, can we save some?" 

"Master, madam, this is already the lowest price. According to construction experience, the cost of quarrying the stone is 20% of the total cost, and the cost of transporting it is 40%. Fortunately, it is possible to use the remains of the Great Roman Wall, and after quarrying the stone, transport it by ship, which significantly reduces the cost. Otherwise, the total cost will exceed a thousand pounds of silver."

That night, the lord and his wife did not sleep all night. The saved funds from the treasury were only enough for the inner wall and the main castle. As for the outer wall, the cost of which reached 300 pounds of silver, it had to be temporarily postponed. 

According to Whig's plan, the construction of the city fortifications was supposed to prevent attacks by marauders, especially when he was away on some business, and the defense of the territory was weak. 

In the worst case, a large number of marauders would attack during his absence, and Geligiv would have to defend the main castle for at least a month. 

"First, repair the main castle, then the inner wall, and finally the outer wall of Tyne Town. The outer wall is now about four meters high, enough to withstand an attack by a small group of warriors. If we assume that the number of marauders exceeds 500 men, all the shield bearers will retreat into the castle for a long time."

Having made his decision, Vig called the villagers to work and planned to complete the project in two years. 

He had not heard from Björn for a long time and did not want to waste time, so he asked the masons to prepare lime mortar in the traditional way. The recipe was as follows:

Burnt the limestone at a high temperature and mix it with water and sand to make mortar. Then add some egg whites and plant fibers, which are said to further increase the strength. 

"Egg whites? How many eggs do you need?" Vig was surprised by this luxurious material and could not contain his displeasure. 

To make matters worse, Geligiv spent the entire day in the library and found an excerpt from the biography of a Roman senator. 

"My dear, this man once served as a local official in the province of Gaul. There was a shortage of volcanic ash in this area. When building the city walls and constructing the aqueducts, the craftsmen used a recipe similar to today's, adding egg whites, flax fibers, reeds and other materials." "Really?

? If we collect eggs from our subjects in such large quantities, our reputation will probably fall significantly."

...

In June, construction was in full swing in Tineburg. Considering that this was a family foundation, Vig and Geligif devoted a lot of time to it. When Ivar's messenger found him, he initially mistook him for a servant responsible for carrying stone.

After washing himself with well water, Vig took off his stinking linen shirt, returned to the bedroom, changed into a decent robe and called the messenger. "What is the matter, Ivar? Are you asking me to attack the settlement again?"

"No, the wars are endless, and the weapons are seriously damaged. My lord needs many bows, arrows, shields and everything else." "

You should go to York. There are 30 smiths in the Royal Armouries. His Majesty never stints on such things, especially when the one he turns to for help is his eldest son." 

Suddenly the messenger smiled awkwardly. "Some time ago, my lord captured a wooden fort and took a precious necklace of rubies and gold. At a celebratory banquet, someone suggested giving it to the queen. At that time, the lord was drunk and made a joke that angered the king and queen. There is no hope of reinforcements." 

I would rather hang it around the neck of some whore than give it to this damned witch.

These are Ivar's own words. Upon hearing the news, Ragnar was furious and sent messengers to scold his eldest son and order him to apologize to the queen. 

Realizing his guilt, Ivar presented his father with many gifts, including a ruby necklace, and reluctantly obtained forgiveness. At this point, the internal contradictions of the Northumbrian royal family were fully revealed.