As Jarl Svygard Bjornsson quickly ushered Jon from his tent, Jon saw a side of the Jarl he did not know existed. He was flustered and anxious but his mind was moving so fast, Jon wondered if the Jarl could hold onto all of the thoughts shooting through his mind.
The following day many messengers were spread through the camp and were calling for the men of 3 camp sites to come to the Jarls together at once. As massive amounts of men spaced out and grouped into 20 or so came before the Jarls, the plan was laid before them, time and time again as many waves of Northmen came before them and left. As Jon came before the Jarls with his group of 17 men, including his father, Raska, the Jarl regarded him as the man who formulated this strategy.
"Jon, my young squire somehow came up with this plan. The outcome of this falls to us as leaders who choose to execute this plan. However, if victory falls for us in these coming days, the credit is to Jon Berskaggr. Jon, please accept this axe from me, it is made from steel and is incredibly well balanced."
Jon walked forward and accepted the short handled bearded axe graciously as all the men listening began nodding their heads in approval. As Jon looked over the axe, the head of the axe was grey and smooth with intricate designs carved into the metal. The blade on the axe was perfectly shaped and the beard of the axe, which was fashioned to bite into and pull am enemy towards oneself, added another 3 inches of blade length and was even sharpened on the back. The edge of this axe could split a hair falling through the air as it was almost impossibly sharp.
"Jarl Svygard, you honor me. With this axe I shall claim any man's life who intends to harm you. I shall name this axe Reaper, as I believe it is so sharp it can cleave a man's soul in two." With that Jon went to one knee, showing respect to his Jarl.
"Rise Jon, and help this plan to succeed." Jarl Svygard said, and with that he explained the plans to all the Northmen standing before him.
As Jon departed the camp with his group, he found a well used road miles from town and sat with his group in the snow. Soon a wagon rolling towards then was heard. As the group got up and blocked the road, Jon nocked an arrow and was ready to draw his bow at a moment's notice.
As the wagon rounded the corner, Jon drew his heavy bow to its fullest and shot the driver of the wagon dead, the arrow flying so deep into his head, the only thing exposed was the middle of the feathers on his forehead. The driver fell to the side and off the wagon as all of the men rushed the wagon and killed the guards. After they made sure all the men were dead, they brought the bodies deep into the woods and put the 8 men under the snow, as the ground was too hard to dig. They then covered the bright red blood with more snow and packed it down so the white snow was the only thing showing.
Uncovering the cart, they noticed it contained wheels of cheese and baskets of spices and vegetables. The Northmen hid their shields and some of their weapons under the goods, making sure they were sufficiently covered, they made their way towards the city.
As they approached the city, Jon recognized a few of the people farther ahead and behind him as men from the army. Up closer to the gate the wagons were freely going in and out of the city through this giant gate. Two wagons could go in at the same time, while two could come out of the city at the same time with enough space between all four wagons to keep their horses calm.
Getting closer to the city, Jon noticed that the guards were looking at the people but were never stopping anyone. No Northman had ever been this far West in the Golden Isles, Jon ventured to guess, as the city gate was not very secure. Jon felt anxious as at any moment they could be caught.
Even after passing through the gates, Jon remained anxious as he did not know the language of the Golden Isles. There were 3 men in the group who did speak the language, but only one man could speak it fluently. As the group of men went to the tavern this one man ordered 3 pitchers of ale and brought them back to the group. The men began to drink from grey metal cups which made the ale taste different than what he was used to, or maybe it was supposed to taste this way. It was not as bitter or flavorful as his ale, but was slightly sweeter.
As night fell, the men waited around until around midnight. The men all returned to their wagons under the cover of darkness and began to equip themselves with their gear. As Jon pulled Reaper from the wagon, he attatched the sheath to his belt. Jon could use this axe in his left hand and his sword in his right, if there were no archers around as the last thing he needed was to be impaled. Using the two weapons was quite an advantage in a melee, as one could use the beard of the axe to twist and bind an opponents weapon, freeing up an opportunity to quickly kill them without having to worry about the blade further.
Jon was on edge as more men began to show up and equip themselves, they mingled for a moment and dispersed, walking around the vast areas around the wagons. Before the midnight hour was up, Jarl Svygard came up to his cart, grabbed his weapons and sent messengers to call all the men to the courtyard. Jarl Svygard made sure his group was the last wagon of Northmen to come into the city. All 1100 men were inside the city and armed to the teeth. The Jarls gave signal to move forward and the whole army marched on the barracks of the city, as some men were tasked with learning the layout of the city. The plan was going even more perfectly than Jon or Jarl Svygard could have even imagined.