Jon rushed down the tower and into the large room below, panicking as his father was supposed to stay by him. Looking around, Jon did not see his father anywhere. Jon was asking men frantically in a panic if they seen his father. The men only pointed in the direction of the town gates and looked at Jon silently.
Jon dashed towards the gates as he came to the site of the ambush where Gu had died, Jon found his father slumped down on his knees with his head down. Jon saw blood covering him and was not sure if he was even moving, so Jon rushed up to him and grabbed his shoulder, trying to turn him. Raska resisted this tug and stayed where he was. Jon knew his father was not hurt physically, although he never had seen his father act this way. Jon began to call upon Woden and asked him to give master Gu's soul safe passage into his halls. Jon felt a sudden calmness washing over him, almost as if he were a struggling child being embraced by their parent.
He saw Woden in his mind, who only nodded while looking proud, suddenly master Gu appeared next to Woden in his mind, waving goodbye while smiling, his hair had color and was light brown although his scar was still there. Both Woden and Gu left his mind at the same time, as quickly as they appeared. Jon became sad and just sat there next to his father.
"No Golden Isles man will be your match, my son. You are surpassing me and you are less than half my age. You are doing this family proud, I have never been more proud of how you fought after my old teacher left us." Raska said as he looked Jon in his eyes.
Jon heard a horn being blown from the area of the nobles tower. Jon got up as Raska said he would stay, but to come back and let him know what was going on.
Jon got to the tower quickly and looked up at the Jarls on the balcony, far up the tower.
"Good men of the North, this great city has fallen to us. We are still one thousand men strong and will hold this fort for the rest of Winter. The other Jarls and I have spoken and have decided that the young Jarl Jakon Sve, shall be the king of this city. He will be responsible for the upkeep and maintanence of this city. Please, respect his authority and rules. Let us have a stable Winter here and return home. Any man who chooses to stay, will be paid a wage as a city guard. Any man who wants to come home will not be looked down upon. Celebrate hard tonight for the dead among us, they fought bravely and their souls should rest in Woden's halls. Winter will be long and cold, good men. Settle into homes around this tower as we need to stay close to remain strong. If any Golden Isles citizen comes into these gates, they will be questioned. If they pass the judgement of the 5 Jarls, they should be left alone, as a citizen of the Northmen City called Dyflin." The Jarls turned and left the balcony as the men cheered below.
That night a few Golden Isles men, women and children returned to their city, surprised to find piles of corpses being burned outside the walls. As the corpses were so charred they could not tell who they were. Upon entering the city, they were easily captured with no blows being struck and shown into the tower of the king. After the translator communicated the questions to the citizens, they answered and the Northman translator began to speak on their behalf to the Jarls.
"My good sirs, these people were farmers on the skirts of the village and were hoping to come back as they would starve outside these walls and die. The farm they have is large and they have already collected the hay from the field to feed their animals. They say they do not care whom the king is, as he taxes their livelihood heavily. They ask to be shown mercy and live out their days in their home." As the translator spoke, Jarl Svygard was watching the Golden Isles family and spoke without consulting the other Jarls first.
"Under my proclamation earlier I said they were to be let go if we found them honest. However as the new king, i defer this first decision to king Jakon. I'd like to hear what his decision will be." As Jakon Sve rose from his seat, he nodded to Jarl Svygard and began to speak.
"These farmers are no harm to anyone, let them live here with us. They raised no swords against us and should have the opportunity to show us they are loyal. Translator, please let them know if they kill any Northman here, I will have their heads decorating their farm, scaring away the birds. Thank you." King Jakon almost said word for word what Jarl Svygard would have said.
Jarl Svygard looked to his younger cousin and felt prideful as his lessons to groom him into a leader had been successful. Although this was a good decision, Jarl svygard would have to watch him very carefully this Winter to make sure he was ready to lead while the Northmen left.
The celebration that night was so loud and rowdy, the Northmen believed all those lost in the raids this year could hear them and knew they were being honored. The Northmen were wearing their looted rings and pendants, jumping around and dancing like mad men. Shouting and celebrating, while some were crying, mourning fathers and brothers. Jon got so drunk with his father, he could no longer stand as the world was spinning too fast for either of them to handle. They both were sick at the same time. They wanted to honor their friend, who taught them both how to fight. Jon Berskaggr remembered all the things he was taught and wished Gu well in the next life. Both men passed out shortly after that.