Ragnar accepted the invitation of Skarde for drinks and went to a nearby tavern, the cheers and songs sung by the warriors gave visitors a receptive welcome.
Skarde sat across the table from Ragnar, Skarde took charge of the ordering since this tavern served the best ale in Kattegat.
The waiters clearly knew Skarde, responding to him with enthusiasm.
"If it isn't Skarde…" a voice called out from behind the counter as the man poured ale into two wooden cups.
"Bring the whole bottle, Embla!" Skarde shouted. Ragnar wanted to protest because he was not a heavy drinker nor was he good at holding his alcohol but that would be impolite.
Embla, a bald, chubby man in his late thirties and below average in height, rushed to their table and slammed the cups down along with the bottle.
"How much is it?" Skarde asked, reaching for his pockets but Embla stopped him.
"It is on the house, Skarde. Your money's no good here." Embla replied, declining payment from Skarde and this told Ragnar that these two men shared some sort of history.
"You spoil me, Embla," Skarde responded with a broad smile. Ragnar was taken aback by Skarde's demeanor. Unlike many others who were arrogant or disrespectful, Skarde carried himself with a certain decency despite his blackened eye. Ragnar decided now was the perfect time to ask about the eye, thinking it could serve as a good icebreaker.
"What happened to your eye, Skarde?" Ragnar asked, tossing the question into the air and hoping it wouldn't linger awkwardly.
"This? I thought I told you I hit a tree." Skarde said with confidence as he gulped down the cup of ale, but this was not what he had told Ragnar earlier.
"He can't even remember his lie?" Ragnar thought to himself with a puzzled expression, he was still sober at this point, considering he just told him mere moments ago that he fell.
"Wait, I think I told you I fell earlier! Damn it! I can't even keep up!" Skarde said with a tired sigh accompanying his words followed by a slight snicker.
"Do you know about the ways of love, Ragnar?" Skarde asked out of the blue, this did not answer Ragnar's question but Ragnar felt it had something to do with the answer he sought.
"I am married to Lagertha, the most beautiful shield maiden so I will say I do know the ways of love and that of a woman's body as well," Ragnar responded with a smirk across his face.
"I'll have to disagree with you there, friend. The most beautiful shield maiden is Herfjötur," Skarde responded, watching Ragnar sip his ale like a child trying alcohol for the first time..
"Is that how you got your black eye?" Ragnar teased, prompting a dramatic gasp from Skarde loud enough to draw nearby attention.
"How did you know!?" Skarde followed up with a whisper, the volume low enough for only Ragnar to hear. Ragnar could not believe how airheaded this man was but it felt like he was doing this intentionally seeing as he had a few drinks in him already. He was downing cup after cup like he was drinking water and Ragnar was still struggling with his first cup.
"I did not, you just told me, Skarde." Ragnar said, maintaining his poker face.
"You sly devil! As expected from a man that King Askild recognizes! I got this black eye because my lady likes it a bit rough…" Skarde muttered with a giggle, he was getting tipsy and Ragnar knew it but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Who is this lady?" Ragnar questioned, he did say she was a shield maiden prettier than Lagertha.
"Herfjötur… Her name is Herfjötur." Skarde said with a sense of pride but the disturbed look Ragnar got was enough to tell that he did not see this coming.
He forced himself to gulp down the cup of ale because the images of them having sex to such a degree that it gave Skarde a black eye were not doing him any justice. It was traumatizing, to say the least because he now looked at both of them in different lights.
-
Ulf heeded King Askild's instructions to find Birger. It was easy to locate him despite Kattegat's vastness because Birger, though technically free, was heavily monitored by a host of Vikings ready to strike if he attempted anything unusual. He was confined to a small house, effectively under house arrest.
"Ulf Lothbrok? What are you doing here?" A Viking on watch asked him but he did not respond and they tried to stop him despite being hesitant.
"Would you like to explain to King Askild why you're disobeying his orders?" Ulf challenged, the guard immediately backed off.
"M-My apologies! I did not know you were here under King Askild's orders!" The apology was one filled with fear and Ulf relished this feeling of power despite it being on a scale as small as this.
He shoved the Viking aside and made his way to the house, he was allowed to enter armed because no one knew what Birger was capable of and they would rather not find out.
But Ulf decided to leave his swords outside. This was not an advisable thing to do, seeing the kind of threat Birger was, but there was nothing anyone could do to stop Ulf.
He knocked on the door but got no response. The tense atmosphere around him made him wonder what kind of man he was about to meet.
He did not know much about him except for his despicable act against Asger, but this was the first time he was meeting him face to face and Ulf knew he had to make a good first impression.