Bebbenburg was in hysteria, a guard had been murdered in the halls of the castle and the culprit was nowhere to be seen. Uhtred was woken up in the middle of the night by Edgar who had been the person to discover the body; Uhtred cursed as he quickly made his way down the corridors to the scene of the crime, a few guards had been posted at each of the corridors entrances to prevent people from coming across the body. "Who was this person Edgar?" Uhtred asked as he approached the body on the ground. It was fresh, the guard had only been dead a few hours so the culprit must be somewhere close.
"He was O'rlan milord, he be one of my bes' men," Edgar said in his rough accent.
"Clearly not if he's dead... do you have any leads? Any evidence? Any Idea who did it!" He said with his voice getting increasingly louder as he did.
"Fraid no' milord, we only jus' found him," Edgar replied as he looked down at the body of his fallen comrade.
Uhtred just cursed and started pacing around the corridor as he tried to think about what he could do. The king was sleeping in these very halls so, of course, the right thing to do would be to inform the king so he could leave with his family immediately, but if he did that then he'd most definitely fall out of the king's favour and the effort he was putting in to get back into his good graces would be for nought. He wouldn't let his position suffer just because of one cunt that decided to kill one of his guards 'It was probably a minor dispute that went wrong,' he justified to himself.
He approached Edgar and grabbed him by the shoulder "I want you to get rid of this body and scrub this area clean, no one knows about tonight am I clear?!" He said sternly and Edgar nodded his head in confirmation.
"Double the guards at the entrances and start sending patrols through the corridors at night, I want the King's chambers and mine to be prioritised," he commanded.
"If I do 'hat I'll haft ta take men from the village milord," Edgar replied.
"Do it, this is much more important than that damn place, I don't want anyone sneaking around these halls, especially near the King's chambers," Uhtred said before taking one last look at the dead guard and going back to his chambers. After he left Edgar silently cursed but started to carry out his orders and get rid of the body, luckily the pigs hadn't eaten since that afternoon.
"I'll deal with 'his fucker," Edgar said as he started dragging the body down the corridor.
"You boys clean up," He commanded them to which they nodded. Edgar lifted the body which was quite difficult considering his small frame and he started to move slowly through the castle. He went down a few levels before he was walking down into the cove that Bebbenburg was built atop. The people who made this castle built a dock for ships to come in, though for some reason Lord Uhtred didn't think it needed to be guarded. He continued down the steps, huffing and breathing heavily as he continued to walk until he got to the stone walkway and let the body fall to the floor "Fucking heavy cunt,' Edgar cursed as he rubbed his shoulders.
"You're late..." a voice hissed from the shadows behind him. Edgar turned around and saw a cloaked man emerge from the shadows.
"Someone saw me, I had to lose them," Edgar replied with a look of annoyance on his face. The hooded man walked towards the body on the ground and pressed a pale hand to his skin. "Good... this one is fresh, you've done well," he hissed out before standing back up and throwing him a pouch of silver.
Edgar caught it but looked no more happy than he did before "I don't care for your damn silver!" He whispered loudly as there was an echo in the cove.
"I know not why you have come here, but I don't want to be in business with you anymore!"
"I am under enough scrutiny as is, I don't need you coming in and getting me executed!" He said clenching his fists in anger. The man before him was the same one he had done business with in Mercia, he didn't know how he found him or why he had come now, but Edgar didn't care, his situation was delicate and the man forcing him to get bodies for him was fucking the situation.
The cloaked man did not reply and let Edgar rant to him about his displeasure at his presence. Then as quick as a flash he drew his hand back and backhanded Edgar sending him to the floor. Edgar felt his blood pool in his mouth and several teeth loosen, he let himself roll backwards before he drew out his dagger and tried to lunge at him but the cloaked man was already next to him and grabbed his wrist with one hand before grabbing him by the throat with another. "You only ever had two choices, Edgar, you will continue serving me or you will die, choose quickly," he hissed as his hands began to squeeze tightly.
Edgar struggled in his grasp, he tried loosening the man's grip, he tried kicking him but it was all useless, his vision slowly started to darken and he knew his life was about to end.
"S-Serve..." he croaked out. The masked man let him fall to the floor where he gasped for breath.
"A wise choice, keep bringing me bodies, I'll need another soon," the masked man hissed out before stepping back into the shadows and disappearing. Edgar was just left on the floor trying to regain his breath through his injured throat, the skin around his neck and wrist had started to go purple and he just lay there cursing god for ever letting him meet this man.
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Thorfinn woke up feeling more relaxed than he had ever been before, sleeping in this bed made him feel as if he were resting on a cloud. He was also welcomed to the sight of two naked women who lay on either side of him; It was hard to believe at the start of spring he was just a farmer with nothing to his name, but now he was a landowner who was on his way to making his fortune and gaining a legendary reputation. But in truth, he now had something else he wanted, a desire that burned in him more than his desire for gold or silver.
He wanted to know, he wanted to know everything in the scriptorium and when he was done he wanted to find others beyond where he could learn even more. He wanted to learn everything that a person could learn and more, this desire burned within him like a pyre on a cold winter night. While his goals may seem unrealistic he believed he would achieve them, from a single evening he had learned more about healing than anyone in Kattegat, these books, would make him more powerful than any amount of gold or silver, and he couldn't wait to go back and finish learning Latin so he could properly study 'De Medicina' and everything else he could find.
'I have my land, if the knowledge on how to create such structures like this exists in these walls I'll be able to build one on my land,' he thought to himself as he got up from bed. Though as he tried Arwyn latched onto his arm, he chuckled before pulling her strong grip off him and getting dressed. "Wake up," he said to the girls. Arywn sat up immediately, though she almost fell to the floor as she tried to get out of bed while still half asleep.
"We should have morning meal in the hall," he told Arywn as she rubbed her eyes.
"Are we not hiding lord?" Arywn asked.
Thorfinn nodded "We are but a guard was killed last night, it's best we reveal ourselves rather than act suspicious," he replied. While his plan did have risks it was possible that if he stayed hidden the servants would report his behaviour to the Lord. He just planned to go and enjoy his meal with Eowyn and Arwyn at his sides, if he stayed near the back he hoped he would not bring much attention.
He walked over to Eowyn who was still sleeping, his cock stirred as he moved the cover away from her and got a look at her naked body. 'Later...' he thought to himself. "Eowyn, get up we are going to morning meal," he said shaking her gently. Her eyes opened and she immediately recoiled at his touch but soon calmed down when the haziness of her sleep dissipated. "Get dressed and don't forget to behave like my wife," Thorfinn instructed as he finished getting his own clothing on. He called over Arwyn as he wasn't used to some of the laces of these 'finer' clothes; in truth, he was looking forward to going to the morning meal, a feast in the Jarls hall was always a grand affair back in Kattegat so he expected much from this castles lord, he had riches far beyond that of the Jarl; Thorfinn imagined the gathering would he grand.
The food he had last night while cold was good, it was fresh meat —It hadn't been dried or cured— with it was some hard cheeses and bread that was still soft from baking. He imagined that his meal was just leftovers of what was eaten in the hall, but leftovers or not they were delicious. Thorfinn watched as Eowyn stood up from the bed, placing her dainty feet on the stone floor and standing. She walked over to the wardrobe giving Thorfinn a good view of her behind. He adjusted his trousers before turning away and pouring himself a cup of wine from a pitcher.
"Lord, what will you do today?" Arwyn asked.
"What I did yesterday," he replied as he straightened himself out.
"I want you to help the servants of this castle, tell me if you hear or see anything important," Thorfinn instructed to which she nodded rapidly.
"Eowyn you are not confined to this room, just remember what will happen if you do not hold your tongue," Thorfinn said sternly.
"Yes lord," Eowyn said as she put her gown on.
"Do not forget to call me Edward when we are in the presence of others," He reminded them. He then walked up to the door with a smile on his face as he expected himself to experience a feast like no other.
...
Thorfinn sat at a table near the back of the hall scooping up porridge into his mouth. His disappointment couldn't be understated, these Christians were some of the most boring people he had ever met in his life. Breakfast was a simple affair, porridge with honey and milk, he had expected much more from people of such great wealth. 'I'll be using their wealth a lot better than they do,' he thought to himself as he scooped another spoonful of porridge into his mouth. It tasted good, better than the stuff they had at home and while he still enjoyed the food he was disappointed in the scale of things.
"I must say I don't remember you at the feast last night," an older man said to Thorfinn.
He looked up to his bowl and scanned the man before him. He wore simple grey robes and had a bald head, he didn't think he was a priest as he didn't wear the cross they all had around their necks. "My wife was not feeling well from travel," Thorfinn said with a fake smile.
"Ah yes, looking after one's wife should always take priority," he said nodding to himself. Thorfinn just smiled and put his arm around Eowyn rubbing her shoulders.
"I am Beric of Kent, may I ask your name," Beric asked.
"I am Edward and this is my wife Eowyn," Thorfinn replied. Eowyn looked up at Beric and nodded in greetings before going back to her food.
"Well met to you both, may I ask Edward are you from these isles?" Beric asked.
"Did my accent give it away?" Thorfinn replied.
"Hardly lad! Your mastery of our language is almost perfect, but I've met a lot of people in my life and I can hear a slight difference," he stated.
"What is it you do that lets you meet so many people?" Thorfinn asked
"I am a healer, this has led me to many places but right now I find myself in the employ of King Aelle," Beric replied.
Thorfinn leaned forward with interest "A healer, where did you come by such a profession, did you read the old scripts?" He asked.
"Goodness no lad, I apprenticed to a healer when I was a boy and ever since I've been increasing my skills," he replied.
Thorfinn nodded, he wanted to compare this man's skill to the book he had read, but most of all he wanted to take this man as a slave, he could learn much from him. He wished he could've convinced his companions to stay in Northumbria, the amount of plunder they could've gained and the valuable slaves they could've brought back would make them all rich.
As breakfast continued Beric regaled Thorfinn with his stories of the different people he had healed and the places he had been to. Thorfinn listened aptly and quickly realised that this man's knowledge was subpar, he had mentioned a time when he had to cut a man open to remove a death worm from his stomach. He gave the man a high dose of poppy extract to help deal with the pain, but the book he read warned of the dangers of using too much poppy extract at once and how it needed to be used in low doses. 'A mixture of Valerian and Poppy extract would be better,' he thought but didn't say. The man was clearly prideful about his work and Thorfinn didn't want to set him off and bring attention to himself.
"Edward... people are starting to look at you," Eowyn whispered into his ear interrupting his thoughts. Thorfinn looked up at the table and saw that people were looking at him and whispering, he wasn't surprised, Beric was quite loud.
Thorfinn quickly scooped the rest of his food into his mouth before standing up "I'm afraid we must retire to our chambers, my wife is still not feeling well after the long travel," Thorfinn said as he stood up and helped Eowyn out of her seat.
"Ah well if her sickness persists please come to me and I can prescribe a remedy," he said with a smile on his face.
"Thank you Beric, I hope we can speak more later," Thorfinn said as he accompanied Eowyn out of the hall.
"You're free to do as you wish just make sure you're back in the room before I am," Thorfinn said before he let her go. Eowyn nodded and walked towards what seemed like the gardens.
Thorfinn started walking towards the Chapel, he knew that he would be meeting Judith in the evening but he still wanted to continue reading —he'd also been progressing his Latin on his own. As he walked to the chapel he noticed that the guards seemed more numerous. Since it had not been brought up by the lord in the hall Thorfinn could tell he was keeping the death of the guard a secret, for what reason he'd do that Thorfinn didn't know, but it seemed the lord was still being cautious.
However, as he got close to the chapel he saw a strange sight. A girl maybe three winters older than him was crouched on the floor seemingly staring aimlessly. She had long black hair and a red dress that notified him of her status as someone wealthy.
He didn't much care what she was doing and instead just tried to step around her "Stop!" She shouted abruptly. Thorfinn nearly jumped at the sudden shout but managed to maintain his composure.
"Is there an issue?" He asked as politely as he could muster.
"You were about to step on a piece of crucial evidence," she said as she turned around and stood up. Thorfinn noticed how her eyes scanned his body in less than a second before she made eye contact with him.
"Evidence?" He said with confusion.
The girl pointed down to the ground, Thorfinn followed her finger but when he looked he saw nothing there. "Look closer," she said as she knelt down. Thorfinn sighed but decided to humour her and he knelt down, there was an extremely faded red outline in the form of a footprint.
"You see it don't you!" She said excitedly.
"It's a footprint, I don't see what is so exciting about that," Thorfinn replied.
The girl leaned closer —almost uncomfortably so— "I believe someone was murdered here last night," she whispered.
Thorfinn raised an eyebrow, she wasn't wrong, someone had been killed in this very corridor barely half a day ago 'But how can she know that?' He thought to himself.
"Did you witness this? You should inform the guards if so," Thorfinn said as he stood back up preparing to leave.
"I did not witness it sadly, but the evidence is all here," She said as she stood up as well.
*Sniff*
Thorfinn looked at the strange girl as she sniffed the air. "Are you well? Shall I fetch the healer?" He asked.
"Don't you smell it? A large amount of vinegar has been used here," The girl said, she then looked at him expectantly.
*Sniff*
She was right, he could smell vinegar, though he wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't pointed it out to him. "Look at the floor, some parts are darker than the others, ash had been spread here and soaked with with vinegar," she continued.
Thorfinn looked down, while it was only slight, there was a small discolouration between different areas of the floor. "Whoever cleaned this up did a good job, but he must've not realised he stepped in blood until it was too late, he didn't have enough supplies to properly clean it and was likely too lazy to get more," she theorised.
Thorfinn nodded "I see... good luck on your investigation," Thorfinn said before walking past her, though he was stopped when she grabbed his arm. He had to hold back when she touched him, he nearly knocked her teeth out of her mouth by reflex.
"Are you not in the least bit interested in what is going on," She asked with an incredulous look on her face.
"No..." Thorfinn replied.
The girl looked at him intensely before opening her mouth in shock "You know what happened here don't you!" She said a lot more loudly than necessary.
Thorfinn cursed and grabbed her roughly by the arm pulling her into an empty guest room. "You are annoying me, do what you want to do, but leave me be," he warned pointing a finger to her face.
"Tell me what happened?" She requested.
"What makes you believe I know what happened?" He asked.
"Your lack of interest in such a thing despite agreeing with me every step of the way, plus you would not have acted in such a way had you known nothing," she replied.
Thorfinn cursed again, he was too concerned with maintaining his disguise that he let her play him. "Very well... a guard was killed here last night, I witnessed it, but I didn't see the one who did it," he explained.
The girl started to bite on her fingernails as she got lost in her thoughts. "It seems I need more information before I can discover the culprit," she said mostly to herself.
"Enjoy yourself," Thorfinn said before walking to the door.
"I wish to ask for your help," The girl said as she stepped in front of him.
"No I'm not a guard... ask them," Thorfinn replied as he moved her to the side and went to open the door.
"Surely there is something you want?" she asked placing her back against the door.
"What I want is to go back to reading my books," Thorfinn said with a deadpan expression.
"Now move."
The girl only smiled "You like books, what kind do you like?" She asked.
Thorfinn huffed in annoyance once again "Old ones, ones full of knowledge from the great empire," he stated.
"I have such books, old books, rare books, I have maps of places so grand that they make this place look like a mud hut," She said trying to entice him.
Thorfinn narrowed his eyes at her "You would offer me these treasures for my help in finding the killer, Why?" He asked.
"The guards have hidden what has happened here and my father will not believe me since I did not witness it myself, you are the only person available," she explained.
"You seem to be doing okay by yourself, you don't need me," he stated.
She shook her head "I have not killed anyone before, that lack of knowledge is a detriment to this situation, I may miss something that you won't."
"You believe I've killed before?" Thorfinn asked.
"You have the body of a warrior, and when I grabbed you before I felt your body tense as if you were about to attack me," she replied.
Thorfinn sighed "I want the books and everything you have promised, do not try to go back on your word," he warned.
The girl just smiled and shook her head "I can't read some of them anyway so they are of little use to me," she said.
"I will meet you tonight after people have retired, we can begin your search then," Thorfinn said as he opened the door.
"Excellent, I am Blaeja, I am pleased to meet you," she said with a wide smile.
"I am Edward, and I wish I hadn't met you," he said before closing the door.
...
Thorfinn finally made it to the scriptorium where he sat down and started to go through Book I of 'De Medicina' again. He had to as he knew he missed a lot due to not fully knowing the language, but with every page, he got better and after four or so hours he could read the book without any issues —as long as he took it slowly.
He was still in awe of the knowledge this man had. After finishing the book for a fourth time he put it down before going up to the shelves and looking for more, he started going through the scrolls and opening them up. A lot of them were correspondence between people of high rank, there wasn't much of interest to him, but he did find one answer to the questions he'd had since last night.
"The Roman Empire," he said to himself as he rolled the scroll back up and placed it on the shelf. He now knew the people behind such beautiful buildings and incredible knowledge; Thorfinn wanted to travel there, If this land was so much more advanced than his own then he shuddered to think how amazing the centre of the empire would be. It seemed his answer to who was behind these wondrous things brought him nothing but more questions.
He decided to put those aside for now and began looking for books. He found a few that didn't interest him too much, they mostly focused on the laws of the land and while he would read them eventually, it was not what he was after. He finally picked up an old dusty book and smiled as he read the title 'De Artchitectura, he grabbed the book and sat down opening its dusty pages.
If Thorfinn thought that the Romans's knowledge of healing was advanced then their knowledge of architecture was simply that of the gods. The way to construct war machines, the methods of constructing these buildings called aqueducts, bathhouses and the materials best used for each one. 'An Archimedes screw,' he thought as he read it in the book, it did not go into detail about it but this Archimedes was referenced a lot in the book and yet not much was said about him or what he did. 'I hope to learn more about him,' he thought to himself.
Thorfinn looked towards the section which described how to build wooden cranes to hall heavy loads and these war machines called ballistae which could shoot large arrow bolts and could be used on ships and walls. The more he read the more his ambitions for his land grew, he wanted this, and he would steal every single coin from this lord to get it done.
It was late afternoon when Thorfinn heard the door open, he looked up and saw Judith walk in with a candle in her hand "I am glad you are here, I looked forward to our meeting again," she said with a bright smile on her face.
"I have as well, though I must admit I've been entranced by the books in this room," Thorfinn said as he placed the book down and took a breath.
"You'd like my sister, she is quite fascinated with books and old knowledge," Judith said as she took a seat next to him.
"Are you ready to continue your lessons?" She asked with a smile.
———————————————————-
A beautiful woman with dark blonde hair sat by the window of a hut looking out at the full moon by her window. She wore a thin linen night dress and shivered as the cold air invaded the hut. She had tried to escape again, and so she was trapped inside this hut with chains wrapped around her ankles. She couldn't bear to be here any longer, she wanted to go home, to her family, she missed them so much.
She looked up to the moon and then grabbed onto her pendent which was a blue stone. "Thryllan thyssum, deorc mægen lædan,
Opennesse becuman to ðissum, alyssen hæft." She chanted, the chains started to shake and the woman held out hope that they would break. However her hopes were soon dashed as her spell failed, she had been in here a week and thought to use the light of the full moon in combination with her pendent to overpower the chains.
"You do break my heart, my love," a voice said from the door to the hut.
The woman looked to the door and scowled "How do you expect me to react when you have me prisoner!" She shouted at the dark-haired woman who stood by the door.
"You would not be a prisoner if you did not run away," the woman replied.
She then started to walk closer to the blonde-haired woman. "I have come to bring you joyous news," she said as she sat down on her bed.
"You have always said how you hate how alone you feel... that will not be the case for much longer, another will be joining us soon, I can sense it," she said as she caressed the other girl's face.
The blonde girl's eyes widened "You can't! You can't take another one!" She said in a panic.
The dark-haired woman's face changed from a smile to a frown "I will, it is what is owed to me, now you will stop attempting to escape and set a good example for your niece," she said rubbing her cheek before standing up and leaving. The blonde woman yelled out as she tried to grab the other one, but with a flick of her wrist she was launched back onto her bed and the blanket was pulled over her.
"Sleep well."
(AN: So mostly a set up chapter with Thorfinn gaining more knowledge and getting new ambitions. If there's any other ancient knowledge or magic you wish for him to discover them let me know. I'm already adding alchemy into this world, a soft version of the FMA version as I think it's cool. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter)
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