The Son Of Ragnar

Gō arrived back at the camp and the urgency in his eyes as he searched for Njal.

"WHERE IS GENERAL NJAL!?" Gō screamed as he frantically searched for him but Njal was nowhere to be seen.

Gō kept shouting and eventually Njal came out to check what the commotion was about, he had spent the day with Torvi but he was surprised that the scout he had sent out returned this early.

That must mean they have found something that they deemed worth reporting.

"What is the matter, Gō?" Njal asked the shorter man and he proceeded to divulge the information he had accumulated during his scouting expenditure.

He gave him an abridged version because he knew time was not their friend at this moment.

Njal could not hide his unease, he could not believe that they had found a way to circle them but he was more disappointed in how they conducted themselves.

They needed to move fast because they were well-rested, a luxury that their enemies did not have.

If they broke through this line, there would be nothing stopping them from reaching their main camp making their strategy to bait them ineffective.

Sturla, there was no way he would not be with them if they were advancing to the main camp because rumors about his strength being on par with Gissur was never-ending.

A rumor that Njal dismissed because he had seen the strength of his brother first-hand.

He was a monster not born of this world but he was the monster they needed.

"We need to double back, they cannot remain divided due to the hills that stand in the east but I do not think they are flanking us from only the east so we will need to cover the west as well…" Njal was surprisingly calm despite the urgency of the situation.

He was glad that he caught on, this was why experience is essential in wars.

Njal knew they would need the grace of the gods to catch up and if they were to have any chance, they needed to move now.

But before he could give that command, the warning sound of an attack rang from the front.

Njal was confused because this would mean they were under attack but by who?

He looked at Torvi, Njal had one thought and this was that they intended to hold them here because what they had was the element of surprise.

He needed to inform his brother or they would be caught off guard by this assault, something he had no intention of letting happen.

"Torvi, go!" Njal shouted at her, but he knew she needed a good amount of the army to stand a chance because the objective was no longer to fight them but rather to find a way to inform Gissur about the impending danger.

"General Njal. I am no match for Sturla and if it is as you said then he is with the main forces! If I go there, I would only die but I have a fighting chance here! You must be the one to go, General Njal!" Torvi said; this was a sound assessment because no one stood a chance against Sturla except Njal.

Njal knew there was no time to protest as he immediately left with 75% of the forces.

"My final command to you Torvi is, survive and come back to me!" Njal said and Torvi smiled at him.

"Yes sir!" But both of them knew deep down that this would be the last time they saw each other.

There was no way they could withstand the onslaught, not with them dividing their forces.

Njal left Torvi behind and advanced toward the army and the last thing he heard her say was.

"WARRIORS! THIS MAY BE WHERE WE DIE BUT LET US TAKE AS MANY OF THEM DOWN WITH US!" Torvi's war cry showed she did not fear death but rather, embraced it for she knew that she would die on the battlefield one day.

"Thank you, Torvi…." Njal whispered to himself as they advanced.

-

Kolbeinn was advancing with his forces, he wanted to arrive before dawn because the cover of the night was their biggest advantage.

He knew if they saw them before they arrived, it would be over

If they were to stand a chance at victory, they had to have the opportunity of an ambush because they knew if Gissur caught wind of it before then.

Then it would be over, they traveled at full speed but he expected Gissur to station men at their border but he saw no one.

They had a free passage, Kolbeinn could not believe how badly they underestimated them.

Gissur must have predicted that this defeat would damp Kolbeinn's confidence but Gudrun's action was one that he did not factor into his calculations.

To be fair, Gissur needed all his men, he could not afford to have them split because this victory against Kolbeinn reaffirmed how little of a threat they posed.

But now he was about to make him regret this.

Kolbeinn had breached their lines, and with each hour that went by, they inched closer to the settlement.

But Kolbeinn was also more cautious.

Nora was worried, she could not shake off the feeling that something had not only happened to Tyr but to Noa and Isak as well.

They had traveled all night but this also meant they would be fatigued by the time they arrived.

Kolbeinn knew it would be pointless to arrive tired so he took a brief break, not even up to 10 minutes to feed and hydrate before continuing.

But Nora had mixed in something in the food that gave them all a sudden burst of energy, it was a herb she used to strengthen the savages when they had to fight for long durations, and why she was useful to Kolbeinn.

She was not much of a fighter, but she could defend herself against the average man but she could barely do that against warriors as seen numerous times already.

Nora glanced at Gudrun and saw how committed she was to rescuing Tyr, it was clear she was in love with him but Nora feared that this love might just complicate things for she was not thinking logically but emotionally.

But the settlement was within sight, the onslaught was about to begin.