dwarven saga, vikingAAR

[Knight of Avalon]

PROLOGUE

"For this we plundered the past twenty years. I shall not lead another raid during my lifetime. No one shall lead another raid. Whoever leave for another raiding is not welcome here, under penalty of death." said a tall, strong, red-bearded man standing at the top of stairs in front of a great wooden hall intended for a leader of the colony. His name was Arnolf. He was renowned raider and Chief of the Shetland Viking colony for the past two years, ever since they invaded the Islands and conquered them from the Celts.

A very short male person with Norse helmet that covered most of his face except for the long braided beard came out in front as the mass separated to let him out. A several dozens of seasoned sea raiders gathered in front of the chief''s hall, demanding another voyage.
"Beren!" Arnolf shouted in surprise. He looked at his younger half-brother in disgust and spat. "I should have known you have your fingers in this... I should know better, never to trust your corrupt race. You filthy little dwarf." his mighty voice echoed air.

"Yes, you should know better, brother. You should know we will never settle to live our lives as fuckin' peasants..." Beren spoke in calm, confident voice of the leader that had a same impact as his brothers mighty shouting, but in different kind of way. The gathered crowd greeted his speech with approving chant, but he raised his hand to calm them down. "...We are Vikings, a fearsome race of warriors that raid and pillage kind of people you want us to become. If a man grew old and tired of fighting, he should become a farmer, if that is what he desires. It is a choice of individual, but never of a whole colony!"

Saying that, he unsheated his longsword and took thick round shield previously placed onto his back in his other hand. That being done, he looked back at his older brother and his eight battle hardened bodyguards, standing at the higher ground onto the wooden stairs or at the either side of entrance of the hall. He calculated exactly that the bodyguards shall not interfere in this situation, as they would be butchered in remain of seconds from the gathered crowd. Arnolf was all alone in this. He was given his great bronze axe from Rurik, leader of his bodyguards and Beren watched him walking down the stairs in long heavy steps. The others from the crowd spread around and formed a circle around them.

"I shall nail your corpse to the wood and left it to rot as the warning to the others." Arnolf spoke through grinding of his teeth, seemingly too angry to communicate. His voice sounded as barking of the war hounds. Beren knew his brother got himself in berserker rage, as he saw him numerous times before. He always got mad before battle by combination of specified herbs and his fiery temper. He was blindly charging at the enemy front lines with other berserkers, bringing death and terror upon their ranks while Beren always stood back and took command of their shield wall.

Arnolf roared angrily and swung his axe behind his back, stood his ground, challenging Beren to make a first move. Beren started running in his direction, holding his shield high above and with longsword pointing in front. He was surprisingly fast, not expected from a dwarf. As he came close enough, Arnolf made a blow that got stuck into his shield, while both of his leg tendons got cut by Beren's blade.

Arnolf crushed to the dust with a loud cry. Such a great warrior, to fall that quickly in battle. He tried to get up, but cursed in pain, holding tightly his legs. They were useless now. Beren stood above and watched his older brother from high, struggling to stand on his knees. He was finished. His brute strength taken away, he was of no use. Beren was always the one to talk him to reason or to repair the damage to his hasty decisions. Before the latter, because Arnolf was a difficult man.
"You can rule with me, brother. We can talk this through." He finally said, with a broken voice.

Beren looked around. Every eye was looking on them in astonishment. The tension could be smelled in the air. He looked back at his brother, who managed to stand upright on his knees, still barking in pain. Even on his knees, Arnolf was higher than him.
"No. No more talking." He finally said and drew a single, sharp line in the air with a longsword. A swift line that cut his brother's throat and painted the air with a red blood. He felt that several warm drops washed on his face. The silence extended.

On the faces of the assembled crowd, Beren read a mixture of fear and respect. Only after he raised a hand that held the longsword in the air, the mass began to chant his name. As his brother died without an issue, Beren was a Chieftain of Shetland colony now.
Arnolf was maybe not a good leader, but he was respected and well known warrior. He even accompanied the legendary Viking leader Ragnarr Lothbrok at some of his latter journeys. Beren knew he would need to justify this murder in the eyes of many, Ragnarr's sons being amongst them. And there is no greater justification in the eyes of the Vikings than famous deeds. But first he will need to get rid of men loyal to his brother.

"Soon, my warriors, we will sail southern shores to take what is ours. And what is ours? Everything we can take away! But before that, we must secure our lands from men still loyal to farming initiative." he pointed out the bodyguards at the stairs of the hall with his longsword. Moments later, poor men were slaughtered by mob. They were formidable, battle hardened warriors which could be of a good use to him, but Beren did not wanted to risk being stabbed in the back in the middle of the battle. So he needed to cut all loose ties to his brother. And to cut them literally. To replace men loyal to Arnolf with men loyal to him.

That being done, he pointed at the ships being docked at the nearby port, just below the hill. "Now board the ships, we are going to pay a visit to the mainland to find me a suitable wife. After that, we can go to plunder!"

 

[DumBMan]

So Beren kills his brother for the 'throne' of Shetland colony. I have no doubts in great deeds this small man will achieve!

 

[Zamarak500]

Interesting starting point. I wonder how well he will do with only Shetland.

 

[stnylan]

Well one way to start a reign

 

[Knight of Avalon]

So Beren kills his brother for the 'throne' of Shetland colony. I have no doubts in great deeds this small man will achieve!

Too early to say, but no doubts he is dreaming big.

Interesting starting point. I wonder how well he will do with only Shetland.

Yes, it is my first gameplay with the Norse and I decided to make it a bit challenging.

Well one way to start a reign

Let's just hope his reign will not be marked in the way it started.


Thank you guys for your feedback, as usually it is greatly appreciated!

 

[Knight of Avalon]

CHAPTER I

They did not have to look much. Just a few weeks later, their new Chieftain got himself a wife. She was gyðja, a priestess of noble blood who managed the temple in Austergautland, the southernmost province of Petty Kingdom of Svipjod. Petty Kingdom of Svibjod was ruled by Bjorn Ironside, one of the sons of the legendary King Ragnarr. Beren already shared some past with Bjorn, as he and Arnolf accompanied him and Hasteinn to their journey to Medditeranean with additional two drekars. They also intended to participate in Invasion of the Great Army against the Britons in retaliation for murder of Ragnarr Lothbrok, led by Bjorn and his brothers. But instead of that, Arnolf got them invade and conquer Shetland Islands.

Beren's bride, Linda being her name, was very young. She was nearly half his age, being sixteen at the time. He deliberately selected so young bride, because he wanted that she bears him as many children as possible. Modeled on Ragnarr, he wanted to form a new ruling dynasty, but before that he will need to carve himself a kingdom. It was as if he had awakened from deep sleep. As if to his thirties he had no larger ambitions except for drink, fuck and pillage, but now he wanted a whole world for himself. But to achieve that, he will have to start off with tiny steps. Oh, the sweet irony...

Back in Shetland, during their wedding fest, Linda was relieved to notice her husband was not as unsightly as the dwarves of the lore were potraited. She had no choice but to accept his marriage proposal, especially when it came with letter from King Bjorn Ironside himself. On the contrary, she considered his new husband fairly attractive, except for his disgraceful height. He was well built, with muscled limbs got by hard training, his face having a nice features with clear blue eyes and longish bright brown hair with a single braid at the right side. After having celebrated the wedding with his warriors with plenty of mead and mutton, Beren took her in his chambers for the first time, revealing that he desires a male heir as soon as possible.

After the wedding was done, Beren dedicated himself to setting up the people of confidence on the appropriate positions in his ruling council. He sent his chancellor Barid to Vestisland to try to fabricate a claim for him. He concluded that remote places such islands could have been more prone to manipulation due to their isolation. Barid was not as well educated as someone who should be a chancellor, but he was the most educated person available and Beren did not have better alternative on this gods forsaken Islands.

But at least for the next three positions in council, he knew they will do their job right. For his marshal he appointed Guðrøðr af Sumburgh, best swordsman in the colony and veteran of many raids. Guðrøðr dedicated himself with training of new troops almost immediately. For steward he picked Einarr af Sumburgh, cunning man who knew how to count the money well. Einarr got a idea that the inhabitants of the Colony should pay tax to their liege for protection modeled by feudal system in southern kingdoms, and he made himself busy with collecting it. Young beautiful girl that spoke southern languages named Freyja was appointed as his spymaster. She was sent to Rome to learn about their culture and technology. Beren set a goal to plunder that town one day. The last position on council holds seer named Hrorekr.

Being a dwarf in Viking society was not as bad thing as being a dwarf in other cultures. Beren knew that many other cultures left newborn babies with dwarfism to die. He had the protection of myths by growing up, but he never believed in such things. He was a cynical man, who believed in nothing but present and future. As a dwarf, nobody expected he would grow up to be a warrior. His mother died giving a birth to him, so he spent a childhood years under care of his grandmother. His father was barely home, often being in raids in kingdoms far away. He died in foreign lands, saving life to King Ragnarr, who in return gave a command of two drekars to his then seventeen years old son Arnolf. Few years later, when grandmother died, Arnolf took Beren with him on his first raid, he was fourteen at the time. Since then, he was rarely back home in the mainland.

From the start, Beren knew it was going to be a hard life for him. He knew he would never be as strong or to have an arm range as many. But he was agile, and far more important, much smarter than the majority. He trained hard to turn his shortcomings into his strengths, often using brain to outsmart his enemies. He outsmarted Arnolf as well, he noticed his weaknesses long time ago. Beren loved his brother, but he was on his way to greatness and had to pay the price. He was holding him down like an anchor for far too long.

"On how many warriors we can count?" Beren asked, sitting on the black painted wooden chair at the head of the table. It was one of the meetings of his Council, although more chairs were empty. Only two more persons were present, aside of Beren. His chancellor and spymaster were away with assignments in foreign lands, while Seer Hrorekr held ritual ceremony at the temple. Guðrøðr, marshal and person upon this question was addressed, absently played with strands of his shaggy beard. They just went through an extensive report by Einarr about possible routes and logistics required for a voyage, and he was obviously bored. He was only interested in the travel itself and raiding part, not the planning of it.

"Ohh, about three hundreds of them are ready, and proper equipped.. My Lord." he added the title at the end awkwardly, in attempt to conceal the fact that Einarr and Beren watched him for some time cheerfully playing with a beard, it was only their loud laughing which brought him back to reality. Guðrøðr was otherwise grim man of few words, and such addressing as in the lands of south did not lay to him. Obviously he realized what he said, because he had grown red like a tomato.

"If I did not saw you stroking your beard with such a passion right now, I would think you became fancy courtier of Christian courts, given by all your voyages to their lands." Einarr said with a insidious smile. As always grim faced Guðrøðr was not a man that understand concept of jokes, it took a while for Beren to bring him to reason that murder of Einarr was not his smartest move at that point.

Several days later, after everything was prepared and warriors were saying goodbye to their families at the small port where six drekars were docked. Four more than Arnolf ever had, Beren thought contentedly. In these mere few months of reign, he has proven to be a far more capable ruler than his brother. Watching his warriors slowly boarding the ships, he was already standing on the stern of the largest ship. He was eager to sail to the open sea as soon as possible, where new adventures await them. Last night he already said goodbye to Linda, hoping she would wait with a son in her arms when he returns.

After Seer blessed the ships, they set sails towards south. Few hours at the open sea, Beren looked back at his Islands in distance and remembered how Britons use word shit that is close enough to the name of his demesne. "I will not be a Lord of Shitland for too long." he said thoughtfully and threw the apple he was biting a moments ago in the restless sea.

 

[stnylan]

Far to say his ambitions are not moderate.

 

[iain_a_wilson]

Good start and great characterisation. I wonder what the future will hold for this little warrior?

 

[Arnulf Floyd]

Interesting AAR until now, great idea with a dwarf character!

 

[Knight of Avalon]

Far to say his ambitions are not moderate.

I think for Beren it goes "Dare to dream big". In his mind there is no afterlife, only great things you can achieve in this one.

Good start and great characterisation. I wonder what the future will hold for this little warrior?

Oh, thank you! I'm trying my best to make him as vivid as possible. You have to keep reading to find out.

Interesting AAR until now, great idea with a dwarf character!

Yeah, I always wanted to play with a dwarf character and with Norse culture, so I made a blend with interesting result.

 

[guillec87]

subbed

 

[Knight of Avalon]

subbed

Appreciated.

Chapter II is in progress, folks.

 

[iain_a_wilson]

Great stuff. Looking forward to it!

 

[DumBMan]

As someone else said, great characterisation and good storytelling so far. Beren's ambitions are indeed not so moderate and he reminds me of legendary viking king Ragnar Lothbrok on one side because of his ambitions, and Tyrion Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire on the other side because of his smarts and shrewd personality, and of course because they are the same size.

 

[Knight of Avalon]

As someone else said, great characterisation and good storytelling so far. Beren's ambitions are indeed not so moderate and he reminds me of legendary viking king Ragnar Lothbrok on one side because of his ambitions, and Tyrion Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire on the other side because of his smarts and shrewd personality, and of course because they are the same size.

Thank you, very good observation. Two of them are indeed partially inspiration for this character.

 

[Knight of Avalon]

CHAPTER II

First few weeks did not happened anything of note. The sea was mostly quiet, except two times they had to change the course to avoid the storm. But as the crew of each of the six ships consisted exclusively of experienced sailors, the danger was averted. The days passed, and the warriors spent travel time drinking the mead and the wine, seasoned ones recounting the past battles and younger recruits absorbing their stories. Approaching the Briton Kingdom of Northumbria, the place of death of Ragnarr Lothbrok, Beren directed the ships as close to the shore, seeking an appropriate place for disembarking. The Great Army was still waging war with Briton petty kingdoms. Their leaders were Ragnarr's sons, except for Bjorn Ironside who returned to the mainland to recruit more volunteers. They already had some successes by capturing great town of York, thus creating a Petty Kingdom of Jorvik whose King became Halfdan Whiteshirt, one of the brothers.

When they finally landed in the vicinity of the isolated monastery, they realized it is protected by high stone walls. Probably precautionary measures due to intensified Viking invasion on their shores. Beren decided not to waste time on the siege of such a unimportant place. He believed that the monks have already hidden their treasures out of fear from them. Therefore he led his warriors to the nearby coastal village which they set aflame and killed most of its inhabitants. Beren sought to spare the women and children, but some of bloodthirsty warriors failed to adhere to these orders. At sword point, old village elder admitted that King Aella, the one who murdered Ragnarr and thus caused the Invasion, has ordered general mobilization of peasant levies. Most of the men capable of fighting in this and surrounding villages have left for the nearby camp of royal army, to get prepared for the upcoming battle against the invader army led by Ivar the Boneless that entered Northumbrian territory and started to burn their border villages. Ivar was the eldest and most renowned son of Ragnarr.

Without much thinking, Beren ordered his men to replenish their stocks and embark on the ships. Attempt to merge with Ivar's army, as some proposed, would be too dangerous at the moment, as well as staying in the hostile territory with mobilised troops. They went further south down the coast. If nothing, at least his warriors will be pleased for some time after they tasted blood. But if he wants to gain some renown and respect to his name, Beren will have to do more than to burn villages. With that thought in the head, he decided to sail to the southernmost part of the Britain. To the Petty Kingdom of Wessex, a wealthy Kingdom whose lands were still untouched by war.

Dozens of days later they landed on the shore of Kent, the easternmost and the richest province of Wessex. They landed not far from the port of Castle Dover. The bulk of the army disembarked and proceeded on foot, while rest of them sailed into harbor and landed dressed in the trader's attires previously taken from Genoan merchant galleon, looted few days before. The ships were left behind guarded by few men. Guðrøðr, who already raided the same port a decade ago with Arnolf and under the leadership of Ragnarr, hid the warriors on foot into the nearby forest, waiting for a signal. Probably because of their previous plunder a decade ago, the walls were erected around the port. Meanwhile, Beren, who spoke a little of their language, landed with thirty men in merchant galleon. After the vessel was attached to the dock, a thick middle-aged guard approached them "Praised our Saviour, good people, speak your intentions."

He looked at Gunnar, who barely knew to talk his native language, probably thinking of him as the leader of the group. Beren figured that he mistakenly took the most expensive garments, removed from the corpse of the obese Genoan Captain. That were probably the only garments that suited him, as Gunnar was a boulder of a man. While Gunnar foolishly opened his mouth to respond, Beren jumped at the dock and quickly said "Master does not speak your language, we are merchants from Genoa."

Judging by the guard's shocked look and instinctively tightening the handle of the sword, Beren was the first dwarf he has seen in his life. Having a great time, Beren offered him to taste some of their goods. Obviously hoping for some exotic dish from the Mediterranean, guard consents without further persuasion. Beren snapped with fingers three times, whereupon Arne and Canute lowered a bulky wooden chest from the ship with the help of ropes. Reading glutonny onto his face, Beren smiled naughty and gestured to the guard using index finger to come closer. After Beren turned to the chest and opened it he heard his excitedly question "Tell me, tell me, what you sell?"

"Cold steel." Beren replied coldly, turned so quickly and deftly thrust the dagger deep in unprotected guard's neck. He stood there in shock with his eyes wide open, his warm blood pouring out of an open wound, soaking the soil beneath him. Beren just pushed him to the ground with his open palm, called others to take arms and kill everybody present. There was so crowded in the harbor that at first no one noticed that thirty Vikings jumped from the ship, took arms from the chest and started to sow death everywhere around them. "Gunnar, open the gates." Beren gave the order and a moment later killed the approaching guard with a throwing axe to his forehead. Gunnar went ahead with several warriors. It was an open slaughterhouse, with gore and body parts everywhere on the ground. Most merchants were unarmed, and those who were armed did not provide decent resistance.

However, the guards regrouped and threatened to cause serious damage to the Vikings. They had the advantage in numbers. Something important is happening here today, when so many guards are present Beren thought bitterly. He chose the 'right day' for his little feat. Arne and several whose names he did not know already perished by enemy arrows fired from the walls. Beren had no choice but to organize a shield wall and resist until Gunnar manage to open the gates to let the rest of raiders in. And he did it, even though he paid it with his own life. He received three arrows in back as he turned the mechanism to open the doors. He collapsed shortly after the deed was done.

After the bulk of raiders entered the port led by Guðrøðr and surrounded the remaining Britons, everything was quickly over. They lined survivors and split their heads open with axes. Nobody was spared. Beren did not personally participate in that massacre, but he did not even try to stop it. He had more important things in mind.
When he met Guðrøðr who was just cleaning brains from his axe, he asked how Ragnarr managed to approach to a place like this unoticed and loot it with even fewer forces than his three hundred, he responded "He used a trick. We pretended we are merchants." and laughed with a laugh that resembled thunder. Beren shook his head in disbelief. Guðrøðr obviously did not consider this to be an important information, as he forgot to mention it earlier. What is far worse, the same port has been sacked in a single decade by the same trick. Twice.

The very next day they cut the castle from all directions and prepared for a lengthy siege. Dover was on a remote location so probably no one will notice it before it is too late. Beren decided to go one step further than Ragnarr. If I want to be the greatest, I will have to always make a step more than the greats.

 

[DumBMan]

Kent has fallen, or should I say has been sacked. Clever thinking from Beren pretending to be a merchant, but one thing I don't understand very well or maybe I just misread it. He said they were merchants from Genoa, and later on in the chapter it's noted that Ragnar sacked that place a decade ago or something. So Saxons weren't unfamiliar with the Vikings, and I wonder how they didn't recognise them?

Other than that, humble beginnings, I dare say. Good choice with the province, I presume you got a handful of gold with that one.

 

[Knight of Avalon]

Kent has fallen, or should I say has been sacked. Clever thinking from Beren pretending to be a merchant, but one thing I don't understand very well or maybe I just misread it. He said they were merchants from Genoa, and later on in the chapter it's noted that Ragnar sacked that place a decade ago or something. So Saxons weren't unfamiliar with the Vikings, and I wonder how they didn't recognise them?

Other than that, humble beginnings, I dare say. Good choice with the province, I presume you got a handful of gold with that one.

*Not yet. Beren and the Co just arrived there. How long will they stay and will they succeed, I can't tell.
*I'm glad you asked. You see, it is a running gag in this chapter. It is supposed to be funny. Legendary Ragnarr Lothbrok sacked the place by pretending to be a merchant and Beren unintentionally does it the same way just a decade later.
*They did not recognised them because they arrived in a merchant galleon, wearing robes specific for the Mediterranean. Most of the warriors were hidden at the ship, as they waited for Beren's orders to attack. And as it was crowded there, only one guard was able to check them up. We all know how that ended.

 

[DumBMan]

*Not yet. Beren and the Co just arrived there. How long will they stay and will they succeed, I can't tell.
*I'm glad you asked. You see, it is a running gag in this chapter. It is supposed to be funny. Legendary Ragnarr Lothbrok sacked the place by pretending to be a merchant and Beren unintentionally does it the same way just a decade later.
*They did not recognised them because they arrived in a merchant galleon, wearing robes specific for the Mediterranean. Most of the warriors were hidden at the ship, as they waited for Beren's orders to attack. And as it was crowded there, only one guard was able to check them up. We all know how that ended.

Sly dog, you just edited your chapter so it seems I am wrong and you are right. Jokes aside, I reread the chapter and everything is clear to me now. Don't you worry, sir!

Anyway, it seems that Ragnar can be at peace in Valhalla, as he likely has a successor down on Earth.

 

[iain_a_wilson]

Good choice of province to sack - I look forward to seeing how things expand.