Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 7 The Long Journey

Upon learning that Borg had fled without regard for his reputation, Ragnar and his two sons intended to pursue him, but were stopped by King Eric.

“Ragnar, we are about to launch the largest raid in history and need your help to guide us. How about this, I and six other noble families will jointly fund a bounty of twenty pounds of silver on Borg’s head, what do you think?”

Eric's tone appeared to be a negotiation, but it revealed an undeniable air of authority. The other six noble families did not waste any words and silently stood behind Eric, collectively putting pressure on Ragnar.

Faced with this predicament, Ivar was the first to calm down. "Father will go to Britain with you. Bjorn and I will take a few men and continue the pursuit. Even if Borg hides in Jotunheim, I will find him and kill him!"

After saying that, he turned to face the group of shield guards, "Is there anyone willing to hunt down that scoundrel?"

The event happened so suddenly that everyone hesitated, but Vig suddenly had a whim and said, "Count me in."

They discovered that some unremarkable individuals had volunteered, and the remaining Shield Guards also expressed their willingness to go east, eventually forming a ten-person pursuit team.

After traveling to many places, Ivar finally learned of Borg's whereabouts in Stockholm. He discovered that the man had sailed to Rus' land three days earlier, and couldn't help but sneer.

"Well, it actually hid in someone else's territory. What a cunning prey."

After selling their horses, Ivar and his party sailed east to the mouth of the Neva River (the site of later St. Petersburg), and traveled upstream along the Neva River to a village on the shore of Lake Ladoga.

The village is surrounded by a two-person-high oak fence, inside which sit many semi-subterranean wooden houses with a few snow remnants on their thatched roofs, and the muddy paths are covered with sled tracks and hoofprints.

Vig inquired around and learned that the local crops were rye and barley, and due to the harsh climate, the yields were similar to those in Northern Europe. In order to improve their impoverished lives, some people chose to go into business, buying furs, amber, and slaves, and selling them in Constantinople along the intricate river network of Eastern Europe, thus seeking high profits.

After wandering around for a while, a bad feeling began to creep into his heart. Could it be that the target he was chasing had not stopped here, but continued to flee south?

As evening fell, the pursuit team gathered in the open space in front of the lord's longhouse. Ivar, with a grim face, delivered some bad news: "Brothers, take out all the money you have. We have a long way to go."

Clearly, Vig's conjecture came true; the journey had only just begun, and he was about to take a trip to Constantinople.

During this period, the Vikings' route to Constantinople was roughly as follows: via the Neva River into Lake Ladoga, through the Volkhov and Dnieper river systems to the Black Sea, and finally along the western coastline to Constantinople.

To prepare for the long journey ahead, Ivar found a merchant to travel with him. The latter, named Rurik, was a Viking who had spent most of his life in Eastern Europe. He was tall and strong, with messy light red hair, and looked like a formidable warrior.

Before their departure, Rurik patiently advised his new companions, "The environment of the Eastern European steppes is different from that of the North Sea. For the sake of your lives, I hope you will heed my advice."

After a brief encounter, Ivar realized that Rurik was a ruthless character and nodded. "It's fine. You can do whatever you want on the journey. We'll part ways after we arrive in Constantinople. We won't stop you from making money, and you shouldn't stop us from killing people."

Having acquired enough white fox pelts and amber, Rurik announced the departure. Including himself and his four attendants, there were a total of fifteen passengers on board, all of them strong and capable men. Seven oarsmen were arranged on each side, while Rurik himself steered the ship from the stern.

Under his control, the cargo ship sailed along a river to the shores of Lake Ilmen, where there was a town called Novgorod, a trading center between the Rus' and the Vikings. The streets were bustling with people, and the cries of merchants filled the air.

Seeing this, Rurik stretched and exhaled a cold breath. "Rest for two days. The journey ahead will be tough." Two days passed, and the cargo ship continued south along the river, eventually anchoring at a shallow shoal.

"What's going on?" Vig turned to look at the stern and saw Rurik dismantling the rudder and instructing his men to remove the sails.

Not long after, Rurik called everyone ashore and told them that they would need to tow the boats on land, instructing them to cut down trees and build a sliding track.

Clearly, this was an extremely difficult task. To prevent the hull from wearing down, logs needed to be laid on the bottom of the ship to form a sliding track (similar to a railway track).

During the movement, some people drag the ropes in front, while the rest need to move the logs from the back to the bow of the boat, and so on.

Vig had only one feeling about this—exhaustion.

I get up at six every morning, hurriedly eat breakfast, and start working. I take a short break at noon and then work until evening. The daily distance is only four kilometers, which is like a tortoise crawling. Sometimes, when we encounter steep slopes, we even need to use pulleys and ropes to hoist the cargo ship up.

The only fortunate thing was that Ivar, Nils, and others were top-notch hunters who were always able to catch all kinds of prey along the way. Thanks to the ample nutrition, Vig's body did not completely collapse from exhaustion.

After an unknown amount of time, just as his mind began to go numb, the view before him suddenly opened up.

Under the spring sunshine, at the end of the lush and verdant grassland, a flat and wide river flows quietly, and flocks of birds circle and dance above the river, as if congratulating everyone on completing this arduous journey.

"This is the Dnieper River? Heavens above, it's finally over."

Vig rushed to the bank, staring blankly at his disheveled reflection in the river. Then he raised his calloused hands, feeling a sense of relief at surviving a close call.

After reassembling the rudder, everyone worked together to push the cargo ship into the river. Then, one by one, they collapsed inside the ship, feeling the gentle rocking of the water. All their worries vanished, and they felt that everything in the world was so beautiful.

Let them enjoy this leisure time in peace. Rurik cleared his throat. "Brothers, uh, actually we still need to tow the ships seven more times."

Seven times!

Seven times sailing on dry land!

Vig finally snapped. "Why would a cargo ship need to stop ashore midway into the Black Sea if it's going to sail down the Dnieper River? Are you kidding me?!"

Besides him, Ivar and others couldn't help but curse as well. They had been working from dawn till dusk these past few days, working harder than animals.

“Calm down, it’s not that I’m trying to make things difficult for you,” Rurik quickly explained. “There are seven sections of the Dnieper River with very rapid currents. No one dares to sail in those areas; they have to go ashore and go around them. Once you see the dangers, you’ll understand my predicament.”

(End of this chapter)