Rise of Rurik

The huge sled team ran wild on the ice, and Rurik was amazed by the size of this lake of hills.

Although it is April, the breath of spring seems to have no connection with this place. The ice layer of Torna Lake is still very thick, and the lakeside is also covered with thick white snow, and there is white rime everywhere.

Of course, everyone hopes to find a way out of the mountains on the day they arrive at the lake, but this lake is too slender.

It took them almost a day to find another frozen stream, but just below the ice, the stream was trickling.

People are forced to camp again in the pine forest, and the excitement of the day has been sapped too much by the snow and ice. They had no regrets, because the path to Balmerk was just around the corner.

At night, the clear air appears starry and devastated, and emerald-green lasers of elusive shapes flicker and change rapidly.

The Balmers have long been tired of such magnificent scenery. They naturally describe it as the parade of the Valkyries, which is probably nothing more than that.

On the other hand, the Rus people, because the "ascension" of the old priest Veria was promoted to the Valkyrie, people are more and more looking forward to seeing the magnificent aurora, because it is the memory of the honorable deceased, and even the whole old days.

On a new day, the sun shines on this white world, and the golden light forces everyone to wear sunglasses again.

Rurik stood on his house sleigh, raising his right arm and roaring sharply: "The last journey is now, let's keep going!"

His roar was almost drowned out by the wind. Seeing that his leader was so excited, everyone cheered up immediately.

Compared with going up the hill, going down is quick and convenient, especially in this period of thick snow.

The reindeer herds were driven by whips, and the sled team moved fast, just as the numerous ruts of the sleds converged on the descending slope into a compacted ice road.

At first, the Balmerk loggers, who noticed the noise, vigilantly halted their work, when the bearded fellow and his young son with a rattan basket noticed it was too late.

They fled instinctively, and suddenly heard a thick male voice calling: "Don't be afraid, we are also Balmers!"

It was the Balmerk mercenary in Rurik who was yelling, and a roar stopped the misunderstanding.

The logging father and son were surprised,

They saw a flag hanging on a sleigh with a shack on its back, which was clearly the flag of the Rus.

The father and son were still surprised when Rurik took Noren's hand and walked out.

Noren, she gently took off her warm white velvet cap with a smile on her face.

The Balmerk tribe has a large population. Apart from knowing the faces of some family leaders, Noren is naturally blind to ordinary people.

However, the biological father who was promoted to king has already made himself a countess, and the father and son in front of him are his subjects.

Noren took a deep breath, raised his delicate chin and said proudly: "Ordinary person! Me! Noren Magnodot, your new leader! Now, I'm back in Balmerk."

It's Noren! Magnute's beautiful little daughter!

This is the first time that the logging father and son have seen the precious daughter of the old leader Magnute so closely. Many people thought that naming their daughter in the name of the goddess was an overstep. image.

Noren's clothes are pure white, the color of pure snow. Her golden hair and fair face reveal peace. The glass and amber pendants on her clothes show what is noble.

The scene was a little weird. Noren took a deep breath and stretched out his hand like her father: "Ordinary people, give me a warrior salute!"

No, Rurik saw the woodcuttering father and son really put the axe on the ground and bowed down to the warrior salute.

"That's it." Rurik clapped his hands vigorously: "I am Rurik! Rurik, Duke of Ross, I came according to last year's agreement, although it was a little late."

With such a language, the father and son of the somewhat ignorant loggers all came to their senses.

The old guy with a big beard had a happy face, and everyone who decided to stay behind preferred to be ruled by Rurik of Ross rather than to make Noren the leader.

"It turned out to be Lord Rurik. Wow! What a strong team."

The bold culture of men made Rurik interested, and he asked: "It must be not far to go to your place of residence?"

"Go past this wood and you'll see everything," said the logger.

"Okay." Rurik threw a silver coin at random, waved his hand again, and ordered the follow-up team to move on.

The scale of this pine forest is not large. When everyone left the forest, the whole world suddenly opened up.

Rurik saw the vast Atlantic Ocean, and it was wonderful to see the ocean at this high altitude. And under the hills is the huge Narvik Bay, which is a large and small fjord, and there are various houses in it. Ask yourself, compared to the fjords of Roseburg, the home of the Balmers does have more room for development. For example, many nearshore flatlands are good places for grazing.

Unfortunately, the sea is obviously full of waves, but the coast is still covered with ice and snow.

The North Atlantic warm current lives up to its reputation, but it is in a little ice age, and it can't make the entire Narvik Gulf thaw in April.

It is for this reason that Rurik is not worried about returning to Fort Elrond at the earliest in mid-May. After all, even if the sea is thawed, there will be ice floes all over the sea, and the land, especially the vast land in the north, will not wait until the ice and snow. Complete ablation will have to wait until the summer solstice.

Because the new settlements of the Rus people such as Fort Elrond and Fort Fisk are completely in the Arctic Circle.

Theoretically, Rurik did not dare to waste any time in Balmerque.

The arrival of the Ross bobsled team was not expected by the Balmers, but when they arrived victoriously, the people who stayed behind were mobilized on the spot. The good news spread so quickly that a large number of people rowed to the sled team's assembly area.

It was almost evening. Because the Ross sled team was too obvious, many people in Balmerk had already noticed this situation and were already gathering spontaneously.

Noren got off the sleigh lightly and stepped on the thick snow-covered land in his hometown again.

The assembly place was deliberately chosen by Rurik near the old chief's mansion. From now on, the ownership of Magnut's old mansion was officially transferred to Noren.

Thousands of Balmerks came together with smiles and chattered towards Rurik. They seemed to have more than 10,000 words to say.

And when a group of short, black-haired Tavastiya women got off the sleigh, the surprise of the people instantly turned into low-pitched murmurs.

Everyone quickly realized that this was the so-called trophy, and it was the woman who was to be returned to the Balmers.

Rurik's mercenaries beat their shields for a while, and then the noisy crowd gradually quieted down.

Standing high, he shouted at the top of his voice, announcing his major decision very frankly and simply.

"I am Rurik of Rus! I am the husband of Noren, Countess of Balmerk! I am the support you can rely on! Now I declare that the Duchy of Rus has the right to administer the entire Narvik Fjord, and all those who do not want to leave The Balmers must honor the rule of me and Noren!"

Several very critical pieces of information Rurik almost shouted out. In fact, the Balmers were not only mentally prepared for these things, but also discussed these things in the past six months.

Originally, Rurik was worried that someone would come out to oppose it, but he found that people were just whispering, and it seemed that there was no opposition at all.

When it was, a middle-aged man walked out.

"It's you, Chief Blingo!" Noren asked with a hint of excitement and surprise, "Looking at your face, are you planning to stay here?"

"You guessed it right. Noren, I knew about you last year." The middle-aged man named Bringoethe glanced at Noren and said a few words before turning his face towards Rurik again: "Lord Duke of Ross, on behalf of my family, I solemnly announce that I will not leave. I support your rule, but I insist on the girl Noren as our leader, unless you and her can have a boy. This boy will get everyone's attention. admit."

It was entirely within Rurik's expectations that this person could say that.

Speaking of this Bringoethe, Rurik used his brain to remember that the family sent troops to participate in the expedition last year during the expedition to Britain.

"I remember a warrior named Björn Bringgoldson, who must be your son." Rurik asked.

"That's my second son, but the second son can't inherit the family business. I don't think this fjord is a bad place, my second son wants an expedition. He is already in Britain with the man who is determined to emigrate, and I will bring With the rest of the family, acknowledge your rule."

Things went way better than I thought! Rurik was delighted that what he preached to them last year was really the right thing to do.

It was already evening, and the setting sun and twilight should have made people lazy, but what Rurik saw was the enthusiasm of everyone.

Rurik continued: "If you are loyal to me, then you should know that the result of your loyalty is that you will become a member of the Rus. You will also forever be separated from the Kingdom of York established by the Balmers in Britain."

This old Blingoethe looked indifferent, and said bluntly: "There are still many people like me."

After a while, a few old soldiers with a beard stood up, and they reported that their family was actually a big family with a lot of local people.

After all, everyone has their own aspirations, and the Narvik Fjord is not really useless because of its rich fishing resources. These left-behind people are not really afraid of the unexpected world of the fjords and refuse to leave. They are more optimistic about Britain, or they are simply inconvenient to express their opposition to the old Magnut's leadership. Opinion.

Rurik, Duke of Ross, is a young man who dares to fight and is always victorious. Such a promising hero is most sought after by everyone.

No one was really obsessed with the concept of "Balmerk", and the old guys who stood up represented their families, stunned to kneel on one knee in public to salute Rurik.

The radical also announced: "A winter of thinking is over. Now that my family has figured it out, please treat us as Russ in the future. We only recognize Rurik as our leader."

Because Balmerk is not a nation at all, going back to the roots, the ancestors of Ross and Balmerk all immigrated to Scandinavia from Jutland at the same time. Not so long that the language is the same.

Rurik got off the sleigh excitedly, and personally helped the old men who expressed their submission.

As a newcomer, he never expected that he had just arrived at the core settlement of the Balmers, and he was basically supported as soon as he got off the sleigh.

Such a favorable situation is imminent, no matter what purpose they announced to join Ross, they did ask to join, and as the Duke of Ross, it is natural not to hurt the hearts of this group of admirers.

Although things were developing too fast, Rurik couldn't care about his own rest, and in the leader's court, he received all the left-behind leaders in the attitude of the supreme leader of Balmer, and reiterated Ross's attitude. , and even follow-up arrangements.

This is no longer a public lecture at dusk, but for the left-behind elites, Rurik convened a meeting on the future of the people left behind in the entire fjord.

At the beginning, the meeting was still lively and lively, and the participants were all proclaiming their determination to join Ross, as well as their loyalty to Lord Rurik.

After some polite remarks, Rurik also listed the goods he had brought in public, and poked his head in surprise, looking greedy as if he wanted to take it quickly.

"They're all yours. Now I'm wondering, it looks like Magnut's fleet hasn't arrived yet. Who of you can know when they'll arrive?"

The Blingoede said bluntly: "Perhaps only God knows when they will arrive. Your lord, the women you sent are destined to go to Britain, and we cannot get them, but our young men who are determined to stay want wives. You said last year. Yes, if you are a mercenary, you will have a chance to get a wife, you...will keep your promise."

Rurik was stunned for a moment, thinking that the words of this group of guys are direct, and there is no subtlety in asking women.

He ignored Noren's presence, and smirked with an old man's face: "Of course! It is my responsibility to arrange wives for my brothers who are loyal to me."

"That's great. Some of the cubs in my family have the strength to be your mercenary, and you are their great benefactor."

"Really? Be serious and tell me, Blingoethe, how many men can your family provide. Whether married or not, the youth who can take up arms are counted. How many?"

"This..." Bringoethe instinctively became vigilant, but still pinched his fingers and said: "At least twenty people. There are other people who are willing to stand up in the name of my family."

Rurik's smirk had turned serious, and the speed at which he changed his face was unpredictable. "Can there be fifty people?"

"Probably yes."

"So what do you think if I let most of them go to Ross?"

"If they are all mercenaries for you, I have no opinion. I am an old father, and an old father cannot restrain an ambitious son. For example... I heard that the old duke of Ross has bravely put the power Leaving it with you. You are indeed a hero."

Rurik shook his head, then stood up and paced in front of the crowd: "I don't want to listen to flattery anymore, and I won't say anything else. To tell you the truth, I will be crusade against the enemy in the far east in the summer, which may be dangerous. Enemies, defeating them will bring great honor and rich spoils. I am here not only to declare together with Noron to be your ruler! As a ruler, I will naturally bring you together to make a fortune. You are all honorable man, please tell me, how many men can you come up with?"

They looked at each other and could not help discussing it in a low voice, entirely because the question was so sudden and even abrupt.

Rurik deliberately waited for a while, then clapped his hands again: "It's not difficult to organize five hundred warriors, right? It would be great if you could organize a thousand people!"

"Please allow us to think about it." Blingoede said cautiously.

Rurik waved his hand: "I'll give you time. I know that some of you are going to Britain, and you will be evacuating soon. These Tavastian women are handed over to you, and they should belong to you. As for me, my men and I camped there and rested. Hopefully tomorrow I can see a team assembled."