章 27: Earning Loyalty
Thorfinn opened his eyes and groaned as he realised his cock was engulfed in the warm wet mouth of Hild who was on her hands and knees by his waist bobbing her head up and down. This had been the best sleep he had had since he stayed at Bebbenburg, even though he was new to this land Hild had done a good job in making it seem like his home. She was relentless in her efforts to pleasure him and moved her mouth off his cock to give attention to his large balls, trying to coax out his seed. Thorfinn who was still half awake stroked Hild's head pushing her further onto him. She happily obliged and took one of his balls into her mouth while she rapidly pumped his shaft, the feeling was soon becoming overwhelming and Thorfinn grunted before shooting large ropes of his seed over her face and into her open mouth.
Hild kept stroking his shaft as she suckled on the head of his cock making sure to clean it of any remnants of his seed. "Good morning lord," Hild said with a smile as she pushed himself up from his legs.
Thorfinn smiled at her "Call me by my name Hild, I hoped we'd be close enough for that familiarity," he said as he pushed himself up on his arms and rubbed his eyes.
"Very well Thorfinn, I have cooked your morning meal when you are ready to eat it," Hild said as she crawled off the bed. As he watched her backside he was treated to the image of Arwyn who was sat in a chair by his bedside wearing a nightdress gifted to her by Hild, though it hung a little loose on her allowing him to see her nipples.
"Arwyn, is everything well?" He asked as he sat up in bed letting his feet hang off the side.
"Yes lord," she said with a smile as she looked at him with her usual intensity. He didn't know how long she had been sat that, but it wouldn't surprise him if she had been there most of the night.
"Are you hungry Thorfinn?" Hild asked as she pulled a gown over her head.
Thorfinn nodded "We should all eat, there is much we need to do today," He said as he stood up. The glance at Arwyn had stirred his loins again but he pushed it down and started to get dressed before following Hild out into the main hall. Blaeja seemed to already be awake and ready as reading a book, she smiled at them all as they came into the hall and sat down.
"Hild have the people who live in the village all returned?" He asked.
Hild nodded "Mostly, some believed this land to be cursed forever but a lot of them had nowhere else to go," she replied.
"Good then I want you to gather them for me, I need to speak to them all," Thorfinn instructed as he was given a bowl of porridge.
"Of course Thorfinn, though I shall warn you that as a stranger to them and someone younger than them, they may not respond well to you," Hild advised.
Thorfinn shrugged "I doubt any of them have any real fighting experience beyond the occasional raid, I should be able to handle them if they try anything," he assured her. If he couldn't then Arwyn would be there to back him up.
"Blaeja, Hild is going to continue helping you learn our language, when you're done I want you to help Arwyn," he requested.
"I can do that, though I hope it'll be fine if I can explore the land?" She asked.
Thorfinn nodded "This is your home now, you can go as you please but be careful," he warned. Predators in the forest were not the only thing a person needed to worry about.
"Arwyn I want you to keep practising the sword swings I taught you, you have the makings of a great shieldmaiden and it would be a waste not to use that," He said looking at the Blonde girl who hadn't taken her eyes off him since he had awoken.
"Yes lord," she said nodding her head rapidly.
Thorfinn nodded his head before going back to his breakfast. As they ate he considered what they should get to first, he had already decided to deal with the farming issue, but in truth, he was confused by the various constructions that were described in his books. He would need to wait until Floki was here and could teach him before he attempted to construct a 'Water Screw', but when he did he could supply water not only to all the farms but also to the houses which would be a great boon. For now, he would focus on what he could deal with and that was the Iron mine, it had a lot of ore inside of it; Hild informed him that her father sold the ore, but he didn't bother to smelt the ore himself which would've gotten him more coin, but it was a hassle to do.
Once Hild had finished her breakfast she stood up and got ready before leaving to gather the villagers. He needed the same loyalty they gave Hestein and the same loyalty that Ragnar commanded from his own people. This was going to be challenging, he had never been in a position like this before, and Elijah hadn't seen fit to teach him how to lead men. The one advantage he had was he knew what they'd be like, they followed strength. The men who stayed on farms such as these were not the ambitious types, they would join occasional raids but were more comfortable tending to crops than fighting with a blade. If he made their lives better then he would earn their loyalty over time, make sure they had food and that they were safe and he could count on them to fight for him.
...
Thorfinn had to admit he felt a little nervous when he left his house and approached the crowd that had gathered in front. A lot of the men there were in the older end of their midlife, but there were a few of them who were around Thorfinn age and above. There was one who stood out as he was a head and shoulders taller than the rest of them and had the muscle to go with it. Arywn kept to his side as he approached Hild and looked out at the crowd. "I'm sure many of you don't know me," he said in a clear voice.
"We know you," One of the older men said before Thorfinn could continue.
"Hild tells us you were the one to banish the Draugr from these lands," he continued.
"What is your name my friend?" Thorfinn asked the older man.
"I am Storri, I have lived on these lands since Hestein was a babe," He replied.
"Then I hope you'll show the same loyalty to me," Thorfinn said.
"If what Hild says is true then you have more than earned the right to these lands, I only ask you take care of them well and do not take too much of the crop," he said giving Thorfinn a nod of recognition, one that the others seemed to mirror.
"This is such horseshit!" The largest man growled out.
"Magni hold your tongue!" Storri shouted at the younger man.
"Look at him Grandfather, he is barely away from his mother's teat and he expects us to kneel to him as our lord, I refuse! We should farm these lands and keep it all to ourselves!" He shouted out with only a few muttering in agreement.
Before Storri could discipline his grandson Thorfinn stepped forward. "You believe me to be too weak to be your lord?" He asked as he stepped up to him.
Thorfinn only reached up to Magni's chest so the man laughed and looked down on him. "You are too weak to be anyone's lord let alone mine!" He shouted.
"Then why did you not slay the Draugr?" Thorfinn said as a ghost of a smile crept upon his face.
"Why did you run away instead of slaying the monster and claiming this land?" Thorfinn continued.
Magni could only stand there in utter humiliation as Thorfinn brought to light his shame. None of the men standing before Thorfinn tried to fight, they all ran away. "I am a generous lord, so I will give you the opportunity to have your way," Thorfinn said as he moved back. He gestured to Arwyn who ran back inside the house only to appear a moment later with two swords in their sheaths.
Thorfinn took one of the swords and threw it to the large man's feet "If you think I'm weak pick it up and fight, whoever lives can be the lord."
Thorfinns confidence gave Magni pause, he trusted in his strength but the rumours about Thorfinn made his hand stop as he reached for the sword. Everyone here knew he had come back from the West with Ragnar with various riches. "Don't be stupid boy!" Storri shouted at him slapping the back of his head as he went to go and grab the sword.
Magni took the opportunity his grandfather gave him and stood up crossing his arms as he did. "Are there any more who wish to speak out against me?" Thorfinn said to them, none of them replied so he decided to continue.
"You have nothing to worry about when it comes to my plans, I will not leave you hungry, nor will I leave you unprotected. In fact, I plan to make life better for all of us, better houses, more food and a wall that will surround our home."
"All I ask is for your loyalty and your help in making these plans a reality," Thorfinn stated.
"What do you need for us to do Lord?" Storri asked.
"We need to have better tools and equipment, do any of you have any smithing experience?" Thorfinn asked.
"I used to smith for Hesteins father, and a few of us have experience melting down the iron ore from the mine, but the furnaces are in disrepair and we'd need to make new ones," Storri explained.
"I'll need a few of you to come to the mine with me, there shouldn't be anything there but predators may have made it their home since it's disuse," Thorfinn said to them. He could see a few of them were nervous at the prospect but they didn't outwardly defy him. Hopefully, he could get the mine starting today and start smelting the ore, they didn't need to do much with the ingots now but it would be useful to have a stockpile.
"Hild, can you handle the farming while I am gone?" He asked.
"Of course Thorfinn," she replied.
"Take Blaeja with you, I doubt she knows much about farming but she might provide some insight," He told her to which she nodded and walked over to some of the other women.
"Let's go," he told the others.
...
The cave wasn't too far away from the main house which explained how Hestein was able to protect it as well as he had. There were a few wooden houses outside the large cave opening as well as four clay furnaces that were set up four to five metres apart. "Storri can you handle repairing the furnaces while we go inside," he asked and the older man nodded gesturing to a few of his friends.
Meanwhile, Thorfinn, Magni and two others who he'd learn were called Stalh and Erik walked into the mouth of the cave after lighting a torch from a supply that was kept nearby. Thorfinn kept his sword handy as he walked into the cave, he could see the exposed ore which was littered across the ceiling and walls. He could see a lot of dried blood on the ground which didn't surprise him too much as the Draugr had been taking bodies back into the cave for whatever vile reasons. "What if there's another one!" Stahl said in a panic as he walked behind Erik and Magni. He had been among the first to run away when the Draugr had appeared, it was only because he did not want to seem like a coward in front of his friends.
"If there was another one we would've known by now," Thorfinn said as he kept walking further into the cave.
"How deep does the system go?" Thorfinn asked Magni.
Magni shrugged "There are parts too small for us to pass through so we do not know," He replied.
Thorfinn didn't know how long he walked with the others but eventually, his foot hit something. He looked down and saw a pick axe on the ground, after turning another corner the torch illuminated a chamber that he had only heard about from Hild. "Gods what is this place," Eric said as he moved the torch across the chamber. However, as he did the light illuminated various bodies that were littered across the ground, all of them mutilated and torn to pieces. The three men that accompanied Thorfinn emptied their stomachs on the ground at the sight, but Thorfinn continued and walked inside the chamber stepping over the bodies and looking at the sarcophagi. He felt a little nervous when looking at the unopened sarcophagi as he had to consider the possibility of more Draugr existing within. "Stay away from the coffins, don't touch them," Thorfinn instructed the others.
The most prominent object in the room however was the large stone door. Thorfinn was in awe of it, it was even bigger than the outer gates of Bebbenburg, but it had intricate carvings and runes inscribed. One thing Thorfinn noticed was there were no handles, nothing that would assist in opening the door; it was as if the door was designed not to be opened. He could see lots of scratches that made the doors seem to run through the middle, he deduced that it must've been the Draugr that left them as there was no blood and he doubted a normal person could even mark this door.
"This is a cursed place, we should seal it forever," Eric said as he kept his body near the exit.
"There is an evil lurking here..." Stahl said as he shivered from the coldness of the chamber.
Thorfinn agreed but he couldn't help but be curious at what was behind the stone door. 'The Draugr tried to open it, whatever was behind it must've been important...' he thought as he stepped closer to the doors. As he inspected the runes and inscriptions he came across a skeleton that was leaning against the corner of the door. It wore an armour he had never seen before, though it seemed to be ruined and in disrepair; what was more interesting was the journal on his lap. Thorfinn picked it up and opened it, he was disappointed to find that a lot of the writing was illegible, however, there were a few words that had stood the test of time. 'Why would a man who spoke Latin be so far from home,' Thorfinn thought with a frown. He looked at the only writing he could read before sighing as it didn't make sense to him.
'The Dawnguard is no more'
...
Thorfinn had spent a lot of time helping Storri and the others reconstruct the furnaces. He told them he would pay to get the homes here stocked with food and better furniture to entice volunteers to go back into the mines. He agreed that they should leave the tomb alone for now, nothing good had come from messing around with it before, but Thorfinn knew he would have to deal with it sooner or later.
He had spent the entire day at the mine and had come back home feeling exhausted. He had helped them cut down trees so they could get started in restocking their supply of charcoal. When he walked back into his home he walked into the main hall and collapsed into the chair; this was only the first day of what would be years of work to make his land better. "I'll get there one day..." he said to himself as he leaned his head back. He was brought out of his sleepiness when he felt hands caress his shoulder, he opened his eyes and saw Arwyn who smiled at him and began massaging his shoulders. "Are you well lord?" She asked.
"A long day... I am ready for my bed," he replied with a smile. Hild and Blaeja came in a couple of minutes later, the lower parts of their dresses and hands were covered in dirt and they were both smiling at each other while they spoke.
"How are the farms?" Thorfinn asked Hild.
"They are well, the villagers have done well in planting vegetables that will grow well in colder temperatures," she replied.
"Blaeja also provided some valuable insight into the proper spacing of the crops," she added.
Thorfinn smiled at them "Good, I want us to have a surplus of food this winter, take some silver and buy as much grain as possible, without a main crop for this winter we don't have proper winter stores," he instructed her.
Hild nodded before she started to prepare supper for everyone. Thorfinn wondered how long it would take for Floki to arrive, he wanted to talk with the man about their lessons, but more so he wanted his help in constructing a smithy. They would have to buy the metal needed from the smith in Kattegat, but anything that required wood would be able to be made by them. Once they had a smithy they would be able to make their own tools and weapons; Thorfinn's goal was to make his land self-sufficient as he didn't much like the Jarl and would rather not have to rely on Kattegat for supplies.
They would also be able to forge what was needed to make some of the new farming equipment that had been deceived in the book. The heavy plough seemed to be much more efficient in farming than the techniques they used, but they would have to build it fast or wait until next spring. 'All of this can wait,' he thought to himself. Soon Rebekah would be coming and he would finally be able to hold her again, nothing else was more important than that.
While Thorfinn ate he brought out a book he had been given by Blaeja 'The Book of Shadows'. He had been reading a section that pertained to empowering crystals and using them to enrich the soil of the land.
'Do I have magic?' He wondered as he looked at the words that needed to be spoken in order to pour magic into the crystals.
'There is no harm in trying,' he thought as he closed the book and finished dinner before standing up and saying goodnight to everyone. However, it wasn't too long before Hild and Arwyn followed him into his room dropping their dresses to the ground and climbing onto the bed naked.
After a long day of work, he very much appreciated the attention both women were giving him.
(AN: So Thorfinn is back and he's already making efforts to make his home better. But it's a challenge, while he reads and understands what is in the books he still doesn't know how to make it, which is where Floki will come in. He is a genius in construction and will be passing on his teachings to Thorfinn. Anyway o hope you enjoyed the chapter)
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