Valla
entered Boxt’s room with a sense of urgency, “Does you father have dealings
with Gunnbjörn the Slayer?”
“What?”
“Does your father have dealings with Gunnbjörn the
Slayer?”
“I would not know, why?”
“Rumors aplenty have are surfacing that Strom has
struck an agreement with the Slayer.”
“Who is this Slayer that you speak of, and why is
this of such grand interest?”
“Gunnbjörn is the most ruthless bastard ever to set
sail is all. Word has it that he will
assist Strom in his little revolt.”
“I am sorry if this is true, but why is Gunnbjörn so
feared?”
“Gunnbjörn the Slayer was a Rus Chieftain known the
world over for his seafairing prowress and his guile. He had helped Oda of Neustria defend Gaul when
it was besieged by Siegfried and his men.
Odo later became the Count of Paris and his offspring still rule to this
day. In return for defending the city
against Siegfried, Odo gave Gunnbjörn funds to raise an army in a n attempt to
usurp the Rus crown from Björn the Hairy.
Gunnbjörn’s army was soundly walloped by the King’s countless forces and
he was now the anointed leader of a mere dozen men or so. Gunnbjörn took his men to the seas for
good. Despondent, they hadn’t set foot
on land unless necessary since then.
They became pirates, their only purpose is to steal the booty that other
Vikings have stolen or the goods and foods of merchants. Gunnbjörn and his men viciously attack and
flay their victims. He seems to enjoy
this which earned him his name—the Slayer.
To some he is also known as the Emancipator because he offers the slaves
of other ships their freedom and their lives if they agree to fight by his
side. And so as his men die off, they
continue to respawn becoming seemingly immortal. They are an exorbitant crew of cunning killers
and marauders knowing only the sea, they ignore all viking laws and codes. They are impossible to track, the only clues
that Gunnbjörn the Slayer leaves behind are the burning dragon boats sinking in
his wake. The sea is a perfect place for
his clandestine actions. The Danes, Rus,
and even us Norwegians have bounties for his had, he no longer has any
affiliation for any nation or king, he attacks all that are presented before
him. The Slayer has no cryptic motives,
he has a bloodlust. He is only worried
about destroying all in his way. He is a
beast with no home, a beast with no honor.”
“I do not wish to contradict you, good general, but
how is this Slayer any special from all other rebels?”
“Because Gunnbjörn the Slayer died at the hands of
Björn the Hairy. It seems that he has
been rejected by Valhalla and Niflheim doomed to Midgard for eternity. He will surely destroy our fleet.”
“Bah! A ghost
story.”
“You should never doubt what you do not know about,”
snapped Valla as he exited the room disgusted with Boxt’s disbelief.
###
More Greatest Evil
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