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Raevil and
Vertin were instantly in a procession to the Kingsdocks where the King
had already been laid out in his best armor on a bed of silk in the
middle of his drakkar. In the hold and on the deck were tuns of 'viess,
barrels of salted herring, haunches of tender venison, and trinkets
made of gold, silver and studded with jewels. The entire ship was
doused in thin layer of oil to catch blaze at the slightest spark.
Both brothers said one last goodbye to the old man and
each of the gathered nobles paid a final tribute, then the ship was
towed out to the mouth of the small river and released. As the towing
ship turned to head back for land it imparted one final gift to the
elder King; a flaming arrow was fired from the ship into the heart of
the King's drakkar, setting it ablaze. The gathered witnesses shouted
one more hail to the King, watched it drift for a moment, then returned
to the castle.
They retired to the parlour of the large castle and over
several bottles of 'vine and tuns of 'viess they reminisced about the
lost king. Raevil spent the night speaking to old friends, while Gripir
spoke to several known allies quickly and excused himself for the
night. Raevil, Vertin and the last of the nobles wander off to bed
early in the morning well before sunrise.
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Deep in the
night, Raevil is awakened by a rough shake. He wakes quickly to see
Heris, one of his father's servants standing over him. The old man
looks worried and tells Raevil that he must escape quickly, Gripir is
planning to kill him. Before Raevil can ask for an explination the door
bursts open. In the doorway stands Vertin covered in blood and holding
a sword. He says he was attacked and heard two more attacks happen as
he travelled the halls. The Kingsguard is roaming the halls killing the
nobles.
Raevil and Vertin allow themselves to be led through
hidden corridors and out of the castle to their ship. At a prearranged
signal, the warriors aboard the ship ambush the unprepared guard around
the dock. Raevil and Vertin slip onto the ship and they escape into the
night. No attempt to chase is made by the warriors of the castle, and
they have an uneventful trip home.
Behind them in Vikare, as they will come to know from
norse who escape the isle and the tyrannical King Gripir, Raevil's
brother annouces to the people that Raevil and his friends led an
unsuccessful attack against Gripir and have paid with their lives. He
assumes the throne since there are no heirs to challenge him. He begins
his reign by drafting all men under the age of 30 into his army and
seizing all ships to add to his military armada.
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