What's in it for us?

?And why should we listen to you?? You ask as you pull out your sword from Agder?s carcass.

While bloody, only a small number of Norrvalr died in the raid and less than a handful of your shipmates lost their lives in the fight. But there was no doubt who won the battle as your kinsmen had their blades to the throats of your foes with all of them either bound or held fast by your crewmen. Despite the hatred shown before, you are quite confident that you could extract oaths of loyalty from these Norrvalr warriors and add a ship to your possessions.

?We too hated that bastard Agder!? The Norrvalr?s spokesman said. ?Spare us and we will swear ourselves to the warriors of Vejlbjorg.?

?You are quick to denounce your master,? Harek said, eyeing the speaker. ?Yet you sail with him and raise swords in his name.?

?We had ****!? Said the Norrvalr. ?The dog Adger ordered raids on our own settlements and the Norrvalr Jarldom rose against him and sank his fleet. We were the only survivors.?

?We would have killed him then but Agder said he knew of a land we could flee too,? he continued. ?Our kinfolk called for our lives whether or not we slew our chief so we went with him.?

?What is your name Norrvalr?? You ask, walking towards the prisoner.

?Eyvald,? he answered.

?Well Eyvald,? You say. ?That?s a sad story but it still doesn?t give me any reason to spare you.?

?We have treasure below decks!? Eyvald blurted out. ?Agder fled with his valuables before we ran and by rights it is yours! We?ll even serve you as your loyal crewmen Brand Arngrimsson!?

?Your reputation precedes you,? Harek smirked. ?Do you believe this dog??

?Let?s see what?s down below first,? you say.

?Don?t hurt yourself,? Harek reminds you as you go under the longship?s central tent.

Under the tarp, you see a hatch and quickly pull it?s handle open. Walking down a short stairway, you hunch over in a cramp space that?s too dark to see anything.

?Light me a torch!? You call out.

A lit torch comes through the hole and you wave it against the darkness. What?s revealed makes your eyes grow wide. The hold was filled with jewel stuffed sacks, Khalistani Dinars, Valerian gold talents, weapons and artifacts of every kind. It was all topped off with a naked olive-skinned woman, bound by her hands and feet, laying among the treasures.