Thorfinn's brother (Vinland Saga)

Somewhere Not Here

They had been walking for hours when they finally came to a stop. A hill that oversaw the Franks battle field below. There was a brief pause in movement before a voice yelled out, "Thorfinn! Bo! You're up!" The two glanced at each other before walking forward to the man who called them.

Thorfinn and Bo were identical twins who, through heaven or hell, never left each other's side. They had shaggy blonde hair, a shorter stature than the average boy their age, but a strong build. The only difference between them was that Bo had blue eyes, taking after their mother, and Thorfinn had light brown eyes, taking after their father. But both boys had a glare that could kill.

When the brothers reached the front of the group they were met with Askeladd. "We're joining in. Send a message to the leader of the attacking army." He instructed. Askeladd was in his 40's with short blonde hair, and deceiving blue eyes. He wore a metal breast plate that he never seemed to take off.

"Listen carefully, this is our message:" Askeladd began, "'Your tactics are pitiful! They are a sigh to make one retch! Therefore, our band of warriors offers its aid. Consider this once in a life time opportunity wisely, for we will surely guide you to victory. All we ask in return is half the spoils of war on the day of the fortress fall. Resume the siege in the morn.'" He wore his classic evil smirk.

'He talked for so long I damn near fell asleep. If this doesn't go well it's his fault.' Bo thought bitterly.

"Once you've given them the message, remain among them and observed the tide of battle. Understood? Now, go." Askeladd finished with a wave of his hand. But Thorfinn and Bo didn't move. "What? I gave you an order." Askeladd said, more demanding this time. "Guarantee a reward for us." Thorfinn argued.

Askeladd knew what they wanted, but he played dumb just to rile them up. "Reward? If the negotiation's a success, you'll each have three gold coins. I swear upon Tyr." Askeladd teased with such seriousness in his voice it almost could have convinced Bo.

The other men whistled in amazement, it was a good price, but Thorfinn and Bo didn't want gold. They had no need for it.

"Who asked for that shit? You know damn well what we want, Askeladd." Bo was annoyed, 'Bastard thinks he can treat us like one of his men.'

"Ooh now that's a scary face! Just a bit of humor, that's all." Askeladd brought his hands up in mock surrender. "But if that's what you want, boys. I'll need you to bring me the head of a commander, at least." He said more seriously.

Sounded easy enough, they had done that hundreds of times before. They glanced at each other again and started running down the hill.

Thorfinn and Bo slowed to a walk as they approached the camp. "Hey, Finn, bet none of them speak Norse." Bo said to his twin. "Probably not. What a pain." Thorfinn sighed. 'How annoying.'

When they approached the guards at the front of the fortress, they spoke in Frankish amongst each other. The twins had no clue what they were saying, as they only spoke Norse and bits of English. "We're messengers. Can anyone here speak Norse?" Thorfinn asked the Frankish guards.

They were talking to each other in a suspicious tone. 'Guess they don't speak Norse.' Bo deducted. One of the Frank guards reached for Thorfinn, but he grabbed the guards fingers, twisted his arm over his shoulder and behind his back.

"We're messengers!" Bo said loud enough for the whole camp to hear, his tone growing harsh. "Can anyone here speak Norse!?" He asked again, as Thorfinn had a knife to the guards throats. Finally, someone raised their hand from in the fortress and he became their interpreter.

Bo told him they needed to speak with the general, other Franks just silently stared at Bo and Thorfinn with confused faces. Maybe they were wonder what they were saying, or maybe what kids were doing in this line of work.