Upon learning that Borg had escaped without sparing his dignity, Ragnar and his two sons set out to pursue him, but were stopped by King Eric.
"Ragnar, we are about to launch the biggest heist in history, and we need your help to lead it. How about this, I and the other six nobles jointly invest and offer a reward of 20 pounds of silver for Borg's head, what do you think?"
Eric's tone seemed to be negotiating, but it gave off an aura that could not be refused. The other six nobles did not say too much nonsense, but stood silently behind Eric and put collective pressure on Ragnar.
Faced with difficulties, Ivar was the first to calm down. "Father will follow you to Britain. Bjorn and I will take a few men to continue the pursuit. Even if Borg hides in Jotunheim, I will find him and kill him!"
He then turned to the group of shield bearers: "Who is willing to hunt down this abomination?"
The incident happened in a hurry, and everyone was a little hesitant. Suddenly, Vig suddenly had an idea and said: "Sign me up."
After learning that an inconspicuous guy had taken the initiative to participate, the remaining shield bearers also expressed their willingness to go east, and finally assembled a hunting party of ten people.
...
After visiting many places, Ivar finally learned of Borg in Stockholm. He learned that this guy had left for the Russian land by boat three days ago, and he couldn't help but grin.
"Well, he actually hid in foreign territory. What a cunning prey."
After selling the horses, Ivar and his party took a boat east to the mouth of the Neva River (the site of St. Petersburg in later generations), sailed upstream along the Neva River, and arrived at a village on the shores of Lake Ladoga.
Outside the village is an oak fence two men high, inside which are many semi-subterranean wooden houses, with a little snow on the thatched roofs and muddy paths covered in sleigh scrapes and horse hoof prints.
Vig asked around and learned that the local crops were rye and barley, and due to the harsh climate, the yields were similar to those in northern Europe. To improve their poor lives, some people decided to take up trade, buying furs, amber, and slaves and selling them along the complex river network of Eastern Europe to Constantinople, thereby aiming for high profits.
After the walk, he had a bad feeling in his heart. Perhaps the target of the pursuit did not stop here, but continued to flee south?
In the evening, the pursuit party gathered in the open space in front of the lord's longhouse. Ivar, with a gloomy face, told the bad news: "Brothers, get out all the money you have, we have a long way to go."
Apparently, Vig's guess came true. This journey has just begun, and he is going to Constantinople for a walk.
During this period, the Viking route to Constantinople was approximately as follows: enter Lake Ladoga via the Neva River, reach the Black Sea via the Volkhov River and the Dnieper river system, and finally reach Constantinople along the western coast.
Drawing
...
To cope with the long journey ahead, Ivar found a merchant to go with him. The latter was named Rurik, a Viking who had been active in Eastern Europe for many years. He was tall and strong, with tousled blond hair and looked quite capable.
Before leaving, Rurik patiently told his new companions: "The environment of the Eastern European steppe is different from the environment of the North Sea. For my life, I hope that you will follow my advice."
After a short contact, Ivar realized that Rurik was also a tough guy, and nodded: "Okay, you can decide where to go, and we will go our separate ways after we arrive in Constantinople. We will not interfere with you making money, and you will not interfere with us killing people."
Having bought enough white fox fur and amber, Rurik announced his departure. Including himself and his four followers, there were only fifteen passengers on the ship, all of them strong and skilled. Seven men were posted to row on each side, and Rurik personally steered the vessel from the stern.
Under his command, the cargo ship arrived at the shore of Lake Ilmen along the river. There was a city there called Novgorod, which was a trading center between the Russians and the Vikings. The streets were filled with people, and the voices of the merchants were endless.
Seeing this, Rurik stretched and exhaled a cold breath: "Rest for two days, the journey will be very difficult in the future."
Two days later, the cargo ship continued south along the river, and then dropped anchor at a shallow beach.
"What is the situation?" Vig turned his head and looked at the stern, and found Rurik disassembling the rudder and asking his followers to take down the sails.
Shortly after, Rurik called everyone to the shore and told them that they would need to tow the ship to dry land, and ordered them to cut down trees to build ramps.
Obviously, this is an extremely difficult task. To prevent the hull from wearing out, logs have to be placed on the bottom of the boat to form a sliding track (similar to a railway track).
When moving, some people pull the rope in front, while others have to move the logs from behind to the bow, and so on.
For this, Vig has only one sense - fatigue.
He gets up at six o'clock every day, starts working after a hasty breakfast, takes a short break at noon, and then works until evening. The daily journey is only four kilometers, like a turtle crawling. Sometimes, when faced with steep slopes, it is even necessary to use pulleys and ropes to lift the cargo ship.
The only thing that is lucky is that Ivar, Nils and the others are excellent hunters. They can always catch a variety of prey along the way. With enough food, Vig's body will not be completely exhausted.
...
I don't know how much time passed, when his spirit gradually became numb, the landscape before him suddenly became clear.
Under the shining spring sun, at the end of a lush and blooming meadow, a smooth and open river flows quietly, and flocks of birds fly over the river, as if congratulating everyone on the completion of this difficult journey.
"Is this the Dnieper River? God, it's finally over."
Vig rushed to the bank, staring at his disheveled reflection in the river, then raised his calloused hands, feeling lucky to have survived.
After collecting the rudder, everyone pushed the cargo ship into the river together, then fell into the boat, feeling the water gently rocking the hull, all the distracting thoughts in their hearts disappeared, and they felt that everything in the world was so beautiful.
Let them enjoy this leisure time in peace, Rurik cleared his throat, "Brothers, uh, in fact, we will have to tow the ship seven times."
Seven times!
Seven land trips by boat!
Vig could not stand it, "The cargo ship went to the Black Sea along the Dnieper, why did it have to land on the shore halfway? Are you kidding!"
Besides him, Ivar and the others could not hold back their swearing. They got up early and went to bed late these days, and they were even tougher than animals.
"Calm down. I don't want to embarrass you," Rurik explained quickly. "There are seven sections of the Dnieper River with fast currents. No one dares to swim in these places. You can only go ashore and go around them. When you see the dangerous scene, you will naturally understand my difficulties."