-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Anno Domini 830, January-12
"I don't understand how people can be this stupid, how he thought that with our forces, with multiple castles and burning small villages, that only 300 men would be out burning a village" I said while driving my sword into the throat of a Slavic soldier who was already wounded, a spear lodged in his abdomen and who would have been a burden to treat even if it were possible.
"I don't know… we came out of nowhere" said Sigurd as he checked the dead and wounded, finding one pretending to be dead. "This one has a broken leg, what do we do with him?" Sigurd asked while lifting him with one arm.
"It's not broken, looks dislocated… but he could still cause trouble… send him to my army's surgeons, see if they can save him" I said while finishing off another Slav who was barely alive.
"Strategos, we caught this one, he almost escaped but we brought him back" said one of my Vlach riders, dragging forward a man shouting that he was a leader of a group: a blue cloak, silver brooch, boots stitched inward, a mail coat and a white outer garment, clearly someone with the means to afford such things.
"Does anyone speak this Slav's language?" I said, looking at the Vlachs who began speaking with him.
"He is the lord of Nitrava, Pribina" said Dragomir after speaking with the Slav.
"What about Nitrava? Is there anything important we can trade for?" I said while thinking and still searching for anyone alive to capture or finish off if they were too badly wounded.
"He says he is willing to surrender the city if his life is spared" said Dragomir, looking at me while continuing to listen.
"City? Make sure you translated that correctly. A city would be perfect for us if it's walled, we could use it as a base of operations to store supplies and move prisoners" I said, looking at Dragomir.
The Vlach leader spoke again with the Slav to confirm the information and once confirmed, while we continued finishing off the wounded and capturing prisoners, we began marching toward the place where that city was. Until now we had only found small Slavic villages that had settled locally and were nothing special, they were simply settlements dedicated entirely to subsistence farming and livestock, with no developed industry, so these lands held little to no value.
Avoiding the Frankish castles in the region, no longer protected by Franks but by Slavs from their defensive marches, we finally reached what seemed to be a city, many buildings surrounded by an earthen and wooden wall, and inside I could clearly see the presence of a church, likely a sign that these Slavs had been Christianized.
So placing the supposed leader of the city on his knees before the gate guards and pressing a knife to his throat as the snow fell over us, the guards inside the city opened the gates and let us in.
Many of the riders who had fallen in the ambush belonged to the city, so they likely did not even have enough men to withstand a siege, so it was greatly appreciated not having to spend men taking the settlement.
Occupying the town and keeping my word, I released the Slav, although I kept him as a guest to bring his men to my side since Christian Slavs could be useful, and I focused on continuing to send patrols to raid villages, capture population and slowly send them to our rear lines along the roads toward the cities under construction, keeping them away from the front lines in case the Frankish army I had been expecting finally arrived.
Finally, after another week, I had taken control of the entire region, collapsing the centralized defense of the local Slavic leader. The remaining castles quickly surrendered or changed sides and we were already at the gates of Moravia, reaching Bohemia.
The problem was that the harshest days of winter had arrived and it was no longer feasible to continue the campaign, the snow was falling heavily and the winds cut through the bones, making it difficult to continue without the proper equipment that we did not have. So I simply quartered my men in the city of Nitrava, since the entire population had been sent to the rear, leaving the place completely empty so that thousands of my men could endure the worst days of winter.
"We have already taken control of this region. Once temperatures rise a bit and the weather becomes less severe, we will resume the campaign and attack the March of Pannonia. This place is full of Christian Avars, so we will find more resistance and they must have had much more time to fortify the area. If I am not mistaken, this administrative network was established by the father of the current Frankish king, so they have had much more time to build, unlike the Slavs who conquered these lands not long ago" I said, pointing at the maps we had captured.
"So we can expect many stone castles in the area?" said Sigurd while carefully observing what I was pointing at.
"I don't think so. This place is just plains and I don't think there is a quarry in the area to supply stone for construction. And even then you have to be careful when building castles, if the stone is poor they might not withstand a siege, so they may have simply kept wooden castles, but probably larger and with more ways to defend against an attack" I said while considering the possibilities.
"I understand" said Sigurd while splitting logs with his hands and throwing them into the hearth of the fortress.
"It would have benefited us greatly if we had a milder winter, but it seems this year's winter is harsh, so all that remains is to wait for the winds to stop and the snow to cease" I said, silently cursing the terrible weather.
"So we just wait, let's hope the Franks put up a good fight when they gather their army" said Sigurd while stretching audibly.
"At least these battles have helped us obtain armor for the Slavs and Vlachs, since their equipment is terrible. It was very clear that without a central government the Bulgars would not have been able to create such quality equipment. But anyway, a shipment of armor should arrive soon, although with the roads covered in snow I don't know when it will arrive. The shipments may have to come through the Danube, moving ships is harder, but at least we don't have to deal with snow and mud… the mud when the snow melts… everything will be covered in mud" I said, bringing my hands to my face.
"Sounds quite terrible, doesn't it?" said Sigurd with a smile.
"Of course… logistics will be hell… we have to attack before the snow melts, so the moment the weather improves even a little we march. If anyone is going to fight in the mud let it be the Franks, not us" I said while throwing a couple more logs into the fire as I prepared to go to sleep.
"Understood, I'll keep an eye on the weather. Sleep well" said Sigurd as he left after yawning audibly.
I removed my armor and left a dagger near my bedside as I put on comfortable cotton clothes and covered myself with treated animal furs. There were plenty of furs available in the city's storage, so almost everyone had been able to take several to sleep.
I closed my eyes as the wind struck hard against the stone tower of Nitrava.
Something woke me. Footsteps.
*
I opened my eyes immediately and almost by reflex reached out to grab the dagger. I rose from the bed in one motion already looking for someone to drive it into.
"Who sent you" I said in a low tone toward the figure moving in the darkness.
"Myself" she replied.
The voice felt uncomfortably familiar.
"Brynhildr… damn it how the hell did you get past my hird" I said annoyed, realizing the guards who were supposed to be watching had let someone reach my own chamber.
"My uncle took them to drink something to fight the cold" she said in a soft voice as she moved closer.
I let out a breath heavy with irritation.
"That Sigurd will pay for this someday… now get out I already told you I want nothing with you" I answered, setting the dagger on the table while calming from the shock.
"Oh no… you got me into a problem and now you are going to help me fix it" said Brynhildr.
She stepped closer, sat on the bed and took my arm, forcing me to sit beside her.
"What problem did I get you into we are here because of the Basileos" I said, looking at her though in the darkness I could barely make her out.
"Now that you gave my father the title of jarl he wants me to return home to marry a Slav and forge an alliance with them, to increase his control over the many Slavic tribes… he is already marrying my brothers and sisters to the children of different leaders" Brynhildr said as she leaned closer to my face.
"We all have a duty to fulfill… I did not like being forced to marry Maria either but what else could I do it was an order from my Basileus and not something I could refuse or I would end in exile or worse" I replied trying to move my face slightly away from hers.
"But it does not have to be like that" she said, taking my hand with her strong grip and bringing it to her chest where I felt the warmth and the firmness of her nipple against my fingers. "I can fulfill my duty and be with someone I like, we speak the same language and unlike the Slavs…" Brynhildr inhaled sharply against my neck. "You actually bathe… I have seen those men with skin dark from never washing because of the cold… but you prefer to stay clean, well shaved" she said, continuing to smell me. "In good shape" Brynhildr slid her hands over my cotton clothes, slipping them inside.
"You know the kind of trouble this would bring me… a pagan… betraying my wife… who is the sister of the basilissa… I could lose everything" I said to Brynhildr while she held me tightly.
"Since when are you a coward" she whispered into my ear.
"I am not… I am just not stupid… and your father would be furious if he saw us like this, a relation I cannot formalize, it would humiliate you" I replied trying to push her away.
"He would not be angry, the opposite" she said, slipping her hand into my trousers and I felt her grip me with her warm hands. "He would be pleased that his daughter became the concubine of the most powerful man in the region even if it cannot be said openly… he could say little against that" she said, bringing her lips close to mine while continuing to stroke me.
It was getting harder to think clearly and even harder to push her away, especially as she kept moving her hand over me while I was already hard.
Was this what other leaders had felt before The pull of breaking vows and becoming a hypocrite for a single night of heat.
I hesitated, but before I could speak I felt Brynhildr's tongue push into my mouth as she settled over me.
Brynhildr freed me from my trousers and without hesitation, guiding me with her hands, she lowered herself onto me, feeling only slight resistance before a tight heat closed around me.
I heard a low growl and felt her teeth sink into my shoulder.
"Are you alright" I said as she bit down.
"It burns… it reminds me of the pain when I rode a horse" Brynhildr said without stopping.
"Damn it… there is no turning back now… I am already a hypocrite" I said, gripping her hips and pulling her closer, hearing her sounds grow louder.
She began with slow movements, rising and lowering slightly while letting out restrained sounds, but quickly the rhythm grew faster, the sound of her body meeting mine filling the room.
As we moved together, listening to Brynhildr's voice, she clung to me, no longer embracing, biting from time to time. When she arched her back a sharp sound escaped her as everything around me tightened with a strength I had not expected.
Then she sank fully and I could not hold back any longer, releasing inside her as I heard her voice break.
She wrapped her arms around me again and brought her lips to my ear. "Yes… like that… let us have a family together" she whispered with a seductive tone.
She was breathing heavily, exhausted, still pressed down on me.
Holding her by the waist, I turned over her, hearing her low reaction of surprise as I moved above her.
"There is no going back now, so I will see this through…" I said while trying to guide myself in the darkness.
"Together" she said, taking me in her hand and guiding me to her.
I heard her breath catch and felt her legs close tightly around my waist.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Personally, I don't really like having to do this, but the economic situation here is going to hell, and since I still have work,I'm taking the lawyer's oath at the end of next month,fuel prices are about to skyrocket, and with that, all prices because of the situation with Iran and the United States, so I'm seriously considering breaking one of my principles by charging for the extra chapters
That's why I want to ask those of you who could pay for that page,which I can't name here to get extra chapters (although personally I don't like that idea since I write based on your feedback).Would you do that?
Give me some ideas on how to do it