"You are in the presence of Jarl Haraldson, protector of Bergen Town," said the men, as Emery walked into the great hall, meeting the man they referred to as Jarl Haraldson, who was sitting on his wooden throne.
Meanwhile, standing next to Jarl Haraldson, there were two dozen warriors, a few ladies of the house and a blind old man who seemed to be a shaman.
The town guard walked towards Jarl Haraldson, showed his respects and handed the scroll over to him. Soon after receiving the scroll and opening it, Jarl Haraldson's face showed a hint of surprise. He seemed to have been slightly taken aback by what he saw in the scroll.
"A sealed letter by King Fjolrin of the Scyfling," Jarl Haraldson muttered, his low voice filled with a mix of surprise and interest. The jarl's words quickly shocked the old man standing next to him. In disbelief, the old man requested to touch the letter and feel it with his hands and nose. Of course, their surprise and disbelief were to be expected. With a light nod, Jarl Haraldson handed the scroll over to the old man for him to examine.
Having seen the scroll and its contents, the jarl quickly turned much more hospitable. He made eye contact with Emery before saying with a smile, "Pardon my impertinence. Please understand, I have only seen the seal of the Immortal King twice in my life, hence it wasn't within my expectations that he would send me a guest."
The blind old man appeared to have finished examining the authenticity of the scroll. He gave Jarl Haraldson a nod to inform him that the scroll was indeed real and the jarl's eyes showed pleasant surprise.
"It seems we now have a special guest. Please do not hesitate to tell me if there is anything you need. I will be sure to do everything in my power to have them provided," Jarl Haraldson politely told. Although his tone was polite and accommodating, it was not flattering or submissive.
Emery quickly went ahead and told them what he came for. He asked them about rumors regarding a certain wolf, a wolf that was reported to the king a dozen years back.
"Fey wolf? I have never heard of such a creature," Jarl Haraldson replied after a quick thought.
Seemingly in deep contemplation, the blind old man mumbled a few vague words with an expression of uncertainty. After a moment of hesitation, he finally whispered something to the jarl.
"My shaman thinks you might be talking about the wolf beast that was sighted on an island southwest of here," Jarl Haraldson conveyed. Although he himself was not sure whether this was the case, he still chose to inform him, as there was still a chance this information was true.
To confirm, Emery asked if the beast that was sighted was indeed a fey wolf, but as neither Jarl Haraldson nor the old shaman knew anything about it, they couldn't personally confirm his inquiry. This somewhat disappointed him, but before he could express anything else, the old shaman began talking.
"That wolf beast was gigantic in size. A few years ago, it was said it went on a rampage and killed numerous villagers on the island. Of course, there were warriors who challenged it, but no news of them ever returned since their departure. It has been quite long since we last heard anything regarding the wolf or the villagers on the island."
"That wolf might be long dead," Jarl Haraldson said with uncertainty.
"Or the island's villagers are no more," the old shaman added, seeming to be thinking deeper.
"Either way, every time there is a mystical sighting of any kind, it is to be reported to the Immortal King, which is why it was reported a dozen years back. Unfortunately, it has long been forgotten."
Emery was undoubtedly disappointed by the result, but he still wanted to check the island to make sure. He didn't want to leave just like that, as he didn't want to just ignore what could be an important clue.
Jarl Haraldson was kind enough to provide him with a ship and a dozen crews to take him to the island. In truth, they were in a shortage of ships due to the coming invasion, but as it was a request from a special guest from the king himself, he chose not to refuse it.
After previously hearing it from Torstein, another word of battle piqued Emery's interest. Since they were being very open with him due to the scroll from the king, he might as well take advantage and ask them about it.
"Invasion? Yes invasion of Britannia, of course!" As expected, Jarl Haraldson was more than happy to spill it out. He even seemed extremely proud about it, as he told him about how five jarls of the Danes united to invade Britannia.
"This will be the largest force we have ever gathered! We are talking about 100 large warships, a total of more than 10,000 men!"
The jarl continued talking about how after all their preparations up to this point, they would finally be able to invade Britannia. This gave Emery mixed feelings. He knew full well that throughout history, the Danes had never invaded with such a force.
"We are just waiting for the winter to be over and for all the ships to gather. If everything goes well, we should be able to leave in a few weeks," said the jarl, brimming with confidence.
Emery believed this news must have already reached Arthur's ears. After all, these Danes were the complete opposite of sneaky. Emery turned to ponder once more, thinking about if he should be involved in such a war.
But in the end, he still decided not to be involved too much with it, since other than the safety of the people he cared about, he didn't really care about which group of people owned which land. Of course, on the premise it would not affect the people he cared about.
Either way, at the moment, his top priority was to focus on his cultivation, so he decided to put it off and think more about it after he finished checking the mysterious island.
Before he departed, Emery made another request to Jarl Haraldson. He asked the jarl to take care of the two dozen slaves he just bought well.
After he was done, he went to check the ship and the crew that was provided for him.
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,