The Álfablót was a public occasion for Iskjerne Bay, celebrated once a year around autumn. As the king, Harald Fairhair had the honor of being the gođi or priest-king during this public sacrificial ceremony. Queen Lagertha assumed the role of the priestess as her shield-maidens, now more closely resembling the Amazons of Greco-Thracian mythology, came forth and presented the sacrifice near the open bonfire. As there was still a shortage of livestock in Iskjerne Bay, the Vikings instead chose to sacrifice one of the horses. The shield-maidens brought the horse to the stone altar, or hörgr, where Queen Lagertha used a ritualistic dagger to cut the horse's throat. Blood spilled over the altar, over the priestess and the ground beside the altar, sanctifying the holiness of this sacred ritual. It was a peace offering to the elves and disir, or female ancestral spirits of the land. The Vikings, having ignored the power of the vaettir for so long, were now inviting the land spirits to return to Iskjerne Bay, to rid the country of the plague, death and famine that had left their kingdom desolate and vulnerable.
As he got on his reindeer and prepared to leave, Grimnir looked back at the rising bonfire and the blood offering that was taking place in the open field behind him. True to his word, Grimnir did not stay long at Iskjerne Bay, but continued on his journey back to the Empyrean Sea Beach, taking the long road around the continent back to his own village. Grimnir had delivered a message to King Harald in person, whispering something into the king's ear which nobody else heard or knew. King Finehair kept the message to himself and did not share it with anyone apart from his wife, Queen Lagertha, who kept the secrets to herself. But it was obvious that something was bothering him deep inside as King Harald continued to rule Iskjerne Bay with an iron fist, as if waiting patiently for some inevitable prophecy to unfold. It wasn't long before he started seeing signs.
As time passed, King Harald looked up towards the sky over the Weargtooth Mountains to the south, where he noticed a billow of black smoke. One of the horsemen rode back to the ring fort and informed King Harald that the Argosians were coming. They were 3000 strong with cannons and seige weapons. King Finehair smirked, handing the messenger two silver coins as a token of his appreciation before the rider took off and returned to his outpost. Shortly afterward, the 122 vikings returned from the Rikkisopi Caves without Ubbe or Hvitserk, adding a tad more strength to the king's army, but also causing worry and doubt. Queen Lagertha pleaded with her husband to wait for her son Ubbe to return safely, but King Harald knew he had to do what was best for his people. He ordered the Rikkisopi Caves to be destroyed, this time for good, as the Iskjerne Vikings setup barrels of combustible liquid inside the caves, leading all the way through the tunnels even into Oor Cavern, and running a line back to the entrance of the cave all the way to Iskjerne Bay.
Once everything was in order, King Harald gave the command. The ulfhedinn nodded before using a torch to lite the fuse. Everyone stood back and covered their ears as the fuse burned down to the stack of 60 gallon wine barrels at the entrance of the caves. There was a brief moment of silence, and then suddenly, a huge explosion. "BOOOOM!!!" the barrels exploded, causing a chain reaction of miniature explosions which carried throughout the entire cave system. Rocks, boulders, wooden splinters, dust and debri went flying everywhere as the entrance to the Rikkisopi Caves collapsed in on itself, along with many of the winding tunnels and caverns within. As the dust settled, the Iskjerne Vikings looked at the large mound of heavy rock pilings which now stood where the caves used to be. King Harald had officially destroyed the cave system. All of it. Ubbe and Hvitserk were on their own now in Niihama City, and would be forced to find their own way back home through some other means.
After all of the excitement had settled down, King Harald counted the number of Vikings in his army. There were nine cults or tribes, each divided amongst themselves to form King Harald's leidang. With the additional troops now joining them, Finehair had about 722 warriors. They were still outnumbered 3-to-1 by the Argosians, and he knew the Vikings didn't stand much of a chance against the slowly approaching legion. It was sensible now to run away, to abandon Iskjerne Bay and head for the boats. That would've been the smart thing to do. But instead, the Vikings held their ground and did nothing, as if waiting for the inevitable battle ahead. Just like so many times in the past, the Vikings refused to retreat or abandon their settlements. Instead, they sang songs and went about their daily lives as usual, pretending as though everything was just fine as the 122 ulfhednar left their homesteads and headed for the mountains. If the Argosians planned to lay seige to Iskjerne Bay, then the ulfhednar would be the first to welcome their legion in open battle. Yet they did not pursue their enemies. But instead they took up positions near the southern end of Iskjerne Bay, and waited for the Argosian legionaries to come to them.
As he got on his reindeer and prepared to leave, Grimnir looked back at the rising bonfire and the blood offering that was taking place in the open field behind him. True to his word, Grimnir did not stay long at Iskjerne Bay, but continued on his journey back to the Empyrean Sea Beach, taking the long road around the continent back to his own village. Grimnir had delivered a message to King Harald in person, whispering something into the king's ear which nobody else heard or knew. King Finehair kept the message to himself and did not share it with anyone apart from his wife, Queen Lagertha, who kept the secrets to herself. But it was obvious that something was bothering him deep inside as King Harald continued to rule Iskjerne Bay with an iron fist, as if waiting patiently for some inevitable prophecy to unfold. It wasn't long before he started seeing signs.
As time passed, King Harald looked up towards the sky over the Weargtooth Mountains to the south, where he noticed a billow of black smoke. One of the horsemen rode back to the ring fort and informed King Harald that the Argosians were coming. They were 3000 strong with cannons and seige weapons. King Finehair smirked, handing the messenger two silver coins as a token of his appreciation before the rider took off and returned to his outpost. Shortly afterward, the 122 vikings returned from the Rikkisopi Caves without Ubbe or Hvitserk, adding a tad more strength to the king's army, but also causing worry and doubt. Queen Lagertha pleaded with her husband to wait for her son Ubbe to return safely, but King Harald knew he had to do what was best for his people. He ordered the Rikkisopi Caves to be destroyed, this time for good, as the Iskjerne Vikings setup barrels of combustible liquid inside the caves, leading all the way through the tunnels even into Oor Cavern, and running a line back to the entrance of the cave all the way to Iskjerne Bay.
Once everything was in order, King Harald gave the command. The ulfhedinn nodded before using a torch to lite the fuse. Everyone stood back and covered their ears as the fuse burned down to the stack of 60 gallon wine barrels at the entrance of the caves. There was a brief moment of silence, and then suddenly, a huge explosion. "BOOOOM!!!" the barrels exploded, causing a chain reaction of miniature explosions which carried throughout the entire cave system. Rocks, boulders, wooden splinters, dust and debri went flying everywhere as the entrance to the Rikkisopi Caves collapsed in on itself, along with many of the winding tunnels and caverns within. As the dust settled, the Iskjerne Vikings looked at the large mound of heavy rock pilings which now stood where the caves used to be. King Harald had officially destroyed the cave system. All of it. Ubbe and Hvitserk were on their own now in Niihama City, and would be forced to find their own way back home through some other means.
After all of the excitement had settled down, King Harald counted the number of Vikings in his army. There were nine cults or tribes, each divided amongst themselves to form King Harald's leidang. With the additional troops now joining them, Finehair had about 722 warriors. They were still outnumbered 3-to-1 by the Argosians, and he knew the Vikings didn't stand much of a chance against the slowly approaching legion. It was sensible now to run away, to abandon Iskjerne Bay and head for the boats. That would've been the smart thing to do. But instead, the Vikings held their ground and did nothing, as if waiting for the inevitable battle ahead. Just like so many times in the past, the Vikings refused to retreat or abandon their settlements. Instead, they sang songs and went about their daily lives as usual, pretending as though everything was just fine as the 122 ulfhednar left their homesteads and headed for the mountains. If the Argosians planned to lay seige to Iskjerne Bay, then the ulfhednar would be the first to welcome their legion in open battle. Yet they did not pursue their enemies. But instead they took up positions near the southern end of Iskjerne Bay, and waited for the Argosian legionaries to come to them.