On the banks of the Seine, Rurik discovered that the one leading the new force was young Erik — a fleet of fifty ships and two thousand infantry.
"The war is already over. What are they doing here?"
To the seven thousand Vikings already encamped, this late-arriving reinforcement meant little.
Ragnar could not go against the collective will of his men, and so he rejected young Erik's request to share in the spoils — even though the boy was the nephew of Queen Sola.
On campaign, the division of loot was sacred. Any favoritism, even a little, could spark resentment at best or mutiny at worst.
"You came half a month late. There's nothing left to divide."
"Uncle, you can't be serious?" Erik tried to appeal to family ties. "We came all the way from Oslo after great hardship. If we return to Norway empty-handed, those bloodthirsty raiders will never let us live it down."
"Rules are rules. No one here wants to hand over their own silver."
