Tyranny of Steel

Berengar stepped down from his battleship and onto the docks of the Reykjavík harbor. Where he was immediately greeted by the local population, who gazed upon the large steel vessel, and the strangely dressed men with a mixture of awe and terror.

Even the simplest of minds would understand that with their medieval level of technology, there was no conceivable way they could harm this warship which had appeared in their harbor during the dead of night.

Though Berengar was fluent in many tongues, he did not understand the Icelandic language. Thus, he required a translator hired from the Kalmar Union to speak with the people of this island. Which he was quick to make use of.

"My name is Kaiser Berengar von Kufstein. You may or may not have heard of me, but I am the Emperor of Germany. This is not an invasion, but merely a leisurely visit. I assure you, neither me nor the men beneath my command will take any hostile action against you, unless, of course, you attack us first. Now, whoever among you can point me towards the location of one Siv Eriksdóttir, will earn this pouch of gold!"

After saying this, Berengar reached into his greatcoat's pocket and pulled out a small pouch of German Guldens which he presented to the crowd. According to the goddess Nerthus who visited his dreams earlier during the night, Siv was the only one who could lead Berengar to the grove where the entrance to Valhalla was located. Thus, it was paramount that he located the young girl as quickly as possible.

At first, the crowd did not budge. After all, Berengar was a stranger, from a foreign land, arriving on a massive steel warship. They were too enamored with the hyper-advanced technology that they were witnessing to even bother listening to the man's speech. However, after several moments of silence, Berengar's words finally resounded in their minds, and the people of Reykjavík struggled to recall just who Siv Eriksdóttir was.

As the crowd chatted with themselves, a teenage boy no older than fifteen stepped forward. There was a stern expression on his face as he stared down the Kaiser and his marines without the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.

"What do you want with Siv?"

The words the boy spoke were quickly translated into the German Tongue, where Berengar raised his brow in interest. Clearly, this boy had some kind of connection with the girl, and thus he could not afford to scare him off. With a friendly facade, Berengar stepped forward and informed the boy of his intentions.

"I have heard from a reliable source that she is the only person here who knows the location which I wish to visit. Thus, I am willing to pay a hefty price to hire her as my guide. If you can lead me to her location, I would make it worth your while."

It took several moments of internal debate for the boy to come to a decision, but ultimately he agreed to the Kaiser's request, albeit with one condition.

"I'll take you to her, but don't you dare harm a hair on her head!"

In response to this statement, Berengar chuckled. He had no plans to harm his guide. In fact, he needed her more than anyone else on this island. Obviously, he would ensure her protection above everyone else in Iceland.

"You can rest assured, so long as she agrees to be my guide, she will have the greatest protection that money can afford. Now enough talk. Lead me to the girl."

With that said, the boy lead Berengar and his marines to the castle which presided over the city. The guards were quick to notice the Germans' approach and were immediately hostile to the presence of the foreigners. One had even fired an arrow directly in front of Berengar's feet before shouting at him to stop.

"Take one step further, and the next one will find its way into your heart!"

Berengar had initially come to this castle with the hopes of peaceful negotiations. However, how could the mighty Kaiser possibly suffer such a threat to his existence and not retaliate? Berengar fiercely glared upon the sentry and called out to him, his voice filled with fury."

"Try it, and I will lay waste to your castle with a single strike. Go fetch your lord for me, before I have this entire city raised to the ground!

The Icelandic guards broke out into a fit of laughter. They could hardly believe the words they just heard. Rather than fire another shot, the archer pointed to Berengar and mocked him.

"You and what army? Do you honestly think you are enough to bring this castle down? You would need an army of at least a thousand men to break through these walls, and you have no siege weapons!"

Berengar sighed heavily and looked towards his nearest radio operator before giving the man a command.

"Contact the SMS Linde and give them the command to open fire on the nearest iceberg."

The Marine instantly got on the radio, and relayed the Kaiser's commands to the Captain of the SMS Linde, who ordered the 15-inch guns to lock onto their target. As the guards continued to laugh at Berengar's statement, the loud crackle of gunfire filled the air surrounding the city of Reykjavík while a series of massive explosions occurred off the coastline, tearing a nearby iceberg apart as it did so.

Despite the heavy fog which persisted in the air, the sight of the explosion was clearly visible from the ramparts of the city's castle. Causing the guards to nearly shit themselves as they fell back in fear. Once thoroughly intimidated, Berengar added fuel to the fire as he shouted at the fools once more.

"I am only going to ask this one last time, go fetch your Lord for me, or my next strike will fall directly upon this petty castle you are all so proud of!"

By now, even the dullest of men would realize that Berengar really did possess the might to bring down their castle with a single strike. Thus, the guards scrambled off of their asses and towards the main house where the local lord resided.

The thunder of the guns had inadvertently awoken Siv herself, who was quick to bail from her little hovel, and investigate just what madness had occurred while she slept. She was immediately reminded of the massive steel warship and felt as if Ragnarok had just begun.

Coincidentally, Siv entered the courtyard at roughly the same time as her father, who was outraged by the sudden explosion that had interrupted his sleep. The man ordered quickly ordered for the gates to be opened before he stared at the sharply dressed German man who stood on the opposing side of the castle's mighty walls.

When Berengar saw the man, he raised his brow before asking the question on his mind.

"Are you the lord of this castle?"

The local lord grumbled and nodded his head before screaming at Berengar at the top of his lungs.

"I am Erik Friðsson, Lord of Reykjavík! Who the hell are you, and why do you disturb my sleep!?!"

Berengar sneered in disdain when he saw the man so haughtily stand before him as if he were an equal. His response was filled with contempt as he educated the backwater Lord about just who he was.

"My name is Berengar von Kufstein, Kaiser of the German Empire, and conqueror of Rome. All of Europe kneels before my feet, so how does a petty little lord like yourself dare to stand straight before me? Let alone make such accusations against me. Your guards threatened me, so I retaliated in kind.

I have come to your pathetic castle for one reason only. This boy says that Siv Eriksdóttir resides here, and I require her assistance. For a matter, I would prefer to remain private. Initially, I came here with the intent to shower you with gold, if you would allow her to enter my employ. However, after being so rudely treated by the men beneath your command, I demand you hand the girl over to me, or else I will rain fire upon your city."

Erik's face was twitching so much, Berengar was beginning to suspect that the fool might have an aneurysm. Just when the local lord was about to reject Berengar's demands, one of his guards whispered something in his ear and handed him a spyglass. Which Erik used to look towards the east, where he noticed a distinctive lack of a certain iceberg. Upon seeing this, the man froze and shuddered in fear.

It took Erik a few moments to fully comprehend that the loud crackle of thunder had been an attack by the man standing in front of him, simply as a means to demonstrate his strength. When Erik finally understood this, the color vanished from his face. He gazed over at his bastard daughter, who he did not care for in the slightest, and was quick to sell her over to the German stranger.

"Fine, she's yours. I don't ever want to see her face around here again! With this I hope my warriors transgressions are repaid."

Siv honestly didn't know if she should feel relieved that she had escaped her father's contempt, or if she should feel frightened by entering the clutches of a terrifying man. However, she had no choice in the matter. The girl was quickly rounded up by her father's guards and handed over to Berengar's side, where the man gazed upon the young girl with a friendly smile on his face.

"I'm sorry Siv, this is not how I wanted to gain your assistance, though I promise you, once I have concluded by business, you will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts. Enough to buy yourself a large house and plenty of servants to look after you from now until the end of your days."

So many things had occurred so suddenly that Siv had no idea how to react. She simply bowed her head and followed this powerful foreigner back to his ship. Not even sparing her family a second glance as she walked away in silence.