"You will, but more remains to explain." Ulfrik began to pace, as he always did when excited for something. He revealed the trickery he and Konal had plotted in secret, dreamed up in a single afternoon. A surge of shock, relief, and dismay filled Gunnar as his father described the careful setting of place and time for contacting each other.
"I struck him in the face," Gunnar said. "I wanted to kill him."
"A perfect accent to heighten the ruse," Ulfrik said, then smiled thoughtfully. "He richly deserved it as well."
"So is none of it true?"
"All of it is true, except that Konal and his men were not drunk and he is not banished. His men only knew they were forbidden to drink that night and had to follow him no matter what. He had only revealed the details to them moments before he launched into his act. It was well done."
"So Aren is not your son."
"He is not my blood, but he is my adopted son. Konal's return makes no difference, and he has agreed. Time will reveal how wise that choice is, but I trust Hakon's fate to him today."
Gunnar's elation at no longer needing to hate a man he had admired all his life crumbled when he thought of his mother. She had been shamed and embarrassed, and her desperation heightened daily. "Will you tell mother?"
"In time, but for now only you and I will know the truth. Deceiving your mother is a heart-pain unlike any other I have ever felt. Your Uncle Toki will be brought in, as you will see in a moment, but all others must remain ignorant until the moment the twin blades of my trap cut down both Throst and Clovis."
Ulfrik sat on a bench and leaned back against a table, then began to explain how Gunnar would rescue Hakon. As his father relayed the plan, Gunnar sat attentively on a bench across from him, leaning in to absorb the details of the plan.
The plan was based on continuing the ruse Ulfrik and Konal had begun. Gunnar's role was to feed Astra vital information that would ruin Throst's plans while creating an opportunity for him to redeem himself with Clovis. Ulfrik planned to send Gunnar along with Toki and his men to seek aid from Hrolf the Strider. The supposition being Ulfrik needs more men to comb the land for Throst while still defending against Clovis, and that since Ulfrik cannot leave he would send his oldest son to represent him. Gunnar would leave this day, and deny Astra the chance to lead him to danger.
"Once you tell Astra this news," Ulfrik said, his eyes bright with excitement and leaning forward on the bench, "she will head straight to Throst with it. If he doesn't see the opportunity himself, Konal will encourage him to inform Clovis that you are with a small band of inexperienced men. You are the bait in the trap, Gunnar. He'll come for you, and I will lead a force to hit him from behind while you and Toki double-back to catch him between us."
"This seems risky. Won't Clovis know you have left with your army as well? His scouts are as shrewd as ours."
"Night will mask us from scouts. Once I have seen Astra return, she will be captured and I will lead half of my men under the cover of darkness into the woods. Footing is treacherous, but the woods are not far. By sunrise we will be following behind you and Clovis as well. No one will have observed my warband exiting Ravndal, and Clovis's spies will still see men on the ramparts. They will have nothing to report."
"Then what of Hakon?"
"By this time Konal and his men will have either killed or captured Throst. They are an even match to Throst's men, but Konal and his crew are warriors and not witless bandits. They will prevail and bring Hakon home. In two strokes, both of my enemies will be destroyed. Clovis will either surrender to me or I will kill him in battle. His overeagerness to avenge his son will be his undoing. He cannot think clearly when his mind is addled with vengeance."
Gunnar considered everything his father had said, and realized his role in it had been exaggerated. His father sat back with a look of supreme satisfaction, but Gunnar did not share it. "I am merely a piece of cheese to lure out the rats. Where is there glory in this? What if I were to refuse?"
Ulfrik's smile dropped and he wiped his mouth as if to forestall a curse. "Clovis's cavalry is destroyed, and he won't leave his fortress undefended. He'll take just enough men for the battle and no more. You needn't worry about success."
"I'm not worried about success," Gunnar interrupted, nearly as shocked as his father to find his voice raised against him. "You are using the promise of my life to gain an advantage over your enemy, and you are proud of it? Is this why not even Mother can know this plan?"
They stared at each other for long moments and a tremor developed in Gunnar's legs that made him thankful he was already seated. Neither man wavered, and Gunnar knew now more than ever he had to prove that he could stand up for himself or forever remain in his father's shadow.
"Son, the plan has been set and Hakon depends on this."
"No, this has nothing to do with Hakon. I am not a child, Father, no matter how long you want to deny it. I can think with a grown man's mind. You just said Konal will free Hakon on the third day, and that happens whether or not you've shoved me in front of Clovis. You just called me bait."
"Yes!" Ulfrik snapped with such sudden force that Gunnar flinched. "So it is true. I've been charmed by my own plan, and placed it before you."
His father seemed to age before his eyes, slumping deeper into his seat. His golden cloak pin glinted in the reflected light, winking and glittering in contrast to the dull and dispirited man wearing it. He put his rough and scarred hands over his face and exhaled a long and weary breath.
"I know I have made mistakes," Ulfrik said through the cover of his hand. "Too many to count. Perhaps this could have been the worst one of all. I saw a chance that surely the gods themselves must have set before me, and so I grabbed at it like a child does a toy. Every word you have spoken today is the truth, and is a shame on my judgment. You are my son, not bait for a trap. Not even my father would've have spoken so carelessly, and he was a callous man. I am humbled by your courage, son. You knew I was wrong, and you told me so."
Letting his hands drop from his face, he flashed Gunnar a suffering smile. His eyes were red from lack of sleep and circled in black. Gunnar searched his father for something of the man he had known, but found only a face that resembled him. Nothing of the force that had driven him for so many years remained. Had this ordeal with Hakon drained him so, or was there more on his mind yet unspoken?
"Hakon's safe return is our first task," Gunnar said, moving to the bench beside his father. "Clovis is a different matter."
Ulfrik nodded, and slapped Gunnar's knee. He stood and stretched. "Of course, you are right. Wait here a moment," he said, then went to his chambers at the back of the hall.
Gunnar watched him shamble toward the darkness and waited, his foot tapping nervously. As his father disappeared beyond the door, he mulled Ulfrik's plan and grasped the shrewdness of it. Maybe the gods did plan justice for Throst and Astra, for diverting their plots to gain advantage was as satisfying as it was just. Hakon was not in danger with Konal and his crew to watch over him. Indeed, it was a cunning plan and his part, if not glorious, was key to it all.
His father reappeared, and in his hand he carried a sheathed sword. He held it forward to Gunnar. "I was wrong to take this from you. You are a man today and have been longer than I cared to admit. Take this sword, wear it with honor, battle with it for glory, and die with your hand upon it."
Taking it into both hands, Gunnar stood and held his father's eyes. He smiled and the two embraced. Ulfrik hugged him close and whispered softly, "I am sorry, my son. You deserved better from your father."