Trouble always comes in pairs of two

<sub>People were people, something that would never change. They needed someone to follow, to say what they had to do and help them with the smallest problems. How was it possible that some of them were so...stupid. Earlier that day, they’d asked Rigas for his help. Something with the ships. Not one of the big ones, but a smaller one. In good faith he went to the docks, but wanted to turn around right away. There was indeed something wrong with the ships. ’There is a hole in the middle,’ he said calm, but with a deep voice. ‘We know and that is-’ Rigas didn’t let the man finish. He had no time for that nonsense. ’If there is a hole in you ship,-’ he pointed towards the ship. ‘-, you fill the hole. It’s as simple as that. You don’t need me for that, there are special people for that kind of problems.’ The man nodded a few times and tried to say something, but Rigas turned his back to him before he could.

He lost an hour of his day for what? A stupid problem. Sometimes he was too kind. He wanted to help everyone, but that was not always possible. Something he still had to learn. People were taking advantage of that. Rigas was learning everyday and everyday it went better and better. If it has been busier that morning, he wouldn’t have gone to the docks. But he did and he had to walk all the way back, losing more time.  

When Rigas entered the great hall he caught a glimpse of Gunnvor before she disappeared again. It made his eyebrows rise and he couldn’t help but follow. For him it was normal behavior. He liked to know where she and his son where all the time, but sadly enough that was impossible. When he caught up with her, Rigas gently placed his hands on her shoulders using a little pressure. He did his best not to scare he. When her mind was somewhere else, he could tell. ’Something wrong?’ he asked softly. While he was speaking, he didn’t look at Gunnvor. No, his eyes were looking forward, trying to see if something was going on there.</sub>  

He shouldn’t have sneaked up, that was true, but he didn’t want to startle the others. His eyes immediately found the two other people, the boy and the man. ’Only making sure everything is alright,’ he said to her. Rigas always carried his sword with him. You could say he felt naked without it, but is was also out of safety. You never knew when you would be in need of it. It were dangerous times.

When Gunnvor asked how many people wanted to overthrow him, a small smile came on his face. Rigas wasn’t scared of that. He’d loved a good battle to the dead. ‘I believe there are a lot of people that think, they could do it,’ he said, answering her question. If they wanted to try, they could, but he would make sure they were meeting death rather sooner than later. Rigas was confident enough. He had killed a lot of people during his lifespan and had fought a many battles. If a new one had to come, he was ready for it.
Rigas looked at Gunnvor for a second when she said to have seen something. ’What did you see?’ If she thought something was suspicious, he wanted to know everything about it. He shook his head when Gunnor said he had other things to do. ’They can wait, right now we have this thing to take care of.’ Maybe it was nothing, was she seeing things that weren’t there, but even than Rigas wanted to know that was the case. His gaze was still focused on the small boy and the other man. Did he knew them? Surely he’d seen them walking around in the hall he didn’t knew their names.
’You want me to go talk with them?’ he asked her. Rigas was a man of respect, not some savage beast. He was not someone to act first and asked questions later. Only if there was no other choice than immediate dead.

If Gunnvor thought something was off, he believed her, even if it was nothing. Better safe than sorry. That’s why he looked after her so carefully, why he followed her yet again. If something would happen to her, Rigas would not forgive himself or anyone else. He smiled as he heard his wife’s words. ’Sometimes I think you know me better than I do myself,’ he said amused. Rigas could be a pain in the ass. He wanted to have control over almost everything, was to protective. But the last was only out of pure love. Love and respect.

That their were people who wanted him dead was nothing special. You had them everywhere and always. Rigas couldn’t blame Gunnvor for being afraid he would die. Without saying a word he looked at her. He let his head rest softly against hers. ’When have we, together, ever lost?’ he asked her. ’I promise you, I’ll not let that happen to you again,’ he tried to reassure her.

Rigas wanted to know exactly why she was following the kid. She said he disappeared in the shed and came out with another man. What was that man doing in the shed…’ he asked himself. It was a weird situation if you’d ask him. ’I’ll use my good looks and ask them about the fruit, they seem quite interested in them.’ Rigas got the feeling the two were only standing there, hoping  they would be left alone. They did a poor job at that he must say. He narrowed his eyes when they met the ones of the kid. The smaller boy looked away as fast as he could. It was nothing out of the ordinary, many people looked away when meeting his gaze, but mostly that was out of respect.
’I do not,’ he said honestly. ’The more reason we should talk with them.’ Rigas moved places, standing now next to Gunnvor.

Ho yes, Gunnvor definitely knew her husband. ’Hmm… looking beautiful?’ Why was it that good moments always came at bad times. He wanted to spent time with Gunnvor, but the boy and the man made sure he couldn’t. Who knew life was so unfair sometimes. For a moment he had made eye contact with the smaller boy. If he was in some kind of complot, could he punish him? He was but a child, probably doing what his parents told him to do. If Rigas would ask Freyr to do something for him, the boy would probably do it.  

Rigas didn’t want Gunnvor to fear for his life. He didn’t want her to live in fear for she shouldn’t. The Gods stood on their sides, he felt it. As long as that was the case, they were safe. When Gunnvor looked at him, he looked back with soft eyes. For her, he would go through fire, cross the deepest seas and climb the highest mountains. Just to make sure she was happy. ’I’ll make sure they won’t even dare to try anything, starting with those two,’ Rigas said. He removed his eyes from his wife and back to the two people that were still at the market.

Talking with the two couldn’t hurt, could it? Of course there was a chance they would run, but where would they go? As long as they were in Skagerrak, they couldn’t go anywhere. So the plan was set, talking it was. According to Gunnvor, his good looks wouldn’t help, but she offered her own. ’I’m sure that will do the trick,’ he said smiling.
Rigas waited for Gunnvor and when she was ready, he approached the boy and the armed man. ’Good day you two,’ he greeted them. The look Rigas gave the two was different from the one he gave Gunnvor. Much more distant, cold even. He went straight for the food at market stall, looking at that so the two wouldn’t feel attacked right away. At the meantime his right hand was resting on the sword he carried around his belt.

He smiled when hearing the words said to him. Being a Earl was not always easy, but it was for his family he would always keep fighting, no matter the cost. Hearing Gunnvor telling him things like that, would only let him fight more fiercely. sadly enough, there was no time and they only saw each other then for work. Rigas was determined to make time for her, after their problem was dealt with. Hopefully sooner than later.

When they came to stand with the two others, Rigas greeted them, before turning to the food. It wasn’t that he was interested in it, but so he gave Gunnvor the chance to asked questions. Out of the corner of his eyes, he was looking at the scene and he noticed the knife that boy was carrying.  
Rigas turned back to the boy, ignoring the other man. Maybe he would provoke him that way, if he was protective over the boy that was. It took only a few steps for him before he was standing before him again and went through his knees so the was on eye height. ’Tell me little man, what is your name?’ he asked him. Rigas looked him straight in the eyes and didn’t want him to look the other way. If he would try, he was going to take him by the chin, forcing him to look. Rigas liked kids, but not that one, he was to suspicious. ’My name is Rigas and that is my wife Gunnvor, but I think you already knew that.’ While speaking he pointed first at himself and then at Gunnvor.
He didn’t talk different to the boy than he would with other man. No way he was going to be all nice and loving towards that child. When you thought to be old enough to carry a weapon, you were old enough to be treated as a man.  He wasn’t always a loving and caring man himself. At the other hand, he hoped that the whole situation was not what it looked like, that everything was just fine and normal.

People had gathered around them to watch the scene that was going on. No one wanted to miss it. They were smiling, some yelled when they saw the knife, but not out of fear. More out of anger, they wanted blood, even if it was for a stupid thing like stealing. Some men and women were savage. Not something new he had to say. At the end of the day they probably got what they wanted. If you do not punish people when they do something forbidden, more would do it.

The boy was called Jora or so he said. Rigas believed him and he decided to say nothing about the knife, but Gunnvor had a different plan. She took the blade and asked for what it was, if he was a thief. There came no answer from the boy. ’Did you Jora?’ Rigas asked but it was the armed man who spoke. So he wanted to go back to Uddevalla and therefor he needed weapons? Weapons he had to steal. Slowly Rigas was shaking his head.

Rigas looked at Gunnvor when she started threatening the two, even pointing the knife at them. ’Or we could cut of only Jora’s thumbs, I like to see him steal or hold a knife without them. And maybe his middle fingers too,’ he treated the boy, but it was no more than that. The child was too young and did probably just what he was told to do. But not everyone was. By straightening his back he stood up, turning his body to the man with the weapon. Rigas set a few steps forward, so his body was almost touching the other. ’Tell me why you would need to steal to get back to Uddevalla, I can show you the dirt beneath the exit of Skagerrak if you want to leave oh so bad,’ he hissed to the armed man. When Rigas talked, he looked directly at the man. The knife Gunnvor had handed over to him was turning between his finger, making sure the armed man was not forgetting it. ’Either way, you can come with us, we have some fingers to cut of but I fear everyone wants to watch,’ as he said that he gestured at the crowed.

Everyone was so eager to know what was going to happen. They liked the tension that was hanging in the air, the knowledge that blood was about to be spilled. Rigas gave Gunnvor a fast look. He knew they made a strong couple, for they trusted each other and would always support the other. That was what made them powerful.

Rigas knew that Gunnvor would accept every choice he made at that moment. She even warned the boy, that he could be net if he didn’t shut up. But for now he was safe, it was the armed man that was their target.’Someone hold him down,’ he yelled and almost immediately people came forward, grabbing the man. The man didn't even had the time to fight back, to react. Some others cleared a table for the items laying on it. The man his hands were pushed on it, while he yelled and tried to get away. Rigas walked towards him with the dagger in his hand. That was the last time the man tried to steal something, he was sure of that. ’I do not tolerate stealing cockroaches,’ he said while walking to the man. ’Cockroaches do not belong in Skagerrak!’ Rigas slammed the dagger in in the table, right next to the man his head. ’Go and run back to uddevalla when this is over.’ The got pulled out of the wood again and you could hear the man plead for mercy he wasn’t going to get from the Earl.
The man had his hands crawled up like fists to protect his fingers. It made Rigas sigh. He had no time for playing games so he forced the hand open, grabbing the tumb for that was the finger he was going to lose. And then the blade disappeared in the man his hand, cutting through flesh and muscle, hitting the bone but eventually going through is also. There was a lot of blood and it was only the first one he was going to lose. When the finger got loose, Rigas pulled it off and held it in the air. ’That was number one,’ he said to the man.

You could kill someone. You could cut of someone’s hands or fingers to make him suffer, but Rigas believed it was better to let the man still have some fingers left. It would make him believe he could still do things, but he would be very limited. He will try to do everything and then fail. Frustration would take over and he would hate himself for what he had done. That was were Rigas was going for with his action.

Was he overreacting? Maybe. Did he care? Not at all. Justice was served and he hoped the gods would be pleased with it. He hoped this would be an example for the other people. If something like that happened again, Rigas would make that person suffer even more.
While he was cutting of fingers, he could hear Gunnvor interrogating the small boy. They couldn’t forget about him. By only watching what was happening, he would be punished. When you cut of someone's finger, it wasn’t a pretty sight. There was a lot of blood and Rigas his hands were covered in it.

After he had cut the finger of and showed it to the people around him, he almost wanted to give it to the boy. After looking to Gunnvor, he gave Jora a look. But the boy was almost shaking. Rigas knew he had to look at what was happening, his wife would have made sure that he did. It would be real torture for the boy if he had to hold a finger, so Riges decided not to do it. He was cruel in his ways, but not that cruel. The boy was young and he had learned his lesson. He didn’t need to be a broken child for the rest of his life. So he looked back at Gunnvor, giving a small nobd. She was doing the right thing at that moment.
Rigas himself look back at the man that tried to stay strong under the pain. ’Hold this so you get a glimpse of how life without them is going to be.’ He squished the thumb in the man his leftover fingers and closed them so he would not let go. But it had only be the first one, they still had to get rid of the second one. The Earl moved to the man his other side and grabbed the next tumb. He did the exact same thing as before, but he only whimpered, not screaming as before. The crowd still went crazy, they seemed to love it.

’And it is done!’ Rigas yelled while straightening his back with the last thumb in his hand that was covered in blood. He looked down at the man that laid there and didn’t even tried to run away when people released him. The thumb had no use to Rigas, so he threw it to the once armed man. ’Let’s throw them out now,’ he hissed while looking to the boy from the corners of his eyes. The kid would also be thrown out.