"Join the Iron Alliance" he said, in a confident tone, looking one by one at all three Crows Of Odin Masters.

For a few seconds, a contemplative silence swooped into the hall.

"I agree, Dag, as I told you before the battle, that only strengthened my opinion. We've nothing to lose from such an alliance, and I think Skjegg needs allies now more than ever" Sander said, sitting back at the table and pouring mead into a half-empty gla.s.s next to him.

Dag looked at Kjell, who at that moment turned to him, then to Ellen.

"Gridd, can you show them the Alliance contract?" he asked.

She obeyed without hesitation, extracting the contract from a bag and bringing it to their attention, pa.s.sing it into the hands of Kjell, who then handed it over to Ellen.

Both carefully read its contents, devoting a few minutes longer than necessary, trying to identify the details as well.

"Kjell, Ellen... this guy has proven his worth in battle and his great skills as a strategist. No one would ever survive on that island with such numerical inferiority. Moreover, his heart is pure, I can feel it from how he looks at his woman, for whom he would be ready to sacrifice his own life" Sander said, trying to convince his two colleagues to accept the alliance proposal.

"That is another great weakness, as well as those powers of which no one knows anything. He will only bring calamity to our Clan and the others, including ours" Kjell said after a few minutes of silent reflection.

Dag did not answer and looked down thinking about what he could say in contrast to Kjell's thinking, knowing that it would not be easy to convince him.

"However... a few hours ago I fought alongside him and I must say that despite his young age, he is a very strong warrior, who in addition to knowing how to use his weapons, also uses his brain. Lately, life here in Skjegg is becoming too monotonous and I need to fight more before I get old and die. In a matter of days, many things happened out of the ordinary... I believe that the great Alfather would approve this alliance" he continued, crossing his arms as he used to do and looking away from Dag, annoying himself in proving him right. 

Dag was incredibly surprised by those words and, after hinting at a smile, said: "Thank you!" still in disbelief at Kjell's positive response, which despite his grumpy character, seemed like a man capable of thinking carefully about such important decisions, swallowing his pride.

"So… you don't want to fight him? It says that when a new Clan joins the Iron Alliance, one of its Masters can challenge the reigning Warchief for the t.i.tle. What's wrong with you, Kjell? Did you soften up? I don't recognize you like this! Hahaha" exclaimed Ellen, surprised by her colleague's submissiveness, usually overbearing and haughty.

"No kidding, Ellen. If you had read carefully, you would have noticed that Warchief's t.i.tle is only a formality. I am the Master Of Offense of this Clan and I will remain so until my death. This guy won't make decisions that will involve my men without my permission" Kjell replied, turning to Dag, who nodded, confirming his statement. 

"Pff! I never expected that from you, I thought you were a man of great ambitions! Not too bad! If you'll not do that… I'm going to challenge this guy for the Warchief t.i.tle!" continued Ellen, pointing her finger at Dag, under the astonished gaze of Gridd and the others, who did not expect this twist.

"f.u.c.k, it wasn't supposed to go like this! This sphere continues to vibrate and remind me that Kjell has an emblem... now I'll have to challenge both him and Ellen! I've never seen this s.h.i.+eldmaiden fight, so I don't know her style, but... I think I can do it" Dag thought, as his well-designed plan to earn Kjell's emblem and also fought to keep Warchief's t.i.tle was falling apart.

"So, Master Dag? I think you have an obligation to accept my challenge!" continued Ellen, urging Dag to give her a concrete answer.

"Of course, I accept. But there's one more thing I want to tell you. If you're my allies, I want to be totally honest with you: in addition to reuniting the Okstorm Clans, I'm going to conquer the emblems and challenge King Einarr" Dag said aloud, looking into Kjell's eyes, who immediately understood what he was referring to and put his hand under his jacket, giggling.

Dag did the same, pulling the necklace with bronze eye pendant out of his pocket.

"I'd like to challenge you for your emblem, Kjell!" Dag continued, self-confident as the other one continued to laugh.

"Probie, it's clear that you don't know how the emblems work!" he said, raising his pendant to Dag, which was a kind of gold coin with a hole in the center and runes engraved along the edges.

"What are you talking about?" continued Dag, while everyone else in the room just listened and watched the scene.

"The emblem in your hands is the n° 8, the 'Bronze Eye'. This is the 'Pierced Coin', which is the n °5 emblem. That means you have no right to challenge me, kid" Kjell continued, putting his pendant back in his pocket and looking at Dag with superiority.

"But... but I had the n° 10 emblem when I got this new one! I've never even seen number 9, what does that mean?" asked Dag again, looking at the necklace in his hands with disappointment.

"I'm not surprised that the owners of lower rank emblems don't know the rules... but in higher ranks, like mine, for example, the rules must be respected literally. I would have loved to fight with you, boy, to show you what I'm capable of, but... I'm afraid that our fight will have to wait. You're two ranks away to officially challenge me, the rules are rules!" chuckled Kjell again, looking up at the ceiling and mocking Dag, who gritted his teeth with nervousness.