Episode 17: Servant

Ringed by men demanding the prince, Askeladd drifts back to a memory of his sickly mother in the stables, who spoke of Avalon and King Artorius and asked her son to one day become the returning king's staff and sword. Snapping back, Askeladd tells his men that decades of shared hardship never earned his affection, that he loathed every one of them, and he beheads two on the spot. Torgrim orders a rush for Canute, but Thorfinn cuts them down with thrown knives and the sled bolts away.

Realizing the leader anticipated the betrayal, Torgrim sends men after the prince while Askeladd holds off the rest, and a distant Thorkell fumes that a fight has begun without him. When Atli's group catches the sled, Bjorn warns that anyone after the prince should be ready to die, and a killed horse flips the vehicle over. Thorfinn kicks Atli aside, seizes his mount, and races back toward Askeladd, while the surfacing Bjorn swallows a berserker mushroom.

Age begins to tell as Askeladd struggles against the swarm, and though an axe blow to his back fails to pierce his armor, his fury cleaves a man clean through the helmet, cowing the others. When he calms and invites them to continue, they instead level their arrows, and he warns that killing him would bring Bjorn and Thorfinn's wrath, while a hostage could be traded for the prince. Torgrim orders shots to the legs, and arrows pin the mercenary down. Asked why he risks everything for a coward prince, Askeladd answers that his years are short and he can no longer wait for the true king from Avalon.

As Torgrim orders the finishing blow, three of his men drop dead from arrows, and Thorkell's company appears behind them. Thorkell strides to Askeladd, praises his cunning, and asks after Thorfinn, satisfied to hear the young warrior guards the prince and took no part in the revolt. He orders every rebel killed except Askeladd, and his men herd Torgrim's group into a hopeless fight, mocking that laying down arms would bar them from Valhalla.

Rather than let Torgrim bargain, Thorkell declares he will retrieve the prince himself and thrusts an axe at the terrified man, demanding a duel. Torgrim's nerve shatters entirely, leaving him mute and unresponsive as his mind gives way. In that moment Thorfinn charges in, and Thorkell knocks his horse flying with a single punch.

Thorfinn plants himself between the two giants and warns Thorkell not to touch Askeladd, whom he claims as his own prey, threatening to kill anyone who takes him first. Askeladd marvels that a mouse would pick a fight with a bear, and Thorfinn flatly denies serving the mercenary at all. Amused, Thorkell refuses to surrender Askeladd and instead proposes a duel over him, promising that if Thorfinn wins he may leave freely, with a horse and his prize both.