Chapter 25: Bluff

The Welsh archers kill Askeladd's horse out from under him, but he rolls free and orders his men to hold their fire. Both he and Bjorn read the volley correctly: had the ambushers truly meant to slaughter, their first arrows would have struck men instead of a mount, so the display is only a show of strength meant to gain leverage in the coming parley. Askeladd greets the Brycheiniog envoy, Asser, in fluent Welsh, astonishing a man who assumed Danish beasts had no use for language.

Hoping to intimidate a path through, Askeladd brings Canute forward and urges him to say anything fierce so it can be twisted into a royal threat. The trembling prince only shrinks behind Ragnar. Askeladd's patience frays, and he asks how such a boy could ever fill King Sweyn's place while cowering in his shell like a clam. Ragnar erupts in his defense, explaining that silence and going unnoticed were the only ways a sickly child survived a royal household full of vipers, and warns Askeladd to mind his station.

Backing down, Askeladd apologizes for overstepping and sets off with Gratianus to reveal the true plan to Asser. As they walk, Thorfinn sneers at Canute's cowardice and asks whether they can really be the same age, leaving the prince ashamed. Gratianus observes that Ragnar coddles the boy and does him no favors, and that many tasks lie ahead for Askeladd's scheme, the first being that the young bird must learn to fly on his own wings. Askeladd gravely agrees that he knows.

The Welsh down Askeladd's horse as a calculated bluff rather than an opening attack. Askeladd stuns Asser by speaking Welsh. Canute again fails to speak and hides behind Ragnar. Ragnar reveals how the prince learned to survive by escaping notice. Gratianus and Askeladd agree that Canute must eventually stand on his own.

The twenty-fifth chapter is part of Volume 4 and was adapted in Episode 13 of the anime. It was published on September 25, 2006. The epigraph, spoken by Gratianus, likens Canute to a chick that must one day leave the nest.