Chapter 32: Defectors

Reaching the Mercian village where Askeladd's company had sheltered, Thorkell and a handful of his warriors cut down the men who chose to quit Askeladd and wait behind to join them. One deserter pleads that they abandoned Askeladd and now serve Thorkell's side, which is how Thorkell first learns the enemy leader's name before killing him anyway. He reasons that attempted desertion means the band is badly rattled and the main force cannot be far ahead. When Asgeir suggests the runaways could have been absorbed, Thorkell answers that he would rather see them dead than count on cowards who switch allegiance the moment danger appears instead of standing to fight.

Upstream along the River Severn, the fleeing band crosses a bridge, and Askeladd puts Torgrim and Atli in charge of tearing it down behind them, trusting Ear's read that there is just enough time. Out of drink, Willibald digs through the cart hoping for more and is told there is barely enough for the others. He notices Canute sitting silent, eyes lowered. Down in the frigid stream, Torgrim scoffs that the shallow water will barely reach an enemy's waist, but Atli insists that felling the bridge is better than nothing. Torgrim glances up at Askeladd and wonders whether the captain has finally run out of schemes.

Catching Torgrim's stare, Askeladd calls Bjorn and Thorfinn to him, hands Bjorn command of the prince's sled, and tells Thorfinn to ride alongside and stay ready. When Bjorn asks if he is certain, Askeladd explains that his gift is reading a man's true nature at a glance, including the moment a traitor hides among the loyal. Beneath the bridge Torgrim voices his plan to Atli: the band is finished, so they should snatch the prince and present him to Thorkell as a peace offering. He claims half the men already agree and the rest will follow. Atli looks shaken at the word betrayal, but Torgrim reframes it as merely holding a failing chief accountable, noting that Askeladd's luck has soured and every recent plan has unraveled.

With the bridge broken, Askeladd praises the work, saying it will cost Thorkell time hauling his sleds across, and that abandoning those sleds would leave the pursuers hungry and slow. The march resumes until Ear suddenly warns that the enemy has arrived. Flashes glint on the hill behind them, the spears of Thorkell and his men. Spotting his quarry, Thorkell hurls a single spear with tremendous force, running four men through at once beside a blood-spattered Askeladd.

Thorkell reaches the abandoned Mercian village and slaughters the deserters, learning Askeladd's name in the process. The fleeing band tears down a bridge over the River Severn to delay the pursuit. Sensing treachery, Askeladd moves Bjorn and Thorfinn into position around the prince's sled. Beneath the bridge, Torgrim recruits a reluctant Atli to a plan to hand Canute over to Thorkell. The chapter closes as Thorkell's thrown spear skewers four of Askeladd's men in a single strike.

Set in January 1014, this Volume 5 chapter is adapted within Episode 16 and carries the Japanese title Tobo Heidan. The featured quote spotlights Askeladd's claimed talent for judging character on sight, which foreshadows the internal split he already senses. The episode plants the seeds of the mutiny that erupts in the chapters that follow, contrasting Thorkell's contempt for turncoats with Torgrim's quiet scheming.