Magnus was currently sitting on the floor, happily stacking five square wooden blocks on top of each other.

Gyda walked over to the desk and handed Ragnar a piece of white paper.

"This is a direct report from our northern scout ships~" Gyda stated. "They sailed far past the Faroe Islands on a mapping expedition. They found a massive landmass covered in thick ice and black rocks."

Ragnar took the paper. As far as Ragnar could recall, sitting at his desk after his spies had relayed rumors of a strange, icy land, he knew the geographical and historical facts from his past life.

In 870, Iceland was the new planet for Europeans.

Why was it strange? It was an almost uninhabited island until the Vikings began to settle it in earnest, starting with Ingolfur Arnarson in 874.

It was a place full of active volcanoes and hot springs amidst the ice, a sight the warriors from northern Europe had never seen before, making it a land of legends.

But as Ragnar read the numbers written on the spy report, he frowned deeply. The scouts reported seeing twenty longships anchored in a deep bay.

There were fifty wooden houses built on the snowy shore, and black smoke was rising into the sky.

Who settled there so early?

"This is wrong..." Ragnar said, tapping his finger on the desk. "This spy report clearly says there are at least five hundred people building a fortified town on the coast."

"Perhaps they are Irish monks?" Gyda suggested.

"Irish monks do not build twenty military longships and operate massive iron furnaces," Ragnar explained. "This is a highly organized, heavily armed faction. We need to figure out who they are..."

Ragnar stood up from his chair. "Guards! Bring Louis and Cedric to my office right now!"

Three minutes later, the door opened. Louis the Stammerer, the chief engineer of the kingdom, and Cedric, the Junior Minister of Logistics, walked into the room.

Ragnar handed the piece of white paper directly to Louis.

"Our spies have discovered Iceland. It is a massive island located nine hundred miles northwest of England."

Louis read the report. His eyes widened. "Ragnar, it says here there are massive mountains that spit liquid fire, and pools of boiling water that shoot out of the freezing ice. That is terrifying!"

"It is not terrifying..." Ragnar corrected. "It is the absolute greatest industrial discovery on the planet. If there are hot springs boiling water naturally, what does that mean?"

Louis gasped. He dropped the paper on the desk.

"If the earth is naturally boiling the water, we do not need to burn black coal! We could power one hundred metal factories without mining a single piece of coal!" Louis shouted happily.

Cedric pulled out his piece of black charcoal and his paper ledger.

"Furthermore..." Ragnar continued. "...active volcanoes produce massive concentrated deposits of yellow sulfur. Right now, we struggle to find enough sulfur to manufacture our black powder for the iron muskets. If we control Iceland, we can easily mine pure sulfur."

"That is phenomenal!" Cedric stated, writing the numbers in his ledger

"But there is a major problem. Our spies counted twenty wooden longships and fifty houses. I need to know who they are, and I need to secure that island for the Iron Kingdom." Ragnar nodded firmly.

"It will take seven days to reach the island. If we send a military expedition, we will need to pack fifteen days of food for the round trip, plus an extra thirty days."

Ragnar looked at Cedric.

"...If the enemy has twenty longships, they likely have a fighting force of roughly six hundred men," Cedric explained.

"I recommend we send five of our newly built transport ships. We will load three hundred trained musketeers, ten brass field cannons, and one hundred heavily armored knights. This force will require thirty thousand pounds of salted pork and forty thousand pounds of hard wheat bread."

Magnus stood up from the floor and walked over to Ragnar’s leg. The toddler held up a square wooden block. Ragnar smiled, picking his son up and sitting him comfortably on his strong lap.

"Are you going to lead this naval expedition yourself, Ragnar?" Gyda asked, looking at her husband.

"No, Gyda," Ragnar replied calmly. "I must stay here, i cannot leave the capital."

"Then who will command the fleet?" Cedric asked, pausing his writing.

"Commander Bjorn is currently managing the defense at Calais," Ragnar replied . "But King Erik of Norway is getting bored sitting on the walls in Francia. Erik loves the ocean, and he loves a good mystery. I will send a fast messenger boat to Calais today. King Erik will command the five transport ships and lead the three hundred musketeers to Iceland."

Hakon, the bodyguard who was standing silently by the door, stepped forward. He gripped the handle of his heavy iron axe with both hands.

"I want to go..." Hakon stated. "I want to see the boiling ice." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Ragnar laughed. "Very well~ Hakon. You will sail with Erik."

"This is a massive turning point for the Iron Kingdom," Louis said, quickly packing his paper blueprints away into his leather bag. "I will go to the foundries right now and order the workers to cast the heavy iron pipes."

"And I will go to the docks to secure the ships and the food," Cedric added, bowing to the King.

Ragnar sat back in his chair, holding Magnus. Gyda walked behind him and rested her warm hands on his broad shoulders.

"Whoever settled Iceland so early is going to be very surprised." Gyda smiled.

"They will adapt to our laws, or they will be removed~" Ragnar said, "We need that sulfur to manufacture black powder to protect our people. Starting next week, it is officially the newest industrial zone of the Viking Empire."

Magnus babbled softly, clutching his block against Ragnar’s chest.

The King kissed his son’s hair and stared at the northern map pinned to the wall.

Gyda poured two cups of warm mead and set one beside Ragnar’s hand. Magnus reached for it. Ragnar moved the cup away and replaced it with the small wooden block.

Magnus accepted this trade without complaint.