Ragnar studied the map for a long while, his eyes tracing every ridge and valley. At last he summoned Æthelwulf, appointing him as Rurik's lieutenant. As Duke of Mercia, Æthelwulf's lands bordered Wales—making him the natural choice for such a post.
Outside the command tent, Æthelwulf advised, "We should recruit more men."
Rurik nodded. "Since the royal treasury is covering all expenses, I plan to expand the force to four thousand. Absolute strength will crush them before they can resist."
After more than two months of campaigning, his own corps had withered to fourteen hundred men.
When the spoils were divided, only a thousand chose to remain in service.
Counting the militia Æthelwulf could raise from his own estates, Rurik intended to recruit two thousand more.
The two men then took ship up the Thames to Oxford, where Halfdan and his four hundred battered survivors were resting.
