Ragnar Stormbringer—Dvar alliance

Ragnar Stormbringer—Dvar alliance is forged under siege, when knowledge becomes a form of aid as valuable as force. Dvar, an old man of the local tribe, shows Ragnar a concealed tunnel and gives him a bronze amulet intended for Belshezan. Ragnar accepts the uncertain mission, carries Dvar’s token beyond the encirclement, and returns it after finding help. Their relationship develops from a meeting shaped by immediate danger into a bond marked by trust, concern, and mutual respect.

An alliance formed under siege

Ragnar’s commitment to the people at Jarl Thryggvi's Hill-Fort precedes his close cooperation with Dvar. After discovering Heimval’s remains and learning that the dead man had left a wife and two children, Ragnar resolves both to avenge him and to help the settlers who had sheltered him through the harsh northern winter. The Wights’ approach turns that commitment into an urgent problem: the villagers have crowded into the fort, provisions are limited, and the enemy surrounds them. Dvar’s help matters because Ragnar cannot solve the crisis simply by fighting harder.

Ragnar finds Dvar standing alone outside one of the larger huts and tells him plainly that he cannot force his way through the Wights to seek aid. He asks Dvar to share anything that might offer a way forward, however unlikely. The appeal is candid about the limits of Ragnar’s strength: he will not throw his life away in an attempt that would accomplish nothing for the people inside. Dvar, in turn, studies him before deciding to show him something about the place. Their alliance begins with this exchange of frank assessments: Ragnar admits what he cannot do, and Dvar chooses to reveal knowledge he has kept largely to himself.

Dvar's knowledge and Ragnar's judgment

Dvar explains that the fort stands on a very old site. The jarl has improved it, but its earliest defenses—the ditch and earthen rampart—were made by Dvar’s tribe. As a child, Dvar explored the place and discovered a concealed tunnel running from within the fort to somewhere deep among the trees. He cannot promise that the passage reaches beyond the creatures’ encircling ring, but it offers a hidden route out. The discovery gives Ragnar an option where the visible approaches are blocked, though it also carries a risk: the tunnel could provide a way into the fort if the Wights find it.

Dvar is unable to open the old entrance himself. He grips a rust-covered ring set in a square of rough planks, strains at it, and finally admits that years have passed since it was last opened and that he no longer has the strength for the task. Ragnar takes over, using his legs and upper body to wrench the timber covering free of the frozen ground. The moment makes their cooperation physical as well as strategic: Dvar supplies the knowledge and identifies the obstacle; Ragnar supplies the strength needed to act on it.

The tunnel alone does not answer Ragnar’s central concern. He points out that any other settlement is many days away on horseback, that no horse can pass through the narrow passage, and that the people in the fort cannot hold out long enough for a distant appeal to work. Dvar answers that the tunnel is only part of what he can offer. He produces a small bronze amulet worn on a leather cord and entrusts it to Ragnar, explaining that it will identify a reclusive sorcerer who cares for the natural world and would regard the Wights as an abomination. Ragnar remains wary of sorcerers, recognizing that power can be used along different paths, but he accepts Dvar’s account as a chance worth taking. Dvar’s assurance is not proof of certainty; it is a reason to act before dwindling food and firewood make the fort’s eventual defeat unavoidable.

The parting and the dangerous errand

Ragnar decides to seek Belshezan and prepares to leave with Dvar’s amulet. Before departing, he tells Jarl Thryggvi and several others of his plan, takes a small supply of food, and walks the full circuit of the wall-walk, reminding the watchers to remain vigilant. He then returns to the tunnel entrance, where Dvar is still waiting. Their parting is not treated as a casual exchange of information: Dvar asks Ragnar to return soon and says that he will pray to the gods until he comes back. His concern is visible to Ragnar, who understands that his mission carries the hopes of everyone within the fort, including Dvar.

Ragnar tries to reassure him that he intends to stay outside no longer than necessary. He puts a hand on Dvar’s shoulder and thanks him for revealing both the tunnel and the sorcerer. Dvar rejects the idea that this deserves thanks: he is defending himself, his tribe, and everyone in the fort by sharing what he knows. He calls Ragnar a brave warrior capable of making good use of that knowledge. Their words define the alliance as reciprocal rather than merely transactional. Dvar does not ask Ragnar to take the risk for his sake alone; he contributes what he can to the defense, while Ragnar turns that contribution into action.

Return and mutual regard

When Ragnar comes back to the fort, Cnut asks whether the beasts were his doing. Ragnar confirms that they were and says there is much to tell, drawing astonished looks from those watching him enter. Dvar is among the crowd and greets him with a smile, immediately recognizing that Ragnar has found the person he was sent to seek. Ragnar answers that Belshezan was not what he expected, a brief acknowledgment that the mission has succeeded without pretending the encounter followed Dvar’s description in every respect.

Ragnar takes the bronze amulet from inside his cloak and gives it back to Dvar. He explains that he has no need of it now that he has returned alive. Dvar cradles the token in his wrinkled hands and looks at it fondly. Its return closes the practical loop of their alliance: Dvar’s entrusted object has served its purpose, and Ragnar brings it back rather than treating it as a permanent possession or forgetting who enabled the journey. The scene also distinguishes this bronze amulet from the silver amulet Ragnar found among Heimval’s remains earlier; Dvar’s token is the one connected to the search for Belshezan.

Their reunion relaxes into personal warmth. Ragnar suggests that Dvar can hear the story over many cups of the rye drink loved in the area, and Dvar responds with pleasure at the prospect of kvas. Ragnar pats him on the shoulder and says they will speak later, because he needs food, drink, and rest. Dvar agrees that these are earned and bows to him. The pause is significant: their cooperation has moved beyond the single emergency task, but the promised conversation is deferred while Ragnar recovers from the work that made their joint effort possible.

The relationship's significance

Dvar and Ragnar complement one another without occupying identical roles. Dvar knows the fort’s buried history and remembers the tunnel from childhood; he also knows of a person whose allegiance to the natural world may make him an opponent of the Wights. Ragnar brings the strength to open the passage, the judgment to weigh the risks, and the willingness to leave the apparent safety of the fort in search of a remedy. Neither man can accomplish the task alone: Dvar’s information would remain inaccessible without Ragnar’s action, while Ragnar’s courage would be directionless without Dvar’s knowledge and amulet.

The relationship is shaped by the difference between hope and assurance. Dvar cannot guarantee that the tunnel will carry Ragnar past the encircling creatures, and he cannot promise what Belshezan will do. Ragnar notices those uncertainties, questions the dangers, and still chooses the attempt because the people’s supplies are running down and waiting offers no lasting solution. Their alliance therefore rests not on certainty but on a shared response to limited time: Dvar gives what he knows, and Ragnar accepts responsibility for using it. The returned amulet, Dvar’s prayerful farewell, and their easy exchange about kvas give that emergency partnership a human continuity beyond the mission itself.