Chapter 9

"He was lying when he said Thors had been ordered dead. That much is certain. It's an assassination. Whether out of spite or something else, I don't know. But I make this as Floki's own scheme."

- Askeladd

A Trap in Distant Seas (絶海の罠) is the 9th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
At the small village of Streymoy, in the Faroe Islands, Floki conducts a deal with Askeladd and his band to kill Thors for a hundred gold coins, stating he was sentenced to die by their Chief over fifteen years ago as punishment for deserting. When Askeladd asks for an extra hundred gold coins paid up front, Floki says he is growing bold. Askeladd slyly has one of his men "accidentally" loose a spear into a wall tapestry (which hid one of Floki's men) hanging next to him and Floki. Askeladd having proved that he and his band are not all talk while still maintaining plausible deniability, Floki reluctantly agrees to pay the extra sum. Askeladd talks about the deal he made with Floki with his right-hand man Bjorn, surmising that it is not a death sentence outsourced by the Jomsvikings, but rather an assassination which serves a personal scheme of Floki's. He guesses that the Jomsvikings are not taking on Thors themselves because their potential losses would be so notable that they could not hide their failure from their Chief. On Thors's ship, Thors punishes Thorfinn for sneaking onboard by spanking him.

Summary
In Streymoy, on the North Atlantic Ocean's Faroe Islands, Askeladd's band drinks and torments a Christian friar. To get a barrel of alcohol to himself, one man bets he can throw his axe left-handed and hit the friar's head. He warns the priest not to dodge, or he will kill him. The man misses and accuses the friar of dodging before another man takes his turn at throwing. Nearby, a couple of villagers look at the game in horror, sad for the friar. One of Askeladd's men asks the "Jomfellows" to take a break and drink with them, but the Jomsvikings do not react or join. The man rudely calls them stuck up and assumes they think themselves too good to join them. Inside a house a few steps away, Floki and Askeladd talk. Floki calls Askeladd's men boorish, but Askeladd says they just don't care for Christians. He asks Floki to talk business, as his men are tired of being stuck in the village. Floki tells him the broad details have not changed and that Askeladd's band will be paid one hundred gold coins upon producing the dead body of Thors. Askeladd has heard of the "Troll of Jom" and says he thought he was a big hero to the Jomsvikings. Floki coldly states that the "hero" part did not doom Thors to die, but rather his flouting the precepts of the band and deserting in the face of the enemy, resulting in his sentence to death over fifteen years prior. Askeladd notes that fifteen years is quite picky, even for the notoriously picky Jomsvikings. He tells an unimpressed Floki that they will still do the job, but asks why they did not just kill Thors on the spot when they went to find him in Iceland, since a group who sentences one of their own to death usually carries out the execution themselves. Floki tells Askeladd it is none of his business and that he should stop asking stupid questions for his own sake. Unperturbed, Askeladd asks for another hundred coins up front to do the job. Floki glares at him, says he is growing bold, and that he did not think Askeladd could test his patience that way. Askeladd asks him if they should find out. As they stare each other down, a loose spear from the men outside is shot inside, passing between Askeladd and Floki before burying itself in the wall tapestry beside them. Bjorn sheepishly apologizes from outside, saying the spear slipped out of his hand, and asks if anyone is hurt. Askeladd laughs it off, telling them to be careful, as they almost hit him. Askeladd reminds Floki that he was asking for another hundred gold up front, which Floki reluctantly agrees to. Grinning, Askeladd starts to leave, but first asks Floki what kind of warrior Thors is, as well as his identifying features and fighting style. Floki simply states that Thors is no longer a warrior. Askeladd steps out and tips his men's alcohol barrel over; he tells them it's enough drinking, as it's time for them to get to work. He bumps arms with orn]] and compliments him on his spear work, mentioning the look on Floki's face, which Bjorn says he wishes he could've seen. Inside the house, Floki tears down a portion of the tapestry, revealing the spear killed one of his men, who had been stationed behind it. He notes Askeladd's band must be more than just talk after all. While Askeladd's band boards their longships, Askeladd tells Bjorn that there's something off about the job and that Floki is hiding too much, certainly lying when he said Thors had been ordered dead. Askeladd deduces that the job is an assassination and Floki's own scheme, though he does not know if it is out of spite or something else. Bjorn asks why it matters, if in the end they will still kill Thors and get paid. Askeladd asks Bjorn to guess why Floki doesn't have his own men do the job. Bjorn guesses that it is because he doesn't want to soil his own hands by denying official orders. Askeladd says it is possible, but that he himself guesses it is because Floki is afraid the potential losses would be so significant that he could not hide his failure from his chief. Bjorn is dubious that an entire team of Jomsvikings could be threatened by one ex-warrior. Askeladd says it makes him really want to see the "Troll of Jom", and that he hopes he's worth all the trouble.

On Thors's longship, Thors drags Thorfinn down from the mast. He spanks him as Hakon and Magni look on laughing.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Floki
 * Askeladd
 * Bjorn
 * Thorfinn
 * Thors Snorresson
 * Ari
 * Hakon
 * Magni