The Guests are a group of men hired by Ketil to protect his farm.
Description[]
Overview[]
The Guests, a group of 13 men hired by Ketil to protect his farm, are led by Snake. They reside in a fortress on Ketil's farm. The Guests do night patrols, mostly to deter and catch petty thieves. It is implied that they may have shady pasts; they all go by animal-themed sobriquets instead of their real names.
History[]
Slave Arc[]
Fox and Badger encounter Olmar and encourage him to become a man by killing someone, reminding him that the farm has men he is allowed to kill, such as slaves. They bring Thorfinn and Einar to their fortress in order for Olmar to kill them. When Olmar is knocked back by Einar and Thorfinn insists that only he be cut down, Fox decides he'll show Thorfinn he isn't as indifferent to death as he seems by cutting him with his sword. He cuts Thorfinn multiple times and slices off the tip of his left ear, before being interrupted by Snake.
The Guests later investigate thieves who have been stealing flour and meat. They catch two children, siblings Sture and Thora, and bring them to Ketil to be dealt with.
When Gardar escapes Kjallakr's farm after killing him and his sons, Fox comes to warn Snake, who instructs him to increase the rounds to teams of three men and to call for assistance if the escaped slave is spotted. Fox, Badger and Lizard eventually spot him, appearing to sleep. They end up spotted themselves when they loudly argue about how to handle the situation; Gardar wakes and kills Lizard. Gardar takes a horse and finds Arnheid, Fox and Badger not far behind on horseback. Snake fights Gardar, succeeding in wounding and subsequently restraining him.
Gardar, restrained, is kept under guard at the Guests' lodging. Despite Snake forbidding it, a Guest is flustered by Arnheid's pleading and allows her to see to Gardar's wounds. Gardar bites the throat of a Guest who gets too close to him and gets Arnheid to cut the ropes binding him, then escapes. In total, Gardar kills five of the Guests, as stated by Snake when he fights Thorfinn[1]. Lizard is killed by Gardar before he is captured, and he kills additional Guests once he is captured and escapes.
When Canute's army makes its way to Ketil's farm, Snake makes it clear that they have no chance against the army and the Jomsvikings. The Guests are eager to leave the fraudulent Ketil and save themselves, but Snake intends to stay for the hundreds of men who have to fight for Ketil despite their lack of fighting experience, to earn the food he's eaten while employed as a Guest. Inspired by Snake, the Guests decide to do the honourable thing and remain to fight.
The remaining eight guests, in addition to Snake, survive the battle with Canute's army, They remain on the farm once Olmar takes over, though his reparations to the families of the men who were wounded or died in the battle cuts the size of Ketil's farm in half. The Guests are directed to do fieldwork and complain about it, but Snake tells them they'll finally be earning their meals.
Members[]
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Vinland Saga Manga: Chapter 86, page 8