Scandinavian leftovers

6

On the eleventh day of the snowstorm - which by now covered all of Scandinavia - seventeen pirates sailed into the fjords. Despite the cold they still hoped to loot. They knew that at this time ships would remain in the harbours. This implied that cargo would remain there also! They sailed into the harbour of Jehuda town. These pirates were here for the first time. They've already raided several Cimbrian ships on the Baltic sea. This time, they chose to try Norway due to the wealthy Greco-Roman trade settlements over there. They suspected that the prosperity of Britain, which became famous throughout the world, would make Norway wealthier - and therefore a better place to loot. These men were outcasts from their own community. They were rejected on jobs and their own families used them as scapegoats. They, instead of permitting their community to abuse and kill them, decided to leave and find a better existence. Some hope to return back wealthy to their homeland. They still have the vain hope that their relatives will repent of their wickedness. Three of them are realistic and hope to quit piracy after the winter is over. They hope to build a house or a farm in Britain or Gaul. They have no interest whatsoever to return back unto a past that never was. When they saw the boat of the Rhaetian they were surprised. The style of the ship was unknown unto them. Despite the snow on the ship, they managed to loot some frozen vessels of olive oil. One of the pirates make plain that it wasn't wise to sail away at this time. They, instead, broke in (quietly) into the hostel that was located over there. Inside it was warm. The hostel manager woke up and saw them. He hid himself! He didn't knew who those men were! The pirates lay down in the warmth. 

At the same time, in Britain, envoys from Irish chieftains arrived in London. The Irish states wanted to secure their economies to prevent a potential annexation by the Romans. They were received by the governor. The governor and the interpreters worked out a deal with the ambassadors. The governor agreed to treaties as long as Rome was permitted to station small militia camps in their country. The ambassadors agreed, on the condition that the chieftains and their relatives would receive Roman citizenship and a formal representation in the Senate of Britain. The governor agreed with this also. The meeting didn't take long. Only two days. 

While in Norway the seventeen pirates hid into Jehudatown. They wore similar clothes to the local people. The leaders were informed about their presence. Nevertheless, the leaders didn't arrest them to prevent social unrest. Verita was unaware of what happened. At this time, she seldom left the palace. The leaders of Jehuda town had a secret meeting with the other chieftains in Norway. They met in a mountain village, in a large inner temple, where they discussed their plans for the coming year. Several chieftains were concerned about the growing population and the lack of housing. More housing would mean more towns. More towns would mean more people with landownership and that would endanger the power of the elites. 

''So, what shall we do with the growing population?''

''Didn't like a decade ago a few thousand were shipped to Britain?''

''We can't do that anymore. At the time, the Roman rule was quite weak and ineffective.''

''We still need to find a way to either reduce the population or improve the system to manage the towns and the future food supply...''

''We would be very stupid to reduce the population. We need more natives in order to maintain our country.''

''Aren't we literally one country with Scandia?''

''We are. We are one country: Scandinavia, that contains two nations. Us, Norway, and the Swedes, Goths, Levons and Stions form the nation Scandia.''

''Don't forget the Phavonians. They are a small tribe, but they are part of Scandia too!''

''The Scandians have many towns, they also have an extended local and national road system. It's far from perfect, nevertheless, they have provinces and they even have a tiny navy!''