by Griff Hosker
“Clan of the Wolf, let us send these savages to the bottom of the ocean. Ran must be hungry!”
With a roar of, “Clan of the Wolf!” We all stepped forward, punching with our shields as we hacked and slashed with our swords or stabbed with our spears. The enemy dead provided a convenient step so that we were higher than the men we faced. The mail hood I wore proved to be a wise choice as a spear was thrown from the galley. I saw it at the last moment and moved my head to the side. The spear scraped off the side. Without the hood I would have had a hole in the side of my face! Haaken and I had Sven Stormbringer with us. We were not the youngest of warriors but we were the most experienced and with our huge shields the warriors before us stood no chance.
I heard Aiden shout, “Fire!” He had sent his fire to the ship and now it would begin to die.
Confident that the enemy would not understand the word I turned to Haaken, “Let us sever the ropes which bind us.” I sheathed my sword for I saw an opportunity. The captain of the galley was standing above us on the side of his ship. He clung on to the backstay. I picked up a discarded spear and hurled it at him. He was less than five paces from me and it hit him in the middle. He overbalanced and tumbled on to our deck. I grabbed his sword which fell at my feet and I hacked through one of the ropes which bound us. Just at that moment there was a roar as the flaming pot which Aiden had thrown at the stern set fire to the oil lamp which they used at night. The tinder dry deck began to burn. As the galley’s crew looked at their burning ship and without a captain to give orders, the last rope was severed and the wind took us away from the burning galley. The other Arab was twenty lengths away. She would no longer be able to attack us. At best she might save the crew of the galley.
“Dragonheart! Dragonheart! Dragonheart!” The crew cheered my name. We had won… again.
Chapter 14
We had lost men. Four had died and we buried them at sea. We wrapped them in cloth and sewed them up with a weight inside so that they would sink to the bottom. We counted thirty-two bodies of Arabs and Moors. After taking their mail, swords, rings, helmets and coins we fed their bodies to the sharks. Despite the four deaths there was a sense of euphoria on the drekar. We had fought and outwitted a greater number of enemies. It was a victory. The Arabs would be wary of attacking a drekar in future; even a single one. Our good fortune deserted us the next day.
A storm began to brew in the night. Arne woke me and his father for he sensed that we were in for a blow. The air felt heavy and the wind had died to a breeze. Erik woke the ship’s boys and they were sent aloft in readiness for reefing the sails. Arne asked, “What about the crew?”
“Let them rest as long as we can. We may need them to row and they fought a battle this day.” Erik nodded his agreement.
I stayed awake. I had been close to death. Sleep was no longer important. I would live each day as though it was my last and make the most of this reprieve. I felt the breeze begin to grow. As dawn broke it was not the normal blue sky which greeted us but black clouds. Perhaps the god of the Blue Sea was a Moor and he was angry with us for killing so many of his men. When the ship began to pitch Erik ordered the sail reefed. Arne woke the crew. I shouted, “You have time to make water, grab some food and ale and then take an oar. This will be a long day of rowing. The Allfather would know if you are men who can face his fiercest storm!”
The experienced men, and that was most of the crew, took food and an ale skin to their chest. They knew they might not be able to leave the chest for some time. As the winds increased and the sky became so black that it might as well have been night Erik shouted, “Reef the sail. Rowers run out the oars. One man in two to row.”
We would use the method which conserved energy. We would not make a great number of miles but we would be able to keep the ship afloat and moving. We had barely begun to row when Lars, who would be the last ship’s boy to descend, shouted, “There is a ship in trouble, Captain. She is north of us. It looks like they are trying to run before the storm. She is heading for us.”
I went to the steerboard side and peered into the dark. A flash of lightning illuminated the sea briefly. I saw the ship. It was not an Arab, it had the sail of a Frank. Without oars she would be at the mercy of the wind and the storm. The crack of thunder shook us. Aiden asked, “Can we not help them?”
Erik shook his head, “They are doomed.” As if to make the point there was another flash of lightning and this time the crack of thunder was almost instantaneous. We saw that the foresail on the Frank had torn loose and was dragging in the water. They were now just twenty lengths from us. I watched as a figure tried to cut away the wreckage. A wave swept him over the side. All went black again until another flash of lightning and crack of thunder showed us that the ship was beam on to the waves and we saw the next wave swamp the ship. The sky became black and waves threatened us. When the next flash of lighting lit up the sea all that we saw were pieces of wreckage. It was a warning.
Aiden came over to me, holding on to the gunwale as he did so. “It seems the Allfather is more powerful than the White Christ.”
I shook my head, “That is not the reason they sank. Their ships are not as good as ours. Thank Bolli. It is his work and Erik’s skill which will save us.”
The day which was like a night eventually became night and the wind finally abated. We had no idea where we were and the crew were exhausted. Erik took the decision to use sea anchors. When dawn came we would be able to use our compass and maps. We were within a few days of the Pillars of Hercules. We had to know precisely where we were before we risked those straits.
We all took turns to sleep. We needed a watch all night. We saw lightning far to the north but the thunder was distant. The storm had moved off but that did not mean it would not return. We ate and we drank. Sámr the Ship Killer and Germund the Lame needed treatment from Aiden. They had used his salve but the salt water and the rowing had made their hands like pieces of raw meat. As Aiden dressed them and bandaged them he said, “The Blue Sea has more salt than our sea. That is why the wounds are worse.”
I shook my head, “What a comfort you are Aiden!”
He smiled, “I like to inform my patients. These two cannot row again until their hands are healed. That may take half a month.”
We four were on watch together. “So Germund, are you sorry you came with us now? David ben Samuel’s home was a much safer place.”
He smiled, “Jarl, I am back amongst my own kind.” He tapped his lame leg. “Here I am useful despite my injury. I like these men. They have made me welcome. David ben Samuel was a good master but his servants did not make me welcome. I was still a barbarian to them.”
“And you, Sámr the Ship Killer, do you wish that you had stayed at home with Ulla War Cry?”
He laughed, “You have to ask? My days of staying at home are over. I have coin and Bagsecg can make me a byrnie. I will go to war with my oar brothers.”
I looked at Germund, “You cannot stand in a shield wall.”
He nodded, “I know but you have a standard. A man does not need two good legs to stand and hold a banner.” He smiled. “In fact, it is better if he does not move eh, Jarl?”
I had a good crew!
I was asleep when dawn broke. I had had a couple of disturbed night’s sleep and I slept through the crew looking for danger as the sun rose over our stern. I was woken by a call from the masthead, “Wreckage off the steerboard side.”
I rose and went to the steering board. Arne was at the helm. He said, “It will be from the Frank we saw sink yesterday. The currents take everything towards the straits.”
“There is a body on the wreckage Jarl.”
Arne looked at me. Sailors have an affinity for other sailors. His eyes begged me to sail to the wreckage. I looked up at the sky. It was blue and the breeze was a good one. I nodded, “Go and investigate.”
As we turned to head towards the body Lars shouted, “His arm moved! He is alive!”
Olaf snorted, �
�It will be the wind or perhaps a fish tugs at him. No man can live at sea on a piece of wreckage for this length of time.”
We turned from our course. I could see that it was the yard and part of a mast which had broken from the ship. They had formed a cross and, as we neared it I could see that it was a youth or a boy who lay spread-eagled like the White Christ I had often seen in the churches we had raided. I hoped it was not an omen. Three of the ship’s boys hung from ropes over the side. We let out the rope so that they could swim to the boy. Lars grabbed him and we hauled on the three ropes to pull them back. Once the body was lifted onto the deck we saw that it was, indeed, a youth. He looked to be about the same age as Sámr but he was scrawny in comparison.
Olaf Leather Neck snorted, “He is dead! He does not move.”
Germund the Lame broke through and said, “You are wrong. He has water in his lungs that is all!” He turned him over and began to push on his back. Nothing seemed to be happening and so Germund stood and, holding the youth before him pulled hard on his middle. Suddenly the youth vomited seawater. Olaf Leather Neck was covered in the sea water and the contents of the youth’s lungs. The youth began to cough. He was alive.
Olaf laughed and said. “The Allfather is teaching me a lesson! Do not be so hasty!”
Aiden stepped forward, “Thank you, Germund the Lame, although your name does not do you justice. You have saved this Frank’s life.” He wrapped a cloak around the youth and lifted him up. We all saw then that this was, indeed a Frank. It should have come as no surprise and yet it did for the youth had survived for many hours at sea. Ran had chosen to save him. Why?
We resumed our course. I stood by the steering board where Aiden was taking the wet clothes from the youth. He looked at me, “He needs warm clothes and he needs to be warmed from the inside. Look at his colour, jarl, he is as blue as the sea.”
Sámr and Germund were standing nearby and they helped Aiden to remove the clothes. I took my wolf cloak from my chest. “Wrap him in this while we fetch clothes.”
Germund wrapped the cloak around him while Aiden poured some of the wine we had bought in Miklagård into his mouth. Germund stood and said, “This is your wolf cloak, Jarl Dragonheart; are you Ulfheonar?”
I nodded. “As are Olaf and Haaken.”
“Does the cloak have powers?”
“It has saved my life many times.” A sudden thought struck me and I went to my chest and brought out Ragnar’s Spirit. “Perhaps the sword which was touched by the gods may help him.” I laid it on his chest.
Germund said, “He is a Frank, a Christian. Why should the gods help him?”
“Because he died and has been reborn. He does not yet know what he is. He can choose the way of the White Christ or the way of the Allfather.”
Germund did not look convinced. Sámr and Aiden dressed him in warm clothes and then he was wrapped again in the cloak with the sword laid upon his chest. Aiden fed the youth beer and water. As the rest of the crew went about their duties and he and I were alone with the wolf cloaked Frank I said, “You seem quite worried about someone you do not know, Aiden. Are your powers returning? Is there something you know that we cannot see?”
He shook his head, “Until we pass through the straits then I am as other men.” He smiled, “Save that I have a mind, unlike Olaf Leather Neck!”
“Olaf has a mind but it is a mind for war. What does your mind tell you about this youth?”
“There is no cross about his neck. All followers have one even if it is a crude one fashioned from wood.
“It may have fallen off at sea.”
Aiden opened the cloak and the top of the kyrtle. “Then how did this survive?” There was a leather thong and a small leather pouch. The youth was still asleep and Aiden removed it. The youth stirred as we took the pouch. Aiden opened it. Inside was a small carved bone horse. “Here is a tale. Why a small carved horse? This is like the bones the ship’s boys carve.” He replaced it in the pouch and placed it around the youth’s neck. “And there is something else. Look at his neck. What do you see?”
I saw the marks of a thrall’s collar, “He was a slave.”
“Then how did he remove it? My powers have yet to return, Jarl Dragonheart but when I saw the wreckage and knew how long this youth had floated then I saw the hand of the Norns. We were meant to find him. We had nothing to do with the sinking of his ship but it was sent to us so that we could see it. I know this even without my powers. The Norns have plotted our course since we left Whale Island. I know not their purpose. Even the Allfather does not know that but I can see their claws and their webs at work here.”
“Does he bring good or ill to the clan?”
He shook his head, “Good and ill are not words the gods and the Norns use. One man’s misery is another man’s joy. We fished him from the sea. He is our responsibility. We cannot undo what we have done. We have pulled the root from the ground. We cannot replace it.”
It was not until the middle of the afternoon when the youth woke. Aiden had sat by him the whole time. The boy began jabbering. I recognised his words as Frank. Aiden spoke a couple. While we did not understand his questions, he might understand Aiden’s. he spoke to him. The youth calmed. “What did you say to him?”
“I said that we had pulled him from the sea and meant him no harm. He needs food. He is as weak as a new born lamb.”
Germund had been watching. I think he felt an affinity for the youth. He came over. “He lives?”
I nodded, “He lives and that is thanks to you. He too was a slave. He has the mark of a thrall collar. We saw it when we discovered the horse around his neck.”
Germund looked up in surprise. “A horse? Carved from bone?”
My hand went to the wolf around my neck. Wyrd! “Aye; why?”
“I thought there was something about him when I fished him out. His eyes and his hair. I think he comes from the land to the west of the mighty river we use to travel south to Miklagård. There are tribes there who ride horses. They seem to live on the backs of them.”
“And he is one of those?”
“He could be.”
Aiden had brought over food and was feeding the youth old bread soaked in ale with small pieces of dried meat. He looked up, “Then how did he get to the Blue Sea?”
Germund shrugged, “The same way I did, down the river. Let me try to speak to him. Our peoples use some words which are the same.”
When he spoke, I found that I recognised some of the words. The youth’s eyes widened and he began to speak. He spoke quickly and Germund smiled and waved his hand to slow him down. The conversation lasted some time. Germund’s face was black as thunder when he stood. “The boy was taken six years since by Bulgars and sold to trade slavers. He was sold to a Frank and he lived in East Frankia.” He shook his head. “He was not treated well. I was just whipped when I was a slave. He… he suffered much worse. His master… I have heard of such men. They are nithings. If I had the man who had done this then he would have the blood eagle. The Frank tired of him and sold him to a trader who was taking him to Miklagård. There are places there where boys such as this are housed.”
Aiden nodded, “How old is he?”
“He has seen thirteen summers.”
I asked, “What is his name?”
“Slave! That is all that he knows.”
I looked at Aiden, “You say the boy was sent to us. We have a responsibility to care for him.”
Aiden nodded, “It is wyrd. You were a slave and taken in by Vikings. I was a hostage and taken in by you. He is a slave. He becomes part of the clan; if he will have it so.”
I turned to Germund, “Ask him. Tell him he will be free. No one will harm him.”
Germund told the young man, for we now knew that he was a man and not a boy, but there was no joy on his face, merely apprehension. It would take time and care for him to recover. I looked at Aiden and he nodded. I had been thinking that Kara was the one who could help him. We did not need rowers and s
o I left Sámr and Germund with the rescued slave. They took him to the prow. David ben Samuel’s awning was still there. It had all the qualities of a wolf’s den and that was what the slave needed.
As we headed west, towards the straits, I said, “He needs a name. We cannot just call him boy or man.”
Aiden nodded, “It is out of our hands. The Allfather gave him to us and he will show us where we find his name.”
“I thought that this was the Norns.”
“The Norns directed us here. We are part of the web but it was the Allfather who made us take him. Do you think the Rus pirates who sail these waters would have saved him?”
Aiden was right.
The rescued slave recovered slowly. His colour returned and he was able to eat more. Germund spoke with him at length. He and Sámr taught him our language. The three of them slept under the awning. I think he found it comforting. Germund and Sámr were seen as friends. The rest of the crew, even when they were smiling looked fierce. We discovered that one of the crew had freed him from his thrall collar when it became obvious that the ship was doomed. There was at least one Frank on the slaver who was a man.
The next day we were approaching the busy waterways of the straits. We saw more ships but, thankfully, there were no war galleys. We had the wind and the current. Erik decided that we would risk using them to fly through. He had had enough of the Blue Sea. The dangers beyond the straits were more familiar. All of us were ready for home. It had been five moons since we had left Whale Island. We had done that which we intended. We had traded well and we had glory. We wanted to get home before the Norns snatched it all from us!