Across the Seas

by Griff Hosker

  Benni asked if he could have a house built close to the fields. He and his family were farmers. It coincided with the first wedding on the island. Eidel Eidelsson and Salbjǫrg Bennisdotter decided to be wed. I wondered, after, if that was the reason why Benni and his sons asked for their own home. We began the work on the house while the women prepared for the wedding. This was a propitious moment for the clan. Their children would be the first children of Bear Island. I was pleased for Eidel had been a ship’s boy. What I was less pleased about was the attention I received for I was still unmarried and I had seen twenty-three summers. Arne’s eldest was three years old and I did not even have a woman. Gytha silenced the questions and the attention returned to the couple. The wedding was delayed until Salbjǫrg’s father and the rest of her family moved into their farmhouse. The couple then took Benni’s place in the longhouse. We had missed the longest day by just a few days but Gytha’s first batch of mead was ready and so we celebrated. That month was a glorious month. With two halls and a farm built we had more room and there were fewer arguments. The sow gave birth to eight piglets and we saw the shoots begin to grow in the field. Benni ran all the way to the halls to tell us the news. Arne decided that it was a sign and he took half the men to hunt.

  I did not join them for Padraig’s boat was finished and I was honoured when they asked me to go on their first trip. We still had the large hooks we had made but never used. We had some strong fishing line and we sailed to the west of the island. Padraig had built the fishing boat to the design used by his own people. It had a smaller hull a pace from the larboard side. It was attached to the main hull. He called it an outrigger. It gave the boat more stability and did not appear to slow it down. They had used deer hide for the sail. It did not look pretty but it was tough and, as they said, they did not need speed. They wanted something which was strong and would last them.

  We did not sail far out to sea but we went as far as the darker waters. We had seen fish with what looked like a sword and a sail on their backs. We had seen them between our island and the Isle of Butar’s Deer. They had never taken our bait. Aed had the idea of towing our hooks behind us and to bait them with fish they had caught the previous day. By using the sail, we could move quickly and, Aed thought, replicate the movement of fish. He thought the sails made the fish we hunted a predator.

  Aed and Padraig were true fishermen. I was not. I was a sailor and there is a difference. They spied the seabirds diving on the open water and they headed for them. Padraig saw the distinctive sail and we sailed towards it. The birds scattered as we sailed through them. We saw sardines in the water. Aed nodded. He would remember this place. We had no smaller nets. We could make one and dine well. We had made the hooks with large fish in mind. If they took the bait the only way they could remove the hook would be to have it ripped from their mouth. I thought we were going too fast but the fishermen were happy with the speed. The wind was with us and we fairly flew. We had three lines out and two were successful. Two of the sailfish clamped their jaws around the fish we had used for bait. The fish thrashed around to break free but they were hooked. Aed put the steering board over and we slowed. We headed for the shore tacking from side to side. The fish with the sails did our work for us. The hooks tore their mouths and as they thrashed to free themselves, they became weaker. By the time we neared our island, they were dead in the water. It took the three of us to haul each fish on board. They were as long as a large child and far heavier. We took the hooks from their mouths. They worked. We had similar bone we could use to make more.

  As we headed into the bay Aed said, “If we put a net on the outrigger we can use it to store fish. If we have four hooks then we can increase the chances of success.”

  When we carried the two fish ashore the women, children and men working around the halls gathered to stare in amazement at the wondrous creatures. The feast that night was the first time we ate the pink flesh of the sailfish. It was not the last for there is nothing a Viking likes more than a meaty fish and this one was superior even to the salmon we hunted.

  Arne turned to me as he washed the fish down with the last of his mead, “You are truly favoured by the gods to have brought us to this idyllic island. The Isle of the Bear is perfect.”

  I nodded, “And what of the biting insects?”

  “True they are an inconvenience but only in the woods and Gytha’s salve makes them bearable. The fires from the kilns and the smithy keep them from the halls. It is good.”

  Chapter 18

  By Tvímánuður the barley and the corn were growing so quickly that many thought the soil must be enchanted. Eidel was to become a father and Maren had given birth to another son. The cow had calved and we had a male to follow Odin. When our foragers found the red berries ripening and, having tasted them, judged them to be delicious then we took to the woods to forage. Arne made certain that there was a warrior with each group of women and children. Rek’s father had died and so Rek went with his mother and sisters. He was now considered a warrior. I sent Fótr with them and I accompanied Dreng’s mother, Ada, and her children. I had told her that I would be their foster father and I had tried to do so. I took my bow. The bushes grew along the game trails. I guessed the animals found them attractive and that should have been a warning but we had had such an easy time since we had landed that we thought we were safe.

  We spread out along the different trails. We wanted to collect as many as we could. I followed Rek and Fótr. Rek’s sisters were almost women and I think they would rather have had two more eligible young warriors like Sven and Halsten. My two helmsmen were seen as the best of the young men left in the clan. Dreng had a sister and a brother. Neither had seen more than ten summers and they were happy for me to accompany them. Dreng’s mother had lost a husband and a son. The sun had gone from her world and she did not move as quickly as Rek and Fótr. She had two children left and she kept them close to her. I did not mind. It was pleasant to be in the woods and collect such a bounty. We had woven baskets into which the fruit was placed. I carried the basket. The laughter of the two children contrasted with the silence of their mother.

  As the two young people headed deeper into the forest and Ada picked the odd fruit or two, I took the bull by the horns. “Dreng loved this land, Ada. His spirit is here. Can you not feel it?”

  She shook her head. She had only seen twenty-eight summers herself. She had given birth to Dreng when she was about thirteen. She looked older than her years. “Erik, I know you mean well but I have no husband and my first born lies dead at the bottom of the Unending Sea.”

  “Yet Egilleif and young Ebbe live.”

  “Without a father. And I have a bed without my husband.”

  “There are men without wives.”

  “They are boys. Sven and Halsten are but a little older than Dreng. You are the only man who has no wife.” She suddenly stopped and, taking my hand, looked at me, “Would you marry me, Erik the Navigator? I would have you for you are a good man.”

  The Norns were weaving well or the Allfather was testing me. I shook my head, “That is not in my future. Gytha has dreamed.” I realized how that would sound. She would think I was making an excuse. “I would be marrying you out of sympathy and that is not what you want. I will care for you and your children. I will raise your son as a warrior but I will not lie with you.”

  She smiled and I realized that was the first smile I had seen in a long time. “As I said, Erik, you are a good man.”

  Just then there was a roar from ahead. I knew the sound. It was a bear. In one motion I unslung my bow and grabbed an arrow, “Egilleif and Ebbe come here now!”

  From ahead I heard screams. Fótr shouted, urgently, “Erik!”

  “Stay here!” I ran down the trail. Rek and his family were twenty paces from us but the twisting game trail had hidden them from us. Even as I arrived, I saw that Fótr was on the ground as was Rek’s mother and Rek was advancing towards the bear with his sword drawn, “No Rek!”


  My words were wasted. He bravely ran towards the bear, leading with his sword. I had an arrow nocked but no target. Rek lunged and his sword sank into the bear’s side. It was not a killing blow and she raked him with her claw. The side of his head was peeled away. My ship’s boy died instantly. As his body fell, I sent an arrow into the chest of the bear and, running closer, nocked and sent another. One must have hurt her for she ran. Of Rek’s sisters, there was no sign. I nocked another arrow. Rek was dead. As I neared her, I saw that Rek’s mother had had her throat ripped out. Looking up I saw Reginleif and Rjúpa, Rek’s sisters coming from the woods. “Your mother and brother are dead. I was too late.” I fearfully turned over Fótr’s body. He murmured. He was alive. I looked and saw a lump as big as a cockerel’s stone on the side of his head, “Fótr, it is Erik!”

  He opened his eyes, “The bear! Why am I not dead?”

  “Because the Allfather watched over you. Rek is dead.”

  Siggi ran through the woods to us with Gandálfr and Benni. They had their swords drawn. Siggi took in the horror and shook his head, “We came when we heard the shout.”

  “As did I but we were too late. The Norns. It was a bear. Rek wounded her and she has two arrows in her. Fótr, stay here with the girls. Others will come. We will follow this beast and finish her.”

  “I will come!”

  Siggi shook his head, “You are wounded cuz, listen to your brother and stay here. Erik, you have the bow, you lead.”

  The trail was easy to follow. She had broken branches in her flight and there were specks of blood. She was not bleeding heavily but she was hurt. She would be a dangerous prey. I deduced that she must have been the mate of the one I had killed. I wondered if there were cubs. Then I realized that had there been cubs they would have been with her. She was alone. The ground began to rise and the bear left the trail. I held up my hand. There were rocks above us. Bears liked to use caves. If they had no caves then they built themselves a den. I waved my bow to the left and right. I was the youngest of the four of us but I had killed a bear. I could smell the bear as I worked my way through the shrubs and bushes. I saw that these were the same bushes which bore the fruit. These had been stripped bare. I had an arrow nocked and I was listening as well as looking. The ground rose a little. I had seen this tiny knoll when I had sailed around the island but as the trails did not lead to it, the area remained unexplored. There were no trees upon it. It was rock. The bushes were scrubby.

  I saw two fallen rocks to the side of me. They rose as high as my shoulder. I placed my bow and arrow upon them and clambered up. I saw the entrance to the cave. It was thirty paces from me. Of the bear, there was no sign.

  “Siggi, I see the cave. Approach and I will watch for it.”

  “Aye.”

  “If she attacks, she will be wild for she is hurt. Head or heart are your targets!” I had four arrows left. I had only brought a few for I did not think we would need them to collect berries! I chose the best of the arrows I had left. This one had a good tip. I hoped that, if we killed the bear, then I would be able to retrieve the two which were embedded within her. I also hoped that my three companions had good edges to their swords.

  The wind was from behind us. Bears might have poor eyesight but their sense of smell is perfect. When Siggi and the others were less than ten paces from the entrance she must have caught a whiff of them. With a roar, she burst from her cave. She was moving fast for a bear with a sword wound and two arrows sticking in her. I sent one towards her head. Gandálfr whipped his sword before him and it made her rear. The back of her paw caught him a blow and he tumbled backward. My arrow hit her in the chest. The beast was above my three clan brothers. I sent another arrow and it hit the bear in the shoulder. Benni lunged at a leg at the same time as Siggi thrust upwards. He managed to cut into the inside of her thigh. As she raised her arms and roared, I sent an arrow into her neck. I am not sure which of us struck the mortal blow but the she-bear fell forward, spraying the three of them with her blood.

  I jumped down from the rock and ran towards the cave. The other three stood in shock as the bear pumped her lifeblood down the slope. I dropped my bow and drew my sword. I clambered over the bear and into the cave. If there were cubs then I had to spare them a slow and lingering death. Inside was the smell of death. There was just enough light from the outside to show me the two rotting corpses that were the she-bears cubs. From the smell, they had been dead for many months, perhaps a year. I wondered if I had inadvertently caused their deaths when I had killed their father? Had he been hunting to provide for them? Or was there another bear yet remaining? I would never know.

  I went back outside My three companions were examining the bear. We heard noise from the track. Arne shouted, “Where are you?”

  “We are here. Climb the slope!”

  Siggi looked up at me, “And you killed the he-bear alone.” He shook his head, “The Allfather truly favours you. We should call you Erik Bear Killer.”

  Gandálfr, who was bleeding, said, “Do you wish the fur?”

  “No, Siggi killed it. I will have her teeth. It will remind me how lucky we were.”

  Arne and half a dozen of our warriors arrived. “It is dead?”

  “It is, brother. Those berries were expensively bought.”

  He nodded, “Wyrd. It is the Norns. They spin and we are powerless to do anything about it. All are well here?”

  “Aye.”

  “Then let us get this beast back to the halls.” He looked up at the cave as the others slid their spears beneath it. “Are there more?”

  I shook my head, “Not in this cave. If I was the leader of the clan, I would examine every part of this island to see what else lies here. I should have done so and it has cost me one of my crew. Rek and Dreng are both dead and it is because of this island. Perhaps it is cursed.”

  Arne put his arm around me and led me away from the others, “Do not speak like that. The island is not cursed and I do not want you to put those thoughts into the heads of others. Do you understand?”

  I nodded.

  It was dark by the time we managed to drag and carry the bear back to the hall. I saw that Gytha had the two girls in the hall. Fótr was just staring into the fire. Arne said, Go and speak with our brother. This is terrifying for him.”

  He looked up as I approached, “It is dead?” I nodded. “I thought I could be like you and I could slay the beast. It just got Rek killed. He tried to save me when the bear hit me.”

  “Had you not tried to kill the bear then it would have attacked Rek anyway. He had a glorious death. He is in Valhalla now and our father is thanking him for his action.” I pointed to the hall. “We now have a responsibility. Until they are married, we have to watch over Reginleif and Rjúpa.”

  He shook his head, “I am not capable of that.”

  “You are,” I remembered Arne’s words. I swept my arm around the open space before the halls. The clan was there and some were looking at the bear but most were looking at us. “The clan look to us. We are the brothers of the jarl. You and I found this island. If they doubt us then they doubt Arne. We cannot let our brother down.”

  He shook his head, “I would not let Arne down. How do you look so brave?”

  “It is an act. Inside I feel as you do but we are Vikings. We are alive and so are many of the clan. Now there are just three of us left from the crew of ‘Jötnar’. That binds us. We must be strong for one another.”

  “I will try.” He stood. “I will go and speak with Reginleif and Rjúpa.” He went into the hall and I could hear the Norns spinning.

  Gytha took charge when it came to the burial of the dead. We had no cemetery yet and she decided that we needed one. We headed to the eastern side of the island with the two bodies. Rek had his sword with him. He had been so proud when he had taken it from the dead Dane he had killed. Gytha found a piece of headland with no trees and just a couple of scrubby bushes. “We will clear this land of bushes and this will be where we shall
bury our dead. They will face the morning sun and our home in the east.”

  We soon cleared the bushes. As with the rest of the island, we found rocks below the surface. That suited us for we lined the sides of the grave with them. The mother and her son were put in one grave. Curled up as they were in the womb, we placed Rek’s sword in his hands and covered both of their faces with his shield. Then each member of the clan deposited soil on the top. We walked around until there was a mound. After standing in silence we headed back to our halls and the setting sun.

  Our lives changed that day. Although there were no more bears on the island, Arne and the warriors discovered that it was now a less friendly place. The berries which had cost the lives of the mother and her son were used to brew a wine. It proved to be a potent brew. Vikings like their ale and mead. Each warrior who drank it put from their thoughts the two deaths. Vikings looked forward not back.

  By the end of Tvímánuður, our cereal was growing well and Benni had used Odin the bull to plough the second field. We sowed that one too. We had now learned where we could gather greens and Gytha had organized a vegetable plot close to the halls. It was more sheltered there and easier for us to pick them. Seafood and fish formed our staple diet. The sea teemed with them. As well as lobsters we found all manner of crabs, mussels, clams, and scallops. We allowed the deer to grow. We would cull them close to the rutting season. The two new babies born at the end of Tvímánuður seemed to lighten the spirits, especially of the women. The men were more stoical about the deaths. For my part, I had remembered my promise to Ada. I might not be able to give her comfort but I could give her children skills. I taught Egilleif and Ebbe how to use a bow and a sword. I taught them how to make arrows. Ada could teach them other skills. I took them both with me on the fishing boat. Padraig and Aed were happy for me to use it. I helped the two of them to make hide jerkins. We had no more sealskin and so I helped them to make hide boots. In short, I did all that Ebbe or Dreng might have done. It was not onerous. I liked it. They called me a foster father. Ada smiled more. She even tried to make me more affectionate. She would touch my hand when we were close. For some reason, I could not respond and I did not know why.