by Griff Hosker
“Get my step son aboard the ‘Ran’. He needs do no more today. He saved my life with his shield. The arrow would have killed me and he nearly paid for that bravery with his own life.”
I tried to object but the Ulfheonar were in no mood to listen to me and I was carried through the slaughterhouse that was the legionary fortress, down to the river where the dragon ship waited. Haaken said to Olaf, “He is not to leave, Jarl Butar’s orders.”
“Don’t worry my little man. He is going nowhere!”
It was maddening to lie there. I am not lazy by nature and I felt sure that I could be of some help. Olaf put his huge paw on my shoulder. “I can see the blood where you were stabbed. We would rather you rested now so that you can fight another day. Besides I am not going to face your mother and tell her that you died because I couldn’t keep you on a boat.”
“But I am not going to die.”
“I know because you are staying on the boat.”
Soon the slaves and booty began to arrive. Cnut looked in on me. “Jarl Butar has sent for the other boats. There is too much grain in these granaries for one boat. We have enough for the winter.”
Olaf grunted, “Now you sit still while I get this boat loaded.”
I rested by the tiller and watched Olaf shout and curse until the slaves and plunder were placed where he wished. I had been petrified of him when I had been captured but now I saw him in a totally different light. He was now a friend.
It was getting dark when Jarl Butar came aboard. He strode towards me and looked at my wound. He nodded. “We will be heading home soon. Eric and Bjorn can bring the grain back with the other ships. We will take the rest of the slaves and the plunder.” He reached into a chest by the stern and brought out a hunk of pork. “Here chew on that until we can get some proper food inside you.”
I felt like a baby as I lay, helpless at the stern while all my comrades worked tirelessly. We waited at anchor until the other two ships arrived and then we cast off. The Ulfheonar all sat facing me with their oars in their hands and they all grinned. Haaken, ever the joker shouted, “If I thought a little wound like that would get me out of rowing I would have had Cnut here slice me himself.”
Once we had turned her around we hoisted the sail on the ‘Ran’. We were deeply laden and would need all the help we could get to get home in one piece. The wind was sluggish and we seemed to move at a snail’s pace. It gave me time to look at the settlements dotted along the river bank. This would make a good place to raid. The fort had not been the deterrent the Saxons thought it would be and their warriors were not the greatest we had faced. Given time we could take everything and there would be no one to stop us.
I saw the exhaustion on the faces of the rowers. “If you will not let me row, Jarl Butar, at least let me take food and drink to my comrades.” His face was dark. “I will move slowly.”
“Very well but if I see any blood from your wound then I will tie you to the mast!”
In this way I helped my friends and found out how the battle had ended. “The captain was not a brave man and he was caught trying to flee. The Jarl had him executed as a coward. We have some fine mail shirts and weapons as well as some gold, jewels and those books they like; the books of the White Christ. The Jarl thinks we can sell them to Sigismund the next time we trade for Frankish blades.”
“How many warriors fell?”
“A few and there were others like yourself who were wounded but your deception worked. Olaf and his men lost not a warrior. It was those around the gate who died.”
I settled back down at the tiller and soon fell asleep. I was woken by the sound of seabirds as we round the headland at Hrams-a. Jarl Butar helped me to my feet. “It is good to see home again. I never thought I would tire of the fiords of the north but I have come to love this little haven of peace.”
“I think, Jarl Butar, that is because you have someone to come home to. I feel different this time. I know that Erica will fuss over me but tonight I will also be buried in her arms and thank the Allfather that I am not buried in a grave.”
“You are changing, Dragon Heart. You now think as a man as well as acting like a man.” He smiled at me and shook his head. “Your mother will not know if she should be angry or happy with you for saving my life and risking you own.”
We saw the women and children on the beach watching our approach. The fact that we were a single ship was the reason for the concern on their faces. They did not know that our consorts were close behind. As I thought of the consorts I suddenly remembered the grain. “We will now need granaries Jarl Butar. We cannot just store it in our halls.”
“Aye you are right. I will divide it into four and then we will all have some grain. I fear the Saxons will suffer hunger this winter because they stored all their grain in one place. At least you will be spared the work.”
“But I want to help. I am part of the people. I should do my share.”
“You have done more than your share and besides we need you well again so that we can raid others. There are slaves who will do the hard work.”
I suddenly remembered Scanlan. “Did you give the slaves to my wife?”
“Aye she was pleased and they seemed grateful to be kept together. That was a shrewd move. I think you have bought loyalty at a very small cost. Perhaps we should do it with all families.”
“This is only the second time that we have taken male slaves. It is a new experience for us. Besides you allowed the Saxons in the south to live as freemen.”
“I do not mind Saxons so long as they adhere to our ways. I will not have the White Christ here on Manau. He makes women of warriors. The Saxons were a fierce people like the wolf until they followed the White Christ and now they are like sheep to be fleeced.”
I could see Erica standing with my mother who was holding my sister in her arms. They had seen us and I could see the smiles on their faces. They contrasted with the anxious looks of the other women. As the sail was lowered and the oars rose we slowed down and edged next to the wooden walls of the quay. I could see the new stone quay being built further along. Soon this would be a much easier task. The thralls on the quay grabbed the ropes and another waited with the gangplank. We were so loaded that we were lower in the water than we normally were and we had an uphill struggle to disembark. Normally it was just Jarl Butar who left the ship while the rest of us carried the cargo and herded the slaves but my stepfather took my arm.
“Come, you shall go with me. I want your mother to see to your wound.” Mother was still the best healer on the whole island and I knew I would be in safe hands.
The Jarl stepped on to the gangplank and the waiting crowd cheered. It was not a false welcome; all loved Jarl Butar because he was fair and genuinely cared for his people. Most remembered the selfish and ambitious Harald One Eye who was the opposite. When I stepped on the plank they all cheered me too and I felt uncomfortable. I glanced down at the Ulfheonar and saw Haaken and Cnut grinning. They knew that I was not happy with attention.
My mother handed Eurwen to a slave. The Jarl greeted me and hugged her as I walked gingerly on to dry land. My wound had stiffened and was aching. Each movement sent a wave of pain coursing through my body. My step father must have told my mother of my wound for she and Erica rushed to my side. My mother’s eyes flashed at her husband. “Could he not have been carried from the ship? Was that too much to ask?”
I saw the helpless look in Jarl Butar’s face. He had done all that he could to keep me still and to care for me. “I am a warrior and I can walk mother.”
My wife also had an angry look upon her face. “You are a wounded warrior and your mother is right.”
They both chuntered and complained all the way to the hall. They tried to get thralls to carry me but I was adamant. Even though it hurt I was determined to walk to the hall. In the end it was too much and I barely made the threshold when my knees gave way and I collapsed.
“Scanlan, carry the master to his bed.”
J
ust before I passed out I saw the face of the Saxon I had captured and I suddenly thought, ‘”I have a slave.’
When I awoke I was in my own bed and Erica was holding my hand and looking tearful. She saw my eyes opening and shouted, “He is awake!” She leaned over and kissed me. I felt a pain in my side and I moaned. She leapt back as though scalded. “I am sorry. I leaned on your wound. I am a fool!”
I forced a weak smile, “Do not worry. At least this way I know that I live still.”
My mother came in and I saw the relief upon her face, “You had us worried, my son. The wound was worse than Butar and the others knew. They have all been waiting anxiously for news of your recovery.”
“I am sorry, Myfanwy, I leaned on his wound.”
Mother stroked the hair from Erica’s face. “Never mind. I think he will live but I will look at his wound.”
She lifted the covers and I saw that I was naked, “Mother!”
She and Erica both laughed. “I think that we have both seen you naked before and, besides, who do you think undressed you and cared for you? Let me see the wound.”
I could see that she had stitched my side. They were very neat and precise stitches. When we did that to each other they were ugly and left a scar. She seemed satisfied and she covered me once more. She nodded at Erica and left.
“You are to stay in bed for a week. Those are your mother’s orders.”
“But…”
“But nothing! Butar agrees. And anyway all they are doing is finishing the granaries. You are missing nothing. If you behave then I may allow Haaken and Cnut to see you this evening. They have been desperate to have words with you.”
I was so bored that I was glad to see my two friends that evening. My mother and Erica, along with my two new slaves, had not stopped fussing over me. Scanlan’s wife, Maewe, had bowed to me when we were alone. “Thank you, lord, for helping my husband and me. I know that slaves are normally kept apart but I could not bear to be parted. We will work hard for you.”
“How old are you Maewe?”
“I have seen fourteen summers.”
“And Scanlan?”
“Fifteen summers.”
They were both almost the same age as me and yet she called me lord. Wyrd.
When Cnut and Haaken came in they were full of news and questions. It turned out that I had been in and out of consciousness for three days. The spear head had been dirty and my mother had had to clean the wound with a potion she had made before she could stitch it.
“Bagsecg is repairing your armour now and he is putting extra links in. He feels guilty that a spear could pierce his handiwork.”
“He need not. It was a powerful thrust. The deer hide saved me.”
“Perhaps you ought to face the inside with sheepskin and that will help more.”
“Enough of me. Have you two been enjoying building the granaries?”
Haaken sniffed, “We are Ulfheonar and we have been hunting.”
Cnut laughed, “Aye and Haaken has caught more than a few deer too.”
Haaken looked embarrassed. “What has he caught then?”
“He has been caught himself. One of the daughters of Bagsecg has decided she too would like an Ulfheonar for a husband and has trapped our friend.”
“She did not trap me. I went there willingly.”
“E’en so they will be married next month.”
“Why do they have to wait?”
“Bagsecg insists that his daughter should have her own home and not live in the warrior hall.”
I knew what he meant. Women in the warrior hall were considered fair game for any warrior whether they would or no. Butar also preferred married men to live outside the hall. “And when do you raid again?”
They both looked at each other. “Er well.”
“Tell him, Cnut. He will find out anyway.”
“The day after tomorrow. We go to the land close to where we hunted.”
My face must have shown my disappointment. “Do not worry Dragon Heart. It will be a swift voyage and we will probably not even have to draw our swords.”
I became angry. “I do not miss the fighting but you are my brothers and I should be there for you.”
“But you nearly died and you are still gravely ill. Would you have us worrying after you when we fight? Would you have us take our eye from our opponent and be killed?”
I was shocked that they would think that. “Of course not but…”
“But nothing. You get well and then we will raid again. Jarl Butar has another raid planned before the autumn storms begin.”
I persuaded mother and Erica to allow me to stand in the doorway of the hall and watch the ‘Man’ sail east. It was the first time that my brothers had sailed without me and I cursed the Saxon who had stabbed me. It would be along two or three days before they returned. Jarl Butar had told me that they would spend one day spying out the best target and then make a dawn raid. We were like the squirrels in the forests; we gathered more nuts than we thought we could possibly need for who knew what the winter held.
I used the time to get to know Erica a little better. Apart from the first meeting on Midsummer Solstice I had only spoken to her briefly. Our time together was spent in more physical pursuits. She made me laugh when we talked. It was like having my first friend. We were both young enough to be silly and yet we had both suffered enough to appreciate what we had. I think those three days made me love Erica. I had liked her before but I came to love her. We even managed a couple of walks along the shore, with Scanlan in attendance, to watch the building of the stone quay which would give our ships some protection in the winter storms. It was slow work but it kept our male thralls occupied.
While we were walking we spied a ship approaching. Erica wished to stay to see who it was but I had raided enough to know that this could be a ruse. As I hurried back to the hall I wondered who was in command for Bjorn and Butar were both on the raid. I asked my mother and she looked surprised. “Why it is you, my son.”
“But I am not old enough.”
“You have enough wisdom and besides, Jarl Butar trusts your judgement.”
I strapped on my sword although I was so weak that Erica could have beaten me and I summoned the ten warriors who remained. We would either form a party to greet the visitors or we would die defending the town. Fortunately I recognised Hrolf who stood at the prow. Erica and mother stood by me as the boat tied up. Hrolf strode up to me and embraced me. I winced.
When my mother tutted he stepped back, “I am sorry. Am I stronger than I thought?”
“No Hrolf, I was wounded in a battle. It is nothing. Come, bring your men to the warrior hall and we will talk. Jarl Butar has gone a-Viking.”
Hrolf was impressed by our progress. “I had heard that you had defeated the Saxons who were here.” He looked a little rueful.
My mother said, “Do you regret not trying it yourself?”
He shook his head, “There were too few of us but if we have another bad winter then I may ask Jarl Butar if we could settle.”
“I am sure he would be happy about that.”
There was an awkward silence. I think he wanted to ask something but my youth prevented him. I did not mind. I had not expected to be a substitute for Jarl Butar any way. “Do you have news of the lands of the fiords?”
“I have heard that Harald One Eye has begun to send raiders to live in Northumbria. They have taken Bebbanburgh and his men hold that for him.”
I frowned. We no longer had an island between us. I worried that Harald would try to take Manau from Jarl Butar. “And you and your people are happy?”
He shook his head, “We were raided by the men from Stavanger who were forced from their homes by Harald One Eye. They killed some of my kin and enslaved others before fleeing to Hibernia where they are setting up new settlements.”
“We fought them and they are a savage people.”
“Aye and like you they have a Saxon hero. A young warrior called Tadgh w
ho is a ferocious killer. It was he who killed my brother.”
I suddenly felt cold. My old enemy and tormentor, Tadgh who had fled Ulfberg was now across the sea in Hibernia. The Norns had been spinning their webs once more. “Why do you not stay here until Jarl Butar returns? He will be back tomorrow and I am sure you would rather talk with an elder rather than a stripling who has barely begun to shave.”
“Do not put yourself down Dragon Heart. The stories about you are growing and they all show you to be a warrior of some renown but I will do as you say for I believe Jarl Butar will wish to make the decision.”
Chapter 16
Mother enjoyed playing the hostess and Erica loved the attention she received from Hrolf and his warriors. She was an outstanding beauty and I knew from our brief visit to Orkneyjar that Hrolf’s women were plain, bordering on downright ugly. Haaken had said they reminded him of trolls. That was a little unkind but I could see where he was coming from. We learned that his people had suffered from a lack of food the previous winter and I suspected that I knew what his request would be. He was quite interested in our last raid. “We are too far from the riches of Mercia and Northumbria. You are ideally placed here.”
Mother had the ability to see things that were hidden from others, “So long as the men from Stavanger do not decide that we are a fruit ripe to be picked.”
Hrolf shook his head, “I would have thought that they would have chosen the Saxons as the softer target. Everyone knows that Jarl Butar has the finest warriors on this side of the ocean. I have heard he has Ulfheonar.”
Erica smiled proudly, “You are sat with one; my husband is a Ulfheonar. Show him your blade.”
I reluctantly took out my sword. Hrolf examined the hilt. “I have never seen so many warrior bands on one so young although you have welded them in an interesting way. Tell me, is this the famous sword they talk of, the one struck by the gods?”