by Griff Hosker
“I see ‘Njörðr’! She is dismasted and almost beneath the waves, but I see people on her!”
“Let fly the sail! Where away?”
I looked and saw him pointing to the northeast, “To the larboard, Captain!”
“Warriors to the larboard side and all others to the steerboard! If she is sinking, then we must save as many as we can as quickly as we can.”
As we sliced through the waves, rising and falling in the troughs and crests which were increasing in size, I saw the debris from the ship. I saw bodies! They were face down and not moving. I had delayed too long. My long circles seeking them had doomed many of our clan! I could now see, each time we climbed a crest, the doomed drekar. I did not see many people and I saw no animals. The ship had had almost half of the clan aboard her and I could see nowhere near that number. Aed was at the prow peering ahead as he precariously perched on the figurehead of Gytha. I watched him tie a rope to the figurehead and knew what he intended. Harald and my other warriors were also tying ropes to the stanchions and thwarts on the larboard side. When we reached the drekar then we would have to act swiftly. As we knew from Aed’s rescue those who had been shipwrecked would be exhausted and unable to help themselves. We had all slept, eaten and had drunk water and ale.
Even as we neared the sinking ship, I saw Erin, Padraig’s youngest, slip from her mother’s arms and fall into the water. We were so close and yet one had died. Suddenly I saw a blur as a naked Bear Tooth dived into the seas and begin to swim towards the child. We were so close and yet two more of the clan would die. I held my course and shouted, “Take in a reef! Prepare to bring them aboard and quickly!” I could see that the whole of ‘Njörðr’s’ deck was below the water. She was sinking!
As we bumped into her, harder than I intended, I hoped and prayed that we had not sprung a strake. I could do nothing to help my men except to hold us as close as I could to the drekar. I used the wind and the steering board to do so and I found myself fighting both as we rose and fell with the sea. I heard shouts and calls, but I dared not divert my eyes from the masthead and prow as I tried to keep both on a straight line. In a perfect world, there would have been hands to help me but everyone was trying to save the survivors. Each time we grated against the hull of the doomed ship I winced for I knew not what damage had been done to the drekar I commanded. Waves now cascaded over us as we no longer rode the crests. I saw some survivors being carried across the deck, but I had to watch for the slightest deviation from a straight line. I also wondered what had made Bear Tooth take such suicidal action. Few men would dive into a calm sea unless life depended upon it and to enter such turbulent troughs was foolishness of the highest order.
I heard a cry, “She has gone!”
It was followed by Ebbe, who ran across the deck toward me, “We have all the survivors, Fótr! We can sail again!”
Even then I was reluctant to give the order to use the full sail, “But Bear Tooth!”
Ebbe grinned, “That madman and Erin are aboard! He used ‘Njörðr’ to his advantage. He swam to her and we hauled him aboard. The drekar clung on to life until he and the child had boarded her and then climbed to safety!”
Even as I shouted, “Unreef the sail!” I said a silent prayer of thanks to the old drekar who had finally given her life for the clan.
The seas continued to punish us and prevented me from being able to discover who had survived and whom we had lost. It was night before the rough seas calmed and the women and children were able to untie themselves. Ebbe and Harald of Dyroy came down the deck to speak with me. Ebbe’s face was not the delighted one with which he had greeted me when he had told me of Bear Tooth’s survival. “Fótr, you need rest. I know it is night, but Harald will help me to steer and besides, Helga wishes to speak with you.”
“She lives?”
“Aye, she lives.”
Helga had helped my mother care for me as a child and, in the same way that Erik had felt a close bond with Gytha, so I had with Helga. I nodded, “The stars will soon appear. Keep us as close to north and east as you can. Those seas may have taken us from our course.”
I saw now that we had too many people on board. I was grateful that so many had survived but I had to pick my way between the sleeping bodies on the deck. We might have to slaughter the animals to make room. I was now thinking like a captain and I ran through every solution even as I spoke to the women and children and sought Reginleif and Erik. I saw Ada kneeling over my wife, and I dropped to one knee, “Is she…”
Reginleif smiled up at me, “The baby in my womb does not like rough seas. She kicked more than usual.”
Ada also smiled, “The babe lives and with rest, your wife shall be well.” She looked around, “I fear that rest will be hard to come by.”
I kissed my wife on the forehead and then rose, “I will see what I can do.” As I headed toward the huddle of warriors close to the prow and the animals I wondered if we could have salvaged enough of ‘Njörðr’ to make a raft. Then it came to me, we could use ‘Jötnar’ as a sleeping snekke. With no barrels and chests then she could accommodate eight warriors. They would be able to descend if we hauled it close enough to ‘Gytha’. During the day or when we needed them as crew, then they could return. It would not be easy, but we were Vikings!
I saw that many of those rescued were covered with cloaks, capes and blankets. They were asleep. Helga and Padraig were there with their children around them and Aed and his wife were close by. All of Helga’s family had survived. Helga took my hand and kissed it, “You found us, Fótr. In the middle of the ocean and you found us. I prayed that you would come.”
I nodded, “I heard voices in my head, but I am sorry I did not come sooner! I sailed for a day in a circle trying to find you.”
Padraig shook his head, “That was our plan before we sailed and it was right. My brother and I are not the sailor that you are, Erik! Your skill has saved the clan.”
Helga squeezed my hands, “It was the Norns. They spun and they plotted. Had Ada, Gefn and I been together then we might have…” she shook her head, “This is wyrd and was meant to be. You cannot bemoan what is out of your control.” She nodded her head to where Bear Tooth and Anya lay asleep together, covered by a fur. “When your brother saved Bear Tooth, we did not know the strength of the thread. Had he not then Erin might have died, and my sister might never have found happiness.”
“You approve?”
She laughed, “Of course!”
“And Tostig?”
Her face became serious, “He died. He was swept over the side along with many others in the clan. They were the ones who did not heed my husband’s advice. They were the ones who did not trust in me. My brother was weak. I think my mother knew that. He lost faith in you and others believed him. Arne’s children all died too. Tostig had them with him when the wave took him. Lars Eriksson and your son, Erik Fótrsson, are the last of the blood of Jarl Lars.”
I looked at Padraig, “What happened to you?”
“The same as Aed except that we were even slower to lower the sail. As we headed into the blackness of that storm which was sent to kill us our sail began to tear, and it was torn away before it could be reefed. ‘Njörðr’ was a well-made drekar and fought the storm but the mast was ripped from us and the animals swept overboard. We tried to use the oars to keep us straight and that was when Tostig lost his mind. I believe had we been able to use every man on the oars then you might have found us, but he ranted and raved and argued. He said we were cursed. Men and their families were swept overboard. When the storm abated then I would have sailed in a circle too, but the steering board withy was severed, and we did not have enough men left to use the oars. That was Tostig. I am sorry for he is dead but he had weaknesses in him and they cost him his life. We drifted while I repaired the withy.”
Helga smiled at Padraig. “My husband is a hero for he slept but an hour during that whole time and without him, we would have died.”
“I had j
ust finished the repair when the seas became rougher. That was when we lost Tostig and the others who died. They panicked and were swept overboard. I was at the steering board and I could do nothing.”
I stood, “And now you should rest.”
I turned to Æimundr Loud Voice, “We have too many on the deck. Have eight of the crew of ‘Gytha’ sleep aboard ‘Jötnar’. We can use a double rope to secure it.”
He beamed, “You are a navigator! That is a good idea. I will arrange it and you need to sleep. We now have Aed and Padraig who can sail with you. The other warriors and I have felt useless for much has been laid upon your shoulders. There is now help.” He nodded down to Bear Tooth and Anya, “You and your brother Erik have been proved right. We needed Bear Tooth to come into the clan.” He clutched his hammer of Thor, “The Sisters weave and they spin; who would have thought our threads and that of a Skraeling would have bound the clan together?”
I spoke to all the survivors who were awake and then made my way back to the steering board. There we had a little more space than in the rest of the drekar. I nodded to Ebbe and Harald and curling up in my cape fell asleep. My sleep was fitful and shallow; it was not filled with dreams but pictures and thoughts. We did not have enough food and water to last. I had a picture of the map come into my mind. By my reckoning, we were half-way across the ocean. We had had two encounters with the sea, and they had almost destroyed the snekke and they had sunk a drekar. Would a third kill us?
When I awoke, it was the next day and I did not feel refreshed. As I stood and made water, I saw that Æimundr Loud Voice and seven warriors lay beneath capes in the snekke. I had been obeyed and that still amazed me for I was one of the younger warriors. It was not Ebbe and Harald at the steering board but Aed.
“Well Aed, I am guessing that while I slept you were assessing our problem?”
He smiled, “You have a wise old head on those young shoulders, Fótr. Aye, I have.” He pointed to the east, “I saw seabirds this morning.”
My heart leapt, “Seabirds?” He nodded. “Then the land is somewhere over there!” I looked at the sky which was still cloudy. “We need the sun so that I can work out where we are. We will keep on this course. Do we have enough food?”
“Maren and Gefn say that there is enough salted meat and now that the storm has gone, we can fish.” He nodded to the boys who trailed lines astern of us. We have finished the ale, but the storm gave us water. It is the animals who are in danger. They are almost out of grain. We cannot feed them all. Some must be sacrificed. Helga suggested that we keep the cow for the milk and slaughter the sheep. The sea will help us preserve them but even if their meat cannot be eaten, we will have more space and the cow might live.”
I nodded.
Aed said, “Helga said we should kill them one by one here at the stern to avoid upsetting them.”
I knew then what I had to do, “I will kill them and the first shall be a blót. I will thank Njörðr for saving us.”
“That is good, and you are wise. You will make a good jarl.”
“No, Aed, I am the captain and command at sea, but I do not want this weight upon my shoulders. When we land, if we land, then I will ask for a Thing to choose a jarl. I am not a warrior and do not have the wisdom to lead.”
The winds were still, generally, from the west and we made good time. We were helped by the fact that we now had three experienced navigators. Although Ebbe had learned much he was still not as skilled as the three of us. The blót was made and the wind strengthened enough to show that the god had listened. That first evening, as the boys cleared the last of the animal waste over the side and then used the guts and offal for bait, I sat with Bear Tooth and spoke of his rescue.
“Why did you risk your life, Bear Tooth? It was brave but the clan needs you.”
He smiled and Anya squeezed his arm, “And Erin, the clan does not need her? I am not of your people, so it matters not if I die. Besides she was a child and I could not let the gods of the seas take her without a fight.”
I shook my head, “Anya, have you asked Helga about your marriage?”
She smiled, “Last night, we told Helga and she approved. Last night we lay together. We are now one!”
I clapped Bear Tooth on the back, “This is good, and Erik will be watching from the spirit world. He too will be happy!”
For some reason, that news brightened my spirits and I found myself grinning. Had Arne been the Jarl of the clan then he would have disapproved and stopped the marriage. It would have caused dissension amongst the clan and might even have destroyed it. Even though we were fewer in numbers the clan had never had a better spirit and purpose. Our adversities and even our losses appeared to have made us stronger. We had hope.
Chapter 6 Fótr
It was four days later, not long after noon, that Danr shouted down with the welcome news that our journey was almost over, “Land to the north!”
It was not a real surprise for we had been followed, for the last days, by seabirds. We still had animal waste and our fishing had yielded larger fish. The bones and guts we would have used in a stew were discarded for we ate our fish raw. Aed, Ebbe and Padraig joined me. Aed had been asleep for he had recently been on watch.
Padraig said, “It is to the north and not the east?”
I nodded, “It could be the south coast of Hibernia or Mercia. It might even be Hrólfr’s land, but I doubt it.” The hourglass was useful, but it was the sun which marked our position more accurately. Looking at the map Erik had made I saw that the land of Hibernia and Om Walum lay just a day or two apart. “We turn north and land on a beach at night. We have come a long way and the last thing we need is to fall foul of Mercians or Hibernians. We have less than twenty who can fight, and the voyage will have taken the energy from our legs. Until we reach the Land of the Wolf, we shall be cautious.” We had lost warriors in the storm and the ships’ boys would now need to become warriors.
As soon as we turned north there was a buzz of excitement throughout the drekar. Land could not come too soon for our cow. She had suffered badly, and I feared that we might have to slaughter her as soon as we landed. We reefed the sail so that we closed with the coast towards sunset. Danr had proved to have really good eyes and he had spied a beach with grass close by. I turned the drekar so that we approached it from the east. We did not have as good a wind, but we no longer needed speed.
Æimundr Loud Voice was the senior warrior and he organised the warriors he would take ashore. He did not choose me. I shook my head when he told me, “Æimundr Loud Voice, until we have a new home then I still lead the clan and as much as I would like to rid myself of the weight I bear, my father and brothers would not rest easy knowing I had not done my duty. I will come for I need to see that which you see. My eyes are those of a sailor and may see that which you do not. I will just be one of the warriors you take.”
He smiled, “You have grown immeasurably, Fótr Land Finder. I believe that Arne held you back and that is sad for there was no greater warrior in the clan than Arne but being a great warrior does not always make a man a good leader.”
We both clutched at our hammers for it did not do to speak ill of the dead.
I had the sail reefed and we used oars to edge into the bay. Petr was at the prow and he used a piece of rope with metal attached to test the bottom. We did not wish to rip out our hull on rocks! It was sandy and, therefore, safe. There were just five of us who went ashore: Æimundr Loud Voice, Bear Tooth, Eidel Eidelsson, Danr Gandálfrson and me. I took my helmet, shield and sword. I did not bother with mail. Once we had jumped into the waist-deep water, Padraig had the drekar rowed off the beach. They would wait for our return.
As I had expected none of us were able to walk steadily at first and if we had been attacked then we would not have been able to defend ourselves. The Allfather watched over us and we made the grass without being attacked. Bear Tooth was not from this side of the ocean, but he had shown that he had greater tracking skills than we
did and Æimundr Loud Voice allowed him to lead. The Mi’kmaq was impressively silent while we seemed to make noise just walking. We travelled at least a mile and a half, following a path which had been made by man. We all knew that it would lead to houses or a farm and when we neared it, even I could smell the woodsmoke. It meant there was a settlement close by. We wished to be invisible. Animals could be heard in the fields and that meant the people would have men watching them. There were too many enemies to leave a field unguarded and so Æimundr Loud Voice restrained Bear Tooth and he waved us all to the ground. We crawled on all fours until I heard voices. If we could make out their words, then we could return to the ship. Annoyingly, when we stopped so did the voices. We had to be patient. Finally, we were rewarded. I did not understand the words, but they were clearly Saxon. The two shepherds were young boys and we would learn nothing from them. We headed back to the drekar.
When we saw the water and could risk speaking Æimundr Loud Voice asked, “Shall we land?”
This was the main reason I had come as I did not wish a second-hand report. We had not seen the settlement but the woodsmoke had not been so powerful that it suggested a major town. I guessed it was a farm or village, but this decision would be mine. “Aye, for we need it. Bring all ashore, including the cow and we will risk a fire and hot food. If you have men here, they can give good warning.” I smiled and my teeth shone in the dark, “It will give me a chance to clear the stink from the decks.” He nodded his understanding. It had not been just the animals who had fouled themselves on the deck, some women had been fearful of hanging over the gunwale and did not relish using the clay pots.