by Griff Hosker
The end of winter was a time to prepare and with Laughing Deer spending increasing amounts of time with the baby then Stands Alone became the cook and also, when I needed her, my helper. She had changed beyond all recognition in the last year. She was on the cusp of womanhood. However, it was the changes in her mind which were the more obvious. She chattered and she smiled; she voiced opinions and offered suggestions. I prayed that some young warrior would heal her heart, but I was not sure. We were thrown together and she was invaluable not only to her sister but also to me. She was stronger and when we began to harvest the winter oats and barley, she was able to move sacks which were quite large. She could even pull the cart while I scythed the cereal. As the clan had done when they lived on the island, I kept back a tenth of the crop for seed. Would I be planting it on the mainland? She helped me collect the last of the greens and, after fertilising the soil, she helped me plant new crops. Our work lasted from sunrise to sunset. When she went to help Laughing Deer or cook the food then I emptied the lobster, crab and fish pots. The island was bountiful, but it was not safe.
The new shoots had just begun to appear when we spied the smoke from the land. The Mi’kmaq had returned. I had assumed that they would set up their camps and then come to speak with us after a week or so and I was surprised when, as I went to empty the fish traps, I saw a canoe powered by five warriors racing across the choppy waters. It was not good sailing weather and whatever the reason for the visit it was important. I began to fear the worst, but I did not alarm Laughing Deer. It took many hours for them to paddle across and I had Stands Alone prepare hot food. We had just brewed some black beer and I put out five beakers. I waited on the wooden quay and saw that it was Long Sight, Black Bird and three other warriors I did not recognise.
Long Sight shook his head as I helped him from the boat, “That is hard! I wish we had a boat like yours.”
I smiled, “I have improved it and I can tow you back if you like.”
He shook his head, “I fear you will be returning with us. I have dire news.”
“Then tell us all at the same time for I have no secrets from my wife.” He nodded. “By the way, I now have a son, Bear!”
He was genuinely pleased and hugged me, “This is good Erik, Shaman of the Bear.”
Stands Alone stood close to Laughing Deer when the five warriors entered for there was no White Doe with them. “Sit, eat and drink and then tell me the news that blackens your faces.” I glanced at Laughing Deer. She was clever and, like Ada and Gytha, could read people. She was prepared for the worst.
Long Sight ate a little and quaffed a whole beaker of ale which I refilled before he spoke. “We went to the council with our news and we found your clan, Laughing Deer and Stands Alone. I have bad news for you. After you were taken your clan tried to take you back, but they were ambushed. Your father and your brothers along with most of the warriors of the clan died. Your Chief, Grey Otter, also died and his son, Talking Beaver took the few men of the clan and they joined with the Clan of the Hawk. When Wandering Moos told the other clans of the attack on your island and your request, there was much debate. Some tribes fear the Penobscot. However, it was decided that the tribe owed it to the dead to welcome you to our lands.”
I smiled, “Then that is good news!”
“I have not given you the bad news yet. The Mohawks sent a messenger to us for they are our allies. The Penobscot asked them to join them in a war against the Mi’kmaq. They have renounced the treaty of the River of Peace. The Mohawks said that they had no grievance against us and refused to join. There is now bad blood between the Penobscot and the Mohawks, but they will not fight, not yet. When we heard that the council sent emissaries to the other, smaller tribes who live close to the Penobscot the news they brought was not good. The whole of the Penobscot tribe is ready to fight, and they are a mighty tribe. His father, Chief Red Hand and Angry Voice’s younger brother, Runs at Night, have roused the tribes and sworn vengeance on the pale-haired shaman of the bear and the Mi’kmaq. Now that the ground is warm, they will come, and they will number more than our tribe.”
I emptied my horn of ale. We had fled from Larswick to avoid a war and it had followed us. It was wyrd and no matter what we men did the Norns would decide our future. I nodded and when I spoke every eye but Bear’s was on me. “We have too much to pack to leave today. It is good that you have come. Stay this night and tomorrow we will begin to take our home to the mainland.”
Black Bird shook his head, “They may be on their way already! What if they are heading for this island in their boats?”
I smiled, “Then they are doomed before they begin. When you came, Long Sight, was it easy?”
He shook his head, “The waves threatened to swamp us.”
I nodded, “I am the only one here who has sailed from the south. Your journey was easy compared with the one the Penobscot will have to make. I do not doubt that they will come and that they will come armed with the knowledge of those who fled but it will not be for a moon at least for they will wait until these storms and wild winds have passed. We have time. Tomorrow we take my family and as much as we can load then I will make daily trips in my boat until there is nothing left on Bear Island but the ghosts of the dead and they, I believe, will make life hard for the Penobscot. Now eat, Long Sight, and enjoy the food and the ale!”
He smiled, “You are as wise as a chief, Erik, and you have great courage. It will be an honour to fight alongside you.”
“And while I do not have many weapons to bring, I have skills in making weapons which are better than yours.”
I saw that they doubted me and so I brought out my shield and my bow. I handed the shield to Black Bird. He said, “This is heavy!”
“And can your arrows penetrate the wood?” He shook his head. I took my yew bow which was as long as I was. “If you could use a bow like this then it might but even if you cannot draw such a bow, we can make ones which are still better than yours. You can send arrows from a greater distance.” I went to my chest and took out my mail. “Wearing this then the only weapons the Penobscot have which can hurt me are their clubs and for that, they have to get close.” I dropped it on the table and saw the three warriors I did not know examine it. “However,” I knelt down to take something else from the chest, “you can all make these.” I took out my metal-studded hide jerkin. “You may not have the metal, but bone attached to the hide will help to deflect Penobscot arrows.”
Long Sight said, “We do not have long and these would take time.”
I handed the leather jerkin to Long Sight. “Here is one you do not have to make! It is my gift to you.” I went to the corner and found my wood axe. “And here, Black Bird, is my gift to you. Now two of your warriors will be stronger and if they do not come for a month then anything that we do will help us. Do not look, Long Sight, as though that beaker of ale is half empty.” I topped it up. “It is half full!”
My words filled them with hope. I sat and ate while they examined my gifts. Laughing Deer placed the sleeping Bear in the crib and came to me. She kissed me on the cheek and said, “You are wise, my husband, and I believe that we will overcome the Penobscot, but I fear that many of Wandering Moos’ people will suffer.”
“And you can do nothing about that for the Penobscot have set this in motion. Tomorrow you take that which is most precious, and I will come back each day to remove everything. All that was left for us we will take, and we will share it with our new clan.” I waved over Stands Alone who had been quiet since the five warriors had entered the hall. “And you, Stands Alone, will you be happy?”
She smiled at me, “Erik, you are thoughtful and if all men were like you then my heart and my mind would be settled but I have seen the worst of men. I know that Long Sight is a good man for White Doe told me and I believe that Black Bird is also honourable for you told me so but the others? I look at them all as though they will hurt me, even these three.”
Laughing Deer said, “Then, sister, you
shall continue to stay with me, and we will ask for a home which is close to White Doe. We cannot stay here for that would mean a return to…”
“I know.”
Long Sight and I sat up long into the night for he wished to talk, and the ale flowed well. He wanted to know how we fought. When he and his clan had fought us, they had been so shocked that they had not learned anything from us. I told him how we used a shield wall and fought together. I told him how we used younger warriors with slings and bows to harass the enemy.
He nodded and then said, “We were doomed to failure because of your superior weapons.”
I had had long nights to reflect on the disastrous battle of the falls and I thought I understood the reason. “And yet the Penobscot killed my brother and many other warriors.”
“And how did they do that?”
“My brother made the mistake of assuming he would win and did not fight as he should have done. He tried to attack the Penobscot. When we waited for our foes we won; when we used defences, we won. We need to make your camp stronger.”
He beamed, “Use nature to help us win the war?”
“Now you have it. The enemy will come for vengeance and will assume that they will win. They will fight you the way they always have and expect you to do the same. If your warriors will listen to me then no matter how many men they bring we have a good chance of winning.” By the time we had talked things through he was happier.
We loaded ‘Ada’ at dawn. Black Bird and the three warriors would stay at the island and continue to bring our belongings to the quay. My new enlarged boat meant we could take more cargo. We had our bedding as well as all that Bear needed. Long Sight would take them to the camp, and I would continue to ferry the rest of our belongings.
As we sped across the water Long Sight shook his head, “You will be back at the island in the same time it took us to cover half the distance. This is a wondrous boat.”
“You should have sailed on ‘Gytha’ now there was a vessel!”
There were many hands to help us unload and I quickly turned around. The voyage back was quicker as I had the wind and when I reached the island Black Bird and the others had managed to bring the most important things to the quay. I looked at the sky, despite the swift journey, the loading and unloading, allied to the shorter days meant this would be our last crossing of the day.
“Tie your boat to the stern and you can cross with me.”
Black Bird saw the fearful look on the faces of the three young warriors and, winking at me, he said, “Are you women? Laughing Deer and Stands Alone sailed without fear and they had a baby with them.”
They climbed reluctantly on board and I smiled as I saw them gripping the sides. When the sail snapped and billowed, they each grabbed their amulets. They had a relatively quiet voyage, but I knew they were praying all the way! When we had unloaded, I stepped the mast and the warriors helped me to drag the boat onto the beach. There was little likelihood of her slipping off as she was well above the high-water mark. We then carried what we had brought up to the main camp. The Mi’kmaq were creatures of habit and the dwellings were in exactly the same place as when I had last visited. As we entered Black Bird pointed and said, “Your home will be next to Long Sight. My wife and I wished for you to be our neighbour, but Long Sight is the senior warrior.”
I smiled, “Thank you for your help and we shall see each other often for I will be living here.”
“Do you need to return to the island?”
“There is still much that we can bring. There is the salt for a start.”
“Your people are industrious, and I can see the result of that work. Our men like to hunt and that is all. Few make things. That is the work of women.”
I said nothing for there were men like that in Norse villages. I was not one of them.
White Doe and Stands Alone were in the Mi’kmaq shelter. I saw that it was efficiently made but I could make it better. I smiled, “Are you all well?”
“Aye, husband, they have made us more than welcome.”
I saw that Stands Alone looked happier and put that down to the presence of White Doe.
White Doe smiled at me, “Tonight you eat with the tribe for Wandering Moos wishes to speak with you. The women will eat apart.” She looked pointedly at Stands Alone, “That will make it easier for all of us.”
I decided not to wear my bearskin but, instead, to wear a simple kyrtle. I could tell, as I headed for the fire, that there was disappointment. Long Sight chuckled when he joined me, “They prefer the Shaman of the Bear as they think the cloak makes you more powerful.”
“I am sorry; should I return and don it?”
“No, my friend, for I have seen that the magic comes from within and you need no bear cloak to show it. Wandering Moos has clear eyes and he can see it too.”
Wandering Moos gestured for me to sit next to him, “Our tribe is united against the Penobscot but, I fear, our neighbours may arrive too late for many of my warriors.”
“I have spoken with Long Sight and I believe that we can give the Penobscot a surprise when they come. They think they know us because of the battle of the waterfall but that was my brother. He was like your son, Eyes of Fire, and he was hasty and reckless. Like your son he was brave but sometimes you must temper courage with caution. There is a time to be wild and a time to be patient. If they give us fourteen nights, then we can prepare defences which will make them pay heavily for their arrogance!”
Wandering Moos looked relieved, “That is good for I do not wish to lose all of my warriors. Your people took some of the best of my warriors.”
I felt guilty even though it was we who had been attacked.
There was a different mood that night compared with the previous feasts I had enjoyed. I sensed a hunger in the younger warriors for war and Wandering Moos’ words had told me why. Long Sight and Black Bird were now two of the more experienced warriors and the young ones had yet to be blooded. They saw this battle with a more traditional enemy as their opportunity. In addition, I knew from Black Bird that there was a sense of outrage that Mi’kmaq women had been taken and abused by their hated enemies. Younger warriors came to me to ask for me to recount, in detail, how I had slain the Penobscot when they had attacked my island. When Long Sight asked then to leave me alone, I noticed that Wandering Moos was now seated alone. Despite being the chief, he was isolated. There was just Long Sight who was what I would call a veteran warrior. Wandering Moos had his sons but all those who were of an age with him were dead and he looked sad. All around him was the excited chatter of much younger warriors but he was like a rock in a bubbling mountain stream, it all went on around him and did not seem to touch him.
“Do you have grandchildren, Wandering Moos?”
His eyes brightened and he nodded, “I have six of them and they brighten my days. I hope I will live long enough to see them grow.”
I had learned much from my time, first with Bear Tooth, then Laughing Deer and now the tribe. “You are not the war chief?”
He shook his head, “I have always counselled the path of peace. This life we live is difficult enough without trying to kill each other but I know that war is necessary. My son would have been war chief had he lived.” He leaned in, conspiratorially, “He asked me many times to let him be chief. Sometimes you cannot give your children what they want. I hope that his children have not inherited their father’s love of war.” He began to pack his pipe with the dried leaves. “I shall not be here then. I will be with the spirits and my influence will have gone.”
As he lit the pipe, I saw a change in him. He became more relaxed. Laughing Deer had told me that some of the leaves they smoked had that effect, they calmed the smoker. He opened his eyes and said, “Despite the number of warriors you have killed I do not think that you like war.”
I shook my head, “That was my brother. If the Penobscot had not come to my home I would not have sought their deaths. I am here in your camp because they seek to harm me and my
family and I will fight. Some people assume that any man who does not shout about war is not a warrior. That is not true. I have killed many men, but I never sought a man’s death. I killed to defend that which I held dear.”
“It is good talking to you, Shaman of the Bear and is like talking to those warriors with whom I grew up. You are wise beyond your years, but you have passed across the water and that must change a man. If I went east, would I like what I found?”
I shook my head, “It is a wondrous place, Wandering Moos, but I do not think that you would enjoy it.”
“Wondrous?”
“I have told Long Sight and the others of the buildings that great men have. They are built of stone and they have stairs to climb to the other floors.” I had to try to explain what a floor was. “In the north of our land is a wall which stretches from sea to sea across the whole land and it is as tall as one man standing on the top of another.”
His eyes widened, “A wall made of stone?”
“Aye, and it is as wide as it is tall. My clan who sailed east hope to live close to it.”
“Because it is magical?”
“No, Wandering Moos, because the chief who lives there keeps the land peaceful and none attack him. The wall was built in ancient times, but it helps to protect them.”