by Griff Hosker
He swallowed and washed it down with a little of Agnetha’s beer. He has a crew of about thirty on each ship.”
“Archers?”
“A few, not many.”
“And which will be his ship?”
“The one which stands off; he likes others to do his dying for him.”
I had the measure of this man now. I would not wear my mail. I did not intend to allow him to board. If I did so then we would lose. I would win this battle before it had even begun.
With the whole crew fed and prepared we waited for dawn to break. There was little point in running out the oars and rowing. It would slow us down and tire our men. I would wait. I went to the stern where Josephus had the steer board. He was teaching Aiden Greek by pointing to the things on the ship. I smiled as I saw Magnus mouthing the words. He was learning just by being close to the two of them.
Ketil was at the mast head, his legs dangling down as he sat astride the yard and the mast. Erik Short Toe was watching for rocks although we were still some two miles from the coast. The islands that Josephus had mentioned were ahead. We would pass within a mile of them and there appeared to be a cluster of them. We thought that Rorik might be there but, equally he could have found another ambush site. I could feel the tension getting to me. I wanted this threat gone so that we could concentrate on the voyage to Miklagård. This was the past come to haunt me and I wanted the future.
I saw the islands grow closer and I stared, looking for a mast head. I saw nothing. We had passed two when Ketil shouted, “Masts to the east!”
The two threttanessa came hurtling out like greyhounds released after hares. “Take her to steer board. Rowers prepare; archers at the ready.” I glanced up at the wind which was coming from the south west. My move had slowed us down for it took us into the wind. Josephus compensated by sailing as close to the wind as he dared. He did not look worried.
The two ships were now a mile away and they had separated. There was one to the south and one to the north. I thought that the southern one would be the one which would reach us first. “Josephus, which is Rorik’s?”
“The one to the north.”
“Rowers to your oars. Archers on me.” I strode to the shore side of my ship. Snorri would organise the archers. This would all require careful timing. Cnut set the men rowing at a steady pace. The two drekar were still catching us but less quickly. The southern one was trying to cut off our escape. Rorik had a similar problem to us, the wind was against him. I allowed the southern ship to close with our beam. My men were just warming up at their oars. When I chose they would be able to row much faster and for a longer time.
“Josephus, hard to shore! Erik, Ketil to the sail!”
The ‘Heart of the Dragon’ suddenly changed direction. The wind was now coming from our quarter and we raced towards the closer of the two drekar.
“Cnut, full speed!”
We were but three hundred paces from the drekar. The captain tried to turn and head towards us but he ran into the wind and only his oars kept his forward momentum.
“Archers at the ready. I want death to visit this drekar. Half speed!” As we slowed and the drekar’s captain struggled to work out what I was up to I shouted, “Release!”
Twenty arrows soared across the short distance to the drekar. A second and a third followed a heartbeat later. The dragon prow was just twenty paces from our oars. I hoped I had judged it well. Aiden shouted, “The other drekar is two hundred paces from our stern!”
Our ship was now passing across the prow and I heard Snorri order the release of another two flights. The oars were in disarray as our arrows had struck rowers and the steersman. Rorik was so keen to catch us that he took his eye off his companion. The ship’s way kept her moving so that she crossed our stern. My archers riddled the stern with arrows and I saw the captain and steersman fall to their deaths. The drekar slewed to steer board just as Rorik tried to reach us. The two ships cracked into each other. I heard oars shear and men scream as they were skewered by broken oars. Rorik’s ship began to sink.
“Steer board Josephus!” I did not want to risk running aground and I wanted to see what happened to the two ships.
Rorik’s vessel was doomed. I saw his men trying to cross to the drekar of death. It was still afloat but I suspected it had sprung strakes. My men cheered as Rorik’s drekar sank to its gunwales. I watched as mailed warriors, ready to board us when they caught us, sank beneath the waves. We were going more slowly now as we turned back into the wind. I saw Rorik climb aboard his surviving ship and shake his fist at us. If I had wanted to I could have turned and destroyed him and his crew. I did not. He would struggle to make it to shore with the damaged drekar.
I turned to Josephus. He was smiling. “Thank you, master. My son and my nephew are avenged.”
Once we returned to a southern course we were able to rest the rowers. I took the opportunity of speaking with Josephus. “Can you manage her, Magnus?”
“Aye, Jarl Dragon Heart.”
We went to the leeward side of the ship. “How long will it take us and what dangers can we expect? Now that we have rid ourselves of our problem I need to know what to expect.”
“If the winds are favourable and we rest each night then it would take a month, perhaps more.”
“If we sailed at night?”
“We could possibly make it in twenty days. But why risk it?”
“I am just working out the time. I have a land to watch over. I trust those who are there but you must know, Josephus, that we would all rather be with our families.”
“You are right. As for the troubles? The Pillars of Hercules can be tricky but it is once we pass there that the real danger comes. There are Barbary pirates who plague the southern waterways and if we head north then the waters are tricky. Once we are in Imperial waters then life should be easier except…”
He looked at the deck. “Go on Josephus, tell me.”
“You are a Norseman. You will be taken for a pirate.”
“So when we reach Imperial waters we should try to avoid the shipping and the main routes?”
“I am afraid so.”
He looked sad. I was not. “Then the gods sent have you to me for you shall help us to sneak in to the Miklagård.”
“Constantinopolis .”
“What?”
“They call it Constantinopolis. It is only the Norse who name it Miklagård.”
“You see, I am learning already.”
Chapter 20
We were all able to relax a little once the threat of Rorik was past. The winds were not the best but they were steady and, as Josephus told me, my ship was the fastest he had ever sailed and used every puff of wind. We did not need to use the rowers. Apart from the daily maintenance of the ship the men occupied themselves making intricate carved bone items. Some would become handles for knives while others would be given as gifts for those at home. Some might even use them for trade when we reached our destination.
Of course Arturus and Aiden used all the spare time they had to learn Greek. I even managed to learn a word or two and we discovered much about the Empire. What Josephus could not tell us was who the Emperor would be. From what he told us it sounded like a ruthless culture of political and religious intrigue. Emperors did not necessarily rule for a long time.
On our fourth night after the fight we were on a beach a half a day from the Pillars of Hercules. Josephus told us that we were now in the land of the Arab and the Moor but the beach we found was secluded and far from any people. My men had hunted and we enjoyed hot food on the beach while we finished the last of Agnetha’s beer.
We showed Josephus our treasures and he told us what they were. “This is the eagle that the legions of the ancient Romans carried into battle. To lose one would be a great disgrace. The golden torc, I believe would have been given to a general who had been successful; I would not know which general. I was a sailor and not a scholar. There are vast libraries in Constantinopolis if you sough
t the information then it would be there.” He held up the metal discs. “These were called phalerae and were medals given to soldiers for brave deeds in battle. Whoever you found he was a hero. Why do you wish to learn about him?”
“We don’t. We just thought that these might be valuable to your people.”
He laughed, “There may be some who might pay for them just to make a link with the past. Rome’s glories are often used by those who seek power.”
“Is not the Emperor a great warrior?”
“Some lead our armies into battle and are good strategoi but others wouldn’t know one end of a sword from the other and are only interested in money.”
Haaken, Cnut and I could not understand that. Haaken scratched his head. “But coin is only useful for trading for the things you need.”
“You will have your eyes opened in Constantinopolis.”
Haaken pointed to his one good eye, “You mean keep my one eye open.”
We all laughed but Josephus seemed worried that he had offended the warrior. “I am sorry for my offence, master.”
“You have offended no one. Haaken lost the eye in a battle long ago. It gained him great glory and he would not wish its return if it meant he did not have the glory.”
“Besides my one eye works perfectly well; why should I worry?”
Josephus shook his head. “You are Norsemen but you are not like the Norsemen of Rorik. They were cruel and wanted only treasure.”
“But they were not led by Dragon Heart and the sword touched by the gods.”
Josephus had not been told the story. Haaken had a new audience and he told the story of the creation of the sword. When he had finished the old Greek nodded approvingly. “That is a treasure which would fetch a high price in Constantinopolis. Your blade looks like the sword of St.Michael and he is the most revered saint in Byzantium.”
That gave me much to think on. We were going to Byzantium for trade and to learn. I suddenly realised that Josephus was doubly valuable. He had been a sailor and a trader.
“We have gold coins, Josephus, what could we trade for in Constantinopolis which is more valuable?”
“Spices! They are light and expensive. That was where we made most of our profit.” His face warmed as he remembered the old days. “The courts of the Franks could not get enough of the spices.” He pointed to the satchel carried by Aiden. “That much spice could be sold for hundreds if not thousands of golden coins. They are brought from the distant corners of the Empire. In Constantinopolis there are many markets where you could buy them. There they are relatively cheap but if you take them to the west then they become fantastically valuable.”
I had thought to bring back weapons but perhaps I could bring back goods of a greater value. Haaken and I spoke with Josephus about the armies of Byzantium while Arturus and Aiden wandered off to find shell fish.
They both came back and were highly excited, “We have found stones and they contain minerals.”
Haaken became interested, “Gold? Silver?”
“I think not but they may be a new ore that we can mine. There are just three stones. I would like to take them to the ship and examine them.”
I shrugged. Aiden had a quest for knowledge and hitherto it had not let us down. “Very well, show them to us.”
We wandered along the beach and saw the three stones. They were huge. I laughed, “Aye you may have them if you can pick them up.”
He walked over and tried to lift one. He managed to lift the stone the height of a thumb above the sand and then he was forced to drop it. I was about to leave it there when his crestfallen look made me relent. “Come Haaken, we will carry them aboard. It will give us ballast if naught else.”
We picked it up, Haaken grumbling. “I hope we get something from this or I will take it out of the gladramenn’s hide.” We managed to manhandle the three stones aboard and Aiden was like a pleased puppy with his effusive thanks. We placed them at the stern where Josephus could use them as a seat.
The following day we set sail before dawn for we would have the famous Pillars of Hercules to navigate. This was the portal between the Middle Sea and the Western Sea. Josephus told us that it could be treacherous and we wanted as much daylight as possible if we were to pass through it. I knew how serious it was from the attention on the face of Josephus. He was concentrating totally on the sail and steer board. His normal smile was missing.
My normally stable drekar pitched and tossed alarmingly as the two seas fought a battle and we were caught up in the middle of it. It demanded the attention of my whole crew and then, after a morning’s hard sailing, we were through and the waters changed to azure blue gentle waters of the Middle Sea. It was as though we had entered a different world. The air was warmer and the sea looked to have been painted by the gods.
I shook my head as I clapped Josephus on the back. “Well done, old man, but I cannot understand why you forsook such a land for the cold Western Sea.”
He smiled sadly, “Had I known my fate then I would never have left but I followed my father and I followed the trade. I have paid my dues.” I saw him gazing east and knew that he was thinking of his family and his dead crew.
“What problems do we face now?”
He pointed to the south. “There are Arabs to the south. They have small fast little ships and they fill them with warriors. Because there are few large waves here they have a low freeboard and they are very quick. They do not use a square sail but a triangular one they call a lateen. The do not operate alone but in packs; they are like dogs.”
“Why does the Emperor tolerate them?”
“They only became dangerous in the last thirty years. It is the rise of the Muslims which has caused it. They conquered much of the land called Hispania. It is only recently that Charlemagne recaptured some of it. They are fanatics.”
Haaken shook his head, “I have never heard of this religion. Is it like that of the White Christ? Do they turn the other cheek?”
“No it is the opposite. They either convert you or kill you. They call it Jihad, Holy War.”
“A strange religion.”
“Aye, they keep their women covered and do not drink.”
“What is the point of that? The Gods made women more beautiful than men so we may look on them. That is why they do not have beards!”
Cnut snorted, “I have seen some Hibernians and Pictish women who had better beards than Arturus here!”
We laughed. Haaken spat over the side, “And why would a man not drink? Imagine waking in the morning and knowing that was as good as you would feel all day!” He shook his head and looked to the skies, “I will still follow the Allfather!”
We sailed east across an empty ocean. The gentle breeze from the south west took us ever eastward, steadily. Aiden took the opportunity to examine the rocks we had brought aboard. He used his tiny hammer and chisel which he had forged himself to chip away at the reddish mineral which he had found. After an hour’s work he shook his head in disgust. “Copper! And it is of a lower grade than Olaf’s mountain!”
We all laughed and Haaken said, “Well they stay there until you have the strength to lift them. I carried them aboard, you can carry them off. It is a lesson for you gladramenn!”
Josephus began to look anxiously at the darkening sky. “We have a choice, Jarl Dragon Heart: we can either find a beach for the night or keep sailing.”
I was curious about these Arabs but, equally, I wanted to reach Miklagård as soon as possible. “We will sail tonight and tomorrow night we will venture inshore for we will need provisions. Are there small settlements by the coast?”
“Aye master.” He looked incredulous, “You would raid the Arabs?”
“Why not? They are men and they have both food and drink although not the drink we might crave. It is what we have always done.”
“But they are fierce warriors.”
I grinned, “And they call us wolves, for we feast on fierce warriors!”
Josephus slept
for a few hours while Magnus and I sailed alone. Then I sat with Josephus for a couple of hours after he took the steer board. Aiden awoke and listened in to our conversation. “Do not underestimate these Arabs, master.”
“I will not. How do they fight?”
“On land they are the masters of the horse but at sea they fight half naked and use their numbers to swarm over a ship. They always outnumber the crew and they slaughter them. They take no prisoners.”
“And their weapons?”
“They use spears and a curved blade called a scimitar. If I tell you that there will be no Imperial ships within a hundred miles of the coast then you will know how feared they are.”
“And how far away are we?”
“Probably thirty miles or so.”
Aiden pulled out his map and lit a candle. He pointed with his dagger to a point on the map. “I estimate that we are here.”
Josephus glanced at it and nodded, “I agree.”
“And what is this island here?”
“That is Melita. It is part of Byzantium. We have to pass close by the island.”
“Then tomorrow we will head to the shore and see these people from close up. And now I will sleep.”
As I curled up beneath my wolf cloak I heard Josephus say to Aiden, “I have never met his like. He is fearless. He will poke the Arab with a stick! That is dangerous.”
“He believes, as we all do, that he is protected by the spirits and the gods. We would follow him to the edge of the world if he asked for we know that we would return!”
We awoke to a glorious day but a stiffer breeze than we were used to. Magnus was steering while Josephus ate. He pointed to the north east. “Melita is a day away to the north. There will be ships patrolling.”
“Then my plan to land in Africa is still a good one.”
He nodded grudgingly. “It is but it is risky.”
It was noon when Ketil shouted from the mast head. “Sails from the north west!”
I looked at Josephus. “Byzantine?”
“You will only know when we get closer. The Byzantine ships ride higher in the water and are bigger than the pirates.”