“A war is unavoidable. However, I’d prefer to delay it until the odds favor our side.”
“When will that be?”
“When you return to Norway with a fleet of ships.”
Sigurd laughed, but Ari was not smiling. “You really believe that will happen?”
“It’s the only chance we have,” Ari said. “I have to believe it.”
Sigurd stared at the old man for some time. “This expedition,” he said at last. “Do they have room for nine more?”
“They were trying to fill four ships. I suspect able-bodied fighting men would still be welcomed.”
“And the less able-bodied?”
Ari shrugged. “You should be prepared to make sacrifices.”
“You mean leave some of the foreigners behind. But you will not allow them to stay in Uslu.”
“I am sorry, Sigurd. If Harald’s men come for them, I will have no choice. Speak to the organizer of the expedition. His name is Dag Erikson; you will find his house on a promontory near the water. Perhaps he can make room for you.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Gabe sat atop a boulder near the side of the main road leading into Uslu. It was nearly noon, and the air was cold but still. Over his shoulder, the sun shone brightly in an azure sky.
Having little else to offer the townspeople in exchange for their hospitality, he had volunteered for sentry duty, watching the road for signs of Harald’s men. Since the foreigners’ arrival, Ari had doubled the number of sentries, but this was probably an abundance of caution. Sigurd and Ari were in agreement that it was unlikely Harald would attack anytime soon. Even if he had somehow found out where the foreigners had gone, it would take time to assemble a force capable of taking Uslu. Given his recent losses, Harald would undoubtedly have to pull men from several southern garrisons.
It was a dull assignment; Gabe had been here since dawn and so far had seen only an ox-cart bearing oats coming into town and three fur-clad hunters leaving. His wounds still ached, but he was too restless to spend the day in bed. Now another figure was approaching from the town. Her small size and strange clothing made it easy to identify her at half a klick away.
“Hey, Chief,” Gabe said as Reyes approached.
“How goes guard duty?”
“Can’t complain. I’ve seen three rabbits, and eagle and an elk. What brings you up here? Is Ari kicking us out?”
“He wants us gone by tomorrow morning,” Reyes said. “But I just talked to Sigurd. He’s got a proposal for us.”
“Really.”
“An expedition is leaving for mainland Europe from a village on the coast in a week. Sigurd thinks we should try to get on board.”
“What about Sigurd and his men?”
“They’ll be coming as well. Sigurd, Braggi, Njáll, Agnar and Brynjarr.”
“The warriors,” Gabe said. “When you say expedition…”
“I gather that it’s a raiding party, yeah.”
Gabe grinned and shook his head. “An actual Viking raid. Unbelievable.”
“At least pretend you have some qualms about this.”
“Do we have any other options?”
“Not that I can think of. Seems like we’re going to have to trust Sigurd.”
“He’s certainly given us no reason to distrust him. He and his men could easily have taken the lander from us if they’d wanted to. They were ready to fight and die alongside us to defend it from Harald. And unlike some of the others, Sigurd doesn’t seem to blame us for the attack.”
Reyes nodded. “And you didn’t see him with Harald on the road. Gabe, he wanted to kill him. Would have killed him, if I hadn’t begged him not to. He gave up his one chance at vengeance to save you.”
“I suspect he did it more for you than for me,” Gabe said with a smile. “But we’re in agreement. We can’t possibly go it alone at this point. We need allies. If we can’t trust Sigurd, we’re as good as dead.”
“Then you think we should go?”
“How’s O’Brien?”
“A little better, I think. I’m not sure a sea voyage on a Viking longboat is what he needs right now, but he’ll survive.”
Gabe nodded. “All right, then. Njáll is relieving me at noon. Then we can go tell O’Brien and Slater.”
Njáll arrived shortly before the sun reached its zenith. Gabe and Reyes returned to the village, finding Slater tending to O’Brien. Slater was dubious.
“What is the purpose of this expedition?” she asked.
“It’s a raiding party,” Gabe answered.
“You mean they’re going to kill people and steal things,” O’Brien said.
“I would expect so,” Gabe replied. “They’re Vikings. It’s part of their culture.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Slater replied.
“No, it doesn’t,” Reyes replied. “Fortunately, we’re not here to rectify the inequities in Norse culture. As Gabe said, these people are Vikings. This is what they do.”
O’Brien spoke up. “These people are angry that Harald destroyed their homes, and now they’re going to do the same to a bunch of strangers?”
“To the Norsemen, theft and murder are different from raiding,” Gabe explained. “They were betrayed by one of their own and then attacked by their own countrymen, who killed women and children indiscriminately.”
“I can’t believe you’re rationalizing Viking raids,” Slater said.
“I’m not rationalizing anything,” Gabe replied. “I’m saying that for Sigurd’s people, there’s a clear difference between murder and raiding. Whether you see the difference is not a big concern of theirs. In any case, this is all academic. History happened. We’re not going to convince Vikings not to raid.”
“No, but we don’t have to aid and abet them.”
“We’re hitching a ride on a boat, Slater,” Reyes snapped. “Nobody is asking you to bludgeon any peasants to death.”
“We’re being hunted,” Gabe said. “No place in Norway is safe for us, and this is our one chance to escape. If you want to take your chances here, feel free.”
“No,” Reyes said. “We stick together. If any of us falls into enemy hands, he or she is a danger to the others. We’re leaving with those ships.”
“I’m fine with that,” O’Brien said, “but is there going to be room for me? I’m going to be useless on a ship. I’d be worried I’d be in the way.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Reyes said. “We stick together, no matter what.”
“So Sigurd and his men are coming too?” Slater asked.
“That’s right.”
“They’re going to join in the raiding?”
Gabe sighed. “Slater, we’ve been through this…”
“No, listen,” Slater said. “What I’m asking is this: what is Sigurd’s motivation in going with us? Why doesn’t he stay here with the rest of the refugees from the valley?”
O’Brien nodded. “It’s a good question.”
“The honest answer,” Reyes said, glancing at Gabe, “is that we’re not sure. The others are young men without attachments. They’ll follow Sigurd wherever he goes. Sigurd may just be looking for a new start.”
“You think Sigurd is running from Harald?” O’Brien asked. “He doesn’t seem like the running type.”
“No,” Gabe said. “I think he’s still intent on vengeance. Accompanying us to Europe may be a strategic choice on his part.”
“You think he’s going to enlist us in his war against Harald,” Slater said.
“He hasn’t asked us for anything,” Reyes said.
“Tell me you’re not that naïve,” Slater said.
“No, you’re right, Slater,” Gabe said, “My guess is that at some point Sigurd is going to want something from us. So what? Again, we have no other options. Sigurd is a friend. I trust him. Without friends on this planet, we’re as good as dead.”
“He’s not going to ask us for something,” Slater replied. “He’s going to ask
us to do the impossible. Literally, the impossible. He wants to kill a guy we know for a fact dies of old age decades from now. When did you say Harald dies, Gabe?”
“I don’t remember the exact date, but it was well into the tenth century.”
“Is somebody going to tell this to Sigurd at some point?” Slater asked.
“It took an hour for me to understand what he was saying about the ships,” Reyes said. “If you think you can explain to him that his quest for vengeance is doomed because you come from the future and you know for a fact that Harald Fairhair dies of old age, please give it a shot. And make sure you’re prepared for the follow-up questions about where you’re from and what Earth is like in your time.”
“We can’t tell him anything,” Gabe said. “It would be pointless, even if we could communicate it. If and when Sigurd asks for something from us, we evaluate the request within our current mission parameters.”
O’Brien laughed and then groaned in pain. “Mission parameters? What might those be under the circumstances? I assumed our mission died the moment Gabe nuked the lander.”
“Our mission at this point,” Reyes said, “is to stay alive, stay together, and reestablish contact with Andrea Luhman as soon as possible.”
“Why?” Slater said.
“Which part?”
“I mean, I understand all those are good things, but what’s our actual mission? Are we really still thinking we might get off Earth?”
“We don’t have enough information to make that decision. That’s why we need to reestablish contact with Andrea Luhman.”
“There is no conceivable information that is going to get us off this planet.”
“Perhaps not. But at this point we still work for the IDL. That means we need to get in touch with the captain and brief him on our status.”
“Andrea Luhman is still almost six weeks out,” Slater said. “And we have no transmitter capable of reaching them.”
“We can build a transmitter,” Reyes said. “For now our mission is to stay alive.”
No one else spoke. There was nothing to say. Reyes was right; for now, all they could do is try to stay alive.
Reyes and Gabe left shortly thereafter to find Sigurd. They went with him to meet Dag Erikson, the organizer of the raiding expedition. Dag was a stout, white-haired man whose intense eyes darted back and forth under a shaggy white brow. He seemed displeased to have his plans disrupted, but a mention of Ari’s name mollified him somewhat. The four of them sat drinking ale in Dag’s house in sight of the fjord. The four longboats were visible in the distance, anchored just offshore. Dag had agreed to accept the able-bodied men—including Gabe—but balked at the women and O’Brien. The issue seemed to be one of physical strength and endurance more than anything else: all the travelers were expected to be able to row for long periods when the wind was not amenable to sailing. Dag didn’t believe the women had the strength to pull the oars, and O’Brien could barely move. Dag was still short of men, but it was clear he wasn’t going to accept dead weight to get Sigurd and his men on board.
Clearly frustrated, Sigurd turned to Reyes and held up his hands. Sigurd had made it clear he and his men weren’t going on the expedition without all four spacemen, so they were at an impasse.
At last, Gabe pulled one of the rolls of solder from his flight suit, setting it on the table in front of Dag. Dag’s eyes went wide. He picked up the roll and began to pull on the end of the wire, bending it straight to inspect it. He spent some time bending the wire into various shapes and straightening it again. He smiled and looked at Gabe. “Silfr?” he asked.
Gabe nodded. “That’s right. I give you that, you let our people on your ship.”
Sigurd and Dag had a brief exchange, after which Sigurd turned to Reyes and Gabe again. “Einn silfrstrangi, einn maðr.” He held up a finger.
“This is bullshit,” Reyes said. “Kilo-for-kilo, Slater and I are as strong as any of these Vikings.”
“Easy, Reyes,” Gabe said. “We’re also not partaking in the looting and pillaging. I assume he makes his money by taking a cut of the spoils, so he’s not going to make anything on us. He’s right; we’re not pulling our weight.”
“We literally will be pulling our weight,” Reyes replied.
“It’s an expression, Reyes. If he’s willing to take the three of us for three rolls of solder, I say we do it.”
“I can’t believe I’m buying my life with a roll of electrical solder.”
Gabe held up three fingers. “Three rolls of silver, three people.”
Dag nodded, and Gabe pulled the other two rolls of solder from his pocket and set them on the table. Dag smiled. “Týsdagr,” he said, holding up seven fingers. “Sjau dagar.”
Gabe nodded. “Seven days. We’ll be here.”
*****
It was three days later that Gunnar Bjornson came to the village. Ari stood outside his house, having been apprised by the sentries that Gunnar was on his way. Sigurd, Gabe and Reyes, who had been meeting with Ari, waited inside.
“Welcome, Gunnar,” Ari said, as Gunnar slid off his horse. “You’re a bit stiff getting out of the saddle. Are you hurt?”
“Nothing to concern yourself with, old man,” Gunnar said with a smile. “Although if you’re worried about my comfort, perhaps you might invite me inside.”
“I’d be glad to,” Ari replied, “but my elderly aunt was recently forced to flee her village, so she’ll be staying us for some time. She took ill on the journey east, and she just got to sleep. It wouldn’t do to disturb her.”
“I see,” said Gunnar with a nod. “Would your aunt happen to be a raven-haired young beauty who recently masterminded a plot to kidnap King Harald?”
Ari didn’t crack a smile. “My aunt is certainly a handsome woman, but I don’t believe she’s masterminded any kidnappings lately. I’ll be sure to ask when she wakes up.”
“Yes, do that. The woman I’m searching for is one of four foreigners who is wanted for destruction of the king’s property, kidnapping and theft of several horses. In fact, it’s the horse tracks that led me to your village.”
“We have only a few workhorses in this village.”
“Is that so? Then if I were to look in that barn, I’d find only workhorses, and not seven priceless Frisians?” He pointed to the large wood plank barn some fifty yards down the road.
“I don’t know anything about Frisians, but I wouldn’t recommend sniffing around old Aghi’s barn, though, unless you want a pitchfork in your ribs.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Gunnar said. “The king is offering a reward for the horses, as well as for the thieves themselves.”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you, Gunnar. But you should know that even if I could, I would not. If I were hiding foreigners here, they would be my guests. You would need to kill me to get to them. Speaking of which, you do seem to be favoring your shoulder. Are you certain you’re not hurt?”
“I’m bored of these games, Ari. Are you refusing to give these thieves up to Harald?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gunnar. Please be on your way, as I need to tend to my aunt.”
“Fine, Ari. Keep playing at your silly ruse. But understand this: Harald will not rest until the foreigners are in his hands. Already he has sent for as many men as can be spared from the garrisons along the western coast. A fleet of ships will arrive within two days. If the foreigners are still here when those men arrive, no one in the village will be spared.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Ari came back inside, looking agitated. Reyes hadn’t been able to follow much of the conversation, but the tone was clear. By employing gestures and the few words they had in common, Sigurd managed to fill in the gaps: many men were on their way from the coast, specifically to capture Sigurd and the spacemen.
Once the spacemen were up to speed, Ari and Sigurd continued to discuss the matter in their own language.
“Do you think he’s bluffing?” Reyes as
ked Gabe. The two of them sat together on one of the benches in Ari’s house. Ari and Sigurd sat across from them.
Gabe shrugged. “I’m sure Harald understands the strategic importance of capturing us. Whether he can produce an army in a few days, we have no way of knowing. All I know is that Ari and Sigurd are taking the threat seriously.”
Indeed, the discussion between the two Norsemen was becoming more heated. Sigurd was growling demands at Ari, but Ari simply shook his head, saying, “Nei, nei, ég get það ekki!”
Ari abruptly got up and walked outside. Sigurd sighed and turned to Reyes and Gabe. “Skip koma fljótlega.”
“Ships come,” Reyes said. She couldn’t make sense of the third word.
“Fljótlega,” Sigurd said. “Einn dagr. Tveir dagar. Eigi fjórir dagar.”
“One or two days,” Gabe said. “Not four days. He’s saying we don’t have time.”
Sigurd nodded. “Engi tíð. Ari lætr oss eigi bíða.” He pointed to the door.
“Ari is going to kick us out before the ships leave,” Reyes said. “Got it. But where can we go? Hvar?”
Sigurd shook his head. “Þú verðr at tala við Dag Erikson. Meira silfr?”
“He thinks we might be able to talk Dag into leaving sooner,” Gabe said. He turned back to Sigurd. “No. Nei meira silfr.”
Sigurd thought for a moment. “Hestar,” he said after a moment.
They recognized that word. “Yes,” Reyes said. “It’s worth a try. We can try to trade him the horses.”
*****
Dag Erikson was not pleased with their request. After Sigurd had explained the situation, he erupted into a string of incomprehensible words peppered with instances of “Ekki!” That was a word they’d been hearing a lot lately. No.
“Big boats,” Sigurd said, turning to face the spacemen. “Much men.” His English was progressing faster than their Norse.
Reyes nodded, understanding the gist of what Sigurd was saying: the boats required a large crew, and some of the men wouldn’t arrive for a few days. Still, she had to assume it was possible to go to sea with less than a full crew. Otherwise, how did they get back after they’d lost men in raids? Leaving without a full crew presented risks, but there were ways to compensate for increased risk.
The Dream of the Iron Dragon: An Alternate History Viking Epic (Saga of the Iron Dragon Book 1) Page 28