by Unknown
“We, Bertrand, will also find as much news as we can and perhaps see if there are others who wish to settle in the land by us.”
“But why?”
“We are few in number. We need allies. When we lived on Raven Wing Island we sometimes had the crews of three drekar. Now we crew one. Our numbers grow but not fast enough. More of those who are like us will give us security.” Sometimes the Norns listen and they laugh. What I heard was the cry of a gull which took flight at our approach. Later I would realise that it was the sound of the Norns.
There were a number of ale houses and what they called taverns. They sold food and drink at exorbitant prices. They could afford to. This was, like Dyflin, one of the few ports where pirates like we were could trade. It was the price we paid. They were careful, however, never to rob us completely. The type of men who used Dorestad would respond violently to such acts. We paused outside one. It looked to be a well-constructed building and unlike the others there were no drunken men lying outside the door. “Now you two listen more than you speak. Do not offer offence. The men who drink in these places are rough and violent. They do not play by rules. Here it is the rule of might and not right.”
“Aye, lord.” They both looked nervous.
I entered and the conversation ended as they all looked at the new arrivals. Our dress marked us as Vikings and the conversation level rose once more although I saw wary eyes watching as we crossed to the empty table in the far corner. It was the furthest from the fire and the least desirable. I did not mind. It afforded me the opportunity to look at the others in the room.
Harold smiled, “I will stand in the corner, jarl. I will learn more that way and I think I have spied a couple of likely customers for the two Saxon ships. If not I will try some of the other ale houses further down the quay.”
We had taken Saxon coins from the warriors we had slain. We had money to splash around. A one-eyed man with an enormous belly came over. I took him to be the owner for he carried a bunch of keys on his belt. “What can I do for you? A bed? Stables? Food? Ale?” he leered at Bertrand, “A young wench perhaps?”
I smiled for Bertrand was embarrassed, “Just food and ale if you please. I put a couple of silver Saxon coins on the table. The best you have.”
His eyes lit up greedily. He saw a hen to be plucked, “Of course, my lord! I will be right with you!”
I watched Gilles and Bertrand as they took it all in. Gilles had been to Dyflin with me but this was the first experience Bertrand had had of the seamier side of life. “Do not worry, Bertrand, they look worse than they are. We must look the same to them.”
“No, lord, they look like they eat babies for breakfast!” I laughed. That was how most of the world saw Vikings. Our appearance was designed to inspire terror. It worked.
The ale arrived, brought by a young female slave. She looked to be little older than Gilles. She winked at Bertrand, “If you wish anything else then just ask. My name is Agnete.”
I gave her a copper penny, “Thank you Agnete. We have all we need.”
“Your food will be along shortly.”
I looked at the various men in the room. Most were captains, jarls or the equivalent. Their men would be allowed ashore but they would not frequent the same alehouses. The others would be even worse than this one. I saw one who looked to be little older than I was. He was unusual for the rest were gnarled looking men with the weather-beaten faces which spoke long days at sea. These were sea raiders and merchants. Like us I think they would enjoy both. The difference was that we raided less now than we had. This had been our first raid in almost a year.
The food, when it came, was filling. It was a mixture of sausages in a rich bean stew. We had not eaten for almost a whole day and we devoured it voraciously. I waved for more ale after we had finished and was unsurprised when the slave girl asked for more coins. Our two silver coins did not buy much.
As we drank I listened to conversations. There was a great deal about the aspirations of King Egbert. It seemed he saw himself as Bretwalda or High King of Britain. From another table, we heard that the son of the King of Northumbria had been killed by Danes. Neither items of news would aid us but it was useful to know such things. It meant, for one thing, that we could raid Northumbria a little more easily. They had some fine churches and monasteries which were filled with books, ornaments and tapestries which we could sell. That might be something we did when the new grass came. Of course, all of that depended upon the reaction of the King of the Franks. If he wanted revenge for our acts, then we might be fighting for our lives.
I was considering heading back to the ship when the young captain, who looked to be of an age with me, stood with his companion and came over to speak to us. He smiled and held out his hand, “I am Fótr Kikisson and this is my young brother, Folki. We are from Hedeby and you, I believe, are the warrior called the horseman. You are the one who followed the Dragonheart.”
“I am but how did you know?”
“I spied the horse around your neck and there are few jarls as young as you. Could we join you?”
“Of course, this is Gilles and Bertrand. They are two of my warriors.”
Fótr said, “You are a Frank, are you not?”
“I am.”
“It is unusual for a Frank to follow a Viking is it not?”
Bertrand smiled. “There are many of us who do so. We recognise a good leader.”
“You learned that from the Dragonheart?”
“I learned many things from him. Would you serve him? If you do, then you will become rich.”
“Have you not heard? He no longer leaves his land. He has fought off a band of Danes called the Skull Takers. They are a cult which is led by witches.”
I saw Bertrand clutch his cross, surreptitiously. “Any who tries to take on the Dragonheart risks his life. I have never yet met a better leader or a more powerful warrior.”
Folki became serious, “I have heard that he is now cursed. Not only did he and his men slay four witches but I heard he went to the lair of a Norn and fought a dragon. One of his men who was with him had his hair turned white.” He shook his head, “No I would not wish to follow someone curse by witches and Norns. I was just curious why you left his service.”
“I was told by a witch that my future lay in the land of the Franks and that I was to be a horseman. So far the prophecy has proved to be fruitful.”
Fótr leaned forward, “You live in the land of the Franks?”
I nodded, “The Bretons took many of the Franks captive and the land was left empty. We took it over and we have lived there for a year.”
“We have heard that the Franks have great riches.”
“They do Folki.”
“Yet they allow you to live on their land?” It invited an answer. He wanted to know how we managed to do so.
“They are not happy about it. We have had to fight them on more than one occasion. But we are still there and our clan, the clan of the horse, grows.”
Folki gestured to his brother with his half empty horn, “My brother here wishes to raid the Franks. He has been told there is a mighty river which reaches deep into their land and you can sail a drekar up it.”
“The Issicauna. We live on a piece of land just to the north of it. We did live on an island but this is a better home. We have farms and the earth is fertile.”
The two brothers looked at each other. Fótr said, “We would like to raid the Franks.”
I smiled, “A Viking does not ask permission to raid.”
“We would not wish to encroach on the land you raid.”
“We do not raid the Issicauna. We have just returned from Cent. If you raided, then you would not be upsetting me or my mine but I should warn you that the Franks have citadels and strongholds. The Saxons are easier to raid. The Franks do not take kindly to Vikings living in their valleys.”
“They are poor! We want to be rich and rich quickly. We have forty warriors and we have a reputation.”
“What is your clan?”
“We are the clan of the fox and our threttanessa is the ‘Flying Fox’.”
“That is a good animal. It is clever and only the wolf can hunt it. I see now why the Dragonheart did not appeal. He is the wolf.”
“Aye. There is that. If we raid, we would visit with you. Would that be acceptable?”
“Come as friends and you are welcome. If the shields are up on your drekar then you will have a warmer reception!”
Folki laughed, “Aye I know. You already have a reputation. Did I not hear that you and one of your crew fought two Hibernian champions?”
“We did. I was lucky.”
“Men make their own luck.” He and his brother stood. “We will talk with our men but we may well meet again. Where is this home of yours?”
“It is called the Haugr and is on the east coast of the peninsula the Franks call the Cotentin. There is an island and a causeway close by. The church is ours. That too is protected by the clan of the horse.”
“I have a good master. He will know it. I am happy that we met.”
After he had gone Gilles said, “Is this wise, lord?”
“We have few enough friends without upsetting new ones. This cannot harm us and, who knows, he may also find a home close by and then we would have neighbours on whom we could rely. This is wyrd.”
We had another horn of ale each for Harold Fast Sailing came back to join us. “I have much news, jarl. I have sold the two ships.” He pointed to a pair of Frisians who raised their horns of ale to us. “I suspect they want them for a little piracy.”
Gilles looked puzzled, “Piracy?”
I nodded, “Aye, Gilles. They fill them with warriors and then lure in a bigger pirate. It is like covering a wolf in a sheepskin in the hope that another wolf tries to take it. With two of them they would be even more successful. You bargained a good price?”
“I did. I made them think that we wanted them for the same reason. I also learned much about King Louis. I think I know why we have been left alone. He has had some disasters. The Bulgarians have retaken their land in the east. Hugh of Tours and the Count of Orleans tried to conquer the caliphate of Cordoba. They returned home with their tails between their legs. They were outwitted and out fought. They lost many men. Most importantly he has sons who want more power. It is said that there will be civil war soon. King Louis does not have the men to quash us.”
I nodded, “That explains why no Leudes led the men who attacked us. This Philippe of Rouen is keeping his soldiers safe and watching to see which son he follows.” I drained my horn and left two copper coins. It would do us no harm to win favour with those who ran such inns. We would be returning to Dorestad and I wanted them to think me generous. We waved our goodbyes and headed back to our ship.
When we returned to the drekar we spent some time telling the others what we had learned. The news about the Dragonheart, his battle with the dragon, and the Skull Takers was common gossip along the waterfront. There were various stories; some were patently exaggerated. Some had had the Skull Takers killing the Dragonheart’s granddaughter and wearing her skull. However, they all spoke of ‘Heart of the Dragon’ sailing to Syllingar and disappearing in a fog before emerging with Ylva, Dragonheart’s granddaughter. He truly was the greatest warrior of our age for I had been in that cave and met the witch. To fight her took a courage I knew I did not possess. How could I begin to compare myself with Jarl Dragonheart? And yet the witch had said I would be greater. I slept fitfully that night for my mind was filled with too many thoughts.
It took all day for us to sell our ships and our surplus. We did not have enough time to buy all that we wanted and so I let the crew who wished go into the taverns and ale houses. I made sure that Arne Four Toes and Beorn Beornsson took charge. They would keep the younger ones under their control.
I sat with Sven and Harold. “The drekar with the Dane, Folki, left this morning. The other captains say he is ambitious.” Some said he wishes to be you or the Dragonheart.”
“Me, Sven? I have done nothing.”
“You have done more than you know but I think it is the fact that we have survived in the land of the Franks unmolested for so long which is the most important. He has a young crew and they have been successful but the lands they raided were poor. He wishes to be rich.”
Harold nodded, “The reasons are immaterial. We know that it is because they have not tried to push us back into the sea but I for one believe that you are clever enough to avoid that anyway.”
I was not so certain. I thought that we had been lucky. The sacrifice made by Ulf Big Nose and Siggi White Hair had been the reason we had been able to establish ourselves. All that I had done was to cling on.
“We have done well this voyage. We will not need to raid again for a while.”
Harold said, “When we do we might consider Cordoba and the lands around it.”
“We have raided there before. Portucale and Olissipo will both be prepared for a raid from us.”
“Not those cities. There is a river, the Minho, and it travels from the sea deep inland. I met a captain who had supplied Hugh of Tours when they invaded. The land is not part of the caliphate although there are Moors who fight for the town. It has a great church. They have a bishop. But the most important thing is that the roads there are poor and they use the river to transport everything. Even if we did not raid the city we could wait in the estuary and catch ships coming and going.”
“It is an idea but we will not need to raid yet. Besides winter is almost upon us.”
“Aye, I will need to take the weed from our keel.” Sven thought more of the knarr and the drekar than he did himself. He would happily work in all weathers just to make sure that our ships were seaworthy. We had built them ourselves. Jarl Gunnar had died because he went to the land of the wolf to order a new ship from Bolli the shipwright. We had learned our lesson. What we could not make or steal we did without. Sven and Harold had done a good job in designing two of the most seaworthy and fastest vessels that I had ever sailed.
The men returned back in a good humour. They had drunk well and filled their bellies. Some had had women. What more could a warrior ask? The disappointment was that they had told the tale of my fight with the Frank. They had exaggerated. The last thing I needed was to have a reputation. When I had defeated the Hibernian champion, it had invited challenges from young men. Now that I was jarl would it invite challenges from other clans?
Sven shook his head when he saw that I was unhappy. “They are proud of you, jarl. You cannot keep them quiet while you perform such actions. It is wyrd.”
He was right and I could not fight it. I would have to accept whatever came my way.
We left for home on the morning tide. After a couple of days’ rest the men were happy to row. We had all made trades and purchases. I had some fine bowls for Mary. She would like them and I had purchased the spices she had requested. Selling the golden torc had given me more money than I could spend. I would be taking coin home to give to her. She like accumulating gold and silver. She always said it was for the days when things went awry. She was a careful wife.
The journey home was a difficult one. We had a storm which blew up from the oceans to the west of us. The crew had to row just to stop us being washed up on the Frankish shore. The slaves were terrified. They were Christians and they huddled around the mast, for it looked like a cross, praying that their god would save them. Perhaps he answered their prayers, I know not, for after a whole day and night at sea we saw the welcome sight of the Haugr. We were home. However, the passage to the wooden jetty was also fraught with danger. The whipped water had white caps. It took a skilful captain to negotiate the rocks which guarded our home. Sven had to edge the drekar through the rocks to tie up next to our knarr. ‘Kara’ was pulling at the ropes which secured her to the jetty and we could see that the storm had not been kind to her.
As we began to unload the drekar, Harold went to inspect the knarr.
“It has suffered damage in the storm, jarl. We will need to put her in our cradle and repair her.”
I nodded. That was disappointing. We normally put the drekar there for the winter and used the knarr to trade during the winter months. “Perhaps that is the price we have to pay for such a successful raid. We come back richer. How long will it take?”
“I cannot be certain but I would say at least until Ýlir.”
“Then we will have to mount a guard on the drekar.”
“Sven and I will take it in turns with the ship’s boys. This is our fault. We were so eager to sail that we forgot to put the knarr in the cradle.”
I strode ashore leaving Bertrand and Gilles to help my men unload the drekar. I was anxious to speak with Rurik. Our walls had looked intact but that did not mean that there had been peace for my people.
Rurik’s grin gave me the answer, “A good raid I see, jarl.”
“It was and all went well here too?”
He laughed, “I could enjoy being a jarl! Aye it went well. I took some of the boys out riding each day but we saw nothing.” He pointed at the scudding clouds above. “The weather has been a better ally to us than we could have hoped. The only roads which are safe to use are the Roman roads. The rest are muddy and slippery.”
“Good. That keeps us safe and we have more than enough supplies for winter. We can sit out Ýlir and Mörsugur behind our walls. We have much news.” Just then the new slaves began to enter through the gates. Sven had them carry some of our treasure and I saw Gilles and Bertrand organise them. “Are the slave pens empty?”
“Aye.”
“Then we will put them there and feed them until we decide who shall have them.”
Siggi White Hair had begun a policy of allocating slaves where there was the most need rather than Jarl’s Gunnar’s way which was to give them as favours to warriors who had fought well. I had continued that. The crew liked it. It meant that if they fell in battle they knew that their families would be looked after. They would be given a couple of slaves to farm their land or work in their home. I went to my hall where Mary and Ragnvald awaited me. My son could now stand, even run a few steps, and he tugged at his mother to bring her closer to me. The droplets of rain in the air made Mary stay beneath the shelter of my roof. Her smile, however was a warm welcome.