Halla, you have not made friends here, he thought to himself and grimaced. Einar had been the only one who seemed worried, and Toki felt it due to guilt he bore for sleeping on his watch.
Toki stood in the forecastle of Raven's Talon. He braced himself against the long neck of the prow. The dawn had broken, slashing a pale pink stripe along the horizon. The wind blew steady and strong, good sailing weather. He hoped Halla would return soon and Sigvid would deliver the promised supplies. Then he could seize the good weather to make up lost time.
As the sun came up, Gunnar shouted from his tree. "Ma, the witch and her raven are back!"
Halla and Dana flitted out of the shadows of the track. Toki's heart lifted, though Gunnar's innocent repeating of what must be Runa's epithet distracted him. Neither woman seemed to hear. They trotted excitedly toward Toki. He smiled, but it vanished from his face. He read fear in Halla's countenance.
"Where have you been? What happened?" he shouted as they approached. Gerdie, who sat heavily on a flat rock by the campfire watched with mild interest. No one else stopped what they were doing to greet her.
She drew up short, as if surprised by the question. She exchanged glances with Dana, then gave a smile so false that even a dog could not be fooled. "The air under the sail made me ill. I went for a walk."
"For this long?"
"Well, I wanted to rest again when I got tired and then I fell asleep. Dana didn't want to disturb me until now. Isn't that right, Dana?"
"Yes, Lady Halla. You just lay down and fell asleep. You seemed so tired, I couldn't disturb you."
"So are we ready to sail? I'm ready to sail. We should be leaving soon."
Toki frowned at Halla's overeager expression. She lied, but he hesitated to call it out. He searched her clear eyes, and could hear her voice in his head: please do not ask me anything more. He shifted to Dana, also uncharacteristically eager.
"The supplies have not arrived. Once Sigvid comes with them, we will leave."
"Will that be long?"
Toki folded his arms. "I don't know. What really happened while you were gone?"
"Nothing! I fell asleep." Halla mirrored Toki's stance. "Fine, I was just concerned I delayed us. Take as long as you want. I'll wait aboard the ship."
She stalked past him, her head held back in a mockery of indignation. None of what Halla had said or did fooled Toki, but he judged he should leave her alone. He looked at Gerdie and she shrugged. "At least she's speaking to you again."
"There's that." Toki turned himself to other preparations.
Once the morning sun had climbed higher, Sigvid and Isleif emerged from the track. A brown fjord horse lugged a cart, and Toki waved in greeting. He palmed the small sack of silver bits he planned to trade and met the men as they came down to the shore.
"Fine sailing weather," remarked Sigvid. "We've got everything you asked for and then some. If I'm going with you, we'll need good mead to keep me happy."
"If you let him drink, he will start singing." Isleif slapped his son on the back. "Don't let him sing or you'll want to throw yourselves overboard. Now let's get these provisions on your ship."
Toki thanked them for their help. He dropped the bag of silver into Isleif's hand. The old man weighed it in his palm, peeked inside, then threw it into his cart. Toki gave him a puzzled expression. "Why not check it? Maybe I filled the bag with rocks and covered them with silver."
Isleif frowned. "I'd know. And Sigvid would have his dagger to your throat faster than you could pull your own. Besides, we drank on our deal last night. You're not an oath breaker, I don't think."
Toki smiled weakly. "Of course not."
They formed a line starting from where the horse would go no further. "She’s afraid of the ocean," explained Isleif. They worked swiftly to move the boxes of food, new coils of rope, and casks of mead. Halla stood on the rails of the ship, helping where she could. Even Gunnar carried supplies, bearing his loads as if he carried golden treasures.
Toki stood on the deck, the wind tugging at his shirt and refreshing him. From the track, he saw a group of people emerge. At first he thought they were Isleif's people. But then someone pointed and the group began to stride with purpose.
Sigvid followed Toki's gaze. "Who told him we were here? By Odin's one eye!"
Isleif dropped his head and cursed. Toki immediately turned to Halla, and she smiled nervously. "Don't look at me."
A tall, balding man led the group like he dragged a pack of unwilling hounds behind him. His pointing finger wagged at them and as he neared Toki heard him shouting. "There they are, on the ship. Two witches, I tell you!"
Runa, also aboard the ship nervously beckoned Gunnar to her side, then glared at Halla. "Taking a nap in the forest, were you?"
Halla looked as if she would faint. Toki returned Runa's glare, then drew Halla to his side. She clung to him willingly. "Stay by me and do not fear."
He picked up his sword from where it lay sheathed by the steering board. He gestured to the men and Gerdie to join him on deck. Once aboard, he pushed the gangplank into the sand. The men stood before the women, in line with Toki.
The crowd now clustered around Isleif and Sigvid, blocking their cart. The thin man raved frantically, shouting in an older man's face. The older man wore fine clothes of green and brown. His cloak was fastened with a gold pin, and he wore an armband of silver. Toki understood he was the jarl, and he had taken five hirdmen with him, all armed with swords but no armor. A sad faced woman stood behind the bald man, goading him on whenever he paused.
"This man keeps pointing at my ship," Toki shouted over their heads. "I would like an explanation, and a chance to speak." He fastened his sword belt, so that he would be equal to the others. But the jarl and his hirdmen both frowned at him as he finished.
"Those two witches worked a spell, then robbed me!" the thin man's voice cracked as he shouted.
"Now that's a wild accusation." Toki's eyes drew to slits as he regarded the man. "One that should not be made falsely." The iron in his voice cowed the thin man, though the woman behind him hissed in his ear. He waved her away like a fly. However, the iron in Toki's voice drew out the jarl and his men.
"Calm yourselves, both." He pointed at Toki. "If you wish to speak, then come down off your ship."
"I am a freeman. I speak from my ship while all I see below is an angry mob." Toki felt Halla clench him tighter. He put his arm around her. "You accuse my wife and my slave of evil magic."
"This is still my land," Isleif said, raising his arms over the crowd. "And he has been my guest since last night. Let's speak like reasonable men."
The jarl grumbled but nodded. Isleif waved Toki down. "I vouch for your safety. Jarl Orlyg is an honest lord, and his word is true."
"Come down and be safe," Jarl Orlyg said in a weary voice. "Let's discuss what has happened."
Toki leapt down and approached the group. He smiled at the bald man who returned a frown.
"Runolf," Jarl Orlyg gestured to the bald man, “tell your story."
The woman behind Runolf whispered a flurry of words into his ear. He hunched like he was in a rainstorm, then snapped at her. "I will tell my story, woman! Now, I was on the forest track at dawn. I wanted to get to Isleif early and arrange to buy his catch today. I planned a celebration tonight for friends. I was strolling along the path." Here Runolf mimicked walking, which to Toki looked like a man limping with a broken leg. "I heard voices all around. The woods were still dark and I couldn't see anything. I drew my blade." He dramatized pulling a knife from his waist. His woman jumped; Toki yawned. "The voices grew louder and lights started flashing." Runolf squinted and blocked imaginary light from his eyes. "Then these two witches leapt out of the bushes and started dancing around me. My head was spinning. I fell and hit my face on a rock." He pointed to a line of bruises beneath his eye. Toki had thought it dirt. "Then they rolled me over, took my purse and dagger. They ran off towards Isleif's home and left me blinded and helpless on th
e track. Sif found me."
"I did!" His wife, Sif, had a voice like a screeching raven. "I found him laid out on the track. A pox on me if I'm lying."
Runolf smiled triumphantly, his face brightening. "I went to Isleif's home, found him gone and his sons already at sea. But his wife told me about these visitors. That's when I knew I should inform you, Jarl Orlyg." He bowed his head, then looked up at Toki with a smirk that begged to be punched.
Jarl Orlyg rolled his head to Toki with a look of long-suffering patience. "Do you have a claim to dispute this?"
"Well, I claim that my wife is no witch, and my family and crew will vouch." He looked up at the others lined against the ship rails. He paused at Runa, who gave an imperceptible nod that bolstered Toki's confidence. "Has Isleif or Sigvid witnessed anything suspicious?"
Isleif and Sigvid both shook their heads. Sigvid smiled without mirth. "Are you sure you were just not drunk again, Runolf? Last time you showed up naked and covered with bee stings."
"Who's talking about drunkenness? You piss yourself every night, Sigvid, and cry about your wife."
"Enough of this!" Jarl Orlyg's arm barred Sigvid from lunging at Runolf. "If they stole your purse and dagger, then they should have it still. Which one took your dagger?"
He pointed to Halla. Toki held his expression blank, but now suspected what happened while she was away. "My wife has no dagger or purse. If you accuse her, then she must tell her story. She was away this morning, true. But more has happened than this liar is willing to say."
"My husband does not lie!" Sif's arms flapped as if she could fly.
"Then your wretched voice has scrambled his mind," Toki said. One of the jarl's hirdmen laughed. "The accused should speak her story."
Jarl Orlyg waved Halla forward. "Let's settle this quickly, please. It's only morning and my head hurts already."
Halla let herself down and Dana followed. The two sheepishly came to Toki's side. Halla trembled and looked Toki in the eyes. He smiled and put his arm over her shoulder. "Just tell us the truth of this morning."
She sighed and paused, then started to tell how they left at night and found the edge of the village. She described her fears of slavery and their decision to return. "I was so childish. I should not have run from my husband. He is too kind to me." Sif clucked her tongue and Runolf rolled his eyes. "When we got on the track, this man blocked our way. We told him to stand aside, and he said he doesn't take orders from us. He came at us with his dagger. I feared what would happen. So my slave defended me. She hit him in the face and tripped him. Then she stomped on his stones. I took his dagger so he couldn't use it on me. We ran back here. There was never a purse, but I threw the dagger in the bushes by the track up there."
"Do you see what liars they are? Could two scrawny girls do that to me?" Runolf folded his arms as if his logic were irrefutable.
Jarl Orlyg smiled. He pointed to two of his hirdmen. "Go search the bushes for a dagger. You, slave, show me the hand that struck Runolf."
Dana held out her hand. Orlyg grabbed it, roughly flipped it over. He rubbed the red, scraped knuckles on Dana's hand. A low laugh grew from his belly. He folded Dana's hand into a fist and gently guided it to Runolf's face. He ducked away but Orlyg snarled at him. Dana's knuckles fit the line of bruises. In only a few moments, the hirdmen returned with an unsheathed dagger.
"It's a fine dagger," Orlyg observed. "Was that one picked off a defeated Frank too?" He and several others laughed at the joke Toki did not understand. "I'd check your stones, but I think there's enough proof to bear out the woman's story."
"This is an outrage, Jarl Orlyg!" Runolf's face twisted in shock. "These are strangers. You don't even know their names. How could you side with foreigners over your own people?"
"They are witches!" Sif began flapping her arms again. "They've caught you in their spells!"
"Not another word." Jarl Orlyg's voice registered no anger. "Not a single word. Or I will become very angry. Very angry."
Sif stopped flapping and Runolf bit back whatever he was about to say. Jarl Orlyg turned to Toki. He asked for his name and his homeland.
"I am Toki Sveinson from Denmark. You must have heard of me?"
"I've not heard of you. Not really interested. You're leaving, for good?"
"As soon as I have your permission to sail, I will be gone with no intention of ever returning."
Orlyg nodded appreciatively. "But your wife did steal his dagger."
"Which has been returned."
"Let me finish." Orlyg's voice held a hint of ire. "Your slave also assaulted and injured Runolf." Runolf began to protest, but Orlyg's scowl silenced him. "So you will pay him seven bits of silver for his troubles. This is the fastest way to settle and get you off my land. Can you pay?"
Toki agreed that he could, and asked Einar to bring the silver from the ship. He came with it cupped in his hand, and showed it to Orlyg. He judged the pieces to be a fair size. Runolf took the silver with a trembling hand. Toki could not resist teasing the fool. "Use the silver to buy yourself a codpiece."
"This will not be forgotten," Runolf said as he clutched the silver in his fist, shaking it at Toki. "You and your witches will pay."
"Forget it," Orlyg snapped. "You've been compensated for your troubles. And you forgot about your stolen purse?"
Runolf staggered like he had been struck. Orlyg and his hirdmen laughed.
"Make up better lies when you get me out so early. Toki Sveinson, be on your way before nightfall." Orlyg patted Isleif on the back and nodded to Sigvid, then left. Runolf and his wife followed.
Toki watched them go. As he expected, Runolf turned once he reached the track. He pointed his dagger at Toki before vanishing into the woods.
They launched Raven's Talon by early afternoon, after a final meal and farewell at Isleif's home. Toki worked the tiller as he guided his ship along the shore, seeking mercenaries Sigvid promised lived along the coast. The winds had remained strong and sea spray misted the deck. He inhaled the salty air, excited to renew his mission. Runa stood in the prow leaning forward as if she could force the ship to travel faster. The others scattered along the rocking deck, biding time until the next landing.
Toki called Sigvid to join him. He asked about their route, which Sigvid detailed for him.
"So what was the joke about Runolf and the Frankish knife?" Toki asked.
Sigvid chuckled. "Runolf is mad. All I know is he spent many years away. He claimed to have gone a-viking everywhere: Ireland, Anglia, Frankia to name a few. He says he went as far south as Micklegard, and has a coin to prove it. He constantly brags of treasure gained while a-viking in faraway lands—always after picking it off the body of a warrior he killed."
"He doesn't seem like much of a fighter to me."
"He might have been once," Sigvid said with a shrug. "I didn't know him then. But your two women took him out, could've slit his throat had they wanted. Doesn't much credit him as a warrior."
"The slave's Irish, and a good fighter for a woman."
Sigvid gave a gusty laugh. "No matter, these days Runolf is a drunk and a fool. But he married well, even if it doesn't seem so, and only Jarl Orlyg is richer. He has many friends, too. Not all of them good men. We did well to leave before he caused more trouble."
"He got all those riches while raiding? I think you don't believe that."
"Doesn't matter what I believe. He's been rich a good long time and people like rich men."
They spoke of other things for a while. Toki outlined the general plan and the goal of killing Hardar. He kept his voice low, and explained Hardar and Halla's relationship. Sigvid winced, and both looked at Halla.
"That will explain running off," Sigvid said. "Plus I've been watching your sister, and she wants to hang your woman and dance under her corpse."
"No need to be so blunt," said Toki. But he looked past Sigvid to Halla and Dana seated together with their heads bowed. Gerdie and Gunnar sat opposite, now joined by Runa who at leas
t smiled again now that they were back to the mission.
"Well, I'll check the sails again. You should've caulked this ship before we left. Water is coming from five different places." Toki merely nodded at Sigvid's excuse to leave. His mind had drifted to Halla.
He was beginning to feel used, as if his only purpose for her was to remove what she disliked. The heady glow of protecting a beautiful, innocent woman had faded. Now he felt detached. Why shelter someone who doesn't recognize the effort, he thought. Others need me just as much, if not more.
As if his thoughts were a beacon, Halla looked at him. He had been staring and not in a friendly way. A smile trembled on her face, fading before it could show. She looked at Dana, said something, then approached Toki. She staggered as the ship rocked, but came to his side and held the ship's rail.
"We should talk," she said in a small voice.
Toki nodded, resolving that he was not going to crumble. She had to understand words cannot solve all problems, and he planned to teach her that lesson. They stood together in silence as Toki wrestled with the tiller. He watched the pale green stripe of the coast, seeking the landmarks Sigvid had described. Halla followed his gaze.
"I am sorry for what I did, Toki. I behaved like a foolish child. I caused so much trouble for everyone."
He glanced at her, trying to act unimpressed. He glimpsed the pain on her face as she watched the coast. He felt a visceral reaction to it. His hand itched to draw her near. But he fought it and kept silent.
"My worries have burdened me, beyond what I can carry. Your sister hates me and so does everyone else. They all blame me for the problems. I guess they are right."
"There is truth to that," said Toki. "But it is only half-truth. I must share in the blame."
Halla smiled, then dabbed her eye with her sleeve. Toki saw tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "But they don't want to blame you, and so blame me for all of it. I understand why; I'm the stranger here. But enough of that."
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