by Griff Hosker
Before others could reap the benefit of our combat, we stripped the dead of weapons, coins and treasure. We took their boots and we took their cloaks and brooches. By the time we reached our ship it was getting on to dark and already rats were coming forth to feast on the flesh of the dead.
Chapter 7
Ulf North Star was being tended to by the helmsman of the small drekar which had tied next to us. We were elated and loud. I saw Ulf give a slight shake of the head. We became serious. Ulf said, “Thank you Einar. I am sorry for your loss.”
“It was I who promised my brother that his sons would be safe and now they lie dead.”
“They died well. He can father more children.”
Einar nodded and turned to us, “You four showed great courage. My nephews died in good company. I thank you for avenging them. If there is ever anything I can do for you then just ask.”
Leif said, “It was our honour. Had they not joined us then we would be dead too. It is we who are in your debt.”
Ulf winced, “I am going to be in pain tonight. Erik, Arne go back inside the tower. They must have some means of cooking. Prepare food. The jarl and the Prince will be too busy celebrating to think of us.”
Einar said, “And I will get the other crews on this side of the longphort to throw the dead pirates into the sea!”
When we reached the church, we saw that it was no longer used as a church. There were beds for sleeping, war gear, a table and pots for cooking. There was a fire and a pot of water upon it. They had not yet begun to cook. “Let us see what they have, little brother.”
We found some bread and a leg of salted pig. There were some sad looking cabbage leaves and some dried beans. We emptied them all into the pot. That done we searched the building which was obviously used as some sort of guard room. We searched it and it was I who found the treasure. At least I thought it was treasure. There was a wooden compass and an hourglass. Ulf had both and he guarded them with his life. Arne found coins and a good dagger. He said, “Do you want the dagger? We can split the coins.”
“No, you keep the dagger and I keep these.”
He looked at them dismissively, “We do not need them!”
“If we are to sail beyond the sight of land we will. I am content. Are you?”
“Of course. This dagger is much better than the one we had.”
I nodded, “And the swords we took, which Leif now guards, are better than this Walhaz one.” I took it from the scabbard. It was bent! “It is fit for melting down and using to strengthen our shields and making arrow heads.” I looked at the coins. “We will give a share to Siggi too.”
Two of the pots the guards used were metal. We would take them with us. Our mothers would find them useful. There was a barrel of ale. We stoppered it and rolled it down to the drekar. Ulf’s eyes lit up, “This will ease my pain. When the food is ready fetch it here.”
It was dark by the time that the food was ready. We ladled half of it into a small pot to make it easier to carry and took that to the drekar. More than half of the ship’s boys and helmsmen had gathered on our drekar. Ulf frowned when he saw the pot. “This will not feed us all!”
Arne said, “And it will not need to. There is another pot. We will fetch that.” Arne spoke up to Ulf more now. He would not suffer a smack to the head any longer. When you have sunk a blade into a man’s flesh it makes a change in you. As you hear the last breath slip from a warrior’s mouth you truly understand mortality. Life becomes ever more precious.
Ulf had had a great deal of ale and after he had eaten, he fell asleep. The four of us sat together by the prow after the others had returned to their own drekar to sleep. If Ulf had been awake then he would have had us clean the drekar. He was not and so we enjoyed a rare piece of peace. We drank the ale, examined our treasure and spoke of the battle.
Leif examined the sword he had taken from a dead pirate. “Two swords! When we went to raid the Walhaz I did not even have one.” He picked up the pot helmet. “And a helmet. I just need a helmet liner and I can wear it.”
Siggi said, “What about the one the warrior wore?”
Leif shook his head, “It was bloodied. Better to have my mother make me a new one. That way she can weave protection into it.”
We all touched our hammers. Women had great power and when they wove, they were like the Norns or volvas. By weaving strands of their hair into the weft they added strength and power.
Siggi had also drunk too much for his tongue was loose, “When we sail our drekar I will not be a ship’s boy. I will pull at the oar.”
Leif turned sharply, “Drekar? You have a drekar?”
I clipped Siggi about the back of the head as Arne said, “We have spilled blood together, Leif Ragnarson. Our cousin cannot hold his ale. We would ask you to swear to keep this a secret.”
Touching his hammer, he said, “Of course. You are my shield brothers. I would sail on your drekar with you.”
Relieved Arne said, “My father will be captain but I am sure he would have someone with such a stout heart.” He added quietly, “You would leave the jarl’s service? Did you not swear an oath?”
He shook his head, “My mother farms the land with my sisters. He takes me out of pity. The jarl has his favourites. The ones on the front eight oars are the ones who are given the choicest treasure. Why do you think Olaf sits with your father at the rear?”
“But I thought that Ulf and the jarl were close.”
“They were, Erik, until the jarl’s son, Haaken, was ship’s boy and Ulf smacked him. Since then Haaken has not sailed with us and Ulf has received less treasure. I fear this wound means this will be his last voyage with the jarl. He was old anyway but the wound will make him slower.”
I nodded, “Aye the spear touched the bone and my father said such wounds never fully heal. The cold gets to them. The damp makes them ache. I fear you are right.”
“Fear? Ulf is a bad-tempered helmsman.”
Leif said, “I know Arne but we know him. What of one we do not know? Besides, he owes us a life now. Had Erik not pulled the spear from his leg and bound it then he might have bled to death. I would rather sail with your father than another man. I do not believe he is luckless. He slays more than any other on the drekar and yet he has the fewest wounds. I would call him Lars the Skilled.”
It was later, as I rolled into my blanket and recently acquired cloak, that I wondered who had given him the name. In truth until I had seen five summers, I had not heard it. No-one who had visited the farm, save the jarl, ever used it. When I had the chance, I would ask him.
We were woken in the middle of the night by a rain shower. Leif roused us and we used the time to clean the ship and to put a seal skin cape over Ulf who continued to sleep. We stored the pots we had taken below the deck. We managed to return to the prow to catch an hour or so of sleep before dawn and a chill wind from the north east woke us.
Einar the Helmsman came to our drekar as the sun began to rise over Mann. He went to Ulf to tend to him. He spoke over his shoulder, “We had a message last night after we left your ship. The jarl and the Prince wish us to take the drekar into the river and tie up. Can you four manage the drekar? Ulf North Star will be of little use for a while. The old take longer to recover from such wounds.”
“We can, but what of you? You have no ship’s boys.”
He stood, turned and smiled, “I should have been honest with you. I would steer your drekar and we can tow mine.”
Leif looked relieved, “Then let us do so sooner rather than later. That way we can have the better berth.”
Einar nodded, “Erik, go and loose my drekar from the next one. Arne tie a rope to the prow of my drekar and Siggi secure it to the sternpost of yours. Come Leif, we must be ready to push us from the island.”
The small drekar next to Einar’s looked empty but it was not. The helmsman and the one remaining ship’s boy slept. I untied the rope from the cleat and, after coiling it, dropped it into their drekar. I went to
the prow and helped Arne tie the tow rope to the prow. Einar shouted, “You two stay on my drekar. Use the steering board. It will make it easier if we are not fighting her.”
We ran, eagerly, to the steering board. I had always wanted to steer a drekar and now I had the chance. We stood on either side of it and waited for ‘Moon Dragon’ to begin to move. The sun was a little higher but with rain clouds scudding in from the north east it was hard to tell. Slowly, ‘Moon Dragon’, slid towards the river as Einar and our two shield brothers used oars to push her from the island. As soon as she was no longer next to us then the small drekar, we learned she was called, ‘Wave Dancer’, began to bob on the water. We pushed the steering board over to keep us from grounding. Erik and Siggi each had an oar and Einar steered ‘Moon Dragon’ as he headed into the wind to cross the mouth of the river. Bodies bumped next to us. Some we had thrown into the sea and others were from the battle on the land. We only had a hundred odd paces to travel but it would feel like ten times that to Leif and Siggi. There was a jerk as the slack was taken up and then we began to move slowly across the water. The drekar was easier to steer than I had expected although the land protected us from waves. I saw that Einar was taking us to lie alongside a large drekar. It looked to be the same size as ‘Moon Dragon’. As they bumped next to it, we put our steering board over to put ‘Wave Dancer’ next to the knarr.
“Arne, loose the tow. Erik tie her to the knarr. You both did well.” That was praise indeed. Ulf North Star would have said nothing.
Anxious to return to our ship we did as we had been instructed and then crossed the knarr to the stone quay. There the bodies still lay. I guessed that they were pirates. When we reached the large drekar we found more bodies. As we crossed to ‘Moon Dragon’ I spied two dead pirates. They still had their helmets although their swords, daggers and purses had been taken. “Arne, treasure!”
“We did not earn them!”
“What, brother, steering a drekar here does not deserve payment?”
He grinned, “You have a clever mind, brother.” We took the two conical helmets with nasals. Like Leif we would have mother weave us a skull protector.
Einar nodded as we boarded, “Good. You earned those. And now I go back to my ship. Was there aught on the knarr worth taking?”
“We did not search it.”
“Then I will do so. You are welcome to join me.”
Leif said, “Whatever you find will be weregeld for your lost boys. We are satisfied with what we have.”
We spent almost seven days on the island. We had much to gather and to store beneath the decks of the drekar. We saw little of the jarl. He was aboard one of the captured drekar with the nephew of the King of Norway. The loading of the drekar was left to my father. I watched as he did so and I learned much. The crew returned laden with treasure and some animals. Olaf Olafsson went directly to his father. Ulf was asleep. When he learned what we had done he swore to repay us. It was the next morning when we left the river. The jarl and the nephew of the King of Norway took as many slaves as they could. I knew that my father would not have any. A Norse slave would often be a danger. Saxons were safer. Four ships were taken and they were laden with treasure. The rest were burned along with every building. Many people had escaped and would be hiding on the island but they would not be able to raid for many years. The jarl and his hearth weru did not sail back with us. They sailed on one of the captured drekar. The Prince and the jarl were heading for Dyflin. My father was not happy about that but as he had a drekar to sail he accepted it. We had half a crew and each oar was manned by one man. Despite that we were all happy for my father was given command. The jarl had little choice. Ulf was in no condition to stand. We left Mann individually and our men had to row. Leif took my father’s oar and I was allowed to stand next to my father. I was the one who wished to be a navigator and Arne knew that. I was given the spear to keep the beat.
“When we have our own drekar we will have a chant. The jarl does not think of such things. A good chant can keep a man rowing for longer.”
I nodded, “Will we have to row all the way home? This wind feels like it is here for a while.”
“You have the sense of a navigator already. No, my son, we row into the wind and then turn to sail along the coast of the Land of the Wolf. It will take us north and west. Once we pass the island the Irish call Beinn na bhFadhla we may have to row again but that is many days hence.”
The rowers settled into an easy rhythm. I watched my father’s every move. “Leif would sail with us on our drekar.”
He turned and gave me a sharp look, “You told him?”
I would not use Siggi as the cause, “It came out that is all but he swore to keep it a secret.”
That seemed to satisfy him, “He is a good lad. His father was too. He is handling my oar well. It is good.”
“He said he did not think that you were luckless.” My father’s eyes burned but he said nothing. I summoned up the same courage as when I had faced the pirates. “How did you get the name?”
At first, I thought that he would either strike me or not speak but he eventually nodded, “It is right that you know. It was the jarl who gave me the name. We had raided and were sailing up the coast of Northumbria. My brother had been wounded and I rowed alone. Ulf and the jarl should have found a beach on which to land so that we could rest but they did not. The jarl did not row. I was tired and my oar struck another and sheared. A wave swamped us and took four sheep over the side. I was blamed and the jarl called me luckless.”
“But it was not your fault!”
“It was my oar. That makes it my fault.” He stared ahead, “Now go and take ale to the rowers. Perhaps you can relieve Leif.”
“Aye Lars, I will!” I now understood the name and also the animosity my father felt to the jarl and Ulf.
I reached Leif and said, “My father said to relieve you.” I saw the doubt on his face. I said, “Just until you have had a drink and made water.”
He nodded and I slipped next to him. I had watched rowers do this and I knew the procedure. I got into the rhythm and nodded. Leif lifted his hands and then slipped out. I had rowed the snekke but this was different. I had taken barely ten strokes when I felt my shoulders burning. Leif came back and smiled, “It is not as easy as they make it look, is it?”
I shook my head and I was fearful of speaking. I did so anyway, “Another fifty strokes eh?”
By the time I had reached fifty every muscle in my back and arms was aching. My legs felt as though I had run across our island. I was relieved beyond words when Leif sat next to me and nodded. “Thank you, Erik.”
They did not have long to row. My father shouted, “Ship’s boys raise the mast. Prepare to come about!” This had to be timed well. As the three of us hauled the yard up my father began to turn the steering board. He shouted, “Oars in!” He chose the perfect time. The yard locked into place and, as we turned, the wind caught us and we moved north and west. It was not fast but it was quicker than it had been with the oars. More importantly the men could rest.
We reached Orkneyjar three days later. We had no captives aboard the drekar and only twenty sheep. There was one sheep for each of the rowers. Ulf North Star had begun to improve over the last day. He was able to thank my father for handling the ship. My father was unrelenting. “I did what any man would do for his oar brothers. You should thank Leif for he took my oar despite being just a ship’s boy.”
“I do, Lars. You have good sons. They do you credit.”
“And I need no foresworn helmsman to tell me that.” Father did not forgive.
We off loaded all of our treasure. There was too much to carry across the island. Leaving it with Olaf and Leif we trekked across the island. We needed the snekke. We sailed her back to the port. It was late at night when we finally unloaded all that we had taken from the raid. We did not know it then but that would be the last time we would raid with the jarl and the men of Orkneyjar. The Norns were spinning and the Kin
g of Norway was plotting. We just got on with our simple lives.
Skerpla was always a busy time for us and with two new sheep which needed to be covered by the ram, crops which needed tending, a ship which had to be finished. The days were not long enough. Siggi, Arne and myself had become men on the last voyage. Arne had a groomed beard now and mine and Siggi’s were not far behind. Our chests were broad and our arms becoming knotted with muscle.
The drekar was finished by the end of Skerpla. My father had kept the figurehead covered until we were ready. The two families and their thralls gathered at the beach. My father made a blót. It was a fowl we had taken from Mann and seemed appropriate. Mother and Gytha had woven a pennant for the masthead. It was not merely to give us the wind direction, it would protect us for they had used hair from all of our heads in the spell. They had dyed it with the blood of many beetles. The red pennant would stand out. The sail also had red lines in it. It would mark the drekar as ours. My father had kept the name secret from all, including his brother.
As he sacrificed the fowl he intoned, “Allfather watch over this drekar. Ran keep us safe when we sail. I name this ship ‘Njörðr’ and ask that god to help us find a safe way through the seas.”
We celebrated with a special barrel of beer. Half was spilled over the dragon prow so that Njörðr could drink the libation. The next day began the work of sailing her. First, we filled her with ballast. That took half a day. When my father and his brother were satisfied with the trim, we raised the sail. We sailed her around our bay to see how close she could sail to the wind. Larger than the snekke but smaller than a threttanessa, she was lithe and lively. A sudden gust of wind took the gunwale close to the sea but she fought the wind and did not broach. By the time night fell we knew our drekar a little better but it would take years to understand how she would truly sail. We anchored her in the bay and, that night, the men gathered in our hall to speak of our plans. I say our plans but they were my father’s. Even his brother went along with them.