by Griff Hosker
I nodded and began to haul in the woollen anchor. Two years earlier I would have had to call Arne to help me but now I was able to drag the dead weight from the sea. I emptied the water and coiled the rope. Asbjorn had woken the crew.
“Raise the sail! Siggi, keep a good watch to larboard. There lies the Land of the Wolf and I would not wreck our snekke there.”
There were still no stars. The anchor should have pointed us south but only dawn would tell me if that was true. If we were heading in the right direction then the sun would come from my left. I kept glancing to the left and, finally, I was rewarded by the thin glow which was false dawn. I did not mind that it was not the real dawn. We were sailing south. Now that I knew where we were, I was more confident and I adjusted the steering board to sail due south.
When the sun came up I saw that the mountains of the Land of the Wolf loomed up to the east of us. They grew the further south and east we went. I saw, in the distance, the mountain after which the land was named, Úlfarrberg. At least I assumed it was the mountain of the wolf. I had an uneasy prickle at the back of my neck. I wondered if the witch was weaving a spell. Would she drag me and my snekke into her lair? I had heard terrible stories about witches and their power. Even the greatest warriors feared them and Ylva was the most powerful of witches.
I closed my eyes and intoned to myself, “Allfather, save me from the witch. We have much to do and we cannot serve you if we are prisoners in the Land of the Wolf.”
Asbjorn’s hand shook me. He thought I was sleeping, “I will have Olaf relieve you. You were asleep at the helm.”
I shook my head, “I was not but I do need some sleep.” We waved Olaf forward. I took out the crude chart. “If that is Úlfarrberg,” I pointed east, “then we are roughly here.” Olaf nodded. “The bay with the treacherous sands is here.” I pointed again. “If we have not found my father by then wake me.”
“I can sail!”
“I know Olaf, but this is our snekke and I know her. You are older and, probably, a better sailor but ‘Jötnar’ knows me. She has kept us safe has she not?” he nodded, “Then wake me when we reach the bay.” I did not know where I had found the confidence. When I had been a ship’s boy just a couple of years earlier, I had been in awe of Olaf. The Norns were spinning.
Chapter 10
I heard the seabirds crying before Arne shook me awake. The birds were the spirits of men who had died without a sword in their hand. They were to be pitied. “Here, brother, ale and salted meat.”
I looked to the east. The mountains had gone and were replaced by rolling hills. I saw sands stretching to the east to meet the hills. I swallowed some ale and as I looked at the sky saw that it was noon. I chewed on the meat. “Is there any sign of the drekar?”
“Siggi thought he saw a sail but as we did not catch it then it must have been a drekar heading south and west. Olaf has sailed due south since you fell asleep.”
I went to the steering board and took the helm. Olaf stood and stretched. “My back and shoulders ache. If you need relief again then speak.”
I pointed to the land, “If those are the sands then the River Loyne lies just a couple of hours away.” He nodded.
Asbjorn was asleep. The others sat by the mast. Siggi and Arne were with the goats. There would be mess at the prow. The goats should have been landed. It could not be helped. It was easier to clean a snekke than bring the dead back to life. We had escaped a trap and helped to save the snekke. I moved the steering board over. We had a shallow draught. ‘Jötnar’ would warn me of danger.
As the sun passed its zenith, I edged us close to the shore, “Siggi, climb the mast. See if you can see the estuary.”
He quickly shinned up the mast. The ship’s boy who had appeared so clumsy just a couple of years earlier now reached the spar in a few heart beats. “Aye, Erik.” He pointed south and east. It is a wide river. The sands are to the east of us.” He slithered down.
Asbjorn rose and looked east. “There is no sign of the drekar and there are still sands. I will head due south and then sail due east. We will have to use oars for I do not know these waters.”
Asbjorn nodded, “We are all well rested.” He made water and then after eating and drinking, like the others, he took an oar and sat on his bench. Only Olaf and Leif remained standing. They would have to lower the sail and secure the mast.
Our course south and east meant that I could see where the river met the sea. The water bubbled. Even as I prepared to turn, I noticed the bluffs above the river. They had trees upon them. On the north side of the river there appeared to be a ruined stone building. It was a good marker. “Down sail, out oars!”
As soon as the sail came down, I began to put the steering board over. The movement made us bob up and down and the goats bleated plaintively. I heard Siggi sing to them and they calmed. Asbjorn shouted, “Pull! One, two, pull, one two!” It took a few pulls on the oars as Olaf and Leif had to get into the rhythm but once they did then the motion became easier and we began to move closer. I put my hand in the sea. The tide was on the turn. The gods were with us and we drew closer to the shore. I kept my eye on the ruined building. I saw a cross. It was a church. I spied no smoke. That meant there were no houses close by and that was a good thing. I had to be helmsman and lookout. I saw that the river turned ahead. It seemed to go from due east to directly north. The estuary was wide but the sands to the north made me cautious. I would keep to the centre of the river. ‘Jötnar’ responded well to the oars, her keel was weed free and she slid through the water like a knife in warm butter.
I was not sure what lay ahead and so I said, “Asbjorn, slow the stroke. There is a turn ahead.” As we left the sea and entered the river the motion became easier. “Siggi and Arne, I need a lookout ahead.” There was no point in one remaining at the oars and so they both put their oars on the mast fish. They both stood at ‘Jötnar’s’ prow. I saw Arne help Siggi to sit atop the giant’s head. Suddenly he slipped down and said, “Stop rowing. The drekar is ahead and she is being attacked!”
“Which bank?”
“The far bank!”
“Larboard oars keep rowing.” I put the steering board over and headed for the southern bank although as it turned sharply it would soon be the east bank. The bank was lined with willows and bushes. I spied a patch of sand no bigger than a small house and I aimed for it. Arne and Siggi leapt ashore with the ropes. They tethered the snekke to two trees. Asbjorn and Gandálfr grabbed their weapons and ran upstream. Arne, Siggi, Olaf, Leif, Ragnar and Harald began to don helmets and take their shields from the side. Asbjorn and Gandálfr had just taken their bows with them. I put on my sea boots and slipped one dagger, the Saxon one, in the top. The other I put in my belt. I took Petr’s shield. It did not have my design on it yet but it was a bigger shield.
I said to Siggi, “How did you know they were being attacked?”
“I saw arrows in the mast.”
“Then they could have been captured.”
Arne shook his head, “I think not brother.” He tapped his chest. “Our family lives. I feel it here.”
Harald pointed to the river, “Look!”
A body floated downstream. It was a Viking but not one of our people. It seemed an age but it must have been moments only before Asbjorn and Gandálfr appeared. We handed them their helmets and shields. “There is a band of warriors attacking the drekar. Our men have made a shield wall but there are dead there. We will go to their aid. The four of us with bows will send arrows into their backs. Olaf, you lead Siggi, Arne and Erik to attack them.” He must have seen the doubt on our faces. “The clan is in danger. If we are to be sacrificed to save it then it is meant to be.”
We nodded and ran up the path to the top of the ridge. I could hear the sounds of battle as swords and spears clashed on metal and wood. Asbjorn waved us towards some trees. As we reached them, I saw that, forty paces from us, there were thirty or more warriors battling my father and his men. I saw that Reimund and his son
lay in pools of blood. Others were being tended on the drekar by the women. This was not going well.
Asbjorn said, “We have no time to lose. When we have loosed five flights of arrows then we will join you. May the Allfather be with you.”
I nodded to Arne and pulled my shield up. Drawing my sword, I ran after Olaf. There was too much noise for us to be heard. Normally we would have shouted to put fear into our foes but until the arrows fell and they were alerted we would remain silent. The arrows fell before we had cleared the bushes. I saw my father look up as the ones at the back of the enemy line were hit. At first the warriors appeared confused. I hoped that we would not be hit by a misplaced arrow from one of our own.
I had to hurdle two writhing bodies which had been hit by arrows to reach the enemy. The first warrior to turn faced me and I was committed to the strike even before he was turning. He turned to his left and was swinging his sword at me. The weight of his shield opened his middle and I hacked my sword into him. He had a padded kyrtle which did not stop my sword. His eyes widened as he felt my blade slice across his ribs and into his body. My momentum made me crash into him. All around me I heard shouts, screams, the clash of weapons as our tiny band sought to relieve our families.
From the corner of my eye I caught sight of a sword which slashed down towards me. I lifted Petr’s shield. This was the first time I had used it and it let me down. I know not if it had been weakened or was badly made but it split and the wood shattered leaving me with the boss in my hand. Even as the warrior grinned, I lunged with my sword at his head. He tried to move away but merely exposed his neck. As my blade sawed across it, blood spurted. He turned and, clutching his neck, tried to flee. Others were emulating him for they did not know how many we were. Such was the ferocity of our attack that we had ripped the heart from them.
A Viking voice I did not recognise shouted, “Fall back!”
Eighteen Vikings fled leaving twelve of their own dead or dying. I looked around for any who might be feigning but the bodies now lay still. My father shouted, “Watch where they go. Take the wounded aboard the drekar!” He sheathed his sword and grasped Arne by the shoulders. Arne’s byrnie was blood spattered but he was whole, “Never was I more pleased to see my sons! You came just in time. Another few minutes and we would have been broken.” He waved a hand and I saw that as well as Reimund and his son there were another three dead warriors. All had come late to our home and I did not even know their names. We would honour them for they had died for the clan.
Snorri asked, “Is the snekke safe?”
I nodded, “It is downstream. I will go and fetch it. Arne, Siggi, come with me.”
My father laughed, “Are you the captain now that you give orders?”
Siggi said, seriously, “He is our captain, jarl and a good one. He showed us how to defeat two drekar!”
My uncle’s eyes widened, “Two drekar? Here is a tale worth hearing!”
My father shook his head, “First we move to the north bank. Our enemies came from the south and east.”
I pointed, “There is a deserted church on the headland. We could defend that!”
My father nodded, “I thought to hide from enemies. It seems I chose wrong. Take your snekke and scout it out for us. If there is danger, wave us off.”
My mother came to the gunwale of the drekar. She was beaming, “God has answered my prayers. My sons are safe.”
Sheathing my sword, we hurried back to the snekke. I still had the shield boss in my hand. I would melt it down. It might make me a mail hood! When we reached the snekke I saw that the goats had fouled it again. We would have some serious cleaning. While Siggi and Arne untied us, I went to the steering board.
They threw the ropes aboard and I shouted, “Push us off!” I turned the steering board so that their push and the current took us away from the bank. “Take an oar each to give us more control.” They rowed just to keep us straight. As we neared the other bank, I could not see any sign of humans but we would take no chances. I grounded the snekke just a hundred paces below and upstream from the deserted church. Siggi and Arne tied us to a tree. “We had better tether the goats and let them graze or we will have no milk.” While the goats were being landed, I took my smaller shield and waited at the bottom of the hill. I let Arne lead us. We crouched as we ascended the grassy slope. Bushes and shrubs as well as young trees were trying to colonise the hillside. The men who had built the church must have cleared the land.
As we neared the top, I saw the mounds, lumps and bumps which showed where buildings had been. This had been destroyed many years ago. Arne waved me to the right and Siggi to the left. We went around the church while Arne disappeared through the open doorway. Siggi and I met up at the door.
Arne came out, “It is empty. Part of the roof has fallen in and I found runes on the walls. Vikings have been here.”
It was safe and so we headed back to the river to let my father know that it was uninhabited. Siggi looked unhappy, “We have fled one foe to find another.”
Arne laughed, “Cuz, for a land to be empty it must be worthless. My father knew we would have to fight for the land. I just hope that the warriors we fought were not the Clan of the Wolf.”
I shook my head, “I think they were Danes. The Viking voice I heard sounded like a Dane I had seen when we visited Dyflin.”
We had reached the river and I took a pail to collect river water. I would begin to clean the goats’ mess from the snekke.
“What makes you think so?” Arne broke a branch off the tree to improvise a brush.
“One had a Danish axe and the leader who spoke did not sound Norse.” I sluiced the dung and urine to the side. Arne’s branch helped to channel it. I took another pail.
Siggi began to empty the snekke. “The Danes are as bad are they not?”
“They live mainly in the east. They will be like us. They will have come for a new land without a king.”
Arne shouted, “Here is the drekar.” The snekke was not totally clean but it would have to do. We began to offload the chests. Siggi had taken the smaller gear but the chests took two hands. By the time ‘‘Njörðr’’ had tied up the snekke was empty.
Snorri landed first, “Is it safe? Can our people disembark? They have had a difficult time.”
Arne nodded, “There is no sign that anyone has been there for some time.”
Snorri waved to my father, “We can unload!” He turned to us, “Come we will take your chest up the hill and you can tell me all.”
Our story did not take long. There was little point in making it overly dramatic. Arne insisted on giving all the details of how I sailed the snekke before the drekar and then how they collided. The rest was simplified.
“You have all done well. Your father was confident that you would be able to deal with the drekar. We landed on a beach and had cold fare. We found this river and all seemed well. We were still worried that the two drekar might pursue us and so we hid the drekar up the river. The church made us think that the north shore might be inhabited and so we landed on the south. I can see now that it was a mistake. We were unlucky.”
Siggi said, “Or the Norns were spinning!”
We all clutched our hammers. Snorri nodded, “There was a ford upstream and I think that this warband was heading north to raid. When they saw us unloading the drekar they attacked without warning. That was when Reimund and his son died. Your father had sent them to scout and they died without drawing their weapons. We were not mailed and had to fight with swords and shields. Your father learned a hard lesson.”
Arne pointed to the ruined church. “Here is a place for a stronghold. You can see where the holy men had their buildings. We can dig them out and use the foundations for ours. We build a palisade.” He pointed west. There was a wood.”
“But ships from Mann can see us.”
Arne laughed, “Uncle, you do not think that we will be invisible here, do you? Already Vikings know where we are. Suppose these Danes are allies of the
pirates? We cannot run forever. This is an easier place to defend than our farms. Here we can see folk coming. We have water, timber, clear line of sight and the sea. We make this our home!”
He nodded approvingly, “I am persuaded and the three of you are changed. You are no longer boys. The voyage has moulded you into men.” He pointed at the gear which Leif and Olaf had just deposited.” Come, let us take our wood axes and fetch some timber.”
The four of us headed west, along the river. We had our weapons but not our shields. I was unsure how my father would react to our leaving but Snorri was correct. We had to make a stronghold sooner rather than later. The Vikings who had fled would return.
The wood which had seemed so close was more than a Roman mile away. We stripped to the waist and, using the four axes, began to cut down the trees to make the palisade. When we had felled eight trees, we began to trim the branches. All the time we kept an eye and an ear out for danger. We had just finished trimming the last tree when my father and the rest of the men arrived. He cocked an eye at his younger brother. Snorri shrugged, “We will need a wall. We thought to make a start.”
My father’s face broke into a smile. “And you have done well but I have another task. I have made mistakes this day which has cost us men. I will not risk another who is not of my blood. We will take over here. I would have you four follow those Danes and discover if their camp is close.”
None of us hesitated. Snorri said, “Erik, we will use the snekke to cross the river. If we head upstream, we might cut their trail.”
This time, after we had crossed the river and sailed upstream, we armed. We slung our shields over our backs and hung our helmets from our swords. We took an ale skin with us and headed due south and east. We had landed a mile upstream and we spread out in a long line to pick up the trail. The afternoon was wearing on but the sun would not set for some time. There was plenty of cover and we used it. The brown cloak I had taken from the warrior on Mann was a dirty brown and effectively hid me. We entered a wood about two miles from the river when we picked up a blood trail. It came from the west. Had there been any hunters then it might have been an animal. We had seen no sign of hunters. It was one of those wounded in the battle.