by Griff Hosker
“I know. I am using the sands.” I pointed to the deceivingly calm waters which covered the shellfish sands. “We will have more speed and, unless I miss my guess, Bjorn Bjornson will have brought his largest drekar filled with as many men as he could pack into them. We are shallower draughted. Trust the drekar.”
He nodded and patted my shoulder, “I do but I trust you more.”
When they were less than a mile or so away, I waved my arm and then put the steering board over to sail due north. It was as though we were a horse pricked with a spur and we leapt forward. The snekke was as fast but the knarr took longer to move. The snekke was almost level with our stern but the two knarr were strung out. It could not be helped. The line of ships immediately turned. They would be travelling even faster now for they would have the advantage of the wind behind. Four of them turned north and east as they tried to cut us off. The others continued on their original course. We had not a scrap of weed on our hull and we had sealed her well. She flew. It was though she did not sail through the water but on it. I now began to fear for the knarr. They were three lengths adrift of us and becoming detached. The last four drekar could take them.
I tied the steering board to the cleat. We would sail north now until we hit the coast of the Land of the Wolf. By then the battle would be over and I would either untie the rope or I would be in Valhalla explaining to my father how I managed to destroy the Clan of the Fox. I knew that we were sailing over the sands. I could see them below the stern but we were shallow draughted. I would have to turn soon or the tide would catch us out. My plan was working. The bigger drekar had run out oars and used them, along with the sail, to head north. The four which were further south now adjusted their course so that when we turned, they would be able to pick us off from behind. I shaded my eyes from the sun. I did not recognise any of the drekar. The Lord of Mann had new ships. They were all too far away for me to see them. When I saw a warrior with a metal raven on his helmet then I knew that would be Bjorn. He liked to show off.
I could see that we would collide soon enough for the drekar ahead had almost cut us off. I untied the rope. The first drekar suddenly hit the sands. The mast seemed to judder and then the stays broke. The mast came down and the drekar slewed around. The others were travelling too quickly. A voice in my head told me to turn. It was the voice of a woman and was melodious. As I put the steering board over to sail north and west, I saw the other two grind to a halt on the sands. The tide was receding slightly. I felt a subtle bump beneath our hull. We had almost struck the sands but the Norns had spun and I had turned at the right time. I thought the last drekar must escape too when it suddenly stopped as the receding tide trapped it on the sinking sands.
We now had clear water but the knarr were still strung out. We could escape the four drekar but the knarr would not. Already the sands had gripped the hulls of the four drekar which had grounded. The snekke and the knarr would pass within four lengths of them but their crews would be impotent. Their only chance was to wait for the next high tide and have others ships drag them off.
“Captain, one of the drekar has changed course. She sails due north.”
“Watch her!”
I glanced to larboard. The disaster which had struck their four consorts had made the three drekar which lay astern of us more cautious. They did not wish to risk the sands. The two knarr were like a sea anchor. The snekke and the drekar could fly away but not so the knarr. The three drekar would catch them and we would have to fight the single drekar which now sailed obliquely across our bows to cut us off. We could not turn to steerboard for fear of striking the sands and if we turned to larboard then we would be attacked by three drekar.
“Captain, there are four more drekar approaching from the west!”
My heart sank. The Norns had, indeed, been spinning. Eight drekar to one doomed us. Surrender was out of the question. We would sail and fight until we died. Suddenly the three drekar closest to us changed course and began to sail parallel to us. The drekar ahead was just eight lengths away and on the same course. Whichever way we turned she would cut us off but I did not understand the manoeuvre of the other three drekar. I could see the new drekar which were arriving. There was something about the one which led them. “Stig, describe the largest drekar now approaching from the west.”
There was a pause, “She is large and has a red wolf on her sail.”
I shouted, “It is the ‘Dragonheart’! Sámr Ship Killer comes to our aid as he promised!” Arne turned to look at me. I pointed ahead, “We fight that drekar and we are free.”
Arne nodded, “Get your bows!” He came aft. “Brother let me use yours!”
I laughed, “Aye, it is hard to steer and to loose arrows.”
He took my bow and opened my chest to take out ten arrows. He went to the larboard side with the other bowmen and slingers. Glancing to the land I saw that the tide was racing out and the drekar were stuck in the mud. I saw some men floundering in the treacherous sands. The land and the sea were fighting them. To larboard I saw that the Clan of the Wolf were attacking the three drekar. Sámr Ship Killer would destroy them; of that I had no doubt. The men of Mann would learn of the power of the land made by the Dragonheart.
I saw that the drekar ahead was turning. If she continued on her course, she risked being caught by the drekar of the wolf. She was going to attack us. I tied off the steering board and shaded my eyes. I saw that by the stern was a warrior with a raven topped helmet. “Arne, it is Bjorn Bjornson!”
I heard his voice, “Then we shall avenge our father!”
“Stig, Sven, by the steering board! Halsten and Rek guard the women.” I knew that the enemy would try to take control of the steering board. If they could kill me and capture the stern then the drekar would be theirs. The battle to the south and west of us would rage on. Our own battle would be settled long before that one was concluded. The enemy drekar put his steering board over to sail parallel to us. The ship then began to ease over. They were putting distance between themselves and the Clan of the Wolf and closing with us. They were bigger than we were and would be able to board us.
Arne shouted, “Loose!” Arrows and stones began to thud into the shields and bodies of the crew.
Stig and Sven joined me. They both had short swords. I took my small shield from the stern. “We defend the steering board with our lives. Here the fighting will be the fiercest.”
“Do we not lower the sail?”
“No Sven, we let ‘Njörðr’ join the fight. They will lower their sail and our drekar will drag them.” I pointed to the two hand axes. “If they use ropes to grapple us then sever them. We fight for our lives. We take no prisoners. Strike to kill!”
Their stern was now just half a length away and I saw Karl the Lame. He was on his father’s ship. He pointed his sword at me. I drew my own sword and pointed it at him. We would end here what was begun on ‘Moon Dragon’.
Four of the men of Mann were a little eager and clambered to cling to the stays. Arrows struck them and they plunged to the sea. We had women aboard and these pirates saw them as plunder. I saw Gytha and the other women had armed themselves. If the pirates tried to take them, they would see that our women had teeth!
I heard Bjorn Bjornson shout, “Lower the sail and put the steering board over!”
As the drekar closed with us I saw ropes and grappling hooks snake across the black waters. Even as they were thrown those throwing them were hit by stones and arrows. Arne and the others would use their bows and slings until the last moment. It was better to kill the enemy on their ship than ours. It meant that the three of us would be alone for the first moments of the battle. Then I saw my uncle, Snorri, lead Finn the Scar and Butar Beer Belly. They ran to the steering board just as the drekar’s stern struck ours. My uncle and his two oar brothers stood between me and the pirates. I sheathed my sword and took a spear from the rail. I hurled it at the warrior who tried to leap aboard. I hit him in the chest while he was in the air. He landed i
n a heap on the deck. Sven ran and took the spear from the body. As the next pirates jumped aboard, he held the spear above him. A huge warrior landed on the spear. His body covered Sven’s and then the battle started.
I drew my sword and stood next to Butar. A half-naked warrior wearing a full-face helmet and wielding a long sword ran at me. The drekar came to my aid as the sail pulled us around and he lost his footing. I slashed across his middle. My blade bit into his flesh but he continued to swing his sword. I took the blow on my small shield and my arm shivered. His own blood was making the deck slippery. I kept my feet as I brought my sword over to strike his shield. He slipped to the deck as he fell and his blade embedded itself in the gunwale. I hacked across his throat.
Bjorn Bjornson and his oathsworn leapt aboard and headed for us. I saw Karl the Lame clamber awkwardly across the two drekar. He would come for me. The only men I recognised, of those that boarded us, were Karl, his father and his father’s oathsworn. Apart from those eight the rest were just the sweepings of Mann.
I shouted, “Arne!”
There were just four warriors facing eight. If we could defeat these eight then we stood a chance for the rest might decide that discretion was the better part of valour and flee. I saw a warrior lunge at Butar Beer Belly’s unprotected side. I brought my sword down on the hearth weru’s right arm. He had quick reactions and managed to turn and block the blow. Butar’s side was safe and he continued to fight two other warriors. Arne and Siggi led men to come to the aid of Snorri and the others. The oathsworn I had attacked tried to turn. As he was still off balance, I punched him in the side of the head with my small shield. As he reeled, I punched him again. He fell backwards into the advancing Karl the Lame. I brought my sword backhand across his unprotected neck and he fell to the deck in a pool of his own blood.
Karl the Lame swung at my shield with his war axe. It hit it so hard that it dented the boss and cracked the wood. “I will have my vengeance for my wound. I will not kill you. I will maim you and we will take you back to Mann to be a slave used by all. You will beg for a death but it will not come!”
“Fight, for your words are empty air.” I swung at his head but he brought up his shield to block the blow. The fighting was intense all around us but, behind Karl the Lame, I saw Eidel climbing up the steering board of the enemy drekar. There was no one there. In his hand he carried a small axe. He was going to sever the steering board withy! Eidel was a ship’s boy but he had heart. Even though Karl was bigger and better armed than I was I drew hope from Eidel’s brave act.
Karl the Lame hit my shield again and all that held it together was the leather strap. I stepped back and he took it as a sign of weakness. I was making him move away from the larboard side and towards a pool of blood. In his eagerness to close with me he was too quick and his good foot slipped on the blood. Instead of slashing at him I lunged and my sword struck the lower part of his mail byrnie. As he twisted the tip caught in the links and the sword was pulled from my hand! I was almost defenceless. I saw the joy on his face as he drew his axe back to swing at my leg. He was going to cripple me. I did the only thing I could. I threw my broken shield at his head and when he pulled up his axe to block it, I dived at him and knocked him to the ground. He was bigger and stronger than me but he wore mail and had a bad leg. Both would make it hard for him to rise. I drew the Saxon dagger I had taken from him. Even as he tried to push me off, I rammed it under his armpit. It grated off his shoulder blade and he screamed. I put my left knee on his right arm, and held the dagger above him. “Remember this? It will be the last thing you see!” I drove it through his right eye and into his skull. I quickly stood and recovered my sword. I was just in time to see Arne and Snorri drive their swords through Bjorn Bjornson at the same time. With his oathsworn all dead the other pirates jumped back aboard their own ship. Stig and Sven had managed to cut the ropes binding us. As the wounded aboard ‘Njörðr’ were despatched I sheathed my sword and ran to untie the steering board.
The drekar of Mann lay almost dead in the water. Her sail was furled and she had no rudder. I glanced to the south east and saw that Sámr Ship Killer’s drekar was heading towards the pirates. Eidel had not only saved us he had doomed the pirates. I put the steering board over to sail around the drifting drekar towards the north and west. The wind took us.
I saw that Butar was wounded. Gytha was tending to him. There were other dead warriors too but the bulk of the dead were the men of Mann. Arne came up to me, “What happened to the enemy ship?”
I laughed, “I trained the ship’s boys well. Eidel climbed the steering board and hacked through the withy! Thanks to the Clan of the Wolf and Eidel’s quick thinking, we have a chance!”
As we sailed towards the open sea, I clutched my hammer of Thor and I thanked both my father and Ylva the witch. I knew that both had aided me. The spirits were with us and I finally believed that we might make it to the land of ice and fire.
Epilogue
We stopped for the night on the beach of an uninhabited island south of Dyrøy. We would be safe and we could strip the dead and dispose of their bodies in the sea. I also wished to check the hull. The drekar had struck us hard. While food was prepared and the bodies of the men of Mann thrown into the sea, I took some pine tar to check for damage. One of the strakes, thankfully above the water line, had sprung. While Sven packed it with wool and feathers, I liberally coated it in pine tar. I was grateful that the collision had not cost us more. When I reached the fire, my brother had saved a place between him and Siggi.
“You were right about Sámr Ship Killer. I had wondered if he was playing a game with us.”
I frowned, “Arne, I looked into his eyes and I saw that he spoke the truth. Was it me you did not believe? Did you think I made up the story?”
“No, brother, but you are too trusting. You believe the best in people. I see the worst. Now we are free from the curse of Mann and we have a new future.”
I nodded as I ate the stew. “And we have had the easiest part of the voyage. From now on pirates and drekar will be the least of our worries.”
“The sea will be that bad?”
“The sea will be unknown. If there is the sun and the stars then this will be a voyage as easy as sailing to Norway. If there is cloud, or fog or both then who knows?”
That night I put away my sword and helmet. I had taken Karl the Lame’s byrnie. That, too, went into my chest. I was not sure I would ever wear it but it was a reminder of how close I had come to death. I took out my compass and hourglass. I took Stig and Sven to one side and explained to them how the compass worked. “When we sail one of you will be at my side. You will turn the hourglass and hand me the compass and charcoal. I will mark our position. This compass is the only way we will find the land of ice and fire. Halsten and Rek can be lookout and tend to the passengers.”
“Aye Captain.”
The waters through which we first sailed were familiar to most of those aboard. We spied small settlements and fishing boats but the drekar of the King of Norway were not to be seen. The wind continued to aid us. The long days helped us and at the end of the third day out of Dyrøy we saw the seabirds and the islands of Føroyar. They would be our home for seven days or so. We would hunt seals and collect shellfish. I hoped to make the journey to the land of ice and fire in less than seven days but if we did not manage that then we would need food and water. The ale was almost gone. We had had no showers and so we would have to collect water from the island. Gytha insisted that we boil it before we barrelled it. She did not say why but she was a volva and we trusted her.
I landed us at the beach I had used with Padraig and Aed. We made a bigger camp this time and while the men hunted the women and children prepared the cauldrons of water we would use to cook and salt the meat. I sat with Padraig and the two knarr captains, Pridbjørn and Sighwarth. I took out the hare skin map I had made. “From what I have learned at both Orkneyjar and Úlfarrston this land of ice and fire appears to be much bigger
than this group of islands. It is between four and ten days from here.”
Sighwarth asked, “And what if we do not find it?”
“The witch, Ylva, believed that we would find it. I trust in her. We will find it.” He nodded. We trusted our volvas and witches. “Padraig you will be the sheepdog. From now on the knarr sail close behind us. You will watch their stern. I have pots we can fill with burning coals. If we feed the fire then it will burn and be a beacon for you to follow. The nights are short and we do not have to burn them for long but we cannot lose sight of one another.”
Pridbjørn asked, “And fog?”
“I have no answer for that save that we use a horn to signal our position.” I shrugged, “There are no certainties. We are in the hands of the Allfather and we hope that the spell the Norns have spun is one which brings us safe.”
The seal hunt was a great success. With the whole clan helping we filled three large barrels with the oil. Four other barrels contained their flesh and we had plenty of bones. We would make bone arrows and bone spears. If we were lucky then we might find iron but none who had been to the island had found any. We could not guarantee it.
Snorri advised Arne to make a blót. We sacrificed one of the chickens. As we had captured and caged twelve or so ducks then we would have eggs on the voyage but a chicken was a worthy sacrifice. We left in daylight on a day when the sun shone. This was not a time for taking chances.
The wind had veered and now came from the north west. It was a cold wind for it came from the north and the land of ice. It meant that we did not travel as fast as we might have hoped but the sun helped me to keep track of our position and we ploughed on steadily west. The lights were used at night time. We had kindling and we had wood. I kept glancing astern to ensure that the knarr were close. I slept in two-hour stints. I was spelled by Snorri, Olaf and Arne. They found the experience harder than I did. I was now comfortable at the steering board. ‘Njörðr’ had forgiven me for sailing in ‘Jötnar’ and responded well to every touch.