Haraldr saw me when I went back aboard ‘Fáfnir’. He hurried over to me. “I have been looking for you all morning. I am keen to hear your story.”
I nodded. I knew that it interested every Viking. The treachery of a family member was not uncommon but surviving a whole day at sea was. I told him all.
He grinned when I had finished, “A fine saga. If I had not spoken to my cousin Bergil I would have thought it made up.” He held up his hand as my face darkened. “I do not call you a liar. It is just such a fantastical story. And the battles you fought since then… remarkable. Would you serve with me? I could use a war chief like you.”
“I am flattered but I have but one aim. I wish to return to the land of my birth, kill my brother and reclaim the Land of the Horse.”
When I said, ‘kill my brother’ , he touched his Thor’s Hammer. The killing of a family member was not to be undertaken lightly. “I am sorry for that but the offer remains. I will be King of Norway.” His eyes challenged me to say other.
I nodded, “I can believe it and I will bow my knee to you if I am still at Møre.”
“But you do not think that you will be.”
“No. I was saved for a purpose.” He seemed to accept what I had said. At least I would not be a rival to his power. The Land of the Horse was a long way from Norway.
We left for home two days later. None of the jarls were going to join the raid on the Franks. That was disappointing for me. I rowed in silence as we headed home. Bergil broke my silence as our fjord hove into view. “You do not really want the tribe to retake your land, do you?”
“Why not?”
“Because we owe allegiance to Jarl Hálfdanar Svarti and his son. If we took your land back it would become part of his land.” He smiled and lowered his voice, “You want our clan to retake it for you .”
I felt naked as though someone had seen into my heart. Bergil was right. Would my father have harboured such thoughts? My grandfather? I had changed and it was Ragnvald who had changed me.
Bergil smiled, “Do not worry. Our fjord is a backwater. We can never grow for the mountains are too close. Our numbers have never been great. The children who are born each year are likely to die in battle. That is why Sven suggested the raid on the Picts. We need their women. They will breed the warriors that you need.”
“But I cannot wait for them to grow and become warriors.”
“No, but the more women we have the more we will attract other warriors from the other members of the tribe. Sven has spent the last two days telling the other war chiefs of his plans. Some will choose to help my cousin become a king but others will see our clan as the one where they will become rich and have women.”
I had underestimated Sven Blue Arm. He was a planner and a plotter. Perhaps his plan would help me to get home.
The drekar had shown no signs of problems on our short voyage and, upon our return, we began to load for the raid on the Picts. We would be away for more than seven days. Sven Blue Arm had planned on securing one village and raiding the ones around it. There were seven he had heard about. He had discovered that at the family meeting. We would not have to raid and run. We would be able to live off their lands for a few days. We would be able to slaughter some of their animals and use the Picts’ salt to preserve it. I was learning how to be a war leader by watching Sven.
Our two ships were almost fully manned as we headed across the grey seas to the island of Britannia. My mail was not yet ready but it would not matter. The Picts did not use mail. The jarl was able to use the wind for much of the voyage. It came from the south east. Our drekar was a good sailer. It was only a wind against that meant we had to row. If we were chasing or being chased then we would row.
We sailed beyond the headland which hid the seven settlements. We ran a sea anchor out to hold us south of the Picts. We took down the mast and the sail. We would row in after dark. Those who had it, donned mail. Bergil was wearing his into battle for the first time. We watched the sun descend in the west. It lit up, in the distance, the bay into which we would sail. I knew that this would not be as easy as the raid on the Danes. Then the jarl had known the waters and the landing site. Here we were almost sailing blind. The warriors who had told Sven of the settlements and the bay had never landed. He had been told that it was a wide bay with a sandy beach. The warriors we would face might not be as fierce as the Danes but their land was.
As soon as the sun became a thin line to the west we began to row. We had Beorn at the prow and we rowed slowly. Speed was unimportant. We edged toward the entrance to the bay. If our information was correct then it would widen into a huge bay once we had passed the two headlands. The resistance grew against the oars as we neared the narrow entrance. Then we were through into the flatter, calmer, almost fjord like waters of the open bay. We turned to steerboard as soon as we were through and crept towards the beach. Beorn gave a low whistle and we all raised our oars. We moved forward until we heard the sand beneath our keel and we stopped. The ship’s boys leapt ashore and wrapped our mooring lines around the largest rocks they could find. I picked up my shield and took my sword from my chest. I hung my helmet from the hilt.
Once ashore Sven sent out Arne and Valbrandr, our two scouts. Both had proved themselves to be both quick and able to hide. Both were small; they were smaller than Bergil. Everyone had agreed that I would make the worst of scouts. I would be seen too easily. We waited until all of Bjorn Eysteinsson’s men had landed and then we followed the footsteps in the sand. They led up the sand towards the grass which rose to the first of the settlements just above the sea. We could not see it but we could smell the smoke from their fires. The only sounds which we made were our breathing and the creaking of leather. Those with mail had coated them liberally with seal oil. It stopped them rusting and ensured that they made no noise.
Arne and Valbrandr met us and, by using signs, told Sven where the village was and how many men were there. It was obvious that this was a large one. There was no palisade but they had a ditch and a rampart. They were useful when you were fighting behind them but they could not stop warriors striking from the night. Sven pointed to the north east and Bjorn Eysteinsson led his men that way. He waved at the men he would be leading and they went to the south. That left the jarl with twenty of us. I stood on the jarl’s right and Bergil his left. Without Sven and the rest of his oathsworn the two of us would have to protect him.
As we neared the settlement, over the springy turf, we could hear the noises of their herds and flocks. They were penned. Then we heard the noise as the Picts talked with each other. We heard laughter. The jarl suddenly froze as there was a movement before us. We were on one of the grass filled ditches and the rampart rose above us. A shadow appeared. None of us moved. We heard the splash of water. It was a warrior making water. As soon as the shadow disappeared the jarl led us up the steep bank. Had there been defenders there and if it had been daylight, then we would have struggled. As it was we easily made the top and we lay there.
The settlement was laid out before us. There was one long hut and twenty smaller ones. There was a large fire in the middle but I could see the glow of smaller fires through the doors of the others. The jarl slid his sword out. He was about to raise when there was a shout from the north. His brother led his men to attack. They were early. It did not matter overmuch as we were all in position but I knew that Sven would be unhappy. I drew my sword and we raced down the bank. I did not bother with my shield. That was still covering my back.
The Picts grabbed their weapons and ran at us. We must have been a terrifying sight for the Picts just fought in breeks. When they went to war, they limed their hair and relied on raw courage to defeat their enemies. They had not been expecting an attack and so they had small shields and short swords and spears. They charged us.
My long legs took me ahead of the rest. I held my sword in two hands and slightly behind me. My experience of riding came to the fore. My grandfather had had me practice swinging a sword as I galloped. It was
much easier just running. A warrior ran towards me and I veered slightly to my left. He might have thought I was afraid of him. I swung my sword. The tip struck his small shield but the mighty blade chopped his body in two. I allowed my sword to swing around and then I raised it above my head. Two warriors stood to block my path. I made a figure of eight with the blade and brought it down horizontally. One held up his shield and my sword turned it into kindling and ripped through his arm and side. The other saw his chance and he darted forward to stab at me with his short sword. The tip slid off one of my metal studs and then the side gouged a line across the leather. He was so close to me that I could smell the fish he had eaten. The hilt of my sword struck him in the side of the head and he was knocked to the ground. Bergil stabbed him.
When I looked around I saw that it was over. The rest of the warband had had as much success as I had and the warriors were all slain. The women surprised me. They were not screaming. They were not cowering. They stoically stood with their children around them. The children were afraid. The older boys had all been slain and I could not see any boy older than six summers.
Sven Blue Arm shouted out his orders. “Separate the old. Put them in one hut. Put the mothers and the children in the large hall. Have the girls who are not mothers in another.” He turned to Bjorn Eysteinsson, “Lord, have your men search for treasure.” He could not criticise the jarl’s brother but he was unhappy with the shout which had alerted our foes.
Bjorn shrugged, “The Norns were spinning. A warrior made water and saw us. He shouted before we could slay him.”
“It mattered not.” He turned to me. “You and Bergil take Arne and guard the young women. Make sure they do not harm themselves. Only one sleeps at any one time.
“Harm themselves?”
Bergil said, “Some women try to kill themselves rather than be taken by a Viking. I have never seen it but I have heard of this.”
I nodded but I did not understand it. We took slaves but they always seemed to embrace the Clan of the Horse. Then I realised that our slaves had come from the Welsh, the Hibernians and the Saxons. We had never raided the Picts. It was Olaf Two Teeth who was guarding the young women and girls. He had lost his two front teeth when young. Quite old now, he had a comical look when he smiled. In war he was a terrifying warrior. He grinned as we approached. “You had best keep your weapons in your breeks. They are some comely lasses here.”
Bergil nodded amiably, “When we get home we can choose one as our payment. We will be able to decide which one is the right one.”
Bergil said, “You slew more men than I did. You may sleep first.”
“I was not counting.”
“I was. I slew but one. The others told me that even Sven Blue Arm killed but two. You have earned your rest.” I lay down at the door of the hut. That meant none could leave without waking me and it would allow Bergil to stretch his legs and walk around the hut.
Bergil woke me. It was still dark. “Sven came around in the middle of the watch. We raid again tomorrow. We will be leaving at noon. Wake me at dawn.”
He was soon asleep. I wrapped my cloak around me and looked out over the settlement. I saw movement but dismissed it quickly. It was rats feasting on the dead. The fires crackled. Sven had left two men tending them. There was a wind which presaged a change in the weather. I took all of that in. I was about to sit down when there was a movement. Someone had stepped over Bergil’s sleeping body. I strode over. I saw a figure stepping out of the hut. It was one of the young women. She did not try to run.
I said, quietly, “You must go back into the hut.” She looked at me blankly and mimed something. She seemed to half sit. I tried again in Saxon. She repeated the move. Brigid, the Ale wife in the Haugr had some slaves from Hibernia and that was not far from here. I tried speaking Hibernian.
She smiled. She said, slowly, “I need to make water.”
Now I understood the mime. I looked around. The rampart was just ten paces away. I pointed and she nodded. She walked that way and I followed. She stood and said, “I cannot go if you watch.”
Was this a trick? Was she going to run. I almost laughed. She was half my size. If she ran and I could not catch her with my long legs I would give up being a warrior. I nodded and turned my back. I heard the splash of water and smelled her water.
She tapped me on my shoulder. “I am done.” She walked next to me. “Thank you. What is your name and how did you get so tall?”
“I am Göngu-Hrólfr but I was born Rollo.”
“Rollo.” She seemed to roll the word around her mouth. “I am Kaðlín. I do not come from here. My father is King of the Caereni. It is a land to the west of here.”
“Caereni? I have never heard of them. I thought this was the land of the Picts.”
She shook her head. “That is what you barbarians call it but we do not. This is the land of the Cornovi.”
“And what is a princess of the Caereni doing here?”
“I was meeting a man who was going to be my husband.”
“Going to be?”
“As he was a warrior I am guessing that he is dead. I have not seen his body so I do not know.”
“I am sorry.”
She shrugged, “I did not like him. He was a small man and he smelled of fish.” She squeezed the muscles in my arm. “Now, you I like.”
I felt uncomfortable. “Come, you should be back in the hut.”
“But I like talking with you and you have a kind voice and a gentle look.”
“Bed.” I pointed.
She did as I said but giggled and said, huskily, “Of course.” She went inside the hut. I stood. I felt uncomfortable and I felt myself growing. I was aroused. Perhaps I would take her as my slave when we reached home. The night went quietly and my thoughts were filled with the young woman, Kaolin. She had smelled of wild thyme. She had been slight but her breasts and hips were those of a woman. She had red hair. I had seen it flash in the firelight as she had entered the hut. I found myself becoming more aroused and so I put thoughts of her from me. If she was a princess then I would have to tell Sven. Of course, a princess of such a primitive tribe was not the same as a Frankish princess or even a Saxon one but she might be worth something.
I woke Bergil at dawn. I curled up and slept. I seemed to be asleep for a short time and then I was awoken. It was a grey, damp day which greeted me. I made water and then ate the food and drank the ale which Bergil had for me.
Sven Blue Arm came along with Olaf Two Teeth. Olaf was older than the other warriors. Sven said, “Olaf will watch the girls. We go to raid.” He turned to walk away.
“One of them is a princess of a tribe to the west.”
He turned, “How do you know?”
“She made water and she told me.”
“It could have been a trick to help her escape.”
“She did not try.”
Sven looked thoughtful. “When we come back from today’s raids we will speak with her. She could bring us coin. You disobeyed me but good may come of it.”
I shook my head, “I did not disobey you, Sven Blue Arm.” I heard the intake of breath from Bergil and Olaf as I challenged the war chief. “You said to watch them. You said to stop them harming themselves. You said nothing about speaking or letting them make water.”
He glared up at me and I thought I had gone too far. Then he smiled, “You are right. Next time I will give clearer orders!”
The warriors were all gathered together. Jarl Rognvald Eysteinsson spoke to us but I knew that the plan was that of Sven Blue Arm. “The gods smiled on us and the Norns were kind. We took the largest village in this corner of the land of the Picts.” I did not correct the jarl. “We killed the man they called chief and his son. That means the others are smaller than this. We will divide into seven groups of warriors. I will lead one, my brother another, Sven Blue Arm a third, my son and my nephew will lead a fourth.” That was the first time he had called me his son. It sounded strange in my ears. “Sámr the
Stout will lead a fifth and Pétr Pétrsson will lead the sixth. He pointed to an older warrior, Stig the Bold, you can take the seventh.”
Sven quickly allocated the warriors we would be leading. I had nine men with me. I was grateful that most were young. Half were younger than me. Sven gathered them around him. “You will follow me and Sámr. Our villages are to the north west of here. Göngu-Hrólfr, try to avoid talking to them too much eh?”
Bergil laughed.
“Aye Sven Blue Arm.”
We loped off. None of the villages was more than a couple of miles from the central one. The grey drizzly day would make it easier for us to approach them. All of them were obligingly along the coast. As I had the youngest of men I was given the one which was the furthest north east. Before Sven led his men north he pointed north east. “It is a mile or two in that direction.”
“How do you know?”
He grinned. I saw water drip from his helmet and down his nose. “I too can talk. I asked an old man. It cost him two fingers but he told where the villages lay.”
I led my men into the open land which appeared to be getting murkier with each step. When I saw cattle and sheep I realised that there would be shepherds and cattle herders. I stopped and turned, “Haddr Iverson, take two men and kill the shepherds and the cattle herders. Drive the animals back to the camp.” I saw then why Sven had picked me. None would argue with the giant who wielded the two-handed sword. They nodded and ran off.
Knowing that the village lay ahead I waved my arm the other five spread out. I spied the smoke. The village lay over the rise. As we reached the top I looked down and saw a small bay. The ten huts were in a hollow. I took out my sword and raised it. We moved down the slope. We had gone but ten paces when a female screamed. We were discovered. As the men of the village grabbed weapons to defend their families I swung around my shield. This was the first time I had been given the responsibility of leading an attack on my own. I had a handful of men but I would not let down my adopted father.
There were twelve men and youths in the village. They had two shields between them but every man held a weapon. Three ran at me and two at Bergil who was just behind me. My long legs outstretched the rest. One of the Cornovi had two throwing spears. He hurled one at me and I batted it away with my shield. As I bared my chest a second risked his only spear and he hurled it at me. The fire hardened tip hit a metal stud and fell to the ground. Before he could reach for his dagger I had taken his head and my long sword had bitten into the upper arm of the next warrior. It scraped along the bone. The third ran with a short sword at my right side for I was still pulling my sword from the Cornovi arm. As I pulled I turned and brought my shield across. His sword struck the wood of my shield. I punched him hard in the face with the hilt and he fell to the ground. Bergil had slain his men but Leif Siggison had been wounded by one of the two men he had been fighting. He had killed one but his right arm was bleeding. I ran at the Cornovi warrior who was about to hack at Leif’s head. I brought my sword from on high. It hit his skull and split it. Such was the force that it continued to tear open his neck and his chest. I twisted it so that I could get it out. As Bergil slew the last one all that were left were their wounded.
Brothers in Blood (Norman Genesis Book 7) Page 19