by Griff Hosker
“Aðils told us all. The Weird Sisters eh?” Aiden spoke with me while Ylva and Kara led the two girls into the hall. Macha and Deidra were also there and the sight of four women appeared less threatening for them.
I nodded, “Can you speak with them? They are afraid. Gruffyd and Einar did their best but if I were in their position then I, too, would be afraid.”
“We will speak with them. Is Brigid still at the halls of Ragnar and Raibeart?”
“She is. Erika is with child and they are closer now. Soon Thorghest will send for his wife. I think she is making the most of their time together.”
“Then bring Einar and Gruffyd here. We will eat here and it may be easier for the girls in my wife’s hall.”
“Good. I will go to the steam hut first. I have much to think on.”
While I was waiting for the hut to heat up I drank ale with Olaf Leather Neck, Einar Fair Face and my son. “What will you do with them, father?”
“I can honestly say I do not know for certain. I have some ideas but Aiden needs to find out more about them.”
Olaf Leather Neck said, “Ransom them? Either Egbert or their father will pay well for them.”
Gruffyd’s face told me what he thought of that.
“Perhaps. At the moment, I do not see this clearly. It is like a fog. Much has happened. The raid on Om Walum, Dorestad, the chest from Strathclyde, Wyddfa and the king’s palace, all of that led to the ship and the girls. They must be connected but I cannot see how.”
Uhtric came in, “It is ready Jarl Dragonheart. The galdramenn used it yesterday and it did not need much heating up.”
“Good.” I turned to Gruffyd and Einar Fair Face, “We eat with Kara and the two girls tonight. You might want to join me in the hut and then swim in the Water.” They needed no more persuasion and the three of us took our ale to the steam hut by the Water. My two young warriors chattered away excitedly as we lay in the hut. I let my mind wander and I caught just drifts of words. They were mainly about the two young girls. Einar and Gruffyd were young men and the two girls had aroused their interest. I thought through the problem of the girls. Much would depend on what Aiden discovered but I had a firmer idea of what I might do. The steam and the swim in my Water had the ability to do that.
I washed my hair and beard and used combs to tame it. I had Uhtric trim it. I was aware that I looked like a wild man. That was fine when I was at war but I did not think that I would be at war for some time to come. I did not want to terrify the girls. There was something about their arrival into our world that intrigued me. Now that I was older I was able to see things clearer. I saw patterns and I saw threads. The Norns had taught me that.
Gruffyd and Einar Fair Face had taken as much trouble as I had. We left our swords in the hall but I wore Wolf’s Blood at my waist. A Viking without a weapon was naked. On my feet, I did not wear my sealskin boots but soft boots made from doe hide. We almost looked civilised as we entered Kara’s hall.
The girls’ eyes widened when we entered. I did not know if it was shock or surprise but I smiled. We were early. Ylva came to sit with her cousin and Einar Fair Face. She had questions about the raid. I saw a knowing look on Kara’s face. This was to put the girls at their ease. Kara and Aiden came to sit by me. Kara kissed me on my cheek and Aiden handed me a horn of ale.
“This was well done, father.”
“The spirits approve?”
“We have not dreamed so we do not know but the hall feels warmer and the girls’ story is an interesting one.” She nodded to Aiden.
“Ebrel is the daughter of the king. Her mother, the queen was found dead at the bottom of a cliff last year.”
“She killed herself?”
“They are Christians and that would have been a sin. I know not. It could have been foul play or an accident. Ebrel did not know but she said that her father and her mother had been having a difficult time. Bronnen is her half-sister for although they share the same father, Bronnen’s mother was a Saxon slave taken in a raid on Wessex.”
I looked up, “The Norns.”
“Aye, the Norns. King Egbert does not know this. The slave died in childbirth. After you raided the Fal, King Egbert visited King Mordaf ap Hopkin. He had heard that your raid had made the men of On Walum restless and the King of Wessex feared that they might rise against him. He spoke with King Mordaf ap Hopkin and demanded the two girls as hostages. When he heard that Klakke was raiding so close to Om Walum he feared that he might lose his hostages and so he sent them to the King of Leinster, an ally.”
I felt relieved. All of the threads led to one person. Me. I was meant to find them. The question now remained, for what purpose.
“So, father, what do you do with them?”
I was aware that the others were listening too. The steam hut had helped to clarify my thinking. Aiden’s words merely confirmed my judgement. “We keep them here as guests. I shall send a message to their father telling him that they are safe and will remain so and then we shall see. The Norns will send us a sign and you will dream. I am content. Aiden tell them what I have decided. I would not have them upset more.”
I saw the two girls’ faces as their fate was explained. They seemed to accept it well. In truth they had little choice. They were alone and far from home.
After they had dreamed Kara and her family told me that this was all planned and the spirits approved. That did not mean, of course, that everything would run smoothly. The Norns and the gods did not do that. The two girls had seemed to accept their fate. They would have been hostages anyway and Kara and her women made them feel welcome. Ylva and Aiden began to teach them our language.
Our jarls arrived back. The raid had been successful and they had many animals and slaves. They were content. Ketil, Asbjorn and Ulf all stayed with me on their way home and I told them of our hostages.
“Perhaps we were closer to defeating Egbert than we thought. Perhaps Klakke was right.”
“No, he was not. Klakke will be defeated and I predict that his name and his men will soon be forgotten. Thorghest has more chance of becoming a warrior whom men follow.” I paused, “If any of you wished to raid with him…”
The three of then shook their heads, “We have enough from the raids we make with you, Jarl Dragonheart. We do not want to change whom we follow. The raid for animals was not a rejection of your leadership.”
“I know. And keep me informed of those you share borders with: the men of Strathclyde, Northumbria and Jorvik. I want no more land than that which I hold but I would not lose one blade of grass!”
Brigid returned a week after my jarls. She was escorted by Ragnar. She seemed happier than she had been and I was pleased. I asked Ragnar to have Siggi take a message to the King of Om Walum and to keep a good watch to sea. Like my jarls, he thought I had made a good decision to hold on to the hostages. When Ragnar had met them and as he was leaving he said, “Gruffyd seems a little smitten with Ebrel. Erik Ironshirt wondered when he would be returning to his hall.”
“Aye I know. Kara had noticed it. He is young and she is the first pretty girl who has caught his eye. It will pass. One day she will return to her father.”
“Perhaps or maybe this is the Norns at work again.” My grandson’s words were prophetic.
The summer passed and the harvest proved to be a good one. The new animals were fertile and as winter settled in there were many animals heavy with young. The wider world was hidden from us and were safe in our ring of hills and water. The only news we had was from Thorghest. He sent slaves for his wife and news of victories. He and his ships had begun to carve out a Viking enclave. I had another grandson. Einar Thorghestson was born just after the winter solstice. It was seen as propitious. His mother used to call him Moon Child for the moon was large on the night he was born. It was about that time that she began to yearn to be with her husband in his new land. She was a Viking. My wife could not understand it. She could not see why a woman would wish to be in such danger.
&n
bsp; In Cyninges-tūn the two hostages began to bloom. They both became women not long after Samhain. It was now obvious that Gruffyd was more than smitten by Ebrel and I was amused by his efforts to impress her. None of them worked. I wondered why their father had not sent a messenger to us. Had it been Erika or Myfanwy then I would have raced to rescue them.
I was in Ragnar’s hall in the lee of Whale Island when the ship from Om Walum was seen. I had not been there for the birth of my grandson for there had been a blizzard and the road south from my home had been blocked. I knew from the children and grandchildren I had had before that there would be little to see in the screaming red bundle for the first month or so. They would cry, suck and sleep. So, it was a month after he was born that I first beheld Moon Child. I saw that he had a full head of hair and the widest, bluest eyes I had ever seen. I had just held him for the first time when a sentry shouted, “Sail to the south!”
Winter was not the time for voyages. The seas were savage at that time of year and with such short days it took a hardy or desperate sailor to risk his vessel. Wrapped in my cloak I joined Ragnar on the fighting platform.
“It is no warship.”
I nodded. My grandson’s eyes were far better than mine. His words were reassuring for I was not certain if Klakke Blue Cheek would take my departure with good grace. We had heard nothing of him since the attack on the palace. As the ship neared even I could see that it was a tubby merchant vessel. It was tacking back and forth to gain every breath of the wind to reach us. The entrance to the quay was tricky. Raibeart ap Pasgen liked it for it meant an enemy ship which tried to attack us could not do so quickly. It also meant that we had the opportunity to examine the crew. They were not Saxons and, by their dress, were from Om Walum.
As Ragnar and I descended the steps I said, “It is about time King Mordaf ap Hopkin enquired about his daughters.”
“Will you send them back to their father?”
“Had he sent a messenger sooner then that answer would have been easy. In truth Ragnar, I like the two girls. They have grown into women in the short time they have been with us. Kara and Ylva speak well of them.”
“But what would we gain from keeping them? Have they value?”
“You sound like a moneyer now, Ragnar! It is not about gain. They are linked to us; to me. We have yet to discover what that link is. Until we do then I would keep them close. The Norns threads are tangled. It takes patience as well as time to untangle them. We will wait until we hear what the messenger has to say.”
Four men stepped from the ship. They were unsteady on their feet suggesting that they had been at sea for some time. They had swords and their hair was long and tied back. They were from Om Walum. I had fought against such warriors many years since.
The leader had a black beard flecked with grey. He bowed, “I am Brae ap Carey and I come here from King Mordaf ap Hopkin to speak to the warrior they call the Dragonheart. I am an oathsworn warrior of the king.” He spoke in Saxon. The king had sent a warrior to speak to a warrior.
I nodded, “I am Jarl Dragonheart of the Clan of the Wolf. Come into the hall for the air is biting today.”
He nodded as we walked into the citadel. “Aye it is. We left our home more than a month since. I wondered if we would ever put our feet on land again. I have eaten enough raw fish to last a lifetime.”
I smiled, “And you ran out of water?”
“Had it not been for the rain water we collected then we would have perished. There are few places twixt Om Walum and here where it is safe for a ship to land.”
We were inside the hall and I handed my cloak to a slave, “We know of such places but we are Vikings and we do not fear the unknown.” We sat at a table and his men waited by the door. Astrid led them to another table where they could sit. She was a good hostess. She would be discreet and yet attentive. I turned to Brae ap Carey. “You speak Saxon. Is that a courtesy?”
He smiled, “My mother was a Saxon and we know that the Dragonheart can speak Saxon. We have heard that he challenged King Egbert. That is why King Mordaf ap Hopkin sent me. He knew that I would be able to speak with you.”
The ale had arrived. The slave fetched a heated iron from the fire, “Do you wish your ale heated?”
“I am not accustomed to drinking it thus.”
I nodded and the slave plunged it into the beaker. “In winter, I find it warming.”
We both drank. I saw that he enjoyed his beer. After a month at sea and drinking sea water I could understand the pleasure. “I was curious as to the reason that King Mordaf ap Hopkin waited so long to send you to me.”
The messenger was silent. He drank more. Ragnar said, “I will find my wife and have food brought.” He smiled, “It will not be raw fish.”
Ragnar saw that Brae wished to speak privately. He knew that I would tell him what the messenger said, later on. “So, we are alone and you can now speak or did you travel all this way to taste Viking ale?”
He smiled, “It is good beer but you are right. I wish to speak privately to you. The king, my uncle, feels that his daughters are safer here than at his home. You are a Viking but men speak well of you. We heard how you challenged King Egbert and he fled the field.”
“Yet I have raided your land and taken slaves.”
“We know that too. King Mordaf ap Hopkin would have our land free from the yoke of Wessex. Ebrel is the next in line to the throne of Om Walum. Egbert would have her married to one of his sons. Until a suitor is found then King Mordaf ap Hopkin wishes for his daughters to be kept safe. They are safe are they not?”
“Tomorrow I will take you to see them. You can judge for yourself. So, I am to keep the king’s daughters here in the Land of the Wolf?”
“If you would.” Ragnar and Astrid returned leading some slaves with hot food. Brae’s eyes lit up.
As the food was placed on the table I asked, “And what is our gain from this? Do not get me wrong, the two girls are no trouble but I risk the wrath of King Egbert by keeping them.”
Ragnar looked at me askance and Brae began to laugh, “Jarl Dragonheart from what I have heard of you then you do not fear the wrath of King Egbert.”
I nodded, “True but I am no longer a young man and I have my land and people to think of.”
“King Mordaf ap Hopkin wondered if the men of the Wolf Clan would fight with him against King Egbert.”
“Does he not fear that by inviting the wolf into his home he risks losing it?”
“It is many miles from your home here to Om Walum.”
“Yet kinsmen of mine have sailed further and made new homes. Hrolf the Horseman now has his own land in Frankia. Perhaps we might make a home in Om Walum.”
“Then we would have judged wrongly.”
I turned to Ragnar, “King Mordaf ap Hopkin would have us keep his daughters longer. Tomorrow I shall take this warrior to see them.”
Ragnar said nothing but I saw his face crease into a smile and he touched the dragon he wore about his neck. I knew what he meant by the gesture.
The next day we rode north. The snows had fallen for three weeks but they had now stopped and cold cloudless skies were above us. It was now a frozen land through which we travelled. The clear blue skies and the misting breath spoke of the cold but the snow in the trees and the tops of my mountains made the land appear more beautiful than ever. As we left the forest and viewed the ice-covered Water, Brae ap Carey said, “You would not swap this for my land, Jarl Dragonheart. I can see why they call this the Land of the Wolf. It is savage and it is beautiful. It matches your reputation.”
“From the moment we first came here from Man, we knew that it was the land for us. Yet your own land is not without such beauty.”
“King Egbert does not want it for its beauty. He wants it for that which lies below the ground. He has farms enough in Wessex but he craves metals and jewels.”
We rode through my gates and to my hall. “You will be staying here with me. Uhtric take care of the horses and
see to the needs of this lord’s men.”
“Aye lord.”
I took Brae to Kara’s hall. As I had expected Gruffyd and Einar were there too but when Ebrel and Bronnen saw Brae their faces lit up and my son and his friend were forgotten. The two girls threw their arms around Brae and they began to chatter in their own language.
Aiden came over to me and said quietly, “So the king finally sent an emissary?”
“He did and we are to keep them.” We both spoke quietly.
“So, the Norns again.”
“It would appear so. They wish us to fight alongside them.”
He did not look at me but said, “You will not do so.”
“No. If I was going to aid anyone then it would be Thorghest. Besides there is still the problem of Klakke Blue Cheek. We have heard nothing of him since the raid. I cannot believe that he has disappeared. Where is he and what does he plan?”
Brae turned and smiled at me, “Thank you Jarl Dragonheart. My cousins tell me that they are treated as guests. The king will be relieved.”
“You have told them what is to happen?”
“They are happy here. It means that King Mordaf ap Hopkin can seek allies to fight Wessex. You showed at Carhampton that there is a crack in the armour of Wessex. We had thought him unbeatable. Now we see that he is not. We can fight him.”
There was a change after Brae left to return to Om Walum. The two young women were the change. Kara told me that they became more involved in the house of the women. They were both keen to learn from Kara, Ylva, Deidra and Macha. I also saw a change in my son and his friend. I took them to one side at the start of Gói. “What are your intentions? I thought you served Erik Ironshirt?”
They both had a guilty look on their faces. “It is winter and Erik does not war.”
“And you would rather be here with the princess and her sister?”
“I like her, father. She makes me smile and …”
“Then you have a problem. They are here as my guests and they cannot be violated. King Mordaf ap Hopkin is seeking a suitor for his daughter. That will not be a Viking.” I saw the crestfallen look on his face and I felt badly about doing so but he needed the truth. “When the new grass comes, you must return to Erik. He will be raiding.”