by Griff Hosker
I almost ran into Ulf Big Nose. His hand came out to stop me and he pointed. I could see that there was no wooden wall. The huts were unprotected. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I saw that animals were moving in the pens where they had been placed. A solitary man stood on guard. Ulf pointed to Ketil and Knut and then the man. He drew his hand across his throat. They nodded and, with swords drawn, headed off. Ulf wasted no time and he led Rurik and me forward. Our task was to get to the far side of the village as quickly as we could.
We were half way through when the dog barked. A man came out of the hut next to me. He had a sword drawn and he swung it at me. It was a blind reactive strike. I was fortunate in having quick reactions. My blade came up and knocked his poor blade away. I swung my shield so that the edge of it smacked him in the mouth. He tumbled to the ground. A woman screamed within. Rurik and I stepped over the man's unconscious form. I saw, in the corner, a woman and her two children. They were cowering. I knew enough of their language to tell them to move. She shook her head. Rurik just grabbed the woman and hauled her out. The two children clung to her hands. It was an effective way to move them.
As we emerged into the village I said, "I will help Ulf!"
I ran towards the sounds of fighting ahead of me. Four men with farm implements were trying to attack Ulf. The fact that there were four of them made it harder for him to fend them off. They may have only had scythes, billhooks and wood axes but they could all inflict serious wounds. Even as I approached he managed to knock one to the ground with his shield but an axe caught him a blow to the side of his head. As he stumbled the villager with the bill shouted in triumph as he pulled back his billhook to slay our scout. I plunged my sword into his back as I hit the man with the axe on the back of the head. The scythe swung viciously towards me and I barely had time to get out of the way. A stunned Ulf managed to hack his sword down the man's back.
The two whom we had both struck and stunned crawled and rolled into the dark. "Thank you Hrolf. Give me a warrior any time. You know what a warrior will do. These farmers do not know how to fight! Let us wait here. There are no more huts beyond us. I need a moment to clear my head."
I gestured to the dead men. "There are at least four dead men in the village. They fought well for their women."
He gave me a shrewd look, "And you think we are wrong."
"It does not seem right."
"It is the Allfather's way. A man should protect his family, his clan and his land. He should also protect himself." He pushed one of the bodies with his boot. "These were brave but they wear no armour and they do not have swords. We will take their women and we will look after them. We will even protect their children and those who are born of these women to us will be Vikings. They will be stronger. You cannot change the world, Hrolf. There are wolves and there are sheep. We are the wolves."
Ketil ran up to us. I saw that his face was spattered with blood. From his grin I suspected that it was not his own. "The Jarl says we are done. The men are dead or fled and the women and animals are being herded towards the drekar. He wants to raid the church too."
As we wandered through the body strewn village I asked Ulf. "Is it wise to raid the church? We have what we came for."
"He is the jarl and we swore an oath. If it is the wrong decision we will chastise him in the Otherworld."
I was not certain I was happy about that. I had much to do in my life. However the jarl's decisions whilst sometimes flawed had not yet resulted in disaster. I had to hope that we still amused the Weird Sisters. In the end we had no problems. We emptied the wooden church and took the few precious objects it contained.
The drekar was not as crowded as I had thought it would be. We had twelve women and eight children. Arne Four Toes told me, as we sailed down the fjord, that some children had run off. Twelve women would do. I noticed that all were young. Some were barely older than I was. The animals were penned with them. There was a ram and two ewes, a goat and a handful of chickens and geese. I knew that the animals would make a noise and awaken the second church. I wondered if that would deter the Jarl from attacking.
When we pulled in to the shore I knew that we would be attacking. "Siggi, take the front four oars. You are the best of my men. Climb the hill and surprise the church. We will anchor below in the small bay and I will bring twelve more to help you." He pointed to the geese which were honking. "They would wake the dead."
Siggi snorted, "Not if their necks are wrung!"
"They will give us food and that we need!"
"Come on you wastrels! Let us be about our business." Siggi wasted no time in getting us ashore.
We slipped over the side and by the time we had reached the land the drekar was slipping down the fjord. As we looked up we could see the outline of the church or the cross atop the wooden tower at least. We drew our swords and made our way up. The sun would soon be up and I guessed that some of those who lived by the church would be up already. Although too early for planting men would work the soil at this time of year. We moved silently. The Jarl had been right, we were the best eight men on the drekar. Seven were from the original crew and Rurik One Ear had more than proved himself a good warrior who could be relied upon. As we paused to get our bearings I heard the sound of the geese in the distance. Would it disturb those on the land? We could do nothing about it.
As we moved on, following Ulf, Siggi and Arne, I heard a dog bark. We stopped and waited for the shout of alarm. There was none. We moved on again and I smelled smoke and I smelled animals. There was a pen of some description ahead. We moved beyond the animals towards the church. Siggi waved to Ulf Squint Eye and Harald Fast Sailing. They would take care of the animals. I saw a chink of light at the door of the wooden church. There was someone in the church. Siggi strode straight towards it. His boot kicked it open and he stepped in. There was a scream as someone's life was ended. All need for secrecy was gone. I followed Arne and Ulf Big Nose who ran beyond the church to the houses.
Once again it was villagers who raced out to meet us. They were half asleep and half dressed. They had grabbed whatever weapons they had. The difference this time was that when they saw us they turned and grabbed their families to flee. We were the Northmen; we were the wolves of the sea and their lives were more valuable than what they had in their huts.
"Search the huts in case they have left anything."
I took the nearest hut. It appeared to be empty and then I glanced in the corner and saw something move. I approached. It was a pair of pups. I put my hand down and clicked, as I did with Dream Strider. One growled and then ran off between my legs. The other stood its ground. It bared its teeth. I liked that. It was not afraid of me. My hand flicked out and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. "Come you shall have a home on our island! We need a dog!" As I stuffed it inside my tunic it nipped me. I laughed, "Good! You have spirit."
Once I left the hut I saw Siggi and the others. They had books, linens, candles, candlesticks and metal plates. The others drove the animals. We followed the track down to the sea. To our left the first rays of the new day were visible. We had barely gone ten steps when we met the Jarl and the rest of the men.
"No slaves, lord, but holy books and animals."
"Good. Let us go home!"
By the time we had safely placed the animals on the drekar dawn had truly broken and we could see the huge water before us. I could see that Karl the Red had given us good advice. On the opposite side of the water lay a burgh. We would have faced serious opposition there. We took off our helmets and swords and settled down to row. We had gone barely a mile when the puppy stuck his head out from my tunic and yapped.
Siggi White Hair almost jumped off his chest in surprise, "What in the name of the Allfather...?"
"I have a dog. I thought we needed one on the island. It can warn us of enemies."
Siggi laughed, "Not yet a dog! It is barely whelped. What is his name?"
"I have only just got him. How can I have a name for him? I do not yet kno
w what he is like."
Siggi put his hand out to stroke him and was rewarded with a nip from the puppy's razor sharp teeth. Siggi laughed, "He nips well enough!"
"Then I have his name. Nipper!" When the puppy gave a high pitched bark we all laughed. It was wyrd.
The women keened and moaned all the way home. Two tried to throw themselves over the side with their children but Knut and Ketil stopped them. We had to use half the men to watch rather than to row. It made our journey home longer than it should have. Siggi was not happy and neither was Sven. After the second woman tried to throw herself over Siggi roared, ranted and raved at them. They pushed themselves as far towards the raven prow as they could go. After that one look from Siggi made them quail.
The 'Sea Serpent' still patrolled the southern harbour and we knew our home was safe. Unloading was not the easiest of tasks. As soon as they were landed the women and children tried to flee. It was an island! They were soon caught. Siggi had had more than enough. He had a halter placed around each of the women's necks and they were led up to the hall. While we had been away Gunnstein Thorfinnson and his men had built a slave hall. It was similar to our hall but smaller and with but one door. The bar was on the outside. Until they learned to be compliant they would be locked away each night. I used some of the rope to make a halter for Nipper. I did not mind him running off but I doubted that he would be able to fend for himself yet. I would feed him awhile and after a few days let him off the rope so that he could wander the island.
Erik had brought Dream Strider down to the beach. He nuzzled my face when I approached him. Nipper barked and Dream Strider looked down on the golden brown creature. "I hope you two get along!"
It was dusk by the time we had taken everything to the hall. Food was ready and we ate first. When we had eaten we gave food to the slaves. Language was a problem as they spoke their own dialect which was more like Breton than Saxon. For that reason I was called upon again. Using a mixture of Saxon and Frank I told them that this would be their new home and that some would be chosen to be the women of warriors while the others and the children would be fed in return for labour. They wailed once more until Siggi growled.
Anya appeared and shook her head, "Siggi White Hair you might be a fine warrior but you have not got the sense of a chicken without a head! These are not warriors. They are women taken from their homes and they are terrified. Hrolf, speak to them gently and smile when you do so." She gave a broad smile so that I could see what she meant. "You are not as frightening as the rest when you smile."
Ketil could not resist shouting, "Watch out Bagsecg, your wife finds Hrolf attractive."
She whipped around and retorted, "And I can see by the scratch marks on your face how attractive you are to women. They should call you Ketil Foul Fart!"
He quailed before her. She was the size of a mouse but she roared like a wolf!
I spoke again and I smiled as I did so, "You will not be harmed and any man who takes you will make you his bride." I pointed to the beads and jewels some of the warriors wore. "See they are rich men."
One, bolder than the rest said, "And what of you, young warrior? Are you one who will be choosing a bride?"
I coloured and spluttered, "I am not yet ready to take a bride."
For some reason that put the women at their ease they laughed and then they began to smile and to chatter. They went into their hall without fuss.
Anya turned on Siggi and Ketil, triumphantly, "That is how you deal with women." She pointed at me, "If they had a choice then they would choose Hrolf! Think on that!"
Arne Four Toes nodded and said, "You have a way with animals, Hrolf the Horseman: horses, dogs, women!"
Everyone burst out laughing. The Jarl put his arm around my shoulder. "I am happy, Hrolf. You have skills others do not. I am pleased the Weird Sisters sent you my way."
The spring storms burst upon us the next morning. Rain pelted down and was mixed with hailstones. When it let up at noon everyone left their halls to get some fresh air. The slaves stood looking expectantly at the Jarl. He came over to me, "Tell them that I expect them to prepare the food. Show them where the store is and what we would like to eat."
Already I was sick of this. I had hoped I would be able to ride Dream Strider but that was not meant to be. The sooner they learned to speak our language the better. I decided to employ Erik. Like me he had languages and if he would speak with them then life would be easier for me.
"Erik, come with me. We will start to teach them our language." I walked over to the women and told them what the Jarl has said. I introduced Erik to them and then said, " Both Erik and I have been thralls. We are now free." I pointed to the warriors who were standing around and talking about the raid with the crew of 'Sea Serpent'. "There lies freedom. They want wives and if you are a wife then you are not a thrall."
The one who had flirted with me the night before smiled and said, "You are no fool, Viking. It is a pity that you do not wish a wife for it would not be unpleasant to be your bride. Very well. We can see that we are on an island and have nowhere to run. You slew my husband at Lannfyek so I am a widow."
"Good, it will be better if you learn our language. Erik and I will try to teach you words. Come we will go to the store hall."
Dream Strider was in his stall and Nipper was tied up next to him. As the women and children began to ascend to the food I fussed both the dog and the horse. An older woman said, "You are not what I expected from a Viking, master. You appear almost kind and yet you slew our men last night."
I shrugged, "It is who we are. We cannot change our destinies can we?"
I reached the top of the ladder and she said, "Can we worship here?"
"The White Christ?" She nodded. "Aye but do not try to make the men Christian for they will beat you. It would be better if you did so privately but we will not take your crosses from you. So long as you do the work you are required to do worship whomsoever you wish."
I noticed that the more I spoke with them the easier it was to understand their dialect. This would not be as hard as I thought. I went through the food they were to cook and I gave it the Norse name. I also told them how we liked it to be cooked..
"Now, is there an alewife amongst you?"
A short dumpy woman, the oldest of the slaves stepped forward. She said, "Aye. I can brew."
"Good then you do not need to prepare the food. We have a hut to make ale. Erik, take charge. You, what is your name?"
"Brigid."
"Then, Brigid, I think that you will find many of our men who wish to be your husband. You will have the pick of the pack!"
I think she was secretly pleased. Whilst the plainest of the women she had a skill which would make her as beautiful as a goddess to some men. By the time we had eaten the food that night, all thought of escape and all tears ceased. They were resigned to their fate and I knew that the women would be treated well. At least here they would be protected.
We had a week in which the women settled into their new lives before we set off again. The Jarl's brother was envious of our success and he and his small crew were keen to raid. I think the Jarl worried about his little brother for he said that we would all raid. He chose the small port at the mouth of the Liger. It was close enough for us to be there in hours rather than days and he knew that our neighbours, the Bretons, were at war with them. We would take advantage of their isolation. Unlike Lannfyek in Corn Walum this one had a citadel. The Romans had left a fort here. It was like the one at St. Cybi. Rising above the port it gave the inhabitants somewhere to which they could run.
Siggi returned from the counsel of war and sat with us. "We sail tonight. The Jarl has decided that we will leave ten men here to guard the women and the island."
Arne Four Toes said, "I do not think we need leave that many. The women are settled."
I saw Knut and Ketil look at each other. Everyone knew that despite what had been said about Ketil some of the women found him attractive. The two brothers had foun
d many opportunities to be close to the women. They would take wives soon.
Siggi shrugged, "He is Jarl and besides he wants his little brother to be equal. It is Gunnstein who will lead the raid. We take no slaves. The Jarl says we will raid Hibernia for slaves. If we take them from here they are close to home and their men might come for them."
Harald Fast Sailing nodded, "The Jarl is using his head. Besides treasure is easier to manage than slaves and brings greater rewards."
I did not think that the Eriksson brothers would think so.
I visited with Bagsecg, "Is the mail ready? We raid tomorrow."
Bagsecg pointed to the blank swords next to him. "It will be some months before it is ready, Hrolf. None of the boy slaves is big enough to help me. The next time you raid see if you can find someone who could learn to use the bellows."
I nodded. I was disappointed but it was not the blacksmith's fault. He had been brought to make weapons not to be my armourer. I would have to wait. I went to the wheel and put an edge on my three weapons. I examined my mail vest. It had not been the best when I had taken it from the Saxon but the blows it had taken had damaged some of the links. I had been fortunate so far. If I fought someone with a good sword then the vest might not survive. So long as it took one blow that would be enough.
I rode Dream Strider in the afternoon. Nipper was now trained well enough to be allowed to run free. He slept in the stables with Dream Strider and the two of them had become unlikely companions. My dog still lived up to his name. He growled at any who approached. Siggi liked that. He did not want a watch dog to pet. He wanted a watch dog who barked. As we galloped across the island I noticed that Nipper had grown. He was filling out. As well as the scraps I fed him from the table he had proved himself to be a good ratter. That was also good for our store was safer now. I reached the west end of the island and turned around to canter back. This was a good island. We had barely used all the land that was available to us. There were still many trees despite our building and ship repairs. The drawback was the water. There was just one spring. It had sufficed so far but if we had a hot summer then who knew.