The Thrall (The Viking Hero Series Book 1)

by Njord Kane

  He was suffocating under its weight and couldn't yell out. He needed to wake someone up and get help. He had to get the cat off his chest before it killed him.

  In another desperate attempt, he threw up his legs and tried to force the cat off him. The cat leaned his head down closer to him and hissed the most horrible and eerie hiss he'd ever heard loudly in his face. At that moment, the cat leapt off from his chest as Rowan choked and gasped for air.

  The cat's screech alerted the entire household out of their slumbers. After leaping off Rowan it ran towards the byne and leapt towards the livestock, all of which were all wide eyed and now in panic.

  The ghastly screech the cat made as it ran caused the sheep to charge out of their pen and break through the door in a frenzied attempt to get away for the cat.

  The cows ran to the opposite side of the house, where the goat was already perched from its usual rebellious nightly escape.

  The panic stricken sheep ran screaming outside into the darkness and out of sight with the ghoulish cat in hot pursuit howling demoniacally behind them.

  Everyone in the longhouse quickly rose wide eyed and in a panicked frenzy. Nobody knew what was going on. It was the most frightening and unnerving sound ever made by the animals, sounds never heard before. It was terrifying.

  Bjord sprang from his bed and quickly ran over to grab a torch by the wall. He lit it from the central fire pit and then used it to look around the longhouse. Seeing no threat, but terrified animals, he rushed outside to investigate. He could still hear the sheep screaming as they continued to run in the darkness outside.

  Everyone else, including Rowan, rushed outside behind him. Sven grabbed a torch and lit it from the hearth fire, he also grabbed an ax to arm himself. The fear in his eyes was obvious. He wasn't about to step outside unarmed.

  The sheep were gone. They could still be heard off in the distance madly running up the hill in the darkness. The unnatural howls of the cat chasing behind them could also be heard. It was obviously trying to run them to their deaths.

  "What just happened?!" demanded Bjord as he turned around towards everyone with an angry look on his face.

  Rowan, half afraid to answer and a bit unsure himself of what had just happened answered, "a feral cat. I think."

  "A cat?" inquired Bjord. "Are you kidding me?"

  Rowan nodded and said, "I was sleeping and woke up to a cat sitting on my chest."

  Bjord cocked his head to the side and looked at Rowan oddly.

  Rowan nodded and added, "even stranger was that it got heavier and heavier as it sat on me. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not until it started to take away my breath."

  "It tried to take away your breath?" Bjord asked unbelieving.

  "Yes, from the weight. It kept getting heavier and heavier. It was as if it was trying to crush me. When I tried to get it off me, it got even bigger and heavier until I couldn't move or breathe at all."

  Bjord was starting to get angry at this point, listening to this nonsense.

  Rowan, still trying to convince him added, "I managed to roll to my side a little and that was when it hissed, jumped off me and then chased after the sheep."

  Everyone looked at Rowan bewildered.

  This is when Grandmother Helga spoke up and said, "that was no cat. That was a draug." She had been standing behind everyone, looking from the doorway.

  "A draug? What's a draug if I dare ask." asked Bjord in an almost mocking tone.

  "Yes a draug, a dead walker." she replied back with a scornful tone. "It's a person that has risen from the dead and now walks the Earth cursed by its own obsessions or hatred."

  "Oh yes, I remember my grandfather telling stories about dead walkers. But he also spoke of many other unseen beings in the forests and mountains from the myths of old, such as trolls and elves too. Nobody's ever seen such a thing and I don't mean any disrespect, but Grandfather also used to run outside naked flapping his arms squeaking like a bird." Bjord said with a laugh, referring to when his grandfather began to become a bit 'touched' in the head the last years before he died.

  Helga just looked at him with contempt for his mocking. She threw her arms up as she turned around and went back inside.

  "I suspect that it will run the sheep to their deaths. That's what the ancient legends say they do. It's fortunate that the cows ran in the opposite direction and didn't run with the sheep, otherwise they'd be lost too," she added as she disappeared inside.

  Bjord angrily responded, "I'm not going to lose my sheep to a damned feral cat. Dead walkers are nothing but superstition."

  He turned towards the boys and said, "Rowan! Fetch my ax and grab some torches. We're going to get those sheep back."

  Rowan immediately jumped into action upon Bjord's command. He ran inside and grabbed Bjord's battle ax that hung near the blacksmith's favorite place to sit. He briefly looked at Bjord's shield that hung next to it and pondered whether or not to grab it as well, but decided against it. He scrambled to grab an armful of unlit torches and ran back outside with his bundle, handing the ax to Bjord.

  Bjord turned towards his son Sven, "Boy! Grab some rope in case we need to tether any of the sheep to bring them back."

  Sven ran inside to gather some rope as Rowan busied himself binding the extra torches together with some twine. He then improvised a strap and slung the bundle of torches across his back.

  Sven and Rowan shared a look when he came back outside with the rope and tossed it on the ground in front of Rowan. Rowan knew how lazy Sven could be and without changing beat, picked up the rope and slung the rope over his shoulder.

  Meanwhile, Bjord was standing at the edge of the treeline where the sheep had ran, staring into the darkness while contemplating whether or not to try to find them in the dark or not.

  Sven and Rowan quickly joined him and quietly stood behind him waiting for instruction.

  After a few moments, Bjord still holding the torch in the air while looking into the darkness said, "we're not going to find them in the dark. We will have wait until the morning when we have sunlight."

  He turned around and looked at Sven, then at Rowan and then back at Sven again before saying, "let's get some sleep and go after them in the morning."

  Chapter 4 - The Mound

  The morning came fast, with little sleep for the blacksmith's still shaken household. The events just hours ago had left everyone sleeping with one eye opened and their ears perked for even the slightest sound. Nobody was granted a restful sleep.

  Rowan couldn't find it within himself to sleep lying on his back for fear of the thing coming back and trying to seat itself on his chest again.

  Perhaps this time it would be successful and end him before he'd be able to wake up in time. This time he slept, or rather attempted to sleep on his side to prevent anything from resting on his chest.

  When the light shined through the doorway and announced daybreak had come, Rowan was relieved. He was tired, but glad to have made it through the rest of the night.

  He knew he'd better not dawdle in his daily tasks, so he got up and went to the byre area to milk the cows. Being mindful not to disturb anyone, he fetched the milking bucket and noticed that the goat was on the other end of the house standing on the anvil looking back at him.

  Obliviously, Grumpy didn't get any sleep as well and had kept a vigilance throughout the rest of the night perched up on the anvil stone.

  Rowan smiled thinking, "don't worry goat, I didn't get any sleep either."

  He slowly positioned himself around the cow, being mindful that it may still be a bit skittish from last night. After a moment of reassuring the cow and feeling that it was calm enough, he reached down to began milking her. Just before he got the first drop, Rowan noticed something in the milking bucket.

  It was something wrapped in a piece of cloth. Rowan reached down in the bucket and picked it up. It was a piece of Helga's scarf. He unwrapped it and found one of her honey biscuits. Rowan smiled.

  He
quickly wrapped it back up and stuffed it in his shirt.

  The milking had to be done first thing in the morning. Gwenda wanted to make as much cheese as possible before the cows started to slow their milk giving at the end of the season. The milk would have to set out and curd. He began steadily milking the cow.

  A sudden voice came from behind Rowan, startling him and made him slightly jump. The cow he was milking was also spooked and mooed in protest while taking a step sideways.

  It was Bjord. Rowan didn't hear him get up while he was busying himself with the milking.

  "Forget the milking today and let Thelsa finish doing it."

  Rowan looked up at Bjord and nodded. He then stood up and hung the milking bucket on a hook that was on a support beam so the cows wouldn't kick it over.

  "Thelsa! Get up!" Bjord barked, loud enough to stir everyone in the house out of their peaceful slumber. "Finish the milking!"

  Thelsa, still dazed in the drink of sleep, rubbed the tiredness from her eyes and started to get out of bed.

  "That's the thrall's job..."

  "Do what I tell you lazy girl!" scorned Bjord cutting her off before she could finish protesting.

  He turned back towards Rowan and said, "gather several fathoms of rope, enough to tether each of the sheep if we need to."

  As he gave Rowan these instructions, he walked by Sven's bed and kicked him on the bottom of his feet. "Get up boy, it's time to fetch those sheep."

  "Make sure you grab your bow," he further instructed his son as he gathered supplies himself, stuffing them into a leather shoulder strap bag.

  Gwenda got up and headed towards the cooking fire. "Do you want me to cook you anything before you go?"

  "No, I'll just grab some dried meat to take with us. I don't think we'll be gone very long."

  Bjord walked over to where Gwenda was standing and grabbed some dried meat that was hanging next to her. He cut off several chunks and stuffed them into his shoulder pack.

  "Those sheep couldn't have ran off very far," he said with one final word before embracing his wife and then turning to head out the door.

  "Come on boys, I want to get this over with. We have lots to do when we get back. There's really no time to be messing around looking for skittish sheep."

  The three of them, Bjord, Sven and Rowan, exited the longhouse and set out in the direction the sheep had ran off last night. They followed the livestock's trail left behind as it led across the field and into the woods. Heading directly up the hillside.

  Rowan didn't like the idea of going into the forest up the hillside. He had a bad feeling about it. The sheep were always too skittish to even get close to the wood line. It was just something they'd never do for fear of predators ambushing them. They always wandered in the other direction and steered way clear of the woods when they grazed. It was a bit odd that they'd intentionally run into the woods. Albeit, they were being chased by something horrifying.

  Rowan shook these thoughts off. Such worrying thoughts were meaningless. There wasn't anything that happened last night that made any sense. So why should the sheep running in the woods make any sense.

  After awhile, the trail began to lead into the thicker trees and brush of the forest that went up the mountainside. This area was seldom, if at all, ever ventured into by anyone from the village. Superstitious or not, nobody wanted to chance venturing too far into the wilderness and never being heard from again.

  Ahead of them, Bjord noticed something whitish in color in the bushes. He stopped in his tracks trying to see what it was. Sven, not really paying any attention, kept walking. Without looking away from whatever was in the bushes ahead, Bjord reached his arm out and caught Sven by the shoulder as he walked past him, stopping him.

  "Look," he said to Sven, pointing at the bushes ahead of them. "There's something in that bush."

  Sven looked around for a moment, but didn't see anything. Then he noticed it and gasped.

  "Go see what it is."

  With a gulp, Sven looked back at his father horrified. But before he could answer, Bjord stepped forward to look himself. "Never mind boy."

  Sven cautiously stood behind Bjord to get a better look at what it was.

  It was one of the sheep.

  "That's one of them, " Sven confirmed as he looked over his father's shoulder. "It's been freshly shorn and its wearing one of our collars."

  All the livestock that belonged to the blacksmith's house wore a leather collar that had a single iron ring hanging from it inscribed with the word, "Bjord" to mark his ownership of them.

  Even Rowan's neck collar was inscribed similarly with the word, 'Bjord.' Except instead of leather, Rowan's collar was made from iron.

  "You could tell it ran itself to death, its eyes are still wide open from fear." Bjord pointed out while still looking at it.

  Rowan said nothing regarding it and just stood there looking around. This place made him feel uneasy. Something about these woods just wasn't right and he knew it. He knew not how, but he just knew they should not be here. The sheep weren't worth whatever awaited them.

  Sven looked at Bjord for a moment and then said, "I'm hungry, can we stop and eat?"

  Bjord turned around and looked at him for a moment. He was just about to say something, but then dropped his shoulders and softened up.

  "Yes, we should rest a moment and grab a bite to eat. There is no sense continuing on with an empty stomach."

  Bjord removed his shoulder bag and sat on the ground with his back to a tree. Sven and Rowan sat down next to him as he reached into his bag and pulled out a thick slice of meat. It was a slice from a haunch of smoked boar.

  He broke the chunk of meat in two and handed the smaller half to Sven, keeping the larger for himself. Rowan wasn't given anything to eat and just sat there awkwardly waiting for them to finish.

  After about twenty minutes or so, Bjord satisfied he'd eaten and rested enough, put the remainder of his chunk of meat in his bag and stood up. He wiped his hands on his pants and dusted off.

  Rowan taking the hint, stood up as well and adjusted the rope he was carrying over his shoulder.

  Bjord looked down at Sven. He was still eating and ignoring everyone.

  "Come on boy, you can eat that as we go. We haven't got all day."

  Without waiting for him to get up, Bjord turned and began walking through the woods, following the trail the sheep had made. Rowan followed behind him, taking a final look at the dead sheep on the ground.

  Sven got up and followed, taking a few more bites off his chunk of meat before deciding he had enough and tossed it into the bushes. Rowan heard him throw it and heard it hit the ground as his stomach slightly grumbled. He didn't give Sven the satisfaction of looking, he was quite used to this kind of treatment. Besides, tucked under his shirt, wrapped in a piece of cloth was one of Helga's honey biscuits. He'll enjoy that himself later.

  As a thrall, he wasn't mistreated in general or even abused. He knew he was fortunate to be owned by the blacksmith as he'd seen how other thralls were treated by other owners. Many of them abused and quite often beaten. Rowan had never been beaten and even though he had no intention of running away, he still had to wear the neck ring. There were just times like this when his status, for some unknown reason, was made clear.

  Bjord motioned forward and said, "come on, we've got to find the others."

  They continued to follow the trail left behind by the running sheep pack. Sven and Rowan followed behind Bjord as he tracked their way up the mountain. The route was gradually starting to incline steeper as they went further.

  The men were starting to sweat and Bjord stopped and sat down on a rock to rest. The younger two sat down on the ground near him. It was then that Rowan noticed that something just wasn't right around them.

  The forest was just simply too quiet.

  The usual sounds of wildlife and birds were missing. There was an unsettling stillness in the forest. The only thing that could be heard were the occasional so
unds of leaves rustling when the wind blew, but that was all. It was too quiet.

  "Do you hear that?" Rowan asked nobody in particular.

  Bjord listened for a minute and said, "what? I don't hear anything."

  Sven, who had also listened, nodded in agreement. He didn't hear anything either.

  "Exactly. There's no sound, not even the birds are chirping." Rowan pointed out.

  Sven began to look openly worried, but Bjord shrugged, stood up and said, "come on, we've got to find those sheep."

  They continued up following the trail until they came upon another dead sheep lying on the ground halfway in a bush. It was like the first one, you could tell it ran itself to death in total fear. Sven shuddered at the sight of it.

  "Rowan, pull that sheep out of the bushes." Bjord said. "I want to be able to find it on our way back. I am sure we can salvage some of the meat from it."

  Rowan did as he was told and pulled the sheep out of the bush it had fallen into when it died. Sven stood back and watched, offering no assistance. Not that Rowan expected any help, he was used to Sven idly watching him. It just amused him how Sven seemed to be afraid of it.

  After Rowan had the sheep pulled away from the bush Bjord turned and continued walking up the hillside. There was still a visible track and he followed the remaining trail up the hill.

  "Keep moving, there's still four sheep that may still be alive. That is, if the wolves don't find them before we do."

  As they proceeded further up the hillside, ever determined, the trees and brush began to get even thicker. Even though it was only mid day, the density of the foliage was starting to make it darker and darker around them.

  Pushing their way through the brush, they suddenly were overwhelmed by the most horrendous smell of rotten decay.

  It seemed to be thick in the air and clung on everything like a thick invisible fog. It permeated the air as if it had been there for quite awhile.