My face broke into a mask tearful grief, my hands shook in shame, and they looked at me in wonder, having expected vehement, fearful denial. My grieving eyes took in Bark. 'It is true. I did betray my great uncle and grandfather, and I do not wish to hide behind their crimes towards my family. And my father? I did betray him, too, by coming here, by plotting for his demise, and there I shall not hide behind his lies and coldness. I should confront my enemies directly, but have not done so. It is my shame, and one I must endure. Was I always like this?'
'Likely,' Melheim spat in disgust.
'No,' I answered. 'I was no different from anyone. I was brave and stubborn, and my soul was hammered of honor. Yet, I changed, my hopes dashed, and my honor ripped from me.'
'How?' Burlein asked, patting my back in consolation.
'I am here to make a new start, for they made me a killer. They made me an honorless poisoner, for I was at the Flowery Meadows. I admit it.'
Bark hissed. 'We know. I saw that accursed club. That is why you will die here. We do not need such a man, an evildoer and cursed man. Slayer of the priests.'
Melheim was stared at Bark thoughtfully. He would be ready to cut me down. Isfried nodded and spoke, 'Bark is right. You are a dangerous man, a traitor and a merciless killer, no matter what I agreed with Armin.'
I shook my head at Wandal, who had started to get up. 'I did not become one out of choice. I am here for the hate I have for people who act like Romans, and who fooled me into their filthy fold.'
Bark laughed dryly. 'You can stop lying …'
I gave Bark the club of the dreaded statue. 'I broke this to keep safe from my own father. I blackmailed him for my very life. He is no father to me, and I did not trust him after they fooled me with the poison. It was Odo who told me to pour apparently innocent, yet ultimately deadly and vile, liquid in their drink, and it was Maroboodus who told me to obey them. Thus, I give it to you, Bark. You can use it; summon the nations to witness his perfidy. But you need me to testify to this. It is my atonement.'
Melheim snorted. 'Cowardice.'
'Say that again, pig lover,' I told him evenly, 'and I will show you how I beat Manno.'
'You beat Manno?' Isfried asked in surprise, nearly choking on mead.
'He tried to kill me before Father,' I said with a grin. 'I left him alive, so Father could speak with him. He did. For a long time.'
They stared at me unsteadily, shaken by my words, and I spat in anger as I grabbed my mug and drank deeply, trying to appear anything but a drowning man.
Bark laughed. 'The club is enough, Hraban, for many believe me. Why would they not, for it is the truth, after all.' His eyes glittered as he regarded me. 'Some of the vitka,' Bark hissed, fondling the club, 'died of swords.'
I took a deep breath. 'I did some of that. I see nightmares of the women I killed. But I did not kill Wulf. He ran, and I did not chase him. It was the bounty hunter, Hands, hired by my father, who speared him as he ran. I tried to let Wulf go, for he and I had a long history.' I sat there as Bark removed the statue of Hercules from his belt, thinking as he fit the club to the handle. 'Wulf died by a thrown spear. It was quick, Lord,' I said, and the shame I had harbored over my deeds was brimming over, and the tears that came were real, though they did not know it.
Bark nodded, looking down. 'Quick? He did not suffer?'
'No, Lord,' I said. Bark went to crouch next to the fireplace, holding the statue. Men gave him room.
Isfried stirred. He pulled me close to him. 'Bark is both a liability and an insurance for me. Without him, I could see if your father is honest about Gunhild. Without him, I might be dead. So, Hraban, tell me. Did Bero really betray me, or was I fooled by your father?'
I shrugged. 'I know Bero and Balderich took payments from a Roman for the deaths of my family. If that is true, perhaps Bero did betray all of us. But Maroboodus is no better.'
Isfried laughed as he pushed me further. 'If he intends to marry Gunhild, he knows I will go to war with him. Well, it is inevitable anyway. I would have fair Gunhild and his bloated head, but what of you?' I do not see the benefit of having you around. Armin's plan either works or does not work. If it does, I will rule supreme. If your father survives this mad plan, then we will make patient war, and the future is up to our spears. Bark will have tools to hurt him. The club will help, yes, and many will break away from your father. It will be interesting. But men do not respect you, Hraban. They do not care for your sodden stories about getting your honor back, nor do they care if you were duped. They will see you a bastard at my side. So what do I need you for?'
'If Gunhild dies,' I said slowly, shifting my eyes to Melheim who was now standing up with his axe at his side, 'you will need Aristovistus's blood in your family still.'
He nodded, sobered at the thought. He mulled it over, grinding his molars together. Finally, he smiled. 'Gernot, your brother, he seems easier to handle than you. I take him, and put him into bed with a docile, fertile girl. See? There will be a child eventually, and I will marry the hapless child to a useful relative of mine, and so on. It will be like planting wheat. Balderich, if he survives, will die one day soon of old age, but Gernot is there to serve my needs until he is no longer needed. His reputation as an ass-licker is not something I will endure either, but I suppose his cock works, and it will work to benefit me. What is your benefit?'
Burlein laughed. 'It is true, Hraban, that you will be a father as well? I heard a rumor that you have made a girl pregnant, and you are not married?'
Isfried looked at me disdainfully. 'Not a wife?' I shook my head and heard Wandal groan. Isfried sniffled. 'There, you see. You would hinder me more than aid me. And perhaps, Hraban, I can take the baby this Ishild carries and have your blood in my family?'
I got up slowly. Melheim grinned as he stepped towards me. Wandal was up as well, but Bark held his hand out. 'Stop.'
'You are a guest here, Bark,' Isfried said dryly though he stared at the old vitka. 'Melheim, remove him.' Melheim lifted his axe, Isfried’s hand was up, ready to give the sign for the axe to come at me, and I would have died there, without Felix.
The boy threw a mug at Melheim, who turned in confusion. All went silent. The brave Felix was shaking as he addressed Isfried with a shrill voice. 'You should thank Hraban. He is here so Gunhild could find a better man than Maroboodus. He raped Gunhild, they say, after the poor woman tried to escape him. She tried to come here, to beg for a sanctuary. No chance of success, no. He is brutal. She will be pregnant soon, if she can ever be, for so many times he has mauled her. She cries for you name, Lord Isfried, when Maroboodus takes her. We all have heard this at night, in Bero's old hall, which is a house of nightmares for her. Hraban wishes you to free her, he plans and plots in your favor, wishes to redeem himself, wishes to rescue his relative to safety. And you threaten him with death?'
Isfried's hand faltered. Anger wracked him, but now anger towards Maroboodus, not me. Isfried genuinely loved Gunhild, despite his coarseness. The man stood up and walked out, looking like an irate boar, and I felt sorry for any hapless fool who happened in his way. I pointedly ignored Melheim and sat down. With the utmost coolness, I asked a servant to bring me a heap of food.
Bark fingered the statue. He pointed a narrow digit at me. 'He will come back, give you a sanctuary, and you will tell him, where and how to kill your father. Tear and Odo? Are they to be there when Isfried rides to ambush your father? And you did not tell me: did you give her to them? The small girl they sought? The one the prophecy speaks of? Veleda.'
Do you know the prophecy?' I asked him.
'I know little. Shayla the druid, she knows it all, and we have spoken, for the holy men and women have no tribes,' he told me evenly. 'Did you, or did you not …'
'I did not. She is safe, I hope. I let her go. As for Tear and Odo, I do not know,' I told him. 'Bero is feeding them with … answers. They want me. I do not wish their company.'
He smiled. 'I thank you for telling me about Wulf, my brothe
r. I will help you. You will come to me in the early morning. Despite Isfried's confidence in my ability to break chiefs away from Maroboodus, I indeed do need you and the club, both. If Maroboodus survives, I am not done with you, and we will raise the Marcomanni, and you will be the victim of your father, and men will forgive you, if I so ask them,' Bark said magnanimously, and I resented his tone. He continued, 'By the rock, up there. White rock. When the sun is up. A man will fetch you. I have to have words with you in private.'
'I thank you for trying to stop Isfried just now,' I said gratefully.
He smiled. 'Indeed. I do not want him to kill you.' I nodded as he left, his tarred beard dangling back and forth.
Melheim shrugged at Burlein, who put a hand on my shoulder. 'Well, our new brother. You will have sanctuary here as he said. If Gunhild is beyond us …'
Melheim interrupted his brother. 'Gunhild is a dish I would love to taste. Eh? I envy Isfried.'
I nodded, hiding my disgust.
Burlein took out tesserae, bone dice, and forced me to gamble with him. He lost miserably, and many times, I won gloriously, though what I won, I was not sure as we were getting very drunk. Then, finally, Isfried came back in. His family hailed him as he resolutely walked for us, and he took a mug of mead from a wench. He pulled me up, took me aside. 'Why did you come here?' he asked calmly. 'And do not tell me you plan to stay. You know you cannot, with your reputation. I thank you for your care of Gunhild and helping us with the monster ruling Hard Hill, but what do you wish for when all is over?'
'I have a woman, he is holding her, and I want her and the baby. Then, I will go,' I told him smoothly.
He nodded sagely. 'If Balderich and Gunhild die, and so does Gernot, I will keep the baby. You willing to take the risk?'
'Only if I am there to fight so it would not come to pass,' I told him angrily, and he nodded.
'Gunhild. Did she truly try to come here?' he asked, with bright tears in his eyes.
I nodded and lied. 'She got to the harbor, and tried to enlist the Sigambri to row her here. Varnis took coin from my father rather. She did not make it.'
'Curse him, by Woden. How many men does he have waiting for Bark at the Flowery Meadow?' he asked me.
'Some twenty, his great riders. Perhaps Tear and Odo,' I told him.
'Is Balderich alive?' His eyes were glittering.
'Yes, he is alive. Someone to rescue, eh?' I said.
'Indeed. Many people to save. I want Balderich, too, though. He knows where Bero's treasure is hidden. Your father never found it, you know this? I will want that. You will get a fair share if he talks. So, we will work together after all, as Armin hoped. But I will want an oath.'
'Yes, Lord,' I said, miserable.
He raised his strong arms and yelled to the hundred men seated in the hall. 'Hear this, my friends. Hraban the Marcomanni, son of Maroboodus, of the holy blood of Aristovistus will swear loyalty to me, for his damned father has betrayed him as well as us.' My face went white as hundreds of eyes turned my way. Isfried hopped on a table, spilling drink, dice, and scraps, and gestured before him to the dirty floor. I was to kneel. I went forward and did, heavily. Wandal looked away.
'I, Hraban,' I said, forcing myself to look at his eyes. 'Give you the oath, by Donor …'
'By Woden, boy,' he said, and I cursed.
'By Woden,' I said, and told Woden in my head to give me mercy for my deception, 'that I shall obey you as my lord, in matters large and small.' He smiled, threw his hands around the people watching, and stepped down to drink. I thanked him, bitter bile in my throat. Wandal sat next to me, and did not say anything about the oath as the murmurs in the hall apparently mulled over the implications of my betrayal of my father.
Later, Wandal turned towards me, very drunk indeed. 'Have you … well, eh? Yes, you have, with Ishild. What should I do after I marry Ermendrud?'
I mulled it over. 'It is a terrifying experience. Best done quickly, and keep your eyes closed, your hands at your sides.' He looked deeply, drunkenly disappointed, and I bit my tongue in regret. 'Enjoy it, Wandal. It is one of the few pleasures in this world where you need not pretend at all, and just give in to the pure lust and the momentary surge of love, if you feel it.'
'She is a fine girl, eh? Smarter than I am, and even Euric likes her,' he mulled slowly. 'I thank you for pointing her out to me.'
I chuckled, but he was right, she might suit him very well, and I felt clever. 'Just be sure Euric does not marry her first.' His eyes went into suspicious slits. I pushed him. 'Drink.'
'Tomorrow, we are finished,' he said. I nodded and saw Felix despondent by the wall.
'Yes,' I said.
'It will be hard to remain in Germania, eh? With your reputation,' he said, morosely. 'Bark might or might not restore your reputation, and …'
I whispered to him. 'I do not put my stock in Bark, and I hope Father can fix things,' I motioned Felix to take a place near us. He did, peering at Burlein carefully. The man laughed and gave Felix a huge mug of sweet mead.
Wandal shook his head. 'I am not as deft with words as you are, Hraban, but what you have done lately will be fixed only by a swift change of scenery, likely a change of name and a huge scar on your face, one that makes you unrecognizable, eh? You and I, and Ansbor? We will all suffer.'
'Make babies, Wandal, and fret not,' I told him, feeling rotten at his words, all true.
'She has been sick in the morning. Euric said Mother was like that, when she was expecting me,' he mumbled. 'I hope she will feel better before the marriage.'
I let that bit of news sink in, and decided to drink myself senseless. Before I did, I called Felix to me and asked him for a favor for the morning. The boy agreed though he was a bit drunk as well. Burlein roared next to me, and we wrestled, and fell asleep under a table. Next morning, hundreds of men would ride out to kill my father. Much would be decided. I would give everything in Father's service. He would elevate me, save me. If we survived.
It was very early morning, and I was having terrible dreams, most disturbing nightmares. Burlein kicked me awake, grinning. 'Bark waits, and then you will come to the stables. We have a cousin to escort you.' He left, dressed in well-crafted leather armor, ready for war, despite the massive hangover he must have been harboring.
'To guard me, no?' I asked after him, found some fetid water, which I splashed on my suffering face. There was a bruise on my cheek, and I did not know where I had got it from. Then I went to Wandal, offering him a cup. 'I have to go to Bark, and then we ride with Isfried.' I watched his face, which was grave. 'Listen to Felix, Wandal,' I told him evenly, and he nodded, trying to focus.
Wandal got up, took his spear and shield. He did not take the water I offered him. 'Woden curse us, but I hope it will all be well,' he spat, bitterly.
'It will end well. No lord was ever made one by being meek and a sad victim.’ Wandal scoffed. 'What, eh? What will happen if this escalates to Hard Hill? If people we know die? I have a father there. What if he dies? Or Ermendrud? Whom will I have a feud against? You? Eh? Your father?'
I nodded, miserable. 'The man who kills Euric. There are things I need, Wandal, before I can be happy.'
'Vengeance and your position? Sometimes, I wonder why you wish to be a man like this, eh? You could build your life elsewhere, and avoid these shitty lies under the heels of dishonorable men.' he said, clapped my arm, and went outside. 'I will wait with these men about to ride and burn our home, then, and heed Felix, as you asked,' I heard his voice call out, disappointed at me.
Did I indeed wish to be like my father? I did not know. But I was committed.
The cousin of Isfried, in his leathery war gear, got in and nodded towards the door, and so we went. We hiked up to a hill where wild grass was abundant, lazy flies buzzed, and the sun warmed us pleasantly. My bushy bearded guide smiled and nodded down the hill. 'There, the men to change this world of ours. They are assembled.'
Isfried's banner was held high down there, by the vill
age, in a pasture, a pole with an ominous, ragged, bloody leather and bones dangling crazily as the men were rushing about. Three hundred men, most of the southern chiefs with their personal retinues were on horses, a milling group of painted shields and knotted hair, tattooed men, of all ages, ready to kill my father. The common men of the southern gau would not take part, only Isfried, and his close family.
'Come then, Hraban,' he said, and then I saw Bark seated on top of a white painted boulder not unlike the one in the Flowery Meadows.
He did not move a muscle as I climbed up. The cousin came after, standing easily nearby. Bark nodded sagely, pointing his finger at me, nodding at the ground before the boulder. He wanted me to stand in front of him.
He smiled until I started to fidget, and he took a deep breath. 'Hraban. Sad day to see a Gothoni of such high rank pushed around by the likes of Isfried.' He seemed disappointed.
I was puzzled. 'Is that so? I thought you served him willingly. You were friendlier yesterday.'
He giggled softly, melancholy evident in his voice. He had not slept that night, for he had great rings under his eyes. 'A vitka serves gods, not men. However, Isfried saved me that day on the hill, so I suppose I am grateful and serve him in some way. Do you know why Wulf was with you? Living in your village?'
'He was spying on us for Bero?' I said, casually. 'Feeding Balderich stories of our lives?'
'Not really, no. Well, yes, he served Bero and Balderich in some small ways. He did give your grandfather news of you and Gernot, for Balderich was not a heartless man. Is not. Therefore, I suppose it was not unlike how I serve Isfried, giving service to earthly lords in their earthly needs. Yet we are of the gods. There are many shadowy secrets the vitka guard, and one is the sanctity of the gods. Our world is rife with old songs of the deeds of the gods and of the many prophecies. We guard the vulnerable gods and thus the fragile Midgard. We help the gods with their mistakes and decipher their meanings, for they are gods, and they are hard for mortals to understand. Like simpering children we are, only barely grasping at their wisdom. This is our duty, as speakers of the gods, the vitka and the völva.'
The Oath Breaker: A Novel of Germania and Rome (Hraban Chronicles Book 1) Page 41