by Griff Hosker
I turned and said, “Take your oars. Erik, to steerboard! Watch my hand!”
What we were about to do was madness. We were sailing in a fog in an ocean filled with submerged and semi submerged rocks yet Erik Short Toe did not hesitate. “Row! But row slowly!” His voice betrayed his fear.
The men hurried to their oars. I restrained Aðils, “Stay here and use your ears as well as your nose.”
I could not smell the smoke but I had an old nose. There were too many conflicting smells. I listened and I remembered my dream. I heard only the sound of oars cutting through the water. Then Aðils Shape Shifter shouted, “I heard water breaking on the shore.”
I clambered up and stood leaning over the dragon prow. I stared at the water rushing beneath us. I saw rocks ahead and I waved Erik to sail further to steerboard. Then I saw the white foam of water breaking on rocks. “Hold! Up oars!”
The oars came out of the water as one. ‘Heart of the Dragon’ kept moving and then I felt a slight shudder as her keel ground on to sand. It was an alarming moment but then we stopped. There had been no tearing sound. The seas had not burst through our strakes. We were aground but we were aground on sand.
“Aðils, bring your bow and come with me.” I shouted, “Haaken, take charge!” I jumped into the sea. The water came up to my waist. My young Ulfheonar joined me. He stood next to me. I think he feared this island which none had thought we would find. This was a witch and Aðils was young. “Which way?”
He sniffed again and pointed directly ahead. Our last sudden shift of direction had turned us further to steerboard. The water became shallower until it was only ankle deep. I waved my hand to slow my young companion down. As I did I turned. I could no longer see the drekar. This was magic. I had to trust that the ship had not disappeared. It was just that I could not see it. The spell was one meant to hide. As I stepped on to the sand I could smell the smoke although I could not see it. I knelt on the sand and picked up a handful. It was speckled with green and orange grains along with the occasional sparkle of a translucent white stone. It looked like the sand of Syllingar.
“Go back to the drekar and tell them that I have found the island.”
“I cannot leave you, Jarl!”
“I order you to go! I will be safe. They will need your eyes to guide them back to me. Fetch Haaken and Beorn the Scout.”
As he disappeared into the fog I felt suddenly alone. I drew my sword and took comfort from the feeling of power which surged through my body. “Allfather I need your help this day. I trust in your power. Help me to find my granddaughter and defeat this spirit.” The witch might have her magic but I had the power of the sword. I clutched my amulets. I hoped that it would be enough to do what I planned. I seemed to be alone for an age and I fleetingly worried if Aðils Shape Shifter and my ship had disappeared. When I heard splashing and saw the grey shapes appear through the fog I knew that the Allfather had not deserted me. Ragnar and Gruffyd were with Haaken and Beorn, along with Ragnar’s hearth-weru.
I shook my head, “You should have stayed on the drekar!”
Gruffyd said, defiantly, “We said we would help you father and so we shall.”
“Follow me then. Haaken, stand by my side. You have been here before.” I had not asked Snorri to come for I knew that this was a place of terror to him. Haaken had merely been afraid and not terrified.
We moved further up the beach. I could not see a path and so I picked a way through the rocks. We climbed. I was dimly aware that the fog appeared to be thinning. Haaken said, triumphantly, “The path! I have it!”
I looked down and saw a well-worn path. We made better time and the fog gradually dissipated so that by the time we had turned two more corners it had gone and I spied the cave ahead. I stopped. “We are here.”
I turned to look back down the beach. I could make out the shore but the drekar was just a large shadow to the west. I took off my cloak. “I will enter the cave.”
“We will come too.”
“No Ragnar; you and my son will stay here. That is an order.”
Haaken smiled, “Besides, boys, Jarl Dragonheart does not need you. Haaken One Eye will go with him.”
I meant it. I was risking my life but Ylva was not Haaken’s family. Would this be his doom as well as mine? “You do not need to!”
He nodded, “I know but I want to go. I have stood at your side since we were young warriors. I have never shirked my duty and I will not start now. If our journey is to end this day, then I would do it together. I would do it with a friend. I will watch your back when you face this witch. If I am to die, then this will make a good end.” He grinned at Gruffyd, “You have a talent with words Gruffyd, son of the Dragonheart. If I am to die, then you will tell the tale and men will sing of it.”
I shook my head, “Do not kill me just yet, Haaken One Eye.” I clasped his arm. “Come then!” I turned to the others, “Farewell. We may not return quickly. Time stands still in this cave. When the fog clears have the men come ashore and set up camp.” I clasped Ragnar’s arm and then Gruffyd’s. “You will both be great warriors. I believe I will return but if I do not then I leave my land and the clan in safe hands. May the Allfather be with you.” I watched their faces fill with fear and I turned to head down into the cave.
I entered the black maw that was the cave. This was not like Myrddyn’s cave. That had a wide entrance and a high roof. This one felt like you were descending into a tiny grave. It was hard to put one foot in front of the other but I somehow managed it. There was a glow but it was not as bright as it normally was. The smoke I could smell was old and it was dead. Perhaps they had gone. I had to watch my footing for the stones were slick. As I turned the corner I saw that the fire had not been doused. It was a soft red glow. I took a breath as I stepped around and peered into the dark.
Although I was expecting to see her I was taken aback when I saw the witch. She was now almost an emaciated skeleton. Behind her sat Ylva and her face was as a stone. She had changed. She looked like a woman now. The witch had even painted some cochineal on her lips. It stopped me. Even as I stepped around the corner the witch hurled a handful of something in the fire and the cave was filled with a red acrid smoke as the flames leapt into the air. I stared at her and saw hate fill her eyes. Her voice, when she spoke, seemed to not only fill the cave before me but behind me too. It was as though I was inside the witch.
“You are a brave warrior, Dragonheart! You are foolish but you are brave! You dare to come into the lair of a Norn and try to take from her that she has taken as her own.”
“She is not yours! You have taken her by force and I am here to take her home.”
“You will die as will your one-eyed friend who stands behind you, afraid to even move.”
I spoke softly and looked beyond the witch to the statue like Ylva, “Ylva come back to me. Come back to the light.” I closed my eyes and pictured my dead wife, Erika.
As I opened my eyes I saw the briefest flickers of light in Ylva’s eyes and then the witch screamed. It was so loud that it hurt my ears. It sounded like the scream of a hunting bird as plunged to the kill. I saw her eyes turn red and grow. The smoke began to change colour to yellow and green. The emaciated skeleton grew before my eyes. Her nose appeared to become longer and the empty mouth filled with teeth. A smell of sulphur and pumice filled the cave. The witch was turning into a dragon. All that I could see were the red and yellow reptilian eyes which seemed to grow before my eyes.
“I will fight you, witch, even though it means my death.”
The smoke was so thick now that I could barely see anything but I found it hard to breathe and the red and yellow eyes bore into me. I felt the heat of the dragon’s breath. I suddenly remembered my sword. I forced my hand down to the hilt. Something stopped me from touching it.
“Ragnar! I need your help once more. I fight for my family and you are the only one who can help me.” My words sounded thin and reedy in the cavernous smoke filled hall but I felt a new
-found strength and my hand touched the hilt of my sword. As soon as my fingers touched it I felt as though I could breathe once more. As I drew it forth it seemed to glow both blue and cold in the smoky cave. “Ragnar’s Spirit! This is the sword which was touched by the gods and born of blood and death! I defy you witch! My blade has never failed me and will not fail me now!”
The dragon’s head seemed to grow and its mouth gaped wide. The smell was almost unbearable and I saw savage teeth coming for me. I knew that this was magic and yet it appeared real. That gave me hope. If the dragon was real, then I could fight it. I pulled back my arm and thrust it hard at the dragon’s chest. My sword and my hand disappeared into the billowing smoke. My eyes filled with smoke and I could see nothing. Yet, amazingly, I felt my sword strike something and I pushed. I heard a primeval scream. I did not know if it came from me, the dragon or the witch. My arm became numb and pain coursed through my body. I forced my body to push my numbed arm forward. The scream grew so loud that I thought my head would burst and then all went black. Darkness enveloped me.
I was on the Dunum wading in the waters and looking for the salmon net. I saw the prow of a drekar as it nudged towards me out of the fog. Looking up I saw the helmet of a Dane and from his helmet hung a skull. It was the skull of a child. Hair still clung to the lower part. I turned to run but could not move. The warrior landed in the water and strode towards me.
As I turned I saw my mother. “That is my child! Touch him at your peril, Viking!” She was standing by the river bank and her hands were held out to me, “Come Garth! I will protect you! Trust in me and come.”
I forced my legs through the water. My hand had almost touched my mother’s fingers when there was a blow to my back and all went black once.
Chapter 8
“Jarl, come back! Dragonheart!”
I opened my eyes and saw, in the blackness of the cave, Haaken as he stood over me. “The dragon, where is the dragon?”
He shook his head. “I saw no dragon. You and the witch disappeared into the smoke. I heard you cry and the witch scream. I could not move. I tried to reach for my sword but my hand would not obey me. This was powerful magic. It has taken some time to find you.”
I took his arm and pulled myself up. I could feel my right hand once more and I still held the sword. The cave was just black now. The smoke had gone and I saw nothing. Where the fire had been there was now just a darker patch of sand. I put the sword before me and a blue glow glistened on the edge of the blade. As I stepped towards the back of the cave I was alert for danger. Where was the witch? I felt Haaken’s hand on my back as we edged deeper into the cave.
I heard Erika’s voice in my ears. She was singing a lullaby. I stopped and peered into the dark. I saw nothing and the lullaby grew louder. I looked down and there, at my feet, lay Ylva. It was as though she was sleeping. I knelt next to her and put my ear to her mouth. She breathed.
“Haaken, pick up my granddaughter. Let us leave this pestilential hole.”
I think Haaken was just grateful to be able to do something rather than just watching. He picked up the slight form of Ylva. I turned and headed back whence we had come. As the floor began to rise I knew that we were heading out of the cave and I sought the light that would guide me to the outside. It was just black. I determined that it must be night and I kept walking.
“Aðils! Ragnar!” My words bounced back from a wall of rock and my sword rang off stone as it clattered into the wall. The cave had been sealed and we were trapped. This was Myrddyn’s cave all over again.
I turned, “There must be another way out. Stay close behind me.”
“Aye Jarl. I thought my end would come in battle not trapped in a cave by a witch!”
“We are not dead yet. We are in a world of tricks and illusions. We are warriors and we can face anything so long as we are true. Ragnar’s Spirit will protect us.”
I stepped past him and walked back down towards the cave proper. I thought of the way Aðils Shape Shifter had found the island through ears and eyes. I was Ulfheonar. I would use the skills of the wolf. The memory of Myrddyn’s cave came back to me and I remembered that Myrddyn’s cave had gone further back than I had thought. Perhaps this one did too. I closed my eyes and used my other senses to guide me. My eyes would see just blackness. As I moved I felt air before me. The air was not as heavy and I moved in that direction. Haaken’s hand kept contact with my back. Even as I moved into the cave I swung my sword before me. Even with my eyes closed I could sense the glow from its magical blade. It was reassuring. I wanted its protection against the witch. If she remained, then my blade would end her life. My senses told me that the roof was shelving and, just in time, I put my left hand up. “Bend, Haaken, the roof slopes.”
Now I had the sense of touch as well as smell. I could smell the sea. The cave’s roof kept getting lower and I wondered if it would reach the floor. I was bent almost double. Then the roof levelled out but it turned to the left and then the right. Although Haaken was carrying Ylva his left hand kept contact with my back. I wondered how long I could walk bent double. Then I realised that I could no longer smell smoke. More than that the air smelled strongly of the sea. The floor began to rise and, opening my eyes, I found that I was walking in sand. I could see my whole blade. I stopped and glanced behind me. I could see Haaken’s face.
With renewed hope, I strode on and saw light from the end. It looked like the glow of a fire. Was this another trick of the witch? Had I walked in a complete circle? Then I heard voices. I pushed Ragnar’s Spirit before me and strode towards the glow. I stepped out into the night. The cool air felt refreshing after the cave. To my right, by the sea, I saw the fire and in its light the faces of Ragnar and Gruffyd. Our trial had finished. We had escaped the witch’s clutches.
“Father!”
Ragnar’s hearth-weru leapt to their feet. Ragnar said, “You have Ylva!”
“Aye, where is the ship?”
“Moored yonder.”
I turned, “Haaken, lay her down. Gruffyd, fetch water or ale.”
As Haaken laid her down I saw that his hair had turned completely white. His eye looked huge in his whitened cheeks. He gave me a wan smile. “I have my saga jarl but have I the words to tell it?”
“We have not escaped her yet, Haaken.” I pointed out to the water and the fog was creeping across the sea rising higher, even as we watched. “Einar the Tall go and tell Erik that we return. I would board as soon as we can.”
Gruffyd was gently holding Ylva’s head and dripping water into her mouth. He said sombrely, “She seems more dead than alive.”
“We have taken her from the witch’s clutches but she is not yet delivered from the spell nor have we found a way out of her domain.”
Ragnar asked, “Will she die?”
Shaking my head, I replied as I sheathed my sword, “She is not of this world and she is not as we are. You cannot kill a Norn. I was lucky or perhaps chosen for she found a magic she could not defeat. The sword was well made by Bagsecg and was touched by the gods. The Allfather and Ragnar guided my hand and I defeated her. It drove her shadow hence. We have bought time.”
I looked up as the prow of my drekar emerged through the rising mist. I reached down to help Haaken lift her. Gruffyd supported her head and we walked towards the sea. As we did I heard a wail from below the earth. It sounded as though the earth itself was being torn apart. The wail grew and I saw Ragnar’s hearth-weru look around in terror and clutch at their amulets.
“Forget the noise. It is the Norn and she is angry. We must hurry. Help us carry my granddaughter to the drekar.”
Eager hands waited to lift her aboard. As we were pulled up Olaf Leather Neck said, “It has been two days, Jarl, we thought you dead.”
I clasped his arm as he helped me over the side of the drekar, “It was close Olaf but we are not done yet. We need to sail away from this island and reach the open sea.”
“But we cannot see beyond our hands!”
&nbs
p; He was right. He was close to me and his face was in a fog. I hurried to the steering board. “Erik, we must leave.”
He waved a hand around him. “In this fog we will rip out the keel of the drekar, jarl. We should wait for it to go.”
“It is not natural, Erik. This is supernatural. If we stay, then we are doomed to die here. We will trust our ship and hope that Bolli made her well. Aðils Shape Shifter, go to the prow and shout out directions.”
“Jarl?”
“Use your nose and your ears. Feel with your heart. You have been chosen to be the one who sees through the mists. I know it in my heart.”
I saw that he was unsure if he ought to believe me but he nodded resolutely. “Then I will do this.”
Erik shouted, “Take your oars.”
“Gruffyd, cover Ylva with a fur and hold her hands tightly.” I took out my sword. “Put her hands on the hilt and hold them there. Let the power of the sword and the gods save her.” I saw him hesitate, “You have some of the powers which Ylva inherited. They are not as great for you are a man but use them. Close your eyes and seek the spirits. Stay with your cousin.” Ylva was only a year older than Gruffyd. They had played together as children and were close. I hoped that he could keep her safe until we reached the Land of the Wolf.
My crew all looked at me. I stood before them and smiled, “Today we go on a voyage none has undertaken before. We sail into the unknown. We are all the warriors of the wolf and we can face any enemy no matter what form they take.”
Haaken nodded, “Aye, Jarl! We are the clan of the wolf and follow the Dragonheart!”
Erik shouted, “Back water!”
We slowly backed out of the bay. From the prow we heard, “Steerboard!”
Haaken shouted, “Stroke” and Erik moved the steering board. It seemed an age before we moved. There was silence from the bow.