"Here's a day I never dreamed of, lad. I'm glad these old eyes still see enough to welcome you home."
Ulfrik braced arms with his oldest friend and mentor. Snorri appeared so old and frail that he might shatter in a bear hug. Yet he pulled Ulfrik close and squeezed him with all the strength of a man half his age. Ulfrik laughed. "It is good to be home again, old friend."
A long night of feasting and stories ensued. Finn, who had befriended Runa and Aren, assimilated into the family like an old companion, and shared every embarrassing story of Ulfrik that he could recall. Of all the feasts he had ever held, this was the sweetest. So when the night grew quiet and only moonlight lit Eyrafell, Ulfrik stood in the doorway of the hall contemplating the long journey's end.
"What are you thinking?" Runa slipped her arm around his waist as she joined him in the doorway. They both stared up at the summer moon.
"I've spent much time remembering," he said. "So much that I've forgotten how to think for tomorrow."
Runa chuckled. "I doubt that very much. Your heart has ever been set on tomorrow."
"Yes, but I am starting over again. It will take years to climb back to where I was before Konal and Throst tore me down. I'm getting older, and the wounds don't go away like they used to. Actually, injuries I had thought gone have returned."
His wife squeezed him but kept her thoughts hidden. He kissed her head, enjoying her sweet scent.
"Hrolf was generous in his reward," he said. "But it is nothing compared to what I had before all this happened. I visited all my treasure hoards, but they've been looted or lost. Even my grave was dug up, and so the best part of my fortune gone with it."
Runa pulled away, then took his hand and placed a leather pouch in it. She folded his fingers over it, and he felt the hard gemstones underneath. His heart leapt and he stepped back, staring at the pouch. "Is this what I think it is?"
"I kept them, but did not know what to do with them. I was going to split them among the boys. Konal found the jewels eventually, and either kept them on his body or hid them in a loose rock in the well. Everything is in the pouch, every gem. Konal called it treasure enough to build a kingdom. That should help restore some of the wealth lost."
Ulfrik blinked, weighing the bag in both hands. "I think it won't be long before I retake Ravndal. You will dress in gold and jewels and sit on a chair inlaid with walrus ivory. I am certain with you at my side again, the future is ours to rule."
Runa's laughter was like the chiming of silver, and he kissed her again. When they pulled apart, she cupped his face in her hands and whispered, "Welcome home."
Author's Note
Hrolf the Strider was said to have taken Poppa of Bayeux as either his mistress or wife. He was to have captured her while on raid in Bayeux sometime between 885 and 889. Poppa's father is assumed to be Berengar II, making her Frankish nobility. The details of Hrolf's relationship with Poppa are not well known. Hrolf would eventually take a second wife, but this marriage might have been for political reasons and in fact might not have ever occurred.
Poppa did bear Hrolf two children. The firstborn was a son, Vilhjalmer Langaspjot Hrolfsson, better known to history as William Longsword. Years later she would bear Hrolf a daughter named Geirlaug who would go by the name Adela and eventually marry the future duke of Aquitaine. Vilhjalmer was said to have still been a pagan in his youth, though his mother was clearly Christian. Little else is known of his life or attitudes of his younger days. His role in history would come many years later. Hrolf's most famous descendant, however, would be William the Conqueror.
The entire account of taking Vilhjalmer hostage, Count Amand, and the gathering of a Norse "traitor" army along the Seine are entirely fictional. However, during this period, the Viking position along the Seine was at a standstill. The Franks had not succeeded in ejecting the Northmen, and the Northmen had no significant progress against the Franks in this area. There are still many years of struggle ahead, but the dawning of Normandy is now closer than ever. Ulfrik will be heading into a period of tumult just at the time he could use stability to rebuild himself. His future is fraught with peril, both from within and without.
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Return of the Ravens (Ulfrik Ormsson's Saga Book 6) Page 33