“He and his wife are of no importance by themselves. Look at him,” the king derided, “I’m sure he can’t fight. He does nothing of value. However, the drunkard holds sway on the north end of the Isle. It is through Ketil that I’ve made a peace pact so that I can rummage about the sea and not worry about losing my island while away. In that way it is better to have my enemy close so I can see what he’s doing.”
Killian called down from Raven’s Cross . “I side with our newcomer. I don’t trust him.”
“Shut up, priest,” said Godfrey.
“I won’t. We shouldn’t take the village drunk on this strandhogg. ‘Tis bad luck,” answered Killian.
Godfrey waved off the priest with disgust. “You don’t believe in luck, Christian.”
“Nor do you, Christian,” parlayed Killian with a twinkle in his dark eyes.
Leif threw up his hands. “Then we get him gut wrenching drunk. Pour Horse Ketil more and more ale. He’ll suck himself to sleep,” said Leif. “We’ll be to Anglesey and back by the time he wakes up.”
Gudruna shook her head. She whispered to Leif, “Have you learned nothing during your time here? Those of us of Norse descent are outnumbered on Man. There are always political reasons to consider. Ketil should be treated as a full member of the crew even if it means giving him undeserved favor now and again.”
I could take no more of their yapping . Their talk of politics gave me a headache. I again reached to tug Aoife’s ear and pull her away. She was quick this time. The girl smacked my hand and began marching to the Charging Boar . “It’s about time we moved on from that talk. We’re adventurers Halldorr, you and me. We don’t have time to discuss this alliance or that faction. We’re killers, hard stone killers.” Aoife took one look at the boat that was to be her transport into her first glorious battle and stopped in her tracks. “I can see I’m going to have a lot of work to do to whip you into shape.” With that, she scampered up the gunwale, using the strakes and an opened oar hole for toe holds.
And I you, Valkyrie, I thought.
CHAPTE R 3
Horse Ketil drank, slept and vomited on our ship. Though politics had deemed it mandatory that he come with us, the king drew the line on actually sharing a longboat with the stinking creature or traitorous bastard, as the case may be. Even the two thralls on board, Tyrkr and Aoife, appeared cleaner and gave off a better scent than his oozing, fetid stench. I’m sure he heaved, not because of the ale, which was the same ale he’d been drinking for days or perhaps years. Our boat, short and wide compared to the king’s, pitched on moderate swells that day. As we traversed every bottom, Horse Ketil’s face showed that he felt the weight of the sour piss that danced in his stomach. The contents of his retching splashed onto the deck planking then splattered the strakes. Thankfully, the spray from the wind and sea washed the yellow streaks and puddles away, down into the bilge where the ballast stones sat securely on the ships strong ribs.
The skies looked like a rainstorm would blow in sometime. Huh! It always rained. If Greenland had nothing but rocks and ice, rocks and ice, rocks and ice, Man had nothing but rain, rain, rain. In the month since arriving, like the regular beat of a heart, it rained one afternoon and was dry the next, only to rain the following day and repeat itself again and again. The rocky terrain of the island was the only thing that kept its inhabitants from wallowing in shin deep mud for their entire miserable lives.
It was good to again be at sea. Her waves meant freedom to me. Today they were also the highway to riches, or death as the case may be.
Magnus was at the steering oar of Charging Boar . I was peeved since my thrall, the girl who was supposed to be my servant, was chatting with the helmsman, asking all
Killian called down from Raven’s Cross . “I side with our newcomer. I don’t trust him.”
“Shut up, priest,” said Godfrey.
“I won’t. We shouldn’t take the village drunk on this strandhogg. ‘Tis bad luck,” answered Killian.
Godfrey waved off the priest with disgust. “You don’t believe in luck, Christian.”
“Nor do you, Christian,” parlayed Killian with a twinkle in his dark eyes.
Leif threw up his hands. “Then we get him gut wrenching drunk. Pour Horse Ketil more and more ale. He’ll suck himself to sleep,” said Leif. “We’ll be to Anglesey and back by the time he wakes up.”
Gudruna shook her head. She whispered to Leif, “Have you learned nothing during your time here? Those of us of Norse descent are outnumbered on Man. There are always political reasons to consider. Ketil should be treated as a full member of the crew even if it means giving him undeserved favor now and again.”
I could take no more of their yapping . Their talk of politics gave me a headache. I again reached to tug Aoife’s ear and pull her away. She was quick this time. The girl smacked my hand and began marching to the Charging Boar . “It’s about time we moved on from that talk. We’re adventurers Halldorr, you and me. We don’t have time to discuss this alliance or that faction. We’re killers, hard stone killers.” Aoife took one look at the boat that was to be her transport into her first glorious battle and stopped in her tracks. “I can see I’m going to have a lot of work to do to whip you into shape.” With that, she scampered up the gunwale, using the strakes and an opened oar hole for toe holds.
And I you, Valkyrie, I thought.
CHAPTE R 3
Horse Ketil drank, slept and vomited on our ship. Though politics had deemed it mandatory that he come with us, the king drew the line on actually sharing a longboat with the stinking creature or traitorous bastard, as the case may be. Even the two thralls on board, Tyrkr and Aoife, appeared cleaner and gave off a better scent than his oozing, fetid stench. I’m sure he heaved, not because of the ale, which was the same ale he’d been drinking for days or perhaps years. Our boat, short and wide compared to the king’s, pitched on moderate swells that day. As we traversed every bottom, Horse Ketil’s face showed that he felt the weight of the sour piss that danced in his stomach. The contents of his retching splashed onto the deck planking then splattered the strakes. Thankfully, the spray from the wind and sea washed the yellow streaks and puddles away, down into the bilge where the ballast stones sat securely on the ships strong ribs.
The skies looked like a rainstorm would blow in sometime. Huh! It always rained. If Greenland had nothing but rocks and ice, rocks and ice, rocks and ice, Man had nothing but rain, rain, rain. In the month since arriving, like the regular beat of a heart, it rained one afternoon and was dry the next, only to rain the following day and repeat itself again and again. The rocky terrain of the island was the only thing that kept its inhabitants from wallowing in shin deep mud for their entire miserable lives.
It was good to again be at sea. Her waves meant freedom to me. Today they were also the highway to riches, or death as the case may be.
Magnus was at the steering oar of Charging Boar . I was peeved since my thrall, the girl who was supposed to be my servant, was chatting with the helmsman, asking all
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