Across the Seas

by Griff Hosker

  “Shorten sail. We will edge along the coast. Fótr you can have the first watch with me. For the rest, get what sleep you can. Tomorrow we find a new land.”

  It was when Dreng watched with me that we smelled the woodsmoke. There were men and they were close to the shore. A short while later, not long before dawn, we spied a flash of light. Someone had walked before a fire. There had to be men camped on the beach. This land had a bigger population than the one we had left. Why had Gytha sent me here? I had to trust her and the spirits. I was now in the hands of others and I found it uncomfortable.

  When dawn broke, I saw the coast was still to our steerboard. We were still sailing south. I had kept the steering board central and the wind had not veered. We had to have steered a straight course and yet the coast looked to be further away. While Sven woke the others, I turned the board and headed west. The wind was a little stronger from that quarter. I saw that this was a huge bay we had entered. Had we continued to sail south then we would have closed with the coast. As the others readied themselves, I let Sven have the steering board and I went to the prow. I shaded my eyes. I had lived for many years on Orkneyjar. I recognized features. As we closed with the coast, I saw that we were heading for a channel. To steerboard was an island. When I saw the tendril of smoke rising from the island then I made my decision.

  “Prepare to come about!”

  I walked back to the board and took over from Sven. I headed south and east. I wanted somewhere without people. If I managed to persuade the clan to come back then we might be able to fight to hold on to land. Five of us could do little and if we were killed then those at home would never know of this land. As we resumed our course, I drank some water and ate some of the salted deer meat. The people I had seen had used crude bows with little power. Their arrowheads were stone. I closed my eyes as I pictured the warrior I had slashed with my sword. The tip of his spear had been fire-hardened. If it had been Vikings who chased off an intruder then we would have used our best warriors armed with our finest weapons. We could take this land. I just had to find this place which lay hidden from us. I guessed I would know it when I spied it.

  Our voyage down the coast was a revelation. There were isolated communities which were marked by smoke. We normally saw them on beaches or at the mouths of rivers. They looked to have crude boats which were little better than floating logs. They were not sailors. Then we might see nothing for many miles.

  “Why do we not land, Captain? We have seen no smoke for many miles.”

  Sven was right and I put the steering board over to close with the coast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw clouds to the north of us. They were grey tinged with black. Sven had been right to counsel me. We could land for I had seen nothing for the last hour. We had just turned the hourglass. Then the wind began to turn. Normally this was a gentle process. I had simply been able to adjust our course. This time the wind almost swung. It felt as though we had run into a cliff. We had not used them yet but, as we were just a thousand paces from the coast, we would use oars.

  “Down with the sail and run out the oars. You can bend your backs.”

  In the time it took to take down the sail and seat my four rowers the wind had begun to push us out to sea. We were not in deep water. These would not be walls of water and deep troughs but the rowers struggled to keep us heading to the coast. Fótr was not strong enough. We were crabbing around.

  “Fótr take an oar with Sven. Rek, join Dreng!” It worked and we no longer crabbed but we were just managing to hold our way. The seas were getting stronger. I slipped the compass inside my kyrtle and jammed the hourglass between my feet. If I lost either then I knew not how we would return home. The Norns were spinning. The rain followed the wind. We had no spare sail rigged and none of us wore our capes. The storm had come from nowhere. My crew were tough but the rain had an effect on them. It seemed to suck the power from their arms. Sven looked at me, his eyes pleading. It was not for him but Fótr and the others.

  I nodded. I had to shout above the noise of the wind and the rain, “In oars. You have done all that you can. This is the work of the Norns. Take shelter. We will run with the wind.” I put the steering board over and we began to turn. We almost broached for Dreng was standing when the wave hit us. Mercifully we righted ourselves. ‘Jötnar’ was a survivor. It became much easier with the wind behind us. Glancing over my shoulder I saw the coast disappear in a cloud of murk and rain. We headed into the open ocean.

  The storm blew most of the morning and into the afternoon. The rain ceased but I had no idea when it did so. When our passage became easier, I called to Sven. He took the board and I put the hourglass and compass in the chest. There was little prospect of sun. I knew it was getting toward evening when the sky to larboard began to darken. I decided to risk the sail. The wind had abated and I wanted to head west while there was still light.

  “Hoist the sail!” With the sail billowing, I headed first south and then tacked to head west. The wind was from the north and we zig-zagged our way southwest. We saw the light disappear in the west and I reefed the sail a little. I needed to sleep but not yet. I let Sven take the oar while I made water. I drank and ate. Standing helped me to think. The Norns had sent the storm to stop our landing. Gytha had told me in the dream that I had to continue to search for a new home. I would land the next time I saw a beach. Even if there were men already there we would land. From what I had seen we had better weapons. I had a helmet and a sword. The boys had spears with metal tips. They had daggers. We were Vikings and we could fight.

  Chapter 8

  I had the four crew take it in turns to sit with me. It was just to keep me awake. When I shared the watch with Fótr I found him snuggling into me. This was hard for him. I knew that this experience would make him a man. I felt guilty for I had ignored him. “Are you sorry you came, Fótr?” I kept my eyes ahead, looking for land.

  “No, brother. I did not think it would be like this but each time, before now, that you sailed away I thought that you were having a grand adventure and I envied you. Now I see that it is not easy and takes as much courage as facing enemies in a shield wall.”

  “Fear not, little brother, I think we will return home. I fear we will be away longer than those in Maevesfjörður expect. I think that Gytha apart, they will think we have perished and they will be sad. We can do nothing about that. I believe that ahead lies a land on which we can build a home. As soon as we do then we sail back. The wind which drove us away from land will take us home just as quickly.” I heard him sigh. “Have your arms recovered from the rowing?”

  “They still ache and my hands are red raw and blistered.”

  “There is a salve in my chest. We will apply it when daylight comes. Over time they will harden and your arms will become like young oaks. It is part of your journey to becoming a man.”

  He fell asleep next to me and I did not have the heart to wake him. Dawn crept up on us and I saw, in the distance a thin line. It was land. I woke Fótr, “Rouse the others. Let the sail fly. I am keen to feel the earth beneath my boots once more.”

  Once more the wind had veered during the night and now came from the south and east. The Norns were spinning and I went with it. I had not filled in my map for two days. There would be large gaps in it. When we landed then I would use the time ashore to fill in as many of the gaps as I could. Much would be conjecture but I had an idea in my head of what this land looked like. This was more like Orkneyjar than the land of the Saxons. We had been an island people. Perhaps we were being directed to a land similar to the one we knew. As we headed towards the coast, I saw that my theory about the land looked to be correct. I saw a mass of islands. Some were little more than rocks but I saw islands as big as Orkneyjar and Hrossey.

  I ignored the smaller ones. I was looking for one with a beach and, if possible, no warriors! I spied one which looked to be more than a mile across. “I intend to sail around this island. Look for men and look for a beach.”

  We s
ailed towards the east coast of the island. I saw that it was about four miles long and was completely forested. I headed north until we reached one end. We turned west and sailed through a narrow channel between the main island and a tiny one. Ahead I saw another small island to the west. We had been sent here for there was no smoke and no sign of people. It was as we headed south that Rek spied the inlet, “Captain, there is a small bay and I can see sand.”

  I now trusted my crew. They were not the ship’s boys who had come to me years earlier. I turned the steering board and headed into the bay. I saw that it had beaches on two sides. I headed to the end and we ground on sand and shingle. We had made landfall. Even as I stepped ashore, I felt the heat from this land hit me. The breeze, while we had sailed, had tricked me. This land was warm. While we dragged the snekke on to the beach I heard the sounds of strange birds in the trees. The sand showed the tracks of animals and birds. This would be our home until we returned to Maevesfjörður.

  Although we had not seen a sign of men, I was wary. I left Fótr and Dreng to tie up the snekke and make a camp. We needed a fire and we needed food. We had clothes to dry. “Peg out your hides and we will begin to tan them.” They nodded. Fótr had changed since he had come on this journey. He obeyed instructions immediately. “Sven and Rek, fetch your spears and slings.”

  As they retrieved them Sven said, “I seek a sword, Captain. If you had not had a sword then the deer would have killed you.”

  I smiled, “Then you have taken another step on your way to be a warrior.”

  I saw a tiny beck emptying into the bay. We would have fresh water. Next to it was an animal trail. There were the prints of deer. They looked to be the same kind as we had seen on the warrior island. As we headed up the trail I spied bushes and this time they had berries on them. I did not recognize them and I would not eat them until I had seen some creature devouring them. I also heard the buzz of bees near to the bush and I saw them fly off to a hive which hung in the trees. We would have honey. This land was getting better and better. This time I was not hunting. I was looking for signs of man. I knew the island was not a large one. The island seemed to be fairly flat. There was a slight rise which we soon crossed and then the ground dipped once more. In the distance, I could see above the trees, a rocky knoll which suggested a high point. We crossed small streams and then the path headed north.

  We emerged at a pond. What I noticed immediately were the swarms of insects which bit us. They had been annoying as we had walked through the trees but once we reached the water it became truly terrifying. The air near the pond was black with them. As we reached it, a small herd of the same deer we had seen on the warrior island fled. I saw otters diving beneath the water. There were also large rat-like creatures and they were on fallen trees close to the outlet of the water. They dived beneath the water as we approached. We did not linger. It was too painful. I smelled the sea and after passing through a scrubby patch of thin trees we reached the sea. We had passed this place earlier when we had circumnavigated the island. There was a beach but not a large one and I led my crew north. We kept to the tree line. We passed the tracks and trails of many animals. We would be able to hunt. The north of the island had beaches. There were two islands there. Both were tiny ones. A third smaller one lay further west and further south was another island. This was, indeed, like Orkneyjar. We headed back through the woods. It was as we crossed another animal trail that I saw prints in the mud. It had rained here too and an animal had passed this way. It was the tracks of a bear. This was a much smaller bear than the one which had killed Marteinn but it was a dangerous animal.

  I pointed to the tracks, “There may not be men here but there is danger.”

  It was after noon when we reached our camp. The boys had prepared a fire but not yet lit it. The camp was organised; the furs were laid out and the wet clothes were drying. Fótr was showing that he had learned from the others.

  “There is no one on the island. Fetch the chests from the drekar and we will dry them. There is wood aplenty, we will boil up sea water to make salt. You can light the fire now.”

  I sat on a rock while they scurried around the camp. I took out my map and I drew the lines of what I had seen. There were gaps, huge ones, but if we persuaded the clan to come then I would have markers to guide me back here. There were more lands to the west and I would explore them but this place would house the clan. We had better land to clear. There were green vegetables growing by the beck and there were bushes. We could be safe here. We could grow here. I now needed to get back home and take them persuasive evidence to convince them. I would dig up some plants and take them with their soil back to Maevesfjörður. This was a major undertaking. What I had yet to see were pigs, cattle and sheep. I had seen birds which looked similar to the hens and ducks we had at home. We could domesticate those I was certain.

  The sun had warmed the land and I took off my top clothes and sat in my breeks. The damp clothes I wore would soon dry. Sven came to me as I sat back on my rock. “How long do we stay here, Captain?”

  “Until we have explored the land to the west and found just what this land has to offer. We keep close to the camp this day. If there is one bear then there may be more. No one leaves sight of the rest of us. I need sleep. I leave it to you to organise a watch. The water looks fertile. See what shellfish you can find.”

  I lay on my fur and the warm sun soon made me fall asleep. I had a dream free sleep and woke refreshed. The sun was setting. I looked up and saw the boys around the fire. Fótr grinned, “Good sleep, brother?”

  “Call it a nap but I feel refreshed.” I donned my tunic again. It was still warm from the sun. “That smells good, what it is?”

  “We found some lobsters. Rek dived into the water to catch them. He was rewarded by a nip but he caught three.”

  “We make traps. They are easy enough to make and we can catch bigger ones.”

  Sven nodded, “We added some river greens and herbs. This is a better home than Maevesfjörður.”

  I was pleased that he agreed with me. The sun on our skin and the warmth made us all feel better. The food in our bellies added to that but I missed beer. We still had no cereal to make beer. If we had it then this would be a perfect place to live.

  My sleep in the afternoon meant that I was not as sleepy as I might have been. I took a watch despite Sven’s objections. I think the Norns were at work for I heard noises in the night. Had I been exhausted I would not have heard them. I roused the others. Better they lose an hour or so of sleep than be killed while they slept. The fire had died to a low glow. Something was approaching in the dark. My bow would be of no use. I drew my sword. “Fótr and Rek, stay by the fire. Put some brands in to heat them. If this is a wolf or a bear, we might frighten it away. Find your slings. Sven and Dreng, spears. Stand behind me.”

  I heard them murmur their assent.

  I saw in the dark two glowing eyes. It was an animal. The wind sent a whiff of its scent towards us. It was a bear. “It is a bear. When I give the command all shout at once and we will see if we can scare it away.”

  I heard a growl. It was a bear for I saw the eyes rise as it rose on its hind legs. It had been attracted by the smell of our food. From the position of its eyes, it was bigger than me. “Now, make a noise and we will try to frighten it.”

  I shouted and roared. The others did so. One of them banged a dagger against the cooking pot. It did not work. In fact, it roused the animal. I heard a roar from the dark and flash of teeth in the firelight as it lurched at us. One swipe from its claws could take out my face. I held my sword before me. My only chance to save my crew was to hurt it. Stones struck it as it raced towards me. Sven and Dreng held their spears before them. Rek boldly and bravely took his spear and rammed it at the bear’s leg. The spear was batted away and flew into the bushes. I had to stand firm. I had a sword and I was the largest of us. If I ran it would kill us all for a bear was fast. It was the stones from Fótr which aided me the most. The bear,
I saw now that it was a black one, flailed its paws at the stones which were striking its head. Rek must have picked up his sling to join in for the number of stones increased. The two spears had a greater range than my sword and both were rammed into the bear’s side. It roared even louder and batted one from Dreng’s hands. I swung at what I hoped was its throat. My sword tore through fur and I felt it grate against bone. More stones hit it and I pulled out my sword. The bear’s blood spattered over me but still, it came on. I stepped in to close with it and rammed my sword upwards. The bear’s claws wrapped around my back. They tore into my flesh. I had to endure the pain. If I died then the others would too. I felt its breath as its teeth came towards me and I pushed up. My sword drove through the hole I had made in the animal’s throat and into its brain. I was released and the bear fell backward.

  Fótr and Dreng ran up with torches. The bear was dead. It lay in a pool of blackening blood. It was not a fully-grown bear and looked young. It was a male. Perhaps it had thought I was another male. Sven said, “Fetch another brand.”

  Fótr asked, “Why?”

  “Because the bear has raked your brother’s back and I would see to his wounds. I need the honey and vinegar too.”

  I wiped my sword on the pelt of the bear. “It did not hurt much.” It was a lie but they would be worried enough as it was.

  Sven wiped his hand across my back and I saw, by Fótr’s brand that it was bloody. “You have been lucky, Erik the Navigator.”

  As Sven tended to my wound, I spoke to the other three. “We will need to build warnings along this trail.”

  Dreng said, “Leave it with us, Captain. These animals of this new world do not seem to like you.”

  “Aye, we may have escaped their warriors but their animals are fierce. Even their insects have teeth.” I slapped another of the biting insects. It was not quite the perfect world I had thought.

  When dawn broke, we skinned the bear. The fur was a good one for our weapons had done little damage to it. We butchered the animal and began to cook the meat. We did not want other predators and carrion seeking the raw meat. The bear delayed us. I had planned on sailing west to view the land there. Sven insisted upon me resting for the scratches were deeper than he had first thought. The water from the stream was good and we did not need to venture further upstream and risk the biting insects.