by Griff Hosker
Æimundr Loud Voice shouted, “Fótr, Aed, Padraig, get aboard your ships and we will hold them!” As we obeyed, I heard our men cursing and swearing at the Skraeling; this was a battle for vengeance and to atone for the deaths at the falls. As I ran up the gangplank, sheathing my sword, I saw the sword of Æimundr Loud Voice take the head of a Skraeling. They were brave warriors but the sight of the head flying through the air shocked them. I saw Harald of Dyroy use his hammer to knock the metal spikes holding us to the rocks. He and Gandálfr picked them up and our men began to run up the gangplanks. ‘Jötnar’ had already pulled away for there were just Aed, his wife and his sons on board. I saw men with wounds clambering aboard, but I ignored them and my bleeding arm as I ran to the steering board, “Let loose the sail! Haul in the ropes!” I saw that Æimundr Loud Voice was the last man aboard.
The ship’s boys dropped their bows and ran to obey me. I heard Ada shout, “Women, pull on the ropes!” We were one clan and our clan fought together!
Arrows fell on the deck as we began to edge slowly away from the shore but mercifully none found either the women or the children. Skraeling tried to climb up the side of the drekar but hands and arms were severed by our warriors who had just returned to the ship. I saw that ‘Njörðr’ had also pulled away. We were safe from the land and, as I turned us into the sun, I knew we faced another enemy, the Great Sea!
Chapter 4 Fótr
It was Reginleif who spied my wound and she shouted to Ada. When she came and saw the wound Ada shouted, “Ebbe, take the steering board!”
“I am fine!”
“Your arm is cut almost to the bone! Even I can see the bright sun and that is the east! My son can sail!”
In our clan, the women had great power and I allowed Ebbe to steer. I sat on the deck and allowed my wife and Ada to tend to me. In truth, I felt a little dizzy and I knew not why. I saw Bear Tooth approach and his hide vest was bloody, “Are you wounded?”
He shook his head, “The Penobscot warriors are fiercer.”
“Are any others hurt?”
“Yours is the worse wound, Fótr, you should not have risked yourself, for now you are the navigator!”
“No Bear Tooth, I am not. We needed Erik for this and, as I look ahead into the vastness of the east, I fear I will not be up to the task.”
Reginleif held my left hand in her two and she watched the volva heal me. Ada had washed the blood from my arm and now had a piece of cloth held tightly to it to staunch the bleeding as she said, “Listen, brother, Erik believed in you. He is no longer here but he told me that he was happy for you to sail back to the Land of the Wolf. In the long nights of winter, as we lay together, he spoke of his voyages. He said that you were the one who could do as he had done for you had sailed with him and he trusted you. Gytha believed in you too and while we may not be able to speak with her, here, in my heart and in my head, I know that she is with the clan for Gytha was the heart of the clan and her death has not diminished that.” She looked up, “Bear Tooth, hold this cloth tightly while I fetch the honey and the vinegar.” As he did so she added, “I will have to sew the arm, Fótr, and we do not have enough ale to make you drowsy. You will have to endure much pain.”
I forced a smile as Reginleif squeezed my hand, “I am a Viking and I will bear it like a man.”
Ada snorted, “Then thank the Allfather that you are not a woman for then you would have to suffer the pain of childbirth!”
She was right. I looked up at the sail which was full and billowing. The stays and sheets were taut and Ebbe was going a good job. I looked up at him, “You are doing well, Ebbe.”
He shook his head, “I should have fought with the other warriors for I am a man. I might have stopped you being injured.”
Laughing I said, “No, for this was just the Norns. I will be stiff and suffer a sling for a while but the Allfather watched over us for we emerged from the battle with fewer hurts than we might have expected.”
We had been lucky and had lost neither men nor animals and the attack had made us leave earlier than we might have done. The wind was from the south-west and ‘Gytha’ was flying. What could have been a disastrous end to our time in the west was a hopeful start. The other wounded warriors were being healed and women were distributing food. I prayed that all would be well, but I knew that I would have preferred to speak to Aed and Padraig before we had left just to ensure that we all knew the plan. We had been over it enough times, but the sudden departure was unexpected, and I hoped it would not jeopardise our journey.
The first test came towards dusk when I ordered the sail reefed to slow us down and to allow the other two vessels to close to us. They came to within two lengths of us. For the snekke, this would be a risky time as the two drekar were much bigger than the snekke and any collision would be fatal for Aed and his family. As darkness fell, I saw that it was Aed at the steering board. We rigged the pot we had made from river clay; it had a hole in the back so that the burning seal oil could be seen by the other ships. I was not certain how effective it would be or how long the oil would burn but it was worth trying. I had rested during the day and despite their protestations, I insisted upon taking the watch during the hours of darkness. It was a clear night and there were stars to help me steer. Reginleif brought young Erik to speak to me before she put him to bed. I saw the concern in her eyes. As much as she wished to return east, she now understood the decision we had taken was momentous. Already the seas were growing, and this was calm weather. When we had a storm, it would be far worse.
After I had said goodnight to Erik, she kissed me and said, “Take care, Fótr, for as much as you are the hope of the clan you are our life and we would not lose you.”
I smiled, “And you will not for I am going nowhere. When you wake, look to the steering board and you will see me here.”
I had two lookouts on my watch, Petr Haraldsson and Leif Mikelson. Leif was at the prow and Petr stood by me. If I needed to make water, then he would hold the steering board. At first, the drekar was noisy as for the first time people prepared to sleep abord the drekar. The children were excited, and the animals showed signs of distress. They had expected to be taken off and grazed. I knew that before the end of the voyage we would have to slaughter some of them. I hoped that we could keep the cows alive until we reached land but that was hope more than an expectation. I sent Petr around the ship each time I turned the hourglass. From now on we would keep a record of the hours and they would be marked on the wax tablet I used. So long as there were stars then we could use the compass. This would be a test for Petr. Thanks to my wound I could not hold the compass, but it would be good training for him. I had done the same for Erik. As well as watching our course I studied the sail and the sea, and I felt the ship beneath my boots and my hand. She was speaking with me and all was well.
Petr brought me the horn of ale in the middle of the night. I had told him when to do so for I knew I would only have one horn of the precious nectar during each watch. When the ale ran out, we would be reduced to drinking the water in the barrels and then rainwater. When we had landed on the island, we had filled the barrels with fresh water from the stream. We could do no more.
“What will it be like in the Land of the Wolf, Captain?” He had been little more than a baby when we had left Larswick.
I shrugged, “I have only seen it from the sea, and I know not. Sámr Ship Killer and Ylva the witch rule the land of Dragonheart and keep it safe from the clutches of kings and warlords. That is why we seek it. From what I have heard it has many mountains, but the rivers and waters teem with fish. We had a land which had nothing, that was the land of Ice and Fire and we have had Bear Island which was full of natural riches. The Land of the Wolf is a haven and whatever life is like there it should be safer than Bear Island.”
He lowered his voice, “Some of those on board think that we are cursed and that without Erik the Navigator we are all doomed.”
Petr was young and I was not insulted by his w
ords, “And you, what do you think?”
“I never sailed with your brother save on the voyage from the Land of Ice and Fire. Then I was but a child and it was all an adventure. I did not think it was real. It felt like a game.” I nodded. Petr was on the cusp of manhood. “I trust you, Captain, and I believe we will see land again but when I was on watch at the prow and saw the vastness of the dark ocean, I felt fear.”
“We all feel that way. Let us trust to the drekar and the Allfather and pray that the Norns are in good humour!”
For the next three days, all went well: the wind continued to aid us, the seas did not swamp us, we kept formation and the sun shone so that we could keep a record of our position. I slept during the day, or rather, I did as Erik had done and I snatched sleep in short spells. That was not merely concern about our progress but, as my arm ceased to ache and started to heal so it itched and a lengthy sleep was impossible. Ada, who inspected it each day told me it was a good thing but as I was not allowed to scratch it then I disagreed.
On the fourth day, my itching arm woke me and Ebbe sent Danr to Reginleif for my water and food. I always took my single horn of ale while I watched. We had now established the ritual. Ebbe pointed behind us, “Fótr, the black clouds have been gathering over the land we have left. Is the Allfather angry?”
“He may well be but those are, unless I am mistaken, storm clouds.” Danr handed me the horn of water and I drank half and then began to chew on the raw fish which had been caught while I had slept. “If we were alone, as we were when we came west, then I would keep the sail full and make all speed to race before the storm, but we must travel with the other two and we are slow. Before you rest, Ebbe, have everything tied down and secured. Assign two boys to sleep close to each of the animals.” He nodded. “Danr, I will need Petr as well as Leif for this night’s watch.”
“Aye, Captain.”
I finished the water and hung the horn around my neck. I took the clay pot and, using my flint, lit the seal oil which had been refilled during the day. I saw Aed begin to close and I signalled to him to alert him to the clouds. He nodded and I watched him repeat the signal to the boys on ‘Njörðr’. Both Aed and Padraig knew the sea, but it had not cost me to warn them of the storm. Taking over the steering board as Ebbe hurried to do what I had asked him I looked afresh at the seas. The troughs were just a little deeper than when I had fallen asleep and the crests were white flecked, higher and definitely more threatening. The storm was coming and the question in my head was how big would it be? For the first time since we had begun the voyage, I was grateful that Erik had made the drekar so wide. Up until now, we had been the slow one but in a wild storm, we would be the stable one.
When Reginleif brought Erik to me to say goodnight I told her to tie herself to the mastfish and to secure Erik to her. She gave me a surprised look, “A storm is coming, and it may be a hard one. We put the women and children around the mast and mastfish for a reason; it is the centre of the ship and the most stable. I helped to build the drekar and know that it is the strongest part. If the storm comes then the men will be busy saving the ship. Do as I ask and then I shall not worry about you.”
“And what of you, my husband? Who will watch over you?”
I pointed above me, “The Allfather and the spirits of those who have gone before.” When they had gone, I took out the woven spell and kissed it before tucking it back inside my tunic. Taking out my seal skin cape and laying it beneath me I sat on my chest which was secured by thick ropes to the solid bolts on the stern of the drekar. I was ready.
Erik had told me, often, that a drekar was a living beast which could talk to its master, its captain and ‘Gytha’ did not disappoint. Even before the winds began to grow and the rains started to pelt us from the west, she had warned me of the storm. It came as a voice inside my head and as I heard the reefed sail flapping, I knew that the storm would go from windy to wild in a heartbeat. The hourglass told me that Ebbe and the other men had only had three hours of sleep but that would have to be enough.
“Danr, have the men woken and then reef the sail. The storm will be upon us soon.”
He looked fearful for he could see that the seas were much higher, and our motion was becoming exaggerated. As he left, I stood and placed the hourglass in the chest. I donned and tied my sealskin cape although even that would not help me if the seas began to crash over our stern. Looking behind I saw that ‘Jötnar’ could no longer be seen. I hoped that they could still see my light for I would be able to do nothing if she rammed me. We would be damaged, but she would be destroyed.
I was pleased when I saw that Ebbe, Bear Tooth and some of the other younger warriors helped my boys to completely reef the sail. I believe that is what saved us. The men began to help the women who had a safe little nest around the mastfish. Capes and old sails were fixed and fastened to the barrels which held our water and our food. Even as I was congratulating myself on our actions the storm struck us. Waves crashed and cascaded down onto the deck. I was in danger of losing control of the steering board, “Ebbe!”
Ebbe and Bear Tooth slipped and slid along the already slick deck to come to the steering board. They both joined me and, with one on either side of me we held on to the steering board to keep us with the wind directly behind. We needed no sails and the slow and stately ‘Gytha’ became a wild colt racing and skipping from crest to crest, plummeting into bottomless troughs to, unbelievably, rise to the top of the next one.
Bear Tooth screamed above the roaring wind and the thundering rain, “We are all doomed! I will die here in the deep ocean!”
Ebbe shouted, “No, you will not for we have Fótr and the spirit of Erik the Navigator will watch over us.”
In my head, I prayed that was true, but I had not felt Erik’s spirit since the battle of the falls. I had spoken to screaming gulls in the hope that one of them was he, but I did not know. I heard some of the younger women and children crying as we descended into a seemingly bottomless trough. My stomach felt as though it hung in the air above me and then, almost as quickly, we soared up the side of a cliff of water. And the dark night just went on and on. Had there not been three of us clinging to the wood of the steering board then I am certain that we would have perished for if we had gone beam on to a wave we would have been swamped. I remembered now the meticulous care Erik had taken with the construction of the drekar and the love with which Snorri had carved the figurehead. I was grateful in that storm for the efforts of both of them. I began to fear for the other drekar and the snekke. They had been built by our father, Erik and Arne but Snorri had not carved their prows. Would that make a difference? When dawn finally came it brought no relief except that the storm and the seas looked even more terrifying in what passed for daylight. The darkness had hidden the scale of the storm. Now we could see the swells and the crests; we could anticipate the falls and rises. However the fact that I could see more of the terror seemed to make it easier, but we were all more fearful because of the emptiness of the ocean. ‘Jötnar’ and ‘Njörðr’ were no longer to be seen and our clan was no longer whole.
By the next night, we were all exhausted. Harald of Dyroy took the place of Ebbe so that he could get some sleep. We were all salt rimed and soaked. The seal-skin capes just protected our clothes and shielded us from the wind. They could no longer keep out the rain which poured down our necks. Harald tried to cheer me up as he joined me, “At least we will have plenty of water to drink!”
I had to laugh, “Aye, Harald, if there was any way to collect it.”
He nodded towards the women and children who were gathered around the mast and the mast fish. Ada had them directing the water from the sails and the capes into the cauldrons. “See how the women of the clan help us? It is a good sign.”
I nodded. The collected water would be slightly salty because of the seawater but it would occupy the children and could be used for washing and to give to the animals. We had lost one sheep which had escaped the clutches of Arne Har
aldsson; it had leapt to its death when the storm was unleashed. If we lost just one, then I would be thankful. Even as it had leapt overboard, I wondered if the gods would consider that a blót. When we could I would make one in any case. It could not hurt.
At dawn of the next day, the storm appeared to be marginally easing although that was hard to judge. Æimundr Loud Voice relieved Bear Tooth and I and Ebbe took over the steering. “Fótr, you and Bear Tooth have not slept since before the storm began. Even Erik needed some sleep. I promise to wake you if the storm worsens!”
Reluctantly I obeyed but while Bear Tooth went to lie close to the women, I curled up in my fur next to my chest. I drank some water but did not bother with food. I slept but my sleep was haunted by dreams. It was not one continuous dream it was flashes of images and people. I saw Erik’s face and the Skraeling who had laid open my arm. I saw my father and I saw Gytha. A silent Arne screamed at me and I saw the body of his wife being washed away by the sea. When I awoke, despite the cold and the rain, I was sweating. I looked at the sky and saw that it was still light, “How long have I slept?”
Æimundr Loud Voice shook his head, “I am not sure, but I know not how you managed to hold on to this steering board for so long. I am exhausted already!”
I smiled, “I will make water and then relieve Harald. Ebbe, how is the storm?”
“It appears to be easing.”
“Then, Æimundr Loud Voice, when I have made water Ebbe can relieve you and you can go around the drekar to give comfort and to see how ‘Gytha’ fares.”
He nodded, “You are the only one who could have done this, Fótr. Erik chose his successor well.”
