Blood on the Blade

by Griff Hosker

  Asbjorn shrugged, “There is but a hersir on Hrólfsey. He has no children. Those on the island could choose your father as hersir and besides it does not matter. None of us have sworn an oath to the jarl. We choose to sail with him. There is no dishonour in sailing for ourselves.”

  The afternoon was getting on and I wondered what my father could be doing. Eventually the three of them returned. Asbjorn looked up expectantly. My father’s smile told me all that I needed to know. “We have the timber and for a good price. I have paid him a sum to ensure he delivers it to our beach and there I will pay him the remainder.” He turned to Finn and he clasped his arm. “Thank you for your help there. You have honeyed words.”

  Finn the Scar shrugged, “Your brother does too. You tend to speak too plainly.”

  “It is my nature.”

  “Aye we know. Well, Asbjorn, should we join our oar brother and sample the ale?”

  “That is an appealing idea. Fare well and we shall see you on the drekar when we raid Mann.”

  That was the first time that we were spoken too as equals by a warrior and it changed me. I had no beard but I was no longer a boy.

  We passed the jarl, his hearth weru and Bjorn and his son as we headed to the snekke. The jarl stopped and asked, brusquely, “So despite your words to our honoured guest you would fight on my drekar and obey my orders?”

  I was aware that my father was trying to remain clam, “I will sail on your drekar and I will help you to defeat these pirates but that does not change my suspicions about the King of Norway.”

  Bjorn Bjornson snorted, “You know nothing. Why should the King of Norway be concerned about our little islands? He is a friend and helping us to rid the sea of pirates. Would that there were more like that.”

  My father shrugged, “And why should I fear a wolf when it smiles at me and invites me into its lair? Simple. I know that the wolf cannot change its nature and it will eat me. However, so long as he aids us and sends men then I will go along with you.”

  “And that is so good of you!” The jarl’s words were heavily laced with sarcasm.

  It was dark by the time we reached home. Although we were all weary Arne and I carried our willow boards as though they were a new born babe. We would not need a shield yet but we would one day and we would be ready.

  Chapter 6

  The trader arrived the next day just after noon. He was on his way to Dyflin with the rest of his cargo and my father’s purchase meant that he had a smaller cargo to carry and that meant a fast voyage. We had been able to get a good price for the masts which we had purchased and the yards were not big enough for most drekar and would be too big for a snekke. For our ship they would be perfect. The money was paid and we were able to begin work on the deck and the mast. This was intricate work. The mast had to fit perfectly and yet be easily removed. It was skilled work and the three of us would just get in the way. While my father and uncle worked on the drekar the three of us made our shields. When we were bigger, we would need a much bigger shield but until we were fully grown there would be little point. As my father had said the exercise of making a shield would help us to understand how to use one. I used the stones on the beach to make a base for my shield. Laying the board on the stones I used a piece of cord to draw, with charcoal, a circle. I then sawed through the wood to make a roughly rounded shape for the willow boards. I made a hole for the boss and then repeated the process. The second, round board would be laid on the first with teased wool between them. It would help to absorb blows. We then drilled holes for the metal and wooden pegs we would use to hold the shield together. We could do no more until the pine tar was ready and we would only be able to have that once the hull had been sealed. When we had been attacked by the Picts our fathers had managed to take three small iron pot helmets. As helmets they were next to useless but as a boss for a shield, they were perfect. We each had to adjust the size of the hole to accommodate the pot.

  “We are ready to apply the pine tar and wool!” My father’s voice summoned us to the keel.

  This was a messy job but we were eager to help for the little pine tar that was left would allow us to stick the laminated shield together. The pine tar had a strong smell. We three rammed and jammed teased wool between the strakes and then my father and uncle used the hot pine tar to glue it in position. Once it had set we would put the hull in the water to allow the wood to swell and for us to test for any leaks. It was almost dark by the time the three of us glued our roughly cut shields together.

  The next morning all of us were up early. We had to drag the drekar over wooden rollers to the sea. Tethered to two posts she floated in the bay and we watched. After a short time, my father said, “There is little point in watching. We will return this afternoon and discover if we have made a ship.” He smiled, “You have shields to finish, do you not?”

  We had no anvil but we had a large tree trunk. We each had four precious nails. We would use them first. We drove them through the two alternating boards and then hammered the heads flat. In a perfect world we would have used ten or so but we could only afford four. Then we hammered four wooden pegs through the holes we had drilled. The last part involved fitting the boss and fixing it into place. The final shaping would have to wait for the next day.

  The next day was a nervous one for all of us. As three young Viking warriors we each had a shield to hold and see if it had stuck together and we all had to see if the drekar leaked. The boat was the priority and we hauled her back to the beach. She was whole and there was just the rain in the bottom. My father tested it by drinking it. “The ship is sound! Now we begin the rest of the work.” He smiled, “You boys go and test your shields.”

  We went and picked them up. It was obvious, when we did so, that Siggi’s was not circular. It was not a disaster. He would reshape the outside but it would take work. They were all glued. I took the adze and began to make the rough round edges smooth. When I tired I handed it to Arne so that he could work on his. I had some strips of leather and I nailed them on to the back of the shield. They would be for my arm. By the time Arne had finished it was time for Siggi. He would have the most to do. I took the dagger I had taken from the Walhaz warrior and I used it to smooth off the edge. I really needed a metal strip around the edge of the shield but that would be a luxury. In lieu of that I needed leather but that was also in short supply. For the time being I would have to heft the crude willow board shield. I did not care. I had a sword and I had a shield. I was a Viking.

  There were not enough hours in the day as we worked on the drekar, the farm and prepared to raid Mann. This time although we were going as ship’s boys we were going with arms and experience. There would be no fear. There would be no Karl. Surprisingly none of us feared the pirates of Mann. They were Vikings but they did not raid. They were not the wolf they were the crow which picked on flesh. There was a difference.

  It was the start of Harpa when we heard that the fleet of fifteen drekar had begun to gather at the jarl’s stad and we were told to come to the drekar. My father was dismissive of the numbers. “When Ragnar Lodbrok raided Paris he took three hundred and fifty ships. This King of Norway toys with our jarl. He gives him scraps and Eystein will lose all that he has!”

  Arne screwed up his face. “Then why go, father?”

  My father grinned, “We make coin and we take metal. We need coin so that we can buy the last pieces for our drekar.” He ruffled our hair, “And you two may gain more skills. I need not ship’s boys! I need warriors!”

  Both Gytha and my mother had recovered from the births. The babes were growing and were healthy. Edmund and Helga would have to watch over them while we raided Mann as the proximity of the island meant we would be away for a shorter time. My uncle had no idea what sort of punishment our jarl intended for the pirates of Mann. “I cannot see that he would try to control the whole island. He barely controls Orkneyjar.”

  My father snorted as we marched towards the drekar, “The King of Norway might like
the plum that is Mann. If he controlled that island then he could threaten the Land of the Wolf and the Viking land of Hibernia. You would be wrong to underestimate the ambition of Harald Fairhair!”

  I learned later how right my father was but then I knew nothing. Then I was a ship’s boy with two daggers, a sword and a shield. I thought I was Thor himself sent to slay the giants. How little I knew. My body had grown much. Now almost fourteen summers old I knew that I would soon need to groom my straggly beard. That would be the sign that I was a man.

  Before we left we secured the half-finished drekar. The rain would not harm her but the winds might and we tied her down well. We ensured that my mother and Edmund had plenty of food. We did not want Edmund hunting food and leaving my mother and baby brother alone. Then we trekked across the island to the muster. This time we would be ferried to the main island and march across that to the jarl’s stad. We left at dawn for it would be a long journey. The three of us had more war gear but not enough for a chest. Arne and I had the wood for our chest but we had had no time to build it. We each had a sack slung across our back and we walked in our seal skin boots.

  “Will there be more ship’s boys, Snorri?” As Arne and I now had hair on our faces my father and uncle thought that when we were on the drekar we should use their names. We were not going on the drekar as their children but as members of the crew.

  “There may be but if not then the three of you will have to help Leif to do the work of six!”

  I did not mind. The extra work would be better than having to endure Karl as one of the ship’s boys. When we had seen him at the market I saw that he had grown. He now had a groomed beard and a sword. Would he be one of the rowers? That might be difficult. I put it from my mind. In the months since our encounter I had grown. I was sure that within a short time I would have a groomed beard. The work with the axe and the adze had broadened my chest and made the muscles on my arms thicker. The three of us chatted easily as we walked across Orkneyjar. We were excited. A raid against the Walhaz was one thing but a war against Vikings was something else. We had picked up men walking across Hrólfsey and more joined us as we tramped across Orkneyjar. There were twenty of us when the lights of the stad glowed by the sea.

  Although it was dark as we marched down to the drekar I was overawed by the sheer number of drekar. I had only ever seen two before and here were gathered fifteen, many of them far bigger than ‘Moon Dragon’. The stad was bustling. Even as we headed towards our drekar I saw another two drekar appear. They were both smaller ones. We had to pass ‘Cold Drake’, she was the ship of the nephew of the King of Norway. As we did so I heard a familiar voice call out contemptuously, “Ship’s boys still! I am a warrior now! I take an oar!”

  We looked up and saw Karl leaning over the side of the Norse ship. Even though it was unnecessary he was wearing his helmet. My father turned and said, “Shout again, Karl the Lame and you shall be wearing that oar up your arse!” It made the men with us laugh and I watched as Karl’s head disappeared. Bullying and humiliating us was one thing but he would not risk the wrath of my father.

  Snorri laughed, “Well, at least we will not have to endure him and his father this time!”

  My father nodded but said, with a note of caution in his voice, “Our jarl is a fool. Bjorn Bjornson has ambition to be a jarl. Why does he sail with the King’s nephew? If I were Eystein I would watch my back.” He looked at me. “The family have a habit of attacking from behind.”

  Only half the crew were aboard ‘Moon Dragon’. The rest lived in the warrior hall and would be the last to join. Ulf North Star was one of them and as Leif was now senior ship’s boy, he took charge of us when we boarded. As our fathers headed for their oar Leif smiled, “There are just four of us on this voyage. It is good that it will be a short one for we will have much to do. Arne you will be with me as steerboard watch and Erik you and Siggi will be the larboard watch.”

  Siggi frowned, “Why do we have watches this time Leif? Do we no longer work together?”

  “The jarl has decided that it is unseemly for him to stand a watch.” His words were guarded and he was hiding something. “Olaf Olafsson will share the watch with his grandfather and Arne and I will help him. Erik you and Siggi will be on the night watch with Ulf North Star.”

  I realised that meant we would have even less sleep on this voyage. Leif was right. It was fortunate that we had such a short journey south ahead of us.

  He smiled, “At least we will have more room. I managed to get a piece of old sail. We have a better home at the prow. Go and sort your war gear and then return here. I would talk with you.” There was a change in Leif. He now spoke as a man. His beard had been sparse on the last raid, now it was thicker. He had groomed it. His manner was that of a man.

  As we passed my father Arne said, proudly, “I am to watch with Leif!”

  My father nodded, “Well done, Erik.”

  Arne frowned, “Did you not hear my words? I am with Leif.”

  “Aye and that means that Leif trusts Erik to supervise Siggi.” I saw realisation hit Arne. I had not thought of it either. Although Siggi was a little older than me we both knew that I was better as a sailor. He had improved but Ulf, Olaf and Leif had always asked me to perform the more difficult tasks.

  As we packed our war gear I said, “It does not mean Leif thinks less of you, Arne.”

  He nodded, “I know but our father is right as is Leif. You are the better sailor. I will be the better warrior!”

  Siggi said, “We do not compete with each other. We are the brothers of the blade.” He held up his palm. “See the scar is still there. It may fade but it will always be a reminder of the oath. We watch out for each other. We are family!”

  He was right and I clasped first his and then Arne’s arm. We had each other and together we were like iron; we would not break.

  Leif told us what he knew of the jarl and prince’s plan. “We land on the north west coast of the island. There are many small settlements but the jarl wishes to capture the one which attacked us. Bergil the Fearless rules there. While the men march south the drekar will use their sails to approach from the sea.”

  I nodded, “A good plan for the pirates’ eyes will be drawn to the fleet and not to the warriors who march south.”

  Siggi, thoughtful as ever, said, “What if they attack us? We will have but five of us to defend the drekar.”

  Leif shrugged, “Then we might die but they cannot attack us and defend their home.” He shook his head, “Siggi Deck Crusher, you see everything as half empty!”

  Siggi smiled, “That way I am never disappointed.”

  “And Ulf has made some improvements since last we sailed. He has not been idle. We now have a halyard so that we can raise and lower the spar.” He laughed, “Perhaps he did not want his ship’s boys to crash on to his deck. The only time we have to climb the spar now is when we are lookout.”

  I nodded, “That is easier.”

  Siggi smiled, “Until the halyard breaks!”

  We all laughed for Siggi was mocking himself and that was no bad thing. We returned to the prow to organise our beds and our gear. We used ropes between the timbers to make nets to hold things in place. We put our seal skin boots there and jammed our swords and scabbards behind them. We covered them with our seal skin capes. If we had a bad storm, we would wear them but they were too cumbersome to wear when working.

  Ulf North Star and most of the crew arrived not long after sunset. Ulf shouted, “We leave on the next tide. The jarl will be here shortly.”

  Olaf Olafsson came to speak with us. He had a simple pot helmet and a leather jerkin. His sword and seax were at his side. He looked like a warrior but I could see that he was nervous. “I take the place of Bjorn Bjornson but my grandfather says that I can row close to the men of Hrólfsey.” I was pleased. My father would look after the young warrior who had been so kind to us.

  The drekar was a hive of activity as men placed their chests and secured them in
their rowing positions. Those like my father and uncle who had arrived early were able to sit and chat. I saw that Finn, Asbjorn, Butar and Galmr were gathered closely about my father. When our drekar was finished then it would be they who would sail it. There would be others but the six of them would form the heart of the crew. I hoped that, by then, Arne, Siggi and I could row too. Asbjorn and Galmr had young sons. We would only need a couple of ship’s boys on such a small drekar.

  The jarl and his hearth weru brought their war gear and chests aboard and we were ready to sail. The jarl stood and shouted loudly. I think he was speaking for crews of the other drekar to hear his words, too. Only three other drekar were from the islands of Orkneyjar and the rest were from the King of Norway. “Today we sail for Mann. The King of Dyflin cannot control them and so we must. We will all return from this voyage rich warriors and we will be able to sail the waters safely! May the Allfather be with us!”

  Men banged the deck and they all chanted, “May the Allfather be with us!”

  Ulf shouted, as the jarl and the hearth weru went to their places, “Ship’s boys, prepare to cast off.”

  There were just two ropes tying us to the quay. Arne and I ran down the gangplank. Leif and Siggi hauled the gangplank aboard and we loosened the ropes and held them against the wooden bollards.

  “Oars!”

  The crew grabbed their oars and sat with them in the air. The steerboard side would not be able to run them out until we were away from the quay. All along the quay there was the same sound. Some drekar were moored two or three deep. There was a small drekar outboard of us. They gradually moved away from the shore.

  “Untie the mooring ropes.” I quickly unwound the rope and coiled it as I ran to the side. I hurled the coiled rope to Siggi who managed to catch it and I leapt to the gunwale. “Oars out.” The steerboard oars pushed against the quay and we began to move. I clambered over the side and then helped Siggi to coil the rope and hang it from the cleat. The yard was resting across the sides of the drekar. We had never hoisted it with a halyard and so we went to the ropes ready for Ulf’s command. We gradually moved away from the quay.