Norman, John - Gor 09 - Marauders of Gor.txt

by Marauders of Gor [lit]

  and secure them," said Ivar, to those steadying them at the rail. Quickly the

  miserable bond-wenches were pulled back and flung, belly down, some Iying on

  others, between the benches. Gorm quickly bent to them, lashing their ankles

  together. "Lower the wench from the spar!" called the Forkbeard. "You on the

  starboard side, display now the loot of Kassau's temple !" Rowers of Ivar

  Forkbeard now took their place at the port side. Some waved the golden hangings

  of the temple over their heads, as though they might have been banners. Others,

  jeering across the water, lifted up plates and candlesticks. The blond, slender

  girl, lowered from the mast, collapsed at its foot. She was pulled to her feet

  by the arm and thrust running, stumbling, to Gorm. He fettered her hands behind

  her body, and thrust her to her belly, face down, among the other girls. He then

  fastened her again in the coffle and, swiftly, lashed together her ankles. The

  ship of Thorgard was now only some hundred yards away. An arrow cleft the air,

  passing over the gunwales. "Throw the loot over the bond-maids," called the

  Forkbeard. This would provide the miserable wenches, terrified and fettered,

  some measure of protection from missiles, stones and darts. "The awning !"

  called Forkbeard. Some of the girls looked up, the slender, blond girl among

  them, and saw the darkness of the awning, unrolled, quickly cast over the loot.

  Some of them screamed, being suddenly plunged in darkness. More arrows slipped

  past. One struck in the mast. Aelgifu knelt behind it, still chained to it by

  the neck, her head in her fettered hands. A javelin struck in the deck. A stone

  bounded from the rail at the top of the port gunwale, splintering it. The ship

  of Thorgard, Black Sleen, was no more than some fifty yards away. I could see

  helmeted men at its gunwales, some five feet above the water line. The helmets

  of the north are commonly conical, with a nose-guard, that can slip up and down.

  At the neck and sides, attached by rings, usually hangs a mantle of linked

  chain. The helmet of Thorgard himself, however, covered his neck and the sides

  of his face. It was horned. Their shields, like those of Torvaldsland, are

  circular, and of wood. The spear points are large and heavy, of tapered,

  socketed bronze, some eighteen inches in length. Many, too, carried axes.

  "Benches!" laughed Ivar Forkbeard. "Sail!" In my opinion he had waited too long.

  His men leaped to their benches and seized their oars. At the same time the

  sail, with its red and white stripes, in itS full length, fell snapping from the

  yard. "Stroke!" called Ivar. A javelin hissed past him. The wind, like a hammer,

  took the sail. The oars bit the water. The prow of the serpent of Ivar Forkbeard

  leaped from the water and its stern went almost awash. "Stroke!" called the

  Forkbeard. I laughed with pleasure. The serpent of Ivar Forkbeard leaped toward

  the line of the horizon. There was consternation on the deck of Black Sleen. I

  could see Thorgard of Scagnar, in the horned helmet, bearded, crying orders. The

  prow of Black Sleen, sluggishly, I thought, turned our wake. I saw men rushing

  to their benches. I saw the long oars lift, and then fall. A javelin, and four

  more arrows struck the deck of Ivar's ship. Two of the arrows struck the plate

  of the temple of Kassau, and hung, broken, in the boskhide awning that covered

  the Forkbeard's loot, both that of gold and flesh, and then anotherjavelin fell

  behind us, into the sea, and the bowmen returned to their benches. For a quarter

  of an Ahn the Forkbeard himself held the helm of his ship. But after a quarter

  of an Ahn, grinning, the Forkbeard surrendered the helm to one of his men, and

  came to join me amidships. We placed the board again between us on the chest.

  The position of the pieces had not changed, held by the board's pegs. "A most

  interesting variation," said Forkbeard, returning his attention to the board.

  "It may meet theJarl's Ax's gambit," I said. "I think not," said Forkbeard, "but

  let us see." After another quarter of an Ahn Forkbeard bade his men rest at

  their oars. Far behind us Black Sleen, reputed to be the fastest ship in the

  north, struggled, under oars and sail, to match our pace. She could not do so.

  Under sail alone the serpent of -Ivar Forkbeard, almost scornfully, sped from

  her. Soon she had become no more than a speck astern, and was then visible only

  to the lookout. The awning was drawn back, and rolled, and placed to one side.

  The bond-maids, their bodies sweaty, broken out from rash and heat, struggled to

  their knees, their heads back, and drank the fresh air. The litter of gold under

  which they had been forced to lie was kicked to one side. Gorm then unbound

  their fair ankles, and, taking their wrists from behind them, once more fettered

  thenbefore their bodies, at their bellies. Shortly thereafter the were fed,

  certain of them preparing the food. Life returned to normal aboard the ship.

  Soon Black Sleen was visible no even to the lookout. It was growing toward

  evening. "Take course," said Ivar Forkbeard, to his helmsman, ''fo the skerry of

  Einar." "Yes, Captain," said the helmsman. Aelgifu laughed with joy. It was

  there, at the rune-stone of the Torvaldsmark, that Ivar Forkbeard would receive

  her ransom. I discovered, to my instruction, an Ahn later, that Singer to Ax

  two, followed by Jari to Ax four, is insufflcient to counter the Jarl's Ax's

  gambit, as it is played in the north. "I did not think it would be," said Ivar

  Forkbeard. "The name of the ship of Thorgard of Scagnar," I said, "is Black

  Sleen. What is the name of your ship, if I may know ?" "The name of my ship,"

  said Ivar, "is the Hilda." "Is it not unusual for a ship of the north to bear

  the name of a woman ?" I asked. "No," he said. "Why is she called the Hilda ?" I

  asked. "That is the name of the daughter of Thorgard of Scagnar," said Ivar

  Forkbeard. I looked up at him, astonished. "The Hilda is my ship," said Ivar

  Forkbeard, "and the daughter of Thorgard of Scagnar will be my bond-maid." We

  lay to, without lights, a pasang from the skerry of Einar. The wrists of the

  bond-maids were fettered behind their backs; their ankles were tied; they wore

  the coffle rope of the north; and their mouths, with waddings of sleen fur, and

  strappings of leather, were tightly gagged. There was silence on the ship of

  Ivar Forkbeard. Ivar, and four men, had taken the longboat, which is tied, keel

  up, on the decking of the after quarter, and made their way to the skerry. With

  them, her hair combed, warmed with a broth of dried bosk meat, heated in a

  copper kettle, over a fire on a rimmed iron plate, legged, set on another plate

  on the stern quarter, her hands tied behind her with simple binding fiber, had

  gone Aelgifu. Gorm, who seemed second to Ivar, and I, stood at the railing near

  the prow on the port side of the serpent. I could see, against the night sky,

  the darker shape, but low in the water, of the skerry. Too, against the sky, I

  could see the tall rune-stone, looking like a needle against the stars, which

  forms the Torvaldsmark. Ivar had left the ship in good humor. "I shall return

  with Aelgifu's ransom money," he had told us. With him, in the longboat, in a

  round, bronze can, wit
h twist lid, he had taken his scales, collapsible, of

  bronze and chain, with their weights. I knew that Gurt of Kassau, too, would

  bring his scales. I hoped that the weights matched, for if they did not, there

  would be trouble indeed. Gurt, I knew, if wise, would not attempt to cheat the

  Forkbeard. I had less confidence in the weights of the man of Torvaldsland.

  "Have you a coin you wish to check?" had asked Ivar, seriously, of me. "All

  right," I had said, sensing his amusement. I had drawn forth from my pouch a

  golden tarn. He had placed it on the scale. "Unfortunately," said he, "this coin

  is debased. It is only three-quarters weight." "It bears the stamp," said I, "of

  the mints of Ar." "I would have thought better of the mints of Ar," said he. "If

  Ar were to produce debased coins," I said, "her trade would be reduced, if not

  ruined." "Have you another coin ?" he asked. I put a silver Tarsk, of Tharna, on

  the scale. He changed his weight. "Debased," said he. "It is only three-quarters

  weight." "Tharna, too," I said, "is apparently tampering with her colnage." "The

  worst," said Ivar Forkbeard, "is likely to be the coinage of Lydius." "I expect

  so," I said. I smiled. The ransom money of Gurt of Kassau would, doubtless, be

  largely composed of the stamped coin of Lydi us. The only mint at which gold

  coins were stamped within a thousand pasangs was in Lydius, at the mouth of the

  Laurius. Certain jarls, of course, in a sense, coined money, marking bars of

  iron or gold, usually small rectangular solids, with their mark. Ring money was

  also used, but seldom stamped with a jarl's mark. Each ring, strung on a larger

  ring, would be individually weighed in scales. Many transactions are also done

  with fragments of gold and silver, often broken from larger objects, such as

  cups or plates, and these must be individually weighed. Indeed, the men of the

  north think little of breaking apart objects which, in the south, would be

  highly prized for their artistic value, simply to obtain pieces of negotiable

  precious metal. The fine candlesticks from the temple of Kassau, for example, I

  expected would be chopped into bits small enough for the pans of the northern

  scales. Of their own art and metalwork, however, it should be mentioned that the

  men of the north are much more respectful. A lovely brooch, for example, wrought

  by a northern craftsman, would be seldom broken or mutilated. "I have two pair

  of scales," admitted Ivar Forkbeard, grinning. "These are my trading scales," he

  said. "Do you think Gurt of Kassau will accept your scales?" I asked. The

  Forkbeard fingered the silver chain of office, looped about his neck, which he

  had taken from the administrator of Kassau. "Yes," he said, "I think so." We

  laughed together. But now, with Gorm, and the men of Ivar Forkbeard, I waited,

  in silence, on his serpent. "Should the Forkbeard not have returned by now?" I

  asked. "He is coming now," said Gorm. I peered through the darkness. Some

  hundred yards away, difficult to see, was the longboat. I heard the oars, in

  good rhythm, lifting and dipping. The oar stroke's spacing was such that I knew

  them not in flight. Then I saw the Forkbeard at the tiller. The longboat scraped

  gently at the side of the serpent. "Did you obtain the ransom money ?" I asked.

  "Yes," said he, lifting a heavy bag of gold in his hand. "You were long," I

  said. "It took time to weigh the gold," he said. "And there was some dispute as

  to the accuracy of the scales." "Oh?" I asked. "Yes," said the Forkbeard. "The

  weights of Gurt of Kassau were too light." "I see," I said. "Here is the gold,"

  he said, hurling the sack to Gorm. "One hundred and twenty pieces." "The scales

  of Gurt of Kassau, I see," I said, "weighed lightly indeed." "Yes," laughed the

  Forkbeard. He then threw other purses to Gorm. "What are these?" I asked. "The

  purses of those who were with Gurt of Kassau," he said. I heard a moan from the

  longboat, and saw something, under a fur of sea sleen, move. The Forkbeard threw

  off the fur, revealing the proud Aelgifu, bound hand and foot, gagged, lying in

  the bottom of the boat. She still wore her black velvet. She looked up, her eyes

  terrified. The Forkbeard lifted her up to Gorm. "Put her in the coffle," he told

  him. Aelgifu was carried to where the bond-maids, perfectly restrained, lay. The

  binding fiber on her wrists was removed. Her hands were fettered behind her. The

  coffle rope was looped about her throat, and knotted. Gorm left her ankles, like

  those of the bond-maids, securely bound. I helped the Forkbeard and his men lift

  the longboat to the deck. It was tied down on the after quarter, keel up.

  Suddenly an arrow struck the side of the ship. "Free the serpent !" called the

  Forkbeard. "Benches !" The two anchor hooks, fore and aft, were raised. They

  resemble heavy grappling hooks. Their weight, apiece, is not great, being little

  more than twenty-five Gorean stone, or about one hundred Earth pounds. They are

  attached to the ship not by chain but by tarred rope. The men of the Forkbeard

  scurried to their benches. I heard the thole-port caps turned back, and the oars

  thrust through the wood. I could see, from the shore, black and dark, more than

  a dozen small boats, containing perhaps ten or fifteen men each, moving towards

  us. Two more arrows struck the ship. Others slipped past in the darkness, their

  passage marked by the swift whisper of the feathers and shaft. "To sea!" called

  the Forkbeard. "Stroke!" The serpent turned its prow to sea, and the oars moved

  down, entered the water, and pulled against it. "Stroke!" called the Forkbeard.

  The serpent slipped away. The Forkbeard stood angrily at the rail, looking back

  at the small flotilla of boats, dark in the night. He turned to his men. "Let

  this be a lesson to you," he called to them, "never trust the men of Kassau !"

  At the oars the men struck up a rowing song. "And what did you do with Gurt and

  those with him on the skerry ?" I asked. "We left them naked," said the

  Forkbeard. Then he looked aft, at the small boats falling behind. "It seems

  these days," he said, "one can trust no one." Then he went to the bond-maids.

  "Remove their gags," he sald. Their gags were removed, but they dared not speak.

  They were bond-maids. Their bodies, bound, loot, prizes of the Forkbeard lying

  in the darkness, among the glint of the gold taken in the sack of Kassau's

  temple, were very beautiful. The Forkbeard freed Aelgifu of her gag. "It seems,"

  he said, "that last night was not the last night which you will spend in my

  bondage." "You took ransom money ! " she cried . "You took ransom ! " "I have

  taken more than ransom money," said he, "my large-breasted beauty." "Why did you

  not free me ?" she cried. "I want you," he said. Then he looked at her. "I said

  only, you might remember," said he, "that I would take your ransom money. Never

  did I say that I would exchange you for those paltry moneys. Never did I say, my

  pretty one, that I would permit you, so luscious a wench as you, to escape my

  fetters." She struggled, her head turned to one side, her wrists locked behind

  her in the black iron of the north. Her ankles were bound. The coffle rope was

  on her throat. She was miserable. "Welcome to the coffle," said he. "I am free,"

  she
cried. "Now," he said. She shuddered. "You are too pretty to ransom," he

  informed her, and turned away. To Gorm, he said, "Feed her on the gruel of

  bond-maids." Chapter 6 Ivar Forkbeard's long hall There was a great cheer from

  the men of Ivar Forkbeard. The serpent turned slowly between the high cliffs,

  and entered the inlet. Here and there, clinging to the rock, were lichens, and

  small bushes, and even stunted trees. The water below us was deep and cold. I

  felt a breeze from inland, coming to meet the sea. The oars lifted and fell. The

  sail fell slack, and rustled, stirred in the gentle wind from inland. Men of

  Torvaldsland reefed it high to the spar. The rowing song was strong and happy in

  the lusty throats of the crew of the Forkbeard. The serpent took its way between

  the cliffs, looming high on each side. Ivar Forkbeard, at the prow, lifted a

  great, curved bronze horn and blew a blast. I heard it echo among the cliffs.

  Amidships, crowded together, standing, facing the starboard side of the vessel,

  were the bond-maids and Aelgifu. She wore still her black velvet. They were in

  throat coffle; their wrists were fettered before their bodies. They looked upon

  the new country, harsh, forbidding, which was to be their home. I heard, perhaps

  from a pasang away, up the inlet, between the cliffs, the winding of a horn.

  Soon, I gathered, we would be at Forkbeard's landfall. "Put her," said

  Forkbeard, indicating the slender, blond girl, "at the prow." She was quickly

  removed from the coffle and unfettered. Gorm put a rope on her neck and pulled

  her to the prow, She was held by another crewman, he fastened her at the prow.

  Her back was bent over it. Her wrists and ankles drawn back, were tied at its

  sides. She was roped to it, too, at the belly and throat. Again Ivar Forkbeard

  winded the great bronze horn. In several seconds an answering blast echoed

  between the cliffs. The oars lifted and dipped. The men sang. "Hang gold about

  the ship!" he cried. Candlesticks and cups were hung on strings from the prow.

  Plates, with iron nails, were pounded against the mast. Golden hangings were

  draped like banners at the gunwales. Then the ship turned a bend between the

  cliffs, and, to my astonishment I saw a dock, of rough logs, covered with adzed