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

by Marauders of Gor [lit]

  champion. Ivar Forkbeard, large, robed in gray, hooded in gray, stood beside me.

  His features could not be well seen. From a leather box, proffered to him by a

  high officer, who, too, had been the presiding official at the contests, Svein

  Blue Tooth lifted a fistful of talmits. There was much cheering, much shouting,

  much lifting of weapons. Spear blades struck the surfaces of the round, painted,

  wooden shields. There were steps leading to the dais. "He who calls himself

  Thorgeir of Ax Glacier," proclaimed Svein Blue Tooth, "let him approach!" Ivar

  Forkbeard eagerly bounded up the stairs toward the dais. There was not one of

  his men who did not tense, and reach to his weapons, reassuring himself as to

  their readiness, I looked about, considering the most opportune paths of flight.

  If one is immersed in boiling tharlarion oil one dies quickly. On the other

  hand, if it is heated slowly, over a tiny fire, this same process consumes

  several hours. I studied the face of Svein Blue Tooth. I had little doubt that

  he was a patient man. I shuddered. Ivar Forkbeard, Thorgeir of Ax Glacier, now

  stood, hooded, on the top stair of the dais, before his enemy. I hoped that

  Svein Blue Tooth would simply hand him the talmits and he might rapidly back

  down, and we might run for the ship. My heart sank. It was obviously the intent

  of Svein Blue Tooth, himself, to honor this great winner, to bind on his

  forehead, with his own hands, the talmits. The Blue Tooth reached to brush back

  the hood. Ivar drew back his head. Svein Blue Tooth laughed. "Do not fear,

  Champion," said he. "There is none here who believes your name, truly, to be

  Thorgeir of Ax Glacier." Ivar Forkbeard shrugged and spread his hands, as though

  he had been found out, as though his ruse had failed. I felt like beating his

  head in with the handle of an ax. "What is your name, Champion?" asked Bera, the

  woman of Jarl Svein Blue Tooth. Ivar was silent. "That you have disguised

  yourself tells us," said the Blue Tooth, "that you are outlaw." Ivar looked at

  him, as though startled at his perception. "But the peace of the thing is upon

  you," said Svein Blue Tooth. "You are safe among us. Do not fear, great

  Champion. We meet here not to threaten you, but to do you honor. Be not afraid,

  for the peace of the thing is upon you, as on all men here." "Great Jarl," said

  Ivar Forkbeard, "will you swear upon me the oath of peace, for the time of the

  thing, your personal oath, sworn upon the ring of the temple of Thor?" "It is

  not necessary," said the Blue Tooth, "but, if you wish, this oath I will swear "

  The Forkbeard bowed his head in humble petition. The great ring of the temple of

  Thor, stained in the blood of the sacrificial ox, was brought. It was held in

  the hands of the high rune-priest of the thing. Svein Blue Tooth grasped it in

  both hands. "I swear upon you the peace of the thing," said he, "and I make this

  oath of peace, for the time of the thing, mine own as well." I breathed more

  easily. I saw the Forkbeard's men about me visibly relax. Only the Forkbeard did

  not seem satisfied. "Swear, too," he suggested, "by the side of the ship, by the

  shield's rim, by the sword's edge." Svein Blue Tooth looked at him, puzzled. "I

  so swear," he sald. "And, too," begged the Forkbeard, "by the fires of your

  llearth, by the timbers of the hall and the pillars of your high seat." "Come

  now!" said Svein Blue Tooth. "MyJarl-" begged the Forkbeard. "Very well," said

  the Blue Tooth, "I swear by the ship's side, the shield's rim, the sword's edge,

  the fires of my hearth, the timbers of my hall and the pillars of the high seat

  in my house." He then made ready to brush back the hood, but the Forkbeard drew

  back once more. "Will you swear, too," he asked, "by the grains of your fields,

  the boundary stones of your holdings, the locks on your chests and the salt on

  your table?" "Yes, yes!" said Svein Blue Tooth, irritatedly. "I so swear. The

  Forkbeard seemed lost in thought. I assumed he was trying to think of ways to

  strengthen the Blue Tooth's oath. It seemed to me a mighty oath already. I

  thought it quite sufficient. "And, too, I swear," said Svein Blue Tooth, "by the

  bronze of my ladles and the bottoms of my butter pansl" "That will not be

  necessary," said the Forkbeard, generously. "What is your name, Champion?" asked

  Svein Blue Tooth. Ivar Forkbeard threw back his hood. "My name is Ivar

  Forkbeard," he said. Chapter 13 Visitors in the hall of Svein Blue Tooth Ihe

  hall of Svein Blue Tooth was of wood, and magnificent. The interior hall, not

  counting rooms leading from it on various sides, or the balcony which lined it,

  leading to other rooms, was some forty feet high, and forty feet in width, some

  two hundred feet in length. It, on the western side, was lined with a great,

  long table. Behind this table, its back to the western wall, facing the length

  of the hall, facing east, was the high seat, or the rightful seat, the seat of

  the master of the house. It was wide enough for three or four men to sit

  together on it, and, as a great honor, sometimes others were invited to share

  the high seat. On each side of this high seat were two pillars, about eight

  inches in diameter, and some eight feet high, the high-seat pillars, or

  rightful-seat pillars. They marked the seat, or bench, which might be placed

  between them as the high seat, or rightful seat. These pillars had been carved

  by craftsmen in the time of Svein Blue Tooth's great grandfather, and bore the

  luck signs of his house. On each side of the high seat were long benches.

  Opposite, on the other side of the table, too, were long benches. A seat of

  honor, incidentally, was that opposite the high seat, where one might converse

  with the host. The high seat, though spoken of as "high," was the same height as

  the other benches. The men of Torvaldsland, thus, look across the table at one

  another, not one down upon the other. The seat is "high" in the sense of being a

  seat of great honor. There was, extending almost the length of the hall, a pit

  for a "long fire" over which food was prepared for retainers. On the long sides

  of the hall, on the north and south, there were long tables, with benches. Salt,

  in its bowls on the tables, divided men into rankings. Those sitting above the

  salt were accorded greater prestige than those sitting below it. If one sat

  between the salt and the high seat, one sat "above" the salt; if one sat between

  the salt and the entrance to the hall, one sat "below" the salt. At the

  high-seat table, that at which the high seat sat, all counted as being "above

  the salt." Similarly, at the tables parallel to the highseat table, smaller

  tabies flanking the long fire on both sides, the tables nearest the high seat

  counted as being above the salt, those farthest away being below the salt. The

  division, was made approximately at the third of the hall closest to the high

  seat, but could shift, depending on the numbers of those in attendance worthy to

  be above the salt. The line, so to speak, imaginary to be sure, but definitely

  felt as a social reality, dividing those above from those below the salt, was

  uniformly "drawn" across the width of the hall. Thus, it was not the case that

  one at a long side table, who was
above the salt, would be farther away from the

  high seat than one at one of the center tables, who was "below" the salt. In

  Ivar Forkbeard's hall, incidentally, the salt distinctions were not drawn; in

  his hall all being comrades in arms, all were "above the salt." Svein Blue

  Tooth's holdings, on the other hand, were quite large and complexly organized.

  It would not have seemed proper, at least in the eyes of Svein Blue Tooth and

  others, for a high officer to sit at the same table with a fellow whose main

  occupation was supervising thralls in the tending of verr. Salt, incidentally,

  is obtained by the men of Torvaldsland, most commonly, from sea water or from

  the burning of seaweed. It is also, however, a trade commodity, and is sometimes

  taken in raids. The red and yellow salts of the south, some of which I saw on

  the tables, are not domestic to Torvaldsland. The arrangements of tables,

  incidentally, varies in different halls. I describe those appointments

  characterizing the hall of Blue Tooth. It is common, however, for the entrance

  of the hall to be oriented toward the morning sun, and for the high seat to face

  the entrance. None may enter without being seen from the high seat. Similarly,

  none are allowed to sit behind the high seat. In a rude country, these defensive

  measures are doubtless a sensible precaution. About the edges of the hall hung

  the shields of warriors, with their weapons. Even those who sat commonly at the

  center tables, and were warriors, kept their shields and spears at the wall. At

  night, each man would sleep in his furs behind the tables, under his weapons.

  High officers, of course, and the Blue Tooth, and members of his family, would

  retire to private rooms. The hall was ornately carved, and, above the shields,

  decorated with cunningly sewn tapestries and hangings. On these were, usually,

  warlike scenes, or those dealing with ships and hunting. There was a lovely

  scene of the hunting of tabuk in a forest. Another tapestry, showing numerous

  ships, in a war fleet, dated from the time of the famine in Torvaldsland, a

  generation ago. That had been a time of great raids to the south. Svein Blue

  Tooth had not been much pleased on the fields of the contests, on his

  purple-draped dais, when Ivar Forkbeard had announced his identity. "Seize him

  and heat oil!" had been the first cry of the Blue Tooth. "Your oath! Your oath!"

  had cried the horrified, startled rune-priests. "Seize him!" screamed the Blue

  Tooth, but his men had, forcibly, restrained him, they glaring at Ivar Forkbeard

  with ill-disguised disapproval. "You tricked me!" cried out the Blue Tooth.

  "Yes," adrnitted the Forkbeard. "It is true." Svein Blue Tooth, held in the arms

  of his men, struggled to unsheath his great sword of blued steel. The high

  rune-priest of the thing interposed himself between the violent Blue Tooth and

  the Forkbeard, who was, innocently, regarding cloud formations. The rune-priest

  held up the heavy, golden ring of Thor, the temple ring itself, stained in- the

  blood of the sacrificial ox. "On this ring you have sworn!" he cried. "And by

  many other things as well," added the Forkbeard, unnecessarily to my mind. The

  veins stood out on the forehead and neck of Svein Blue Tooth. He was a powerful

  man. It was not easy for his officers to restrain him. At last, eyes blazing, he

  subsided. "We will hold parley," he said. He, with his high officers, retired to

  the back of the dais. Many heated words were passed between them. More than one

  cast a rather dark look in the direction of the Forkbeard, who, then, his

  disguise cast off, was cheerily waving to various acquaintances in the crowd.

  "Long live the Forkbeard!" cried a man in the throng. The men-at-arms of Svein

  Blue Tooth stirred uneasily. They edged more closely about the dais. I ascended

  the steps of the dais and stood at the back of the Forkbeard, hand on the hilt

  of the sword, to protect him if necessary. "You are insane," I informed him.

  "Look," he said, "there is Hafnir of the Inlet of Iron Walls. I have not seen

  him since I was outlawed." "Good," I said. He waved to the man. "Ho, there,

  Hafnir!" he cried. "Yes, it is I, Ivar Forkbeard!" The men-at-arms ofSvein Blue

  Tooth were now uncornfortably close. I pushed away spear points with my left

  hand. Meanwhile the debate at the back of the dais went on. The issues seemed

  reasonably clear, though I could catch only snatches of what was said; they

  concerned the pleasures of boiling the Forkbeard and his retinue alive as

  opposed to the dangerous precedent which rnight be set if the peace of the thing

  was sundered, and the loss of credit which might accrue to Svein Blue Tooth if

  he reneged on his pledged oaths, deep oaths publicly and voluntarily given.

  There were also considerations to the effect that the rune-priests would be

  distressed if the oaths were broken, and that the gods, too, might not look

  lightly upon such a violation of faith, and might, too, more seriously, evidence

  their displeasure by such tokens as blights, plagues, hurricanes and famines.

  Against these considerations it was argued that not even the gods thernselves

  could blarne Svein Blue Tooth, under these circumstances, for not honoring a

  piddling oath, extracted under false pretenses; one bold fellow even went so far

  as to insist that, under these special circumstances, it was a solemn obligation

  incumbent on the Blue Tooth to renounce his oath and commit the Forkbeard and

  his followers, with the exception of slaves, who would be confiscated, to the

  oil pots. Fortunately, in the midst of his eloquence, this fellow sneezed, which

  omen at once, decisively, wiped away the weightiness of his point. At last the

  Blue Tooth turned to face the Forkbeard. Svein's face was red with rage. The

  high rune-priest lifted the sacred temple ring. "The peace of the thing," said

  the Blue Tooth, "and the peace of my house, for the time of the thing, is upon

  you. This I have sworn. This I uphold." There was much cheering. The Forkbeard

  beamed. "I knew it would be so, my Jarl," he said. The high rune-priest lowered

  the temple ring. I rather admired Svein Blue Tooth. He was a man of his word. By

  his word he would stand, even though, as in the present case, any objective

  observer would have been forced to admit that his provocation to betray it, his

  temptation to betray it, must have been unusual in the extreme. In honor such a

  high jarl must set an example to the men of Torvaldsland. He had, nobly, if not

  cheerfully, set the example. "By tomorrow night," said he, "when the thing is

  done, be free of this place. My oath is for the time of the thing, and for no

  longer." "You have six talmits of mine, I believe," said the Forkbeard. Svein

  Blue Tooth looked at him in rage. "There is one for swimming," said the

  Forkbeard, "one for climbing the mast, one for leaping the crevice, one for

  walking the oar, and two for prowess with the spear." Blue Tooth was speechless.

  "That is six," said the Forkbeard. "Never before in the history of the thing has

  a champion done this well." The Blue Tooth thrust the talmits toward the

  Forkbeard But the Forkbeard, humbly, inclined his head. Then Svein Blue Tooth,

  as high jarl in Torvaldsland, one by one, tied about the forehead of Ivar


  Forkbeard the six talmits. There was much cheering. I, too, cheered. Svein Blue

  Tooth was, in his way, not a bad fellow. "By tomorrow night," repeated Svein

  Blue Tooth to the Forkbeard, "when the thing is done, be free of this place My

  oath is for the time of the thung, and for no longer." "You frown upon me, and

  would put me below the salt," said Ivar Forkbeard, "because I am outlaw." "I

  frown upon you, and would not let you within the doors of my hall, said Svein

  Blue Tooth, "because you are the greatest scoundrel and rogue in Torvaldsland!"

  I could see that this compliment much pleased the Forkbeard, who, a vain fellow,

  was jealous of his reputation. "But I have," said the Forkbeard, "the means

  wherewith to buy myself free of the outlawry you yourself pronounced upon me.

  "That is preposterous!" snorted the Blue Tooth. Several of his men laughed. "No

  man," said the Blue Tooth, looking suddenly at Ivar Forkbeard, "could pay such

  wergild as I set for you." "You have heard," inquired Ivar Forkbeard, "of the

  freeing of Chenbar, the Sea Sleen, from the dungeons of Port Kar?" He smiled.

  "You have heard," he inquired, "of the sack of the temple of Kassau?" "You!"

  cried the Blue Tooth. I saw the eyes of the Blue Tooth suddenly gleam with

  avarice. I knew then, surely, that he was of Torvaldsland. There is a streak of

  the raider in them all. "The wergild I set you," said he slowly, "was such that

  no man, by my intent, could pay it. It was one hundred stone of gold, the weight

  of a grown man in the sapphires of Schendi, and the only daughter of my enemy,

  Thorgard of Scagnar." "May I pay my respects to you this night in your hall?"

  asked the Forkbeard. Svein Blue Tooth looked at him, startled. He fingered the

  heavy tooth, on its chain, which hung about his neck, that tooth of a Hunjer

  whale, dyed blue. Bera, his woman, rose to her feet. I could see that her mind

  was moving with rapidity. "Come tonight to our hall, Champion," said she. The

  Blue Tooth did not gainsay her. The woman of the Jarl had spoken. Free women in

  the north have much power. TheJarl's Woman, in the Kaissa oit the north, is a

  more powerful piece than the Ubara in the Kaissa of the south. This is not to

  deny that the Ubara in the south, in fact, exercises as much or more power than

  her northern counterpart. It is only to recognize that her power in the south is