The Land of the Northmen

by Griff Hosker

  Seara, Gurth and Odo all looked at Tadgh. He shook his head and then, as Gurth nodded to him, said, “My brother and I will go with you. But we are there to protect you from this barbarian! I still do not trust him!”

  Alain of Auxerre pulled out his sword. “Lord, let me end his worthless life. He is more trouble than he is worth!”

  “He has spirit, Alain. We need warriors with that kind of spirit. Besides this is foolishness. He is trying to show the girls how brave he is. That is true is it not, Tadgh?”

  He coloured and sat down, “You speak nonsense!”

  I knew that my words had hit the mark. It explained much.

  Part Two

  The ‘Wild Boar’

  Chapter 6

  It took all the next day to reach home. My men all rode double with the women and children. The three men took it in turns to ride the spare horse. We finally reached Valognes. I saw the fear on the faces of the girls as we approached its walls. As far as they knew it was a Frankish castle. I smiled to put their minds at rest, “This belongs to me and my people. We will stay the night here for you are tired and Aed needs a healer. There is a priest here and he can help.”

  Agnathia was delighted to be able to help. Although not a Christian, Rurik One Ear was a kind man and he had them accommodated in his own hall. I saw the gratitude on Seara and Odo’s faces as the priest tended to Aed. We stayed in the warrior hall.

  I spoke in private with Rurik. “Trouble may come because of this, Rurik. This Henry of Carentan seeks these escaped slaves. He would hurt them. I intend to take them to the Haugr. Let me know if you need my help.”

  “Jarl, trouble will come no matter what you do. Fótr and Folki were the first to try to emulate you. I have no doubt that others will come here. You cannot stop them and the peace will be broken. It will not be by us but that will not matter. We will have to fight the Franks again. You have done so by the Issicauna. That will bring retribution will it not?”

  “When did you get so wise?”

  “When I became a husband!”

  My knarr and Father Matthew were already at the Haugr when we arrived back. The stone had been unloaded and I saw that the masons were dressing it by the sea. It would make the transport easier. When he saw us approach Father Michael came over. “What have you gathered here, lord?”

  I told him their story. He nodded and made the sign of the cross over them. “A Christian act but I fear that it will bring a reaction. You slew Franks and now you have snatched escaped slaves from under the noses of the Count. He will not be happy.”

  I thought about Rurik’s words, “So be it. It is wyrd .”

  He shook his head, “Superstitious pagan! I wash my hands of you!”

  My wife made the refugees welcome. She and Brigid, the ale wife, found them beds for the night. After I had sent Alain back to Valognes I sat with my wife, son and daughters and we told them of our journey.

  “I am sorry that my desire for a church should have resulted in deaths. I did not mean it to be so.”

  “It is the Norns who do this wife. I know you do not believe it but there are consequences for all of our actions. We have the stone. Do not demean the action with regret. The Bretons, they will not cause a problem with the Franks, will they?”

  “I will speak with Matildhe. She is the matriarch of those whom the Breton army slew. Of all the people here, she will understand their dilemma the most.” She slipped her arm through mine. “And now you stay at home for a while eh?”

  I shook my head, “I will sail to Dorestad. We need Saami bows and I need to find out how the world fares. We have some of the cloth we took from the Arabs to trade as well as the spare spices we took.”

  “When do you get to rest?”

  I closed my eyes, “A Viking gets his rest when he is dead.”

  I left my wife to find the farm of Seara and her father. I had decided that the family should stay together, for a while at least. When they were settled, I had no doubt that the girls might wish to live in the Haugr and I hoped that the two boys would become warriors.

  I went to Bárekr’s Haven to speak with Bertrand. I rode with Ragnvald as my only escort. The country to the north of the Haugr was the safest in my land. We met Bertrand just five miles from his hall. He was practising with his men. He had grown since I had first met him as the pugnacious youth who had mistrusted me and doubted my intentions. He reminded me of Tadgh.

  “Lord! What brings you here?”

  “I come to bring you news and to ask about Ċiriċeburh.” There had been a time we had called it Charles burgh. Charles had died and it had reverted to its old name.

  “As for the latter I can tell you simply; they hang on like a drowning man on a piece of driftwood. Since we took Valognes and Charles died it is isolated. They have farms close to its walls but that is all. They have ships which sail to the islands which lie offshore and to Caen and Rouen. They are no threat.” He lowered his voice. “If there was no peace then we could walk in and take it.”

  “There is peace, Bertrand, for the moment.”

  I told him my news and he nodded. “And you sail to Dorestad?”

  “We need supplies which we used to get from Dyflin. In addition, I would have more men to settle in our land. Norse.”

  “The last time did not turn out so well.”

  “I know but Fótr tried to take giant steps. He was so far away that we could not come to his aid. I have visited the land to the south of us. I will not break the peace but when it is broken then I will take Carentan. With that in our hands we could rule the Cotentin. Ċiriċeburh would fall.”

  I saw him take that in. “Those are bold words, lord.”

  “And for your ears only. I will not begin a war but, if it is started, then I will end it.” We had reached his haven. “You need stone walls and a tower. I had thought to buy enough stone from the Franks to complete our building work but I cannot see that happening. We must use our local stone.”

  “It may not be as strong as the stone you have bought but it will be better than earth and wood. I will begin the building.”

  “Do you need funds? Our raids have been successful and we have much coin.”

  He smiled, “We have coin enough, lord.”

  I chose Folki and his men to go with me to Dorestad. He and his brother had been based there and he knew it as well as any. The last time I had been there it was to collect a ransom for one of King Egbert’s relatives I had captured. The wily king of Wessex had tried to trap me. His sailors and warriors had paid with their lives. I was not certain how welcome we would be. Wessex was now a kingdom with great power. He might have exerted influence for he was an ally of King Louis. I would not shirk from a visit. Even though I took only a knarr I would be protected by Folki and his oathsworn. I would be safe. I left Ragnvald at home. He did not relish the sea voyage anyway and I had asked him to assess the potential of Tadgh and Gurth as horsemen. They were close in age to my son and I knew that the Bretons were fine horseman too. It would be a test of his leadership for my son.

  With a chest of gold, a chest of spices and a bolt of Arab cloth we sailed north for Dorestad. Summer was drawing apace and the weather was more clement. I did not travel in my mail. ‘Kara’ was fast and able to evade enemies. I would enjoy the voyage on the knarr and I would see the progress which Siggi Far Sighted had made. Eystein Golden Hair had left and been replaced by Audun Audunsson. He occupied the place my son had. Even though it was a knarr, the ship’s boys were worked equally hard.

  Sven stood with me on the opposite side to the steering board. There he could watch Siggi and yet speak with me. “We were watched closely the last time we traded with Dorestad. You have not been there since the exchange of ransom. It may be dangerous.”

  “I know Sven and that is why I have brought Folki and his men. They know their way around the port. When we are there, I would have you speak with the other captains. I need to know about the Frankish king and his brother. I also need to know what E
gbert is up to. We are an island surrounded by enemies.”

  The knarr flew north. Siggi knew what he was doing and he used every breath of wind to take us north quickly. He kept us well out to sea as we passed Frankia. It speeded our journey for the winds were in our favour. The sea was a lonely place. Despite the large number of ships sailing the narrow waters between Frankia and Britannia we saw few other vessels. The ones we did see were small merchant vessels such as ours. The exception was close to the coast of Cent. The lookout spied a drekar. It was heading west and so I did not think it worth my attention. I was wrong. The Norns were spinning. I noticed their sail which had upon it the head of a wild boar. And then the waves hid it from us and we continued east. The winds meant we approached Dorestad from the north west. The port was busy and had we not been a knarr we would not have found a berth. As it was we managed to tuck in at the end of the quay next to a Dane.

  None of us wore mail. It might be seen as a sign we wished to fight but we all took our swords. Once Dorestad had been Imperial. In the days of Charlemagne, it would have taken a foolhardy Viking to venture close to the coast let alone actually enter the port. However, King Louis had many troubles and now this was a free port. The men of Flanders were seafarers and, when the opportunity arose, pirates. They were also business men and merchants. Here, they held a market for slaves, food, weapons; in fact, anything else which a captain might wish to trade.

  We left four of Folki’s men on board. The other six we took with us. “What do we seek jarl?”

  “Information mainly, but Sven has goods to trade and items we need to buy.”

  We were not out of place in Dorestad. We rubbed shoulders with Danes and Frisians, Saxons and Jutes. There were also Rus and Norse traders and sailors. We passed the ale houses and the whore houses which greeted sailors. That was the quickest way to lose money. After we had passed the low dwellings we entered the town proper. Once we reached the main square we saw the stalls and shops of the traders. It was bustling and it was lively. We had arrived at noon and it had been in full swing since dawn. Some traders had few items left. That did not worry us. We had another day to trade and we would be up and about early.

  Sven said, “I will go and speak with that fellow over there he looks like he sells cloth. When I have done with him I will seek out a spice seller. I will meet you back at the knarr.”

  “Do you need a warrior to watch your back?”

  “I will be safe. You are the one with the gold. It is you who needs hearth weru!”

  I decided to make my purchases first and then seek information. I bought the last seal skins from the trader who had come from Orkneyjar. It was from him that we received our first information.

  I asked him about Orkneyjar and the Land of the Wolf. “My home now has fewer trading partners. We hope that soon Dyflin will be open to us for Thorghest, the warrior who married the daughter of the Dragonheart, is said to be gathering allies to retake that town.”

  “And the Dragonheart himself?”

  “He still raids. His son and grandson now have their own drekar. It is said that they might add their swords to that of Thorghest. We trade with the place they call the Barrow.”

  “Not Úlfarrston?”

  “No, jarl, the river silted up. The Barrow is a safer port. If you wished to trade you could do so but the waters around Syllingar are dangerous. We come down past Hwitebi and the river which leads to Jorvik.”

  “Jorvik?”

  “The Danes called Eoforwic thus and they now rule that city in all but name.”

  We moved through the market and I took in that new information. If this warrior who had married one of the Dragonheart’s children could conquer Dyflin again then we might be able to trade once more. He was right, of course, a sailor had to have the courage of a dragon to risk the waters of Syllingar. If the wind was against you then you could be swept west. Our meeting with the dead man made it unlikely that we would risk the western seas any time soon.

  I spied a Rus merchant. They were hardy folk for they sailed the rivers which went through their land to Miklagård and the empire of the Romans. He had six Saami bows. I asked him the price of one. He smiled as he told me. It was a higher price than we had paid for the entire bale of seal skins.

  I nodded, “And how much for all six? What price then?”

  I saw that I had surprised him. He knocked a little off.

  I waved a hand around. “You brought six of these to sell this morning. I can see that the other goods you brought have been sold. How many bows have you sold?”

  “None, I brought only six but they are highly prized and valuable.”

  “They are for they are a good bow but if you price them too high then no one will buy them and then they will be worthless. Now give me a better price for all six or you will be taking them back home.”

  “You have gold to pay for them? I will not take barter nor copper.”

  “I have gold and I have silver.”

  He nodded and reduced his price by a fifth. It was still expensive beyond words but we had gold and these bows could save lives. I handed him the coins. “These are from the caliphate of Cordoba.”

  “Do you care where we got them?”

  “No jarl. It marks you as warriors for few would risk the wrath of the Arabs. They are fierce fighters. It is said they do not drink!”

  “I know not. The ones we met now lie dead or drowned.” We also bought his entire stock of arrows. They were a more reasonable price.

  The market had little left to offer us for the better goods had already been sold. There would be more on the morrow. As we headed for the ale house which was frequented by Norse we passed the slave pens. There were just a few left there. I spoke with the slave master.

  “How is business?”

  He took in my dress and accent, “You are a Viking.”

  “I am. Jarl Hrolf the Horseman of the Haugr.”

  “I have heard of you.” He shook his head. “Business is not good. There are fewer slaves around. The Danes like to raid churches. You can buy Holy Books for half the price they used to fetch but, since Dyflin fell, there are fewer Hibernian slaves. King Egbert has built more burghs and I cannot remember the last Saxon slave I was offered. These are Franks and Flemish. They are not as hardy.” He smiled. “If you raid again, Jarl Hrolf, I will give you the best price. Ask for Günter of Brabant. I live here in Dorestad.”

  “Thank you. I will bear that in mind.”

  The ale house was almost full but my name and my coins meant that a group of Norse who had been nursing their horns of ale were evicted to make room for us. Folki and his brother had used Dorestad to recruit men for their ill-fated attempt to create their own kingdom. Other hersir came over to speak to them. I was able to listen and take in what they all said.

  “You are lucky, Folki. You serve a lucky jarl and the land in which you live is rich. Pickings are slim everywhere. It is said that Thorghest the Lucky is gathering drekar to attack the Hibernians. We had thought to seek work there but it is a long voyage and there may not be the reward at the end of it.” The hersir nodded towards our Saami bows. “If you could afford to buy those then you have managed to raid well.”

  “Aye but it was not without its risks. We had to sail to the land of the Arab and although the raid went well we were nearly swept over the edge of the world.” He told them of the skeleton in the boat and the black squirrel.

  “I have heard that some Norse have spied lands to the north of Hibernia. I would not risk those waters.”

  I leaned over, “You have a drekar?”

  “Aye Jarl. We follow Jarl Sigtrygg the Left-Handed.”

  “Why does he not raid Wessex?”

  “We have in time past but it is now harder. They have built watch towers and burghs with high walls. They have learned to fight.”

  “The land to the south of Frankia, Aquitaine and Vasconia have rich pickings. We have raided there and will do so again. They have wide and deep rivers which mean y
ou can raid deep inland. They have not met many of our kind yet.”

  “Thank you, Jarl Hrolf.” He nodded to Folki. “We nearly joined Fótr and Folki when they came to your land. I served Jarl Vermund Word Master in those days. Perhaps we will persuade our jarl to come to your land.”

  “You would be welcome but I would warn you that, at the moment, we are at peace with the Franks. We have more than enough land to give for farming but we do not raid.”

  He nodded, “Aye jarl. It is a wise bird that does not shit in its own nest.”

  When we returned to the knarr, Sven was there and he was shaking the hand of a merchant. His men carried the bolt of cloth from our knarr. While Folki’s men stored our bows and seal skins I asked Sven of the trades and what he had learned.

  “He paid well for the cloth and the spice merchant paid even more for the spices. The Empire of Miklagård, it seems, does not send as many ships to trade as it once did. They are under threat from the east. The Emperor is hiring warriors such as ours to defend him. It seems Rus warriors are raiding his northern lands. He wants warriors such as us to protect that land. The King of Wessex builds burghs and hunts Vikings who attack his land.”

  I nodded and stored that information. I had little intention of attacking Wessex needlessly. When I did raid, it would be for something we needed. “We will visit the market on the morrow for we still have goods to buy. My wife would have some pots.”

  We ate on board. Folki bought a barrel of ale. They made good ale in Dorestad. They used different grains to brew it. It was darker than our own. I decided to take back a couple of barrels. Sven had fetched such a good price for the cloth and spices that we now had more gold than we had brought.