The Walrus Mutterer

by Mandy Haggith

  Badger pulled the boat in and tied a rope around a huge driftwood trunk. He was trying to hold the bow steady. ‘What are they doing? The curse’ll be on them. Idiots.’

  ‘Bastards.’ Kino had the rope around his shoulder, the tools bundled with the sacks.

  Rian found a big knife and showed it to him.

  ‘And fire,’ he said. ‘He might want a fire.’

  She found some kindling in Badger’s chest and stuffed it into a pocket with her fire pouch.

  Rian looked quickly towards the other boats. Around them, walruses bobbed about, looking startled, as if trying to make sense of the water-borne threat. One big, noble head pushed up from the surface, showing its great fangs, and turned its bemused gaze on the smaller of the two boats. A spear landed, digging into the flesh at the base of its head. The big creature’s mouth opened in a roar of pain and outrage. It smacked its head down into the water and drove its body full tilt into the boat, then dived. The huge curve of its back thumped the hull. With a twisting hand-wave of its flippers, it was below. The vessel tipped and the harpoonist fell overboard, shrieking and flailing. The boat lurched, heeling dangerously onto its side, men toppling. It righted again, but for now their attack on the walruses was thwarted by a scramble to bail water.

  The bigger boat was bucking as the men in two groups struggled with thrashing walruses at each end of the vessel.

  ‘Let’s go!’ Kino was clambering over the bow with his equipment.

  Badger steadied the boat while Rian bundled up her big coat and jumped down into the shallows. Hitting the cold water up to her knees, and a splash of a wave up her thigh, she shuddered.

  Badger put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Try not to be scared.’

  She looked up at him, aware she must be wide-eyed and pale, desperately wanting to get back onto what felt like the safety of the boat but also pulled to be with Manigan, helping him to do whatever it was they needed to do.

  She said nothing, just tried a smile.

  ‘Do exactly what he says,’ said Badger. ‘No questions.’

  Kino was watching the stramash. ‘Manigan’s going to kill them. Sacrilegious bastards.’

  ‘He’ll not fight unless he has to.’ Badger allowed a wave to lift the boat. ‘It’s the walruses they’ve got to worry about.’

  ‘Serves them right if they drown,’ said Kino, marching off up the beach.

  Rian carried herself carefully up onto dry land, trying to avoid the kindling getting wet and ignore the ruckus around the two boats. She kept her eyes on Manigan. Kino had rushed up and dumped his tools and was talking animatedly.

  As Rian arrived, Manigan lifted his hand and cut Kino off mid-expletive. ‘Mother Earth, Father Sea and all the spirits are watching. We must make clear our separation from those people. We’ll have to try to do the Old Gentleman the honour he deserves as swiftly as we can and go. I have said the sacred words. There’s more ceremony to be done but we can’t do it here with that going on.’ He gestured behind him to the sea. ‘I’ll not leave the body to be wasted. Some of it can stay for the birds and crabs but we’ll take what we can.’ He turned to Rian. ‘It’ll be hard work. I would normally spend three days here and work with a fire, but we cannot. Not now.’

  Rian took in the carcass. It was huge, far bigger than a cow. Its monstrous body was covered in thick leather which appeared cured. It was latticed with scars, a record of the old warrior’s life: warts and parasites, injuries and battles. It lay half on its side. A gaping wound in its neck pooled blood. Manigan had already made a slit down one side of its body.

  ‘Can you skin an animal?’ he asked her. ‘It’s like a cow, only with more fat.’

  She nodded.

  ‘Don’t worry if it’s not well done. Do the best you can.’ He held one of the strange-shaped blades and showed her how to use it to prise the skin off, little by little.

  She took the blade and tried it herself. ‘It’s like a pig.’

  ‘Maybe, I’ve never skinned a pig.’

  Kino had taken a saw and was attacking the base of the neck, cutting the huge head off. Manigan went around to the front of the animal and worked on the belly skin as Rian worked towards the spine. Blood was added to the fishy-cow smell; it was almost overpowering.

  Her back was turned to the boats but she could hear them still splashing and swearing at the walruses. In front of her, Manigan looked out anxiously as he laboured.

  She reached a flipper and before she could ask he said, ‘Keep it on. Can you cut the bone?’ He gestured to a knife and she tried but lacked the strength to cut it. He told her to stand back and took a short-handled axe and snapped the bone. She carried on skinning.

  Once Manigan had peeled back the belly skin, he cut open the stomach which was filled with half-digested clams. He let the juices flow into the sand, then parcelled up the solids. Now the animal smelled of the deep ocean.

  ‘For the ice people, this is the greatest delicacy.’ He grinned at her as she grimaced, then went back to his butchery. Kino was still hacking at the neck. The tusks were bloody and half-buried in sand.

  After removing the heart, Manigan set about the groin of the walrus and cut out the great penis. Rian found herself blushing as he handled it, her mind conjuring images of him naked. She had to force herself back to her task.

  The hide was coming away from the body with what seemed remarkable ease as if the animal was willingly shrugging its skin off. Manigan cut through the bones above the rear flippers so they came attached to the skin, and as she pulled the skin away from the tail he cut chunks of meat off it, shoving them unceremoniously into a hessian sack.

  With a grunt, Kino completed the severing of the head and fell back onto the sand.

  ‘Take it to the boat,’ Manigan said. ‘Will you manage on your own?’

  ‘Aye.’ Kino got to his feet and hoisted the massive, gory head up by the tusks onto his back. He staggered off. Where he got the strength, Rian could not imagine. He was transformed from the bleary drunk of their earlier journey as if the walrus-killing woke a different man inside him, all wiry strength and passion.

  Manigan saw Rian watching him with amazement. ‘Kino lives only for the hunt and the drink. You get used to him.’

  Before long, Badger was striding towards them, grumbling. ‘Won’t leave the head. Crazy man, that’s what he is.’

  ‘He’s what he is,’ Manigan gave him a benign smile. ‘We need you anyway. Get your muscles over here, flop him over. Are you ready?’

  Rian got out of the way so they could push the big body over. As the men rolled it, she punched away at the skin, which tore off with satisfying rips.

  ‘You’re good at that,’ Manigan said. ‘I should offer you a share. Make you one of the crew. Handy skills even if you are a bit of a weakling. We’d soon toughen her up, wouldn’t we Badger?’

  She couldn’t understand how such a gruesome task as this could make him so cheerful.

  As she pulled the hide free of the carcass there was a shout from the shore at the end of the spit. She looked round and saw a man gesturing. There was only one boat visible. She couldn’t tell which it was, but it rocked as its crew struggled with ropes and a thrashing walrus almost as big as the vessel. Men were floundering in the water, which foamed red on the shore.

  ‘Don’t look,’ Manigan chopped away at the flesh on the back. ‘Roll the hide up.’

  Badger eased the hide out from under the body and helped Rian to fold and roll it into a huge bundle, then tied a rope around and across it. He said not a word, but his frown was deep and anxious.

  Manigan stopped chopping and a huge chunk of fatty meat slid from the body. He held the hessian sack open and deftly handled the slab of flesh into it, then slung it over his shoulder and stood up.

  ‘Can you manage that?’ He pointed to the other sack into which he’d put the stomach, heart and
penis.

  She nodded.

  ‘And your tools.’ He kicked the long knife towards her. It rattled against the skinning tool. ‘Let’s go.’

  She grabbed the sack and knives.

  Badger had pulled the hide bundle onto his back and was looking round.

  There was another shout from the shore, this time a clear ‘Help!’

  Rian looked round at the man but Manigan’s voice was fierce. ‘Go.’

  He put his back to the shore and bowed ceremoniously to the gutted, gory remains of the walrus. ‘May the birds take your soul back to the ocean, my friend. We will try to make amends, and make you whole again.’

  Rian was rooted to the spot. He shoved her forwards. ‘Don’t look at them, just go to Bradan.’

  She tried to ignore that the boat was too low in the water and that there were men wailing in panic, men floundering in the cold sea, men drowning, surrounded by monster animals. She put one foot in front of the next beside Manigan, lugging the weighty sack, dripping blood. She stumbled across the spit to where Kino waited to help them on board the boat. Badger was ahead. He tossed the hide into Bradan and followed it on board. Kino gave her a shove up over the bow. Manigan and Kino were both in the boat with a single leap and they went straight for the oars, wordlessly turning the vessel and getting into rhythm, facing the sinking and wrecked boats with their frenzied sailors, but rowing determinedly away from them.

  Rian sat on a trunk in the stern. She wanted to watch the struggling boat, the men splashing about, making for land, but Badger, who had the tiller, shoved her round so she was facing the two rowers. Kino snatched at each stroke with a brittle whip of his body while Manigan rowed with a rolling ease, yet despite their different builds and movements, the two oars rose and dipped and pulled in synchronicity.

  Rage was building in her with each stroke. They were abandoning those men. Surely, no matter what they had done, they couldn’t just let them drown?

  ‘Don’t be angry,’ Manigan said. ‘You think we should stay and help them, don’t you?’

  She looked him in the eye and nodded. How could he look so calm? What kind of man leaves his fellow sailors to drown?

  ‘What if they drown?’ Her voice sounded shrill to her. ‘And we did nothing to help them?’

  ‘They did not help themselves.’

  They were out of the shelter of the spit now and the water was jabbly.

  ‘Sail up.’ Manigan abruptly ceased to row. Kino slumped forward over his oar, panting, then took up his position at the bow to help haul the sail. Manigan got to his feet and started untying ropes, then hoisted the sail with long, bouncing tugs on the halyard. He gestured to Rian. ‘Here. Pull this.’ She pulled and pulled and the small top sail began to inch its way up the rigging. They were under way.

  She chanced a glance back. Already the spit was shrinking away. She could see no sign of either boat. There were several people on the land, but they were already too far away to see them clearly. Was that a boat on the shore, or a walrus? It was impossible to tell at this distance. There were sea gulls circling, drawn no doubt by the smell of blood.

  She looked ahead. They were heading into the archipelago. Badger and Manigan discussed their course. Both seemed to be familiar with the place.

  Kino was whistling a warbling tune as he tidied away the weapons and tools from the hunt, wiping them down and rinsing the blood off the decks with seawater. A well-aimed bucketful saw off a gull trying to investigate the potential for food.

  Rian sat back down on the chest and allowed herself to feel sorry for Jan Bonxie and his men. The walrus head looked at her with baleful eyes. She was queasy again and hungry. Thirsty. She got up and without asking took a cup of water from the barrel. It was fresh from Fair Isle and it was cleansing after all that gore and violence. Kino took the cup from her and helped himself as she sat back down.

  Where now? She was too angry to ask. Where was Ussa? No doubt she would not give up her pursuit of the stone, so she must be out there somewhere, trying to track them down. She had stupidly thought she would be safe with Manigan but as long as she stayed with him Ussa would be on their tail. Now Jan Bonxie would also be after him if he had survived. Was there no end to the running away?

  Whale Island

  They were close enough to an island to smell peat smoke. As they got nearer, a broch surrounded by a huddle of huts came into view. Around the point there was a sheltered shore. The sea calmed suddenly and they took the sail down. Kino consented to row. He and Manigan nudged the boat up to a shingly beach between low, flat rocks where Manigan jumped out, tugged the boat into the shallows then tied the rope around a boulder. He gave instructions for unloading, before leaving them and sprinting away towards the roundhouse.

  Rian, grumpy with hunger and tiredness, didn’t understand the purpose of this stop. She allowed herself to be ordered about by Badger and Kino but her frustration must have been obvious.

  ‘What’s the matter? Are you not feeling well?’ Badger took a rope off her and stowed it.

  ‘I’m fine. What are we doing here anyway? Where is this?’

  ‘They call it Whale Island. We’ve still to thank the Old One so I suppose Manigan’s checking out with the wise woman if he can do his ceremony at the temple. It’s big power.’ He held both hands in front of him as if at a blazing fire to signify some sacred force.

  They finished unloading the boat, then sat in a line on the shore.

  ‘You’ll be hungry.’ Badger took out a leather pouch. ‘Emergency rations.’ He grinned, handing Rian an oatcake. Kino took one too and they munched without speaking,

  It was a warm evening and calmer now. A cormorant cruised and dived just below them close to the boat, and a sandpiper peeped among the weeds on the rocks. The tide was falling. Soon the boat would be high and dry.

  ‘Manigan’ll be ages,’ Badger said. ‘We might as well have a hot drink. It could be a long night.’

  He looked expectantly at Rian. It had become her role, firemaker. She pulled out her fire pouch, gathered some driftwood and set about making a blaeberry tea, fuming.

  Kino produced a flask of alcohol and offered to share it, but Rian refused.

  Badger took a slug, and nudged Rian. ‘What’s getting to you? You don’t need to worry on account of Bonxie and them. They got what was coming to them.’

  She crossed her legs. ‘But how many of them drowned? And we did nothing to help them.’

  ‘Drop it.’ Kino lay back on the beach, arms behind his head.

  ‘Once the ceremony’s done, you’ll feel different.’ Badger patted her on the knee and she jerked away.

  ‘It’s not right.’ She said it under her breath and went to sit round the far side of the fire. Some midges came to bother them so she made the fire smoke until they left them alone.

  Badger noticed some fish and put a line out to try to catch them and when one bit, he cooked it on the fire.

  The evening grew softer. A curlew haunted a skerry off-shore, mewing, but there were no terns. Was it that time of the year already? Autumn. Away from her people Rian had not thought to keep track and honour the Earth Goddess for her summer gifts. What gifts? The walrus head caught her eye; it seemed to be looking at her, full of woe and misery. What gifts indeed? There were no hazelnuts or acorns forming on these windswept islands, probably no raspberries to gather or birch-slipper mushrooms or any of the good woodland herbs she should have collected for the next year’s survival. She thought of what Danuta would be busy with and then heard her voice in her head. ‘You keep your eyes open, wherever you are, there’s always something useful to gather at this time of year.’

  She opened her eyes and noticed the seaweeds on nearby rocks: dulse and sea lettuce, exposed now as the tide dropped. She got up, picked some and ate it raw. It was delicious, salty and crisp, tangy and fresh. She offered it to Badger and Kino. Badg
er ate some, but Kino screwed up his nose at it and took another drink. Then she laid more weeds out on a rock to dry and wandered up onto the shore to look for herbs.

  So Manigan found her, with her hands full of lady’s bedstraw, yarrow and clover, and the frown on his brow was erased by a smile.

  ‘So, beautiful, green-eyed witch of the flowers! A bouquet to bless our ceremony to honour the old gentleman of the sea! That would be perfect. I’m sure he would like that.’

  She tensed as he put an arm around her shoulder and said, brusquely, ‘They’re medicines, for drying.’

  ‘Oh, then you must dry them.’

  Was he mocking her?

  ‘You’re angry.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘Flowers and fury will add something to the ceremony, I’m sure, if you’d be willing to pick more.’ His fingers brushed her head. ‘And wear some in your hair as well, if you want. The old gentleman would like that. Bring your fire makings too.’

  ‘I always carry it.’

  ‘Of course you do.’ He smiled at her as if she had said she carried the sun.

  She frowned back.

  He scampered off down to the boat and came back with a tough leather box on a belt, which he held out to her.

  ‘I’d like you to have this. It’s a firebox. It was my Great Aunty Onn’s.’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Please. Do me the honour. Do the Old Gentleman the honour. Do yourself the honour.’

  He thrust it into her hand and without waiting for a reply, strode over to where Kino and Badger were waiting. ‘Right, we’re on for the Whale House. Shadow is willing to help. Let’s get the old gentleman along there.’

  Kino hoisted the huge head onto his back, holding the tusks like handles one on each side of his chest. The whiskery creature seemed to be peering, if sightlessly, over his head.