Warriors at Heart (The Last Kingdom Fanfic)

Chapter 54

The farther we sailed the more wild and barren the coast became. We had encountered a couple of small Frankish trading ships, and escaped being slaughtered over a few cows thanks to Haesten's knowledge of Saxon traps. Uhtred rewarded him with a beat up silver arm ring which despite its somewhat poor condition, Haesten still proudly shined for several days after. The coast seemed to never end. Cornwalum was larger than we had originally thought it to be. At every bend, it seemed as if the end was in sight but instead we found more land.

Spirits were beginning to drop, as our haul thus far was tiny, not to mention splitting it amongst the crew would only dwindle it further. As if things couldn't get any worse, we soon found ourselves trapped in a heavy rain storm. The sea raged and the wind whipped the rain against our skin. We took shelter in a cove and anchored. The waves continued to lap at the side of the ship, but we were at less risk of tipping than we were out in the open. The rain was no less brutal however, and we were all drenched and shivering to the bone. Despite Uhtred's best efforts to keep me shelter beneath his cloak I was as drenched, cold, and miserable as every one else. After what felt like hours of being battered by rain it subsided. Uhtred grumbled that we should return but before any decision could be made we spotted a small ship with half a dozen oarsmen approaching us. Leofric called for a shield wall and the miserable crew scurried to form a shield wall against the approaching boat.

"They want to talk," I called to Uhtred, who looked to their short mast and saw the sprig of green.

"Let's hope they want to buy," Leofric grumbled.

A ragged looking man shouted to us in broken Danish. I stifled a laugh when he wished us to eat him. "He's too scrawny," Uhtred whispered, causing me to make a strange noise between spitting and cackling. He flashed me a devious grin and raised his brow before turning his face back to the man.

After being threatened by Leofric with a spear, the man boarded our ship alone, his men staying at spear's length upon their own vessel. The man was known as Father Mardoc. He wore a cross around his neck, the christian equivalent to our Thor's hammers. Uhtred noticed the cross too, and in Danish told the man that he hated Christians and wanted to feed the man to Njord. The man forced a chuckle, but Uhtred stared at him hard. Father Mardoc trembled under his cold stare and managed to stutter out, "I have a gift for you, from my master." He held out two copper arm rings with shaking hands.

"What are those pathetic things?" I taunted, keeping up the Danish ruse. Uhtred and I exchanged a glance.

"A gift, for you, from my master," Father Mardoc repeated, attempting to sound more confident than the first time.

"More like an insult from your master." I took joy in watching the man's face grow even more fearful.

"What did she say?" He looked at Uhtred as he played the word over in his head. He got it. "Insult? We mean no offense," the man stammered.

"Relax father, she jests," Uhtred smacked him playfully on the back. Father Mardoc let out a sigh and another forced chuckle.

"Who is your master?" Uhtred asked.

"King Peredur," he replied.

"And why does this Perdur," Uhtred asked, "send me miserable gifts?"

Father Mardoc looked about him at our rugged Danish crew, for he did not know most were christians beneath their thick furs and leather armor. He eyed our weapons and gulped before speaking again. He told us that his master had been attacked by his neighbor, Callyn and had lost their fort to him. King Peredur, who none of us had ever heard of, was willing to pay us well to remove Callyn from the fort, Dreyndynas. Uhtred sent Mardoc to the prow of the ship under Haesten's watchful eye and quietly conversed with Leofric and I.