I never had to wait those three days out. I was woken up early the next morning by the sounds of people shouting. For a moment I thought I was dreaming, that was until I felt someone tug at my sleeve to wake me up. Kulli had bloodshot eyes and a big orange shield on his arm. He held it up to protect the both of us. I felt terrible guilt. I had wished him dead so Hringr could have lived. Even though that thought had only happened for a brief moment, it would weigh on my mind forever.
I got up and we ran to the shield wall together. It was different this time around though. There were no men falling down as we ran by, there were no arrows hitting near us. The only shouting came from our side.
When we joined them Kulli immediately handed me his shield and hid behind me. This was not the right time to try and get some confidence in my brother. Kulli was not warrior material, and I had already lost more brothers than I had ever wanted to. I took the shield from him and got into position.
Our wall was formed, but still no arrows were striking into it. Someone had taken position below me, so that his shield could protect my legs. When he looked up I recognised who it was. Rikard, my brother in law. He was not a man of many words, but a reliable warrior. He nodded at me in greeting.
I peeked my head over my shield. There were three people at the entrance of our camp. Two were dressed the same, with armor and oddly shaped helmets. The man in the middle was slightly different. His armour was shinier, his clothes were dyed more vibrantly. He still looked like he was ready to shit himself, but none of them had reached for their weapons.
"Sum eadgifu dæg be þú beornþreát!" The shiny man said. He had a smile on his face, but the quiver in his voice gave away his fear.
"Drop your shields." I said. The people directly around me did, though we were all still on high alert. But I could not spot any archers hiding in the treeline, nor more soldiers. They are alone.
"I can translate." One of the thralls said. "He is bidding you a good day."
I looked at Skarde and Fálki. That was the problem with putting your right hand men in charge, they were too used to being told what to do and not leading themselves. Fálki opened his mouth to speak, but Skarde stopped him. He turned to me and nodded.
"Ask them why they're here." I told the thrall, who immediately started speaking the gibberish back to them. I did not like relying on this translator. He was our new slave, he had seen his neighbours being killed by us. He had too many reasons to lie.
"They say that they respect the strength of your soldiers, they ask you why you is in their land." The thrall said. He was a little older than me, with black hair and a wide jaw. He did not sound like he was lying to me.
"Tell them that we are here until they can offer us enough gold to make us leave." I said. Fálki and Skarde moved to stand next to me. I could tell that Fálki did not like this answer, but Skarde was as unreadable as ever. When the thrall focussed on speaking the gibberish, I turned to them.
"You want us to wait for the jarl no?" I whispered. "If they know that we are just here to raid and leave, they will wait us out or attack us again. This will buy us more time, and maybe even more treasure."
"He asks how much gold is enough." The thrall said to me. I smiled at Skarde and Fálki and turned back around.
"I think I am a decently filled man." I said, patting my belly. The Vikings started laughing. "Give me my weight in gold."
Even the thrall realised that that would be too much to ask. I could see in his eyes that he was debating on telling me. He didn't, and my respect for him increased. He was smart enough to know his place here. He might be smart enough to keep around.
The man was shocked, so were his two friends. He asked for confirmation again, while I just puffed up my belly and rubbed it. The men around me were smiling and laughing again. Eventually the shiny man spoke a last few words to the thrall, and turned around to hurry away from us. We clearly had left an impression.
"He is take your answer back to his lordship." The thrall said as our shield wall broke apart and people headed back to their business. The thrall moved to sit with the other thralls too, but I stopped him.
"I think it's time the four of us have a chat."
YOU ARE READING
Tales of Infamy (Viking)
Fiksi Sejarah"I shall think of you every time the sun shines upon me." He whispered against my skin. "Every time my heart beats." Thyra was raised on the sagas. She tells the stories to her nieces and nephews, she prays to the gods for a son of her own. But when...
