“Who else will swear?” The Queen asked after taking a moment for the crowd to accept what had just happened.
“I will.” Captain Rymer rose from where he had been sitting amongst the gathered sailors of Clan An Craite. “Jarl Helfdan treated me with more honour and respect than the Lord to whom I was sworn. Even while I was his enemy and opponent on the field. I find that I like that and would serve a man that leads men to those kinds of values.”
He moved and stood before Helfdan formally.
“I bring fifty warriors with their wives and their families. I am beholden to Jarl An Craite due to the terms of the Thralldom that you yourself set, but he has graciously allowed me to use that Thralldom in helping you establish your realm. After that, if you will have me, I am your man.”
Helfdan frowned for a moment as he considered things before nodding. “Glad to have you Lord Rymer. I cannot promise you lands as I have not assessed what there is. We might also need to take that land back from whichever pirate or bandit might be holding onto it.”
“I understand.” Rymer told him. “Then you have my sword, my heart and my service as well as the service of my line and those sworn to me, for as long as you want it.”
The two clasped hands, wrist to wrist. I was glad to see Helfdan's people cheering.
“Who else?” The Queen asked.
“I will.” Lord Roary the Red rose to his feet to some cheering and good natured jeering. “I would have jumped in fucking sooner but that bastard Rymer beat me to it. The fucker. Besides, there needs to be someone of sense, character and wit sworn to the Black Boar.”
There was more laughter.
“As I said before. The only man that can outsail me on the seas. The killer of the unkillable. The raider of the Unraidable. I will serve a man like that. Jarl Holger gave me permission as is proper and I would see what I can make of myself in a new island. And I'm told that Jarl Holger can't spend all the fucking plunder I keep giving him.”
There was more laughter as Roary went and stood before Helfdan.
“I am not a gentle man.” Roary told him. “Nor am I a good man or an honourable one. But I wish I was better. What I am is yours if you will have it. I bring two ships. Seventy warriors and craftsmen as well as their wives and families. We are not rich.”
Helfdan looked a little disapproving. “I run a tight ship Lord Roary.” He said. “You will be expected to be honourable and you will be expected to fight hard.”
“Sounds like a fucking challenge.” Roary shouted with relish. “I'm game for it if you are.”
Helfdan considered a little longer. Then nodded.
“Then my axes and my ships are yours.” Roary said formally. “You poor fucker.”
The crowd laughed and cheered and even Helfdan managed a smile.
“Who else?” The Queen asked.
There was a pause. A long one before there was the sound of a bench scraping. “I will.” Dreng called out into the crowd. “I will.” He said again as he moved into the light.
One of the other men of Clan Tuirseach spat as Dreng passed him. Dreng ignored it but Skallagrim did not. He rose as Dreng moved forward and grasped the spitter by the back of the neck and slammed the offending idiot's face into the table before forcibly dragging him to an exit and throwing him out.
Dreng ignored the entire commotion as he moved although he looked desperately unhappy as he stood before Helfdan.
“It has been a long passage of time and years Helfdan.” Dreng said.
“There is a lot of bad blood between us Dreng.” Helfdan responded carefully.
“Yes.” Dreng admitted unhappily. “Yes there has.” He stood for a moment looking at the floor. “I was jealous of you I think. So very jealous.”
There was another long pause.
“I have hated you for a long time Helfdan.” Dreng went on. He seemed to want Helfdan to join in the conversation but the other man said nothing. “A very long time. It took me a long time to realise why. Long after Father told me why I hated you in fact, but it took all this time to see it.”
He shrugged bitterly.
“You are better than me.” He said simply. “And instead of admitting that and learning from it and using that to fill the holes in my own skills. I insisted that I was the better and took every chance to force you down to make myself look better.” Bitterness clogged his words and he shook his head. “But you were always better than I and I hated you for that. But now....?”
Helfdan still said nothing.
“Now I find that I long for that. I long for the simplicity of your outlook. The simplicity of serving a man that I respect. I had forgotten what that felt like until you stood in this hall and told us of the lies and the small deceits that Ingimund had performed. I realised that you were right. I admired you and I found myself wondering about the last time I had admired my Jarl.”
He shook his head again.
“I would serve a man that I admire again. I bring three ships. Merchants, Craftsmen, a hundred warriors, proven veterans all. I also bring Lodin Halladsson. Ship-wright and grandson of the man that built the Wave-Serpent. It seems only fitting that he too, comes to serve you.”
There was a long pause as Helfdan considered.
Then he nodded.
Dreng went to kneel before Helfdan caught him.
“I told you.” Helfdan said. “No man kneels in my service except to the Queen.”
Dreng nodded. “Another difference between you and the man I used to serve. I swear my sword, my arm and my heart to you Lord Helfdan.” Dreng held his hand out.
Helfdan knocked the hand aside and embraced the stricken man.
It was not a long embrace and it seemed to shock them both.
“I cannot name you my heir Dreng.” Helfdan began.
“Nor would I want you to.” Dreng told him, interrupting Helfdan's flow. A shadow passed over Helfdan's face.
“But.... It will be good to call you my Brother again.” Helfdan finished.
A slow smile spread across Dreng's face. “Yes. Yes it will again.”
The two men embraced again. Dreng approached our table as more men of Tuirseach moved over to stand with us. I was glad to see Svein rise and embrace Dreng like a comrade in arms as well.
Skallagrim moved to stand in the middle.
“Jarl Hjalmar.” He said. “I am sorry, but I was forced to remonstrate with an idiot in your hall. I apologise for that display as some small blood was spilled.”
Hjalmar laughed. “You only did what I would have done faster than I could manage.”
“Then I would also offer my service to jarl Helfdan. I come with no ships, no warriors and no craftsman. But I come with an axe, a wife and two sons that will join me in his service. I too desire to serve a Lord who deserves my blade.”
Helfdan took the oath. “I have need of a champion.” He said.
It went on for a while after that. Individual warriors came and went. Men wanting to make a name for themselves. Those men sworn to Roary, Dreng and Rymer as well as the remains of the Wave-Serpent who renewed their vows.
It was a long night. A night with much drinking, much eating and many oaths of eternal friendship being sworn over those aforementioned buckets of ale. I swore vows of companionship, friendship, affection and all of the other things that I were thought of by everyone concerned. I declared drunken love for those men and women and I stood with them all as they wept and vomited said affection down the privy.
I might even have had the interesting experience of having to hold the Empress' hair out of the way while she puked her guts up into one of Queen Cery's garden plants. She might protest differently but I was there, I know what I saw and I know what I did.
The fact that she will claim, just as seriously, to have steered me towards one of those places where it was safe to vomit up yesterdays breakfast is a pure fabrication that the honourable lady concocted in order to embarrass me.
Don't let her tell you any different.
I will not deny, however that I got embarassingly drunk. I got drunker than I ever remember being. I got so drunk that my scalp hurt and I ached down to the ends of my hair. It was another release and I suspect that we all needed it. Not just to celebrate Helfdan's elevation to the lofty heights that he had managed in a society that hated him and men like him for so long. Nor just to celebrate Svein and Yngvild. One a formerly disgraced member of Clan Drummond and his wife who argued often and loudly, well into her own cups of course, that no other Lord would have entrusted the position of Captain of his guard to a woman.
She might have been right as well. I cannot answer for that. But I did have the chance to meet her properly and to answer her question of whether or not I was single, as well as whether or not I would be tempted to marry one of her daughters.
This despite the fact that Ariadne was standing next to me. Ariadne did not comment and handled the situation with grace under fire and sufficient aplomb.
For her part, Ariadne was enjoying herself. She took up a very familiar stance to me. In that she was at my side throughout the festivities, always watching and taking notes. As though she was recording the entire event for future dissection and amusement. I can well imagine that some of those words and actions will be produced on cold winter's nights of our future in order to embarrass me into doing whatever it is that she wants. I am mostly alright with that.
But Ariadne kept up with us all. Even though Alcohol does not effect Vampires in the same way that it does humans, she was still able to have a good time and enjoy herself and was able to get, at least, a little bit tipsy with it.
This time though, it was her turn to turn a very drunk and very amourous Scholar down. Like I had with everyone else I had allowed the alcohol to lend me courage and fortitude that I might not have had otherwise and I attempted to talk the Vampiress into bed. She laughed, kissed me and fended off my drunken advances with due care and affection to ensure that my feelings were not too damaged in the meantime.
I also reaffirmed my friendship with Kerrass. It was clear to us both that we had been through a lot together and that that was worth celebrating. Like with Ariadne we had a lot to say to each other that would not have been said under normal circumstances and not much of it is for public consumption. He thanked me for bringing him to Skellige so that he could feel the warmth of friendship and things that he would not have been able to enjoy otherwise.
Hjalmar joined us for a bit but didn't stay too long. This was a time for the new clan to get to know each other. To forge those bonds that would carry them, carry us, through the hard times to come into a future that would, hopefully be bright. Hjalmar came and toasted Helfdan and Ciri loudly before toasting each of the men that had left their previous clans to join Helfdan on his new enterprise.
Looking back, I almost wish that I had remained sober so that I could watch those early dynamics of the clan form. But I find that I cannot regret it too much.
Various people came and went. The other Jarls came, including the regent from Clan Tuirseach who reminded Skallagrim and Dreng that there would be places for them both with the clan of their birth should this new clan not work out.
He was more convincing when talking to Skallagrim though.
The other Jarls were mostly full of congratulations, made blanket assurances of aid should it be required and wished everyone well.
Even the Queen herself came to wish us all well. I didn't really meet her though. One of the few regrets I have over my time in Skellige was that I didn't get to spend enough time with the Queen or get to know her at all.
But now that I write that phrase down, I wonder at the arrogance that allows me to make that statement.The Queen came to our table, made her toasts and spent some time talking to Helfdan and his new Cadre of Lords. She spent most of her time with Ciri though who was joined by Ariadne and the three, TERRIFYING women sat there with their heads together discussing things.
At one point, Ciri leant over and said something into the Queen's ear before both of them turned and looked over at Helfdan. Ariadne seemed to have heard what was said although she refuses to tell me what it was. Ciri's face was almost predatory, but also enjoying herself kind of way. The Queen looked thoughtful but not entirely adverse to what she had just been told. Then she nodded back to Ciri and their conversation moved on.
At one point, there was a conversation about the ancestral weapons of the clans. Those suits of armour, swords, spears and the like that each clan has in their possession that carry the story of lineage with them. Often weapons of fables that are no longer anywhere to be seen. Weapons like the Sun Spear and the Club of resurrection.
Someone was bemoaning the lack of artifacts for clan Baedd Du as we didn't have enough warriors or people to go questing to recover anything that was worth the name and I suddenly had an inspiration. I went to my gear and took out Father Gardan's axe which I took to Helfdan.
“Lord Jarl.” I told him. “This axe was carried by a great man. Although not all would agree with his politics, he did his best to fight injustice wherever he found it and he fought against it and evil. I have been looking for someone to bear this weapon for a long time. It would honour me greatly if you would accept the axe and add to it's storied lineage. I charge you to use it for what it was created. To protect those that need protecting and to fight against evil wherever it might be.”
Helfdan took the axe with a small glimmer of approval in the workmanship of the weapon before giving it a few experimental swings.
Thus almost taking his own head off to much laughter.
“I thank you Lord Frederick for this gift.” He said loudly. “I will find someone to wield it who will do you, and the honourable man who formerly wielded it, proud.”
It was like a weight off my mind. Like one of those things where you aren't quite aware of just how much you've been worrying about something or how stressed you've been about something before it's taken away. I felt lighter somehow. As though the weights had been removed from my shoulders.
We continued drinking for a long time, laughing and joking. The axe was passed around from man to man who all admired the workmanship and the craftsmanship that went into it. More than one person gave it an experimental swing with a hopeful look at Helfdan as they prayed that they might be worthy of the weapon.
But Helfdan ignored them, dealing with other things.
For my money, the only man who looked as though he might be able to handle the thing properly, or knew how to handle it properly, was Skallagrim. Who took it up, hefted the weapon before swinging it through the air with ease.
“I am not worthy of this weapon.” He declared and passed it on to the next person in the line.
Men were beginning to go to sleep when the mood shifted. The long days and nights before this conspired to send many men to their beds before they would normally have gone and I was left with only the really hard-core drinkers by the end of things. I did take a bit of time to notice that I was one of these hard-core drinkers before I stopped worrying about it all.
Dreng, Roary and the others along with the members of the new Clan that had come from outside of Helfdan's initial circle had gone to quarters or left us to some privacy when I found myself looking around at the men and the women that were still sat, or at least vaguely upright, around the table which was when I realised what was happening.
We were all saying Good-bye.
The moment that I realised what was happening was when Svein had his turn with Gardan's axe. Now the axe of Clan Baedd Du. The Silver blade. He took it off the man next to him and examined it in the minutest detail before closing his eyes. “My brother Haakon would have loved this axe.” He said. “None would have dared stand before him if he carried it.
I looked at him as he passed the axe on and embraced his wife and the knowledge of the mood surrounding us took root in my brain and my consciousness.
This was not the last time that we would be together. Helfdan had promised a few things that he intended to make good on and was still saying so loudly. But the realisation that things were coming to a close in Skellige and that Kerrass, Ciri and I would soon be moving on, hit me in the face like a War-hammer and I was suddenly a maudlin drunk. The shift can be a subtle one when this happens and had the change not been quite as brutal as it was, I might not have noticed it or otherwise put it down to the end of a long day and a need to go to bed.
But as a wise man once said, “Not all tears are evil” and as a result, the Skelligans accepted my emotions without mocking or teasing. Nor was I the only one weeping at the realisation of it all. I found myself looking at them all, including the Empress and doing my best to remember them all in this context. Conversation shifted to those friends and loved ones that we had lost. Stories had been told many times about the fallen but now those stories took on an extra tone.
Svein and Kar wept for the loss of their brothers. I wept for Ivar, I found that I missed that old man and there were more. So many more.
We drank long into the night. Talking, weeping together and telling stories before eventually, Helfdan insisted that we would all need to get some rest as we all had things to do in the morning.
The argument that the morning was already here seemed to fall on deaf ears with him.
The following morning greeted me, miraculously, without a hangover. Ariadne claimed that I was still drunk and she might have been entirely fair. I did ask if she could mitigate the damage and the later suffering and she told me that she could, but that it would be better if I did that myself using proper and more normal methods.
I got the feeling that she wanted me to suffer.
I went down to breakfast and found that there was an atmosphere about the place of people trying to get back to normal after a party. People were walking around with a purpose. The drunks were being cleaned out and the grand displays were being taken down. The first ships had been sighted that were coming to take the other Jarls back to their home ports and there was a long number in a series of farewells.
The other fleet that had been spotted was the Imperial fleet, coming to take the Empress home while doing any number of errands that she might find to do on the way. Much to Lord Voorhis' exasperation.
Lord Ermion the druid departed that day as well. He came to say goodbye and shook my hand and pretended to hesitate a bit before he took Kerrass' hand.
“You're a good man Witcher.” He told the astonished Kerrass.
“I very much doubt that Lord Druid.”
“No, I mean it. I will always regret what happened to poor Lennox but...”
“Wait a minute.” I burst in. “Poor Lennox?”
“Yes. I found his story very tragic and it is a strong man indeed that can break free of the influence of the whims of Gods and nature. He was not. He was a tool of the Gods and he hated himself for that. I felt sorry for him and I do feel sorry for him, wherever he is.”
I let it slide. It doesn't do to argue with Druid's too much.
“But, yes. I will always regret what happened with Lennox and I am sorry for that. I'm sorry that you didn't get what you came for. And I am grateful that you chose to be gentle about it, rather than to torture the information out of him. Or to get some mage to tear the information out of his skull.”
I managed to swallow my first response to that which was “If I had known that that was an option then....”I hated myself a little for thinking that.
Kerrass didn't blink at that though. He had known that it was an option and had dismissed it out of hand. “Such an action might have made exiting problems worse. And I wanted to cover all bases before I went to such drastic extremes.” He told the Druid.
“Not all Witchers of my acquintence would do that.” Lord Ermion suggested. “Sorceresses either for that matter. Still, I will let you get on. I want to be back at the refuge well before nightfall and see what the mice have been up to while the cat has been away. Smoking their pipes and eating interesting mushromms probably. See you all anon.”
With that he strode off for a more private goodbye with Ciri.
The Sorceresses were also making noises about making themselves scarce and Ariadne wanted to depart as well as there was “Business to discuss”. I wasn't looking forward to her leaving as we had only had a week together but I was consoled with the fact that we would be spending an entire winter together.
But then Helfdan intervened, preventing Kerrass from going down to the harbour to book us passage back to Novigrad and gathering Ciri, Kerrass, Ariadne and I together in a group.
“I know that the four of you want and need to head on your ways sooner rather than later.” He began. “And as your Captain it is my duty to speed you on your way. But I crave your indulgence for a little longer. I must now sail south and survey my new lands and I want to talk to you Frederick and you.... Ciri on some of those factors. But then I want to sail back to my own harbour. I do not feel as though the last voyage of the Wave-Serpent is over until I have seen my home harbour and enjoyed the feast of home-coming.
“I promised the three of you that I would feast you in my own hall as guests, but now you are more than that. You fought as part of the crew of the Wave-Serpent on her final voyage and it would seem right to me that you also get to see the end of that.
“And I would like you all to be there.”
“I am flattered that you should ask.” Ariadne began. “But I did not sail on the vessel although I wish I had been there to help.”
“You did not madam but you are the love of one of my ship-mates. That makes you something to me as well and I have things to say to the two of you there.”
Ariadne considered and then nodded. “I will go and tell the others that I will meet them in a couple of days and that they can communicate telepathically should anything come up.”
We nodded.
“Of course I will come.” Ciri said. “I would have had to sail past your port anyway on my way south so.... Why not. An extra day or two won't count for much.”
“Lord Voorhis might disagree.” I teased.
“Lord Voorkis can go....”
“I would be glad to come.” I interrupted. “Kerrass?”
“Honoured, Helfdan. Honoured.” Kerrass was struggling with the thought of leaving himself. I get the feeling that he would have preferred to pull the bandage away quickly rather than prolong matters but he would later admit that he was finding it impossible to deny Helfdan anything. He wouldn't tell me why but I suspect that there was something there about loyalty and acceptance.
I have no idea what, so don't ask.
So we all piled into Captain Rymer's Longship. Some of his men had stayed behind to gather all of the supplies and materials that we were going to be taking with us. That had been part of the gifts that had been given to Helfdan as part of the formation of the new clan. The majority of the rest of Roary's and Dreng's men were left behind as well other than what they considered to be their closest advisors. Skallagrim joined us, bringing his family with us because, why the hell not.
Hjalmar and the Queen came to see us off. I've had harder partings during Kerrass' and my time together but this one was quite special. I did my best to spend a bit of time in the hall of Kaer Trolde, taking in the details and the way everything worked together. I wanted to bring elements of it to when Ariadne and I have our own place. Some of the elements of etiquette and informality that I had found that I liked.
But then it was time to go. Queen Cerys was formal, wishing us all a fond and grateful farewell as we filed aboard the ship in order to depart. She had words for Helfdan that neither of them shared and she spoke to the others as well. To me, she asked me to be gentle when it came time to record my journies in Skellige. She asked me to think well of them all, even those people that had done me wrong. I told her that I was going to miss her islands and that I was already planning my return visit.
She smiled before moving on down the line.
Hjalmar was much less formal. He gave me a huge hug and a bottle of Skelligan whisky. It's different from Dwarven Whisky in some way. Less harsh and actually a bit smoother than the kinds of spirit that you get coming out of Mahakam and places. He told me to be well. To look after Kerrass for him and that he would see me at my wedding if not before.
I didn't bother asking how he had been invited or who had done the inviting. As regular readers will know, I have known for some time, these matters are mostly out of my hands. That Ciri, Emma and thirdly, Ariadne are taking those matters in hand. Also, Kerrass had promised Hjalmar that he could come to my stag party.
One slightly worrying comment was that Hjalmar promised to bring the stags.
I have no idea what he meant by that.
As we sailed out, Helfdan passed a bundle to Rymer which turned out to be the new Clan standard. There were three of them in total. One was a large one that would be raised over Helfdan's keep when he eventually had one. A second was unfurled at the top of Kaer Trolde as we sailed forth and the third was flown from the top of Rymer's mast as he maneauvred out of the harbour.
There were still more being made but they were the three that seemed to have been a priority for everyone in the meantime.
It is a beautiful standard. It was simple and decisive. A purple field (meaning background for those people who don't know about heraldic terms.) with a black boar outlined in white, charging across it. I do not know who chose the purple but I thought it was rather a clever choice. I understood that Svein wanted to attract those members of Clan Drummond that might still be useful and have a sense of honour. So the colour scheme was suggesting a sense of continuation. I have no idea if it worked, or is working or not.
I rather suspect that if he could have done without a flag, then Helfdan would have been just as happy as he was with one. Another one of those choices where people around him had decided that he deserved a proper banner and symbol, waved some options in front of him and he had chosen one in order to get rid of them and make them stop bothering him.
I still don't know why men call him the black boar by the way. Most nick-names in Skellige seem to have some kind of basis in fact but Helfdan's name seemed to be separate from that.
People lined the harbour itself to see us go. A gesture that was not lost on anyone although I think it embarrassed Helfdan immensely. A lot of the craftsmen left us gifts of various kinds. Many were of the type and flavour of the promises of goods and services in order to help establish the new clan. The innkeeper and his wife were weeping openly as we left. I had worried that our exorcising the spirit of the Skeleton Ship would leave him distraught at the prospect that his family would be without their purpose but he told me that it had left them with a sense of freedom that he had never experienced before. His son still intended to take over the inn when he himself died but after that, anything could happen. Apparently, one son was already preparing to put some things together to open Helfdan's first tavern in Holmstein.
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But as Rymer sailed the ship out of the harbour, the gathered warriors and towns folk gathered on the quayside and cheered us as we left.
As I say, Helfdan was mortified but the others cheered with the people. They waved and gestured and roared their own approval back at the waiting people. I stood with Kerrass.
“I don't know what to make of this Freddie.” He said quietly. “Normally when I leave a place, people don't even bother to say farewell. It's as though I'm an embarrassment to them and they just want me to go and never return. I can't blame them but this is....” He shook his head.
“Is it truly so awful?” I asked him. “Would it make you feel better if I pointed out that they are also cheering Helfdan and Ciri?”
He chuckled. “More than you might think.”
I sighed. I was struggling with more complex emotions than that but I tried for him anyway.
“You did a great thing here Kerrass. Don't get me wrong, the historian in me tells me that in future years, the tale of the last voyage of the Skeleton Ship will forget the presence of the Witcher, the Empress and the Northern Lord. I suspect that people will speak of the Skelligan warlord and founder of Clan Baedd Du and how he stood alone on the deck of the Skeleton Ship to say farewell to it's Captain.”
“Helfdan will not allow that.”
“No he won't. But you're assuming that he will have a choice in the matter. Hell, it would not surprise me if, even now, men are working somewhere to discover some ancient connection of Helfdan to some line of heroes or another. You mark my words. By the time of his grandchildren. Helfdan will be descended from someone important and the fact that men called him the Bastard will be down to a respectful acknowledgment of his clever tactics.”
“Are you just trying to make me feel more miserable?” Kerrass asked.
“No. But I can't help it if my mood is coming out a little.” I sighed. “Regardless of all of that. Kerrass, you figured out a solution to a problem that men, women, elf and Vodyanoi have been trying to figure out for centuries. How many lives have you saved in these actions. How many people have you rescued from a horrible death. You did a great thing here Kerrass. You deserve a little acknowledgement and adulation.”
He nodded and turned back to me. “So do you Freddie. So do you.”
I didn't take that well and retreated from his Witcher's eyes. I was struggling with a feeling fo failure. For all that we had accomplished. I was no closer to finding out what had happened to my sister than I had ever been. I felt that we had wasted our time and that all of these things were for nothing. I thought all of these things and then I felt ashamed of them. Everything that I had said to Kerrass was true. We had done great things and now I was trying to dismiss them because the great things that we had done had nothing to do with what I actually wanted to get done.
I went and stood with Ariadne who was watching it all with her customary fascination. She was stood next to Rymer and asking him a series of questions when he would much rather have been concentrating on what he was doing I'm sure. Given the number of people that were watching him sail. He wanted to do this one thing perfectly and the presence of all of these strange people asking questions was not doing his nerves any good.
I didn't need to tell Ariadne how I felt. She knew, gently wrapping her arms around me and telling me that it was alright and that I didn't need to feel guilty.
But I did.
Rymer had done his best to get Helfdan to sail the ship out of the harbour. He felt that it was an honour that Helfdan deserved, but Helfdan had refused with a look of almost distaste. He told Rymer that it was Rymer's ship and that, as such, it would be inappropriate. So instead, Rymer did it himself with everyone looking on.
He made it out of the harbour without incident and he visibly sagged as he did so despite the un abashed cheering from all aboard. Including Svein and the other survivors of the Wave-Serpent.
As we got out of the harbour we were joined by the Imperial flotilla that arranged themselves in an escort formation around us which also had the side effect of forcing Rymer to slow his speed so that we didn't out run the larger, slower flag ships of the Imperial Navy.
I think that Helfdan and Rymer would have both preferred to ignore this but Ciri had smiled at them both sweetly and the matter was decided.
The ship grew somber as we sailed past that place where the Wave-Serpent had wrecked herself against the shore. There were people there, still working to salvage from the similarly wrecked Nilfgaardian ships. There was also a large funeral pyre that was being added to on a semi-regular basis, mostly men dressed in Nilfgaardian outfits, but the odd Skelligan amongst them as well. Men who we had been unable to salvage who had since been washed ashore. Those of us that survived that massacre stood at the rail and watched that piece of shore-line until it was out of sight and we left to think our own, more private thoughts.
I may have imagined it but I am pretty sure that after passing that place and the multiple wrecked ships, the other men that were with us, particularly Lord Roary and his entourage who seemed to be more aware of sea factors and sea combat, treated us all with that little bit more respect.
It was actually not that long after that that we reached Holmstein harbour. There were already craftsmen there that were repairing the quays from the couple of years neglect that they had suffered in the meantime and there was a considerable beach for the longship to be pulled aboard.
Another brief argument about precedence ensued where Helfdan wanted Ciri to disembark first on the grounds that she was the Empress of the Continent. But she wanted him to disembark first on the grounds that this was his land now and that he should.
Helfdan allowed himself to be persuaded eventually and leapt over the side nimbly to survey his new domain.
Truth be told, it was not that inspiring a sight.
I know, I know that in the stories. A lord is supposed to land in his new territory and bow down to kiss the ground and plants and flowers should bloom instantly. But that wasn't the case.
The omens weren't bad, according to those people that watch for that kind of thing, but the truth of the matter was that Holmstein was not that inspiring. The remains of Clan Drummond had salvaged what they could and taken some steps to make sure that no-one could take advantage of the absense. The keep was in ruins, there were goats, sheep and other animals around the place. There were people there, already starting the work of salvaging and deciding what the various houses could be used for and what buildings could be used again and which needed to just be pulled down.
Helfdan looked around impassively, one hand on his sword hilt, saying nothing. Svein sent a few men out on patrol including a man from each of the guards of the Lords and they ran off but I also noticed that men had loosened their swords and axes in their belts. Also that Yngvild had put her helm on and was standing near Helfdan with the shielf poised.
Helfdan went to three spots. I couldn't have told you what was different about those three spots over any of the other places that he could have stood. But he went there, moving purposefully and then he stood, looking around. It took a while.
Then he nodded.
“Let's go look at the keep.” He said before marching up the steps to what remained of the former keep of Clan Drummond, leaving the rest of us to scramble to keep up.
This looked worse than the village had. The village had been left to rot due to neglect and some little combat. But the real damage had been done on the keep. For a start, the keep, to my eyes, was showing signs of neglect and disrespect before any kind of invading army got anywhere near it. To my arm-chair general eyes, it looked old and woefully indefensible. Even before enemy forces had come to sack the place, I got the feeling that there should have been new walls built, the ditches needed to be properly rebuilt and maintained and the stakes that greeted all that kind of thing needed to be properly sighted.
Any modern continental army would have rolled over this thing.
True there were all the existing problems of having to land on the islands in the first place and get enough of a military on the island itself before you could even begin to consider beseiging a castle like this. But even so. That would not have stopped, nor did it stop, another clan from getting here and destroying everything in a suitable radius.
The place smelt of wet ash, animal dung and damp, rotting vegetable matter. It was not a pleasant place. We were quite subdued as we went in. Kerrass found an old torch that he thought might be useful and gestured to light it so that we could at least see where we were going. It wasn't that there was no light. But the keep itself was coming apart at the seams. Small shafts of light seemed to have the strange effect of making the place even gloomier than it was before.
I didn't like it.
Helfdan went in, moving past those of us that were there, in theory, for his protection. He found an old spear or halbard shaft and went rooting round in the debris looking for things. Others joined him. Svein found an old banner of Clan Drummond that he held out for a while with an unreadable expression on his face. His wife joined him and held his hand. Svein folded the flag carefully and tucked it inside his shirt with a strange expression on his face. It was not a big flag. It was possibly from the end of a spear or something, or a side tapestry. Certainly not something that men would follow into battle.
Dreng commented that there hadn't been much of a fight here. That the defending soldiers had seen that there was no hope at all and had all retreated pretty swiftly. That the following troops had burned the keep, because that's what you do when you take an enemies keep before moving after the retreating remnants of Clan Drummond. . He said that it was almost a victory with no battle. But that the war was still being fought even today.
“People should know when they are beaten.” He said.
“Would you agree that you were beaten?” Helfdan asked from the other side of the room. “Would I?”
Dreng sighed and kicked a piece of debris into the shadow. “Once, I would have fought until the bitter end. But then I realised that I no longer believed in the cause that I was fighting for.”
“What did you do then?” Roary was there. He seemed less of a caricature of himself when he was away from the feasting hall and away from his men. Much calmer and more collected than he had been previously.Dreng laughed suddenly and the shadow of gloom that had collected over his head seemed to dissipate.
“I changed sides.” He said.
Roary laughed. He does that regularly and often. The kind of man who refuses to hide what he is thinking on the grounds that he feels as though he is being dishonest.
Helfdan stopped examining the rooms and moved towards what had once been the dais. He was dragging the reminas of a chair with him. The throne that the madman must have sat upon once was long gone and there was only dirt and filth where it had once stood. Helfdan kicked this aside and placed the schair squarely in the middle of the dais.
“Dreng,” He called. “Stand to the right of me. Svein on my left please. Rymer stand with Dreng and Roary, you stand with Svein please.”
The four men moved to where Helfdan indicated before Helfdan sat down in the chair. He sat there just long enough for the entire thing to start to feel uncomfortable before Helfdan rose abruptly and marched past all of us.
The chair that he had sat on tipped and gently fell over as we all left the hall.
He stopped once in the outer courtyard and turned to look back at the keep itself for a long moment. I stopped where he stopped and followed his line of sight. He was looking at that place where a banner would fly. He spent a long time looking at an empty patch of sky before he shook his head and marched out to the harbour.
“Is he always like this?” Roary asked Dreng.
“Yes.” Svein answered as Dreng shrugged. “Yes he's always like this. And no, I don't know what he's looking for either. Never have and I doubt I ever will. But there was a saying on the Wave-Serpent. “That's why he's the Captain, and we ain't”.”
Roary laughed. “I like that. I will keep it.”
I remembered the saying. It had been Ivar that had told me that for the first time.
Helfdan gathered us all in the square out before the harbour. Ygritte too although she tried to avoid the gathering.
“There's no getting away from this harbour.” Helfdan told us all. Ciri sidled away as she realised that this was clan business.
“There is no getting away from this harbour.” Helfdan said again. “In the long run, we are going to have to look at getting some engineers to make this harbour more defensible but for now we will have to make do with it. I have to take care of some business back at my old, now Svein's village which means that he and Ygritte have to come as well.”
Dreng looked as though he wanted to protest that.
“Until I have a ship of my own, I'm going to use Rymer to sail me about.”
Rymer laughed at that. “I am your Thrall after all.” He agreed.
“We are also going to be escorted by the Imperial Flotilla so it won't be a danger. Nor will it take very long. We'll go out there, spend the night and then come back tomorrow so expect us back before midday.”
Helfdan's Lords nodded their understanding.
“While I'm away, Dreng acts for me and speaks in my name. Don't get too full of yourself brother,”
Dreng grinned at that. Helfdan did not.
“Because I'm leaving you with a lot to do.”
Dreng nodded, serious again.
“Over the next couple of days, all of your.... all of our people are going to start to arrive. So the harbour needs to be made servicable. After that, I want everything torn down. Everything.”
“Everything?” Svein wondered.
“Everything.” Helfdan confirmed again. “We will not found a new clan in the ruins of an old.”
There was some nodding to that.
“The castle is unworkable anyway.” Helfdan wasn't done. “I warn you now that I'm going to ask the Scribbler here to put me in touch with some Dwarven and Temerian Siege engineers. I want a keep and a harbour that armies and fleets break upon like water.”
All of them nodded firmly. Roary grinned savagely.
“We're still in the heights of summer so shelter will not be a problem. There is plenty of game in the immediate area and Clan Drummond will not have been able to end all the crops. So there is no reason for anyone to sleep in the leavings of the Madman.
“When we return, Svein? We have men and women from three different clans. We are going to need to turn all of us into comrades. I don't want competition between the former Tuirseach's and the Dimun's. Nor the An Craite's versus everyone else. We are clan Baedd Du now and we all need to start acting and thinking like it.”
“Yes Lord Jarl.” Svein grinned before frowning in thought. I knew him well enough to guess that he was already thinking.
“Ygritte?”
“Lord Jarl?”
“When we come back here. I want you to start thinking about how we would defend this place. The reason you and Svein work together is because he is tactical, you are Strategic. I want to know where you would put Watch-Towers, look out points and how you would defend our territory. I also want alternative sites for keeps. Including the one we have so don't discount that out of hand. But look for others as well. You will need to work closely with Svein on that. Will that be a problem?”
“No Lord Jarl.”
“Good. You are Hersir along with your Husband. That should give you the authority to do what you need to do.”
“Thank you Lord Jarl.”
“Lord Roary?”
“Yes Lord Jarl?” The big man was grinning.
“What Svein is doing for the warriors, you need to do for the ships. We have maybe half a dozen ships. We will get more and we will build more. But if we all have to work together, or sail together, we need to have some cohesion.”
“Yes Sire.”“Also, scour my waters of pirates. No-one sails on my water unless they are coming to see me, trade in our port or fly the Queen's flag legitimately. Do what you have to to arrange that would you please?”
Roary grinned with relish. “It will be my distinct pleasure.”
“Is that going to be a problem Roary. Some of those pirates might have been friends of yours?” Dreng joked.
“Nah, I sail for Jarl Helfdan now. If anything it will make it easier, I know where they hide. Svein, a quick word before you go...”
Helfdan nodded as though all was where it should be before marching back towards Rymer's ship.
He had been ashore for less than two hours.
We didn't know Roary very well but he came to see us off. Shaking my hand, Kerrass' hand and flirting with Ciri in a way that made her laugh before he went about his duties. Dreng was a bit more friendly. He shook my hand and hoped that there was no hard feelings. There wasn't. Before doing the same with Kerrass and hugging Ciri goodbye. One of the numerous people that had known her when she had spent a lot of time in Skellige.
We sailed along the coastline and gradually, it turned from unfamiliar coastline into a line of cliffs, gullies and beaches that had become familiar, even loving. I spent my time at the rail watching for the familiar landmarks that said that we were approaching Helfdan's home port. The rock formation that looked like an old man's face. The cove where pirates had once landed to smuggle their goods before being chased off some hundred years ago. The wrecked ship that had been blown onto the rocks by a storm which many claimed still contained treasure.
And then there it was.
The people cheered as we came into harbour. Helfdan did have to guide Rymer in then, although he still refused to take the tiller. Rymer's ship did bump against the rocks and the dock a couple of times but the entire thing had been designed to make it all difficult. We disembarked with a warning to Rymer's crew that we would be leaving on the morning. Ciri would be dropped off with the Imperial Flotilla while Kerrass and I would be making our way back north to Kaer Trolde to take ship back to Novigrad.
It was a homecoming for many of the people there and I was reminded that some members of the Wave-Serpent had not been home in the meantime. Including Svein and Helfdan themselves.
It was an emotional afternoon and evening with many a tear shed and many a hug shared. Once again, I was overjoyed to see that Ariadne was embraced with open arms by the villagers and she was instantly taken off to get she would later tell me was “women's wisdom”. Especially regarding her coming wedding night.
Ariadne took it with good grace although she did look back a little helplessly as she was taken away.I was greatly moved by Kerrass and my reception as well. People were still a little cold towards Ciri but it seemed more like a memory of past issues. It was the kind of thing where people would kind of realise that they were being unpleasant before shaking themselves and making an effort to embrace the woman.
We made our way towards the hall where people started to exchange news.
Sigurd was there with his new wife and he showed her off proudly. And rightly so. She was indeed a beautiful young lady. Other than her outfit and weapons, if I hadn't known that she wasn't human then I wouldn't have spotted it. Kerrass would have as his medallion shook when he went near her. But otherwise, she was certainly pale and her face was a slightly different shape.
She did tricks for our entertainment. Tricks with swordsmanship, the likes of which I have never seen.She stood in the centre of twelve candles that were lit and her sword was sheathed. Then she moved, spinning on the spot and finished the pirhouette with her sword extended and the candles were extinguished.
I got the impression that she was rather getting tired of performing in this way but as it made Sigurd absurdly happy, then she was happy to continue. His pride in his wife, and their love for each other was plain for all to see. Her language was now, only slightly accented and I enjoyed a long talk with her which I absolutely intend to write up for the university at some point so watch this space.
It became clear that we were going to be feasted in Helfdan's own hall as he had promised. Wild Pork and Venison were promised and plenty of ale and mead were likewise promised. But before the festivities could get into full swing, Helfdan came and got Kerrass, Ciri and myself. Ygritte had been sent to fetch Ariadne and she met us outside.
“What's this about?” Ariadne asked and I shrugged in answer.
Helfdan led us through the village and out towards the trees and the outside wall where he led us up some stairs and onto the surrounding wall itself. There he led us along the wooden wall until we came to part of the cliff that had formed the headland out to sea that made the harbour itself more sheltered.
There were steps carved into the rock and we found more than one lookout posted near a small fire basket and a signal horn. A longbow was strung next to each guard post and signal arrows were there ready. They nodded to Helfdan as he passed and Helfdan acknowledged the gestures.
He led us to a place where we could see all of the village laid out below us. There were small fires everywhere and if you closed your eyes and squinted you could imagine the place as a constellation in the night sky. It reminded me of something but I have no idea what it reminded me of.
Then Helfdan began speaking.
“I have three tasks left to perform as the Captain of the Wave-Serpent.” He told us. There is one that will happen in the morning when it is time to say farewell but we are not there yet. The next will happen in the hall when we mourn the ship and mourn the men that did not make it back. There will be more than one sore head in the morning.”
We all smirked at the thought.
“But my first task is this.” He stood with his back to the village so that it appeared that he was haloed in the light from the fires. “All of the sailors on the Wave-Serpent had homes here in this village. Whether they served for one voyage or have been with me since I first took command of her, this is our home and our safe harbour. Tonight, I will pass the lordship of this place over to Svein. He will care for it and follow my wishes.
“All three of you sailed and fought with my crew aboard the Wave-Serpent.” He said before turning to Ariadne. “Lady, I invite you here as I felt that, marrying into my crew, you should be part of this choice.” Then he went back to addressing us all. “Every one of my crew has a home here. So although your travels around the world might mean that you never come back to this place. Even if you live in palaces and make your way on the road. Then I want you all to know that there is a home for you here.”
Ciri opened her mouth to object and I was not far behind her.
“I know what you are going to say.” He told us with a slight smile. “Although you began as passengers, you fought, did chores, sailed, laughed and bled for us. Without you, we would not have made it home.”
“Without us, you would never have been at risk.” Kerrass told him, trying to be the emotionless Witcher and failing.
“Maybe, but there is always risk. It is not just a figure of speech either. Where would you like us to build your homes? Look out over the village, I suspect that the place will expand soon under Svein's care. It will become a place of fisher-folk rather than a home for raiders but still.”
Kerrass nodded, allowing himself to be persuaded.
“I should refuse.” Ciri said. “I should say no. We hated each other once Helfdan.”
“We did,” Helfdan admitted. “But you are of me now. That's what sailing together means.”
She nodded. “Then make my house a small one. A simple place near the harbour. I have always loved the sounds of the sea and the cry of the gull to wake me.”
Helfdan nodded.
“Oh and, umm, keep it secret. Tell folk that it is Zirael's house. Please? I may need somewhere to remind me of how ordinary I can be sometimes.”
Helfdan nodded and smiled.
Ariadne and I had turned to each other. “What do you think?” I asked her.
“It's all a bit much.” She admitted, also touched by the gesture. She was leaving tomorrow as well and was reluctant to let go of me. “We will be living in a large manor house, with servants and things. I would occasionally want for something simple. Even if it is just some privacy to....” She turned back to Helfdan. “Are there any caves nearby?” She asked.
“Many,” Helfdan said simply.
“Then Freddie will enjoy the open air. Somewhere in the trees with the mountains in the background and water nearby while I can use a nearby cave for my work when we need privacy. Somewhere to retire to maybe.”
Helfdan nodded.
Kerrass was staring out over the village. If he could have, I suspect that there would have been tears in his eyes. “Build me somewhere in the middle of things.” He said in a strangled kind of voice. “I don't care where. But I have never found acceptance like I have among your people. So build me somewhere where I can be surrounded by people please. Or give me a dead man's hut, I don't mind. Somewhere where I can be part of a community.”
Helfdan nodded and that was that.
We retraced our steps and returned to the hall where the feast was just getting started. I won't go into too much detail of that night. We sang songs, told stories, many of which I have already recounted in these pages. We gave each other gifts and swore eternal friendship. Many will be coming to my stag party and I look forward to seeing them again.
It was another one of those nights that I wish I could remember more of. I had been to more and more of this kind of thing really and I was beginning to look forward to just being able to stop at the end of the night. Where a meal didn't have to be a feast and a drink didn't come in a barrel. But I had a good time.
It was a wake really. The Wake for the Wave-Serpent and the wake of the men that had died there. There had been a more formal and prestigious thing up at Kaer Trolde of course as part of the other things that happened at the same time. But this? This was a whole other...
It was more intimate. The families of the dead men could attend as well as their children and the villagers that had known those men since they had first arrived or, in some few cases, since they had been born.I am coming to prefer the idea of a Skelligan wake more and more to the point that I have left instructions that this is how I am to be mourned if it comes to that. I have written to Emma and talked to Ariadne and in future, there will be a party where my friends and loved ones will gather round a big fucking bonfire, eat too much, drink too much and tell stories. Then someone can quietly put my headstone in place in our little crypt. Who cares what happens to my body.
But that was what it was.
We did all of those things. We laughed, talked, sang, ate, drank, wept, sobbed and all round again. Ariadne was there. Ciri was there, everyone was there. It was the last night that we were all together. The real ending of our journey together and it was with tears in our eyes that we watched Helfdan stand up.
“This is no longer my hall.” He declared in a manner that struck me as being rather formal. He walked down among us and took Svein by the hand. He held his other hand out for Ygritte who took the other hand and he led Svein up to the dais.
“Sit.” Helfdan ordered and with tears in his eyes the much taller, the much wider and much stronger man allowed his legs to fold under him as he sat down in the chair at the top of the hall. Ygritte went to Svein's side, both of them with their eyes shining.
Helfdan stood back and Ciri handed him a drinking horn.
“Hail Svein.” Helfdan roared. “Hard-hand. Warlord. Comrade.... and friend.”
“HAIL SVEIN,” The hall roared, myself along with them, their feet stamping and hands crashing together.
“Hail Ygritte.” Helfdan roared again. “Brightspear. Fair-hair. Battle-master. My shield and my protector..... And my friend.”
“HAIL YGRITTE.” The crowd answered.
Helfdan turned back to the pair of them, someone had brought another chair for Ygritte to sit in which she did, looking stunned and uncomfortable.
“Hail.” Helfdan said finally into the silence. “To the Lord and Lady of the Hidden Harbour. This is your hall now. So I say again. Hail.”
“Hail.” The crowd answered, a little more subdued as Helfdan downed the contents of the drinking horn before stepping back up to the dais and the two men embraced fiercely, Ygritte joining them making the hug a trio.
And the night ended.
“How does it feel?” I asked Svein later. “To be Lord of this place.”
He laughed, his own emotions warring on his face and making him uncomfortable. “It's all a bit big to be honest, I keep coming back to when I first saw Helfdan. I remember thinking that he was just a scrawny kid, following a ship's Captain around. He gave me back my honour, my strength and my life. That scrawny kid found me a wife, found me a purpose and has now elevated me back to where I was as the Warlord of a major Clan and has given me land of my own to govern. I am elevated far beyond where I thought I would be able to go and I do not know....”
He shook his head, tugging his wife closer in an unconscious gesture before, visibly, a thought floated to the surface. “I tell you one thing though,” he said. “I'll need a bigger chair.”
His wife laughed with him just before the big man dissolved into tears for all that he had gained and all that he had lost.
I went to my guest rooms after that.
The following morning was more subdued. All of us now wanted to be on our way. There was no way that we could procrastinate any further, no way that we could draw out the departure or the farewells. No more excuses for feasts or delays. We rose early, ate a quick breakfast and went out to the harbour.
Rymer's men were preparing for departure, loading extra supplies onboard. There was an Imperial launch waiting to take Ciri out to the Flag-ship and her long journey South. Ariadne would soon be teleporting away to return to her own work. Kerrass and my horses were bridled nearby, laden with far too many supplies for the journey back to Kaer Trolde and the rest of the continent. I wanted to cry but couldn't.
Helfdan stood, looking up at the village and I could sense a farewell in his gaze.
Then he beckoned us all over.
“Lady, will you excuse us for just a moment?” He asked Ariadne and she stepped back. Sigurd was there with his wife and at his gesture, she too retired to stand a small distance away.
“We are all that remains of the crew of the Wave-Serpent.” Helfdan told us as we stood in a circle. He was pacing around the interior of the circle. As opposed to his regular habit, he was looking each of us in the eye.
“From here many of us will go to help rebuild Holmstein and to form the basis of a new clan. Still others will remain here and continue to serve from this place. Ciri, the Swallow, is travelling South. A friend that I did not look for and did not believe that I would ever call friend. Scribbler and Witcher return to their Quest on the mainland.
“We all bear scars about the final voyage of the Wave-Serpent. Scars of the body that made it so that we will never sail again. Scars of the heart that mean that we will never want to sail again. Scars of the mind that mean that we will wake, shrieking in the midst of the night as we wake from a nightmare of being carried aloft in a harpy's claws or from being impaled by a Nilfgaardian's arrow.
“But we have shared something that no-one else will ever understand. We were there. We stood on that deck as we drove her onto the beach to fight monsters of myth. We stood in freezing cold to face our ancient enemy and at the last, we rowed with all of our strength, will and everything else that we could muster as the Wave-Serpent made her last desperate effort to keep her crew alive.”
We nodded. I had thought I had shed all my tears the previous night but I was wrong, and I was not the only person weeping.
“There is a fellowship here.” Helfdan said. “A bond, forged in the heat of battle and through a shared cup of warmth as we sailed on frozen waters. There were good days and there were bad days. Days when we would snap and shout at each other and other days where we were united in a friendship so pure that we may never feel it's like again.
“No-one else, other than the people in this circle, will remember the men that we lost if we do not keep that memory alive. No-one will sing songs about it or tell tales of those great and terrible deeds and sacrifices unless we make them remember that there was a ship called Wave-Serpent.”
He took a moment to look at all of us again.
“I despise secret orders.” He said. “Secret symbols that exclude others. That serve to divide us as much as they unite small groups. But at the same time, no matter what happens from here, I wanted us all to remember that ship and those men.
“So I had these made.” He reached into a pouch at his side and produced a small bag... “Now I did not have enough for everyone yet. The Silversmith up in Kaer Trolde is working hard for me, but he just couldn't get them all done in time. So I told him to prioritise the three for those of us that are leaving these shores. The rest of us will receive these things in time but, as I'm sure the Scribbler will agree, having had similar experiences in the past, an artist cannot be rushed and we are always happy with the results afterwards.”
I chuckled at that. Remembering a dwarf having me thrown out of his shop because I kept bothering him about an engagement ring. I remember my own joy when I saw it in all it's splendour and I remembered the, rather extreme, reaction of Ariadne when she saw it for the first time. I glanced over to where she waited for me and saw that same ring glittering on her finger.
“But here are three badges.” Helfdan held them out and everyone craned to look. He showed them to the Skelligans first as they would have a delay before receiving theirs, before he came to Kerrass, Ciri and myself.
The badges were small profile carvings of the old figurehead of the Wave-Serpent. That odd, slightly feminine looking snake monster. But the silversmith had contrived that the familiar snarl looked less angry somehow. Instead of a snarl of anger, it seemed a cry of defiance and the carving made the snake-creatured seem more beautiful. They were each different too, the one from the other. Most obviously in the colour of the eyes which were made from tiny jewels. Mine were red while Kerrass' were blue. I think Ciri's were black but I couldn't say for certain.
“I did not want to presume how you would want to wear them.” Helfdan told us. “I intend to wear mine as a pendant but I thought, Ciri, maybe a pin in a collar. Or a cloak pin for the Witcher or something. I do not know.”
“Thank you Helfdan.” Ciri threw her arms round him. “And I will see you soon. Sooner than you might think or want too.”
Helfdan smiled slightly. He was no longer looking in her eyes. “I will look forward to it.” He told her.
She grinned slyly. “Liar.”
We all laughed.
Kerrass was still staring at his little carving, his mouth hanging open in astonishment. “I will treasure this.” He told Helfdan without looking up. “I will treasure you all.”
Helfdan nodded his acceptance of this.
I just thanked him. I tried to come up with something witty or profound to say but I realised that I had nothing to offer. We shook hands.
Then there was one last round of embracing of those men sailing off before there was no-one left and men were moving towards the ship.
“Oh and Scribbler?” Helfdan wasn't done. “I have considered who I should give the axe to and...” He thrust it back into my astonished hands. “I have decided that you should be the one to carry it for me. Learn to use it in my name and one day, I may ask for it back.” He turned back to his ship before I could protest.
“Stitched.” was Ciri's verdict.
“I keep doing that to myself.” I moaned as I watched the men that I love, climbing aboard a ship and preparing to sail off.
Kerrass said nothing. Still gazing down at the smallish silver badge that Helfdan had given him.
Ariadne joined us and the four of us watched Rymer's ship, I can't remember the name of her now, sailing off into the morning light. The other survivors waved from the rail until they went round the head land and out of sight.
Ariadne left next, hugging Kerrass, Ciri and then myself hard, telling the Empress that they would see each other soon before reminding Kerrass and I that she would see us at Winter. She walked away quickly, into the swirling whirlpool of a transport gate.
“Well, this is it.” Ciri told us both. “Thank you, both of you. I owe you more than I can say.” She turned away and looked at the still spreading wake of the departed ship. “I do believe that the pair of you saved my life and reminded me of what's important.”
She turned back and threw her arms round both of us. “I will never forget that.”
She squeezed us both, hard, before turning and moving towards the Imperial Launch. We stood and watched as she was rowed out to the waiting ships until we could no longer tell which one she was.
I took a moment, breathing in the clean air of Skellige.
“Well Kerrass?” I said. “ I vote we head north to Kaer Trolde. We're back to summer now so we can spend the night out of doors and eat some of the simple food that they've given us. Then we do our best to get passage back to the continent without letting anyone know that we're there. I want to get on. I am so done with this place.”
Kerrass said nothing. Back to looking down at the small silver symbol.
“Kerrass?” I tried again.
But he wouldn't take his eyes off it.
“What do I do with it?” His voice cracked at the end of the question.
“I don't know my friend.” I told him gently. “I'm sure it will come to you.”
He nodded, closing his fist around the symbol of his acceptance and we walked towards the horses.
He didn't let go of that symbol for a long time.
(A/N: That's the end of the Skelligan chapter of the travels of Freddie and Kerrass. Far longer than I intended so thank you for sticking with it. We move back to the continent next to answer some questions that people have been looking forward to. I am pleased that Helfdan and his crew have caught on with so many people though. I am enormously fond of them and will miss them terribly moving forward. As always, thankyou for reading.)