Thumbing his axe, Odda son of Odda looked at the land in front of him, his beard whipped in the wind as his longship cut through the Francian waters. It had been a long voyage, but they had evaded all of the Saxon patrol ships and snuck their way deep into unraided territory. With a satisfied grunt he turned to look at his men.

To call these men intimidating would be an understatement. Most of them had long beards and hair, covering their heads from the unrelenting frigid cold in the North. Then there were those that shaved their scalps clean with runic language tattoos cut into their lean muscular bodies, crawling up their necks and onto their shaven heads. One of these men looked at Odda, his eyes splotched with dark paint, turning a casual look into an eerie stare. His mouth turned into a shape of a smile, uncovering sharpened teeth.

“Excited aren’t we Laufey?” Odda smiled back at him. Odda was a large man, standing close to seven feet and dwarfing the rest of his warriors.

“It’s been weeks since my last kill. My axe thirsts and the gods grow weary of waiting.” Laufey said in a voice, dripping with cruelty.

“Worry not, for tonight it’s thirst shall be quenched and the gods will favour us with spoils.” Odda shouted into the air.

Bloodthirsty cries resounded over the still ocean as they cut through the waters, with a start Odda shushed them as he stared out into the distance. A large ship was anchored close to the small village that they targeted.

“Men, our quarry has grown larger, be still now as we close in.” Odda said in a low voice.

With silent nods they replied, putting their backs into rowing closer. The longship’s figurehead of a dragon with its snout etched into a vicious snarl led the way as they closed in on the large ship. Sneaking next to the larger vessel they stopped as the men readied themselves.

Some of the larger warriors, Odda included, knelt down closest to the larger vessel with their backs turned against it. With their hands cupped together, they looked at the men standing opposite them. With a practiced motion, they nodded at each other before the men sprinted towards the large kneeling warriors. They grunted in effort as the lighter men stepped onto their cupped hands and with a heave, threw them in the air.

With muted thumps the vikings landed on the deck finding only three surprised sailors in the midst of drinking from a wine vat. Before they could react, they rushed at them and hacked them to death with brutal efficiency. The last man cried out, breaking the silent attack. A stumbling could be heard from below the deck as a head popped out. Before the new man could utter a sound an axe had embedded itself into his head, causing him to fall back from where he came. Securing the ship, they could find no other men except the four that were guarding it. The boarders walked back towards the ship’s railing and looked down to their longship.

“The ship is clear and rich with goods.” one of the boarders announced to his allies.

“Good, the rest must be at the village.” Odda said.

“Odda why did you not let me board with them.” Laufey snarled.

“You make your opponents scream too much.” Odda replied before adding.” Don’t worry, there is a whole village waiting for you.”

Laufey looked in the village’s direction before licking his lips. The men next to him could only shake their heads at his actions. He had been complaining a lot on their journey about no blood being spilled and now at last his wish will be granted.

“Secure the vessel men, get it ready for when we return. We want to disappear before the sun rises.” Odda shouted up at the boarders.

With a lurch the longship began moving again, oars dug into the water as they rowed to the beat of an unheard rhythm. A few minutes later they arrived at the sandbanks where they disembarked with small splashes resounding in the still night. With only five men on the anchored vessel and three to defend the longship, twenty seven men stood on the sandbank with water up to their hips. They moved towards the beach in powerful strides, quickly arriving on dry sand. When they all gathered together, Odda addressed them.

“We want to make this quick, grab only the valuables. When we get to the church we’ll go in together.” the gathered men grunted in acknowledgment.

“Laufey, you get to kill ten. After that it’s bludgeoning only. My wife has been on my backside because she wants more slaves for the household.” Odda said, getting a few laughs from the men. “We’ll split into three groups. I’ll take the right, Snorri take the left and Laufey. . . take the center but remember what I said.”

Laufey nodded his head vigorously as his breathing quickened and his legs became restless.

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“Head out!” Odda loudly whispered in the darkness, the waves on the beach barely dampening his voice.

The sound of feet hitting the ground filled the air as they jogged around the village. A scream tore through the night, signalling the handiwork of Laufey. With their axes ready, Odda led the way. Seeing a man standing outside one of the houses, one of his men picked up speed, axe held at the ready. Moments before the warriors’ axe hit flesh, a door to one of the bigger buildings opened up and a drunken face peeked out. Hefting his axe, Odda threw his axe in a powerful motion. The man muttered something before his drunken eyes widened, ducking back into the building. Odda’s axe smashed into the doorframe, splintering the wood as it embedded itself deeply.

Surprised at the man’s quick reaction he signaled half his men to the door of the building, sending the other men to the church where most of the valuables of the village supposedly were. With his men gathered near the entryway, one warrior entered into the light that shone out of the building. Moments later something slammed against his face and he fell on his back, completely knocked out. An object rolled on the ground stopping at Odda’s feet. Looking down he smirked. He picked up the ale mug and showed it to his men.

“These men know how to feast. A fight with axes will bring us no glory against them.” Odda said in a loud voice, leaving his axe in the doorframe and dropping his shield onto the grass.”Let’s show them how Northmen fight.”

“But Odda, you said we have to make this quick.” one of his men interjected.

Frowning Odda looked at him.”Then just hit harder you fool.”

Stepping into the light of the building he peered inside when a mug immediately appeared in front of his face. With lightning fast reactions he caught it, his eyes following the trajectory of the thrown mug. He made eye contact with a large man with the bearing of a warrior. He was standing next to another man that looked the same except smaller. Most likely men from the vessel they captured, as their countenance appeared different from the Francians he had previously seen.

Odda’s arm blurred as the mug left his hand and made contact with the large man’s face, breaking his nose. Taking that as their signal, his men streamed out from behind him and the room exploded into violence. All manner of objects flew through the air as the room’s inhabitants picked up anything lying close to them. One of his men rushed the drunken young man that he had missed with his axe. Odda’s eyebrow raised involuntarily as his man was kicked in the face with a grace unbecoming of one so drunk. He smiled, this was going to be fun.

Slamming one of the locals to the side he made his way towards the man. The man turned towards him, his shirt unbuttoned revealing a large scar running over his chest. With unstable legs he set himself in a foreign position, one that Odda had never seen before. With a lunge, Odda threw his fist at the drunken man. His eyes widened as his fist got redirected with a simple push of the man’s hand and an elbow appeared in his vision, smashing into his nose. Stumbling backwards, Odda touched his nose that was now bleeding. Smiling he looked down at the man, blood running down onto his teeth making for a bloody visage. With a charge he tackled the man, pushing him against the wooden wall of the building. A loud crash rang out between the cries of terror in the night as they broke through the wall, Odda’s weight winning against the unfortified wood. They fell on the ground, broken wood surrounding them. As Odda stood up, Laufey appeared around the corner, his body red with blood and a bloody grin set on his face.

“Laufey, I hope you kept to your limits.” Odda said as he put his foot on the man’s chest.

Laufey lifted his axe, still wet with blood and licked it.”I have one more left.” he said cruelly, eyeing the man under Odda’s foot.

“This one is for my wife.” Odda announced after following Laufey’s gaze.

Laufey only shrugged, his eyes kept on the man. Suddenly one of their warriors tumbled through the hole in the wall and slammed into Laufey. A bronze skinned muscular man came out of the hole and paused as he saw Odda standing over the man. Shouting something that Odda couldn’t understand the man charged. Odda braced himself before the man got intercepted by Laufey. He appeared swinging with his axe, intending to embed it in the man’s chest. The man dodged with catlike instincts, jumping out of the way as the axe hit air.

With a cautious gaze, the man turned his attention on the more pressing threat. Laufey charged, enraged that the man dared dodge his strike. With repetitive cleaves he attacked the man but could only strike air as the man skillfully dodged him.

“Hah, Laufey! This man makes you look like a fool even though he is unarmed.” Odda shouted, laughing at his companion’s struggle.

After a few more strikes Laufey reached behind his back and grabbed a knife. In his next strike he baited the man out into a dodge before his other hand stabbed into the man’s side, With a grunt the man gritted his teeth and hit Laufey squarely in the face, breaking his nose. The man dropped to his knees and looked at the figure underneath Odda’s foot again. With eyes filled with the knowledge that he would die tonight, the man stumbled to his feet and plucked out the dagger protruding from his side, worsening the wound. With a last attempt he charged at Odda, his hand grasping the dagger in a white knuckled grip as he left a trail of his own lifeblood. Two meters away from him, the man fell on the ground, an axe blooming from his back. With a last struggle the man crawled closer, his hand outreached. It grasped the other man’s outstretched hand underneath him. Odda looked down and saw the man under his boot with tears running down his face as he looked at his companion. With a last sentence the man breathed out his last pain filled breath.

“Hm, I wonder what that was about.” Odda casually remarked before glancing back at the man beneath him. Eyes filled with hate stared back at him.

“Well we can’t be having that look.” he said. Lifting his foot he smashed it into the man’s face, knocking him unconscious. “Get a move on men, we don’t have all day!” he shouted.

Cries pierced the night as men died or got beaten down. Women screamed as they got raped, some of them lucky enough to die or just get knocked unconscious. Mostly the children were left alone as they could not always survive a journey at sea.

Arriving back at the beach, the vikings had triumphant smiles on their faces. They had slaves, valuables and as an extra, a large ship. With the arrival of dawn, the two ships had already disappeared, leaving behind destruction, death and orphaned children.