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The Chronicles of Orn Book I: CHOSEN
Chapter 22. The Ways of the Sea

Chapter 22. The Ways of the Sea

It was morning on the docks of Bosberg. They loaded the ships with fresh supplies for the four-day journey to Raugus. Orn and his family were saying their farewells to Jarl Sigtrin before boarding their ship. It was an hour later when the last ship departed.

“Boys, come. Sit with me. I want to show you something,” said Duke Thayn.

“What would you show us, your grace?” Erik asked.

“Ah, come on, we are not at court. Out here you can call me uncle. Now, do you know how to tell your directions? Which way is which?”

“No, not really.”

“Orn?”

“Yes, but it’s not something I have really needed. Going to Fludavera is the furthest I have been from home.”

“Ok, well, show me where the north is.”

“It’s that way, uncle.” Orn pointed in the direction they had come from.

“Ah, but how do you know?”

“Because this ship’s skipper said we are heading southeast, so that means north must be that way.”

“Not bad, not bad. But what if you didn’t have a skipper to tell you? What if you were the skipper?” Orn thought for a few moments, then he looked down, shrugging his shoulders.

“Ah, see? But it’s all right. I will teach you.”

He taught the two boys navigation in open water. Skills such as how to ascertain their orientation, how to read charts, how to find their position, and plotting courses. A knarr came alongside and passed across some food. Venna called her two boys over, “Erik, Orn. Come sit with your mother for lunch.”

The two boys moved to their mother, who had already gathered three plates of food. Once they sat down together, they ate and then sat back against the gunwales. Venna, sitting between them, put her arm around her two sons and kissed them each on the cheek.

Now that they were close, she said lowered her voice so they could both barely hear her. “I want you two to be careful around these people. Especially you, Erik”

Orn looked at her quizzically, and Erik voiced the question on both their minds, “Why, Mother?”

“Because, regardless of how it came to be, you are the grandson of a king. This means, to some certain men, you are either a tool they can use or a threat that needs to be eliminated.”

“But we haven’t done anything,” Erik said, a little shocked and indignant.

“I know, I know. That is why your father and I chose to live away from that possibility. But it seems the gods have other plans for us.”

“But Mother, why especially Erik?” Orn asked.

“Because he is the eldest of you two, and with your abilities, you have a position already assured, a path to follow. You are unlikely to be perceived the same. If Viggin produces no heir, Erik has a strong claim to be the next king after him. I pray that it doesn’t go that way, but I want you two to be smart. You are good boys, but I fear I have been negligent, as you are also naïve. I tell you this because I want you to be safe, ok, my loves?” Venna kissed them each again as they nodded their understanding.

The trip continued with relatively the same routine over the next couple of days. With Duke Thayn teaching them about sailing and navigation, Orn learning about controlling his ability from Gereld, and Venna, watching her sons as a lioness alert for threats while her cubs play.

Aboard the knarrs, life was different. There was the daily requirement to shovel the horse dung overboard. With the horses, the men who ride them, and the supplies, space was at a premium.

Creature comforts were not a feature the Haldermen considered when designing ships. They were purely functional. For longships, it was speed and manoeuvrability, for knarrs it was carrying capacity, with each knarr able to carry around twenty-five tons. Both ship designs, however, were such that even in rough seas, they were sturdy, durable, and stable.

Upon the afternoon of the third day, the cry rang out, “Sail ho!”

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Orn looked around. Off the starboard side of the ship, he could make out three sails. This caused a slight stir and some speculation. However, as there were only three, nobody was overly concerned.

Orn relaxed as the men aboard seemed to show no sign of urgency. He looked out over the water and his eyes drifted to watching the water flow past the side of the ship.

Then he saw it again…at least he thought he had. A flash of glowing silver emerged from the depths and was gone as suddenly as it appeared. He looked around to see if anyone else was looking in the same direction, but no one else seemed to be. He wondered if it was a reflection or if he imagined it.

As they approached the port city of Raugus the next morning, they could see more sails, and so everyone was on high alert. A squadron of Nevan military vessels approached.

In response, the ship that Hans Barkhoff, the Ohlsbachi merchant and translator was aboard moved to intercept. The ship moved within shouting distance. “Ahoy! Permission to come alongside!” Hans called across the intervening water.

In response, a man dressed in a fancy and highly adorned uniform near the ship’s helm said something to the man next to him, and then the Nevan vessel shipped oars. The Holvelan ship edged closer, furled sail, and then threw lines across as they shipped their own oars.

Once they had lashed the two ships together, Hans turned to the skipper of the ship he was on and said, “I will go aboard so I can show them the document from their ambassador.”

“I’ll pick some men to accompany you.”

“No, no. I should be fine.”

“I insist. Two of my finest. An official diplomat should not be without guards.”

“Very well, very well.” Hans then turned toward the Nevan vessel and said to the leader on board, “I and two of my men request permission to come aboard, good sir.”

“Granted,” came the reply.

Hans and two Holvelan soldiers dressed in mail armour and armed with shields and hand axes, boarded the Nevan ship. Hans, flanked by the Haldermen, approached the Neven military leader and reached his hand out as he smiled. The Nevan legionnaires surrounding the imperial officer swallowed nervously as they looked up at the two Holvelan soldiers, each nearly a head taller than most of them.

The Nevan man, without moving his head or changing expression, glanced at Hans’ hand, however, made no move to take it. He merely said cooly “State your business.”

Hans pulled his hand back and smiled awkwardly, as he responded, “Ah yes. We are a trade delegation. We are researching trade routes for the exchange of goods between your great empire and our humble lands to the north.” He bowed slightly as he finished talking.

“Trade? All I see is military. I don’t see any goods to trade.”

“Ah, but of course, I can see how this could be misconstrued. However, I assure you we have no ill intent. The reason for this amount of military presence is that the Halder king’s second son, the Duke of Skord, is overseeing this trade mission personally. We aim to enter negotiations with the local governing officials in this area to discuss what goods are available and what we could bring in exchange. You know, the boring details such as acceptable routes, allowances to set up companies, ordinances, tariffs, those kinds of things.”

As Hans was speaking, he rummaged around in his vest, producing the folded parchment, and handed it to the military leader. It had the Nevan ambassador’s message extending the courtesy of the Nevan Empire and permission to enter imperial lands with a small force of retainers. It had the ambassador’s signature and the imperial seal on it. The Nevan scanned it briefly before handing it back.

He looked at Hans and said, “You may proceed to port. But be warned, any breaching of Imperial law, or infractions against the peace and good order of the Empire, will be met with swift and severe consequence.”

Hans bowed once again and responded while smiling, “I shall relay your warm regards and kind advice to the duke, good sir. Thank you for your time and your diligence in your duty. The Empire is better for having dedicated men such as yourself in its service.”

The two Haldermen eyed the Nevan soldiers with slight smiles as they allowed Hans to precede them before they also returned to their ship.

And thus the Halder fleet continued to the docks of Raugus.

ᚲᚺᚱᛟᚾᛁᚲᛚᛖᛊᚱᛁᚾᚾ×ᛟᚱ×ᛟᚱᚾ

The river ferry moved to the wharf, where a crew member tied it off to a bollard. It had been a three-day trip up the Buraquenni River from Raugus to Anitala. Vylder and Mswali were among the fighting slaves selected for the long trip to Paqurineva. There was the expectation that they would fight in arenas in the major towns along the way.

For Vylder and Mswali, Flavius had the idea to entice any local notable, willing to pit six of their best fighting men against the pair. He was hoping to make some gold on the journey. Flavius devised this plan for utilising the pair because Vylder was adamant in his refusal to kill another slave.

Vylder stated, “I will fight anyone for you. But I will not kill anyone who is not there of their own free will. Not if I have a choice.”

Fighting men in the employ of nobles and other Nevans of means, such as bodyguards and mercenaries, are there by choice. So, Flavius realised he could get the bloody entertainment the crowds so desperately demanded by having Vylder and Mswali fight against them instead of the other slaves.

The men filed off the riverboat, slow and cautious. A chain secured each slave, linking to a collar around each man’s neck. Once they were all off the boat, they made their way to the local pit-fighting arena. There they would billet, feed, and make ready the slave fighting in upcoming matches.

They brought along the equipment that the fighters preferred to use. It was unloaded and put into a wagon that Flavius had arranged for carrying it to a storage area for the fighters to equip before their match.

Vylder noticed that the temperature was getting hotter the further they moved south. He was sweating almost as much as when he was working his forge. It was fortunate that he was used to those conditions.

Thinking of his forge brought the memory of his family flooding into his mind. He heaved a sigh and pushed the intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind. He needed to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, nothing before it, and nothing beyond…