On longships I counted days not in minutes or hours but in heaves and hoes. Although I wasn’t forced to help, it didn’t feel right to watch on as everyone including Ari took their turn paddling.
As the others and I rowed back and forth, forming vaguely circular patterns, water splashed on our arms and clothes, letting the wind tear away heat. Fortunately for myself it didn’t affect me, however, I could see the others cringe every time a waddle of water splashed on board.
Three hundred and fifty-three rows later I spotted smoke rise in the forest. “Ari.” I called out. He walked to me, but before I could leave my post another Viking came and took my place. I got off my seat and expressed with the best of my abilities what I saw. “Humans.” I then pointed towards the smoke he had yet to see. “Smoke.” I said in addition. That was very nearly the extent of my old Norse knowledge, or whatever other language I was learning.
Ari yelled to the men and pointed towards where I had told him the smoke rose. This wasn’t the first time I tipped them off to a village and sometimes I wondered if I should even say anything. After all, although we had yet to raid a village, I wondered how I would feel if my words brought tragedy to people. But then again, whether it be the village I pointed out or the one they spotted, someone would eventually get raided. Vikings rowed on rivers, and all one could hope for is that they deemed your village too well protected or more valuable as a trade centre rather than ashes and smoke. Perhaps we could reach Itil without drawing our blades.
When Ari finished the announcement, although the men didn’t start rowing faster or with more strength, their paddles moved with intention and aim.
In sink they rowed, fast we moved down rolling river waves.
Half an hour later the men stopped pushing and pulling their wooden sticks as we could see thatch roofs and wooden walls a few hundred metres away. As the boat drifted down the river Ari spoke up. Soon enough the boats started to pick up speed, and we made a U-turn. Although I didn’t know why, I would trust their judgment.
Another half an hour later, all twelve ships were on land; yet most of the Vikings stayed on board. Only three men had stepped off the ships. That’s when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned and saw the giant Ari who stood at about twice my height.
“Aidar,” he said, then pointed down to the beach. “----Go---.” Is all I understood. Well, if he tried to leave me here while he went off to plunder the village, I could always fly off to join him. I had to eat after all. As such, I stepped down onto the muddy beach. However, to my great surprise he also jumped down. Perhaps I was too used to my father leaving as soon as he gave me a task. Soon a pack of clothes flew off the boat. He removed his animal furs, belt, and his sword. He proceeded to put on an old brown tunic, old leather boots, and a small string to tie the cloth around his waist. Next, he bent down and rubbed a bit of mud in his hair before dipping his dirty blond locks in the river. In a second his look went from that of a dignified Viking, to that of a poor villager with a body build through years of hard labour.
Someone threw another package; it crashed into me as I barely managed to wrap my hands around it. However, when I unpacked it, I realized it wouldn’t have made a difference if I let it roll around the mud and sand. Although I didn’t think we were being cast away or whatever, the thought did roll around my mind.
Perhaps Ari had spotted my concern, so he nodded and said a word I assumed either meant fine, good, OK or any other variation of the sort. He proceeded to take off the furs on my shoulders and back. I looked at the other three men who had already changed outfits and begrudgingly took off my relatively clean clothes.
The new clothes clung to my skin and smelled of onions and shit. My curly hair, which thankfully couldn’t fall and cling to the sides of my mouth like that of the Nords definitely made my scalp itch. I guessed that we were putting on these disgusting disguises to see what the village had, and the usual price of their products in order not to be scammed.
Our group of five walked for two hours through densely packed forests. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any beasts. The only weapons we carried were knives. Swords wouldn’t fit the image of poor, run down refugees, nor would it put the villagers at ease. Finally, after a long while the leaves thinned out and the blue top we called the sky stood behind the wooden fortification of the village which produced the smoke I spotted a while back.
“------ --- --------.” A voice resounded from atop the wooden wall. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand it. Neither did it sound like the language of the Vikings.
#
Ari’s POV
“Who goes there?” yelled a man atop the wooden fortification.
“We are villagers from up north,” I replied.
“You have a thick accent,” answered the man. “What tribe do you hail from?”
The wind blew strong and so it was hard to hear the guard’s words, especially when you were atop fortifications. Hopefully, he didn’t want too many details, especially since just saying the north wasn’t satisfactory for him. I would need to play the hard-of-hearing and slightly dull character. “Sorry, I can’t hear you too well from here. I’m from the north. About a month’s ways away.”
The man didn’t answer immediately. “Wait there.” He ran off and a few minutes later an older man appeared. He was probably in his late fifties.
“What do you want from us?” He asked with a hesitant voice.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Well, at least they hadn’t turned us back. “We were guided here by the smoke. And so, we wondered if you could spare us a bed and bread for the night. You see we are on our way to Itil so we won’t inconvenience you too long since the harshest winter months are soon approaching.”
“Itil?” The man asked, surprised. “That’s another month’s journey away. And you do not even have a raft. How will you make it?”
“Then would you let us stay here?” I asked genuinely, with a bit of sarcasm mixed in.
The man cocked his head back. “No, it’s fine. So, you just want a bed and some bread for the night?”
“Yes,” I humbly answered, my head slightly bent forwards.
“And all of you are here right now? That is the five of you.”
“Yes.” I repeated.
The man leaned over the wall, inspecting us as closely as possible from where he was. His eyes stopped on Aidar. “And who is that boy? He isn’t from up north, nor does he look like one of the people one can find in the Caliphate.”
“You are right. His parents were merchants who came from far away and settled in our village after having lost their goods. Unfortunately, they passed away in the raid. If you could refrain from talking about this subject, I would greatly appreciate.” I looked down to Aidar with a solemn look. “He still hasn’t come to accept it.”
The mayor looked back to Aidar and after staring at the boy’s lifeless eyes he pushed himself away from the wooden fortification and stood up straight. “Very well, you may enter, however, if you commit a single taboo, I will have you all kicked out that very instant even if there is a famished bear on the other side of this wall.”
I bowed once again, and the rest of the party did the same to show their heart felt appreciation. We were lucky to have met Aidar. Not only could he spot villages from kilometres away, but the presence of a child also lowered everyone’s guard. After all a normal eight-year-old child would die within a week of living with raiders. Yet he could outlive situations which would crush the strongest men. That’s right, I should teach him numbers, it would be useful for reconnaissance, and I also wished to know his true age. Well, perhaps my curiosity was growing a bit too much. Anyhow, enter the village we did.
As soon as we did, I confirmed my assumptions. Multiple smithies were lit, and the rigging of iron smothered the village in a thin film of bustle. And most surprising, soldiers and guards patrolled the streets. This wasn’t a normal village; they had probably been commissioned by a great chieftain to produce weapons for a campaign. This wasn’t a village to be raided; however, they should have more than enough wealth to trade with us. Now I just needed to gather information.
#
Aidar’s POV
The village bustled with life. As the mayor, chief, or whatever other name the people of these lands called village leaders led us through the dirt streets I observed the people and their wear. The other Vikings were doing the same. Small stalls sold dried meats, vegetables, and cloth wears. But these items weren’t impressive and didn’t look very different from the old robes we wore. However, what drew my eyes were their accessories. Although they were all made of iron or wood, their necklaces featured intricate moon shaped pendants, thin and elegant wrist bands, carved busts, and full-figure idols.
Yet there seemed to be a lot of guards and even some soldiers around. Perhaps twenty to fifty. And no doubt the men could easily be armed as the smithies produced without end to such an extent their rings drowned out half my thoughts. Although we could probably raid them and make a small fortune, we’d lose more than a few men ourselves. And if there was anything I knew from Vikings, it’s that their specialty was quick raids on undefended, or nearly undefended settlements.
While I looked around and admired early medieval eastern Europe Ari spoke to the mayor. They were pointing to random products, and the like. He was no doubt getting a grasp on the value of the items. Finally, the mayor or whatever provided us with an empty house, bread, dried meat, and straw beds.
The next day we thanked him and went on our way.
After a few hours of walking through the forest in the opposite direction from whence we came from and then headed to the shore of the Itil River, twelve ships were waiting for us. I didn’t know how Ari and the rest knew where to find them since I couldn’t spot a single landmark, nor did I see a signal. But it was all good. We were back home.
Ari took off his clothes and washed away the dirt and grime in the river. I did the same and our old clothes were handed back. Soon enough my hands caressed paddles once again as we rowed down the river. I didn’t know why we didn’t go back to buy their products; however, the repetitive motion of rowing made me forget all about it.
#
Ari’s POV, On the shores of the Itil River
“We should go up the small estuary and check for any isolated villages,” said Gustave during the executive meeting with the nine longship owners. “If we move through it for a week, we should find a village remote enough not to have the backing of any great chieftains. We’ll soon be within the area firmly in the grasp of the Khazar Khaganate and I don’t think I have to say what would happen if we captured slaves there. And up here most villagers are Slavic Pagans, so the slave merchants are more used to dealing with them and they’ll be able to sell them to the people of the book.”
“Of course,” I answered. “Then let’s go up this estuary, pillage a village or two, head back down, go to the fortified village, and then head straight to Itil. We’ll be able to spend the worse month of winter there, and head back up to Sweden after that. How does that sound?” I asked the other longship owners. They all nodded. After all Gustave was the most aggressive and had the most experience when it came to this field of work.
We travelled up an estuary for five days before we found traces of human habitation. As we went ashore for the night, a few men who had gone hunting in the woods found small handmade traps.
“Who wants to take care of reconnaissance?” I asked at the executive meeting.
“I’m honestly tired,” answered Gustave.
“Then I’ll do it," said Eric, stroking his long beard. “I’ll prepare twenty men to set off tomorrow.”
“That’s good,” I answered. “You’ll get five percent more when we sell the slaves. But first I’d like to send Aidar off. I don’t want to fully trust him since he could be Loki, however, if we sent out your group after to confirm it shouldn’t cause any problem.”
“Ah, then ten percent.”
“It’s too late, you already agreed,” said Gustave as he let out a short, but loud laugh. “You’ll be fine that bat doesn’t seem like bad news. I don’t think Loki would go around rowing for a month just to spring a trap on twenty men.”
“Then it’s decided. I’ll go tell Aidar.”
“Before you do that.” Interrupted, Eric. “When the time comes to raid the village, if we do so. Do not have Aidar participate. We do not know how he will act surrounded by so much blood. The last thing we want is for him to be killed as he sucks the blood of the slain.”
I understood what he meant. Perhaps they believed I had grown fond of Aidar. Well, I had, they weren’t wrong. “I understand, don’t worry, we don’t know if he’ll attack our men in the midst of battle. I’ll tell him to observe from far away and only intervene if he sees enemies approaching.”
Eric looked at me for a second, hesitating. However, he ended up nodding in agreement. Perhaps he wanted to have Aidar sent away during the raid; however, that was too much. Aidar wasn’t a stray beast.