Bothvar Beorcolsson
We’ve been at sea for several days, following my father’s instructions. We follow the route of the ship we seek. Days go by as we sail the all but empty seas. Those whales never stop following us. For some odd reason, it feels reassuring to have them with us. As if Thora is among us.
The crew has kept busy playing pranks on the Wolf pup. Thialfi especially. He’s fallen back on his old tricks, putting dung in the boy’s boots along with hiding his stuff. The ship is big enough for him to be quite successful in doing so.
However, not all seem to spend their time picking on him. Thormar seems to have befriended the Wolf pup. I see the two chatting with each other on several occasions. They seem to have a lot to talk about.
The crew has taken a liking to his little pet cat-person thingy. I’ve seen others like it. It walks like a human and is just as tall as one, but looks like a cat. Sometimes it even acts like one, licking itself. The crew, especially the women, think it’s adorable. They spoil the thing, feeding it and petting it while they have time. Gadaric invites it, and that seems to have won over some of the women to his side. Especially Joreid, Greiland, and Ingirid. Those three have started to look after the Wolf pup as if he were a little brother, harping on Thialfi whenever he tries to pull one of his pranks on him. Although Joreid has never needed a reason to harp on Thialfi. She might be married to his older brother, Gunnstein, but the two of them have never gotten along really well.
Gizor, on the other hand, has become a little less welcoming. Especially with his sister all but fawning over the boy. I’m just glad it’s his sister fawning over him and not my own. Wouldn’t put it past Gizor to slit the boy’s throat in his sleep. I’ll need to keep an eye on him. The only reason he hasn’t killed Gudleif for cheating on his other sister is because the two have always been close friends.
Thankfully, Rognvald does a good job of keeping everyone from killing each other for the most part. I don’t know how I’d do it without the man. He’s a good first mate. The best. Thormar needs to find a man like him if he wishes to be successful going west. A man with experience and a backbone.
It also helps to have friends like Solmund, Griotgard, and Skardi here as well. They always have my back when conflict arises. When Thialfi crosses the line, which he often does, Solmund and Griotgard always set him straight. Although Griotgard joins his pranks, more often than not he knows the line, unlike Thialfi. Skardi also is good at calming people down. He always knows the right things to say. Especially with Griotgard and his constant pursuit of women. Ingirid has come very close to chopping off his balls; luckily Skardi came in to settle the issue. Thankfully, Ingirid respects Skardi. Most people do. He might be a few arrows short of a full quiver, but no one would say he lacks wisdom. He sees things that others do not.
He’s also good at settling conflicts. Especially between the Cnutssons. Thialfi, Skarf, and Gunnstein who are always at each other’s throats. Especially since Thialfi knows exactly how to pull the other’s bowstrings and set them off. And Gunnstein’s bowstring is already quite taught. It doesn’t take much for him to snap at Thialfi.
As much as Thialfi can be a nuisance at times, he does often lighten the mood. Especially since we’ve been at sea for days without seeing any action. The mundane repetitiveness wears men’s resolve down and makes them irritable. A lot of them have become on edge, as if they are looking for any excuse to fight. Thankfully, we have a few slave whores for them to take out their frustrations on, and as much as I do not enjoy the idea of it, I can see why it is necessary.
As the days go on, I spend time in my little cabin, studying the maps and plans. Thormar often joins me. He might not be the best fighter, but he has a sharp mind. Rognvald also joins me, along with Skardi. We’ve gone over the plans over and over again. We all consider the possibility of them having more ships than we expected, but we all agree to engage and at least attempt to try our new weapon against them before we do any sort of retreat. Everyone agrees they are unlikely to pursue with their important cargo.
More days go by and the men are restless. Eager to fight. Tension grows between the men and some fights have broken out. Gunnstein nearly tossed Thialfi overboard. Thankfully, Griotgard and Solmund stopped him.
I had to get in front of Gizor when he tried to bash the Wolf pup’s skull in. I’m sure Vidkunn wouldn’t have liked that. Luckily, Greiland calmed him down enough to see reason.
The days go on and we’ve gone through more water than I have expected. I have to keep a closer watch on it.
Just when things start to boil over with tension, Skardi nearly stumbles down from the perch on top of the mass. “Ships! There are ships in the far distance.”
I grab him to pull him near. “How many?”
“A lot more than we expected. They outnumber us two to one.”
“Ornulf’s beard.” I look over to the other ships, meeting Koll’s eyes before looking over at Throst and Einar. We all seem to nod in agreement. “Let’s continue with the plan.”
Skardi nods as Rognvald blows a horn. Koll and Throst circle wide in opposite directions while Einar and we continue straight. Father’s words enter my thoughts. When the fighting begins, look east and you will find relief. What does he mean?
The ships get closer and warning shots are fired with their ballistae. They’ve got seven ships surrounding the one we’re after. “Ready your weapons and armor. Ready the ballista and slings.”
The crew scrambles, preparing for a fight as I put on my chest plate and helm and attach my weapons to my belt. “We fight our way in until we can board the ship with the prize.”
The crew roars, ready to fight. Thormar and Gadaric follow like lost pups behind me. I turn to face them. “You should stay with the ship.”
“Not a chance, brother. I’ll be right behind you,” Thormar says, even though I see the fear in his eyes.
“I am no coward,” Gadaric says. His face is stern, but the fear lingers in his eyes as well.
“Very well, stay close,” I say.
Einar and our ship get into range, and I give the signal to fire. The slings and ballistae release. Thankfully, the other ships do not have front-facing weapons. The flaming balls of grease land and, just as I thought, they try putting them out with water, making them burst in flame, catching ropes and sails on fire. To my amazement, sharks and killer whales swarm the water, tearing apart any elves that flee the flames into the sea. Is this Thora’s work? But we are still vastly outnumbered and even with our new weapons, I fear we may be defeated.
Then a horn blows in the far distance to the east. I follow the sound to see four more ships sailing towards us. Ships I recognize as our own. Viking ships. A close look and I know who they are. Athils, Steinunn, Kiogrim and Geitirgest’s ships. They’ve come to aid us and their aid is most welcomed. Father is a brilliant man. This was his plan all along. That is what he meant when he said to look to the east for relief.
Throst and Koll engage the ships to the wings as the enemy scrambles to prepare for the four newcomers. The two ships in front of us bathe in flames under the constant assault of our slings. They take less time to reload than the ballistae and can fire several rounds before one bolt is fired with the ballista. And the grease fires quickly spread throughout the ship, sinking them and clearing us a path as sharks and whales devour the victims in the water. The crew points them out. “Don’t worry, Thora has sent them to aid us. I have no doubt about it.”
They seem to accept that. All of them were there at my wedding when Sigvor prophesied the Daughter of the Sea. Some have even witnessed her strange abilities.
“Ready the hooks!” I shout. The crew scrambles to load the ballistae with the bolts that have chains attached, while others get on the opposite ballistae and slings, firing on the ships to the right of us as we prepare to board the merchant ship. Thankfully, Koll and Throst manage to grab their attention with their own flaming grease balls. Setting their ships aflame.
The four newcomers engage just as we manage to get our hooks sunk into the ship with the treasure we seek. It’s a complete slaughter as the other ships sink in flames.
“Prepare to board. Get ready for a fight!” I shout as I get ready to rush the ship, shield in hand as Joreid, Greiland, and Ingirid put the planks in place. As soon as they’re set, I charge across, collecting bolts and arrows on my shield before I ram against an elf, my blade finding a home in his thigh. I toss him aside and slash the man behind him across the chest. I can feel the amulet grow freezing cold and find an elf in robes with his glowing blue eyes wide and his mouth hanging agape in fear. I dodge a sword cutting down and stab the wielder in the throat before I charge the wizard and cut off his head, making his shocked expression permanent.
Gadaric, Gizor, Thormar, Rognvald, Gudleif, Ulf, Gunnstein, Thialfi, Skarf, Sigvid, and his two sons, Griotgard and Solmund, all follow, cutting down the ones who escaped my sword. Einar and his crew come rushing in from the other side, squashing them in a vise. The ship is by far the biggest I’ve ever seen and has five separate decks. Einar and I meet eyes and exchange nods. I signal most to head down to the second deck while Einar, Vog, Sigvid, and I charge into the door on the main deck as our men charge below.
As soon as we enter, we’re flung to the sides as a foul smell of burnt hair fills the air. What in the name of the gods…
Vog stumbles in behind us and is lifted off the ground and tossed aside. Sigvid barrels in behind and is also lifted into the air but gets pulled to the side and impaled on a blade before being tossed aside like a bone after the meat has been torn off.
“No!” I growl. I thought our amulets protect us against magic. I saw their work and felt it.
An elf with burning red eyes, holding a blade soaked in Sigvid’s blood stands behind us with another elven woman at his feet wearing a collar. Her eyes are green.
I let out a roar as I leap to my feet along with Einar and Vog, but we’re lifted into the air and suspended there. The elf gives us a sadistic grin as he steps forward. All three of us struggle to break free of his magic. What kind of magic is this to get past our amulets? It must be some kind of forbidden magic. That’s why his eyes burn red. The foul elf, I’ll make him pay. He lifts his blade, and I am pulled slowly towards it. It’s aimed at my chest. My struggling intensifies as I try to break free of his tainted magic.
I can feel it against my skin and there is a wrongness to it. The blade inches closer and closer to my chest. I can’t move my arms to stop it. I struggle to no avail.
The red eyed demon only laughs. “You fools. You dare attack me? Do you not realize who I am? I’m Ba’theas Keenreaver! Now you shall die.”
He won’t see any fear on my face. I welcome death. I’ll finally be reunited with my Arngunn. The blade comes into contact with my armor and… The blend bends, not being able to pierce my armor. I laugh and spit in his face.
The elf’s face contorts in a snarl. He then pulls back his sword to slash my exposed throat, but his head gets separated from his body as blood sprays out like a spring. Einar, Vog, and I drop to the floor, released from the magic as Trandil stands behind the elf, covered in his blood, his hand shaking with a blood-stained sword.
“Never have I ever been so happy to see you, boy!” Einar says just as the boy’s eyes roll back into his head and he falls backward, unconscious. “For the love of the gods. The boy saves our lives and then shames himself.”
“I’m not complaining,” I say, looking down at my chest plate. Not even a scratch. Thank the gods for this glow metal.
“What should we do with the collared elf?” Vog asks.
“Let the boy have her. He’s earned her,” I say as I step over him and out of the cabin. It seems the fighting is all over. I head down below to find Thormar in a side room with a dead boy at his feet, around his own age. A naked woman with skin as dark as night stands huddled on the ground in front of him. She looks like she just got whipped. He offers her his hand, and she reluctantly takes it. I look at the dead and sigh. “Don’t tell me that’s the lordling we’re after, Thormar?”
He looks back at me with the woman in his arms. “I had no choice, brother. He attacked, and I killed him.”
I sigh. There goes our ransom. I head down to the next deck to find the men sorting through the slaves to be sold. Gizor drags a struggling elven woman behind him with her hands bound in front of her. “I’m going to fuck this one real good.”
I pity her, but I… I see her face and my heart stops. Arngunn? It can’t be, but it is her face. There’s no doubt about it. Even though her eyes glow bright blue and are full of tears, she has the same cute, little nose and delicate chin. And her cheeks are nice and soft, just like Arni’s. Is it really her?
“Stop!” Gizor looks up at me, questioning. “Get another one. This one is mine.”
“But… Skipper. I want to fuck this one,” he says with a look of disappointment.
“Does the Captain not get the first claim?” I ask.
He reluctantly nods. “Besides, you weren’t going to claim here, just fuck her, weren’t you?”
He shrugs and nods. “Slaves are too costly to keep. But can’t I just have a go at her and then you can take her?”
“No! She is mine! You can find another to bone,” I say and he sighs, handing her over. I grab her and look down into those bright, shimmering, blue eyes. They’re full of fear, yet there’s a glimmer of hope in them. It’s as if I’m staring right into Arngunn’s face. How can this be? I know this can’t be her, but it really feels like it is.
But just then, a loud crash goes off behind us further down the deck. I barely get a second to look to see the wizard jump up and send a wicked, hot wind. I barely have time to shove Arni out of the way before I’m sent back, barreling into a beam. A foul scent ascends into the air. A scent I’ve smelled before with the wizard on the main deck. I pull myself up to my knees as I see the wizard walking toward me. His eyes burn red. For the sake of the gods, not this again.
He yanks me into the air, suspending me before him and as he walks closer a tight force wraps around my neck, strangling me.
Before I realize it, Arni stabs a dagger deep into the weasel-face wizard’s neck. She quickly let’s go and backs away as I fall to the ground, gasping for air.
Blood gushes out of the wizard elf’s neck as he drops to the ground, holding his throat. Life leaves his eyes as he goes limp. Arni goes to grab the dagger, but I pull her aside, putting myself between the wizard dying on the ground and Arni. I look back at her, realizing I’ve been thinking of her as Arni, but she’s an elf… She just looks like her. It must be some kind of magic or something. Even so, there’s something more to her… I feel like I’ve known her before. Not as Arni, but as someone else. Someone in my dreams. A woman with that same golden hair and shimmering blue eyes. Just like Arni. And yet, I feel a bit of caution. She just stabbed that wizard in the neck with a dagger. Where did she get it? Does she have another one? She could’ve used it on me. I am under no illusion that she is Arni. This elf is willing to kill. Arni would never…
I yank the dagger out of the wizard’s neck and clean it off on his robes. I tuck it into my belt. Then I check her for more weapons. She struggles and pushes me away. “Don’t touch me.”
“Hey Bothvar, you’ll want to see this,” Skardi says. I walk down to the next deck and gasp in amazement. Skardi kneels down in front of an open chest full of gold coins. Behind him, the deck is stacked from floor to ceiling with similar chests.
“By Ornulf’s beard. Father was right. This is more gold than we’ve ever seen before.”
“Shall we start hauling it over?” Skardi asks.
“No. That will take too long. We’ll just take the ship itself. It’s still sailable,” I say.
“That is wise,” Skardi says as he pockets a rather large ruby.
I drag the woman up the stairs to find Thormar carrying his dark-skinned woman as she clings to him.
I meet Einar on the Main deck as a wobbling Trandil stands behind him holding onto the leash of the elven slave.
“I see you found yourself a prize,” Einar says before his eyes narrow as he stares at her face. He mumbles under his breath. “Ornulf’s beard.”
Does he see it too? Does he see that she looks like Arngunn? I can’t be the only one. It can’t be all in my head. I shake the thought. “I have the crews securing the ship. We’ll take it back with us. There’s enough gold to make everyone rich after father takes his share.”
“You don’t say,” Einar says, shaking his head as a grin appears.
“The bottom deck is filled from floor to ceiling with chests of gold and gems.” Einar’s eyes go wide and drool slips from his lips.
“Signal for the other ships to turn around. Let’s secure the ship as fast as we can and make haste for home.” He nods as he gives orders to his crew. I drag the elven woman behind me as I cross over to my ship and head into my quarters. Then I take a chain attached to the wall and secure it to her collar with enough slack to let her sleep in the bed. I can’t stop staring at her face. Why does she look so much like the one I love? Have I lost my mind? What does it all mean?
To be continued in Book 2 of Seasons of the Cycle: Shattered Souls.
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