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Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

Runolf drank again and made me take another sip of mead. And with that, it was over. The flask was almost empty now, and Runolf grinned as he drained the last drops. I wondered how Beonna, the old Abbot of Werceworthe would react if he knew what I had been part of. I told myself that to listen to these words did not make me a heathen.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“Yes!” said Runolf, making his way to the midships, where ropes were tied to the ship’s standing knees. “One should never sail without an offering to Njörðr.”

I looked out to where the timbers of the wrecked ship jutted from the murky river water.

“Do you think they forgot to make the offering?” I asked.

Runolf laughed.

“Anything is possible,” he said, his voice booming. Before he jumped over the side, he turned to me. “Thank you, Hunlaf.”

I nodded and watched him go ashore. Moments later he was bellowing at Wihtgar about rearranging the ballast stones to adjust how the ship sat in the water.

I wondered what would happen to Runolf if he never saw the truth of the Word of God. Would the Lord claim his soul as one who had been cleansed of his sins and accepted Him as his father, or would his continued belief in the pagan gods see him sent to Hell? I knew not the answer, though I feared the worst. I added this to the matters I would discuss with Leofstan, when next we met.

Now, in the golden afternoon light, I watched as Wihtgar and Runolf walked the length of Brymsteda. They pulled on ropes, checked the halliard block and examined the steerboard mounting.

“Everything in order?” I called out.

Runolf glanced over to see who had spoken. His features were pinched with the worry of the impending test of his work, but on seeing me standing beside Drosten, he grinned.

“Yes. We will not be lading her with food and supplies yet, but she is a good ship. She has been blessed and named, and,” he nodded at Drosten, “she has a fine prow.” Runolf looked out to the horizon where the sun gilded the dark clouds far out over the North Sea. “If the weather holds, and the wind is not too strong, she will do well tomorrow.”

The plan was to take Brymsteda to sea, as much to test her new crew as her seaworthiness. The crew was going to be made up of warriors, fishermen and a few thralls. None, save the fishermen, had any experience manning a vessel and, despite our eagerness to depart, Runolf had been adamant for the need to train before heading across the Whale Road.