priest of the Holy Church might endure. Anyway, there was no spite in it.
Tolar arrived the day before we were to leave for the king's council. He and Gunnar were good friends, I soon discovered. They often accompanied one another to market, or, on such occasions as this, to the theng. The next morning, Karin, Ulf, and Ylva came out into the yard to see us away.
Karin wished her husband well, and gave him a bundle of food which he put in the bag at his belt. Ylva also wished Gunnar well on his journey. Then, turning to me, she said, 'I made these for you to eat on the way.'
She pressed a leather pouch into my hands, and, leaning close, kissed me quickly on the cheek. 'May your God go with you, Aeddan. Journey well and return safely.'
Then, overcome by her own boldness, she ducked her head and hurried back into the house. Thunderstruck, I watched her disappear through the door. My cheek seemed to burn where her lips had touched. I could feel the colour rising to my face.
Gunnar had already turned away, but Tolar stood looking on, smiling at my embarrassment. 'Made these for you,' he said, chuckling to himself; he tapped the bag in my hand as he moved past.
Ulf and Garm accompanied us as far as the edge of the forest, whereupon Gunnar sent them back with a last farewell. We then turned to the trail and began walking in earnest; Garm, nose to the ground, ran ahead, searching out the trail and circling through the brush on either side. We rested and watered at midday, and while the others napped I took the opportunity to examine the pouch Ylva had given me; inside were five hard, flat brown disks. They smelled of walnut and honey. I broke off a piece of one, tasted it, and found it sweet and good. I ate half a disk then, and made a habit of eating half each day.
Thus, we progressed: walking steadily, taking only two or three rests each day, stopping early and rising at dawn to move on. It was not until the evening of the third day that I learned of Gunnar's misgivings. We had stopped by a brook to make camp, and he was sitting with his feet in the water. I removed my shoes and sat down a little apart from him. 'Ah, it is good after a long day's walk,' I told him. 'We have forests in Eire, but not like this.'
'It is a very big forest, I think,' he replied, looking around as if seeing it for the first time. 'But not as big as some.'
He dropped his gaze, and his expression clouded once more. After a moment, he drew a deep breath. 'They are saying that Harald is increasing the tribute again. Ragnar owes Harald a very large tribute, and we must all help to pay. Each year it grows more difficult.' He spoke more to himself than to me, as if he were merely thinking aloud. 'Harald is a very greedy man. However much we give him, it is never enough. He always wants more.'
'That is the way with kings,' I observed.
'You have greedy kings in Irlandia also, heya?' Gunnar shook his head. 'But none as greedy as Harald Bull- Roar, I think. It is because of him that we go a-viking. When the harvest is not good and the winter is hard, we must find silver elsewhere.'
He was silent for a time, looking at his feet in the water-as if they were the cause of his trouble. 'Such raiding is hard for a man with a wife and son,' he sighed, and I felt the weight of his burden. 'It is all right for the younger men; they have nothing. Raiding teaches them many things useful to a man. And if they get some silver they can get a wife and a holding of their own.'
'I see.'
'But it is not so easy now as it was when my grandfather was a young man,' Gunnar confided. 'Then, we only raided in times of war. Or to find wives. Now we must raid to satisfy the silver-lust of greedy jarls. That is not so good.'
'Heya, not so good,' I sympathized.
'I do not like leaving Karin and Ulf. I have a good holding-the land is good. But there are not so many people nearby, and if anything should happen while I am away…' He let the thought go. 'It is not so bad for the younger men; they have no wives. But who will be hearth-mate to Karin if I do not return? Who will teach Ulf to hunt?'
'Perhaps King Harald will not increase the tribute this year,' I suggested hopefully.
'Nay,' he murmured, turning woeful eyes on me, 'I have never yet heard of a jarl such as that.'
19
After walking four days-in a more or less easterly direction-we came to a big river bounded by wide water meadows on either side. In the centre of the meadow on the far side of the river stood an immense stone, marking the council ring, the theng place. On the broad flat lea, and down below on the gentle slopes of the riverbanks, were ranged a number of camps, most with rush-covered huts, though some boasted ox-hide tents.
We crossed the meadow and made our way along the riverbank to the fording place. 'Ah, look, Tolar,' said Gunnar, pointing to one of the tents. 'There is Ragnar's tent.'
Tolar nodded.
'Perhaps they can tell us why we have been summoned like this.'
We waded across the river, and Gunnar and Tolar were hailed by men from various camps, whom they greeted genially as we passed by. Some looked askance-watching me with unfriendly eyes-but no one stopped or challenged me. Perhaps it was because I had been given the task of holding tight to Garm's collar, lest he bound away to fight with one of the other dogs guarding the various camps. However it was, I was relieved that no one demanded an explanation of me, and I was content simply to observe.
I had supposed, living among barbarians, that I had grown indifferent to their habits and appearance. I was wrong. The sights that met my eyes as we made our way through the various encampments almost made me gape with amazement. I saw men-and women too, for there were many women in attendance-covered in the skins of wild animals, looking more feral than any of the beasts whose pelts they wore; and there were others who wore nothing at all, and whose bodies were stained with strange designs in blue and ochre. All were big, for the Danefolk are an exceedingly large race, and many, although full-grown, were fair-haired as maidens; but, whether fair or dark, most all of them wore their locks braided in long thick ropes of hair, decorated with feathers, leaves, shells, and wooden ornaments.
I could but shake my head in wonder.
Some barbarians, lately arrived, greeted their kinsmen with cries and much commotion; others worked at building shelters and sleeping places. Everyone talked loudly, with much shouting and bellowing. Oh, they are a noisy breed; I could scarce think.
The mingled scents of food cooking over various fires brought the water to my mouth, even as the smoke stung my eyes. We passed by several small camps and cooking fires, and I looked with longing at the roasting meat and bubbling cauldrons.
The tent of Ragnar Yellow Hair was a white-spotted oxhide, around which ten or more men sprawled, lazing the day away, waiting for the council to begin. At our approach one of them raised a hand and sang out, alerting anyone who cared that Gunnar and Tolar had arrived.
'Hey, Gunnar.'
'Hey, Bjarni. Are you winning the battle?'
'We are holding our own, I think,' the man said with a yawn. 'The king is not here. He is drinking ol with King Heoroth and the jarls.'
'Where can we make camp?'
'There is a good place behind the tent-so I was told.'
'Very well, we will take it,' Gunnar said, and Tolar nodded his agreement. 'But please do not trouble yourself. We would not disturb your much-needed rest.'
'Come drink with us later,' Bjarni said, closing his eyes. I think he was asleep again before we had walked six paces.
We three spent the rest of the day making camp: I gathered stones from the river to make a fire-ring; Gunnar chopped wood from the huge mounded store of sawn logs King Harald had provided; Tolar gathered reeds from the riverbank. We were about our preparations when Ragnar returned to his tent. Gunnar and Tolar went to greet their lord, leaving me to arrange the bundles of reeds on the ground so we would not have to sleep on the bare
