Tove sighed in annoyance almost immediately.
“Keep it quiet, you.” The man who spoke had a patchy beard and thinning hair. He looked at Erik and then back at Tove. “What’re you doin’ around this lout anyway? You ought to know he’s trouble, talkin’ of valkyries and worlds no one’s ever heard of.”
“My brother sent you two, didn’t he?” The men looked at each other. “Of course he would. What business is it of his? Or yours? I’ll keep company with anyone who suits my liking and you can tell Vali I said as much.”
They ignored her and turned their attention to Erik. “You’ll keep a distance if you know what’s right. No one likes you, newcomer.”
Without saying more, the two men left, making for a side street. He looked at Tove. Her face was twisted up in anger.
“I’m sorry for making trouble.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s the same with everyone here. This town…” She started walking. “We should eat something after all that work. And drink.”
He kept with her. “I don’t know enough to say anything either way.” He drew in a steady breath. “I just… I’m hoping things will make sense with some time, maybe.”
She stopped, looking up at him. Erik carried on a few steps before he turned back to her.
“I have to go. I’ll find you later, understand?”
He narrowed his eyes, slightly amused by the sudden change. “Sure.”
She nodded, looking over her shoulder. “Good. Very good.” She turned and started jogging toward the side streets. “We’re a warband now, okay?”
He laughed. “No we’re not.”
“We are! We’re going adventuring!”
chapter|8
When he’d woken up, Gerhard had told him there was a surprise for him. It turned out the surprise was that he’d heard last night that a small group of farms a few miles from Kvernes were harvesting and needed an extra pair of hands. Erik ate a quick breakfast and left the alehouse early. Gerhard had recommended he travel light, saying it was only a few hours walk mostly over a well-trodden path. There was a sign post pointing the way to the farms. They called their village Gandrup.
He was nearing the edge of town when he spotted a familiar dirty-blonde head. Tove was looking the other way and he considered hiding but the odds were that she’d been waiting there for him for a while as it was. She turned her head and when she saw him came trotting over.
“What’s with the pack?”
Tove looked toward the pack and then behind them down the streets. “Adventure pack.”
Erik nodded as he started walking. “Not sure the walk to Gandrup is that far. How did you know I’d be leaving north?”
She followed along beside him. “Everyone knows everything in Kvernes. I can hardly stand it.”
They left the north side of the city, the dirt becoming a bit less packed within a hundred yards of the outer edge.
“So am I tying you to the front of a plow again today?”
She shrugged, laughing lightly. “If it helps.” Tove looked behind her after saying it.
“You must be pretty eager to leave Kvernes.”
Tove kicked dirt at his feet. “It’s easier to leave for some people than others. Whatever else I might imagine I am, I’m small and a girl. And bandits aren’t so kind as people like you.”
Gerhard had been fairly heavy-handed with the bandit talk to him as well, that morning. Erik hadn’t seen a single soul— on the road or off— the whole day before and there seemed to be no one around them now.
He looked down at Tove who was doing her best to kick a rock along as they walked.
“Have you seen any? Bandits, I mean?”
She kept her focus on the rock. “No. Not myself. I’ve heard stories of people being robbed or people disappearing. That’s why I had need of a warband.”
“I see, so I’m the leader?”
She tossed her head back and forth. “More or less. You are one of Odin’s chosen so there must be some merit in you.”
“I’m not sure the process works the way either of us think.”
Tove gave the rock a strong kick, sending it off into the woods. “Perhaps it doesn’t. But at the very least, I can follow you for a time. It will pass the days.”
She went quiet after that and they walked on for the next hour and a half until they came to the sign. It pointed only one way, toward Gandrup. The trail leading there was not nearly as well-kept as the road that led away from Kvernes. Roots had grown up in a few places and it had washed out and become uneven in others. It was nearly another hour along that trail, but Erik felt like they hadn’t covered nearly as much ground.
The woods cleared to a set of fields, each about half the size of the one he’d tilled the day before. These were all full of fully grown crops. He knew next to nothing about seasonality but if it was the beginning of spring it didn’t make much sense that they would be harvesting anything. A man came walking up to them, looking over Tove and then Erik.
“Welcome. I am Gaddi. You two are from Kvernes?”
“We are. I’m Erik and she is Tove.” Wasting no time, he changed the subject before it could be glossed over. “Can I ask something?”
Gaddi nodded. “How is it that you’re harvesting at the beginning of spring?”
“Beginning? It is always spring here.”
Tove spoke up. “He’s just come from Midgard.”
Gaddi gave a large, knowing nod. “Ah, I understand. It’s rare for us to see new faces here.” He turned and started toward the farm. “Most of the tasks today are simple, even if you’ve not done them.”
They moved to a small square where five houses sat around a large fire pit. There were outbuildings holding drying
