The Broken Sword

IX

Ketil’s grave-ale became also a feast for Asmund and Orm. Men drank silent and sorrowful, for Orm had been a sage leader, and he and his sons were well-liked thereabouts in spite of his being no churchman. The ground was not yet frozen too hard for the carles to start making a howe the day after the murders.

Orm’s best ship was dragged from its house into the grave. In it were laid treasures, and meat and drink for a long voyage; horses and dogs were killed and put in the ship; and those whom Valgard had slain were placed in it with the best of clothes, weapons, and every kind of gear, and with hellshoes on their feet. Thus had Orm wanted to be buried, and had made his wife promise.

When the task was done, some days later, Ailfrida came forth. She stood in the dull grey winter light, looking down at Orm and Ketil and Asmund. Her unbound hair fell to their breasts and hid her own countenance from those who stood watching.

“The priest says it would be a sin, or I would slay myself now and go to my rest beside you,” she whispered. “Weary will life be. You were good boys, Ketil and Asmund, and your mother is lonely for your laughter. It seems but yesterday I sang you to sleep on my breast, you were so little then, and suddenly you were great long-legged youths, good to look on and a pride to Orm and me—and now you lie so still, with a few snowflakes drifting down on your empty faces. Strange—” She shook her head. “I cannot understand you are slain. It is not real to me.”

She smiled at Orm. “Often did we quarrel,” she murmured, “but that meant naught, for you loved me and—and I you. You were good to me, Orm, and the world is cold, cold, now you are dead. This I ask all-merciful God: that He forgive what things you did against His law. For you were ignorant of much, however wise with a ship or with your hands to make me shelves and chests or carve toys for the children ... And if so be God can never receive you in Heaven, then I pray Him I too may descend to hell to be with you—aye, though you go to your heathen gods, there I would follow you. Now farewell, Orm, whom I loved and love. Farewell.”

She bent and kissed him. “Cold are your lips,” she said, and looked bewilderedly about her. “Thus were you not wont to kiss me. This is not you, dead in the ship—but where are you, Orm?”

They led her out of the hull, and the men worked long casting earth over it and the grave-chamber built on it. When they were done, the howe rose huge at the edge of the sea and waves came up the strand to sing a dirge at its foot.

The priest, who had not approved of this heathenish burial, would not consecrate the ground, but he did whatever he could and Asgerd paid him for many masses for the souls of the dead.

There was a young man, Erlend Thorkelsson, who was betrothed to Asgerd. “Hollow is this garth now that its men are gone,” said he.

“So it is,” replied the maiden. A cold sea-wind, blowing fine dry snowflakes, ruffled her heavy locks.

“Best I and a few friends should stay here a while and get things in order,” he said. “Then I would we wedded, Asgerd, and thereafter your mother and sister can come live with us.”

“I will not wed you until Valgard has been hanged and his men burned in their house,” she said angrily.

Erlend smiled without mirth. “That will not be long,” he said. “Already the war-arrow goes from hand to hand. Unless they flee sooner than I think they can pull themselves together to do, the land will shortly be rid of that pest.”

“It is well,” nodded Asgerd.

Now most of those who had come to the feast went home, but the folk of the garth sat behind, with Erlend and some half-dozen other men. As night fell, a strong wind came with snow on its wings, to howl around the hall. Hail followed, like night-gangers thumping their heels on the roof. The room lay long and dark and cheerless; folk huddled together at one end of it. They spoke little, and the horns passed often.

Once Ailfrida stirred from her silence. “I hear something out yonder,” she said. “Not I,” said Asgerd, “and naught would be abroad tonight.”

Freda, who misliked her mother’s dull stare, touched her and said timidly, “All alone are you not. Your daughters will never forget you.”

“Aye-aye.” Ailfrida smiled the least bit. “Orm’s seed shall live in you, and the dear nights we had are not in vain—” She gazed at Erlend. “Be good to your wife. She is of the blood of chieftains.”

“What else could I be but good to her?” he said.

There came of a sudden a beating on the door. Above the wind rose a shout: “Open! Open or we break in!”

Men clutched for their weapons as a thrall undid the bar—and was at once cut down by an axe. Tall and grim, guarded by two men’s shields held before him, snow mantling his shoulders, Valgard trod in from the foreroom.

He spoke: “Let the women and children come outside and they shall live. But the hall is ringed with my men and I am going to burn it.”

A cast spear clanged off one of the iron-bound shields. The smoke-reek grew stronger than it should be.

“Have you not done enough?” shrieked Freda. “Burn this house if you will, but I would rather stay within than take my life of you.”

“Forward!” shouted Valgard, and ere anyone could stop them he and a dozen of his vikings had come inside.

“Not while I live!” cried Erlend. He drew his sword and charged at Valgard. The axe Brodierslayer flashed to and fro, knocked the blade aside with a clatter and buried its beak under his ribs. He pitched to the floor. Valgard leaped over him and grabbed Freda’s wrist. Another of his men took Asgerd. The rest formed a shield-burg about these two. Helmeted and mailed, they had no trouble winning back to the door, killing three who fought them.

When the raiders had gone forth, the men inside rallied, armed themselves more fully, and tried to make a rush. But they were hewn down or forced back by warriors who stood at every way out. Ailfrida cried and ran to the door, and her the vikings let through. Valgard had just finished binding the wrists of Asgerd and Freda, with lead ropes to drag them along if they would not walk. The roof of the hall already burned brightly. Ailfrida dung to Valgard’s arm and wailed at him through the flame-roar.

“Worse than wolf, what new ill are you wreaking on the last of your kin? What turns you on your own sisters, who have done you naught but good, and how can you stamp on your mother’s heart? Let them go, let them go!”

Valgard watched her with pale cold eyes in an unmoving face. “You are not my mother,” he said at last, and struck her. She fell senseless in the snow and he turned away, signalling his men to force the two captive girls down to the bay where his ships were beached.

“Where.are we bound?” sobbed Freda, while Asgerd spat on him.

He smiled, a mere quirk of lips and said: “I will not harm you. Indeed, I do you a service, for you are to be given to a king.” He sighed. “I envy him. Meanwhile, knowing my men, I had best watch over you.”

Such of the women as did not wish to be burned alive shepherded the children outside. The raiders used them but afterwards set them free. Other women stayed inside with their men. Flames lit the garth for a great ways around, and erelong the other buildings had caught fire, though not before they had been plundered.

Valgard left as soon as he was sure those within were dead, for he knew that neighbours would see the burning and arrive in strength. The vikings launched their ships and stood out to sea, rowing against a wind which blew icy waves inboard.

“Never will we reach Finnmark like this,” grumbled Valgard’s steersman.

“I think otherwise,” he answered. At dawn, as the witch had told him, he untied the knots that closed her leather bag. At once the wind swung around until it came from astern, blowing straight north-east in a loud steady drone. Sails set, the ships fairly leaped ahead.

When folk reached Orm’s garth, they found only charred timbers and smouldering ash-heaps. A few women and children were about, sobbing in the dreary morning light. Ailfrida alone did not weep or speak. She sat on the howe with hair and dress blowing wild, sat unstirring, empty-eyed, staring out to sea.

Now for three days and nights Valgard’s ships ran before an unchanging gale. One foundered in the heavy waves, though most of her crew were saved; on the rest, bailing never could end; and uneasy mutters went from beard to beard. But Valgard overawed thoughts of mutiny.

He stood nearly the whole time in the prow of his craft, wrapped in a long leather cloak, salt and rime crusted on him, and brooded over the waters. Once a man dared gainsay him, and he slew the fellow on the spot and cast the body overboard. He himself spoke little, and that suited the crew, for they cared not to have that uncanny stare upon them.

He would not answer the pleas of Freda and Asgerd for word on where they were bound, but he gave them well of food and drink, let them shelter beneath the foredeck, and did not let the men bother them.

Freda would not eat at first. “Naught do I take from the murdering thief,” she said. The salt streaking her cheeks was not all from the sea.

“Eat to keep your strength,” counselled Asgerd. “You do not take it from him, since he has robbed it from others, and the chance may come to us to escape. If we pray God foe help—”

“That I forbid,” said Valgard, who had been listening “and if I hear any such word I will gag you.”

“As you will,” said Freda, “but a prayer is more in the heart than the mouth.”

“And not very useful in either place,” grinned Valgard. “Many a woman has squawked to her God when I clapped hands on her, and little did it avail. Nevertheless, I will have no more talk of gods on my ship.” For while he did not await help for them from Heaven-it was only that soulless Faerie folk were so deeply learned in magic that a Power they knew was greater yet, and knew they would never understand, sent them into blind panic by its mere names and signs—he did not wish to take needless risks, and still less did he wish to be reminded of what was forever denied to him.

He lapsed into his thoughts and the sisters into silence. Nor did the men say much, so that the only sounds were the whoot of wind in the rigging, the brawl of sea past the bows, the creak of straining timbers. Overhead flew grey clouds from which snow or hail often whirled, and the vessels rolled and pitched alone on the running waves.

On the third day, near nightfall, beneath a sky so low and thick as almost to bring dusk by itself, they raised Finnmark. Bleak rose the cliffs from surf that shattered itself booming upon them. Their heights were bare save for snow and ice and a few wind-twisted trees.

“That is an ugly land,” shivered Valgard’s steersman, “and I see naught of the garth whereof you spoke.”

“Make for that fjord ahead,” commanded the chief.

The wind blew them into it, until the sullen cliffs blocked it off. Then masts were lowered and oars came out, and the ships splashed through twilight towards a rock-strewn beach. Peering before him, Valgard saw the trolls.

They were not quite as tall as him, but nigh twice as broad, with arms like tree boughs that hung to their knees, bowed short legs and clawed splay feet. Their skin was green and cold and slippery, moving on their stone-hard flesh. Few of them had hair, and their great round heads, with the flat noses, huge fanged mouths, pointed ears, and eyes set far into bone-ridged sockets, were like skulls. Those eyes lacked whites, were pits of blackness.

They went for the most part unclad, or wore but a few skins, however freezing the wind. Their weapons were chiefly clubs, and axes, spears, arrows, and slings that used stone, all too heavy for men to swing. But some wore helms and byrnies and carried weapons of bronze or elven alloy.

Valgard could not but shudder at the sight. “Has the cold gotten to you?” asked a man of his.

“No-no-’tis naught,” he muttered. And to himself: “I hope the witch was right and the elf women are fairer than these. But they will make wondrous warriors.”

The vikings grounded their ships and drew them ashore. Thereafter they stood unsurely in the dusk. And Valgard saw the trolls come down on onto the strand.

The fight was short and horrible, for the men could not see their foes. Now and again a troll might happen to touch iron and be seared by it, but mostly they knew well how to dodge that metal. Their laughter coughed between the cliffs as they dashed out men’s brains, or ripped them limb from limb, or hunted them up through the mountains.

Valgard’s steersman saw his fellows die while his chief leaned unmoving on his axe. The viking roared and rushed on the berserker. “This is your doing!” he shouted.

“Indeed it is,” replied Valgard, and met him in a clamour of steel. Erelong he had slain the steersman, and by that time the rest of the battle was over.

The troll captain approached Valgard. Rocks scrunched beneath his tread. “We had word of your coming, from a bat that was also a rat,” he rumbled in the Danish tongue, “and give you many thanks for good sport. Now the king awaits you.”

“I come at once,” said Valgard.

He had already gagged the sisters and bound their arms behind them. Stunned with what they had witnessed, they stumbled blindly along a deep gorge and a barren mountainside, past unseen guards into a cave and thence into the hall of Illrede.

It was huge, hewn out of rock but furnished with magnificence raided from elves, dwarfs, goblins, and other folk, men among them. Great gems gleamed on the walls amid subtle tapestries, costly goblets and cloth bedecked tables of ebony and ivory, and the fires burning down the length of the hall lit rich garments on the troll lords and their ladies.

Thralls of elf, dwarf, or goblin race moved about with trenchers of meat and cups of drink. This was a high feast, for which human and Faerie babies had been stolen as well as cattle, horses, pigs, and wines of the south. Music of the snarling sort that the trolls liked came rattling out of the smoky air.

Along the walls stood guards, moveless as heathen idols, the ruddy light aglint on their spearheads. The trolls at table gobbled and guzzled, quarrelling with each other in a thunderous din. But the lords of Trollheim sat quiet in their carven seats.

Valgard’s gaze went to Illrede. The king was vast of girth, with a wrinkled massive face and a long beard of green tendrils. When his inkpool eyes fell on the newcomers, a fear that he sought to hide prickled over the changeling’s backbone. “Greeting, great king,” he said. “I am Valgard Berserk, come from England to seek a place in your host. I am told you are father to my mother, and fain would I claim my heritage.”

Illrede nodded his gold-crowned head. “That I know,” he said. “Welcome, Valgard, to Trollheim, your home.” His glance swung to the maidens, who had sat down for want of further strength, forlornly side by side. “But who are these?”

“A small gift,” said Valgard firmly, “children of my foster father. I hope they will please you.”

“Ho-ho, ho-ho, ho, ho!” Illrede’s laughter shocked through the stillness that had fallen. “A goodly gift! Long is it since I held a human may in my arms-Aye, welcome, welcome, Valgard!”

He sprang to the floor, which thudded under his weight, and went over to stand above the girls. Freda and Asgerd looked wildly about them. One could well-nigh read their thoughts: “Where are we? A lightless cave, and Valgard talks to no one, but the echoes are not of his words—”

“You should see your new home,” leered Illrede, and touched their eyes. And at once they had the witch-sight, and saw him stooping over them, and their courage broke and even through the gags their screams went on and on.

Illrede laughed again.