Danish

Medieval 6: K and Y 4 Happy Soon, part 2 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Wilam and Kirstie let go and looked a bit embarrassed at having behaved as they did, even if most of the crowd just smiled at them. Alm had his arm around Yrsa, and she had her arm around Soren. Inga and Brant looked around and saw the captains Olaf and Jarl headed for the village. Kirstie saw Rune and Harrold head there as well. Mother Vrya and her cane limped beside Chief Kerga, who limped some himself after all those years.

Kirstie quickly distracted herself by reaching for Soren. She knelt down to her son and saw the welt around his eye, and it made her more determined than ever to tell Kare to leave and never come back. She picked him up and set him on her hip before she turned. “Soren,” she said. “This is Wilam.” Soren looked before he turned his shy head into his mother’s shoulder.

“Come on,” Brant said.

“A good son,” Wilam said and brushed the boy’s hair from his face. “Let me see that eye.” Soren would not look up to show the man. “That looks like a real black eye. It must have hurt.”

“Start walking,” Inga said, and the couple began to shuffle slowly in the direction of the village.

“A shock, I think,” Kirstie answered. “And one of many reasons why I am getting a divorce as soon as possible.”

“I had my share of spankings when I was growing up,” Wilam admitted.

“More than his share,” Brant said, with a knowing smile for Inga, who returned the smile.

Wilam continued as if not interrupted. “But my father never hit me. I knew when I did wrong and deserved a whipping, but my father never hit me.”

“Soren did nothing wrong. His father was angry, and he lashed out. He knew if he hit me, I would kill him, so he took his anger out on the child. I have no use for a man who hits people when he does not get his way. I especially want nothing to do with a man who hits children.”

Wilam raised a hand like he was taking an oath, and he said, “I promise to always respect you and the children for as long as I may live, so help me God.”

Kirstie looked down to watch her feet. She said nothing until they reached the door to the big house. Then she said the word that stood out in her mind. “Children?”

Wilam apologized. “I’m sorry. You are all I have thought of for three years. I feel as if we are already married. I’m sorry.”

Kirstie stopped. She set Soren down and let Yrsa take his hand again. She looked again in Wilam’s eyes and hardly knew what to say. She surprised herself as much as Wilam when she finally answered him. “A little girl would be nice.”

“Inside,” Inga said, and took Kirstie by the hand.

“Wilam,” Brant spoke in a tone of voice that got Wilam’s full attention. He motioned toward the doorway, and Wilam nodded and followed him in.

The first order of business was to open a keg of the local brew and get some food cooking almost as an afterthought. Kirstie once wondered why men had to get drunk before discussing business. It seemed an odd ritual, but it was the way it was done.

Yrsa and Buttercup kept Soren outside and occupied. They would eventually take him to Hilda’s where he could play with his friend Hodur. The other three women, Mother Vrya, Inga, and Kirstie sat off to the side in a special area where women were allowed. The women were not supposed to speak unless given permission, though they did not always play by that rule. Certainly, no one stopped Mother Vrya from speaking when she had something to say.

Once the atmosphere was subdued, Chief Kerga began with the introductions.

The strangers were seated where they faced the chief, sort of in the center of the room. There were five of them, Captain Olaf, Wilam, Brant Svenson, and two men who carried a small chest between them. They looked like rough men who kept their eyes on the chest, and that made people curious.

The three ship captains sat up front by the chief. They were all on a slightly raised platform that allowed them to see the whole hall. A dozen elders, mostly men with big, productive farms sat around the strangers, and some other men sat behind them.

“Captain Olaf Sturgeson, mostly Danish from the town of Lucker in Northumbria, English land. My Skipper is Brant Svenson, a fine Norwegian lad through his father Sven. My navigator is young Wilam Halfdanson, the last son of Halfdan Ragnarsson before he sailed off to Ireland to be killed in battle.”

Olaf had to stop as the talk went around the room. Everyone knew about Halfdan Ragnarsson, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, who with his brothers, Bjorn Ironside, Ivar the Boneless, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye, raised a great army and invaded England. Only the West Saxons stopped them from conquering the whole island. When the room settled down, Olaf got ready to speak again, but Wilam stood, and the room quieted. He spoke to Kirstie.

“My mother became pregnant days before my father sailed off to try and retake Dublin. By the time I was born, he had already failed and died in battle. So, you see, I never knew my father, and though I carry his blood in my veins, I do not make it a big thing.” He sat.

Olaf added, “Most of the crew call him Wilam, but some, sometimes call him Halfdan out of deference to his father.”

“Thank you,” Kerga said, with an extra-long look at Wilam and a long glance at Kirstie. “Do we have any who will vouch for the captain?”

“I will,” Jarl stood. He told the story of sailing to Normandy and being captured by the hag. Everyone there remembered how frightening the hag of the Vanlil had been, so they did not doubt the horror of the experience. He told about being caged beside the men from Northumbria while he left Old Man Skarde with Kirstie and her maid on the ship. He told how angry he had been at first, not that the three left the ship, but that once again Kirstie would get credit for saving the day. Then he exaggerated the confrontation with the hag beyond belief, but he ended with saying Captain Olaf and his crew stood beside them ready to fight as friends.

“When I found them off the coast of Nidaros, I hailed them, and they said they were on the king’s business. Brant spoke for his crew and said they were looking for Strindlos. I thought it was my duty to escort them here and see what king’s business they had in this place.”

Captain Olaf stood. “Our business is two-fold. First and most important, we are merchants in search of honest trading partners. I was told the people of Trondelag have need of quality crafted ironworks, plows as well as swords. We also have cows in the hold if you have the desire for such. We will take grain, but we would prefer furs such as are scarce in the English countryside and hides that may be worked into many made items.” He stopped speaking because the men began to shake their heads and make noises about not understanding the man. Brant stood, because his Norse was not tainted by such a heavy Danish accent.

“Our business is two-fold.” He took it from the top. “We are first of all merchants in search of fair and honest trading partners. You have the hides and furs that are hard to come by in our home. We have some finely crafted ironworks that you will find interesting and useful. But we can discuss trade a bit later. First, we have a duty to the king. Let me tell you the story.” He glanced at Kirstie and looked at Inga, who smiled for him, and it made him smile.

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MONDAY

Kirstie is rewarded for her work in Northumbria and then needs to figure out how to get a divorce from Kare the Jerk. Until Monday, Happy Reading

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Medieval 5: K and Y 16 Going Again, part 3 of 4

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Kirstie

Kerga looked around the room and said, “The ships can sail separately and meet up in the cove above Howick, maybe in the night.” He looked at Kirstie and she frowned and thought good luck timing that. They would be seen no matter what they did.

“You can at least minimize their suspicion by traveling separately. Seeing only one or two ships together should not raise any serious alarms.” She added, “You know Fairhair will be blamed for the raid even if he has nothing to do with it. He won’t be happy. At the least he will demand the lion’s share of what you are paid.”

“We will deal with the king after the deed is done. First, let’s get paid or there won’t be any shares,” one of the strangers said.

“So, what have you planned?” Kirstie asked. The men looked at each other, but at least the men of Strindlos and Chief Kerga were not against sharing.

“Here,” Harrold said and pointed to the map. “Howick is a small village by a great cemetery and there is a manor house, wooden, like the king’s house used to be beside the growing town of Nidarosss. North of Howick is a sheltered area where we can bring our ships and hope to hide so the people of Howick are not alerted.” He paused to look around at the men before he continued. “We have mostly agreed that attacking a village on the shore will not bring out the army. That would just be a raid, and a terrible shame, but nothing the king can do about it. We need to march about a day inland and attack the village of Eglingham. An inland village will make it look more like an invasion, or at least like we are the vanguard of an invasion. That might move the army to come out.” He looked around at the men and saw no objections, but Kirstie shook her head.

“You think not?” Chief Kerga said to her.

“You have the right idea, making them think you are scouting the land for a possible invasion, but one village will still be seen as a simple raid, or maybe a clever raid where you go inland to a less well defended village. But you don’t want to kill the people. Invaders don’t necessarily kill the people they plan to rule. Better to chase them off so they run to the king in their panic.”

“But if an inland village will not be enough, what do you suggest?”

“Two inland villages,” she said, and did a quick head count. “You have six longships.”

“Maybe eight or more,” One of the other captains said.

Kirstie nodded to that. “Land in two places. Maybe the second place can be the mouth of the Coquet River. Leave ten men from each ship to guard the ships. A hundred raiders in each group should be enough for a typical village. March north in the night. Find a secluded place in the wilderness where you can rest and eat well before the action. The southern group can strike Edlingham. The northern group can strike Ellingham, right under the king’s nose. That should get his attention. Burn a few houses. Take whatever gold and silver you find. Run the people off, and quickly leave. Any soldiers will assume you marched straight from the shore. They will look for your ships here, along the coast below Bamburgh. and here, maybe at the mouth of the river Ain.”

The men were smiling, but Jarl asked, “Why leave so many at the ships?”

“Ten men per ship will be enough to defend the ships and maybe scare off the locals. In the worst case, ten men is enough to take the ships out to the safety of the sea. You can arrange a way to signal the ships at sea so they can come back in to pick you up if necessary.”

“Clarify again. Why chase off the people?” Rune asked. He was not objecting to the idea. He obviously wanted the other captains to understand, especially any who might let their men run wild and slaughter the whole village.

“You don’t want to get your own men killed fighting for a foreign king unless you are being paid extra.” She paused to let the captains think about that. “Besides, you want panic among the people. Survivors run in every direction and spread the word of an invasion. Some will no doubt run to Bamburgh to fetch the army and sew fear among the people there. Nobody will run anywhere if you kill them all. Burn a few houses, take some things, and chase off the people.”

“What about Rothbury? That is a good-sized place not far from Edlingham. They might send soldiers.”

Kirstie shook her head. “As I recall from my father’s notes, the Rothbury area is mostly Danish settlements. They will probably hesitate, and that is all you will need. Once the inland villages are ruined, the groups hurry back to Howick and the Coquet where your ships are located and sail off. You can rendezvous in the Farne Islands and regroup. From there, you can watch what happens in Bamburgh. If the army does not empty the city, we can relax and rethink. If the army moves out, as we hope, we can do some damage to the city and Cnut should be happy with that, and maybe generous. I would not try to take the city unless you have hundreds more men in mind than are presently represented here. Even without the army, the city will still be defended and will still have strong walls. But we might harass them and burn enough to disturb them.”

“Allow me to swallow my words,” Captain Ulf said. “That is exactly the plan we will follow.”

One of the other captains spoke. “I understand King Cnut plans to negotiate with King Eadwulf II of Northumbria and offer certain protections from Norse raids and an alliance against another invasion, like the invasion of Halfdan Ragnarsson. He hopes for certain concessions, to take half of the northern kingdom, in particular the coastal areas without ever engaging in a fight.”

The man’s number one finished the thought. “Once Cnut gathers his army at Rothbury, which is a strong Danish area as you say, he hopes to march to Bamburgh without resistance through the Anglo-Saxon areas that we have frightened so badly. He is hoping then King Eadwulf will bow to the inevitable and surrender his throne with a minimum of bloodshed. That way King Cnut can save his army for the future.”

Kirstie nodded, but said, “I am not concerned about the politics for now. As long as you understand that nothing ever goes exactly to plan, and it will depend on the leaders keeping their men in line. Now, I have an inevitable delay. I need a month. Two would be better.”

“King Cnut wants us to have accomplished our mission by the end of spring.”

“Fair enough. We sail on May first, and you better not leave without me.”

“You will be coming?” Harrold asked, though he knew she would come. She was the one who wanted to go to Northumbria.

“Another hag?” Jarl asked.

“No, the god of the hags,” she said. “And I may have to kill him.” She nodded to Inga, and they left the men to chew on what she said and do whatever it was that men did.

The only thing Inga said on the way back to Kirstie’s house was, “I see you tried to minimize the fighting and bloodshed.”

“These men were planning to go no matter what I said,” Kirstie agreed. “I tried to suggest the advantages of letting people live on both sides of the fight. It was the least I could do.”

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MONDAY

Yasmina seeks refuge in Egypt, but the situation is delicate. Meanwhile, Kirstie has agreed to be part of a genuine Viking raid as her only way to get to Northumbria. Happy Reading.

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Medieval 5: K and Y 13 Delayed and Interrupted, part 2 of 2

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Kirstie

Against Kirstie’s better judgement, Jarl pulled his ship right up to the small docks on the river’s edge. Kirstie did not say anything, though. Jarl was captain of his own ship. The coast looked ragged and washed out from the storm tide so maybe that small backwater bay they stopped in with Rune got washed out. The village appeared to have caught some of it, but the river pushed back against the worst of it. When they docked, Kirstie caught sight of the soldiers by the village warehouse. Three men sat quietly on horseback in that place. It was not hard to pick out the man in charge. Two dozen roughly armed villagers also crowded into the area, so Kirstie had an idea.

Kirstie and Yrsa changed their fairy weave clothes to the dresses they wore before, Kirstie’s being blue and Yrsa’s being hunter green. Jarl, Leif, and most of the men were up to the rail, sizing up their opponents. Jarl hardly blinked to see Kirstie in a dress. Leif drew in his breath but did not make a sound this time as Kirstie leaned forward on the railing and shouted before anyone else could say anything.

“Hello friends. It is me and my maid Yrsa again.” Yrsa translated for the Saxons while the men on horseback looked surprised to hear a woman’s voice. “I hope everything is all right after that terrible storm. Is there anything we can do to help?”

One village man stepped forward with several others, and he appeared to smile. “We lost a family to the tide, but we mostly weathered it well. How about you? Are you needing repairs again?”

“We have a broken railing and a tear in the sail. We may need a new mast. I’m not sure. That was a real scary storm. So, who is your friend? He looks like a nice man.”

“Sir Rolph of Hambourg. His father is lord of the castle, and his cousin is the bishop in Hambourg. Someone told about your last visit and his father sent him to watch the shore.”

“I am Lady Kristina of Strindlos and a faithful Christian woman. It is a pleasure to meet such a fine knight on my journey. I never would have imagined it. We are a simple merchant ship headed for the Norse Shore with skins and grain. Alas, we are not a rich people, but we would pay for any repairs if it doesn’t cost too much. Oh, and do not be fooled by the armor and weapons we carry. These are rough and hearty men to sail the sea, but there are pirates on the seas, you know.”

“And some lovely cargo to defend,” Jarl interjected.

“You are Danish?” Sir Rolph asked. He did not sound all that friendly.

“Norwegian,” Kirstie said. “From far to the north. Out of reach of our king, Harald Fairhair. Up where the bears are white, and the seals are fat.”

“And what is it you are trading for?” Sir Rolph continued.

“Silver, gold, and jewels are always nice. I won’t lie to you. But honestly, we are mostly looking for good plows and farm implements, quality textiles, glassware, and maybe some wine. We want things that will be useful for my people. Most of my people are simple farmers and fishermen, the same as most of yours, I would guess.”

She watched as Sir Rolph’s face softened a bit and he nodded before he asked another question. “Slaves?”

“No.” Kirstie said quickly. “We have some thralls, but ours is a hard land and the winters are long. Help in the fields and with the fishing nets is nice, but slaves need to be housed, clothed, and fed all year long and most families cannot afford that.” It was true enough.

Sir Rolph nodded, like he was satisfied.

Sir Rolph leaned over and talked to the villagers, and Yrsa, with her good elf ears, heard and reported. “He said we could come ashore if we behaved.”

“May we come ashore?” Kirstie asked in her sweetest voice, using the man’s own words.

“Come on. You are welcome to visit.”

Jarl immediately turned to the men. “If you go ashore, leave your weapons on the ship. No weapons. They won’t trust you, and some may try to provoke you, but you just smile and be nice. We don’t want to be the ones to provoke anything. Hopefully, we can repair and move on without trouble. No stealing. And no getting drunk. It will only be for a couple of days so any man who gets drunk or causes trouble will be dumped on the Frisian shore where you probably won’t live long. And any man who causes so much trouble that they arrest you, we will sail off and let you get hung, so be nice and friendly and we will be on our way.” He turned a sly eye to Kirstie.

Kirstie gave it her best, goofy grin. “We go with our strengths,” she said, put her pointed finger to her chin, and curtseyed, humbly to her captain. Jarl laughed before he gave her instructions.

“You just keep this Sir Rolph and the village council entertained until we are ready to sail. That is all.”

Kirstie nodded and lowered the front of her dress a smidgen to show her young breasts just a smidgen more. Yrsa was not doing that.

When two days passed, and the ship was fully repaired, Kirstie came up the plank and stopped. “Permission to come aboard, Captain,” she said and curtseyed low, looking down, her face full of humility. The men all looked and liked what they saw. Jarl played along.

“Permission granted.”

Kirstie smiled and immediately called out, so her armor replaced her dress and her weapons arrived with the armor. She looked ready for battle. She reached down to the deck, picked up some dirt on her fingers and smudged her face. “Ah, that’s better,” she said and went to her bench, storing her weapons beneath, so she could sit comfortably at her oar. A few men and Jarl laughed, but most just looked disappointed.

When they rowed out into the bay far enough to set the sail, Jarl and Leif came to Kirstie with a question, but Kirstie spoke first. “So, we got the railing fixed, a few new benches and a new steering board along with a new mast, and all for the price of a reasonable bundle of furs.”

“And you got a keg of wine, besides,” Yrsa added.

“Yes,” Leif said. “Some of us were wondering how you entertained Sir Rolph so well for those days.”

“Captain Dombert asked me to marry him,” Kirstie said with a big grin. “Yrsa had to tell three men that she was already married.”

“Only two,” Yrsa objected. “The third one got told by one of his friends.”

Kirstie sounded serious. “Look, we got a room at the inn and they left us alone, mostly. We ate in the hall with the knight, his officers, and the council. There were wives there. We had pleasant conversation.”

Yrsa put on a sweet voice. “Oh, the weather is so lovely since the storm. Everything is so fresh and clean. Why I just love roses. My, what pretty flowers.” She batted her eyes and looked at Kirstie.

Kirstie nodded and said, “It was torture. You better appreciate it and understand that probably won’t work again. Yrsa and I already had contact with those villagers and kept our word to them, so they sort of knew us. To be honest, I shared the smallest piece of amber I could find with Sir Rolph on the second day. I got the keg of wine in return, so you can claim it for the ship if you want.”

“Best keep it closed up for now. We don’t need some drunk falling overboard. I imagine the dolphins are well away by now.”

Kirstie nodded. “But I have a question in return. Captain Stenson kept reminding me that he was the captain of his ship and could negotiate things just fine for himself, but you took one look at me and went right along with everything I said. Why was that?”

Leif the skipari interrupted. “We did not have to fight. No one got hurt except Sten got a splinter. We got everything we wanted, and it only cost a small bundle of furs. They even filled our water barrel and gave us some smoked meat for the journey. Plus, we now have a future trading port on the Elbe. Who can complain about that?” Leif could not imagine anyone having anything bad to say about what happened.

Jarl looked more thoughtful. “We go with our strengths. I understand that very well. I have no problem with that.”

Kirstie understood while Jarl and Leif returned to the rear and the steering board to make sure the ship was headed in the right direction. When they were gone, Old Man Skarde turned to the women and whispered. He had traded so he could sit in front of Yrsa and keep an eye on protecting the women if needed.

“You know,” he said. “Seeing you two dressed properly is the only problem. The crew was wary about you. Some of them were scared of you if you know what I mean. Your return from the sea and talk of the god of the sea like he was your friend put the fear of the gods in many of them. But now, seeing you dressed like the attractive women you are may be giving some crew members some second thoughts.

“You think we are attractive?” Yrsa asked.

Old Man Skarde frowned before he let out a small laugh.

“Well,” Kirstie said flatly. “As long as they don’t act on their thoughts. I would hate to have to kill them.”

Old Man Skarde paused and stared for a moment before he let out a genuine laugh and turned back around.