Leif Erikson and the Frost Giant by Mark Philipson

Author:Mark Philipson [Philipson, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Alternative New World fantasy
Publisher: Mark Philipson
Published: 2017-03-10T04:30:00+00:00

Twenty-one

Burial Ground

IN the morning the party stood in the shallow water. Kanute and Eluf hoisted and secured their packs with leather straps. Halvar and Jarl tied the four adothes together. A line from the lead adothe was tied to harnesses placed on their upper bodies. Nogwinto, taking up the lead, dragged his adothe behind. Leif, Draskawindit, and Bjarte followed Nogwinto. Kanute and Eluf came next. Halvar and Jarl took up the rear.

The day wore on. Even though the sun was at the midway point of morning, the water became colder with every step. Nogwinto stopped and waited ahead. He spoke to Draskawindit. Draskawindit passed the message onto Leif. “Nogwinto says we must move faster. We need to get off the land of grass and water before this Sun ends.”

Lief understood. All he could think of was sitting on dry ground and warming his feet by a roaring fire. He decided to talk to the party. He turned, raising one hand he said, “Our guide tells me we have to move faster if we want to get off this flat before nightfall.”

“The heavy packs cause our feet to sink further into the mud. It takes time to lift each foot out to take the next step,” Kanute, the voice of the crew, said. He eased the weight of the straps off his shoulders with his thumbs.

“This I know,” Leif nodded. “I have seen one thing as we move through these flats, there are stands of trees rising out of the marsh, if we had to we could make camp in one of these.”

Leif returned to the lead. “We are going to do the best we can. If we don’t make it out of here by sundown we’ll have to stop at one of those small islands I’ve been seeing.”

“This can be done, Skipper Leif …” Draskawindit trailed off.

Leif sensed something was wrong. He knew Draskawindit well enough to know when she didn’t agree. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” he asked.

“It is against Beothuk custom.”

“Why is that, Draskawindit?”

“The land of grass and water is where the Talking Dead come when their bodies have rotted. You could say they come here to die again.”

“Have you ever seen one of these dead who live?”

“No.”

“What about Nogwinto?”

“He says no.”

Leif made up his mind. In all his years as a trader on the open sea he’d never seen a sea-serpent or heard a mermaid’s voice. Why would this Beothuk tale be any different? “If we don’t get out of here in time we stop.”

“Very well, Skipper Leif,” Draskawindit nodded.

■ ■ ■ ■

The sun sank low in the sky. The party would not make it off the flats before darkness fell.

“We’ll make camp here,” Leif said as they stepped out of the icy water and set foot on a mound of earth supporting a grove of trees. Leif ordered Kanute, Eluf, and Halvar to hack out a clearing with their short axes. Jarl climbed a nearby tree. He cut branches and let them fall to the ground.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.