The Valhalla Saga 01 - Swords of Good Men by Kristjansson Snorri

Author:Kristjansson, Snorri [Kristjansson, Snorri]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books
Published: 2013-07-31T18:30:00+00:00

STENVIK

The fires in the longhouse burned low as Thorvald stepped through the doorway. Sigurd watched him from his seat on the dais.

‘Well?’

Thorvald bit the words off. ‘There are a lot of them out there, but they keep to the darkest parts of the woods. It’s murder to get any kind of estimate on their number. I’ve lost two scouts trying.’

‘But they’re staying put? They’re not grouping up? Did you see their leader?’ Sigurd fired the questions fast and hard.

The scout master looked wearily back at him. ‘What do you want me to say, Sigurd? I don’t know. I don’t know how they work. We’ve never faced them before. All I know is there’s a lot of them, ranging from the scrawny and desperate to some bastards that can really handle themselves. I also know they’re here and they got two of my boys.’ Thorvald’s face was flushed with anger and he had to swallow hard before he continued. ‘The answer to your question is no. We’ve not seen them grouping up in any way that I understand. Except for there being a pile of them in our own wood.’ Thorvald scowled.

‘Their lack of movement is not necessarily good,’ Sven added from the corner.

‘What do you mean?’ Sigurd spat.

‘Skargrim is coming and suddenly our forest crawls with outlaws.’

‘If you mean what I think you mean, you’re slipping into old age sooner than we thought,’ Harald countered.

‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Sven replied. ‘All I’m saying is that we should not be surprised if the outlaws move when Skargrim appears.’

Harald banged the arm rest of his high-backed chair. ‘Shut up, old man! We should gather our fighters! Root them out before Skargrim—’

‘No, Harald. It’s time you shut up!’ Thorvald snarled. ‘I’m not risking any of my men in those woods just because you want to go bash some heads!’

‘I agree with Thorvald,’ Sven added.

‘You would,’ Harald shot back. ‘None of you dare stand alone against me. You always—’

Sigurd rose slowly from his chair and the three men fell silent. ‘We know Skargrim is on his way. We know that there are outlaws in our woods, and they’ve come in numbers.’ Sigurd took his time and looked at his warriors in turn. ‘Now there is only one question. When the crows come to feast …’ He stepped off the dais, turned and looked up at Harald, Thorvald and Sven. ‘… are you going to sit here scratching your arses and yapping like old women, or are you coming with me to do something about it?’

A cold smile played on his lips as he moved towards the door of the longhouse. Behind him, the others swapped quizzical glances as they got up to follow their chieftain.

NORTH OF STENVIK

‘Pater noster, qui es in caelis …’

Finn didn’t understand the words, but by now he knew them by heart. At first only a small group of men had wanted to join the King for Morning Prayer, but the number had grown steadily. Over half the army had joined in since King Olav cast down the totems.

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