Arnulf Wolfblood: A Viking Saga by Pedersen S.C

Author:Pedersen, S.C. [Pedersen, S.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Forlaget Zara
Published: 2020-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

Although Vagn had put some distance between himself and the Blood Fox , Svend continued to, now and then, shout with Little Ketil, and in the afternoon Bjørn the Bretlander had had enough on his thwart in front of the Ågeson and invited Ketil over for a beer. The agile warrior had no trouble jumping from ship to ship, and Vagn thawed when Bjørn thrust a mug into this hand and toasted to Torkel Lere’s daughter in Vigen. Arnulf drank with him and wanted to know who he was, this Torkel, now his name was mentioned whenever the conversation turned to Vagn’s chosen maiden.

‘He is Hakon the Good’s vassal and a hard, bloodthirsty fellow.’

Bjørn dried his beard on his sleeve, ‘And just as well, Vagn likes the daughter, just as much as he dislikes her father.’

He sent the Ågeson a cheerful glance, and Vagn raised the mug and swore with vigour to kill the dog, before the year was out, ‘He shall die, and as thoroughly as no man before has died!’

Little Ketil licked a runaway drop off the side of the mug and became serious, ‘Therein you are undoubtedly right, but I would like to know what it is like when you die, thoroughly or not! Maybe the way you are killed reveals something about it, but whatever the cause of death, there must be a time, while the body is still bleeding and hot, where it is still possible to feel something, even if you cannot call or move.’

Arnulf’s beer went down the wrong way and he started to cough, and Svend thumped him on the back, unconcerned and half-grinning, ‘Possibly, Ketil, but how will you find out? Give us a signal when you die?’

Little Ketil smiled, and Arnulf breathed again, the thought was cruel! Had Rolf perhaps sensed what had happened to him that night? Had he, in some way, seen how his brother had fled the atrocity at his most miserable?

‘The man I carried out of Sweyn Haraldson’s hall sensed nothing – that I am sure of!’

Bjørn hummed, twisting a tuft of his white beard, ‘He was killed emphatically, so no, Ketil. When you are dead, you are dead.’

‘Yes, but how can you be sure?’

Ketil did not give in, ‘The fallen on the battlefield clearly see the Valkyries come and would have to swing themselves on horseback, for although Odin’s daughters are far stronger than most women, armed men are heavy and hard to move.’

‘I think Ketil is right,’ conceded Svend. ‘Death always takes its time, otherwise the battlefield would be as silent as the night.’

‘Death gives the valiant the opportunity to prove their worth, and no man in Jomsborg so much as blinks, even if the blade is about to hit him right in the face.’

Vagn emphasised his words, and Arnulf peered down into his mug. Certainly the Ågeson’s eyes would not flicker, but even the most hardened warrior still ought to behave like a man.

‘I do not know if it is possible to keep your eyes firm, if it is death itself that you see.

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