Cnut: Madness of a Viking Warrior (Cnut the Viking Warrior Book 2) by Miller Kyle

Author:Miller, Kyle [Miller, Kyle]
Language: eng
Format: azw, epub
Tags: Manuscript Template, Public
Published: 2015-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

Over the span of the next two moon cycles, the men, women, and thralls of Margrbaer were busy with the preparations for raiding Shetland. Dried meat and other foods that wouldn’t spoil were gathered, as well as drinks, including water and ale. I did not know exactly where Shetland was located or how long it’d take to get there, but I knew it was between the land known as Scotland and the land of the Norse. If anyone could get us there, it’d be Leif. I know the only reason he sided with me over Bjarni was the fact that I had the Reinen, the ship he loved and cared for. I really didn’t care about the reasoning, I was just glad to have such a great steersman to guide our great fleet of six longships, the greatest fleet I’d ever heard of up to that point in my life.

Most of the crews that arrived did so via the river that we used to reach the open sea, the same river that Bjorn guided us up to attack Floki. That memory seemed very distant now, as did Rolf, the man who trained me and died in the raid against Floki. The nostalgia continued to come in waves as we prepared for the trip down the river and out to sea.

Everyone was there by the end of the second moon cycle and we gathered the night before, determining which direction to head. Valthjof and Leif discussed the best course to arrive at Shetland. Once their directional decision was made, we drank and discussed the glory we would earn.

The next day, we loaded the ships, said goodbye to our loved ones, and began our journey. The first two days, maneuvering down the rivers and streams, were tedious. It felt more like two weeks, rather than two days. As we neared the coast, we beached our longships and enjoyed one final night on land. Some of the men chased crabs across the beach, and everyone was amused, especially Orm, when Brandr had his finger sliced open by the claw of a crab. Brandr swore and was determined to kill it, but he missed it several times with his sax, and then it disappeared from the beach and into the sea. Orm made fun of him relentlessly for his gaffe, and then the absurdity of him swinging a dagger at the small creature and continuously missing.

It was a very relaxed evening, filled with joviality, primarily because we knew we were going on a long, open-sea voyage the next day. That night we dined well and slept well in preparation for such a journey and the lack of comfort and provisions that it entailed.

To this day, I have never experienced such a departure from the Norse coast as I did during that voyage. I lived on the coast while I was in Hranastaoir and I had never seen the creatures that I saw that day. As we pulled out into the sea, a group of ten to fifteen swimming animals joined our longships.

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