Read Online Viking Sword by Griff Hosker - Free Book Online

in the ale house.  Cwoenthryth the ale wife was delighted despite their boisterous behaviour. Inevitably there were fights, mainly with the younger Ulfheonar but Haaken slipped her an extra coin and she was happy enough. I knew that, once the word got out that we were in Lundenwic then such nights would be a rarity.  It was yet another reason why I wanted a hall which was away from innocent people. I wanted somewhere to defend when those who wished to take Ragnar's Spirit came.
    There were sore heads the next morning as we rowed upstream. My men had celebrated well. We would now have to learn to be self sufficient. Aiden had procured some flour so that we could bake our own bread.  We still had salted meat and that would do us until we went to raid the East Angles and the Danes.
    Aiden laid out the outline of the hall and while half of the warriors prepared the tree trunks which would form the frame the rest of us dug the holes for the posts.  This would not have to last long and we were not fussy about the shape of the trees used for the roof. Once the holes were dug then the younger warriors were sent to cut turf.  We gathered as many stones and rocks as we could to make the timbers secure in the ground. One advantage of the proximity of the river was the clay and the mud.  It made the manufacture of the daub much easier. By the end of the second day the eight trees had been planted in the holes and stones rammed around them.  By the third we had the wood on the roof and by the fourth the turf had been laid.  We now had shelter from above. I left Aiden in charge of the building.  He would have the men make willow and hazel hurdles for the walls and daub them with mud and grass. I took Snorri and Bjorn the Scout to explore the land and go hunting.
    We took our boar spears and our bows. Salted meat paled after ten days.  We needed fresh meat to augment our diet.  I was also keen to explore the land to the north.  The border between Wessex and Mercia was only vaguely defined.  Many of the villages owed allegiance to both Coenwulf and to Egbert. It ensured their survival. We had no mounts and our exploration would be limited. We headed north towards Wemba Lea.  It was a small village, or s o   Cwoenthryth had told us, and was surrounded by forests.  She had heard that they teamed with game.
    It was a Roman Road we followed although once we neared the forest we took a track to head into its heart.  Bjorn the Scout and Snorri were in their element. They soon found the spoor of some small deer.  These were not the huge red deer we had at home. These were much smaller. They were almost like big dogs. He looked at the tracks in the muddy ground and worked out where they were heading. Snorri took us so that we approached them downwind. At times I thought that Snorri was the most wolf like of us for he could smell game long before the rest of us.  He nocked an arrow and I knew at that moment that the animals were near. We spread out, quite naturally.  Bjorn the Scout went to Snorri's right and I to the left. We watched our footing as we approached them.  A snapping twig would send them scurrying away. I was a good archer but my two companions were the best and so I would wait for them to release first.
    We saw the small herd.  There was a large male with four females and four young. We all crouched.  They were just sixty paces from us. We all made a silent plea to the god, Ullr, to guide our arrows and make a swift kill.  I knew that my companions would not aim at the stag. That would be like killing the whole herd.  They would choose an older female and one of the young.  It ensured that the herd would continue just as we had left the young of the fishing village. It was a poor farmer who harvested all and had nothing left for the next year. The gods did not approve of such a waste and the goddess Eostre would punish us for such disregard.
    The two arrows sped towards their targets and the deer began to