Across the Seas Read online

  Across the Seas

  Book 2

  in the

  New World Series

  By

  Griff Hosker

  Published by Sword Books Ltd 2019

  Copyright © Griff Hosker First Edition 2019

  The author has asserted their moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

  All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

  Cover by Design for Writers

  Dedication

  To Davina, another dear friend taken to the Otherworld.

  Prologue

  I am Erik Larsson. My people now call me Erik the Navigator. I am honoured that they do so for I am young to captain a drekar. We are the Clan of the Fox and we are wanderers. We fled the rapacious King Harald Finehair of Norway when he took our home in Orkneyjar. We made a new home in the land north of Mercia and there we prospered. Larswick was a good home until my father was killed and Finehair came for us again. My brother, Arne Larsson, became jarl of the clan with Snorri Long Fingers, our uncle, as a foster father. We held a Thing and the clan, most of the clan, decided to take our drekar, snekke, and two knarr to seek a new home in the land of ice and fire. It was not an easy choice for we were leaving a rich and fertile land but none of us would bend the knee to the Norwegian king. We had sailed north to the land of Føroyar and hunted the seals from those islands to help us survive. We had voyaged across the Unending Sea. We did not know where this land lay but my people trusted their navigator. When I smelled the brimstone then I knew we had arrived. We had found a land free from the rule of kings but what else did it bring?

  Chapter 1

  We had reached the island but we saw no sign of a beach. The Norns were spinning. The winds were from the east and the south. The men were tired and so I let the wind take us north and east as we sailed along the coast looking for a beach. That changed our future. Who knows what might have ensued had we gone the other way? Eidel was the lookout. The eldest of my ship’s boys, he perched precariously atop the mast. The pennant occasionally fluttered across his face and he waved it away. I kept us eight hundred paces from the coast for I did not want to rip out our hull. We had no idea what lay beneath the surface of this sea. Our three consorts trailed behind. They were ducklings following us, their mother. The other lookouts lined the larboard side as they watched for the white water of rocks.

  It was Stig, who was standing with me by the steering board who spotted that ‘Sea Bird’, one of the two knarr, was in trouble.

  “There is trouble astern Captain, Padraig has taken the snekke next to ‘Sea Bird.’ She looks to be low in the water.”

  I handed him the steering board, “Keep her on this course.” I turned and cupped my hands. “Sighwarth, what is the trouble?”

  I had a good voice for he was three lengths astern of us and he heard me. I saw him cup his hands, “We are taking on water. The strakes have sprung. We need to land soon or we will perish. We have women and children aboard.”

  Padraig shouted, “We will take the bairns off and pass them to ‘Raven’.” That was our other knarr.

  “Good, we will seek a place to land. So long as there is a beach it will have to do.” My brother, Arne, joined me. He had been by the mast with Snorri. I told him our troubles. “I had hoped to use this wind to circumnavigate this part of the land. I have seen no habitation but there may be people here.”

  “Just get us to land. Our folk are ready for it and the Norns have spun.” He leaned in. “Already there are some who say we should never have left.”

  I had heard the moaners too. “Eidel, is there any inlet close by? I care not if there is a beach just so that we can close with the shore.” He did not answer but peered landward. I edged the steering board over to close with the shore. There were cliffs which rose from the water. Savage rocks, like the island’s teeth, guarded their base.

  Eidel shouted, “I see an inlet. It looks to be a mile ahead. I can see no beach.”

  “We will head there. Arne, tell the others what we do. Stig, tell the lookouts to be vigilant. We risk unknown waters here.”

  I heard Arne shouting to the three ships which followed us. We had been lucky to have travelled so far and to have stayed together. It was inevitable that we should have damage to one of our ships. It had been Heyannir when we had left Føroyar. That had meant longer days. I suspect we might have lost ships had it been later in the sailing season.

  We crabbed our way to the cliffs. The cliffs were not as high as in Norway but they were higher than any we had seen in the land of the Angles or our islands. I wondered if there was arable land here. I saw smoke rising from a nearby mountain. It seemed to tower over this part of the island. Below the wreath of smoke, I saw snow and yet this was high summer. What would winter bring?

  Stig returned, “The water looks deep, Captain.”

  “I can risk edging closer?”

  It was a question Stig did not wish to answer for if he was wrong then we might strike rocks and all would be lost. He took a deep breath, “I would say so, Captain.”

  We closed to within two hundred paces of the shore. I would go no closer but, if ‘Sea Bird’ did begin to sink, we had a chance of salvaging something from her.

  Dreng shouted, from the prow, “I see the inlet. It is as wide as a sea!”

  “Arne, we will need to take ‘Sea Bird’ in tow. We will have to use the oars.”

  My brother nodded, “The men are tired but the end is in sight. Let me know when we row!”

  I said, “Stig, find the best rope we have. We will take our ships in tow.” As he hurried off, I turned but kept my hand on the steering board, “Padraig!” he waved his arm to show that he had heard me, “We will take ‘Sea Bird’ in tow. Have ‘Raven’ lash herself to one side. You take the tow, row and fasten it to the prow of ‘Sea Bird’ and then lash yourselves to the other side of her. We will let ‘Njörðr’ show her strength! The clan will pull you all to a safe anchorage.”

  Our snekke was like a little greyhound and Padraig brought her close to the stern. Stig threw the rope and Padraig allowed ‘Jötnar’ to fall off and drift back to the knarr.” I looked back to the shore. I could see the inlet now. We edged a little closer. When I turned we would lose the wind. I glanced back and watched as the rope was secured to the prow of the stricken knarr.

  “Arne, take to the oars!”

  “Aye, brother. “Right, Clan of the Fox, we have one last row. Let this new home of ours hear our voices so that it knows the Clan of the Fox has come!”

  The oars had just begun to bite when Padraig waved to show that the tow was secure. I felt the hull judder as we took the weight. It would become easier once the snekke was tied next to the knarr for her sails would help to push us.

  The Clan of the Fox has no king

  We will not bow nor kiss a ring

  We fled our home to start anew

  We are strong in heart though we are few

  Lars the jarl fears no foe

  He sailed the ship from Finehair’s woe

  Drekar came to end our quest

  Erik the Navigator proved the best

  When Danes appeared to thwart our start

  The Clan of the Fox showed their heart

  While we healed the sad and the sick

  We built our home, Larswick


  The Clan of the Fox has no king

  We will not bow nor kiss a ring

  We fled our home to start anew

  We are strong in heart though we are few

  When Halfdan came with warriors armed

  The Clan of the Fox was not alarmed

  We had our jarl, a mighty man

  But the Norns they spun they had a plan

  When the jarl slew Halfdan the Dane

  His last few blows caused great pain

  With heart and arm, he raised his hand

  ‘The Clan of the Fox is a mighty band!’

  The Clan of the Fox has no king

  We will not bow nor kiss a ring

  We fled our home to start anew

  We are strong in heart though we are few

  I headed for the centre of the channel in the inlet. I saw that the inlet was a fjord. It twisted and turned as it headed north. The smoking mountain lay ominously close to it. I was more hopeful. The only smoke I saw was from the nearby mountain. Perhaps this coast was uninhabited. We were prepared to fight for land but if we could land unopposed and establish ourselves first, then that would be so much better. Trees lined the fjord. None were huge ones but they meant timber. Once the timber was cleared, we could farm. As we turned and the wind worked against us a little so we slowed and the men had to row harder. Our song helped. With good fortune, this would be the last time that the men would need to row for some time.

  “Keep watch for beaches.”

  I was the navigator. We needed a beach first but I was looking for natural harbours. Within five hundred paces of turning into the fjord, I saw a perfect harbour and a beach but Sven shouted, “Rocks to larboard!” I took us back to the main channel. The beach and harbour could be investigated by foot once we had landed. The men were tiring and we had travelled three more miles up the fjord when Eidel shouted, “I see a beach and a river! They are to larboard!”

  A river meant there would be no rocks. There might be mudbanks and shoals but those we could deal with. I turned and shouted, “Head to larboard!” When the three ships put their steering boards over then it became easier for our men. I saw the beach. It was neither white nor golden sand but black flecked. It looked, however, to be rock free. I had to time this just right.

  Stig, go and organize the boys. I want us secured as soon as we are close.”

  “Aye, captain.” I kept edging west to the beach. When I saw the ship’s boys clinging to the sheets and stays, I shouted, “Larboard oars in. Steerboard, back water!” With three ships acting like an anchor the drekar began to edge into the shore. I felt a creak as her keel touched the sand and then there were six splashes as the ship’s boys jumped into the shallows. I had time to glance astern. Padraig had the snekke on the beach already for he had untied himself from the knarr. The water was lapping along the gunwales.

  “Arne, as soon as you can get the men ashore and drag ‘Sea Bird’ to the beach. She is about to founder!”

  “Aye, Erik the navigator! The Clan salutes you!”

  I smiled and nodded. I knew I had skills and it was my duty to use them for the clan. As the boys tied us to the shore, using the rocks which lay there I looked at the landing site. This was not a good place to build a home. The better home looked to be the first place we had seen. Here the river made the land muddy and it looked to be liable to flooding. We would need access to fresh water but there had to be springs and natural waters we could find. I cupped my hands, “Ship’s boys, take the water barrels and refill them from the river.” The decision about our new home would not be mine but my advice would be sought.

  Gytha and her husband, my uncle Snorri Long Fingers, came to see me as the men slipped over the side and headed to the stricken ship. I heard Arne shout, “Unload ‘Sea Bird’ get the folk off!”

  Gytha was a powerful volva. She was the one who spoke. “We have found land but not our home.”

  I nodded, “We passed a good place but there were rocks. I will see my brother, the Jarl, and ask to go and scout out the other. This would make a good place to camp.”

  Snorri nodded, “My brother would be proud of you, Erik. He had faith in your skill as a navigator and it has been justified. I see trees for homes and there is some land for crops and animals.” He waved a hand at the waters, “The sea teems with fish and I see, on the other side of the fjord, basking seals. We can make a home here.”

  Gytha stroked his hand, “But this will not be the home which Erik will find. That is still in the distance. I have dreamt it but I have not seen it. You still have far to sail, Erik the Navigator.” A woman coughed and I saw that it was my mother. Gytha shook her head and said, quietly, “But for some, they will never leave here.” I wondered what she knew.

  While our people and animals were taken ashore, I went over my ship with the ship’s boys. We had animal dung to clean. It would not be wasted. The animal waste would fertilize new fields. The animals themselves were lean and needed fattening. Our camp would enable us to do that. When the upper parts of our ship had been cleaned and checked I slipped over the side. The icy waters were a shock to my system but I had to check the keel below the waterline. The knarr’s plight showed us that we could take nothing for granted. By the time I climbed back aboard I was blue with the cold but it had been worth it. Our drekar was sound. I saw fires lit ashore and freshly caught fish were being cooked. Children were exploring the land and the women were, once again, preparing food. I changed into warm clothes and, even though it was summer, slipped into a fur to warm me through.

  “Eidel, I want two boys on watch at all times.” I had good ship’s boys. They were more than boys. Eidel, Halsten, and Stig were almost men. They each had a beard. Sven was also close to becoming a man. Even Rek and Dreng, although younger, could soon take an oar if they so chose.

  “Aye Captain.”

  Before I left the drekar I stored my hourglass and compass in my chest. Without them, we would not have found the land of ice and fire. I walked down the black beach to the knarr. She had been hauled clear of the water. Sighwarth shook his head, it was his knarr. “She has the worm. We checked her before we left but…”

  Arne put his arm around the warrior, “She got us here. We will use her for a hall when we find where we will live.”

  I said, “Gytha thinks that this is not the place.”

  “We need to rest and to recover, brother. We cannot go sailing again. Many of the families are unhappy and the sight of the smoking mountain does not enthral them!

  “I know.” I pointed south to the mouth of the fjord, “I spied some likely places there. I would go on the morrow to scout them out. The animals will need rest and we can collect fish and seals from the seas around here.”

  Butar Beer Belly said, “I have seen birds but no animals.” He pointed to the sand. “The only tracks I saw were those of birds or seals.”

  Arne was young but the clan had chosen a clever jarl. “Then it is good that we brought animals to breed. We have a bull and cows. We have sheep and pigs. All that we lack are horses.”

  While the men went to build shelters, I spoke with the other captains. The other two ships were in good condition. “Padraig and Aed, I would have you come with me on the morrow to see if we can use the natural harbours. If not, we will sail the snekke further into the fjord.” They nodded. “How was the voyage here?”

  “There were times when we thought we had lost you but the light brought us safely to you and we trusted your skills with the compass. This is a strange land.”

  I turned to look at it, “You are right and it is well named. I see trees and then all is fire and, even though it is summer, ice.” I nodded. “We had better haul the knarr from the water.”

  We managed to drag ‘Sea Bird’ on to the sand. Water began to drip from the sprung strakes. She was now a ship in name only.

  The animals happily grazed on what passed for pasture but Arne took the precaution of using the children from the clan to watch over them. I went to
see my mother and Edmund, our thrall. They were both Saxons and, since my father had died, increasingly alone. My younger brother, Fótr, was all that she had left. Arne and I had our own lives.

  I put my hand on her shoulder, “Gytha said that you are unwell?”

  “It is just a cough, my son.”

  Edmund shook his head, “I just cannot see it improving here! This is a bleak place. We should have stayed in a god-fearing land.” Since my father had died Edmund had become increasingly belligerent. I feared that Arne would punish him. He sometimes went too far.

  He would not have spoken like that had Arne been there. He was too familiar for a slave. I did not mind, I quite liked Edmund. He watched over my mother and Fótr. Before I had left the hall, he had cared for me too. “We have our freedom and this stark land is a price worth paying.”

  “It is a godless land!”

  I shook my head. Edmund was a devout Christian. My father had tried to beat it out of him but failed. “Now that we are ashore you can have hot food and that will make the cough disappear.”

  My mother smiled, “Perhaps.”

  While the rest of the clan would sleep ashore, I chose to sleep aboard my ship. After I had my food and eaten, I returned to the ship. I had not managed a good night’s sleep at sea. Each time I had closed my eyes I was ready to be woken at a moment’s notice. I went to sleep while it was still daylight and I could hear the children playing. The nights were so short as to last but a few hours. It was daylight when I woke but few were up. We had seen no sign of any danger and so we had not set guards. We had some fowl with us and they would have woken us. I made water and then went to look at the beached knarr. The water had stopped flowing. She would dry out. As a ship, she had served her purpose but her hull could be inverted to make a hall. All that I needed to do was find a site.