A Slave's Tale

17

17 AT THEEND of the first day, we had only reached the entrance to the fjord; for the wind had been westerly, and we had had to row all the way. We anchored for the first night in the lee of a small island, where we collected driftwood and cooked our supper. The following day, the wind shifted to the north. We set sail. Our course was close to the mainland, in that sound which separates Norway from the large island called Hitra. At midday, when we had reached the southern tip of the island, the man who was on watch at Munin's bow cried out that he had sighted ships coming against us. We leapt from our places and stared ahead. I could see some black dots on that line where water and sky join each other. We did not alter course, and soon we saw that they were five longships. They were being rowed and were coming directly against us. "Those ships carry a message not welcome to Earl Hakon, for I believe they come from the Orkney Islands , and their leader is King Olaf Trygveson," said Erp the Traveler after he stood long, staring at the aproaching ships. 122 "What message do they carry for us?" asked Hakon, looking grimly ahead. "A message we had better not receive," answered Erp, and looked up at the sail. "Can they outsail us, if they should care to pursue us?" Rark asked. "Outrow us, they can; for their smallest ship has at least fifty oars. But they are even heavier loaded than we are, and do not have their sails up." For a moment all three of them stood silent, gazing at the oncoming fleet. "Shouldn't we change course?" Rark demanded. Erp the Traveler only shook his head. Now that we could plainly see the ships, we knew that what Erp had said was true: the smallest of them was at least twice the size of Munin. They were lying low in the water and carried many men. Four of the boats had dragons' heads mounted in their bows; the fifth, the largest of the ships, had a cross, the symbol of the new god. "I shall change course so that we pass west of them; but I shall not do it before we are so close to them that it will come as a surprise," Erp said to Hakon, and walked aft to take the steering oar himself. "Let each man take his shield, so that he can protect himself should they shoot arrows at us. But let no one shoot back." At Hakon's order, the shields were taken from where they were stored and given to their owners. I had no shield. When Hakon noticed this, he motioned to Ketil Ragnvaldson to protect me with his. The wind was blowing strongly now, and the timber 123 of Muntn was groaning as she moved through the water. "Prepare to alter course!" shouted Erp. Four men loosened the ropes of the sail, so that it could be turned to catch the wind on our new course. "Pull!" Erp screamed. The big sail was pulled farther towards midship. Munin heeled over as she changed course, and the wind hit her almost sideways. I felt the deck rise beneath me. My feet slipped and I tumbled down towards the port railing. Ketil Ragnvaldson caught hold of my shoulder and held me. I had lain on the deck only a moment, yet I had seen 124 the ship that passed nearest us. Some of the men seemed to be shouting to us; but I hardly noticed them — or the men who were rowing — for my attention was given to the two men standing midship with their arrows resting on their drawn bowstrings. I felt that both of their arrows were pointed at me, and the thought made it impossible for me to move. Had not Ketil pulled at my shoulder, I think I would have remained lying there on the deck, a perfect target. "Prepare to change course!" Erp called out again. The men pulled on the ropes. Munin was back on her old course, to the south, with the wind directly aft. The two men had shot their arrows, not at me but at the steersman. They had missed. Erp appeared unconcerned , though one of the arrows was embedded in the railing, not half of a spear...