Banners of the Northmen by Jerry Autieri Page A

what I took during my stay. Nothing more. Take what I offer, and use it however you wish. Resupply for the winter; fix your armor; buy women for your crew."
    Men nearby laughed at Gunther's final comment as he stepped back. Ulfrik's face heated and he accepted the pouch. He glanced at Snorri and Toki, then to his other men. He glimpsed Runa as a dark shape lingering at the hall behind all of them.
    "Your generosity is almost as deep as your stomach. My thanks, One-Eye."
    Gunther roared laughter again, then turned to join his men as they pushed his ship out to sea. His hair flowed over the gray wolf pelt draping his shoulders as he trudged into the surf. Men helped him aboard, and he returned to the rails to shout over the breaking waves.
    "We meet one month hence. Toki knows the way. Gods keep your hall safe."
    Ulfrik raised his fist, and Gunther returned the sign of strength. He and his men watched the three ships gather and then steer east out of the fjord for the open sea. His own ships would soon follow the same path.
    "You won't break your word," Toki's statement sounded like a question to Ulfrik.
    "Of course not. The gods are with us. We will return before summer, our hulls brimming with treasure."
    Gunther's ships faded to smudges in the misty horizon. Ulfrik turned to regard his crew, but everyone had drifted back toward the hall leaving him alone at the edge of the surf.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    Rain battered Thrand's house, and distant thunder rattled the walls. Water spattered onto the floor and furniture from a dozen spots in the roof. The smoke hole cover sagged with gathering water, and a constant stream splashed into a bucket beneath it. The rainwater intensified the rank scent of the sheep packed inside the home. Thrand shouted at their constant bleating, and they clustered tightly at the center of the room. He had been watching the door, listening to the rain, and drinking sour ale from his horn. Finally, it broke open and Kolbyr tumbled in.
    The sheep spun in a circle, startled at the sudden entrance. Kolbyr huddled under a sealskin cloak, and as he tore it away gouts of rainwater dumped to the floor. Thrand laughed at his bedraggled friend.
    "You look like a drowned cat."
    "Where do these storms come from?" Kolbyr plopped his cloak over an empty stool, then wiped the water out of his face. "The night looked clear enough when I set out for your house."
    "Live here a while and you'll learn how fast storms appear. The gods hate this place, Kolbyr, and whenever they notice it they lash it with rain and lightning. Now, warm yourself with good ale." Thrand trained his clear eye on Kolbyr. The ale was the worst he had tasted in years, but he filled a mug for his guest and smacked his lips. "We've got much to discuss tonight, my only friend in this world."
    Kolbyr settled onto his stool, the oil lamp between them painted deep shadows into his face. He accepted the mug and tipped it into his mouth. He pulled it away with a grimace and swallowed hard. "Is it sheep piss?"
    "It'd taste better if it was, but it's not. Now drink up. We have to be quick."
    "You've got a woman sneaking out here in the rain, do you?"
    "With your pretty face, you'd be good enough. Now are you ready to listen or do you have more shit to drop from that hole under your nose?"
    Kolbyr flung his full mug onto Thrand's bed in the corner, then sneered at him. "Sleep in your sheep piss, if you love it so much. Now what have you called me out here to discuss?"
    Thrand dropped his head and scratched his scalp, fighting the urge to strike back at Kolbyr. Yet he needed help, and no one besides Kolbyr could offer it.
    "The bed is a nest of lice anyway. I'm better off on the floor." Thunder cracked close enough for the table to vibrate under Thrand's arms; the sheep panicked again but had nowhere to run but in a circle. "We sail for Frankia next week. What do you think of that?"
    "I hear it's warmer, and filled with beautiful women.