The Long Hunt (The Strongbow Saga) (38 page)

I shook my head. I had been looking for the
Red Eagle
—I desperately hoped it was one of the longships I saw—but the failing light was too dim for me to be able to tell. "It is too dark," I replied. "I cannot say."

Alf listened to our exchange with interest. "You are meeting someone here?" he asked.

Ignoring his question, Hastein said, "Guide us, pilot. That is what we are paying you for. Where shall we dock?"

Alf studied the darkened shoreline briefly, and then pointed to the right. "There," he said. "See that empty pier just beyond that knarr? You can tie your ships along either side. It is one of the wider piers in the harbor. It will make unloading your goods easier."

The moorage Alf directed us to lay close to the end of the harbor. Not far beyond it, the jetty of rough pilings curved to the shore at the base of the rocky hill. I wondered if it was by chance or design that Alf had sent our ships to dock below the fortress. As I stared up at its walls looming overhead, a party of warriors, carrying torches whose light glinted on their helms and armor, marched out of its gate and headed down the hill toward the town.

Alf was standing nearby. Glancing sideways at him, I saw that he, too, had been staring up at the fort. He nodded his head, then turned to Hastein. "Well, then. If you will pay me, I will be gone. My house is in the town. It will be good to sleep in my own bed this night."

When he had left, I asked Hastein, "Shall I go search along the shore and see if the
Red Eagle
is in the harbor?" I was impatient to discover whether Toke was still at Birka. We had hunted him for so long—was he finally brought to bay?

Hastein shook his head. "We will look in the morning," he replied. "If he is still at Birka this night, he will be here then as well."

My disappointment must have been evident on my face. "Halfdan," he said, "you are the captain of my archers now. And with Torvald gone to captain the
Serpent
, you are my second in command aboard the
Gull
, as well. We must take no chances. If Toke is in Birka, he may have been watching for us. He may have gained allies here, and could even now be looking for a chance to strike at us. We cannot afford to lose any more of our men. I cannot afford to lose you.

"No one is to go ashore into the town. I want a strong watch posted throughout the night. Five men, all fully armed and armored. Relieve them regularly—I need sentries who are fully awake and alert, not dozing on their feet. And tell all of our men they should sleep with their weapons close at hand. Arrange these things. I am going to the
Serpent
to see that Torvald does the same."

There was some grumbling as I made my way up the deck to the bow, repeating Hastein's orders. We had been two full days at sea, and the crew had been hoping for a hot meal, and perhaps more—in trading towns such as this, there were usually merchants who sold ale and wine by the cup, even well into the night, and there were women willing to trade their company for coin. But none even considered disobeying. The mixed crew of doubtful discipline that had begun our long journey had become a company of warriors worthy to serve a jarl.

I was just back of the fore-deck, selecting the men for the first watch—I would be among them, for I thought it unlikely that I would be able to sleep this night, with Toke possibly so near—when Einar called out, "Halfdan, men are approaching." I looked up and saw a party of men—warriors, perhaps twenty or slightly more, all armed and carrying torches—emerging from a street between two buildings just down from where our pier extended out from the shore. Although I could not be certain, they looked to be the same warriors I had seen leaving the fortress.

The Ravens, Bryngolf and Bjorgolf, who were also standing the first watch, had already donned their brynies. "Come with me," I told them, and stepped up onto the edge of the ship's top strake, then leaped onto the pier. Glancing back, I saw Hastein and Torvald climbing off of the stern of the
Serpent
onto the dock.

The Ravens and I reached the end of the pier as the column of warriors neared it. A tall, slim man with graying hair and beard who was in their lead, the only one among them not wearing a helm and bearing a shield, held up his hand and the column stopped. He took a torch from one of the warriors behind him, and holding it high walked forward until he was standing directly in front of me. "My name is Herigar," he announced. "I am captain of the king's garrison at Birka."

"My name is Halfdan," I told him.

"These are your ships?" he asked. He sounded understandably surprised.

Hastein, who had by now reached us, answered. "The ships are mine. My name is Hastings."

"Hastings." Herigar nodded as he repeated the name, and he stroked his beard with his empty hand. "And you are a Dane? You are all Danes?" he asked.

Had we spoken more, I might have believed he had guessed so from our speech. Although the Danes, Norse, Gotars, and Sveas all use the common tongue, there are some differences in the ways we speak it. But Herigar could not have placed us as Danes from the few words we had spoken. Clearly Alf had gone to him as soon as he'd left the
Gull
. But why?

"Yes," Hastein answered, "we are Danes."

Herigar seemed to be expecting Hastein to say more, for he waited a time in silence, studying him. "What is your purpose here?" he finally asked.

"This is a trading town, is it not? It is open to all—even Danes?" Hastein asked. "We are here to trade. What other purpose would we have for coming to Birka?"

"Yes," Herigar said. "What other purpose would you have? May I see the goods you carry?"

"Of course," Hastein replied.

While Hastein and Torvald escorted Herigar along the decks of the
Gull
and the
Serpent
, showing him the various bales and barrels of goods we had taken from the pirates' camp, I went to my sea chest and donned my armor and weapons in preparation for standing watch. As I was finishing, Herigar stepped back onto the pier from the
Serpent
, Hastein following behind him. Glancing back at the stern of the
Gull
, he paused when he saw me, then walked back along the pier until he was close enough to speak.

"You have armed yourself since I arrived," he said to me. "Why have you done so?"

"I am standing the first watch aboard our ship this night," I replied.

"You do not need armed guards standing watch through the night here," Herigar said, turning to Hastein. "My men and I keep the peace in Birka."

"I am by nature a cautious man," Hastein said in reply. "I am certain Birka is well guarded by you and your men, but I have always found it wise to place my greatest trust in myself and my own men."

Herigar again stared at Hastein for a long time without speaking. Hastein returned his gaze, neither speaking nor blinking. It was Herigar who finally blinked and looked away. It clearly annoyed him that he had.

"We are not accustomed here to see merchants who bring their goods aboard a longship. Such are designed for war, and are poorly suited for carrying cargo," he said.

Hastein shrugged his shoulders again. "These are the ships I own. And I am not accustomed, when I come to a town to trade, to be met by an armed force. Do you greet all who come to Birka to trade in this fashion? "

Herigar shook his head. "No," he admitted, "I do not. But merchants who trade here do not generally bring a war-band to do so. I, too, am a cautious man."

Again there was an uncomfortably long silence between them. This time it was Hastein who broke it.

"Is there anything more you need of us?"

"Yes," Herigar said. "Since you have come to Birka to trade, you must pay the king's landing tax. All merchants who come must pay it. It is the price for entry to our market, and for the right to trade here. You may pay me now. Four aurars of silver for each ship—a mark in all, for both."

"The king must have his due," Hastein said.

*   *   *

After Herigar and his guard had left, Hastein called Torvald and me to the stern of the
Gull
to hold council. The Ravens, plus Einar and Gudfred, gathered with us.

"We must be very watchful this night. There is more to Herigar's visit than meets the eye," Hastein said.

"Do you not think it is just what he said?" Torvald asked. "Between our two ships we do have many warriors. It does not make us look like merchants. Surely he was just being cautious."

Hastein shook his head. "That may have been a part of it. But it was significant to him that we are Danes."

"Clearly Alf went to him as soon as he left the
Gull
," I pointed out. "He, too, found it of great interest that we are Danes. It is as if they all are watching for Danes to arrive."

"That is how it strikes me, too," Hastein said. "But why? Has Toke somehow set Herigar and his men against us, as he did with Sigvald?"

"Sigvald was a pirate," Torvald protested. "Herigar is a captain serving the Svear king. The Sveas and Danes are not at war. Surely Herigar would not risk provoking King Horik, and starting one, by attacking Danish ships for no cause."

"I do not know. What you say should be true," Hastein replied. "But there is something beyond what we can see that is afoot here. We must be very careful."

*   *   *

After standing the first watch I tried to sleep, but although I felt weary, my efforts did not meet with success. As I had anticipated, the thought that Toke might be near—that on the morrow, we might find him—kept me feeling tense and wakeful, and now, due to the strange visit by Herigar and his men, I was also concerned that we might be in danger from them, as well. By the beginning of the third watch—the last before the morn arrived—I conceded that I would find no rest this night, and was back in the bow of the
Gull
, standing guard again. Bram and Gudfred, plus Hallbjorn and another of Hastein's men named Harek, were manning the watch with me.

A dense fog had settled upon the town and harbor during the night. Standing on the raised fore-deck, I could barely see past the end of the pier to which we were moored. The first row of buildings in the town, a short distance beyond, was no longer visible at all.

I was staring into the gray wall of nothingness, considering whether I should post some of our sentries farther forward, on the shore, when out of the corner of my eye I saw something creeping along the pier behind me. It startled me, and I raised my bow—I had been holding it strung, with an arrow nocked on the string, for some time now, for the fog was making me uneasy—as I spun around to see what it was.

I heard a gasp, then a frightened voice said, "It is me!" barely louder than a whisper. It was Rauna.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, also whispering. I felt angry, for I could well have killed her.

"I need to go ashore," she said.

"No one is to go ashore," I told her. "Those are Jarl Hastein's orders."

"I
need
to go ashore," she said again. "Please. I will not go far. I will not be long."

It was a bad time for her modesty to assert itself. I almost told her no. Instead I sighed and said, "Very well. Wait a moment. I will come to the end of the pier and watch for you. You must not go far."

When we reached the end of the pier, I told her, "You must stay close. The fog is very thick. Do not go so far that I cannot see you, and you cannot see me. Now hurry!"

She walked a short distance down the shore. I could still see her, but only dimly. She fumbled with her clothing and squatted down. After a few moments, she stood up again, but she did not return. She seemed frozen. Then suddenly she dropped into a low crouch, crept forward into the fog, and was gone.

If I could have put my hands upon her at that moment, I would have shaken her until her teeth rattled. Where had she gone, and why?

I knelt and held my bow at the ready while I pondered what to do. I had not decided—in truth, I felt befuddled by her unexpected actions—when she appeared again out of the fog, directly in front of me, moving quickly in a low crouch. As she drew near she raised a finger to her lips, warning me to be silent, then tugged my arm as she reached me, pulling me back down the pier toward the ships.

After we had gone a short distance, I whispered, "What were you doing?"

"I heard sounds," she explained. "Iron on iron. And voices whispering."

I remembered that on the pirates' island, she'd seemed to have unusually keen hearing. She had heard Hastein and his men approaching well before I had, even though she'd been further away.

"There are many men, wearing iron, hiding back between the buildings," she continued. "Many men."

"Did they see you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I do not think they saw anything, but if they did, I was down on my hands and knees—they will think they saw a dog."

Climbing back aboard the
Gull
, I whispered to the others on watch, "Warriors are gathering between the buildings. We are in danger of attack. Bram, go warn the watch aboard the
Serpent
, and tell them to rouse her crew. But tell them to do so quietly. Harek, wake our men and tell them to arm themselves. Gudfred and Hallbjorn, keep watch here, and have your bows ready. Everyone must be silent—warn those you wake, Harek, to make no sound. The warriors gathering in the town must not realize we are aware of them. I am going to wake Hastein."

Rauna followed me as I trotted back to the stern. Hastein was stretched out on the stern deck, wrapped in a thick cloak. We had not tented the
Gull
's deck for shelter because of Hastein's fear that Herigar might mean us harm. He was sleeping so soundly that I had to shake his shoulder hard, and whisper his name over and over, to awaken him. When I finally did, he sat up with a start, but was clearly still groggy.

"Hastein," I told him, "warriors are gathering between the buildings on the edge of the waterfront. I fear we are to be attacked."

He shook his head, trying to clear it. "How many?" he asked. "Was Herigar with them?"

"I do not know. I did not see them. Rauna did. But she said there are many of them."