Jack grinned and took another great swallow from the drinking horn, which had been making rounds at the great table where Skakki held his court. A lot of the mead it held slopped down the front of his newly gifted tunic, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not when he was surrounded by old friends, not when Thorgil had an arm over his narrow shoulders and her bright eyes on him.
Three days previous, Loni and his company had finally arrived at Horse Island. When they pulled the ship onto the shore, there was a crowd already waiting for them. Many of the people were clamoring for the goods that Loni had brought on his ship, but there was one group of people along the shore who were cheering and waving their arms as soon as they spotted a sun-darkened boy carrying a wizard's staff, and a tall, scarred shieldmaiden at the prow.
As soon as the boat scraped against sand, Thorgil threw herself off of the boat, splashing in the surf. She called out in the language of the Northmen, greeting her heart-brothers and -sisters, their mothers, and one stooped old man, who was sitting in a sedan chair set on the sand. Along with Olaf One-Brow's family, Jack spotted several of his old crew members on the shore. The scarred and pockmarked face of Eric Pretty-face was unmistakable, and he spotted Egil Longspear standing a little ways from the crowd, a broad smile on his face, holding hands with a man and woman on either side of him.
Jack was much more subdued than Thorgil when he greeted the group on the beach. He waited until the boat was well set into the sand on the beach, and then climbed down, taking the hand Loni offered him to help him get off. He did not adjust to the land as well as Thorgil, who was already walking normally along the sand, hugging Dotti and Lotti. Jack had a rolling gait as he made a beeline towards the seated old man, who had a smile on his wrinkled face. Jack stooped down on the sand and greeted his old friend with a hug and a kiss on his bearded cheek.
"Rune!" he cried, not stopping the tears that prickled in his eyes. In all of Jack's farseeing, he had never seen the old man. Without a sight of his scarred neck, or his gnarled hands, Jack was sure that the elder had already gone to Valhalla or Fólkvangr, forever dwelling in Freyja's halls. He was overjoyed to see him.
"Little skald," Rune said in his strong voice, smiling. "I was sure that I would never see you again, lad. Neither in Midgard, nor in what comes after."
"I am glad that I am able to see you again," Jack smiled. "How are you faring?"
"I am old," Rune said simply. "I can no longer walk, and am mostly confined to Skakki's halls. It is not so bad, however. Heide keeps me company." Jack was about to respond, but stopped when Rune's old eyes lit up with a gasp. "But how are you Jack? Dragon Tongue has visited once, to deliver the news that he had not died." The old man laughed. "He gave us a scare, standing on the shore with his white beard blowing in the wind. But perhaps we should never have been surprised. It was not the first time he has escaped death. He said something about you going to a school?"
"Yes, that is right," Jack said. "Thorgil and I have been learning much about the life force. The school is in the Islands of the Blessed."
"Truly?" Rune asked. "You must tell me of all you have learned! Tell me, what is it tha-"
He was cut off by a deep voice, thickened with a Sami accent.
"Little ssskald," the voice said. "Or not so little anymore," was added thoughtfully,
Jack stood up from where he was stooping in the sand, and looked at the woman standing before him.
Heide had more wrinkles than the last time he had seen her. Her dark eyes were lined in black, and her now silver-streaked hair was bound tightly in twin braids that reached past her waist. She had frown lines and crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, but she was still a very beautiful woman. She was dressed in the style of the Northmen, rather than of her people, in a blue dress and a red hangerok. The red apron was fasted with great silver brooches, studded with pieces of amber, and etched with the design of a great writhing creature. She was not the only one dressed extraordinarily. From the way all of Skakki's family dressed, it seemed the kingdom on Horse Island was prospering.
"Heide," Jack said, bowing his head. "It is good to see you again."
"Commme," she said, drawing out the word in her smoky voice. She held out her arms for an embrace. "It has been far too long, Jack." Jack stepped into her arms, noting that he was still shorter than her.
"Now," she said, as they parted. She fixed her eyes on Jack, and he felt the air tremble as she examined him. "You have much to lore to ssshare, Dragon Tongue's heir." This was said quite solemnly.
Heide was a mysterious wisewoman, learned in lore from all over the North. Always draped in charms and staves from a diverse group of gods, she was altogether an intimidating person. She had scared Jack when he first met her as a young boy, and she still cast a mighty presence. This solemnity she had, the air of power that shook the very air around her, could be cut down by one thing, however.
This was exemplified when she clucked her tongue and tugged on the fabric of his worn tunic. Or perhaps it was when she let out a pained noise at his curly hair cropped short, not reaching past his ears. It also could have been the sniff when she spotted the bit of stubble on his chin. It was all rather like what Dotti and Lotti did later on when they saw the young bard, all grown up. Along with all she knew about the wide world, Heide was above all things a mother.
"We will get you inssside the hall," she spoke. "And keep you sssafe until you leave us again."
Jack was sure she would have kept doting on him, but Heide's voice stopped with a laugh when Jack was pulled to a strong chest by a thick pair of arms. This would have been fine, besides the squeezing, but the boy spluttered a bit when a thoroughly whiskery kiss planted on the crown of his head.
"Jack!" Skakki cried, turning Jack around in his arms so that he could just barely crook his neck up against the broad chest, to see Skakki's beard and slanted eyes sparkling down at him. "All grown up!"
He placed Jack back down on the sand, and clapped a hand on the Saxon's shoulder. Jack's knees buckled, and he tried his best to ignore Thorgil's sniggering behind her heart-brother's shoulder. He was a little surprised by the Northman's greeting. In his past dealings with Thorgil's family, Skakki had always treated Jack with respect, but never with outright affection. But perhaps Jack's times with the young man were a bit tainted, since in most of them he had still been grieving over The Bard's assumed death.
"You are looking rather large, yourself," Jack smiled back at the man. Skakki's blond hair was unbound, but for a gold-threaded headband on his forehead. His mustache was braided into a long beard, whose end was capped with a single gold bead. If Jack ignored the different eyes on the man in front of him, he could have believed that he was looking up at Olaf One-Brow once more.
Skakki was dressed as befitted a young karl in his prime, with a dazzling red tunic on over green leggings. He wore a large silver hammer pendant on a golden chain, and his fingers were clad with many rings. He wore no leg wrappings, but his feet looked splendid in brown leather shoes, tied off with throngs at the ankle. The tops of the shoes had some soft looking fabric sewed onto them, in a soft blue that reminded Jack of a robin's egg.
"Must be all the mead," the Northman told Jack, with a smile. He put his arm around Thorgil, and spoke to her. "I have spoken with the man who took you to us, and he seems like a well enough sort."
"He is a good man," Thorgil said. "Although his beard is a bit too short for my tastes."
Skakki laughed at that. "We shall talk more in my halls, and have something to eat. Let me show the two of you my lands."
And so, that morning, Olaf One-Brow's family, with Jack and Loni tagging along, began the long trek to the Horse Lord's white halls.
After the reunion on the beach, Loni welcomed the other Northmen to his ship on the beach, exchanging salt and amber for grain, fresh water, and a few sheep. Skakki in particular was a good customer, buying many salt loaves from the grim faced trader. Loni and his crew only stayed on the island long enough to trade some things, and to replenish their fresh water. They were there for three days, and then turned their sights to the Northlands for more trading. When Loni departed, he thanked Jack and Thorgil for all their help during the voyage. He clapped both of them on the shoulder, and gave them gifts. For Thorgil, a set of silver beads for her golden hair, and a small dagger, to be placed in a boot. Jack received a pair of soft kidskin gloves, and an embroidered headband. Both of them got a clap on the shoulder, and a small smile. He had sailed away in the early morning, the skies dove-grey, and the sea casting a chill in the air. As the merchant ship disappeared on the horizon, Jack thought of and was grateful for the new friend. He had met many people in his relatively short life, and he wondered how many more he would meet on this voyage.
Once Loni and his business had left the island, preparations were finally complete for a great feast to be held in Skakki's halls. His whole family, along with several important women and men from the village, were to come together to celebrate the arrival of their lord's sister and her faithful retainer.
Jack rather resented being called a retainer, but did not mind so much when the feast happened. He frequently stole bites of food from Thorgil's plate, and drinks from her cup, claiming that as retainer, he needed to check everything for poison. He took extra care to test lots of the pork and grouse for "poison".
By the end of the night, he was not sure what quite possessed him to tell the Northmen of a Christian saint, but that is exactly what the boy did. Perhaps it was all the mead.
He had recited a tale of the martyred Saint Agnes to the Northman audience, recalling what his father once told him. This was, of course, after he sloshed drink on the tunic Skakki had gifted him. He put a reminder in the back of his head: do not tell stories after spilling liquids on oneself. Not a pleasant experience.
"She was beautiful, and young, and pure," Jack had spoken, referring to the chaste Saint Agnes. "And she was desired by many. But she claimed that her heart and her body belonged to Jesus Christ. She would have no husband."
"Smart girl," Thorgil added to that. "Perhaps not all Christians are lackwits."
Jack ignored that, and continued with his story. "Agnes declared that she would take no husband as long as she stayed away from the touch of a man, and close to the heart of Jesus Christ. She prayed to God to deliver her from the grasping hands of men, and he answered her prayers."
With that, he paused, taking a long drink from the horn still in his hands. He made a great show of taking several swallows, and smacking his lips, enjoying the flavor. (And it was quite good, though it would never compare to Aiden's heather ale.) He smiled to himself as his audience stared at him, waiting to see how his god saved the young girl. Jack especially delighted in Skakki's dark-eyed glare, his narrow, slanted eyes narrowed even more as Jack used his own trick on him.
"Come now!" he finally said. "My mead is not so excellent. Get on with it!"
Jack grinned, and went on with his story.
"When Agnes refused to take a husband as long as she stayed a maiden, her suitors' fathers decided that they would send her to a brothel, without her consent, to be defiled."
"That's awful!" was the cry from his audience. "A free woman should never be treated so!"
Dotti and Lotti both looked unimpressed with that.
"Aye," Jack said. "But she was a Christian, and the Roman kings hated Christians. Anyway, when they tied up Agnes, to drag her through the streets of Rome, the ropes would not tie. Whenever they touched her, they would simply unravel. They kept trying to bind her, but Agnes stayed free. But that was not the only miracle God performed that day."
Jack tried again to take his break, but his plans were ruined. "Not again!" Skakki had cried. "No more breaks! Tell us the thrice-damned story."
The boy grinned again at his host, (who looked as if he was quite through with the young wizard), and did as he was told. "The guards assigned to transport turned around, to discuss what to do with the young girl. 'Kill her now!' some said. 'She is not worth the trouble, this Christian!' 'We will put her in chains, in place of ropes!' cried some. Still others said 'We will just drag her with our own hands!'. They saw sense in the last statement, and all of the guards turned around to put their hands on Agnes. But she was not there. While the guards took their time to argue, God covered Agnes head to toe in hair. With her disguise, she was able to get away."
"Hair?" Skakki asked. "Does that mea-"
"HAIR?" Eric Pretty-face yelled. "DID SHE TURN INTO A DOG, THEN?"
"Yes, what does that mean?" Egil Longspear asked.
"Maybe she turned into a bear," Thorgil suggested. "To maul the men who sought to hurt her."
"Sounds like Frith," Skakki said. "Was this Saint Agneese a half-troll?"
"Saint Agnes was not a half-troll!" Jack said. "And I am not sure what it means, that is the way my father told it to me."
"Perhaps Giles should have better explained," Thorgil mused. "Or perhaps he did, and you were too thick to understand."
If Jack had been in worse spirits, or if he had not had a large amount of mead already that evening, he might have gotten angry at that. But he was happy with his old friends, and he had, in fact, drunk a lot of mead.
He simply smiled at Thorgil, and shook his head when Heide asked him if there was more to his story. Of course there was, but the ending was no good. No one wants to hear about a little girl's head getting cut off. As Jack had learned long ago, it was best to end a story before things got sad.
A/N: A short chapter to tide everyone over until my AP exams are over. I hope everyone enjoys seeing more familiar faces. You will see more of them in the next chapter! As always, thanks for reading! Comments and favorites are always appreciated!