The women on the portside oars dropped them hard into the wave as they were nearly vertical and at considerable height. The ship lurched hard flinging the two shield maidens fighting to drop the wind-filled sail. One of the women struck her fellows on the starboard side oars, but their many arms and snatching hands snagged her before she could go over the side. The other, hung onto the rope holding the sail aloft and as the slack went taught, the improvised knot snapped free thus dropping the sail with a crash onto the centerdeck!
Ghilda held fast onto the rudder and bellowed, “Pull in the oars! Hold on!”
The longship completed the turn and began its descent down the mountain of a wave. Behind them she could hear other longships and their captains yelling similar commands. Greatest of all was the sound of the cresting wave as it collapsed into a rolling shape like rolling a hide map! The collapsing wave’s innards looked like the spiraling void of a whirlpool only laying on its side and large enough to swallow longships whole!
The speed of the descending longship made it difficult to cause the rudder to make the subtle adjustments needed to aim towards the gap. The weight of the ship needed to be shifted towards the starboard side to help the rudder.
Pulling with all her might against the rudder once more Ghilda screamed, “Unlash yourselves! All hands to the starboard side!”
Frantically, the women rushed to comply while a few struck with fear were physically struck by their fellows to break free of the spell freezing them in place. With all hands including the unconscious wounded on the starboard side, the longship began to roll right and obeying the rudder’s direction. With the ship turning in the proper direction, Ghilda could see the gap followed the paired waves. If they could only hold steady until then….
The weight of the crew on the starboard side began to cause the ship to roll dangerously far to the right. Any further and the vessel would capsize and that would be the end of them!
“You fat sows move to the centerdeck before we end as fishbait!”
Hand over hand, the women struggled to the centerdeck and soon righted the ship. Getting the rudder to keep them headed dead on for the gap was easier as the pressure of the water forced it back to the neutral position.
Behind them, Ghilda heard the fearsome sound of longships being caught in the wave’s curl. Screams and the sound of snapping timbers were instantly drowned out by the roar of the wave. They were descending so fast now, the longship ‘hopped’ over the wave face causing everyone aboard to squeal and squeek like little girls on their first ride on horseback!
All too soon, they reached the point of no return. Not that they could have turned away to try again if they wanted to! With one brutal and gut turning hop, the long ship flew across the gap between the waves and came to a tooth and bone jarring crash into clear water.
Both her good and broken arms ached madly and the Chief’s Vife could barely contain her empty stomach as she wanted to violently retch over the side. Instead, she hauled herself up and looked out over her battered and broken surviving crew.
“Odin be praised.”
It was a whisper at first and then a roar as a relieved Ghilda gave thanks for their survival thus far. The chant was taken up by the bedraggled crew and then by other longships as they too cleared the gap and rallied to her. Happy to see as many ships as did survive the ordeal, the Chief’s Vife then saw the sight that made her fall to her knees.
“Svengald?”
The light of dawn was rivaled by the light cast by the pair of glowing stones as a large skiff drew near. Though there were others aboard waving, Ghilda could only see her bare-chested husband with braided beard and long braided hair holding fast to the skiff’s prow and shielding his eyes from the stone’s glare.
“SVENGAAAAAALD!”
Her husband waved to her and then placed his hand over his heart signaling he still loved her. Then he signed for her and the others to follow him and the few longboats he’d gathered.
Quickly, Ghilda gathered her wits while wiping away tears. Steadying herself despite her injuries, she was a Chief’s Vife and realized it was time to start acting like one again.
“All right all you ‘storm-fighting whores!’ Man your oars so we can get the fuck away from this all forsaken place. Follow my husband and damn well don’t fall behind!”
With much renewed enthusiasm and the feeling their ordeal was nearly at an end, the women put oars to water and began to sing the song of the ‘Red Chieftain’. Ghilda smiled through her pain for once more a man named ‘Svengald’ had saved her people.
****
Svengald was elated. Once more he was with his people from his time! As they sailed for a few hours to get clear of the influence of the Everstorm, he listened to stories of how things had been since he and his men set forth on that fateful voyage to the City of Golden Towers. To his amazement, ten years had passed in his homeland while barely five had passed for him in the Valley Realm!
His wife Ghilda had taken up the Chieftainship in his absence and had been a fair and steady ruler. He laughed at their tales of her many rebuffs of would-be-suitors and felt a fair amount of pride at her accomplishments while he’d been gone. But now, with their tired bodies having given out there only was the sound of the waves and the beating drums of longships behind him.
Finally well clear of the Everstorm which could no longer be seen on the horizon, Svengald looked out over the sea as the morning sun began its flight across the sky in earnest. He could see nothing but small waves, but something far out over the horizon caught his eye. Above all else, he must find Little Fish. Without him, there would be no way to return to the Valley Realm or to Aesirfjord in any time!
His injured eye began to ache severely and then he remembered, he didn’t have two eyes anymore. Pulling the hastily tied torn cloth from the fishscale within his eye socket and closing his good eye, Svengald faced out over the sea and saw…everything!
Storms, strange ships that plied the seas of great and terrible design, sea battles with ships that seemed more like dragons than anything made by man! Strange birds that flew through the sky and shot fire from their bodies causing the monstrous ships to burst into massive fireballs only to sink burning into the sea.
The vision was too much to take in and while he shut his eyelids tight and placed a hand over the fishscale, the Chief remembered the words of ‘Sir Fish’…‘You may find who you search for through our covenant.’
Remembering how a much younger and far more excited Little Fish explained in painful detail one of the Priestess’ lessons showed him how to concentrate on one thing when using his Fishscale Necklace. Keeping the youth’s words in mind, the Chief thought of one thing alone, ‘Where is Little Fish?’
Svengald could not suppress a gasp as his vision suddenly sped across the sea! Well past sparkling waves, the green shores of land emerged. Upon a blinding white beach bordered by a thick palm forest, the Chief saw his adopted nephew Little Fish and a pale-skinned young woman with red-brown hair come ashore.
Abruptly, the young man looked directly at Svengald menacingly.
Startled, the Chief recoiled nearly losing his balance at the prow and the vision was gone. Quickly, he placed the cloth back over his new ‘eye’ and set about awakening his new crew.
“Wake up! On your feet! Prepare to set sail. Those who can, swim out to the other ships and take a pot of food and fresh water each. It’s only enough to whet your throats and remind your bellies what food is, but it shall do until we make land. Come, if we get to it now the last of the ships can come ashore before nightfall.”
Svengald knew his wife Ghilda would want to see him when she woke. But she and the surviving crews were no doubt past their limits with hunger and exhaustion. The Little River Dragon could make the trip at speed in a pair of hours. The longships being far slower under full sail and with diminished crews would barely complete the journey before nightfall. It would be a long, unbearable day rowing under the hot sun. Not doubt the Aesir would find this portion of their odyssey near terrible as traversing the Everstorm!
Yet, just over the horizon lay Little Fish and his companion. They would have to take time to get their bearings by figuring out where and when they were and then begin the search for the Valley Knight.
In between all that, he would have to get reacquainted with his wife and face a host of nearly unanswerable questions.
All that aside, Svengald looked up to the brilliant cloudless blue vault and for his good fortune so far he whispered, “Priestess be praised….”
The End
© 2016 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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