‘A fair wind at last. But little hope of a quiet, unobtrusive departure,’ said Halfdan.
A large crowd had already gathered on the jetty to see them off and people were still flocking towards the ship. It was a beautiful spring morning and the Swan looked magnificent. Halfdan smiled as he swept his eyes around the ship. Her decks and polished timbers gleamed in the sunshine, her sheets and lines were orderly, and she was well stocked with food and water. Best of all, the weapons and supplies that had been stolen from him were now safely out of Eric’s reach, strapped down in the cargo hold. It was hard to believe that they were finally on their way.
Halfdan had congratulated the raiders on a job well done. They were all pleased with how it had gone and looking forward to the next stage in the campaign. Even though they had been up all night and looked pale with fatigue, they had all turned out early because they were so wildly excited to be leaving.
He had recruited ten young men from the district, including Hedin, his biggest catch. The crew was largely composed of two factions: the raiders, otherwise known as the stickball team (Audun, Jorund, Karl, Sam, Kormak, and Alf), and Hedin’s gang: his two friends from Lysuholl and three men from Thorsnes who had attended the midwinter feast held by Solveig’s father and were eager for the chance to go abroad and win fame. Halfdan’s estate-workers Hrolf and Ivar, who had guarded the Swan and come with them from Norway, were also on board, and they planned to pick up four more hands when they got to Reykjavik.
The crew were not yet fully tested, but they were ready to meet the next challenge. He would soon have a tempered weapon in his hand.
There was a mood of tremendous excitement down on the beach. Families were embracing their sons and people were crying. Many of the people there were not known to them personally, but had come out of curiosity to see the men who were willing to risk their lives and return to the old country to challenge a mighty opponent. Old men looked on approvingly, saying that it was good to know that courage and idealism were still alive in the youth of today, while others, such as Malachi, pulled long faces and declared that it was a foolish pipedream and they were all going to their deaths. Little boys stared up at them in wide-eyed awe. A group of teenage girls clutched each other and wept over Hedin’s departure, occasionally reaching out to him and waving. Hedin, who was now known as Skeggi’s Killer, the man who had not only performed deeds of heroism abroad but also delivered his own home region from a predatory monster, paid them no attention whatsoever. He looked slightly bored by it all, as if he received this kind of adulation every day of the week.
Sam was helping Audun to carry the last few items of gear on board. They dumped a heavy chest in the bows and stopped to look at the people assembling on the landing stage. ‘We’re famous, Sam,’ Audun murmured. ‘We’re heroes already, and we haven’t done anything yet.’ He smiled to himself, savouring this delicious irony. He felt excited and moved by their interest, but also a little apprehensive—no, actually it was worse than that, he felt fraudulent, as if he was deceiving everyone by pretending to be someone he wasn’t. All these people would be expecting him to perform great feats of arms.
Sam’s already broad grin widened. ‘If they’re like this now, imagine the reception we’ll get when we come home,’ he said. He seemed quite untroubled by self-doubt.
Audun spotted his family arriving. He crossed the ramp onto the jetty and pushed his way through the crowd to reach them. His mother hugged him close and began to weep as if her heart would break. She was saying something which sounded like ‘Come back to us,’ but her voice was choked with sobs and muffled amid the folds of his cloak. Audun squeezed her tight, trying to swallow down the emotion that suddenly clutched at his throat. His father looked at him in bewildered admiration and said, ‘Do something to make us proud, son!’ It was very strange, Audun thought, how he was the same man, but now that he was going off to war, even his father perceived him differently. He embraced his father and his six younger brothers and sisters in turn. Then Arnor and his wife came over to say farewell. By the time he got round to Helgi and Embla, his eyes were red and his heart was too full to speak. He stood and looked at them both for a long moment, imprinting their faces on his memory. Then he grasped Helgi’s hand and said, ‘We’ll meet again in Norway. Promise me you’ll keep out of trouble until then.’ Helgi’s face broke into a smile. ‘You’re asking the impossible!’ he said. ‘But I’ll try, if you promise not to quarrel with my cousin.’ Audun looked troubled and said, ‘I can’t promise you that, but I swear I won’t do anything to jeopardize the expedition.’
He turned to Embla and was amused to see her smiling up at him almost shyly, with glistening eyes. With a friendly smile, he bowed to her deeply, and half as a kindness, half as a joke, took her hand and kissed it, as a gallant adventurer would do. Embla giggled, but then her lip trembled and she threw her arms around him.
Somewhat taken aback, Audun looked helplessly at Helgi, who shrugged and grinned at his predicament. But Embla released him almost at once. As she drew away, she looked him straight in the face. It was a meaningful look, which seemed to say, ‘I’ll see you in Norway too, but don’t let on. Keep my secret safe.’ There was no sign of tears.
Audun was unpleasantly struck by this little deception, and pretended he hadn’t noticed. He couldn’t think what to say to Embla, so addressing them both, he said, as cheerfully as he could manage, ‘Well, look after one another. And good luck go with you.’
After he had spoken to Audun, Helgi went aboard the ship to wish his father a good voyage. They embraced warmly and then Halfdan fixed him with a stern look and said, ‘Give my regards to Jon and come straight to us once you’ve carried out your errand. Guard yourself well and be mindful of your conduct wherever you go, for it matters greatly what a man is remembered for. Never forget that you come from a noble and ancient line.’ Helgi promised to obey his father’s wishes. He felt the pricking of hot tears and lowered his head to blink them back. His father expected him to be brave, like their illustrious ancestors, and not give way to childish feelings. ‘Now go your way,’ said Halfdan, kissing him on both cheeks, ‘and may the gods keep you safe.’
Once his father had dismissed him, Helgi sought out Karl and Jorund, his cousin Hedin, and the rest of his friends to say goodbye and wish them luck. Sam and Kormak, who were basking in the glow of fame and public approval, gave him pitying looks, and once more he had to hide his disappointment that he wasn’t going with them. He struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He felt altogether desolate now that his father and most of his friends were leaving.
The favourable breeze put Halfdan in a frenzy of impatience to leave—any unnecessary hanging around, he declared, and they might end up weatherbound for a week or more. The men shouldered the few remaining packs and boarded the ship. There was bustle on the decks as the crew prepared to set sail.
Hedin was about to remove the gangplank when a woman wrapped in a grey hooded cloak came hurrying along the jetty. Even though her head was covered, Audun recognized her at once and felt the now-familiar lurch in his heart. She had come to see them off! This probably meant that Eric did not suspect her involvement in the raid. Audun smiled to himself.
He watched closely as Hedin stepped out to greet her. The Peerless Warrior kissed her cheek and they exchanged courtesies. It seemed to Audun that he kissed her coldly, with a complacent air of ownership, and that Solveig returned his kiss only out of politeness. It was obvious she didn’t love him, but Hedin was too much in love with himself to realize.
Audun smiled again, as he compared this lukewarm public farewell with the passionate embraces he and Solveig had shared in the dark, just a few hours earlier. Who would you rather kiss—me or him? You. The thought of outperforming Hedin as her lover gave him an even bigger kick than the thought of kissing Solveig right on her uncle’s doorstep.
He felt immensely reassured. The doubt and gnawing jealousy that had consumed him ever since the games lifted away completely and he felt free.
He thought of the effort he had put into pursuing Solveig—the hours he had spent waiting outside her gate, the mockery and rejection he had endured, the physical danger to himself. He had captured her heart before Hedin had even appeared on the scene. If Hedin thought he could buy her love—if he thought he could just elbow him aside and take over, he was very much mistaken.
Now that he knew she loved him, Audun considered his own position unassailable and Hedin merely an irritating but ultimately superfluous presence. If anything, the poor unsuspecting fool had done him a favour because the promised betrothal was what had finally pushed Solveig into his arms. She was desperate to escape from what threatened to be a dreary and loveless marriage.
Hedin had lost and he didn’t even know it. Audun couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for him. That in itself was strange. But he could afford to be magnanimous now.
From where he was standing in the port quarter, almost concealed by the side of the hull, Audun could see that her eyes kept flicking past Hedin’s shoulder towards the ship. Hedin must have noticed her interest too, for he led her up the ramp to show her what it was like inside. Solveig drew back her hood. Her sorrowful gaze skimmed over the heavily laden hold, the decks cluttered with gear, and the men standing at the oars at either end, and barely registered Halfdan, who stood with his hands on his hips, infuriated by the delay. Then she caught sight of Audun who stood unobtrusively on the far side of the ship, towards the back, waiting to haul on the line that raised the sail. Swaying slightly, perhaps from the gentle heave of the deck, she clutched the handrail to steady herself. Try as he might, Audun could not keep his face expressionless. His eyes softened and lit up with pleasure at seeing her so moved, and a knowing smile spread across his face. It was answered by a weak and uncertain glimmer in hers, an anxious look, a tremor about the mouth. Audun wished he could hold her close and reassure her.
Then he felt a pang of doubt. How could he be sure he would succeed and would ever come back? Suddenly he was struck by the most terrible fear. ‘Must I do this?’ he thought. ‘Can’t I just get off now and not go? No, it’s too late for that—she’s put all her trust in me. This is terrible. Surely I’ve deceived her. I’m no warrior, I’ve never fought a battle in my life. I can’t possibly fulfil her expectations!’
Audun realized he was no longer smiling. Then he told himself to get a grip and pay attention to his work. ‘In a moment I shall have to raise the sail, and I mustn’t make a mess of it.’ He ran his eyes up the halyard, noting how it ran through a pulley near the top of the mast, and his feeling of panic subsided. Solveig was already turning away and leaving the ship. Drawing the hood over her head, she quickly descended the ramp.
Hedin pulled the ramp inside and gave Halfdan the thumb’s up. They hauled the anchor on board and cast off. The men tugged enthusiastically at the oars and the Swan glided slowly away from the landing stage. Once they were clear of the harbour, Halfdan, who stood on the stern-deck with his feet apart, balancing against the roll of the ship, gave the order for them to hoist the sail. ‘Shit, that’s me!’ thought Audun, with a start. ‘Please let there be no snags or tangles.’ He heard Sam, who was supervising him, say, ‘Pull with your whole weight, not just your arms.’ Audun reached high and pulled down as much line as he could, while Kormak pulled the excess line around a belaying pin. The yardarm rose to the top of the mast with the sail flapping like thunder over their heads. Suddenly, the sail filled as the breeze caught it, and the ship surged forward. The men gave a hearty cheer. They were off! The wind picked up as they headed out to sea and there was no longer any need to row. The Swan rode easily over the boisterous little waves, while a flotilla of fishing boats followed her out, scrabbling in her wake like eager cygnets.
Audun looked back and saw crowds lining the shore, waving and cheering and shouting ‘Good luck!’—dozens of excited faces all turned towards them. He felt the wind on his face, cold and tangy with salt. The people soon became dots on the shoreline. Audun turned away and fixed his eyes ahead on the open sea. He felt ready for any exploit. Screaming gulls wheeled overhead and he felt his heart lift and soar.
The Adventures of Helgi the Viking 