Islands in the Fog (31 page)

Hrolf exploded into laughter, surprising Ulfrik. "You were sworn to his son, who died, and he seemed ready for the same fate. No, I will not take a hostage, not for what we are discussing. The men I send will want spoils and rewards. You will give them the pick of the battlefield. Captured ships make excellent compensation. Long term, I would like an ally in a faraway land whom I can trust. If I call on you for hospitality or to support me in battle, you will answer. That is all I ask."

Ulfrik looked at Gunther then at Hrolf. "Would Gunther lead one of those ships you promised?"

"I can't stand waiting here while he whips the skin off Kjotve's back. So, I'll go."

Hrolf smiled as if he knew the answer to his offer. Ulfrik studied the floor.
Only a fool would pass up this chance
, he thought. "Is there a battle you already have planned for me? But you wouldn't tell me that now, would you."

"No and no. But battles spring up all the time, and you will be too far to reach for an emergency. I would only call you for something big. The remoteness of your home is attractive. Let us say sometimes I find it prudent to be not found, especially when I shit on Harald's laws."

Ulfrik smiled. "Then you will have my oath, Jarl Hrolf."

"I never doubted you would see the sense in it. Drink deep of your revenge, and reclaim all you have lost."

Ulfrik smiled as the two men chuckled. His mind was already awash with imagery of bloody vengeance.

Ulfrik sat in Hrolf's wide and empty hall. The sun had set, much earlier than expected, a reminder of how far from home he had traveled. The low hearth fire cast a wavering light against the encroaching dark. Distant voices of villagers came from outside.

Snorri stood from his bench. "Are you sure you don't want me here?"

"No," Ulfrik waved his hand as he leaned heavily on the table. "This talk must only be between the two of us. Go and rest."

Snorri nodded, touching the cut on his face. His cheek had been nicked in the fight with Kjotve, but he was otherwise unscathed. Still, he and all the others were soul tired, and needed all the rest they had taken and more again. He pulled on the gray cloak that Hrolf's people had provided, then left.

Ulfrik waited a few pensive moments before the door to Hrolf's hall opened once more. Ingrid stepped inside, soundlessly closing the doors behind her. She stood, pale and thin, with her back pressed to the doors. "No one else is here?"

"This business is ours alone. Please, come sit. Hrolf has lent us this hall for a short time." She remained at the door. Ulfrik stood and spread his own cloak to show he was weaponless. "You are safe, Ingrid."

She swept across the floor. Ulfrik had never paid her much attention. She only ever appeared with Hardar, and then she only fluttered in the background. Despite her gaunt features and bruised chin, she was beautiful. Halla looked much like her, only Ingrid's eyes shimmered with a haunted sadness. She sat across the table from him.

"You promised to kill him, to make him pay. But he lives."

"The heads of Kjotve's crew line the shores. Food for gulls and flies now."

Ingrid frowned, shifting to face the door. "But he still lives. You had the chance; it's all anyone talks about."

"Kjotve's future is little better than his men's. He lives at Hrolf's pleasure. He is destroyed, Ingrid."

She squinted at him, her lip curling. The expression seemed so foreign to his memories of her. They sat in uncomfortable silence, Ulfrik wondering if she had survived her ordeals with her mind intact. He tried to divert the tension with conversation.

"I have not seen you here during meal times. Is this your first visit?" She nodded, keeping her silence. Ulfrik kept his patience. "It is a bigger hall than any I've seen, though plain. Hrolf seems to be very sensible about these things. I like him."

Ingrid's head snapped around to him, an eyebrow arched. "What deal have you made with Hrolf? I've seen you practicing with sword and mail. Are you sworn to him now?"

Ulfrik cleared his throat at the pointed question, having expected a more circumspect discussion. "We have agreed on an alliance."

Ingrid coughed out a laugh, swiveling both her legs under the table and leaning across. "Then you are a bigger fool than I ever thought. Mighty jarls don't ally with slaves. You are his pawn or his slave, which one?"

"You're much different without your husband present." Ingrid sat back, blinking in surprise. "For years I've heard only a handful of words from you."

"My father was a jarl of great fame. I grew up learning his business, watching him rule. My husband married me for that reason, and hasn't had a use for me since."

"Your husband is a fool, through and through." Ingrid relaxed her posture but rewarded Ulfrik with nothing more. "This is actually the matter we need to discuss." He waited for her to react, but when she only stared at him as he licked his lips and continued.

"I have sworn to serve Hrolf when he calls for me, and to provide hospitality whenever he comes to my lands. In return, he sends me back home with two crews of fighting men. Do you understand me, Ingrid?"

"You plan to renew the war with my husband."

Ulfrik slowly nodded. He searched her face for a hint of her thoughts, but she remained impassive. He wondered if she realized how many men two crews were, and that Hardar stood no chance. But something fluttered in her cloudy hazel eyes, a look of appraisal.

"You have a few choices, Ingrid. You are free in Hrolf's land. You could make a new life among the people here. I would ensure your daughter visits you."

She was already shaking her head before he finished. "My other choice is to be your prisoner, a threat to my husband."

Ulfrik stared at her. "So you see why remaining here is a better idea."

"No, Hardar's land was my father's land. He had no sons and left everything to me, which my husband and the rest of the people seem to have forgotten. Fame is a fast burning thing, Ulfrik, gone when life's flame is no more. But some will remember and stand for my claim. That land is mine."

Ulfrik rubbed his chin, considering where Ingrid was leading their talk. "Your husband's doom is at hand. I bring too much against him in his weakened state. I will claim that land."

Ingrid threw her head back and laughed. The emptiness of the hall made it seem as loud as thunder. "You think he is done? By now, mark my words, he has sent word to his filthy cousins in the north islands. They will come to help him rebuild, to carve a piece for themselves out of the ruin the two of you created. By now, he has refitted his men and sent a call for more recruits further afield. You are not sailing back to an easy victory. Like you, I guarantee, my husband has been restored."

The thought had never occurred to Ulfrik. He thought of Runa and Gunnar, fearing they might have been captured or worse. Ingrid shook him away from his worry.

"But I have a better idea. As Hrolf helps you back to your land and accepts your loyalty, so you will for me. My daughter is married to your wife's brother. We are now extended family, yes?"

Ingrid's brow arched again, and Ulfrik now recognized what swirled in her eyes. Ambition. "You are right. So you hold your family lands, and swear loyalty to me."

"An alliance, as you like to call it. My daughter will live in your hall, and is the most precious person in my life. You could have no better hostage. But I will be free and rule my own land, as my father before me and my daughter after."

Ulfrik stood and extended his hand. "Then we are agreed."

They clasped arms, Ulfrik suppressing his smile. He had never expected to do this with a woman.

"The Jarl Ragnvald, your friend, will remember my father and my claim. He, among others, will support me."

"You win either way, Ingrid. If I fail, I die and you resume your life with Hardar. If I prevail, you have your home and hall returned. I assume you have no care for your husband's life?"

She hesitated, a darkness passing over her face. "If it could be any other way, I would prefer it. But Fate has led us to this choice. As things are now, it would be better for all if you prevail. I just don't want to see it."

Ulfrik closed his eyes and nodded. When he opened them, Ingrid was already fleeing the hall.

The skies were heavy with dull, gray clouds. The crisp air heralded the end of summer. Seals barked complaints at the passing ships, seated indolently on flat rocks that dotted the coast. But Ulfrik's heart still beat with anticipation. Never had such formidable, fog shrouded cliffs seemed so welcoming.

"I had despaired of seeing this again. Isn't it beautiful?" He leaned over the rails, smiling at the pale cliffs that shot past them.

"Islands in the fog," Gunther mumbled, steering his ship to Ulfrik's directions. "Cold and damp air. Impossible cliffs and strange currents. That's what passes for beauty here?"

Ulfrik ignored the jibe. Snorri and his six surviving crew joined him at the rails. Each man was absorbed in thought. Only Ingrid remained aloof and stood wrapped in a heavy cloak with her head hidden beneath its hood. Ulfrik could imagine Runa and Gunnar waiting for him on the shore. The tight ringlets of Runa's full hair splashed over her shoulder, the breeze catching it. Gunnar stood at her side, barely to her waist, acting as reserved as a little boy could. Then he explodes into a run as Ulfrik jumps into the surf. He sweeps him into his arms, and trudges forward to Runa. She smiles and they embrace as a family.

"That's the inlet," Gunther shouted, bringing Ulfrik back from his reverie. Ulfrik confirmed it as the entrance to Jarl Ragnvald's shores. Gunther's ship led, and the second ship followed in line. The ships had taken down their dragon heads to signal peace. But to be certain of no tragic misunderstandings, Ulfrik asked to leave the second ship at sea until he had spoken with Ragnvald.

Their approach was not unnoticed. Men hurried down the slope to form up on the small beach of rocks and sand. Gunther expertly navigated to the shore and moored his ship on the beach. Ulfrik jumped into the surf with him, taking all his effort not to run up the slope. He did not want enthusiasm mistaken for hostility.

"Jarl Ragnvald, it is Ulfrik Ormsson." He kept his hands up and left his sword on the ship. He was confident of his reception. He searched for Ragnvald, but hoped for Runa.

Ragnvald stood directly before him, neatly blending in with his men so Ulfrik's gaze swept past him. But when they set eyes upon each other, both men broke into a smile. Ragnvald strode forward with both arms thrown open. "Were it not for your smell, I would say a ghost made landfall on my shores."

They collapsed together in an embrace. Ulfrik felt a hot dampness at his eyes. Ragnvald was not a dear friend, or even a particularly close friend. He was a reasonable man whose company he had enjoyed and who seemed to feel the same for Ulfrik. But after everything that had happened, to Ulfrik it was like meeting a lost brother. They pulled back and Ragnvald sized him up.

"You're thinner, hungrier looking than when we last met." He swept his gaze over Ulfrik's shoulders, regarding the men and ships behind him. Snorri already appeared at Ulfrik's side. "There must be a story worthy of a song for what I see."

"More than can be told standing here. The other ship stayed back to put you at ease. Truth of it is, we are without a home and must beg from old friends. Runa would've told you as much. May we pull up on your shores for a while?"

Ragnvald's brow furrowed but he agreed. Gunther waded out to wave his other ship forward. The ship already on the beach dropped a gangplank, and Ingrid appeared atop it.

"Is that your wife?" Ragnvald asked, his eyes fixed on Ingrid. Hrolf had treated her well, dressing her in fine clothes and gifting her with a silver chain. She had regained a measure of composure since she and Ulfrik had reached their agreement. She had become more regal, and despite the ravages of slavery, more beautiful.

Ulfrik laughed at Ragnvald's joke. "She is a wife, but not mine. That story is maybe the strangest of all. She is Hardar's wife, Ingrid. She will no doubt speak better of her tale than I could."

Ragnvald's expression was incredulous. "The day grows stranger still. And these other men, they are not yours? Rumors said you left with only a handful of men."

"Take us to your hall and I will reveal everything. But, no, these are not my men. They are part of the story I must tell you."

"Then let's not waste time." A smile renewed on his face, and he clapped Ulfrik's shoulder. Ulfrik, Ingrid, his crew along with Gunther and his hand-picked men followed Ragnvald and his hirdmen to his hall. He spoke animatedly of all the rumors surrounding Ulfrik's fate. Most of what he told had predicted Ulfrik's demise. "But I knew you would return, and many others did, too. And now here you are."

"Has my family given you much trouble?" Ulfrik asked as they entered the hall. Though a large size for these lands, it felt much smaller after the spaciousness of Hrolf's.

"I have not seen your family, Ulfrik. Last word was they vanished along with you."

Ulfrik stopped just inside the door. Snorri bumped into him. "I sent them here before I went to Hardar's trap. They were to seek aid from you. Did they never arrive?"

"No, and I've heard no more of them."

Snorri put his hand on Ulfrik's shoulder. "They may have went elsewhere first. It does not mean they are lost to us."

"But summer is nearly done. Surely by now they would have been here, or Jarl Ragnvald would've heard news."

He saw Ingrid waiting beyond the door. He realized she could become difficult if she knew Halla was missing. So he agreed with Snorri and decided to not speak of his fears within her hearing. He followed Ragnvald further into the hall.

Once they had settled into the hall and mead and cheese served, Ulfrik shared his tale with Ragnvald. He omitted nothing, including his plans to strike back at Hardar. Throughout, Ragnvald and his household sat in rapt attention. He stole glances at Ingrid at each mention of Hardar's name. Ingrid sat in stony silence and betrayed nothing.