OLAF’S SAGA

THE TRUE STORY OF A VIKING KING AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

DAVID ROSTEN

OLAF’S SAGA

The True Story of a Viking King and the Discovery of America

Copyright © 2015 David Rosten.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-7290-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-7289-8 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 09/14/2015

Contents

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Epilogue

Historical Characters

Author’s Notes

Historical Notes

To my children for keeping my dreams and fantasies alive. Without you, my light would dim, and my inspiration would vanish forever. I offer a special dedication in memory of my mother and father, Philip and Leila Rosten and Bud Grant, former president of CBS, who encouraged me as a writer.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This story is based on true events. The Icelandic sagas say that Viking sailors set out across the Atlantic Ocean in search of the great unknown. These brave adventurers landed on Newfoundland, an island off eastern Canada, around the year AD 1000. This is the true story of the bravest adventurers the world has ever known.

CHAPTER 1

Trondheim, Norway, AD 1235

The huge hooves of King Haakon Sigurdsson IV’s white horse thunder in the dirt as the king makes his way under the stone arch leading to his home, Castle Niderholm, a cluster of squat towers huddled together on a cliff at the end of a fjord.

Haakon is wearing a fur hat, and his royal robe is draped over his animal-fur cloak. At his side is his royal sword. The king is stout, and his brown hair is streaked with gray.

The castle gates open up, and King Haakon rides through them, flanked by a dozen other horsemen. He dismounts and quickly rushes to his throne room, where he removes his furs and hat. The royal court is waiting. Whale-oil lanterns light the room.

Haakon is worried about his subjects. He wonders what will become of a Viking king without the strength to wage battle or the wisdom to lead, and what will happen to his subjects when there is no one to lead them. He realizes that no one remembers the history of his people or his ancestors, since no one has written it down.

Haakon tells his scribes to bring him Snorri Sturluson, the storyteller. Snorri is known as an intellect and has memorized the oral history of the Norwegian kings.

The scribe Gondol writes down the royal edict on a parchment scroll and hands it to King Haakon, who reads the edict and closes the scroll with the royal wax seal. Gondol steps forward to receive the scroll, and King Haakon hands it to him so that he can deliver the message to the storyteller.

Gondol doesn’t know where to find Snorri. Embarrassed, he breaks down and asks the king.

The king laughs, thinking, Do I have to do everything? He tells Gondol that Snorri lives in Iceland, at the estate of Jon Loptson.

Gondol quickly leaves, carrying the parchment scroll with its valuable message.

Several days later, Gondol arrives at Reykjavík, Iceland. The name Reykjavík is translated as “smoke cove,” and that is exactly what Reykjavík looks like when Gondol lands. The land is actively volcanic; steam comes from fissures in the earth. Yet the Icelandic colony is very well established. Cattle graze in the low-lying grasses.

Gondol immediately finds the gates of the estate of Jon Loptson. He asks where he can find Snorri Sturluson.

The storyteller is sitting at his desk when he hears the visitor. He goes to meet Gondol, stepping out of a low doorway in the compound. It takes a moment for his gray eyes to adjust to the sunlight.

Snorri introduces himself as the storyteller. When he hears that Gondol was sent by King Haakon, he is at a loss as to why the king would inquire about him. Gondol takes the scroll from his breast pocket and hands it to Snorri, who checks it to make sure that it hasn’t been tampered with. Although the parchment is tattered, the royal seal is still intact. He opens up the scroll, reads the message, and tells Gondol that he’ll be travelling with him back to Norway.

The very next morning, Gondol departs Iceland. In the early-morning light, Snorri is escorted from the compound by King Haakon’s men. They are all wearing animal furs. As the group approaches a stone abbey, Snorri asks the guards to stop for a moment.

Snorri steps inside the ancient structure. Abbot Karl of the cloister is at his desk, writing on some parchment. He looks up as Snorri enters. “What can I do for you?” he asks.

“King Haakon wants to hear the sagas of the former kings, and so I am leaving for Norway immediately,” Snorri says. “Do you want to accompany me for the project?”

Abbot Karl nods. “If you tell me the sagas, I will transcribe the oral story into runic writing.” He grabs his coat and hat and a few other items, and then, without looking back, he walks out of the abbey, forgetting to close the door behind him.

Abbot Karl and Snorri walk down to the timber dock and board the Viking ship. Gondol greets the men and welcomes them aboard. Snorri promises Gondol that they will stay out of the way during the voyage to Norway so that the crew can attend to their duties.

Gondol tells the crew to prepare to sail. Within moments, the ship is full of activity. The red-and-orange sails unfurl, and the ship pulls away from the shore. The thirty-two oarsmen rhythmically skim their oars across the water, and the ship glides silently out to sea.

The Viking ship is one of the most terrifying crafts of the time. There are sixteen oars on each side of the ship, which has a crew of about seventy men. The ship is seventy-six feet long and seventeen feet wide.

The muscled warriors who man the oars are working away, their sweat-soaked skin shining in the sunlight. The oars skim the water in perfect order as a result of the men’s deliberate, perfectly coordinated movements. Watching them, Gondol is certain that these men will stop at nothing to propel the ship forward. These are men in the prime of their lives; their only focus is obedience to their leader. They are fearless, brutal, and seemingly impervious to the cold. They sleep on the open decks of the ship in hudfat, large sacks made of animal skins that have been stitched together.

As snow and sleet fall, several Vikings begin chipping ice from the ship’s decks and sides. Huge, ice-cold swells break over the bow of the ship, attempting to push it toward the rocky shore. At sunset, the second shift of oarsmen takes over, and the ship continues to leap forward through the choppy waters of the North Sea.

The next morning as the sun is rising, the rough weather continues. Waves still pound the ship, and all the men must keep bailing water out of the ship’s hold while the oarsmen propel the ship forward.

It is obvious that the indomitable spirits of these Vikings cannot be squashed by a little bad weather.

Snorri is standing at the front of the ship. He is wearing long animal skins decorated with two narwhal horns that protrude and cross each other on each side of Snorri. A billowing whale-skin coat lies over Snorri’s chest and stomach like a piece of artwork.

Lightning is striking all around them. The boat is rocking and swaying until it’s nearly lying on its side at times. All the while, Snorri stands straight up, facing the wind. With his left hand, he grips the dragon-beak bow of the ship, while he holds out his right hand to feel the wind and water on his fingertips. He does not squint as he stares calmly into the storm.

The other Vikings on the ship, though confident and ready to bear the storm, are disturbed by Snorri’s behavior. As the ship rocks and sways, Snorri does not lose his balance; his feet stay firmly in place.

Finally Gondol shouts, “Come down, old fool, before you fall into the ocean!”

Snorri smiles. “Do not worry about me,” he replies. “Concern yourself with the safety of the ship and the crew.”

Gondol is getting perturbed. “We traveled to Iceland just to bring you back to Norway. Now you could fall into the ocean!”

Snorri ignores the comment. He continues to stand tall in the face of the storm as the other Viking shipmates reset the sails and keep bailing water.

Soon the storm calms and night falls. The stars are reflected in the quiet, still waters. The moon shines brightly, lighting the faces of all the men on the ship.

Snorri takes off his narwhal garment and reclines on the deck. “The power is in each of us,” he tells the crew. “We all have the power. We just need to recognize it and harness it.”

But Gondol is still upset with Snorri. “The next time I give an order on the ship, you need to listen,” he says.

Snorri apologizes, saying that he really hadn’t heard Gondol over the sounds of the waves and wind. Gondol accepts the apology. Then he turns to his crew.

“On such a beautiful night, with the sky clear and bright and the light flickering off the motionless sea, it feels like we are sailing along the end of the world,” he says.

The men all begin to drink and tell stories.

The next day, the sun is shining, the winds are calm, and all the men are relaxed and enjoying the voyage. Abbot Karl and Snorri are playing a board game called kneflafl, a form of checkers. Another Viking is playing the flute to fight off the monotony of the shortened days, when the sun sets early due to the low angle of the sun in the sky. Gondol is happily reflecting on his years at sea.

The ship continues forward in the calm water. Glacier water pours into the fjord from the melting ice. Snorri steps onto the deck of the ship and announces that they are almost to Trondheim. Abbot Karl seems to recognize the fjord from a prior journey. The abbot is still looking green; it is obvious that he will enjoy being on land again.

“Would you like some bread or cheese?” Snorri asks him.

The abbot shakes his head. “I’ll just take it easy until we arrive at Niderholm Castle,” he says. Snorri hands him a metal drinking cup with water.

The next day, the knaar (Norse merchant ship) arrives at the shore of Trondheim. There is lots of activity in the harbor. The crew ties the ship to the wharf, and Snorri, Abbot Karl, and Gondol disembark and march up to the wooden gates of the castle.

Gondol knocks loudly, and a guard opens a small opening in the gate. Gondol announces himself, the gates open up, and he and Snorri walk through. The guard says that the king is expecting them.

The doors to the castle open to reveal the king on his wooden throne. Oil lamps light the inner chamber leading to the throne room. King Haakon signals that the visitors should approach.

“It was a long trip, Your Highness,” Gondol says from the doorway. “May I present Snorri Sturluson, the storyteller.”

Snorri is led in. The cleric walks in behind him, holding a pen and parchment.

King Haakon greets Snorri. “Your journey from Iceland honors me.”

Snorri bows. “Sire, I’m honored you requested my presence. I would have come here to assist on my own accord.”

King Haakon smiles. “In Iceland, you’re nearly a king yourself.”

Snorri looks down. “I am merely a storyteller,” he says.

King Haakon ponders the remark. Then he nods his head to indicate that Snorri should continue. Snorri begins the history.

“The sagas have been told and retold for hundreds of years,” he says. “The stories of former Norse kings have been told around the hearth fires of Greenland, Iceland, and Norway, with tallow candles smoking. These sagas hold the history of the Norse people. Storytellers like myself repeat the stories accurately and in detail. These stories have been passed down word for word, from generation to generation.”

King Haakon is surprised. “You know these sagas word for word?”

“I’m a storyteller,” Snorri says. “I’m expected to know them word for word.”

“Are you tired from the journey?” the king asks.

Snorri shakes his head. “No ocean will pull me away from this new endeavor,” he says.

King Haakon points to the pillows in front of the throne. “Then sit down,” he says, “and let’s begin this journey.”

Snorri tells the king that he’s asked Abbot Karl to join them so he can record the oral history. He gestures to the abbot, who is still standing in the doorway to the throne room.

The king looks at Abbot Karl, who, like Snorri, is well known for his intellect. “We are honored to have both of you at the castle,” the king says, and he points to a nearby desk. “There are some writing materials. I want this to be recorded accurately.”

Abbot Karl nods to the king and moves quietly to the desk, where he sits down on a pillow.

Snorri begins.

CHAPTER 2

The Saga, AD 978

This is one of the sagas of the Norwegian kings. A long time ago in our land, there lived the great king Trygve Olafson.

The Norwegian castle of King Olafson is called Nidaros. It is made of the wood of local birch trees and stone from a nearby quarry. King Olafson lives in the castle with his twenty-five-year-old queen, Astrid, and their ten-year-old son, Olaf.

Children are playing and laughing in the town square, where there is a carnival atmosphere as jugglers and court jesters entertain the young ones. Fresh bread and flowers are being sold in the marketplace. Queen Astrid is walking through the square with Olaf and his eight-year-old friend, a little brunette girl named Karina. They are accompanied by Karina’s mother, Lena, who is Astrid’s lady-in-waiting.

Astrid picks up an exquisite piece that the glassblower, Harald, has just made. She examines the blue-and-white glass figurine—a Viking holding a sword in one hand and holding hands with a young woman with the other.

“It is just beautiful,” Astrid tells Harald. “It is almost magical, how you create these pieces.”

When she starts to put it down, Harald presses it back into her hand. “A gift for the king,” he says.

“Oh no,” Astrid protests. “I want to pay for it.”

Harald shakes his head. “The piece is a present.”

Astrid relents with a grateful smile. “I am sure that the king will love it.”

“Just be careful with the figurine,” Harald says. “This piece is extremely delicate.”

“You are always so kind to us,” she says.

Astrid and Lena admire the glass figurine as they resume walking.

“Your father makes such beautiful things,” Astrid says.

Lena replies, “My father has been a glassmaker since he was a child. And his father was also a glassmaker.”

She glances over at her son, who is running off with Karina. “Olaf, don’t go too far!”

Olaf—a tall, blond, vivacious child—doesn’t appear to hear her. The queen watches as Olaf runs in between and behind various stalls. Karina is overtaking him, and they are both laughing when Karina catches him. “You got me!” he shouts.

Karina is so excited that she wants to play again. Olaf agrees, and he covers his eyes. Karina goes running into the castle and down a corridor. “Ready or not, here I come,” he calls. The queen and Lena walk behind the children, following them up into the castle.

In the distance, from somewhere down the corridor, Olaf hears Karina’s voice: “You can’t find me!”

Olaf goes running down the corridor in the direction of the voice. He peeks into several rooms, but Karina isn’t there. Then a hanging tapestry moves slightly, and Olaf sees Karina’s feet on the floor below it. She is giggling. Olaf quietly moves to the tapestry and lifts it up, but Karina is gone. A small sliding door behind the tapestry is open. “Here I am,” says a voice.

Olaf jumps back, startled. He didn’t know the door was there. “How did you find this place?” he asks.

Karina climbs out. “It just slid open,” she says.

“I don’t think we were supposed to find this door,” he says.

Lena’s voice interrupts their adventure. “Karina, it’s time to go home!”

“The doorway is our secret,” Karina whispers to Olaf.

Lena enters the room to find Olaf and Karina playing with some toys. “Can’t we stay a little longer?” Karina asks.

“No,” says Lena. “It will be dark soon.”

Karina and Lena leave the castle and walk along the path to their small village nearby. The hills are covered with a blanket of green moss. The thistles are in bloom, and their purple hue reflects the color of the sky as the sun gently falls below the hills.

Inside the castle, working with fresh produce from the marketplace, Lena is preparing dinner for the king and queen.

During dinner, Queen Astrid shows King Olafson the beautiful figurine from Harald the glassmaker. Harald is one of the king’s trusted friends.

“Harald is so talented,” the king says of his dear childhood friend. “The figurines look magical, almost as if they are real.”

“He never takes any money from me,” Astrid says.

After dinner, the king and queen go to their bedchamber. “It is so cute that Olaf and Karina have so much fun together,” Astrid says.

“Karina’s father was my friend when we were growing up,” Olafson says.

There is a pronounced knocking on the door, and Harald comes in. “Earl Haakon is getting close,” he says.

King Olafson is worried. His ships have been sunk, and the earl seems to have support from Denmark. He turns to Astrid. “I have to leave immediately.”

Astrid is despondent. “Please don’t leave,” she says.

The king is sad about leaving; however, when the kingdom is threatened, this is what he must do. Each time he leaves, he knows that there is a chance he won’t return.

“I love you,” he says to Astrid. “Go get Olaf. I need to see our son before I leave.”

The king and queen look at each other.

“Don’t leave,” Astrid begs him once again. But King Olafson remains stoic, and Astrid leaves and returns with Olaf.

“Son, I have to go,” the king says. “Take good care of your mother.”

“But where are you going?” Olaf asks. Of course Olaf would love to go with his father and explore the world. His father never takes him on the ship.

“I have to go and meet the earl,” the king replies. He is worried. With support from the Danish king, the earl has gathered a large armada to take Norway. Although the earl is not a king, he has kinglike power. He tells those around him that he gained his strength from the god Odin.

King Olafson takes the bronze medallion from around his neck and places it around Olaf’s, saying, “This was given to me by my father.” The medallion is engraved with the Latin words Virtutis Gloria Merces, which means “Glory is the reward of valor.” King Olafson hugs the boy. “I love you, Olaf.”

“I love you, Father,” replies Olaf.

They hug one more time, and the king turns and leaves without looking back. In an instant, he is gone forever.

The Council of Elders is sitting around a small table when King Olafson arrives. The king regularly meets with his council, all men Olafson has known and trusted his entire life. They know that the earl is powerful and has been raiding the southern part of Norway, with many victories.

King Olafson knows that it’s time for a final showdown. The earl’s ships have been moving closer to Nidaros, and Olafson’s ships haven’t been able to stop him. He knows that the earl’s armada will probably overpower him.

The circle of advisors sits quietly as King Olafson contemplates the problem. Finally Olafson says, “Harald, go with Olaf and Astrid. Devon, you stay here to uphold the administration of justice.”

Olaf looks out his window and sees someone tampering with the castle gate lock. The person looks familiar, but the boy can’t quite make out the figure in the darkness.

King Olafson’s ship has been badly defeated; it is burning. His men lie on the deck, dead or dying, as the ship silently slips beneath the waves, forever hiding the savagery of the battle. The earl’s ship, with its orange-and-white sails, continues on.

Later that night, there is a loud, urgent knock on the queen’s door. Astrid has been restless and can’t sleep. “Come in,” she calls. When Harald comes in, she is wearing her nightgown, and her hair falls over her shoulders.

“I bring ill tidings,” Harald says. “King Olafson was killed in battle.” Astrid is stoic; she maintains her composure and simply looks at him. “Earl Haakon overpowered his ship, and it was destroyed. The earl is on his way to the castle. We must leave immediately.”

Astrid begins making preparations to abandon the castle. She summons Lena and then runs into Olaf’s bedchamber and shakes him awake.

“Son,” she says, “your father was killed in battle. The earl is coming to seize the castle.”

Stunned, Olaf flies out of bed. This is his home, the only place he has ever known. He is scared, but now, at last, he might be able to see what is beyond the castle.

Lena and Karina come running in. The queen turns to Lena. “You and your family have to leave the castle with us. Just grab a few clothes for the journey.”

Outside, the earl is already attempting to breach the castle gates. The women can hear shouts and commotion coming from the area where the castle meets the seaside. Astrid looks out the window and sees Earl Haakon’s ship tied at the dock, with Viking warriors pouring off of it.

Within minutes, five stout Vikings are ramming the castle gates with a felled tree. Their commander is Koll, a sinister-looking, dark-complexioned man with black hair and cold, beady eyes. He is both lanky and muscular. Koll tells his men to pull back. The gates are clearly holding.

The queen’s men are successfully defending the castle with rocks and arrows. The earl’s men take many casualties trying to breach the castle walls.

Earl Haakon approaches his men at the gates. Bald, barrel-chested, and six feet tall, he is wearing a black leather vest with spikes. “Someone inside has weakened the gates,” he says. “Ram them again.”

They take another pass as men fall around them, victims of the onslaught of arrows from the castle. The castle gates fly open and Earl Haakon’s men flood through, killing everyone in their path. Earl Haakon instructs his men to kill the queen and her son.

Olaf watches as the earl runs up the castle stairs. Astrid sees the men flood through the castle gates and realizes that she and her family have to go immediately.

Lena is not with them and doesn’t know where Karina is. She doubles back through the castle to find her daughter.

Astrid runs over to Olaf, who seems mesmerized by all the activity, and pulls him away from the window. They run into the secret passage behind the tapestry with Lena’s father, Harald. Before they can grab Karina and pull her into the passage with them, the earl’s men kick open the door to find the girl standing alone near the trapdoor. Koll looms over her; the earl is right behind him.

“What’s your name?” the earl asks. Karina doesn’t say a word. “Where did the queen go?” Again, Karina is too frightened to respond. The earl turns to Koll. “The girl is of no use to us,” he says.

“Maybe she is,” Koll replies. He takes out a knife and runs the flat of the blade down the side of her face. “You are such a pretty girl,” he says. Karina struggles to get away as Koll slices a crescent shape into her cheek. Karina screams in pain.

When Olaf hears Karina scream, he tries to run back out of the tunnel to save her. “Karina!” he shouts. But Harald grabs Olaf, slaps a hand over his mouth, and drags him back down into the tunnel.

At Harald’s urging, Astrid and the others hurry through a secret passageway under the castle walls. Olaf cries out again, desperate to go back to Karina. He hears Koll tell his men, “Find them!” and then the sound of the men ripping everything off the walls and tearing apart the bedchambers, looking for them. Then he hears Koll tapping on the wall.

Suddenly Koll finds the door behind the tapestry and yanks it open. He steps down into the now-vacant passage. The earl’s men-at-arms pour into the passage behind him.

When Astrid, Olaf, and Lena climb out of the secret passage, they find themselves near the harbor. Harald is well behind them, having secured the passage through the tunnel so that they would have an extra few moments for their escape.

A Viking merchant ship waits in the harbor. Lodin, the captain, helps them aboard. He has a scar on his neck, and his face is rutted and pocked from years of exposure to the elements on the stormy North Sea. He wears a tattered leather vest over a long-sleeved woolen kirtle.

Lena refuses to get on the ship, and Olaf clings to her, crying, as Astrid pulls him away. Olaf can’t believe that just a day earlier he was walking through the marketplace, and now he is leaving his home.

Harald hugs his daughter, Lena. “I must stay and protect the queen,” he says. “I love you.”

Lena kisses her father. “I need to find Karina,” she says. Then she races back into the tunnel as Harald boards the ship.

Astrid turns to the captain, Lodin, and says, “We must reach my brother, Sigurid.” Sigurid is the special advisor to King Vladimir of Russia.

Lodin tells his crew that they are going to the archipelago. He knows that it is easy to hide among the hundreds of small islands; in fact, it’s almost impossible to navigate through the archipelago unless you know it well.

The Viking merchant ship quickly drops sail and heaves away as the fifteen oarsmen on each side of the ship begin rowing together.

Earl Haakon looks out the castle window and sees Lodin’s ship escaping the harbor with Astrid and Olaf aboard. He shouts frantically at his men to sound the alarm. The ram’s horn is blown as the earl races to the harbor, steam billowing from his nostrils in the cool morning air.

Koll emerges from the tunnel, arriving at the harbor just in time to see Lodin’s ship pulling away and to take a volley of arrows from the king’s final act of resistance. Several of his men-at-arms are hit, and the rest dive for cover.

The earl meets up with Koll. He’s furious. “It should have been easy to finish off the king’s wife and son!” he shouts.

“We will get them,” Koll replies. “We have twenty ships just outside the fjord.”

More arrows fall as Koll boards the earl’s ship and its sails are unfurled. The thirty-two oarsmen begin their rhythmic motion, and the ship glides rapidly out to sea.

The deck of Earl Haakon’s ship is now bustling with activity. Koll is in command. Thirty-two oars skim the water in perfect order as the ship speeds forward after Lodin’s vessel. Sweat pours from the bodies of the warrior oarsmen.

Lodin is a realist. “They will catch up with us within the hour,” he says.

Harald looks at the heavy fog ahead. “We must make the fog bank,” he replies. “That’s our only chance to escape. Earl Haakon’s ship has seasoned warriors and plenty of weapons.”

“With some luck from the gods, we will beat them,” Lodin says.

Dark gray storm clouds appear. The North Sea’s waves continue to pound the ship as the oarsmen row with superhuman strength.

The earl’s ship is rapidly catching up as his oarsmen row furiously. The battle drum on Koll’s ship beats faster. Two men are now on each oar to give the ship greater speed. Koll sees Lodin’s ship making a run for the fog bank. “Prepare to fire!” he shouts to his archers.

The archers draw their bows and fire, but their arrows fall against the side of Lodin’s ship. As the archers reload, the merchant ship disappears into the fog.

Koll’s ship follows it into the fog bank.

“Be quiet,” Koll tells his men. “The ship can’t be far away.”

The winds kick up, as does a storm. Rain and sleet begin to fall as the men quietly maneuver through the impenetrable fog. Koll can’t see Lodin’s ship, but he can hear water droplets falling off its oars. The sound is magnified by the moisture of the fog. He realizes that the merchant ship has to be close. Suddenly, looming up from out of the fog, a pirate ship rams them broadside, knocking a large hole in the wood. The ship starts taking on water.

“Take your positions!” Koll shouts. “Turn about! Hard to starboard! Secure the breach!” Arrows rain down on the ship; several Vikings are struck. “Turn about!” Another barrage of arrows hits the deck, and more Vikings fall. The bow is severely damaged, but the ship is managing to stay afloat. “I need a damage assessment!”

“We’re taking on water,” one of his men reports. “The hull breach needs to be fixed immediately, or we will sink!”

Klerkson, a notorious pirate, tells his crew that they rammed the wrong ship. “We need to find the merchant ship,” he says.

On board Lodin’s ship, all the men are quiet, listening. The only sound they hear is water droplets falling from the oars. “We must be quiet,” Lodin whispers to Harald. “The pirate ship is searching for us. Or it could be the earl’s ship.”

“It’s the pirate ship,” Harald replies in a low voice. “The sound of the water on the hull is different. It’s definitely the pirate ship.”

“I think we got away from the earl,” says Anders, the young helmsman.

Lodin’s ship is now completely quiet. Nearby, another ship is creaking, but in the thick fog, it’s impossible to ascertain where the noise is coming from.

Suddenly the pirate ship appears out of the fog.

“Grab your weapons,” Lodin says.

An instant later, grappling hooks fly over the side of Lodin’s ship, and Klerkson’s men pour onto the deck. Lodin’s men fall quickly, unprepared for the pirates’ onslaught.

“Cut the lines!” Lodin commands, and his men struggle to obey.

By now there is hand-to-hand combat on deck. Lodin throws his spear at Klerkson. The spear misses its target but impales the pirate next to him. The blacksmith picks up an anvil and throws it with both hands, hitting one of the pirates in the head. The sharp end of the anvil pierces the pirate’s skull, instantly killing him.

Klerkson pulls out his sword and attacks Lodin, who tries to defend himself. Then Lodin’s sword snaps in half, and Klerkson strikes Lodin with such force that the nosepiece of his helmet is cut in two and he falls overboard. The last of Lodin’s men surrender. “Tie them to the mast,” Klerkson says.

The Viking prisoners are hung upside down by their feet from the mast; their hands hang free.

Klerkson grins. “Who wants to go first? Any volunteers?”

A stocky merchant named Mantel, who is dangling from his feet, waves his hand, which is grasping a cloak pin.

Klerkson looks at him. “Do you really want to volunteer?”

Mantel nods.

“Any last words?”

“Yes,” Mantel says. “I want to see how long I can hold this pin in my hand after my head is cut off.”

Klerkson smiles and says, “All right.” He walks by with his sword and chops Mantel’s head off. The cloak pin immediately falls to the deck.

Klerkson moves to a Viking named Lys, who has volunteered to go next. Lys has long, straight, blond hair. “Can someone hold my hair so it won’t get bloody?” he asks.

A pirate named Jon grabs Lys’s hair and twists it so tightly that Lys can’t move his head. Just as Klerkson’s sword touches Lys’s neck, Lys thrashes so violently that the sword cuts cleanly through Jon’s hands as well. The head and hands drop to the deck.

Jon looks at his bloody stumps and screams, “My hands!”

“Throw him over,” Klerkson tells his crew, and Jon is tossed over the side of the ship.

At the ship’s stern, a Viking named Haltar is attempting to stand on his knees. His feet have been cut off, and he’s balanced on the ship’s railing, a bow and arrows in his hands. He draws and fires, striking a pirate in the arm. The pirate, Ivar, pulls the arrow through his flesh.

Klerkson turns to see Haltar drawing his bow, preparing for another opportunity. Klerkson throws his knife and hits Haltar in the middle of the chest. Haltar falls dead.

Then Klerkson spots Astrid and Olaf near the stern. “Ah, look men—a woman is on board!”

Astrid instinctively knows that this is the end. Olaf clutches his mother with all his might as Klerkson’s men run toward them. The men grab the queen and run after Olaf. The boy puts up a fight, but it is no use.

Klerkson walks up to Olaf. “You will bring a king’s ransom,” he says.

Olaf strikes Klerkson on the nose, drawing blood. Unfazed by the blow, Klerkson wipes the blood away. Astrid runs at Klerkson, but the pirates grab her from behind. When Harald races toward Klerkson to save his queen, Klerkson runs him through with his sword.

“Too bad you won’t be around to watch,” Klerkson sneers.

Harald staggers as Klerkson pushes him out of the way. Astrid breaks free and goes flying at Klerkson. She quickly grabs his dagger and stabs him in the leg. He howls and falls backward.

Astrid wields the dagger, frantically slashing at the other pirates. They draw their swords and surround her. Astrid is trapped. She is helplessly trying to stab Ivar with the dagger when Klerkson comes up behind her and grabs her again. Astrid fights to break free, but the struggle is useless. Klerkson picks her up and throws her overboard.

Blood is running down Klerkson’s leg. “Clear the ship and keep the boy,” he tells his men. His plan is to sell the boy.

Olaf is frightened. His family and his kingdom are gone. He has seen slaves working the fields of the kingdom from morning until night. His family treated their slaves well, but over the years he has heard stories about the terrible treatment of slaves. Now he is destined to share their fate.

The medallion that Olaf wears around his neck falls out of his shirt. Klerkson sees it, rips it from the boy’s neck, and hangs it around his own. Olaf struggles to get away from the pirates who are holding him. “I’ll kill you! I swear it!” he screams.

Klerkson, who is bandaging his leg, looks up and laughs. “What are they teaching children these days?” he says to his men.

Harald, who has been lying on the deck pretending to be dead, leaps up and charges at Klerkson with his sword, slaying five pirates along the way. As the men fall dead, Klerkson puts a knife to Olaf’s neck. He can see that Olaf is someone important to Harald, perhaps his grandson. It is obvious that Harald wants to save the boy. Olaf is still fighting to get away.

At the sight of the knife at Olaf’s neck, Harald stops. Then he lunges at the line of pirates, trying to break through, but can’t. The pirates throw Harald overboard into the icy water.

“Finish looting the ship,” Klerkson commands. “Then burn it.”

Lodin is clinging to a large piece of wood that’s floating in the water. Bleeding from the head, he swims over to Astrid and pulls her onto the wood with him, but it begins to sink under their weight. Lodin grabs on to another piece of wood that’s floating nearby.

Koll returns to Nidaros Castle. When his ship limps back into the harbor, Earl Haakon greets him at the dock. “Did you get the queen and her son?” he asks.

“They are at the bottom of the sea,” Koll says.

Earl Haakon is shocked. “What do you mean?”

“Pirates took us by surprise. Our ship almost sank. Then the pirates burned the merchant ship we were following.”

“Were there any survivors?”

Koll shrugs. “I just know that they burned the ship.”

“What about the king’s son? Did you see him drown? Could he still be alive?” The earl has a funny feeling that Olaf has survived. “The boy will return,” he says.

CHAPTER 3

In Estonia, a husband and wife are sitting at a table in their beautiful ninth-century farmhouse in a clearing in the woods.

“Remember that the slave auction is today,” Rekone says.

Rea nods. “We’ve had a successful few years with the crops,” he says. “We really could use more help with the harvest.”

“I need to purchase some fabric in town to make clothing for the family,” Rekone says.

Anna, who is fourteen, says, “I want to go with you. I want to see the town and the slave auction.”

Her sister, ten-year-old Britta, pipes up. “I want to go too!”

The parents decide to make the rigorous journey and take the girls with them. Rea turns to their oldest child, sixteen-year-old Callan.

“We’ll return in a few days,” he tells the boy. “You need to stay here and keep an eye on the farm and the slaves.”

Rea and his family take the wagon and go to the slave auction. The climate is dry in that part of Estonia, and they pass many aspen trees and running rivers. After several days, they arrive in Qalavan, now known as Tallinn, Estonia.

Many families go to see the slave auction, even if they don’t plan to bid. An auction is an exciting opportunity to leave their isolated farms and share news with other farmers.

One by one, the slaves are brought out. They’re all shackled together. Most of the slaves are African, Russian, or Chinese. There is one slave that stands out from the group. He is a young, blond-haired boy. The auctioneer begins the bidding. He drools as he speaks, and his skin is deeply leathered.

Britta leans over to her mother. “There is a little boy being auctioned off,” she whispers. Rekone nods. She has already noticed the little blond boy, and she wonders how the pirates happened to capture him. Where did he come from? Where are his parents? What country was he taken from? Surely his parents are dead.

Britta wanders off to look at the boy as the auction continues.

“How much for this slave from Africa? One cloak. Do I hear two cloaks?” A bidder raises his hand. The auctioneer spreads the slave’s lips apart. “Look at these beautiful teeth. One ram—do I hear two rams? Going once, going twice … sold for one ram.”

When Olaf is brought out, Britta walks up to him and stares. She tugs on his chains. Then she walks back to her mother.

“That slave is just a little boy,” Britta whispers. “We have to save him.”

“Don’t worry,” Rekone says. “I will speak with your father.”

But when Rekone speaks with Rea, he says, “I need help on the farm. I don’t need some scrawny little boy.”

Rekone is adamant. “I will work the fields myself,” she says. “We need to save the boy.”

The auction for the boy begins. “This is the auction that everyone has been waiting for,” the auctioneer says. He keeps raising the pace of the bidding as the price for Olaf quickly accelerates. “One cloak. Do I hear two cloaks? Do I hear three rams and one cloak?”

As the bidding becomes frenzied, Rekone is visibly moved. “We must purchase the boy,” she whispers to her husband.

Rea replies, “He’s too young to work.”

Rekone gives him a stern look; Rea knows when he’s beat. He comes forward and shouts, “Five rams!”

There is absolute silence.

The auctioneer looks around. “Are there any other bids?” No one moves. “Five rams. Sold to the highest bidder.”

Rekone beams a maternal smile. Rea gulps hard, knowing that he can’t afford the loss of five rams. The auctioneer congratulates him, and the crowd cheers with excitement.

Britta grabs Olaf’s hand and tries to pull him away with her. The auctioneer opens up the lock with his key. The chains drop off Olaf’s leg, and he walks off with Britta.

“I want to introduce you to your new family,” she says, and Olaf seems to understand.

“Be careful!” Rea calls to her. “He could be dangerous!” Rekone and Britta give Rea a shocked look.

As they leave the marketplace, Britta notices that someone is following their wagon. She tells Rea and Rekone, but they don’t see anything. “Keep a sharp watch so we won’t be caught unaware by any robbers,” Rea says.

Rekone glances back at the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Olaf,” he says.

“Where are your parents?”

“They are both gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Rekone says. “This is your family now.”

As the wagon rolls away from town, Queen Astrid’s brother, Sigurid, rides past it in the other direction. Sigurid is the tax collector for King Vladimir.

When the family arrives at their Estonian farmhouse, Callan greets them on the steps. “This is Olaf,” Rea says. “You will be sharing your room with him.”

Callan can’t believe it. “I’m going to share my space with a slave?”

Rekone frowns at him. “His mother and father died,” she says. “We are his family now.” She turns to the younger boy. “This is your bed, Olaf. I am sure you need some rest.”

Olaf gets into his straw bed. In an instant, he is sound asleep. Callan pulls the covers over Olaf to protect him from the chill.

After the auction, Sigurid and his men-at-arms go up to the auctioneer. “I heard they sold a little boy today,” Sigurid says. “Where did they get the slaves for the auction?”

“The slaves are brought to me,” the auctioneer says. “I don’t ask questions.”

“I heard that the slaves were sent to you from Klerkson, the pirate,” Sigurid says. “Klerkson owes taxes to King Vladimir.”

The auctioneer chuckles. “When I see him, I will let him know that you are looking for him.”

“Do you mind if we look around?” Sigurid says.

“Be my guest,” the auctioneer grumbles, stepping aside.

Sigurid walks into the stone structure where the auctions are held. Inside the slave pen it is quiet. There are some haystacks at one side of the enclosure. Sigurid suspects that the pirates are hiding there. He runs his sword through one, barely missing a pirate. A dozen pirates are hiding behind the haystacks.

Sigurid walks the floor, stopping when he hears a hollow sound beneath his feet. He stomps on the spot and then leans down and brushes straw off a trapdoor. As he reaches for the handle, the door flies open and Klerkson and several other pirates burst out. Sigurid and his men fight well until the auctioneer, who has climbed up into the rafters, throws a net over them. The pirates tie them all up.

Klerkson walks up to Sigurid. “I heard that you were looking for me.”

Sigurid is not intimidated. “You owe the king taxes,” he says.

Klerkson sneers. “Are you certain that I’m behind in taxes?”

Just then the auctioneer bursts in. “Let them go!” he yells. “I don’t want any problems here. I’m running a business.”

Klerkson chuckles again. “Don’t worry,” he says. “We’ll clean up the mess.”

The auctioneer brandishes his sword. “I want all of you to get off my property and settle your differences elsewhere.”

Klerkson pulls the net off Sigurid.

“King Vladimir will hear of this,” Sigurid says.

Klerkson laughs. “Now I am worried.” He turns to the pirates. “Let them go.” The pirates are laughing as they ride off on Sigurid’s horses.

“I won’t forget this!” Sigurid shouts at them. Then he turns to the auctioneer. “I want to find out who bought the boy.”

“I don’t know.” The auctioneer shrugs. “The bidders pay the price and take their goods.”

Sigurid fumes. “Did you see my sister?”

“There weren’t any light-skinned women,” the auctioneer says. “Now, out of here. Your bring me nothing but trouble.”

CHAPTER 4

Iceland, AD 984

Eric the Red, one of the wealthiest Vikings, is living in a longhouse on the prosperous island of Iceland. Inside the longhouse, people sit and sleep upon raised platforms running the length of the building. In the middle of the room is a fire pit. Smoke from the fire escapes through a hole in the roof.

To keep out drafts, the walls are hung with tapestries decorated with pictures of shining weapons and shields. Eric likes to gaze at his tapestries and think about the journeys he took when he was younger, especially his voyages to Constantinople.

As a farmer, Eric grows crops and raises cows, goats, sheep, pigs, geese, and chickens. He rears these animals for their meat, milk, eggs, wool, and leather. Farm animals are extremely valuable, and Eric uses every part of them, even keeping the feathers from chickens and geese to make quilts.

He slaughters a large number of his animals before winter begins, because otherwise they would eat too much of his stored food. He must salt or smoke the meat to preserve it. Salt is another extremely valuable commodity.

The Vikings’ most important crop is the grain that is used to make bread and porridge. Farmers grow barley, oats, rye, carrots, turnips, cabbage, and onions. Wheat is considered a luxury; only the rich can afford it. Wild nuts and berries are also collected in the hills. Possessions such as tools, weapons, and food are kept on hooks and shelves on the longhouse walls, and clothes are stored in chests.

The previous winter was especially difficult in Iceland. Many families faced starvation because they did not have enough food stored away to last them through the spring.

Now Eric’s family is playing in a grassy area in front of the longhouse. Eric and his younger son, Leif, are playing chess together, enjoying the cool mountain breezes. This is a land of volcanoes, and smoke comes from a distant mountaintop. Closer to the longhouse, hot-water geysers and boiling mud are bubbling out of the ground. Ice sheets and glaciers are visible at the end of the fjord, and there are forests along the shoreline.

The hills and valleys near the longhouse and sea have gentle pastures for sheep and cattle, as well as lakes and rivers that are full of trout and salmon. On this late-summer afternoon, the salmon are spawning, leaping upstream.

In the summer the Vikings play outdoor games and have wrestling and swimming matches. They drink lots of beer, which the women brew from barley.

In general, Viking women raise their children while their husbands are gone. They make the meals and sew clothes from wool, linen, or silk. The families eat meat from sheep, cows, pigs, goats, and horses. After a cow or horse has been slaughtered, people smooth its leg bones and attach them to their shoes to be used as ice skates when the river freezes.

Eric the Red is well known among the Vikings. He has travelled and explored more than most of them. He also owns three Irish slaves. One walks with a limp; he has a clubfoot that does not face forward. The second has a twitch that seems to flare up during conversation. The third is a hunchback.

Eric tells the Irish thralls, “The cattle need to graze for a few hours.”

Twitcher replies, “We’ll be back soon.”

“All right,” Eric says. “Just be back before sundown.”

The thrall twitches his head. “Yes, master.”

The slaves walk along the path, one dragging his clubfoot. The cattle move down the path single file.

“Oh no!” Twitcher exclaims. “Careful—slow down. Rocks are loose.” The thrall with the clubfoot trips on a rock, and several sheep kick some rocks over the edge of the path. A small landslide begins. Rocks come tumbling down the mountain. The small barn below the path is demolished; chickens come flying from between the timbers.

Twitcher twitches. “Oh no.” He twitches again. “We’d better hurry back and tell our master.”

Several Vikings come running out of the longhouse below, swords drawn. They look up and see the slaves.

The thralls look dumfounded by the accident that flattened the barn. They begin walking quickly back to Eric the Red’s house on the other side of the valley. Twitcher staggers somewhat behind the other thralls, dragging his feet and trying to keep up with the other two.

The Vikings catch up to Twitcher first. The other thralls hear the struggle, stop, and turn back, and the other Vikings run up and grab them as well.

“You demolished our barn!” a Viking named Ottar shouts at Twitcher.

Twitcher twitches his head. “It was an accident.”

Ottar scowls. “Are you Eric the Red’s thralls?”

“Ya,” Twitcher says.

“Who is going to fix our barn?”

“We will fix the barn. We are good at fixing barns.”

Ottar angrily turns to his son, Canute. “Thralls can’t fix our barn,” he says. “We’ve lost our cattle and our chickens too.”

Canute looks surprised. “What are you going to do?”

“Grab the thralls,” Ottar says again.

“Please don’t kill us!” Twitcher begs. “We fix barn—”

Before Twitcher can finish, Ottar swings his sword and slices off Twitcher’s head.

The hunchback is horrified and starts to run away, and the one with the clubfoot manages to keep up. Ottar draws his battle-ax and throws it at the one with the clubfoot, who drops dead. Ottar walks up to him and pulls the ax out of his back.

The hunchback hears the thud, and as he turns around in horror, he trips on a tree branch and falls. When Ottar sees him hurrying to get up, he throws his ax again and strikes the hunchback in his side. The hunchback pulls the ax out of his side, rises, and again tries to run away, although his innards are falling out. Ottar runs after him but slows as the hunchback stumbles and falls one last time.

Canute is white as a ghost. “My god, Father, it was only a barn! You’ve killed them.”

“Quiet, you idiot! The thralls aren’t people. They are only Eric’s slaves. They break our property, we break their property.”

Early the next morning, Eric the Red wakes up and pulls himself out of his bunk. He grabs his animal skins to protect himself from the bitter cold.

He walks across the longhouse and takes some stew out of the community pot in the middle of the room, where a fire is smoldering. He takes a few bites of the stew and throws the leftovers back into the pot. Then he grabs a bucket of water, gargles, splashes his face, and walks out of the longhouse.

Eric walks down to the shore and puts his longboat into the water. The sun is rising as he rows out to sea.

Several minutes after Eric the Red leaves his home, four men rise up from the ground on a hill overlooking the longhouse.

“Eric the Red has left,” Ottar says. “Grab their cattle. Take only their livestock, and do it quietly.”

Canute follows his father as the four men move quietly down the hill. Each man quickly grabs a cow.

Inside the longhouse, Leif awakens when he hears the lowing of a steer. He jumps from his bunk and walks across the longhouse to the doorway, grabbing his furs and sword. He looks outside and sees movement on the hill. Squinting, he can see Ottar and Canute rapidly leading his father’s cattle away and up the hill.

Leif runs up the hill after them. “Stop!”

The men turn around. They grab their swords and stand their ground. Ottar says to the others, “It’s Leif. He’s a good lad. Don’t kill him.”

Leif comes running up to the men. He is breathing heavily, steam coming from his mouth and nose.

“You’re stealing our cattle,” he says.

“We are going to starve,” Ottar says. “We need the cattle for the winter. It was your family’s thralls that started a landslide that destroyed our barn.”

“You killed our thralls,” Leif replies. “Now you steal our cattle?”

No one responds, and the men continue to lead the cattle away. The animals are crying out in protest.

“Wait!” Leif calls out in frustration. “We can help you get through the winter.”

“Those thralls were property, not people,” Ottar yells back. “We are taking the cattle.”

“I won’t allow that,” Leif says.

Ottar looks at him. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m not asking now. Release our cattle.”

The men ignore Leif’s threat. “Keep going,” Ottar tells the other men. They grab the cattle and continue to lead them up the hill.

Leif jumps on Ottar’s back and starts hitting his head from the behind with violent blows. Ottar grabs Leif’s hand and casually throws the boy over his head.

Leif lands on the ground with a loud thud.

Leif reaches for his sword, but the other three men grab him and hold him on the ground.

“Put that away,” Ottar says, taking his sword. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Leif is still on the ground, struggling and kicking his feet helplessly. “You animals! What are you going to do, kill me?”

Ottar kicks Leif in the side, and Leif cries out in pain until Ottar kicks the wind out of him. He kicks Leif several more times. Leif spits at him. Ottar kicks Leif in the face, and Leif vomits out a mouthful of blood. Ottar kicks him over and over again until Leif loses consciousness. Ottar then kicks him in the testicles.

“Father!” Canute cries. “Are you going to kill him too?”

“You saw him. He struck me first,” Ottar replies.

“Father!”

Ottar slaps Canute across the face with the back of his hand, shouting, “Never disobey me again!” A trickle of blood appears on Canute’s mouth. “Take his furs too.”

Canute wipes away the blood. “Is your sword going to deliver its killing blow to Leif too?” he says.

Ottar realizes that he is out of control. “Let’s go.”

The four men roll Leif over and pull off his furs, leaving him naked on the ground. Then they grab the cattle and continue walking up the hill.

Just then, Leif’s family comes running out of the longhouse and up the hill. His mother, Thjodhild, a slightly overweight woman with graying hair tied tightly behind her head, begins to cry as Leif’s half sister, Freydis, and brother, Thorvald, carry him back to the longhouse.

Leif regains consciousness while they are carrying him. “I’ll be all right,” he tells his mother. “Please, Mother, don’t tell Father. They are waiting for him, and they will surely kill him.”

Eric rows back into the harbor in the late afternoon. He pulls the boat onto the shared dock and walks up to the longhouse, carrying several large fish over his shoulder. He immediately notices that some of his cattle are missing.

Eric storms into the longhouse.

Thjodhild and the other children are crying; Leif’s face is bloody and bruised. Eric looks at him and immediately discerns that the marks are no accident. “Who did this to Leif?”

Thjodhild looks at Eric. “Leif will be fine.”

“Where are the cattle?”

“They are gone.”

“Who took our animals?” Eric asks, his voice louder now.

Thjodhild doesn’t want her husband to be involved in a conflict, and so she doesn’t answer him directly. “We have enough food to survive the winter,” she says.

Eric the Red is out of control. “Odin will lead me,” he tells Thjodhild. “Our thralls are missing. Our son is injured. Someone took our cattle. They cannot defy me! I will ride an eight-legged horse and throw down my magical spear!”

Thjodhild is worried. She loves her husband. She is also pragmatic and knows that she and the children can’t survive the winter without him. She needs to defuse the situation. “They will kill you,” she says calmly. “It’s not worth dying for. We will survive the winter; we have other cattle.”

Eric turns to his son. “Leif, where are they?” he asks.

Leif obeys his father. “Ottar came from over the hill and swooped down. He was with Canute,” he says. “There were four of them. I tried to protect our family, but Ottar grabbed my sword. They laughed. They forced me to the ground and held me down.”

“I’ll kill them,” says Eric the Red.

Thjodhild pleads with her husband. “They banished your father from Norway,” she says, “and they will banish you from Iceland!”

“I must do what is right,” Eric says, and he storms off.

CHAPTER 5

From the top of the hill, Eric looks down at the small longhouse. A spear, battle-ax, and sword are at his side; his face is painted. Eric the Red is prepared for battle. He begins walking down the mountain. As he gets closer, he hastens his pace.

Canute is outside and sees Eric coming down the hill. He charges inside the longhouse. “Get the weapons!” he shouts to his father. “Eric the Red is coming!”

Ottar wakes the rest of the Jonssons, warning them that Eric will be there soon. They retrieve their weapons, which are hanging on the walls. The other men in the longhouse grab their swords and battle-axes.

Ottar turns to Canute, who is at the window. “How many are coming down the hill?”

“Just Eric,” the boy says. “No one else.”

Ottar is suspicious. Would Eric really come alone? “It’s a trap!” he says. “Be careful—Eric should have come with reinforcements.”

Eric runs onto the Jonssons’ farm to face his formidable neighbors. He sees his cattle grazing outside the barn that was damaged from the landslide. Then he turns and finds himself face-to-face with Ottar.

“Return my animals and I will forget the whole thing,” he says. “I am by myself, and I come in peace. My son and I will help repair your barn.”

“We won’t return your cattle,” Ottar says. “We need them to survive the winter.”

Eric is running out of options. “The god Loki, the trickster, has tricked you into believing that you can steal our food. We are neighbors; we will share our food with your family.”

Ottar frowns. “The cattle are ours now. You should see that you are outnumbered and just walk away.”

Eric shakes his head. “I cannot just walk away when you steal my cattle,” he says.

Suddenly Ottar runs at Eric, sword drawn. “Then you should prepare to meet Valhalla in the afterworld!”

When Ottar is several feet from him, Eric throws his ax, splitting Ottar’s skull in half lengthwise. Then Eric goes berserk. He throws his helmet at Canute, and it hits the boy on the head and cracks his skull. Canute convulses and falls to the ground.

Eric grabs his sword and swings wildly at the two other men who are rushing at him, fully armed. He pivots and chops off the arm of Jon Johnson. Blood gushes from the severed artery as Jon lies dying.

When the other Viking rushes at Eric from the side, Eric turns, taking the thrust of the sword in his sealskin coat. Eric takes off the coat, with the sword entangled in it, and throws them both at his attacker. The coat temporarily blinds the attacker, who is now feebly waving his battle-ax. Eric beheads him and takes back his coat.

Eric stands there with his sword drawn, bare-chested, awaiting any other attack. The women stand in the longhouse, horrified at the sight of their men slaughtered before them.

Eric turns around and picks up his helmet, pulls his ax from Ottar’s head, and puts his sealskin coat back on after using it to wipe the blood from his sword and ax. He then gathers his cattle and turns to walk them back home.

The Jonsson women all come running out of their longhouses and collapse crying over their dead and dying warriors. Like all Vikings, they believe that their fallen warriors are swept off the battlefield by winged female warriors called Valkyries and are taken to Valhalla, “the hall of the slain warriors.”

CHAPTER 6

The Althing, Iceland

Several months later, criminal charges are brought against Eric, and he has to appear before the Althing, a tribunal of judges, or thingmen, set up to hear matters of law. Centuries later, the Althing will remain the oldest system of justice in the world.

The thingmen meet at Thingvellir, where they sit on a slope called Logberg (“the Law Rock”). The Plain of the Parliament is a five-mile-long green plain on a riverbank from which the grassy slope rises to the foot of a rock cliff.

The next day, the thingmen will hear the case against Eric the Red. The people bring their families and set up tents on the plain below the slope. Here, between the meetings of the tribunal, they gossip and play games and sports. At night, Icelandic sagas are told around the fires.

Leif is there with Eric. He tells his father that he’s interested to see how the legal system works, as the Althing sends its members to Norway to study that region’s laws.

“What will you do, Father, if they rule against you tomorrow?” he asks.

“I will obey the judgment of the Althing, so that other people will follow my example,” Eric replies.

That night, as they lie under the stars listening to the stories of their ancestors, Leif can see that his father is worried.

The next morning, Leif is up early. His father continues to look concerned. Leif still doesn’t understand the concept that a group of men called thingmen will decide his father’s fate.

“Long ago in Iceland, there was no government,” Eric tells him. “There was no king or overlord. All the landowners like us were equal, and they were all fiercely independent.”

“The godords (lawmakers used to settle disputes) used to settle disputes,” Leif says. “The neighboring landowners were always able to select their own chieftains to settle disagreements.”

Eric nods. “Yes, but the chieftains exerted their power through persuasion. They really had no civil authority to enforce edicts. Disputes arose between neighboring chieftains since there was no central authority to control them. The strongest of the groups could make their own laws. They needed a standard set of laws that everyone would follow. The Althing was created to help settle disputes in a more practical manner than blood feuds.”

Eric sees the thingmen gathering on the slope while families assemble on the plain below. The first case of the day is almost ready to be heard.

Thingman Edmond announces it. “In the next matter of Jonsson versus Eric the Red, will the Jonsson families please come forward.”

Olga and Helge Jonsson stand up. “Step forward,” says the thingman. “Describe what happened the day of the conflict. In your own words, what did you see?”

Helge Jonsson takes a step toward the thingman. “Eric the Red was wearing his sealskin jacket and breeches when he arrived at our longhouse,” she says. “Four of our men approached him, and suddenly he drew out an ax that he had hidden under his cloak. He delivered so violent a blow to my husband, Ottar, that he fell down dead. He turned and killed our son Canute, who was lying on the ground. The other men went to attack, but they were so thunderstruck that they did not stir, and Eric slew them where they stood.”

“Why would Eric the Red come to your longhouse?” Thingman Edmond asks.

“Eric was upset because he lost his thralls,” she replies. “We struggle to survive. Who is going to feed our children? And now our men are resting forever in Valhalla.”

Eric the Red comes forward, and the thingman asks him to tell his version of the story.

“The Jonssons stole my cattle and killed my thralls,” he says.

“Is that reason enough to slay all four men?”

“I asked that my cattle be returned. They told me that they might perish during the winter. I told them that we would help them like we did the previous winter. They still refused to return the cattle.”

The thingman ponders for a moment. “The issue here is whether or not deadly force is justified for stealing cattle,” he says. “The Althing will adjourn. The ruling will be based on applicable law based on the facts that were presented here today. We’ll return with our decision.”

The Althing recesses, and its members sit in a circle on stone boulders and start to discuss the case among themselves. When they reconvene, returning to sit on the hillside, both parties are present and awaiting the Althing’s decision.

“This is an unusual case,” Thingman Edmond says. “The issue is whether or not deadly force is warranted when there is no imminent threat. The attack on the Jonssons was premeditated. The Jonssons were not justified in taking the cattle. Normally we would order an einvigi (single combat duel to the death), and the combatants would then fight to the death using any manner and any weapon that they see fit. Or we could order the holmganga (duel fought within a square until one duelist is wounded), which is a duel with swords that ends when one participant is injured. This would be more appropriate, since the original crime was not a violent act. Thus the matter would be settled.

“However, Eric the Red has already slain the Jonsson men. There are no survivors. So in this matter, we have no choice except to banish Eric the Red from Iceland for three years, effective immediately. Our ruling is final.”

Eric the Red looks shocked and drops his head.

Preparations are underway for Eric the Red to leave Iceland. Men are carrying provisions to his ship. Eric is wearing a lucky charm, a silver hammer of Thor on a silver chain around his neck. Some of the other men are wearing little figures of the gods carved out of ivory and hanging from chains around their necks.

“Where is the salt?” Eric asks.

“I packed it and placed it in the dry area,” Leif says.

“Where’s the rest of the food, like the smoked meat, nuts, and berries? Where’s the water?”

“Don’t worry,” Leif says. “We’ve loaded the ship with all it can hold.”

“Are the men all ready?” Eric asks him.

“They are planning to leave with the tide in the morning.”

The next morning, Eric faces the small crowd that has gathered at the dock.

“The Althing, the law of our land, banished me for three years for defending my family and myself. I hope that my banishment will let wounds heal. I will return in three years.”

Eric’s wife is crying. Leif is standing on the shore, looking stoic. He knows in his heart that his father is doing the right thing.

“There is nowhere in this world for the likes of me,” Eric says. “I’m going to explore and settle in a new land!”

With that, Eric turns his back to the onlookers and climbs into his ship.

The northern lights are flickering and lighting up the evening sky.

The Viking men are playing board games on the ship’s deck. The ocean is calm, and there is no wind. A gray whale glides by. Some of the men are playing Celtic music on the harp, panpipes, and flute.

The ship passes icebergs and more whales investigate the small craft as Eric sails farther west in search of new land.

After Eric put out to sea, he first passed Snaefells Glacier, and then he sailed on until he sighted land near a glacier called Blaserk. He sailed south from there to see if the land was fit to live on.

Now Eric sees an outline on the horizon. “Land!”

Sveyn studies the outline against the clouds. “The land appears uninhabitable. It looks like it’s all ice.”

Nevertheless, Eric tells the crew to prepare the ship. “We’re going ashore,” he announces.

The crew complains that it looks like it’s all ice. One crew member warns that the hills could be full of dwarfs, trolls, elves, or spirits of the dead.

“I’ve never seen a dwarf or a troll,” Eric says.

“When I see that ice-covered land, I see spirits,” another crew member says with a shudder. “They look like little old men with pointed hoods on their heads.”

But when they reach the shore, they find human habitations, the remains of skin boats, and stone artifacts. (Centuries later, anthropologists would conclude that the people who left those things behind were what Greenlanders call Skraelings, an indigenous people.)

Eric looks at the arrowheads and skin boats. “We are not alone,” he tells his crew. At night the crew members maintain a watch to ensure that they are all safe from any surprise attack.

Eric the Red spends three years exploring the island and establishing a settlement there. He and his crew find that a permanent ice cap covers most of the island; only a narrow strip of land on the west coast will actually support life. Along the edges of the fjords, there is enough grass to feed hungry cattle. The settlers hunt whales, seals, bear, and reindeer. They have no wood, so they burn peat moss or small birch shrubs to stay warm. They also burn lard from the occasional whale.

Life in the settlement is harsh, and the men barely survive the first winter. The following two years are difficult too. However, they do survive, and they discover new lands. In the summer of the third year, Eric and his crew sail back to Iceland.

Eric the Red returns to Reykjavik in AD 987. His ship is battered but functional.

Leif sees the ship in the distance. He knows that it is exactly three years to the day since his father left. “It’s Eric the Red!” he shouts. The people come running to the shore to greet the adventurer.

When the ship reaches land, Leif climbs aboard. “Father! Welcome back, Father! Three years to the day!”

Eric smiles. “Leif, a fine sight to see you. Is the family well?”

“I am fine, and the family is well. Where have you been these past three years, Father?”

Eric puts his arm around his son as he gets off the ship. “I need to see your mother first,” he says. “Then I will tell you all about the new land I discovered.” To the people on the shore, he says, “We discovered a new land. It is a land with abundant green grasses for our cattle and glacial waterfalls that flow into the ocean. The land is called Greenland. This is a land with an abundance of riches. This is a wide-open land. This land is free for all who want to settle and farm it.” He pauses and smiles. “But right now, I’m anxious to see my wife.”

Along with Leif, Eric goes to see Thjodhild. She comes out of the house to greet him, walking swiftly but proudly to her husband.

“I knew you’d return,” she says.

“Of course I returned,” he says, smiling. “But enough of this small talk.” Thjodhild is smiling at Eric. Eric is anxious to feel the warmth of his wife.

Later, Eric tells Leif and Thjodhild in confidence that the place he calls Greenland didn’t look very green. “It was mostly ice,” he says. “I decided to name it Greenland because people will be more tempted to go there if the land has an attractive name. It will encourage colonists to return there with me.”

The following summer, Eric sails to Greenland with twenty-five boatloads of colonists from Iceland. Only fourteen ships arrive. During the voyage, eleven of them run into icebergs. The ships are broken up in the stormy seas, and the colonists are thrown into the water. Everyone aboard those eleven ships is lost. The trip is a disaster.

The remaining colonists are eager to see the new land that Eric has promised them. But when they go ashore in Greenland, they find very little that is green.

CHAPTER 7

King Vladimir’s Palace

Sigurid is a guest in an intricate stone palace that is lavishly appointed. When Harald knocks on the door, Sigurid is expecting him. Sigurid is sitting at his desk with a pile of gold coins. He is weighing them, counting them, and adding the numbers in a book. He uses an ancient reading stone that he lays on top of parchment to magnify the size of the letters. Harald realizes that Sigurid is the one who is accountable for the king’s treasures.

Harald explains to Sigurid that he was on the original ship with Olaf. He tells the story of how Olaf was captured by pirates and their ship was destroyed. He says that they were trying to get to Sigurid when their ship was attacked. Sigurid listens intently.

“Your nephew, Olaf, was sold at auction seven years ago,” Harald says. “He was sold to a family that has raised him as their own adopted son. He has been very well treated. I have been waiting for the proper time to let them know that Olaf is heir to the Norwegian throne. I’ve been living in the woods near their farm to be certain that Olaf is safe.”

Sigurd is shocked. The room is spinning. He cannot believe that Olaf is alive. “I have looked into every piece of information I could find about Olaf’s fate,” he says. “There have been many dead ends. There was speculation that he died on the ship, or that he drowned, or that he was sold as a slave. Many a family has brought a child here, claiming that he is heir to the throne. On closer examination, none of the leads could be substantiated. Why should I believe that your information is superior?”

“I’ve known King Olafson since we were children,” Harald says. “What I am about to tell you is confidential. I have never told it to anyone else, as I was sworn to secrecy.”

Without betraying any confidences, Harald tells Sigurid about the king’s circle of advisors, although he doesn’t provide their names. He describes growing up with King Olafson, and recalls the king’s wedding and the birth of Olaf.

However, Sigurid knows that a skilled betrayer could have obtained almost all this information. Additionally, there is the possibility that Earl Haakon has sent spies to try to obtain information from Sigurid and see what he knows about Astrid and Olaf. It is well known that the earl never learned the whereabouts of the queen or her son. Everything has been speculation.

Harald then tells Sigurid about the secret tunnel and the night of the escape. However, the earl is also aware of this secret passage; he could have obtained the seal of the kingdom too.

Yet this is different. The man in front of Sigurid seems honest. The information adds up, even though none of it is absolutely compelling. It isn’t the best lead that Sigurid has obtained in seven years, but it is certainly worth following up.

When Sigurd admits to being skeptical, Harald agrees that most of the information he’s offering could have been obtained to deceive Sigurid. But Harald claims to know where Olaf is. Over the years, there have been many young blond boys sold at auction. Some of them have been Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish. Maybe this is one of those leads that will fall apart on closer examination, Sigurid thinks, but Harald seems trustworthy.

“Olaf would be fourteen now,” Sigurid says.

“I would like for you to return to Estonia with me to find him,” Harald says.

“If Olaf is alive,” Sigurid replies, “I need to find him. I will ask the king for permission to leave. I will go back with you.”

CHAPTER 8

Back at his family’s farm in Estonia, Olaf is chopping wood with an ax. He is now over six feet tall and quite skilled at farm work. As he takes the trees down with his ax, other slaves haul the logs away. Olaf directs them.

Rea, the Arab slave master, quietly approaches Olaf from behind. The boy towers over him. Rea pulls out a sword and suddenly moves as if to strike Olaf, but Olaf pulls out his own sword and parries the blow. The sword flies out of Rea’s hand and through the air. Olaf flips Rea over, pulls a dagger from his belt, and puts it to Rea’s neck.

Rea starts laughing. Olaf has surpassed the older man in his skills. Actually, very few men are more skilled than Olaf.

After Rea walks way, Olaf gets back to work. “Stack the lumber straight,” he calls out to the slaves.

“We can quit early today,” Callan says to them. “Everyone has been working since dawn. We can finish tomorrow.”

Olaf shakes his head. “The rules are that they work until the sun goes down,” he tells Callan.

But Callan overrules him. “You can finish the work tomorrow,” he announces, and the slaves pack up their tools and go to the farm’s outbuildings. Callan turns to Olaf. “I think you actually enjoy hard work.”

“I do enjoy difficult work,” Olaf says. “And the family treats me well.”

“Mother loves you like a son,” Callan says. Olaf lives in the family’s cottage, unlike the other slaves, who live in the outbuildings. “Look at your blond hair. My parents bought you, just like they bought all the other slaves, but it’s obvious that you are from another family.”

Olaf doesn’t like his blond hair, since it differentiates him from his adopted family.

Olaf hurls his ax, which lodges in a tree trunk, and sits down on a broken log that is lying on the ground. Suddenly he loses his balance and falls backward, and Callan catches him before he falls completely off the log.

Olaf smiles. “I think you like me,” he says.

“No I don’t,” Callan replies with a frown. Olaf smiles; he knows that deep down, Callan really does like him.

As Callan turns to stalk away, there is a roar in the distance. Olaf turns to see a black bear charging straight at them from the forest.

Olaf is paralyzed with fear, and the bear grabs him. Callan goes running at the bear and jumps on its back. The bear throws Callan.

Callan grabs his sword. The bear charges him, and Callan rolls away just before the bear lands on him. Then it collapses, impaled by Callan’s sword. The great animal breathes heavily and then lies still.

Callan stands over it in disbelief. Olaf is holding his shoulder. He smiles at Callan and says, “Now I know you like me.” Then he collapses.

Callan picks up Olaf and runs toward the farmhouse. When Olaf opens his eyes, Callan smiles and says, “I don’t like you.”

The family comes running out of the farmhouse when they see Callan carrying Olaf, whose vest is red with blood.

Callan carries Olan inside the farmhouse and places him on the table. Rekone bandages his shoulder and uses sour wine to cleanse the wound.

Rea looks at Callan. “Thank you for saving Olaf.”

“Olaf was almost bear stew,” Callan calmly replies.

When Olaf wakes up the next day, Rekone says, “Britta, bring the herbs.” The girl brings over a box of herbs, and Rekone puts some of them on the wound. Then she loosely bandages Olaf’s arm. “You will be fine,” she says.

Olaf sits up on the bed, pleased that he is going to survive.

“Next week there is a fair in the village,” Rekone says. “There will be dancing. It is time you learned to dance.”

Olaf grins. “I already learned to dance,” he says. “With a bear.”

He falls asleep again, and when he awakens later that day, Rekone tells him that she is going to teach him a different type of dancing. She calls Britta over.

“I need you to hold hands with Britta,” she says. “When the music begins, you look into each other’s eyes.” She turns to Anna. “Play something on your Norse harp.”

Anna hesitates. She’s a little embarrassed to play in front of her family. Yet Anna loves music; she hears music in the rustling of the leaves, the trickling of water over rocks in a stream, and the songs of birds.

Rekone gives Anna a stern look, and she begins to play.

Rekone stands next to Olaf and shows him a few simple dance moves. He is a little clumsy. “Take a step forward,” she commands. “Step to the side.” Olaf seems to get a bit more comfortable with the moves.

Britta and Anna are giggling as they watch their mother and Olaf dance. Then Rekone steps away. “Try to dance with Britta,” she says to Olaf.

At first they shake their heads, blushing.

“Go on—you don’t bite,” Rekone says.

Olaf and Britta laugh nervously, and soon they are dancing. Britta is no longer a little girl, but a young woman. As they dance to the music together and look into each other’s eyes, they see something they’ve never seen before. Everyone else sees it too.

“You’re doing great,” Rekone tells them. “You should try it again.”

Suddenly, without saying anything, Britta runs out of the room.

Olaf is bewildered. “What did I do wrong?”

Rekone smiles at him. “You were great,” she says. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Then she runs after Britta.

Rekone catches up with her in a field across from the farmhouse. “Go away!” Britta says.

“Britta, you danced beautifully,” Rekone says. “I just wanted you to help Olaf learn to dance before the fair.”

“I don’t understand why you made me dance with Olaf,” Britta says.

Rekone gazes at her. “I do understand. That was exactly how I felt many years ago, when I first met your father.”

Britta starts to cry. “Do you think Olaf knows that I like him?”

“I think that Olaf feels the same way too.”

CHAPTER 9

Klerkson’s ship ties up at the wharf. Nearby, a dockworker notices the pirate ship and slips away to tell Sigurid. He hurries through the streets until he reaches the tax office, where he finds Sigurid.

Sigurid listens to the dockworker as he describes what he saw, pointing back to the wharf from where he came. Sigurid then hands him a small bag of coins.

When his informant leaves, Sigurid summons his mounted entourage of ten men-at-arms and they gallop through the city, halting in front of the alehouse. Troompea Castle looms overhead.

Sigurid storms into the alehouse, followed by his men. The pirate Klerkson is in there drinking with Koll, who is handing him a small bag of gold coins—apparently a bribe so that Koll can obtain information from Klerkson. When they see Sigurid and his men, they get up to leave.

Sigurid holds out a hand. “Sit down,” he says. “I need to speak with you both.”

“You have no quarrel with me,” Klerkson says.

Sigurid puts the point of his sword to Klerkson’s chest. “I haven’t forgotten about the horses seven years ago.”

Klerkson grins. “There’s been a slight misunderstanding.”

“I am here on King Vladimir’s business,” Sigurid says. “I have some questions for you. Your life depends upon your accurate answers. Did you sell a young blond-haired boy into slavery seven years ago?”

Klerkson stares at him. “I don’t recall,” he says.

Sigurid flicks his sword with surgical skill and draws a little blood from Klerkson’s cheek.

“Perhaps I remember,” Klerkson says. Suddenly he draws his sword from his side and deflects Sigurid’s sword. The men battle, and Sigurid is driven back. It’s an epic fight on top of tables, around the bar, up in the rafters. Finally Klerkson finds Sigurid’s dagger at his neck. Sigurid digs the blade into his skin and asks about the boy once again. Klerkson’s memory is suddenly much better.

“Did you find him?” Sigurid asks.

“We sold him,” Klerkson says. “No one knew the family that purchased him. They were not usually seen at slave auctions. Afterward, we heard rumors about the boy, but that was where the trail went cold. Then last month, there was a fair in the village, and a family that no one has seen in seven years was there with a tall blond boy.”

Koll stands up to leave. “This is not my quarrel,” he says to Sigurid.

“It is your quarrel,” Klerkson says. “The boy Sigurid is looking for is the same boy that the earl wants.”

Koll sits back down.

Sigurid looks at Koll. “Who purchased the boy?”

“We heard that it might be an Arab farmer.”

Koll is frightened now, as Sigurid’s men have blocked his exit. “I’m telling you, I don’t know where the boy is. I’m looking for the same boy. Look for the Arab.”

“One last question,” Sigurid says. “Was there a woman on board the ship?”

Klerkson nods. “The woman must have died. She was injured and was barely alive when I saw her last. She was in the ocean, hanging on to a piece of wood.”

Sigurid steps back and sheathes his dagger. “You both can leave,” he says. “But first, put your weapons on the table.”

Klerkson pulls a couple of knives from inside his sleeves and places them on the table, and then he pulls two more from his pants legs and removes a sword that was strapped to his back.

Sigurid raises his eyebrows. “You’re a walking citadel.”

The pirate pulls another knife under his arm and places it on the table with the other weapons. “What a pleasure it was to meet you,” he says. Koll places his sword casually on the table, and the two of them walk out of the alehouse.

Harald is sitting in the corner. “I can’t believe you let them go,” he says.

“We might need them later,” Sigurid replies.

“We should go to Olaf quickly,” Harald says. “There is no one protecting him and his family. My sole purpose is to protect Olaf, and I’m uncomfortable being gone for so long.”

CHAPTER 10

For several days, Koll and Klerkson travel along a dirt road, searching for the boy. No one knows of the Arab farmer. Klerkson is clearly uncomfortable on a horse and away from his ship. There is no sign of Olaf and his family.

Eventually they see a small pathway through the trees. They turn up the pathway and come across a small stone farmhouse in a clearing.

As they ride up to the front of the farmhouse, Rea, who has heard the horses, walks outside. “What can I do for you?” he asks. Koll notices that he is an Arab.

“We are on official business for Earl Haakon of Norway,” Koll says. “We are looking for a boy. I believe you may know of him.”

Rea regards Koll, who is guarded by many men. He doesn’t say anything. Rekone steps out of the farmhouse. She says nothing, but watches the drama unfold.

Koll looks at Rea. “Do you have any slaves? We are looking for one in particular.”

“We have a few,” Rea says. “They are all at work in the fields.”

“We are looking for a fair-haired boy,” Koll says.

Rea looks at Rekone. She’s too scared to move.

Koll turns around. He studies the slaves working in the field. The next moment, Olaf steps out of the farmhouse. Koll turns around to see Olaf standing in the doorway.

“Who is this boy?” he asks.

“He is our son,” Rea says.

Koll looks at the boy. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Olaf.”

“Why are you here?” Rea asks Koll. “I pay my taxes.”

“Klerkson directed us here,” Koll says, gesturing to the man on the horse beside him. “Does this man look familiar? He says that he is the pirate who found your son.”

Olaf exchanges looks with Rea and Rekone.

“We’re loyal to the king,” Rea says.

Koll turns to Klerkson. “Burn the farm,” he says.

Rea throws a knife at Koll, and Olaf and Callan run out of the back of the house toward the woods. Koll’s horse rears up on its hind legs, distracting the men-at-arms just long enough to allow Olaf and Callan to escape into the forest.

“Burn everything down!” Koll shouts. “Kill any survivors!”

Britta, who was hiding in the house, runs outside and is shot with arrows. She drops dead. Flaming arrows hit the farmhouse, and the building ignites. Rea and Rekone run to save Anna as she flees from the house, and they too are felled by arrows.

“This is what happens when people cross the earl,” Koll says to Klerkson, who takes off with some of the other men to hunt for Olaf in the woods.

When Klerkson returns, the house has burned to the ground. “We searched the woods. There was no trace of the boy,” he says to Koll. “He is gone again.”

Koll is furious. “We still don’t have Olaf, and now he knows we are looking for him.”

“Olaf will find us,” Klerkson says. “He won’t wait for us to find him.”

That night, Olaf returns to the farmhouse, where only smoldering ruins remain. He cradles Britta’s little body in his arms and cries.

Callan sees his father and races over to him. “Father!” he cries out, shaking him. Rea opens his eyes. Callan holds his father’s head in his lap.

“Is it really you, Callan?”

“It’s me, Father.”

Rea sighs. “I was so worried that they found you.”

“We hid,” Callan says.

“You are smart boys,” Rea says. “Callan, Olaf loves you like a brother. Take care of him. Please, promise me that you will take care of each other.”

Olaf comes closer to them, crying at the sight of his family dead and dying. “I’ll take care of Callan,” he says.

Rea closes his eyes.

“Father!” Callan says.

Rea opens his eyes for a moment.

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” Rea closes his eyes one last time.

Callan lies sobbing across the body of his father as the ashes of the farmhouse smolder nearby. Finally, Olaf gently taps him on the shoulder.

“We need to bury our family,” he says.

Callan raises his head and glares at Olaf. “If you hadn’t come into our home, my family would still be alive! My father’s last words to me were to take care of you! I will take care of you, but I hate you!”

Callan is still sobbing as Olaf begins digging graves for the family.

After the boys pat the last shovelful of dirt on the graves of Rae and Rekone, Olaf drops the shovel and grabs the ax. He runs around wildly, swinging the ax and looking for the long-gone perpetrators. “Come back here, you cowards!” he screams. “You slaughter women and children!”

Olaf and Callan take a last look at the graves and then mount their horses and ride away. Olaf has the ax strapped to his back.

“We have to get the men who killed my family,” Callan says.

Later that day, Sigurid and Harald ride up to the entrance to the farm. They can see the ruined farmhouse smoldering in the distance. “We’re too late,” Sigurid says.

Harald jumps off his horse and finds the freshly dug graves. Then he examines the trail of hoof marks in the dust. He sees that a group of horses went off in one direction, with two riders following in pursuit.

“The family is dead,” he says, “but the boys are still alive.”

Just as the men are ready to leave, the family’s slaves come out of the trees, where they’ve been hiding. They confirm that a group of men killed the family; they do not know who the men were. “They killed the family like they were hunting animals,” one slave says with tears running down his face. All the slaves are crying for their lost master.

Later that night, Olaf and Callan begin to catch up with Koll and Klerkson. Koll can see the boys in the distance, following them. “Slow down,” he tells the group. “I don’t want them to lose our trail.”

The boys stalk the men through the forest, unaware that they are expected.

The next morning, Koll and Klerkson are riding through a small clearing when Olaf suddenly jumps in front of the group. Callan comes up behind the group with his bow drawn.

“Coward!” Olaf yells at Koll.

“Oh, I’m really scared,” Koll says, and then he smirks. “I thought you might find us.”

Olaf jumps off his horse, grabs his ax, and starts swinging it around. The men-at-arms are amused.

Klerkson remembers Olaf. “That boy told me he was going to kill me one day,” he says to Koll.

Callan realizes that it’s a trap. “We should probably leave now,” he says to Olaf.

“Your brother is right,” Koll says, smiling at Olaf. “You should probably leave before someone gets hurt.”

Olaf stands his ground. “I’m not leaving until this is finished.”

“You are not free to go,” Koll remarks.

Olaf runs at Koll with his ax, and Koll jumps off his horse and grabs his sword. Olaf is wearing himself down, futilely swinging the ax as Koll easily deflects the wide swings. Then Olaf falls to the ground, and Koll stands over him, ready to deliver the final blow.

“Any last words?”

“Nooo!” Callan screams, rushing toward Koll with his sword.

Koll looks up and easily deflects Callan’s sword with his own. With his other hand, he thrusts a dagger into Callan’s chest. Callan staggers, mortally wounded.

Olaf runs over to Callan. “Why, Callan?” he cries out. “Why did you do that?”

“I promised my father that I would protect you.”

Olaf catches him as he falls. “Callan!” Callan is gasping for air.

Just then, Harald and Sigurid come riding up at full speed. Koll and Klerkson jump on their horses, ready to flee, as several of Koll’s men fall from their horses with arrows in their backs.

“Your luck is running out!” Koll shouts at Olaf. “This isn’t over!”

He and Klerkson take off as Sigurid and Harald jump off their horses to protect Olaf. Sigurid stands guard to ensure that no one attacks them, while Harald rushes to help Callan. The boy is gurgling blood; his eyes roll back in his head.

“Callan!” Olaf says again. Callan stops breathing.

“The earl’s men did this,” Sigurid says.

Olaf looks at Sigurid. “Who are you?” he asks.

“I am your uncle,” Sigurid replies.

Olaf thinks for a moment. “My mother’s brother?”

Sigurid nods. “I have searched for you for a long time.” He pauses a moment before adding, “I am sorry about your brother.”

Olaf looks at Harald and says, “I remember you. I thought you were dead!”

“I’m here to help protect you,” Harald says.

“We need to take my brother, Callan, back to be buried with our family,” Olaf says. He locks eyes with Sigurid. “Find Koll and Klerkson. They murdered my family.”

“Olaf, one day you will return to the land of your birth,” Harald says. “But you will need to be ready first.”

CHAPTER 11

The gates to King Vladimir’s palace open at Sigurid’s approach. Sigurid enters the throne room. King Vladimir has a long, salt-and-pepper beard and is dressed in elegant, blue-and-gold silk robes.

Sigurid bows. “Your Majesty.”

“What news do you bring?”

“I have found my sister’s son. He has been a slave for the past seven years.”

“I am happy that you had a successful journey,” the king says. “I know how hard you have searched these past seven years. Where is the boy?”

“I request your permission to present him.”

“By all means.”

Olaf walks into the king’s court, looking princely in fine linen. He towers over the men-at-arms who guard the king.

“This is Olaf Tryggvason,” Sigurid says. “His father was King Olafson of Norway. His mother was Queen Astrid.”

Olaf bows his head slightly.

“Come forward,” the king says, and Olaf steps forward. The king looks at Sigurid. “Is it true that Olaf was a slave?” Sigurid nods his head once to indicate that, indeed, he was a slave. “What are the plans for the boy?”

“I’m not certain,” Sigurid says.

King Vladimir looks at the boy for a moment and then turns to Sigurid again. “Can he fight?”

“Olaf has some fighting skills, plus a natural talent.”

“I will invite Olaf to join the royal guard,” King Vladimir says. Olaf lights up, and the king allows a slight smile.

The king makes a proclamation that Olaf, as the nephew of Sigurid, who has remained loyal to the kingdom for all these years, is assigned to the royal guard.

CHAPTER 12

In the palace residence hall, Olaf is playing chess with Harald.

“Do you think my mother is alive?” Olaf asks.

Harald thinks he can imagine that the queen is still alive. “Your mother would never give up,” he replies. “She was hanging on to a piece of the boat when we were separated.”

Olaf moves one of his chess pieces.

Harald studies the move. “A great warrior has to counter each move his enemy makes,” he says. “Just like in the game of chess, you must know your opponent until you know instinctively what he will do. You learn to fight your opponent with different styles.”

Olaf moves. “Check.”

Harald examines the board again. “You should always study your opponent. He will always signal what he will do before he does it.” He moves a piece. “Checkmate.” Harald sits back in his chair. “Just like a chess piece, a broadsword is a strategic weapon.” He hands Olaf a sword.

The two rise from their chairs, walk over to stand in the circle in the middle of the room, and bow to each other. Then they make their moves in the fighting arts, quickly turning to counter each other’s attacks. As their swords clash, sparks go flying.

“Knowing the art of defense is critical to defending yourself and our lands,” Harald says. “This is the art of Dazhdbod, since we are descendants of the god of sunlight—”

Olaf interrupts him. “I want to be certain that I understand the concept.”

“You always needs to study your enemy,” Harald repeats. “Only then will you be able to successfully predict what the enemy will do. I’m telling you this so that you will never forget this one concept.”

Olaf laughs. “I won’t forget. I will fight only when I can no longer retreat.”

“This isn’t a joke,” Harald says. “You must know when to retreat so that you can return to fight another day.”

Olaf smiles. “And only then will I regain my kingdom.”

Harald is serious. “One day, you will find your destiny,” he says.

Suddenly Harald pulls out a sword to strike Olaf. Olaf parries the blow, sending Harald’s sword flying through the air. As Harald tries to grab his dagger, Olaf flips him over and quickly pulls a dagger from his belt and puts it to Haralds’s neck.

But Harald has another dagger at Olaf’s stomach. Olaf gets up gently.

Harald laughs. “Come on, Olaf. You have a lot to learn. I had a third dagger in my forearm.” He demonstrates how he could have slashed Olaf’s throat with the hidden blade.

Olaf is laughing too. “Yes, I have a lot to learn,” he says. “The battle is just like chess.”

“War is like chess,” Harald says. “You play to win, but you fight to live in peace.”

The next day, King Vladimir watches intently as his son, Grand Duke Yaroslav “the Wise,” trains fifty crack troops. The duke has the trainees sounding off—“One, two, three, four!”—as they do a series of maneuvers with their swords. They are moving in perfect sequence. “Present arms! Slope arms! Open order, march! About face!”

King Vladimir walks up to his son, and the guards stop what they are doing and wait as the king speaks. “The royal guards look great in practice,” he tells the duke. “However, they are not battle-proven.”

“The guards will be ready,” Duke Yaroslav replies.

Now the men spar with swords. Duke Yaroslav inspects each pair in turn. Olaf is sparring with Harald. “Is that how you will swing your sword in battle?” the duke asks Olaf.

In response, Olaf unleashes a flurry of sword strokes, all skillfully parried by Harald. “Focus, Olaf. No room for mistakes in battle,” Harald says.

Olaf laughs. “Or you’ll end up walking around a parade ground like the duke?”

Duke Yaroslav is standing right behind Olaf and hears the comment. He is not amused. “Or you’ll end up dead.” He pulls his sword and engages Olaf. They battle. Olaf has strength and height; he parries stroke after stroke. The king, who is watching, is clearly impressed with Olaf. But Duke Yaroslav is a master swordsman. After a short, intense exchange, the duke strikes the sword from Olaf’s hand and puts the tip of his own sword to the boy’s neck.

“You’d better master that sword,” the duke says. “In a fortnight, you will be fighting Swedish invaders on the western border.”

“Sigurid and I will be furious with you if you die,” Harald says.

Duke Yaroslav straightens up. “We move out in a fortnight,” he announces to the guards. Then he stalks away.

CHAPTER 13

Swedish Battlefield

Sigurid stands behind Duke Yaroslav as the duke plans their assault.

“Your battalion will stand the charge,” the duke says. “Remember to wait until the Swedes are almost on top of you. After that, the royal guards will flank you there.”

“We are ready,” Sigurid replies. “The Swedes will not be prepared for our defensive strategy.”

The two sides face off. Two forests of spears, swords, and shields stare at each other across the strip of land that separates the Russian and Swedish forces. The Swedes charge across the field. The duke’s formations drop into defensive positions in unison. The Swedes lack the military precision of the duke’s troops; the Swedish warriors break like a tidal wave over the duke’s defenses.

The duke’s men drop to one knee and methodically destroy the Swedish horses. The Swedes, now on foot, engage in hand-to-hand combat. The duke has the clear advantage as his troops flank the Swedes.

But then several of the Swedes, still on horseback, manage to break through the line. They head straight for Duke Yaroslav.

Olaf runs to intercept them. Duke Yaroslav sees the horsemen and tries to run away. A Swedish archer sees the duke running away. He takes aim and shoots, hitting the duke in the leg. The duke falls to the ground.

Olaf leaps onto the back of a horseman and slaughters him. Then he leaps onto another horse, killing another rider, and then another. Olaf is a whirlwind of muscle and steel.

Duke Yaroslav cowers under a tree as the final horseman bears down on him, a spear leveled at his chest. But Olaf hews the spear, yanks the rider off his horse, and after a brief melee, kills him. Olaf waits for Duke Yaroslav to collect himself, but he can’t. So Olaf rounds up some men and they charge the enemy, capturing the remaining Swedes.

When the battle is over, Sigurid rides up to Olaf. “It looks like you remembered a few things,” he says.

“I’ve offered safe passage back to Sweden to the troops who surrendered,” Olaf says.

Sigurid looks around to find the duke for confirmation of the terms of surrender, but he is nowhere to be found. “I’ll agree to those terms,” he says. Then he lowers his voice. “The wives and families of those Swedish troops will remember your kindness.”

Sigurid and Olaf find Duke Yaroslav trembling under the tree. The arrow is still in his leg; it has gone straight through. “Help me,” he pleads.

Harald walks up behind Sigurid and Olaf. “Is it all right if I take a look at the wound?”

The duke nods.

Harald feels the leg. Then, with the powerful jerk of his wrist, he pulls the arrow straight through the leg. Duke Yaroslav screams. Giving Olaf a knowing look, Harald opens a satchel of herbs and quickly treats the wound. “I’m preventing an infection of the injury so that we don’t have to remove the leg,” he tells the duke. Then, so as not to have Duke Yaroslav embarrassed, Harald wraps the wound and places the duke back on his horse.

Later, Sigurid and Duke Yaroslav dine with King Vladimir. The duke is limping from his wound.

“It will be a while before the Swedes try to capture our territory again,” the king remarks.

“Now we have to watch Olaf,” the duke growls.

Sigurid looks at him, puzzled. “Why would we have to watch Olaf? Olaf saved your life.”

Duke Yaroslav directs his reply to his father. “The people love Olaf.”

King Vladimir smiles. “The people seem to love both of you.”

“Olaf now has a taste for power,” the duke says. “It is time that he leaves.”

“Olaf is a born leader,” Sigurid says.

Duke Yaroslav scowls. “That is exactly what I’m worried about.”

“We could post Olaf in the far north,” King Vladimir suggests. “Or we could make an example of him. Put him on trial for something he didn’t do, and sentence him.” Sigurid looks worried. The king sighs. “I’m joking.”

“We could provide Olaf with the tools to regain his kingdom,” Sigurid says. “If he succeeds, you will then have an ally in the West.”

“I like that idea,” the duke says. “If Olaf fails, he’s dead. If he wins, we have a strategic ally.”

Sigurid nods. “Olaf is ready. He wants his kingdom back.”

“All right,” King Vladimir says. “I will send Olaf on a quest to regain his kingdom.”

Sigurid smiles. “Excellent decision, sire. That’s an excellent plan.”

CHAPTER 14

The king has assembled courtiers and the military for an impromptu awards ceremony. Olaf kneels before him.

“Congratulations,” the king says. “As a reward for your victory on the battlefield, and as a token of our appreciation, we will allow you to return to your country of Norway.”

Olaf is confused; for a moment he doesn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” he finally says. Sigurid looks relieved. “My victories are dedicated to you and to your noble kingdom.”

King Vladimir looks pleased. “Olaf, return to the northern lands where your father was king. Your people need you. I have provided troops and a ship. The troops await your orders.”

Stunned, Olaf stammers, “Your Majesty, I am happy here. I don’t want to leave.”

King Vladimir looks at the young man who is standing before him. “Olaf, your people need you,” he says. “When you find your destiny, Russia will be safe from invaders in the West.”

Olaf bows. “I will always be indebted to you,” he says.

Duke Yaroslav looks sour that Olaf is being permitted to leave the country.

The next day, Olaf rides off on his horse, leading the procession down to the harbor. Harald is behind him, carrying several birdcages filled with birds.

When they reach the harbor, Harald says, “The evil Earl Haakon awaits you.”

Olaf offers a brief toast in celebration of the land of his ancestors. He glances at Harald. “It looks like you’re bringing along your dinner.”

Harald ignores the comment. He raises his glass. “To Commander Olaf, the terror of land and sea.”

“At least I’m commander of land,” Olaf replies quietly. “I don’t know how to captain a ship.”

Harald looks surprised. “Do you know how to navigate?”

“Navigation looks easy,” Olaf says with a shrug. “Use the land. Follow the coast. Use the stars.”

“You’re correct,” Harald replies. “What do you do during the summer, when the stars do not appear for months on end?”

Olaf leans close to Harald. “You’ll need to teach me,” he whispers. “Don’t let the crew know that I am just learning to navigate.”

Harald agrees. “That’s the spirit of adventure,” he says. “I’ve studied navigation my whole life. My family was from a long line of mapmakers. They learned from a man named Raven-Roki. When he thought he was nearing land, Raven-Roki would release ravens that had been brought on the ship and deliberately starved. The ravens would fly as the crow flies, directly toward land.”

Olaf smiles. “Now I understand why you brought along birds in cages,” he says.

“Try not to eat them,” Harald says, laughing. “And here’s some practical advice: when you’re learning to navigate, stay away from rocks and icebergs.”

During the journey, Harald writes in his journal:

The chief who loves the Northman’s land,

His Russian war ship put to sea.

Loaded with war-gear by his men—

With swords, and spears, and helms: and deep

Out to the sea his good ships sweep.

CHAPTER 15

King Vladimir watches from the castle ramparts as Olaf sails away. Sigurid stands at the harbor and watches Olaf’s ship disappear into the open sea.

As Olaf and his men cross the Baltic Sea, small icebergs surround the ship. The men frantically push it away from the ice. A reindeer appears on one iceberg and then jumps to another. Harold is calmly playing his panpipe. He stops and points to a polar bear that’s stalking the reindeer, camouflaged against the white ice. Olaf and Harald watch in awe as the bear grabs the reindeer. The ice turns red as the reindeer’s life ebbs away.

“How am I doing with the navigation?” Olaf asks.

“It’s an interesting route,” Harald says.

Olaf looks at him. “This isn’t the best time for lessons,” he says.

“You’re a little off course,” Harald replies. He tells Olaf that he also uses the stars and the sun to navigate, and he relies on navigation tools called sunstones. “At night, when I can see the sky, I locate the North Star and use that as my reference point,” he says.

The swells in the sea suddenly start to get larger.

“Can you take over now?” Olaf asks.

“Don’t worry,” Harald says sarcastically. “Most ships don’t survive these waters.” As the waves continue to pick up, he shouts over the wind, “Turn the ship about!” He starts playing his panpipe again as the waves begin breaking over the bow of the ship.

Olaf turns to him. “How can you be so calm?”

“The adventure keeps my head clear,” Harald says. He looks around at the crew. “Would you like to hear some poetry?”

The men aboard all start to laugh and recite poems. “She loved me,” one crew member shouts. Another continues, “No Lord of them better I have lost her. For me she is weeping.”

The men are laughing hysterically now. Another shouts out, “The dear, dainty darling that kissed me. For day upon day of delight.”

One of the men plays the lyre as the ship plows through the freezing sea, battered by waves and wind. The men are having a great time together.

Soon it’s a raging gale. The men bail furiously and trim the sails, but it’s no use. The mast snaps. The sail pitches into the sea.

CHAPTER 16

Queen Geira’s Palace, Finland, AD 990

Olaf’s ship washes up on the shores of Finland, near what will later be called Helsinki. The vessel is broken and battered from the storms.

Queen Geira is the ruler of Finland. She is in her twenties and attractive in a plain way; she has blonde hair, pale skin, and green eyes. She is the daughter of the late King Burizleif.

Queen Geira has heard that a battered boat washed up on the beach. “Who are the strange people who have arrived on our shores?” she asks Dixen, her advisor.

“They washed up several weeks ago, after the severe storm that occurred unexpectedly, late in the summer,” he replies.

“I’ve heard that they have a Norse leader on a Russian ship,” she says.

Dixen nods. “Our scouts have noted that the men working the ship are Rus,” he says. “Their leader seems to be distinguished, based on his reputation and appearance.”

“How have they been conducting themselves?” the queen asks.

“Peacefully. Their attention is focused on repairing their ship. The damage appears to be catastrophic. It was only the seamanship of the sailors and their leader that saved their lives.”

“Extend a kindly message to these strangers. Let their leader know that he is required to present himself.”

The next day, Dixen arrives at Olaf’s camp and asks to speak to their leader. The men go to Olaf, who emerges from the tent. Dixen’s guards intercept him.

“I am Queen Geira’s messenger,” Dixen says. “I have a message from the queen.”

Olaf introduces himself, saying that he is the leader of the ship, which has been severely damaged. He asks for permission to continue the repairs.

“The queen would like to meet you tomorrow.”

Olaf nods. “I accept her invitation.”

The next day is a perfect fall afternoon; the leaves on the trees are changing color, and there is a cool, gentle breeze. On the beach, Olaf and his men are repairing their ship. Boards are being cut into place and bent to conform to the curves of the hull, and sails are being mended.

Queen Geira approaches Olaf’s tent on horseback. Several other riders accompany her. Olaf comes out of his tent to greet her.

“Do you know how to ride?” she asks.

“I ride well,” he replies.

“Normally, subjects bow before they speak to me,” she says.

Olaf doesn’t know whether this girl is really the queen; she seems too young and too beautiful. “I bow to no one, not even one as lovely as you,” he says.

One of Queen Geira’s guards levels his sword at Olaf, but Geira waves him off, saying, “No, he’s our guest. Leave his big head on his shoulders.” Olaf laughs.

“May I present Queen Geira,” Dixen says.

Surprised, Olaf says, “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“I accept your apology,” she says with a smile.

“May I speak?”

The queen nods her head.

“Your horse is beautiful. Is it friendly?”

Geira laughs. “Well, he hasn’t bitten anyone all morning.”

Olaf stares at the creature. “I’ve never seen this type of horse. What type is he?”

“Pontus is a fjord horse,” she says. “He originally came from Norway. Do you enjoy riding?”

“I do,” Olaf says. “You know, for such a fine rider, your position could be better.”

Geira frowns. “My position is excellent.”

“I beg your pardon,” he says. “Let me show you.” And in one fluid motion, Olaf swings up onto Pontus directly behind Queen Geira. Her guards draw their swords. “You see, here—this should be tight.” His hands reposition her lower body. She sits up, shocked but also somewhat aroused. “And this.” The guards move in. But Queen Geira subtly waves them off. Olaf gives a gentle kick, and the horse takes off. Olaf spurs Pontus away, clearly in control of both the queen and the horse.

Pontus pulls away from the queen’s guardsmen. As Olaf and Geira gallop along the shoreline, mist fills the air. The guards race after them, but just as they are catching up, Olaf wheels Pontus around and the guardsmen shoot past. Olaf pursues the guardsmen.

Geira can’t help but laugh. She’s having fun. She’s no longer the queen, Olaf notes; she’s just a girl frolicking on a late-fall afternoon.

Olaf and Geira veer off and ride into a forest of beautiful birch trees. The guardsmen follow as best they can, while getting slapped in the face by stray branches. Geira giggles as Olaf tries to lose them. But finally Olaf stops so the horse, Pontus, can catch its breath.

“I must return to the castle,” Geira says.

“What about me?” Olaf asks. “What am I going to do for the rest of the day?”

Queen Geira suddenly pushes Olaf off Pontus. He sprawls onto the green grass. She laughs and points back toward the beach. “Your camp is that way,” she says as Olaf brushes himself off. “Perhaps we will have a ride tomorrow morning?”

Olaf nods. “Until then.”

Geira turns and rides back to the castle. As Olaf makes his way back to camp, the guards come racing up the hill past him, trying to catch up with the queen.

After dinner, Olaf pokes at the campfire with a stick, lost in his thoughts, while the other men drink and carry on. Harald gives Olaf an awkward grin. That night, Olaf dreams about Geira.

The next day, Olaf has just gotten dressed and is getting ready to leave his tent when he hears a noise outside. He opens the tent entrance and, to his delight, sees Queen Geira standing there looking at him, holding a Scottish thistle—the same flower that he dreamed of the night before.

He steps outside. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this morning?” he asks. “Or am I still dreaming?”

Queen Geira smiles. “We agreed to take another ride this morning, didn’t we? In fact, last night I dreamed of riding. And this morning I rode out in the midst to a rocky hillside where thistle grows. Thistle reminds me of you: strong enough to survive in the harshest elements, but soft and tender on the inside. I tried to pick the thistle from the rocks, but it proved too hardy. I then grabbed my sword and cut the thistle to bring it to you. I cut it at its base so that the thistle fell, but the roots still remain to grow more flowers.” She was quiet for a moment. “Would you join me in the afternoon for a picnic?”

“As long as I’m not too prickly,” he says. “I’ve never been compared to a thistle before.”

Nearby, Pontus is making grunting noises. Olaf pats him on the nose, and the horse quiets down.

“Pontus really seems to like you,” Geira says.

Olaf looks at the horse. “As long as Pontus doesn’t object, I will go for the picnic,” he says. Geira smiles at Olaf. Then the magnificent animal looks at Olaf and gives him a big lick.

“All right, then,” Queen Geira says. “I will see you at noon.” And she turns and rides away.

When she returns, she is riding with Dixen, and she has an extra horse with her. Olaf asks if he can bring Harald, his friend and advisor, with them. The queen agrees, and Dixen asks a guard to provide a horse for Harald.

As they ride through the forest, the queen spies a clearing. “This is perfect,” she says. Several people in her entourage set up a simple picnic as Olaf and Geira take a walk through the forest. She’s humming softly, just as she had in his dream. As they walk, Olaf sees a beautiful little flower and places it in her hair. Then he takes her hand and starts to talk.

“Last night I had a dream about you,” he says. “We were walking alone in the forest.”

Queen Geira laughs. “I was hesitant to tell you, but I had a dream about you last night too. You kissed me, and my heart skipped a beat. I woke up and my heart was beating so fast … I could not think of anything else but you. That is why I came to your door this morning.”

Olaf is a little clumsy; he doesn’t know what to do. He holds the queen’s hands and pulls them to his chest. They gaze into each other’s eyes.

The tension is palpable; Olaf and Queen Geira are so close to a kiss. Olaf leans over as if to kiss her, but Geira stops him. “Not so fast there!” She hands him the thistle from her bag. “This is so you won’t forget me.” Olaf puts the thistle in a brown leather pouch that hangs from a cord around his neck.

Geira goes to sit on a nearby tree branch, and Olaf follows her. Geira purposefully falls forward, letting Olaf catch her. He leans over to kiss her.

When they go back to the clearing where the picnic has been set up, Olaf hears Harald say that the ship should be ready to leave in several days.

Olaf looks at Harald and Dixen. “With the queen’s permission, I would suggest that we spend the winter in Finland.”

Queen Geira turns to Dixen. “I would have no objection if Olaf and his men set up camp here for the winter.”

CHAPTER 17

Single Field of Combat

That winter, Queen Geira and Olaf fall in love. Everyone knows the queen is happy, and a wedding is arranged. But before the wedding can take place, an English ship arrives.

The captain of the ship, Alfvine, is dressed in nobleman’s clothes. When Dixen meets him at the harbor, he asks for permission to dock. Dixen agrees. Alfvine gets off the ship, followed by several soldiers.

“I have heard rumors that the queen is interested in someone else,” Alfvine says.

“The rumors are true,” Dixen says.

Just then Olaf approaches the dock. “You should leave,” Dixen tells him.

“I’ve heard that this might involve me,” Olaf says. “I was expecting this visit.”

Alfvine’s soldiers have their swords drawn as Alfvine approaches Olaf. “Our families promised Queen Geira to me long ago. I am to marry her,” he says.

Olaf’s reply is gentle. “The queen obviously changed her mind. She’s decided not to marry you.”

Alfvine turns to Dixen. “Is this true?”

Dixen nods.

“I am her champion,” Alfvine says. “It was decided, and she is not permitted to change her mind.”

“The decision is not yours alone,” Olaf says. “Geira chose me, and I agreed. I was informed of the risk.”

“Since the queen has chosen,” Alfvine says, “then she will be responsible for your death. I challenge you to single combat to clear up this misunderstanding.”

“I am a peaceful man,” Olaf says. “I won’t accept the challenge.”

“In my country, you accept the challenge or face disgrace.”

“Since you give me no alternative, I accept disgrace.”

Without warning, Alfvine draws his sword and swings it at Olaf. “You won’t get off that easy,” he snarls. “This should give you something else to think about.”

Olaf, who’s had his hands folded in front of him, quickly draws a dagger from beneath his simple cloak and deflects the blow, while with his other hand he smashes Alfvine in the face, knocking him to the ground. When Alfvine tries to grab his sword, Olaf walks over and steps on it. Alfvine stands up without the sword, wiping blood from the side of his mouth.

“Bravo. No one has ever done that to me.” He pauses, glaring at Olaf. “Enjoy your last hours alive. We shall meet at dawn.”

Olaf gingerly says, “Agreed.”

Alfvine walks off, his troops following behind him, and boards his ship.

At sunrise, Alfvine is waiting when Olaf appears out of the mist. Olaf is with Harald. Alfvine is with his shipmates. Dixen is with the queen, who speaks first.

“Both of you, stop this nonsense!”

Alfvine turns to her. “I cannot return home with my reputation tarnished.”

The queen looks at Olaf.

“I do not want to battle with Alfvine,” he says. “I will withdraw.”

“That will not repair my reputation. The duel must continue,” Alfvine says.

Queen Geira begins to sob.

“The duel must continue under these circumstances,” Dixen tells her.

“Please, both of you, stop!” she says.

Alfvine looks at Olaf. “There will be no quarter given,” he says.

“I will not ask,” Olaf replies.

Alfvine nods. “I believe we understand each other. We should begin.”

“It looks like a fine day,” Olaf remarks.

Alfvine ignores the comment and turns to his second-in-command. “Give me my sword,” he says. “This won’t take long.”

Harald murmurs to Olaf, “I’ve heard that Alfvine is a great champion in single combat.”

“Now you tell me! Give me my ax.”

Dixen tells Olaf and Alfvine the rules: they cannot step out of the circle, and there will be no quarter.

The men begin the duel—Olaf with his ax and Alfvine with his sword. Their weapons clash. Alfvine makes many lunges and strikes, all successfully parried and deflected by Olaf.

“Fight back!” Alfvine shouts. He’s looking a little tired.

Olaf smiles. “Do you give up yet?”

Over and over, Alfvine tries and fails to strike Olaf.

“It doesn’t have to end like this,” Olaf says.

Finally Olaf hews the sword from Alfvine’s hand, and then he strikes the side of Alfvine’s head with the wooden ax handle. Alfvine staggers for a moment, and Olaf hits him again. Alfvine drops to the ground. Olaf takes a rope from around his waist and hog-ties Alfvine.

A few moments later, Alfvine wakes up and realizes what has happened. “What are you going to do?” he asks Olaf.

Everyone watching is speechless; they have never seen such a thing.

“It’s simple,” Olaf replies. “Either I can leave you tied up and you will die where you are, or you can leave the country with your dignity and never return.”

Alfvine agrees to leave the country as long as no one ever speaks of the duel. Olaf unties Alfvine, who gets up and returns to his ship.

CHAPTER 18

The Wedding

Olaf and Geira are under the wedding canopy in a simple, one-room, Norman-style stone church. Olaf is wearing humble Viking clothes; Geira is wearing an astonishing traditional wedding dress. They stand before the priest as hundreds of well-wishers surround the church.

Standing next to Olaf is Harald. Standing next to Geira is her sister, Gunnhild von Wenden, who is in her late twenties.

Olaf takes the golden medallion from around his neck and places it around Geira’s neck. Then each of them picks up a single lit candle from its holder.

The priest says, “The lighting of the candle represents not only the love of Olaf and Geira, but also the unity of their love, which will now shine as one forever.” Together, they hold their candles to light one larger one, and then they place their single candles back in the holders. “The fire now burns as one. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part. Under the eyes of the Lord, I now pronounce you man and wife.”

Olaf gently kisses Geira.

The Finns throw flowers along the parade route as Geira and Olaf walk from the church up to the castle. The route is lit with torches. Musicians follow the couple. The people cheer.

Sigvalde von Wenden and his wife, Gunnhild, stand at the back of the church, waiting for Olaf and Geira to walk by. They stand alongside other nobles; Sigvalde is a high-ranking palace official.

“Wonderful wedding,” he says to his wife.

Gunnhild sniffles and wipes her tears. “My sister is married—I can’t believe it. So beautiful.”

“Yes, so beautiful. Now this rogue Viking is the king of Finland.”

Gunnhild looks shocked. “Geira is my sister. Be happy for once.”

“And you will never be queen. Our children will inherit no throne.”

“You’re right,” Gunnhild says, her face darkening. “You will never be king. Your ambition frightens me.”

Sigvalde scowls. “I was supposed to be king. I’m telling you, Olaf’s days are numbered.”

Gunnhild is sickened. “You are worse than a troll,” she says. “And my father never wanted you to be king.”

“Don’t you get in my way, either,” Sigvalde hisses. “Certain people in Norway would be very interested to hear about this Olaf.”

Olaf and Geira pass by, waving to the crowd.

“Don’t you ever threaten me again,” Gunnhild says.

Sigvalde smirks. “It is not a threat. When we got married, the priest told us till death do we part.”

The next day, Olaf and Geira are in the winter castle, where Sigvalde has arranged to meet with Olaf. Olaf walks slowly down the castle corridor, where Harald is waiting for him.

“Good morning!” Harald says. “Walking a little funny today?”

Olaf smiles. “I’m lucky to be alive. The queen’s desires are not to be taken lightly.”

Harald suggests some reindeer milk.

Olaf laughs and says, “I might need something a little stronger than that.” He moves slowly into chamber room.

Sigvalde is there waiting. “Congratulations,” he says.

“Thank you,” Olaf says. “Where are the castle’s provisions, including the beer and wine?”

“The castle would be better stocked if the royal treasury weren’t running low on gold,” Sigvalde replies.

“How is it possible that we are running low on gold?” Olaf asks.

“The queen has managed the lands well, but several regions of the kingdom that owe allegiance to her no longer pay taxes.”

“Where are these regions?”

Sigvalde is ready for Olaf to take the bait. “The largest is an area of Sweden called Gotland. By treaty, they owe tribute to Finland. I believe that Gotland is now paying tribute to Sweden.”

“How old is the treaty?”

“The treaty was negotiated many years ago.”

“What happened?”

Sigvalde shrugs. “Gotland stopped paying taxes after Queen Geira inherited the throne.”

“That was before she had a husband,” Olaf interjects, and Sigvalde knows that he has lured Olaf in. “Provide me with the information. I’ll look into it.”

The next day, Olaf is locked in a moment of quiet contemplation when Harald remarks, “You don’t look happy today.”

“How could I be happy?” Olaf replies.

“You’re king. You have a beautiful wife.”

“Harald, how could anyone think that I can spend my days drinking wine and making merry with my queen? I have to worry about collecting taxes and foreign invasions and going to meetings.” Olaf pauses. “Yet I do love my queen and the people of Finland.”

“Being a king is complicated,” Harald says.

Olaf retreats into his thoughts. He thinks about his family that was lost so long ago and how much he misses them. He thinks about his beautiful wife and how thankful he is to have her. And he worries about the mountain of responsibility he has and all the men who rely on him for their safety.

“Sigvalde indicated that you are going to Gotland,” Harald says.

“Yes,” Olaf says. “There was a treaty negotiated by Geira’s father. The Swedes have broken this treaty every year since Geira became queen. It is now time to uphold the terms of the treaty.”

Harald frowns. “I think you should wait,” he says.

But Olaf insists. “Enforcing the treaty is critical now. The gold in the royal treasury is nearly gone.”

That evening, as Queen Geira is sitting at the dining room table with Olaf, he announces that he is leaving for Gotland the next morning.

Geira pleads with Olaf not to leave. “We have just begun our life together,” she says.

“I have responsibilities to your kingdom,” he replies.

“Those responsibilities can wait.”

“Your father negotiated a treaty with Sweden. It is my duty as king to uphold that treaty.”

Geira brightens. “You can have someone else go to Gotland,” she says. “Why don’t you send Sigvalde?”

“No,” Olaf says, shaking his head, “I can’t send someone else to do my work. It is imperative that I go, to represent the kingdom.”

“But you need to be here with me!” Geira cries. “I can’t imagine losing you!”

“I’m going to return.”

“We could send Harald.”

“I am king. I can’t send someone else to do my work.”

Olaf and Geira’s last night together is almost mystical. Early the next morning, there is a loud knock on the door to their bedchambers.

“Come in,” Olaf says, and Harald enters.

“We need to leave now. The tide is turning.”

“Ready the sails,” Olaf says. “I will meet you at the ship.”

After Harald leaves, Geira turns to Olaf. “I have something to tell you,” she says. She wants to tell him about the life she feels growing inside her.

Olaf looks at her. “What do you want to tell me?”

She can’t do it. “Be careful,” she says. “Make sure you bring Pontus with you.”

Olaf smiles. “Try not to worry,” he says. “I’m going to return.”

Geira hands Olaf the thistle in the leather pouch. “We will never be apart,” she says.

“I will wear it close to my heart.” Olaf pulls Geira into his arms.

“I love you,” she says.

“I love you too,” Olaf replies. Then he turns and leaves the bedchambers.

“Olaf—”

He doesn’t hear Geira as he rushes down the castle corridor.

A minute later, the queen’s twenty-year-old Finnish chambermaid and confidante, Jenni, steals into the bedchambers. “What did he say when you told him?” she asks.

“I didn’t tell him,” Geira says.

“Queen Geira,” Jenni says, “you have to tell him now. He has a right to know that he has an heir.”

Geira rushes out of the room, but Olaf is gone.

Outside the bedchambers, Sigvalde removes himself from the shadows behind a partition in the hallway. He has heard the entire conversation.

Still in her bedclothes, Geira jumps on her horse and races from the castle down to the harbor. It is early in the morning, and cold.

She reaches the shore as the ship’s sails unfurl. She sits on her horse, waving and yelling, “Olaf!” But the wind carries her words away.

Olaf sees Geira waving on shore. He waves back as his ship sails on.

CHAPTER 19

On the open seas, Olaf is at the tiller. Harald is standing next to him. “I really miss Geira,” Olaf says. “However, the sea is my first love.”

“The sea can be a harsh mistress,” Harald remarks.

Olaf changes the subject. “Eric the Red has discovered a new land. He calls it Greenland.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“There must be many new lands to explore. I hope someday to find new lands too.”

“I would be happy to go exploring with you. But first we need to see why the Swedes aren’t paying their taxes.”

Several weeks later, Olaf arrives off the coast of Gotland, Sweden. Gotland’s harbor and fortress seem to be fortified. Swedish troops appear on the ramparts and on the hill overlooking the town, as if they’re waiting for their visitors.

Olaf laughs as he looks up at the fortified city. “It looks like we brought a slingshot to a battle,” he says to Harald.

“Shall we prepare to go ashore?” Harald asks.

“You taught me when not to fight,” Olaf says. “We aren’t ready for this battle. Today we sail to Norway.”

“We could return to Finland,” Harald suggests.

“Finland and my beautiful wife, Geira, will still be there when we return,” Olaf says. “It’s time to analyze the defenses of Earl Haakon.”

Harald glances over at Olaf. “Surely the earl is expecting you,” he says.

Olaf tells Harald that, “No one is very fond of the earl,” Olaf replies. “He has been stealing the maidens of well-known nobles and the wives of his closest advisors. None of the women in the kingdom want to attract his attention, since it is impossible to turn him away.”

Olaf replies as they continue to sail onward.

CHAPTER 20

Earl Haakon is on the ramparts of Nidaros Castle with Koll, surveying the harbor.

“There has been a mysterious ship observed off our shores these past few months,” Koll says.

“What do we know about it?” asks the earl.

“It sneaks into the harbors of Norway,” Koll says. “When we send a ship after it, the mystery ship disappears.”

Earl Haakon frowns at him. “How can it just disappear?”

“It only comes close to shore when there is a thick fog, or in the darkness.”

“Why would they sneak into our harbors and then not attack?”

“I don’t know,” Koll says.

“They are gathering information,” the earl says, and Koll suddenly understands the implications. “Is it a pirate ship or something different?”

Koll shakes his head. “No, it’s not a pirate ship.” He pauses for a moment. “I don’t want to alarm you, but the rumor is that a Norwegian is leading the troops.”

“It could be one of our own,” Earl Haakon muses.

“It’s not just one of our own,” Koll says. “The rumor circulating is that their leader is Queen Astrid’s son, Olaf.”

Earl Haakon is in shock. Olaf—Queen Astrid’s son—he’s here? After all these years, he has returned? “If anyone offers assistance to this mystery ship, the penalty is death. If anyone captures Olaf, dead or alive, he will be rewarded.”

“Olaf has been gone a long time. I believe that there is truth to the rumors,” Koll says.

Earl Haakon turns to Koll. “Find this mystery ship.”

“We will find him. Olaf’s luck has run out.”

CHAPTER 21

Olaf’s Ship

Olaf and his men spy on the earl, using the cloaks of fog and darkness to get as close to shore as possible without being obvious. Many years earlier, Harald taught Olaf about the importance of studying his enemy.

Olaf gazes at the murky shoreline. “Somewhere over there is Earl Haakon—the man who killed my father and took my kingdom.”

Harald offers a grim smile. “It will be a pleasure to repay him.”

As the two men watch the land, they hear another ship close by. They whirl around to see it, and Olaf stares in shock as the orange-and-red sails of Earl Haakon’s ship glide past them, barely visible in the fog. Then they disappear into the mist.

CHAPTER 22

Back in Finland at the Sigvalde’s estate, a Persian apothecary—a short man with dark skin and eyes—is mixing a white powder as Sigvalde watches.

“Make sure that there will be no sign of the poison,” Sigvalde says again.

“No one will know,” the apothecary says. “This poison is new. It is colorless and tasteless. It’s called arsenic.”

“Is it fast?”

“It takes several weeks—just sprinkle it in the food or drink. I’ve used it before, and no one suspected anything.”

Sigvalde smiles and hands the apothecary a bag of coins. “I like subtlety,” he says. “It’s not like having your tongue cut out and fed to the dogs, which you will experience if you speak of this to anyone. Good day.”

“My lips are sealed,” the apothecary says, and he hurries from the estate.

That night, Geira lies in bed with her hand on her stomach. “Jenni,” she says. “Come here and feel him kick.”

The chambermaid places her hand on Geira’s stomach and starts to laugh. “He is going to be handsome like his father or beautiful like you,” she says. “I am so excited for you.”

Out of nowhere, Sigvalde appears, carrying a tray. “I brought some tea for the queen,” he says.

Geira smiles at him. “You help take such good care of me,” she says.

“I promised Olaf that I would take care of you until he returns home,” Sigvalde says.

Geira takes a sip of tea. “My sister is fortunate to have such a considerate husband as you.” She takes another sip.

“Thank you,” Sigvalde says, and he leaves.

Jenni watches the door close behind him. “That’s strange … I didn’t see Sigvalde enter the room.”

“Yes,” Geira replies. “That is strange.”

Several weeks later, Geira is drinking tea in her chambers. She looks jaundiced, pale, and sickly. “I need to see Olaf,” she says to Jenni, who has walked into the room carrying a wet cloth and herbs.

“Keep this on,” Jenni says, applying the cloth to her mistress’s forehead.

“The headaches are getting worse,” Geira says. “And I’m so tired.”

“Of course you’re tired—you’re pregnant,” Jenni reassures her. But the chambermaid fears that the problem is far worse.

Geira moans. “There is constant pain in my stomach.”

“Perhaps it’s the future prince.”

“I wish that were true. I want to give Olaf a son or a daughter.” Geira rubs her head and comes away with a handful of hair.

“You need to rest,” Jenni says, and Geira moans and vomits some blood.

“Find the healer,” she says as she slumps down in her bed. She has passed out.

Jenni runs to the hallway and calls for her husband, Armas, the healer. “Tell him to come quickly!” she says to a servant.

When Armas rushes in, Geira is barely able to speak. “I’m dying,” she says feebly. “Please take my baby now.”

“Your Highness, I can’t,” Armas says. “It will kill you.”

But Geira grasps his hand. “I’m dying. Do it now, before it is too late.”

Armas looks at Jenni. “Prepare the instruments. Don’t tell anyone.” Jenni quickly obeys. “I’m going to try to sedate you,” Armas says to the queen.

“Take the baby, and hurry,” she says.

“I love you,” Jenni says, wiping a tear from her eye.

Armas turns to Jenni. “Hand me the knife.” Jenni obliges. “Please hold her down.”

Geira screams and passes out as Armas pulls the baby from her stomach. He clears the baby’s throat.

Jenni says, “My queen.” Geira’s eyes open. Her blood is puddling on the floor. “Your prince—he’s perfect!” Jenni takes the baby and checks to be certain he is breathing. The baby cries.

Geira whispers, “I need to hold him. Bring him to me.” Jenni brings the new prince to Geira, who takes the gold medallion from around her neck and places it on her son. “This was given to me by your father. I hereby name you Olaf, after him.” Geira looks up at Jenni. “One day, Olaf will return,” she says.

Jenni is crying. “My lady, he’s beautiful.”

“Jenni,” the queen whispers, “tell no one about the baby. Take him quickly—he is in danger. You and Armas, raise him as your own. When the time is right, tell him of his mother and father.”

“My queen!” Jenni says.

Geira says, “Olaf.” Then she closes her eyes one last time.

Armas, who is holding her hand, says, “She’s gone.”

Jenni and Armas quietly leave the castle with the baby hidden in a blanket.

CHAPTER 23

Olaf spies on the harbor of Trondheim. He can see Nidaros Castle, which is on the hill overlooking the harbor. He and Harald are compiling a list of ships.

“Another merchant ship has entered the harbor,” Harald reports. “This one is different. It’s flying a Finnish flag.”

“Are you sure it’s the Finnish flag?”

“It’s definitely the Finnish flag.”

“It’s a traitor,” Olaf says. “Who could it be?”

“Only one man could claim a ship from Finland,” Harald replies, “and that’s Sigvalde.”

Koll enters the castle with Sigvalde walking behind him. The earl is sitting on the large wooden throne, and all his advisors are present.

“Earl Haakon, allow me to introduces Sigvalde von Wenden,” Koll says. “He brings us news from Finland.” Koll motions to Sigvalde to approach the earl, who nods to Sigvalde.

Sigvalde clears his throat. “Queen Geira has just died,” he says. “My wife is now queen, and I’m the king.”

“Congratulations,” the earl says. “However, what does this have to do with me?”

“I believe that you know the late queen’s husband. His name is Olaf. It has been suggested that he is the son of King Olafson.”

Earl Haakon is surprised. “Prince Olaf became king of Finland?”

Sigvalde shrugs. “These are just rumors,” he says.

Earl Haakon thinks for a moment and says, “If Olaf wears the crown of Finland, what would he be doing here?”

“Olaf left to subdue Gotland,” Sigvalde says. “Except I just stopped in Gotland, and there was no Olaf.”

“If Olaf’s wife is dead,” the earl says, “he would certainly prefer the crown of Norway.”

Koll says, “That explains the mystery ship.”

“Olaf needs to be stopped,” Earl Haakon says.

Sigvalde nods. “That is exactly what I was thinking.”

Olaf readies a small boat to row to shore.

“This is madness,” Harald says.

“It’s necessary,” Olaf replies.

“I’m going with you.”

“We may not return,” Olaf replies. He turns to the men onboard. “If we are not back before sunrise, leave the harbor and return to Finland.” Then he and Harald climb into the boat and row toward shore.

Olaf and Harald pull ashore, hide the boat, and skulk off toward some buildings under cover of darkness. When a couple of drunken men stumble down a nearby alley, Olaf and Harald knock them out cold and exchange clothes with them. Thus disguised, they look up at the castle on the hill.

“How can we get in?” Olaf asks.

“If it’s information we want, why risk the castle?” Harald says. “We can just find the sailors.”

“A wise answer, as usual,” Olaf says, and they head to the taverns.

Olaf and Harald slide into the Norwegian tavern unobtrusively. In one corner of the room, a rowdy bunch of Finnish sailors are drinking, laughing, and molesting the barmaids. Olaf and Harald find seats nearby and signal for ale. Harald leans over to speak to a young sailor. “That barmaid is looking at you,” he says.

The sailor grins. “I’ve heard stories about the Norwegian women.”

Olaf tenses, and with a stern glance, Harald holds him back from doing something rash. “Hearing ain’t the same as doing,” Harald says mildly, “and you ain’t been doing much on that ship.” The sailors laugh.

“We’re wasting our time,” Olaf whispers.

“Patience,” Harald murmurs. “Drink your ale.”

A new round of drinks arrives for the sailors. They raise a toast. “Long live Queen Gunnhild!” the young sailor shouts.

Olaf looks at Harald. “What did he say?”

Harald doesn’t respond. The other Finnish sailors raise their glasses and shout, “To Queen Gunnhild!”

They toast. And drink heartily. Olaf is about to explode.

Harald shoots Olaf another warning glance. “Wait and hold your tongue,” he whispers. He again leans over to the young sailor. “Do you like that young barmaid? I’m telling you, she’s giving you the eye.”

The young sailor looks her up and down. “She’s quite a sight,” he says.

Harald nods. “Yes, I can tell that she wants you. However, to land a barmaid, you have to know the tricks.”

The sailor looks confused. “What tricks?”

“Gold in your pockets is the best trick.” Harald slides a few coins into the young man’s hand. “This is a wager. If you can win the barmaid’s name, the coins are yours. If not, you get to buy the drinks—all night.”

The young sailor smiles. “You’re on.”

“Are you Swedish?” Harald asks.

“Finnish,” the sailor replies. He takes a hearty swallow of beer. “Finland is the greatest land on earth.”

“Ah,” Harald says, “and I’ve heard that you have the prettiest queen on earth too—the lovely Queen Geira.”

The young sailor nods sadly. “That she was. The noble King Olaf was her husband. But the queen has died and the king is gone. Her sister, Gunnhild, is our queen now, and her husband, Sigvalde, is king.”

Olaf turns pale, knowing in his heart that something terrible has happened. He asks, “What happened to Queen Geira?”

“She had a gradual sickness. Some say she pined for Olaf, gone these months to sea. Others whisper darker things.”

“What darker things?” Olaf says.

“Some say that witching got her.” The sailor looks around to be certain that he isn’t being heard. “But others who would know say Sigvalde was behind it. Sigvalde would do anything for the crown—even poison.” The sailor gets quiet as the barmaid passes by. He pats her bottom, grins, and holds up the gold coins. “Show a little hospitality for a guest with gold to burn?”

The barmaid slaps his hand and keeps moving.

Harald winks at him. “She’s playing hard to get.”

“Poison?” Olaf repeats.

The sailor nods. “Some say it’s worse, that Queen Geira was carrying a prince.”

Olaf stands and staggers out. Harald follows. “What about our wager?” the sailor calls after them.

Olaf rages through the streets, tearing at anything and anyone as Harald tries to rein him in. Olaf turns and howls at the castle, “Sigvalde! Coward! Haakon! Cowards hide away in castles!”

Harald restrains him from making a suicidal assault on the castle. “Not now,” he says. “The time will come.” Harald shepherds Olaf away.

CHAPTER 24

Olaf sails to England, where he ravages and plunders, and from there he sails to Scotland, where he marauds far and wide. He then goes to the Hebrides, where he fights more battles, and then southward to the Isle of Man, where he also fights. In Ireland, he lays waste with fire and sword. The Irish flee at Olaf’s name, flee from the young king who reels in pain from the loss of his queen. Thick on the fields their corpses lay.

Olaf becomes known in all countries as stronger and braver than all others.

After two years, Olaf hears of a hermit in the Isles of Scilly, a fortune-teller who can accurately predict the future. Olaf wants to meet the hermit, and so he sends messengers to the Isles of Scilly, but they fail to find him.

CHAPTER 25

Still seeking the hermit who can see the future, Olaf and his crew storm ashore into an English village on the Isles of Scilly. The villagers scatter in terror as Olaf charges through the town and into the church. He goes to the altar and shouts, “Why, God, did you take my beautiful Geira and my child from me? Why?”

Harald leaves the church and goes to look for the hermit in the caves. Just a short distance inside the first cave, Harald turns around to see a man behind him, sitting on a stone ledge with his legs crossed. He is reading scrolls by candlelight.

Harald is taken aback. “Are you the hermit?”

The man nods. “I am who you are looking for.”

“My king would like to meet you,” Harald says.

“Tell Olaf I said, ‘You should be faithful to your king,’” the hermit says.

Harald is puzzled. “I haven’t told you his name.”

“I know that Olaf has been searching for me.”

When Harald leaves the caves and returns to the ship, Olaf asks him if he was able to find the hermit.

Harald describes their meeting. “It was strange,” he adds. “The hermit seemed to know that I was going to arrive. He knew your name. And after he gave me the message, he disappeared into the darkness.”

Olaf scowls. “Countries have fallen before me, and a hermit tells me to be faithful to my king! I shall speak with this hermit myself. Where do I find him?”

Harald leads Olaf to the cave. “This is the one,” he says.

Olaf goes in first, and after a few steps inside, he says, “There is nothing but darkness in here.” Then both men hear a noise behind them and turn around. Where there was nothing but darkness before, now they see the hermit sitting in a nook of the cave.

“I will speak with the hermit myself,” Olaf says.

The hermit is a very small man with long, gray hair and a beard that has matted itself together in long dreadlocks. A single candle illuminates the area where he sits. Olaf sits down quietly in front of him. The hermit doesn’t move, but continues to work on some parchment. Without looking up, he asks, “Are you faithful to your king?”

“Which king?” Olaf asks.

“There is only one king,” the hermit replies.

Olaf thinks for a moment, and then he asks again, “Which king?”

“I was given the gift of prophecy,” the hermit says. “You will become the one king of Norway.”

Olaf shakes his head. “I am nothing but a miserable, ordinary man.”

“Many people have suffered, Olaf,” the hermit says. “Your people need you.”

“How do you know my name?”

“A long time ago, when your wife died, I knew we would meet.”

“Stop,” Olaf says.

The hermit holds up a hand. “One last thing. Your mother lives.”

“I can’t bear the pain.” Olaf holds his hands over his ears to try to keep from hearing any more.

The hermit doesn’t say anything, but retreats into the darkness.

When Olaf leaves the cave, he has changed. He no longer looks like a boy; he is now a man.

CHAPTER 26

When Olaf returns to his ship, Harald is startled to see that he has aged visibly.

“My people need me,” Olaf says.

They immediately set sail for Norway.

“We don’t have enough men to confront the earl,” Harald says.

“The Norwegians will rise up with me,” Olaf says.

Harald smiles. “I pray that you are right,” he says, and then he addresses the men on the ship: “On my orders.” They fall silent.

Harald hits the drum with a resounding beat. The ship leaps forward.

Olaf again approaches the harbor at Trondheim, Norway, and this time he makes no effort to hide; he sails from the sea into the fjord to Trondheim with five longships. When Erlend, Earl Haakon’s son, sees Olaf and his ships coming up the narrow fjord, he turns his own three ships around to return to the castle.

Olaf sees the three ships rowing away from them. “Earl Haakon must be here,” he says. “Oarsmen, take your stations. Prepare for battle! Turn the ships around quickly, men. Hurry—quickly!”

“Is there a plan when we get into the harbor?” Harald asks.

Olaf looks at him. “What do you suggest?”

“I’d say let’s get to shore immediately and find the Council of Elders. They will remember me. The council will advocate for you.”

“How do we find the council?”

“It has been many years,” Harald says. “Hopefully the council still exists. We must find them before the earl’s men slaughter our men and us.”

“The people will protect us,” Olaf says. “They will be tired of the earl’s tyranny.”

Harald says, “I hope you’re right.”

The ship enters Trondheim Harbor, and Olaf readies his men for battle. “Oarsmen, take your stations! Archers, save your quills! Prepare for battle!”

Earl Haakon’s ship, with its orange-and-white sails, enters the harbor. Erlend, the earl’s son, hails Olaf’s ship. Koll is standing next to him.

Erlend doesn’t know Olaf. “Drop your sails and prepare to be boarded,” he commands. He is met with a hail of flaming arrows, most of which thud into the side of his ship. A few arrows hit men. Erlend’s crew sounds the drums and immediately returns a volley of arrows.

“There is only one man who would be so bold,” Koll says. “We must alert the earl.”

Erlend’s ship comes about into the wind; his oarsmen have sweat pouring from their bodies. Olaf gradually begins to overtake them. “Run the ship aground and take cover!” Erlend tells his crew.

Olaf urges his oarsmen forward; Erlend’s men will try to warn others. “On my command,” he tells the archers, and twenty of the crew prepare another volley of arrows, these covered with flaming tar. “Now!”

The arrows go skyward and drop onto their targets. The crew reloads and fires again. Koll’s ship is burning; its sails go up in flames. Olaf’s archers pick off any men who jump and try to swim to shore. Still, Erlend’s ship is getting away. Olaf’s rowers are weary.

Surprisingly, the rowers on Erlend’s ship slow down and then stop.

“It looks like a trap,” Olaf says. He tells his crew not to fire on the ship until they hear his command. Then he sees Erlend jump into the water and swim toward shore.

“Stop!” Harald commands. Erlend turns and looks and then begins swimming even faster. Olaf grabs a bow and fires. The arrow hits Erlend in the head, penetrating his skull. Erlend sinks beneath the surface of the water.

Olaf’s ship purposefully runs aground, and Olaf splashes ashore, followed by Harald and some of the crew. There’s a huge commotion around the harbor as townsmen and soldiers run toward Olaf’s crew.

“Follow me,” Harald tells Olaf. He sprints into the streets of the city; Olaf is close behind. They dodge startled onlookers. Some soldiers spot them and shout.

Harald checks each building as he passes it. “I know they are near,” he says. Suddenly he stops and knocks on a door.

An old, wise man from the Council of Elders answers the door. Harald recognizes him—his name is Devon—but he simply looks at Harald and says, “I’m sorry, but we are not open for business.”

“Don’t you remember me?” Harald asks. Devon doesn’t respond. “I’ve found Olaf.”

Over the years, Devon has seen many impostors claiming to be Olaf. “I’m sorry,” Devon says. “My eyes are weak, and my memory is failing.”

Olaf steps forward. “I’m Olaf,” he says. “Do you remember me?”

“Come inside and have some tea,” Devon says.

The room is poorly lit. Several men from the Council of Elders are sitting in a circle. Devon turns to Harald. “I’m head of the Council of Elders, guardian of the law. How do we know that this young man is really Olaf?”

Olaf reaches for his medallion but then stops. “I had a medallion from my mother,” he says to Devon, “but it’s gone.”

“Over the years, there have been several imposters claiming to be the lost Olaf,” Devon says. “That is the trouble with medallions—they get lost easily.”

Harald is sitting quietly. He doesn’t say a word.

“I have a question,” the old man says to Olaf. “What was the name of your best friend when you were a child?”

Olaf looks puzzled. “How would you know who my best friend was?”

“The child’s grandfather was a dear friend,” Devon replies.

A tear appears on Olaf’s cheek. “My dear, sweet Karina,” he says. “I’ve never forgotten her.”

Devon gives Olaf a hug. “Karina was tortured by the earl’s men the night you left the castle,” he says. “She was protecting you.” He turns to the Council of Elders. “We have waited for this day for a long time. Welcome home, Olaf.”

“It has been a long time,” Olaf says, and Harald nods his head.

The earl’s guards are pounding on the door. Devon opens it and stands in the doorway.

“We are looking for a pair of intruders,” a guard announces.

Devon shakes his head thoughtfully. “We haven’t seen any intruders. You need to look somewhere else.”

“We thought they came this way.”

“Perhaps you were mistaken.”

“Can we look around?”

“There is no one here, but you can look around.”

The guard looks inside the barren hovel. “How can you live like that, with only a little straw on the floor to sleep on?” he asks.

“I don’t need much,” Devon says.

The guard shoves Devon aside and leaves. From inside another room, where the Council of Elders sits around the table, a stone wall is made to rotate on a perfectly balanced stone hinge. Olaf and Harald leave the room and go to the central square. A crowd of people has been gathering there, trying to understand what’s going on in the harbor.

Outside on the street, the men-at-arms are assembled. Koll is getting frantic. They continue to search each house.

The earl steps out of the castle to speak with the crowd. “We will continue to search for the intruders,” he says.

Olaf, disguised as an old merchant, stands at the back of the crowd. “It won’t be necessary to search further,” he announces. “You’re searching for me.”

“Arrest him,” Koll tells his guards.

Devon speaks up. “That won’t be necessary, either. The stranger here is Olaf Tryggvason, rightful king of Norway.”

“Arrest them,” Koll says again.

The crowd drops to their knees; the guards drop their weapons. The people stand in silence with their heads lowered. Koll thinks they all have lost their minds.

Olaf addresses the crowd. “I was taken away from my parents and sold as a slave. I am slave to no one except God—and you, my countrymen.”

Koll takes off running toward the castle.

Harald turns to Olaf. “Everything seems to have gone well,” he says.

CHAPTER 27

Harald takes half the crew in one direction; Olaf takes the other half in another. Many of the earl’s men-at-arms have defected and follow Olaf or Harald.

Earl Haakon, Koll, and fifty of the earl’s personal men-at-arms stage their defense from the hilltop behind a stone perimeter. Harald’s men begin climbing toward the earl’s hiding place, but then Harald stops abruptly and tells his men to wait. He senses that they are walking into a trap. A hail of arrows begins to fall before they can reach their target. Rocks also roll past them, but Harald has kept the men safely away from the danger.

Olaf tells his crew that they will breach the wall from the other side. “Stay here,” he says. “Make sure the earl doesn’t return this way. But don’t kill him.”

Harald readies his men. “Let’s send the earl’s men to Valhalla,” he says.

Earl Haakon’s men-at-arms are lined up for battle. The earl is behind them, his sword drawn.

Olaf’s men charge. They are battle-hardened from two years of raiding towns after Queen Geira died. Olaf is in the lead and rushes into a group of five men. He leaves the five dead or dying behind him.

The earl and Koll fall back, retreating over the backside of the hill toward where Harald and his men are waiting. Halfway down the hill, the two men scramble under some bushes and push away some leaves to reveal an opening in the side of the hill. They climb in and pull the camouflage cover back over their hiding place, unaware that they are being observed by Olaf’s men-at-arms.

Olaf’s men finish off the earl’s remaining men. Olaf tells his crew to gather their weapons, and he leads them back down the hill to where Harald is standing. “Where is the earl?” he asks.

“Hiding in a hole up the hill,” Harald whispers.

Olaf tells his crew in a loud voice. “We have lost the earl. I will pay one hundred pieces of silver for him, dead or alive.” Then he leans close to Harald and says quietly, “Go up to the hole to be certain that he is still there.”

Harald quickly departs. He returns a little while later and gives Olaf a silent nod.

Olaf and most of the crew return to the castle, where the people are anxious to see their king. Harald and several other men remain behind, waiting outside the cave.

Later that night in the cave, the earl asks Koll, “Why are you shivering?”

“All of Norway is looking for us,” Koll says. “There is a reward on your head. We need to get out of here.”

The earl looks pensive. “You and I were born on the same night,” he says. “Perhaps we’re destined to die at the same time too.”

Koll is quiet for a moment and then says, “They won’t stop until you are found. I’m feeling tired, but I’m scared to close my eyes. After all these years together, I am afraid you might betray me.”

“We betrayed ourselves,” the earl says.

All night, the two struggle to keep themselves awake, their eyelids fluttering from exhaustion, each man watching the other for fear of being betrayed. But toward morning, as the sun is rising, Koll suddenly drops off to sleep.

Earl Haakon draws a large knife out of his belt and sticks it in Koll’s throat. Koll tries to talk as blood pours out of the wound. He quickly dies.

The earl changes into Koll’s clothes and scrambles out of the hole, carrying a severed head. Harald is waiting him.

“I have brought the head of Earl Haakon,” the earl says.

Harald nods. “You will be rewarded, but first we need to see Olaf.”

Harald’s men surround the earl, and they go to the town square.

In the town square, the earl presents his trophy to Olaf. “I bring you the head of Earl Haakon,” he says.

Harald, who is near Olaf, whispers, “The one standing before us is the earl.”

“So after all these years, this is what it comes down to?” Olaf murmurs. “Both the severed head and the one on the man before us are pretty ugly.” Harald remains silent. In a loud voice, Olaf addresses the earl: “I have promised a reward, and I never go back on my word.”

Suddenly Sigvalde appears in the town square with his troops. His appearance takes Olaf by surprise, and the earl uses the opportunity to grab one of his knives and throw it at Olaf. Olaf catches the knife midair. He sees that it has the royal seal on its handle.

The earl rushes toward the Finnish ship, flanked by Sigvalde’s troops, who shoot arrows at Olaf’s men.

“Let them go,” Olaf says.

“Should we follow Sigvalde?” Harald asks.

“Finland will always be a part of me,” Olaf says. “However, Norway is my country now.”

News of Olaf’s return spreads throughout the villages of Norway and all the way to Iceland. The streets are flooded with people in celebration.

As he and Olaf survey the scene, Harald says, “I never really thought that I would live to see this day.”

“I can’t believe it either,” Olaf says. The huge and fearsome-looking king turns around and faces Nidaros Castle. His subjects line his route from the shore of Trondheim up to the castle gates. The path is filled with flowers, and torches light up the night sky.

Olaf walks in front of his crew, who have been with him since he left Finland so many years ago. They march behind Olaf toward Nidaros.

Olaf has returned as the conquering hero. The castle gates open up before him.

Several months later, Eric the Red receives news that Olaf has returned as king of Norway. He and his son, Leif, are as surprised as everyone else that Olaf has returned after fifteen years. The Norwegians are happy to be rid of the earl.

“I need you to take gifts to the new king,” Eric tells Leif.

“I’ll prepare the ship,” Leif says.

Eric the Red instructs Leif to stop in Iceland first to visit his mother and then head to Norway before winter. “Be sure to bring Olaf some of our furs,” he adds. “And show him our birds and our wildlife. And whatever you do, if you’re at dinner with Olaf, don’t speak with him until he has eaten.”

Leif gives his father a puzzled look. “Why?”

“While Olaf is generous and kind,” Eric says, “those who know him well say that his temper can be fierce, especially if he is hungry.”

CHAPTER 28

Nidaros Castle, AD 997

Leif goes ashore to meet Olaf at Nidaros. People watch from their houses as he steps onto land carrying rare gifts for the king.

In the great hall, King Olaf and his men have just finished dining. There is a strict rule in the castle that as soon as the king puts aside his knife and spoon, everyone else must stop eating too. But there at the king’s table sits one nobleman who is so busy eating that he doesn’t even take the time to look up. When Olaf sees this offense against his royal rule, he moves his eyebrows up and down in wrath, and all his men turn pale with fear.

Then the king notices Leif standing in the doorway of the great hall, a Greenland falcon perched on one fist and a white bear cub at his heels.

Olaf is curious. “Come forward,” he says.

Leif bows and approaches the king. “I am Leif Ericson, son of Eric the Red. My father fondly remembers your father and swore allegiance to him years ago.”

Olaf asks Leif about his family, and Leif describes their Greenland settlement, talks a little bit about Iceland, and explains how they build boats. “I’ve brought gifts from my family,” he concludes.

Olaf immediately recognizes that Leif is a well-mannered youth. “Your family is well known to everyone,” he says.

Leif’s crew then arrives carrying furs, walrus tusks, and walrus-hide ropes, which are known to be so strong that they can’t be torn apart. “My father uses these ropes on the ships we build,” Leif explains.

He presents the falcon, which flies around the room before settling back onto his arm, and he explains that his family saved the white bear cub after it was separated from its mother. “We should probably take the bear outside before it has an accident,” he says quietly to his crew. Then he again addresses the king.

“I’ve come to offer my loyalty and servitude,” he says.

“I invite you to join me in the royal fortress,” Olaf says. “I need someone who will let me know about life in Greenland and Iceland and beyond.”

Leif bows. “I would be honored to stay. I need to get word to my family of my decision.”

“One more thing,” Olaf says. “Has Christianity been introduced to Greenland?”

“We have heard very little about Christians,” Leif admits.

“I have converted to the Christian faith,” Olaf says.

Leif is quiet for a moment and then says, “I serve you. If my king believes in the Christian faith, then I need to undergo this conversion as well. Tell me, is the conversion painful?”

Olaf laughs. “The Christian religion is a belief in one god, a god of peace. The conversion is of one’s faith, and it is not painful.”

Leif nods. “When can we begin the conversion?”

“It will begin immediately.”

“This will prove not only my loyalty to you, but also my loyalty to your beliefs.”

Olaf turns to a priest who is standing nearby. “Convert him,” he says. Leif does not know what to expect.

The priest comes forward. “Kneel,” he says, and Leif obliges. “Do you willingly accept this conversion?” Leif nods his head. “You have to speak up, Leif, so that heaven can hear the words from your mouth.”

“I willingly accept this conversion,” Leif says.

“You shall have no other gods before you. The Lord is thy God. The Lord is one. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, you are now a member of the Christian faith.” The priest hands a wafer to Leif. “By eating the wafer, you symbolically eat a piece of the body of Christ, that you may be filled with peace. Stand up.” Leif stands, and the priest sprinkles holy water on him. “Walk with goodness in your heart. Congratulations!”

Olaf smiles. “You are now a member of my personal guard,” he says.

“I’m happy to assist you in any way with your kingdom,” Leif replies.

Olaf says, “Since your family builds ships, that is how you can assist me.”

Later, Olaf tells the other members of his guard that Earl Haakon’s followers have questioned his authority as their king and religious leader. He requests the court’s official approval as king.

CHAPTER 29

The merchant ship’s captain, Lodin, has returned to Estonia and is watching the latest slave auction. There is a large scar across his nose from his last encounter with Klerkson, the pirate.

The chained slaves have been lined up for display, each washed and shined up with whale oil. The auctioneer is looking much older than he did in earlier years. “We have a fine new selection of thralls,” he tells the crowd.

Lodin sees a thrall that he recognizes. He approaches the old slave woman. She is altogether unlike what she was when Lodin last saw her. She is pale, and her clothes are in tatters. Astrid has a deep scar across her neck from her earlier wound.

“Are you looking for a fine thrall?” the auctioneer asks Lodin.

“I’m just looking—not buying,” Lodin replies.

“She isn’t much to look at, but she is a hard worker.” The slave master turns to Astrid. “Do you speak?” Astrid is silent. “Do you have a tongue, woman?” Astrid remains silent. The slave master makes light of it. “See? She is quiet too! Do you want to see her teeth?”

He grabs Astrid’s face with one hand, and with the other hand parts her lips to show Lodin her teeth. Astrid turns her face away. The slave master laughs. “Feisty, this one.” The slave master walks away, but Lodin is still looking at Astrid, wondering if this old woman is really the former queen.

“You look familiar,” he whispers.

“That was a long time ago,” she says. “Now I am a slave, and my master has died.”

Lodin comes closer to her. “Do you remember me?” he asks.

“I thought you were dead,” she replies.

“Your strength was indomitable.”

“Are you going to buy me?”

“I want to bring you home to Norway. I remember you as a brave and beautiful woman.”

“I remember you as the commander of your ship.”

“One more thing,” Lodin says. “Your son Olaf is alive.”

Astrid stares at him. “You’re mad,” she cries. “You should not play cruel games.”

The auctioneer hears the outburst and turns and smiles. “You are the first to get the old slave to speak,” he says.

“She will be difficult,” Lodin says to the auctioneer.

“I can sell her for a good price,” he replies.

Lodin agrees.

The Viking knaar arrives at Trondheim. Astrid alights and walks slowly up the path to the castle she left so many years before.

She walks past two young guards stationed at the castle gates. They cross their swords to stop her. “Have you lost your mind?” one says. But an older guard standing nearby gasps and drops to one knee, removing his helmet out of respect. The younger soldiers look at him, confused.

“My queen!” he says.

The soldiers part swords, and Astrid walks through, dreamily. Lodin follows after her. Some townspeople trail behind them, murmuring excitedly.

Harald sees the scene from a high window. He throws open the doors to the king’s quarters. “Brace yourself,” he says.

Astrid seems to float into the room. She suddenly remembers her former life.

Olaf cries out, “Mother!” Astrid embraces him, sobbing.

Astrid has become accustomed to her old surroundings. The dining room is decorated with flowers and lit by dozens of candles. The old glass figurines that Harald made sit on a shelf. Olaf is lost in memories.

Olaf tells his mother about his years as a slave, about his adoptive family, about Geira, and about Astrid’s brother, Sigurid. He also tells her about how Harald has protected him all these years.

Astrid recalls almost nothing. She survived the shipwreck. She was a slave. And now she is home. Lodin rescued her, she says, and she has found love in her life again.

After dinner, Olaf walks into the great hall with Astrid. “Queen Sigrid of Sweden would be an important strategic alliance for Norway,” he remarks.

“Advisors cannot guide you with the affairs of the heart,” Astrid replies.

“No one could ever replace Geira,” he says.

“What is Queen Sigrid like?” Astrid asks.

“I’ve never met her.” Olaf is a little embarrassed by the question. “Tell my mother about Sigrid,” he says to Harald.

“I met Queen Geira many years ago,” Harald begins. “She was perfect. Without an attempt to diminish the qualities of the Swedish queen, this is what I’ve found out about her.

“The Swedish queen is beautiful. I’ve been told by various sources that she has many suitors. On one occasion, King Vissavald was interested in pursuing her, and he traveled to Stockholm, where he danced, feasted, and drank with the queen. He was given lodgings in a castle outbuilding.

“It was obvious that Sigrid was not interested in him. But Vissavald was intoxicated by her beauty, as well as by the abundance of alcohol. He thought he would win her hand. But he was drunk, and so were his guards. Eventually Vissavald fell fast asleep.

“When the outbuilding was quiet and the door was securely shut, the queen took a torch from her guards and threw it at the building. As people come out screaming, choking, and coughing, her guards drew their swords and struck down Vissavald as he attempted to flee.

“Queen Sigrid later said that she was tired of those small kings coming to court her. Since then, Sigrid has been called Sigrid the Haughty.”

Olaf laughs. “The queen sounds like a charming woman. And I do enjoy a challenge.”

CHAPTER 30

Queen Sigrid’s stone castle is cold and austere and surrounded by a moat. When Harald arrives, there are guards on all the ramparts and snow on the ground.

Four heavily armed Swedish guards escort Harald into the castle’s great hall, where Queen Sigrid’s assistant, Inga, is seated behind a long wooden table. She looks up at Harald. “What can I do for you?”

“I bring a message from the Norwegian king,” he says.

“I hope it’s not another marriage proposal.”

“The contents of the letter are for the queen only.”

Inga raises her eyebrows. “You know what happens when our queen is displeased.”

“I don’t have a burning desire to find out.”

The door to the queen’s chambers open up, and two guards are just inside the entrance. Harald proceeds into the room where Queen Sigrid is seated.

He bows. “I bring a message from King Olaf of Norway.” A guard takes his rolled-up scroll and hands it to the queen.

“I have heard that the Norwegians adore him,” she says.

“Olaf is a great king.”

Queen Sigrid unseals the scroll and reads the message. “It’s another marriage proposal. He also proposes a union between Norway and Sweden.” She glances at Harald. “Is he good-looking?” Harald doesn’t say a word. Queen Sigrid smiles. “You seem to be a very intelligent messenger.” She sets the scroll down. “Actually, it is a perfect union. I don’t want to waste the king’s time or my time. I want to think about it.”

Harald waits.

“All right. I’ve thought about it, and I’m interested.”

“I’ve been advised to present a gift to you.” Harald pulls something out of his bag. “King Olaf sends you this gift of his admiration.” He hands it to Queen Sigrid—a leather pouch sealed with wax.

“This is rather fun,” the queen says. “What can it be?” She opens up the pouch and pulls out a huge golden ring. She reads the accompanying note: The ancient ring of the kings of Norway. “I await a visit from Olaf,” she says.

Harald bows and leaves.

Moments later, Sigvalde and Earl Haakon emerge from behind a side curtain. “It is time that we finish Olaf off,” Sigvalde says.

Queen Sigrid frowns. “That would not be much fun.”

“It is agreed,” the earl says. “We will finish Olaf off.”

“I have not agreed,” the queen says. “I want to meet him first. Besides, Olaf is supposed to be rather handsome.”

“Olaf shot an arrow through my son’s head,” Earl Haakon says.

“Hm. That was rather shortsighted of him,” she replies. Both men look shocked. The queen looks at them and sighs. “You are both so unreasonable. Okay. You win. I might have been happy with Olaf, but I’ll help you lay the plot.”

Later that night, the goldsmith is working on the ring that Olaf gave Queen Sigrid. “Have you completed your analysis?” she asks him.

The goldsmith sets the ring on his workbench. “I’ve studied metallurgy since I was a child. The ring is false.”

Sigrid is outraged. “Olaf has deceived me!” she shouts, and she takes the ring and throws it on the stone floor. She picks up the mangled ring and waves it in the goldsmith’s face. “The ring is a fake, just like King Olaf!”

A fortnight later, Olaf arrives at the castle gates. He’s surrounded by a group of his men-at-arms. They are escorted inside to meet with Queen Sigrid.

The queen is dressed beautifully but has a cold stare on her face. “How was your journey?” she asks.

“The journey went well,” he replies.

“You are more handsome than I imagined.”

Olaf is also struck by how attractive the queen is. He can see why so many suitors have been intoxicated by her beauty. “You are beautiful too,” he says.

“I’m pleased that you have arrived,” she says. “We have prepared some food for you and Harald.”

The ballroom is beautiful. Olaf and Sigrid walk into the room together; Olaf’s men are behind them. Music is playing in the background as Olaf and Sigrid are seated at a long table. Beautifully prepared food is brought out on large serving trays.

Harald, who is seated next to Olaf, suggests in a whisper that he not eat the food.

The queen is waiting for Olaf to begin.

There is a finger bowl next to Olaf; he lifts it as if to drink from it. Harald freezes; he wasn’t prepared for this formal dinner. Olaf puts down the finger bowl. Harald heaves a sigh of relief. Olaf has a few bites of food and then takes the napkin and wipes the corner of his mouth. He winks and smiles at Harald.

The music continues to play. “Would you enjoy a dance?” the queen asks.

Now Harald is really alarmed. He has never seen Olaf dance.

“I hope I remember how,” Olaf replies.

Queen Sigrid takes Olaf’s hand and walks him to the dance floor. She nods to the musicians.

Olaf starts to stumble over his feet. Harald and the men are looking worried. Then, to their surprise, Olaf picks up the tempo. The drums beat faster as Olaf twirls Queen Sigrid in his arms like a top. The royal court goes crazy with excitement and continues to clap as Olaf and Sigrid walk off the dance floor at the end of the song.

“Your dancing is rather impressive,” the queen says. “I can see why the Norwegians admire you.” They are silent for a moment, and then she says, “I heard that your wife didn’t live for very long.”

“I loved her very much.”

“Are you here to deceive me?” she asks suddenly.

“Why do you speak in riddles?” he replies.

Now Sigrid is on the offensive. “Why do you not bow in front of a queen?”

“I bow only to my God.”

She is now enraged. “Are you better than the other kings?”

“That is a question for the honeymoon.”

“You’re clever,” the queen says, “but not clever enough to win me with a ring.” She tosses him the mangled ring he’d given her. Olaf looks at it and can see that it is coated with real gold but is copper on the inside. “You tried to deceive me,” she says.

Olaf knows that the conversation is going nowhere. “I am a king,” he says, “and now I am going to leave.”

Queen Sigrid stares at him. “You can’t just walk out. You must be dismissed.” Olaf turns to leave. “You are not dismissed!” she shouts.

The queen’s guards attempt to block Olaf, but his own guards have drawn their broadswords. They surround Olaf and lead the way through the castle as Queen Sigrid continues to shout at him. “I am a queen! You won’t get away with this! This insult will be your death!” Olaf walks out with his men following close behind.

“It appears that the queen has a lovely disposition,” Harald remarks.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Olaf says. “There are other forces at work here.”

Back in Norway, Olaf tells Leif that he is building the largest and fastest warship ever built; it will be virtually unsinkable. He shows Leif the design drawings, and then they walk near the protected harbor where the skeleton of a huge warship is being built.

“My family has been building ships for generations, and I have never seen anything like this,” Leif says.

Scores of men are at work sawing and bending planks and fitting them as a skin to the ship. Others are carving the planks with ornate designs.

Olaf introduces Leif to Thorberg Skavhogg, the master builder in charge of the project. Leif says that the design of the ship, with its double bow, is ingenious. Thorberg shows him the self-bailing capabilities in case the ship begins taking on water.

“The king requires the ship to be ready before the winter storms,” Thorberg adds.

“Can it really be completed so quickly?” Leif asks.

“It must,” Thorberg says. “My men are working day and night.”

“I want you to work with Thorberg,” Olaf says to Leif. “My enemies are many, and we need to complete the ship quickly.”

As work progresses on the ship, more than five hundred men labor on the massive craft, which is long, broad, and high-sided. The keel alone is seventy-two yards long.

Leif tells Thorberg that he’s noticed a fundamental flaw in the hull design. “My family developed a method of scoring the planking to make our ships lighter and faster,” he says.

He draws the design changes on the animal-skin plans, but Thorberg still can’t envision what he means. “Show me,” he says.

Thorberg goes down to the harbor with Leif, and they start chopping out sections of the bow. The carpenters watch Thorberg and Leif work as Leif explains how, by altering the design, they can make the ship glide more smoothly and quickly.

“My wife is sick, and I’ll need to leave for a few days,” Thorberg tells him. “While I’m gone, I can begin working on the sails.”

Later in the day, Olaf goes down to the harbor. He immediately notices that many of the carpenters are not working, and then he sees Thorberg and Leif hacking out sections of the hull. “Why have you done this?” he asks.

Leif steps forward. “The modifications were necessary to improve the performance of the ship,” he says. “May I show you?”

Olaf nods, and Leif grabs his tools and goes to work on the bow, thinning the planks until the ax marks on them have disappeared. Olaf watches as Leif improves the magnificent lines of the ship.

“I’m making the ship lighter, faster, and more maneuverable,” Leif says.

Olaf studies the changes. “You and Thorberg are correct,” he says. Then he turns to Thorberg. “I need the ship to be ready in ninety days, before the winter storms begin.”

That summer, the men work enthusiastically on the ship. Olaf also invites Leif to watch the summer athletic games. Leif sees Olaf do amazing athletic feats that no one else can equal.

“Do you intend to sail to Greenland this summer?” Olaf asks him.

“No,” Leif says, “I need to finish up the Long Serpent first.”

“I would like for you to return to Greenland to visit your family and help bring Christianity to the Greenlanders,” Olaf says. “There is no one better able to spread the word in Greenland. The people of Greenland are my subjects, and it is my responsibility to bring them Christianity. And while you’re there, I need you to find out what’s at the end of the ocean. I need you to tell me whether there is any fertile land there.”

“I’m sure that there are new lands to conquer,” Leif says. “And I intend to bring the wealth of these lands back to you.”

The ship has taken shape, and it’s magnificent. It is lit up at night while workmen apply the finishing touches. Olaf and Leif can see it as they play chess together on a castle terrace.

“My enemies are many—we need more men,” Olaf says. “You can find them there. Your move.”

“I’ve always loved exploring,” Leif says. “But what will we find there? Castle takes knight.”

“If there’s land, there are men. My enemies will never expect this. Knight takes rook—check. Take whatever you need for the journey.”

Leif is truly affected by the king’s farewell; Olaf appears sad to see his friend leave. Leif wipes a tear from his eye. “I will find these new lands,” he says. “I will never forget you. Checkmate!”

Olaf considers his defeat and smiles. “Well done.”

Olaf stands before a huge crowd that has gathered for the christening of his new warship. Behind him is the Long Serpent, and it is an imposing figure. It is three times the size of a typical ship, and its woolen sails are striped and checkered in red, blue, green, and white. It has benches for thirty-four rowers who propel it with oars that are sixteen feet long. Its dragon beak and arched tail are covered in gold.

“Earl Haakon endangers our way of life,” Olaf tells the crowd. “Sweden is aligned with me now. This new ship hereafter will be called the Long Serpent. The serpent is the symbol of protection; it strikes down any enemies. This ship is the finest and most costly ship that we have ever built.” The people cheer. “At one point, I almost removed Thorberg and Leif from the project for changing the ship’s design. Actually, they were improving the ship’s design.” The onlookers laugh, and Leif and Thorberg laugh too.

“I remember being captured on a ship as a young boy with my mother. The ship was taking on water, and I thought one day I would make a ship that would be virtually unsinkable—like this ship, like the Norwegian spirit!”

The people cheer again.

“Though any one of us may die in the fight against our enemies, our people will never be defeated!”

The crowd goes wild, and many men guide the Long Serpent down into the water.

There are no crowds present as Leif’s ship pulls away from the harbor dock at Nidaros Castle.

He immediately hoists the sail and steers straight west. No one has ever sailed to Greenland without stopping in Iceland first. “It’s not too late to turn back now,” he says to his crew. No one says a word, and the ship continues to go due west.

Leif’s ship glides past the Long Serpent, which dwarfs it in might and size. Leif guides his ship out into the harbor and away.

Thyrker, the navigator, looks over at Leif, who is staring sadly at the horizon.

“Hey,” he says. “You’re Leif Erickson, son of Eric the Red, heir to the throne of the seas.” He waits. “Smile, or I’ll push you overboard.”

Leif smiles and says, “New lands await us.” He stands on the bow, breathing in the good air and spray.

It is a calm night. The sky is full of stars. Thyrker points out constellations to the crew. He shows them the serpent, and then he shows them the bull. Leif points out one bright star that is part of a whale. “That one leads to the West,” he says.

Suddenly, spouts of water shoot into the air all around them. Startled, the men watch as a pod of whales gently surfaces. They’re huge beasts; just a flip of the tail could crush the ship into splinters.

One particularly large whale surfaces next to the ship and looks them over; its huge eye meets Leif’s. The whale lingers for a few moments and then gently swims away.

During the voyage to Greenland, Leif’s knaar is caught up in a violent storm. The waves rise so high they seem to touch the moon. For several days, the ship is thrown about on the open seas. Leif goes off course and ends up near the Hebrides, Scotland. After repairing the ship, he sets off again and arrives in Greenland without stopping in Iceland.

Eric the Red is outside his longhouse, gazing out at the ocean, when he sees Leif’s knaar outside the harbor. He runs to get Thjodhild. “Thor has brought our son home to us,” he says.

Thjodhild runs outside the longhouse to see. She strains her eyes looking at the little speck on the horizon. “How can you be sure?” she asks.

“I’m sure,” he says. “Leif is coming home today.” Then he mounts his horse and rides to the shore to give his son a stately welcome.

When Leif arrives on the shore, Eric meets him and gives him a big hug. “Your mother has been so worried about you,” he says. “She’s always wondering where you are.”

“I’ve missed you,” Leif says. “I worry about you living up here—it’s so remote.”

Eric slaps an arm around him. “We need to see your mother and get you bathed and fed.” They walk back toward the longhouse.

Thjodhild and Thorvald, Leif’s brother, come running from the longhouse to meet him. Leif and his mother hug each other silently; there is so much to catch up on, they don’t even know where to begin.

CHAPTER 31

By now it is AD 1000. The Greenland colony is small, just a few hundred people, and they are barely surviving because of the harsh conditions. Leif tells his father about King Olaf’s planned expedition to discover new lands. Eric tells Leif about Bjarni, who apparently saw new lands but never got off his ship. Leif says that he would like to meet him.

Leif and Eric the Red arrive at Bjarni Herjolfsson’s family longhouse. It is a modest dwelling in a secluded area in the hills. Bjarni, who is in his twenties, is out front, looking down the path at his visitors.

“What can I do for you?” he asks.

“Do you have time to speak about your voyage last year?” Leif asks.

“Why?” Bjarni replies. “Are you two going to attempt it?”

“I am,” Leif says. “You are welcome to go with me.”

Bjarni shakes his head. “I’m staying home with my family—my days at sea are over. I was frightened; my mind began to go crazy. I was scared of never seeing my father again. I swore to the gods that if I could get home safely, I’d never go to sea again. I was saved, and I’m happy to be back with my father.”

“We would like information about your journey,” Eric says. “Maybe you saved your journal or ship records?”

“I will give you my journals,” Bjarni says. “If you’d faced the perils I faced, you would not go to sea again, either. I hope you find these undiscovered lands. I’m sorry that I can’t go with you.”

Eric and Leif bring the journals back home and study them. They show that Bjarni sailed from Iceland and went due west. His ship was tossed about in the open sea for four days straight. He realized that the land he saw could not be Greenland because it was not mountainous. And unlike Greenland, it was covered with vegetation.

He sailed for two more days and saw another land. He did not think that this was Greenland, either, since there were no glaciers and the land was flat.

Then the wind dropped, and the crew suggested that they go ashore for wood and water. But Bjarni told them they couldn’t stop.

They hoisted sail again, and for three more days they traveled, sailing so far that they feared they might soon drop off the face of the earth. Then they saw a third land. This land was high and mountainous and had ice upon it. Without lowering their sails, they kept on course along the coast, and they saw that it was an island.

Once more they turned the bow away from the land, and they held out to sea with the same breeze. The wind increased. Bjarni told the crew to reef the sails. They journeyed for four days, until they saw a fourth land. After that, they decided to turn around.

On the way back, they nearly lost their lives. In his journals, Bjarni describes the experience this way:

We saw a seven-headed monster with a body like a snake. It had three tails. It was so strong that it nearly knocked our boat over with one splash of its tail. By the grace of God we sailed back before becoming the monster’s prey. I swear that I will never leave land again.

After Leif and Eric read Bjarni’s journal, Leif says, “I would like for you to lead the expedition. The colonists look to you as their leader. Your courage and seamanship have long been established. There is no one better to lead it.”

“Son, I can’t go,” Eric says. “I’m too old for such a voyage. I’m not up to the rigors of life at sea anymore.”

But Leif won’t take no for an answer. “You’re still the best person to lead the expedition,” he says.

Eric the Red thinks about it. “Since it means so much to you,” he says, “I’ll lead the expedition.”

It is a beautiful late-summer morning. Leif and Erik set out on horseback for the ship. They are almost to the shore when Eric’s horse stumbles and Eric is thrown. He gets up off the ground, but he is clutching his ankle. Leif jumps off his horse to assist his father.

Eric tries to smile through the pain. “My ankle is broken, and my pride is injured too.”

Leif bends down to look. “Are you sure it’s broken?”

“I’m sure,” Eric says. “I can’t bear weight on it.” He limps back to his horse with Leif helping him.

“Leif, it’s clear to me that it is not my destiny to discover any more lands,” he says.

“Please come, Father. I need you.”

“Son, this is where we must part. Good luck on your journey.”

There are tears in Leif’s eyes as Eric mounts his horse and rides away without looking back. Leif stands in his ship and watches his father until he disappears. Then he immediately leaves on his journey.

CHAPTER 32

Back in Norway, Olaf tells Harald that he is going to take a short ride. He walks to the stable and whistles, and Pontus comes running to him. Olaf jumps on his horse and rides out of the castle and up into the hills. He rides faster and faster until he is on top of a mountain overlooking the beautiful fjord. He gets off of Pontus and goes to stand on a ledge, gazing down at the castle and the harbor below.

Olaf is lost in his thoughts. He prays to God to help him, saying that everything in his life is a mess and he doesn’t know where to turn. He is worried about his people and the imminent threat from Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. He doesn’t know what he is doing with his life or where he is going.

Suddenly he sees the shadow of something behind him getting closer and closer, and he hears twigs cracking. He’s so startled that he almost falls over the cliff. He turns to see a beautiful woman with golden hair covering the side of her face. She holds out her hand to prevent him from falling. Olaf grabs it.

“Where did you come from?” he asks.

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” she says.

“I’ve been gone for a long time,” he says. “I just came home.”

The woman smiles. “I was worried that you were going to fall off the edge.”

“I feel like I’m going off the edge,” he replies. “Life is so complicated … I’m searching for some direction.”

“Maybe you would enjoy a short walk?”

“I would.”

They walk together along the edge of the ravine, and they keep walking for hours, even as the sun begins to set. “I come here to watch the sunsets,” she says.

Pontus follows them as they walk; he gently feeds on the sweet, green grass as it flows in the cool, gentle breeze.

“Your horse is amazing,” she says.

“His name is Pontus.”

She smiles. “He seems to really like you.”

“He likes to play with me,” Olaf says. “He likes to play hide-and-go-seek.” When Pontus hears the word, he lifts his head and whinnies excitedly. “Watch,” Olaf says. He looks at Pontus. “Go hide!”

Pontus immediately runs away and tries to hide behind a tree.

The woman laughs. “I can’t believe it,” she says. “That’s the first time in a long time that I’ve laughed.”

“I’m coming to find you!” Olaf shouts. Pontus neighs loudly. Olaf pretends to look for him. “I can’t find you,” he says.

The woman laughs again and shakes her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

Olaf quietly approaches the tree where Pontus is hiding. He gets closer and finally puts his hand on the horse’s hind leg. “Found you!” Pontus runs off to hide behind another tree.

The sun is now setting, and the woman is laughing. Her hair looks beautiful in the golden sunlight. Olaf starts to push her hair away from her face to kiss her.

“Don’t,” she says.

Olaf stops. “I’m sorry.” She begins to cry. “Why are you so sad?”

She moves her hair away to reveal a crescent moon carved in the side of her face.

The actual crescent moon is lingering just above the horizon as Olaf kisses her. His finger rolls over the scar as he sees the absolute beauty in her face. Tears are flowing down her cheeks.

“I have to leave now,” she says.

Olaf suddenly recognizes the little girl he once knew. Maybe it was the way she said good-bye, just as she had after their playtime when they were children.

“Karina,” he says.

“Olaf?”

“Karina, is it really you?”

She looks down. “The Karina you knew died the day you left the castle.”

“My mother has returned,” he says.

“I’m happy for you,” she says, but her voice is without emotion.

“Come and visit me,” he says.

“Olaf,” she says sadly, “the young girl you knew is gone.”

Karina tells Olaf that she has been in touch with her grandfather, Harald. When Olaf asks Karina about her mother, she says that her mother died of a broken heart.

Then she starts to cry again. “I have to go,” she says, and she runs off into the woods. Karina is gone.

CHAPTER 33

Sigvalde enters the throne room of Queen Sigrid’s palace. The queen is waiting for him. “What news do you bring regarding Olaf?” she asks.

“The plot is set,” he says. “Olaf is returning to Norway. He is on his new ship. His men are anxious to get home and are waiting only for the wind.”

“Where are your ships now?”

“I received a message from Denmark that the Swedish ships are approaching Olaf from the east, and Earl Eirik is ready to intercept Olaf from the west. Olaf is trapped. The Finnish ships are going to be waiting for him near a Danish island called Svold. You’ll have Olaf within a fortnight. He is surrounded.”

CHAPTER 34

Battle of Svold, August 31, AD 1000

Olaf peers from the bow of the Long Serpent. They’re approaching the Danish island of Svold. The wind is picking up, and storm clouds loom in the distance. Olaf’s men are singing; someone is playing the panpipe.

“Be quiet,” Olaf says. The music stops. He turns to Harald. “Sigvalde has tricked us with a false meeting with Queen Gunnhild.”

The crew searches the horizon for any sign of a sail. Then Harald points. “I see a sail in the distance.” There’s one sail, then another. Then an entire fleet of ships seems to be converging on the horizon.

Sigvalde has sailed with eleven Finnish ships that were waiting for Olaf in Stockholm Harbor; he approaches the island of Svold. The Swedish king follows with his eleven ships. A skiff rows out to inform Sigvalde that King Svein of Denmark is waiting with his army in the harbor before them.

Olaf is ready with his four ships. He is on the Long Serpent; he also has the Crane, the Short Serpent, and the Little Serpent. Each of Olaf’s ships is magnificent.

“They have more than thirty ships,” Harald says. “We should not risk battle with so great a force.”

“Drop sails,” Olaf tells the crews. “Let no man think of flight.”

“Sound the war horns,” Harald calls.

The war horns sound as Sigvalde’s fleet rounds the island. Olaf’s fleet is dwarfed in comparison.

The Long Serpent lies in the middle of the line. King Olaf stands on its quarterdeck, high above his men. He carries a gilded shield and wears a helmet and a coat of mail covered by a short, red cloak.

“Who is the force in front of us?” he asks.

“It is King Svein of Denmark,” Harald says.

“We’re not afraid of the Danes. There is no bravery in them. Who are the troops on the right of the Danes?”

“Those are the Swedish queen’s.”

Olaf laughs. “The Swedes would have done better to stay at home.” Olaf points to one of several other ships. “And whose big ship is that out there?”

“It’s Earl Eirik’s,” Harald says. “He is the son of Earl Haakon.”

Olaf nods thoughtfully. “We can expect trouble from them. They are Norwegians, like us. I should never have let Earl Haakon escape.”

The Little Serpent and the Crane are tied together in preparation for battle. The Long Serpent and the Short Serpent are also tied together.

Storm clouds begin to blow over the ships, and there is a flash of lightning. The boats are swaying in the rough water. Soon lightning is striking in every direction. The boat is rocking so violently that at times it is nearly lying on its side.

All the while, Olaf is standing on the Long Serpent’s quarterdeck, high above his men. He faces the wind, his long hair blowing behind him, and stares calmly into the storm, waiting for the onslaught from his enemies. On a string around his neck is the leather bag containing the thistle.

Earl Haakon takes his stand in the forward bulkhead, encompassed by a wall of shields. Some of his men clutch spears; others hold bows and arrows; yet others clutch javelins. “You are not to kill Olaf!” he shouts. “I am going to finish him off myself!”

Warships surround the Long Serpent. Arrows and javelins shower down on it from all sides.

King Olaf and his men fight back. Olaf’s men are now so furious that they climb up on the forward bulwarks to reach their adversaries and slay them. Many are tossed overboard by the rough seas, still holding their swords.

“Our men are becoming careless,” Harald tells Olaf.

The ranks holding the defense of the Long Serpent begin to thin. But when Earl Haakon tries to board the ship for a second time, he again is met with incredible strength and forced back onto his ship.

In many places, however, the defense of the Long Serpent is nonexistent. Finally the last remaining men are forced to fall back to where Olaf is standing.

Earl Haakon makes another attempt to board the Long Serpent. Olaf sees his men striking the earl’s men, without success. “What is wrong with the swords?” he asks.

“They are dull and full of notches,” Harald replies.

“Go below deck and get the sharpened swords,” Olaf says.

While Harald goes down into the forward hold, Olaf and the remaining men miraculously hold off the attackers. When Harald comes back up with a chest filled with weapons, Olaf reaches down and grabs a sharpened sword. Blood runs down from under his chain-mail shirt.

Sharpened swords are handed out to the few remaining men. The fight becomes most severe, and many more men fall. All of Olaf’s ships except the Long Serpent have been defeated.

The Long Serpent is completely surrounded. Spears and arrows are so thick in the air that the men’s shields become full. Olaf stands in the gangway, throwing two spears at once. He sees Sigvalde and Earl Haakon approaching.

“We can’t hold them off much longer,” Harald says.

Einar Tambarskelfir, Olaf’s finest archer, is rapidly firing his bow, slaughtering the invading Swedes and Danes and the Norwegians of Earl Haakon. He fires an arrow at the earl; it misses and hits the tiller just above the earl’s head. He sends another arrow that passes between the earl’s side and his arm; it strikes the ship’s shield with such force that the barb stands out on the other side. He draws his weapon a third time, and the bowstring breaks with a loud snap.

“What broke?” Olaf asks.

Einar looks at him. “Norway, out of your hands, my king.”

Olaf is thirty-two years old. His remaining men surround him. The battle is almost over. Harald and a few men fight next to the king.

The gallant few

Of Olaf’s crew

Must refuge take

On the quarterdeck.

Around their king

They stand in a ring;

Their shields enclose

The king from foes,

And the few who remain

Fight madly, but in vain.

Earl Haakon’s men flood onto the Long Serpent. Einar has repaired his bowstring and sends another barrage of arrows, slaughtering them. The remaining defenders crowd around Olaf.

Earl Sigvalde, with a band of followers, wages the mightiest fight of all. It is so fierce that Earl Haakon himself retreats to his own ship with some of his men. The archer continues to drop Earl Haakon’s men left and right, and one of them rushes him. The earl’s man takes an arrow in the chest, but he runs the archer through with his sword. Both men fall.

The ship is littered with bodies from both sides. All of Olaf’s men are dead or dying.

Earl Haakon boards the Long Serpent again. “You are defeated,” he says to Olaf.

A couple of arrows from the earl’s archers hit Harald in the chest. He continues to fight as he falls to the deck, mortally wounded. Earl Haakon’s men surround Olaf, their swords leveled at his chest.

“There is no escape,” Earl Haakon says.

“I have waited for this a long time,” Olaf says.

“You’re just like your father,” the earl sneers. “Now kneel and call me king, and perhaps I will spare your life.”

“I will kneel to my king in heaven.” At the last word, Olaf puts his sword through the throat of Earl Haakon, who looks stunned at his own death.

The earl’s men look stunned too. Then several simultaneously run Olaf through.

Olaf fights through their line, bleeding, doomed. He moves toward a light where Queen Geira is waiting for him. She reaches out and takes his hand. Olaf leaps overboard. The small leather bag with the thistle still hangs around his neck.

As the men watch Olaf sink beneath the dark waves, a rainbow arcs high in the sky above.

CHAPTER 35

“Legends persist that Olaf could throw two spears at once, and that he could play with three swords and run along the blades of the oars while his men rowed his ship,” Snorri says. “Is Olaf alive, or is he dead? Are the hungry ravens fed?”

I scarcely know what I should say,

For many tell the tale each way.

This I can say, nor fear to lie,

That he was wounded grievously

So wounded in this bloody strife,

He scarce could come away with life.

CHAPTER 36

Leif leaves Greenland and never sees his father again. If he is disappointed by that turn of events, he doesn’t let it show.

As Leif and his men head west into the unknown sea, thirty-foot waves break over the bow of his ship, snow and ice form on the deck of his ship, and icebergs surround his ship. Still Leif and his explorers continue on into the unknown.

Then the winds calm down and a heavy fog falls over them. Leif can’t see the whales that he hears, nor can he see the sun to help guide his way, but he sails on, thinking that maybe he will find the land that Bjarni saw.

The knaar sits in the ocean with a heavy fog surrounding it. There is no way for the crew to get their coordinates by either the sun or the stars.

At last the fog lifts enough for Leif’s keen eyes to pierce it. He sees land straight ahead—a beautiful land with a forest of strange trees growing all the way to the shore. Navigating by the sun by day and the stars by night, Leif and his men should soon reach Bjarni’s land.

Sure enough, off to the west, Leif spots an island. They sail closer, cast anchor, and head out on the ship’s rowboat to investigate. This land isn’t very impressive—just grass along a long slab of flat rock stretching from the sea to a backdrop of great, icy glaciers. Leif calls this new territory Flatstone Land.

Leif and his men return to the ship and continue sailing southwest. They see land with a densely wooded forest and long, sandy beaches. Again they set out in the tender in order to investigate the new territory but not endanger the ship. This land, too, is named according to its nature. Leif call this new territory Woodland.

The men don’t spend very much time exploring the land; they soon return to the ship. They set sail again, stopping when they see a picture-perfect harbor. The men row toward shore until the ship runs aground. The men pull the supplies from the ship and begin setting up camp in this “Newfoundland.”

Two days later, they put out to a small island lying just off the mainland. It is a beautiful day, with clear skies and sparkling blue water that glitters like dew-covered grass. The Norsemen go back to the ship and sail into a channel between the island and the cape. The tide is low, and the ship runs aground. They row ashore in their small boat. Once on shore, they find a river leading from the channel to an inland lake. When the tide is high enough, they row back to the ship and bring it up the river to anchor in the lake. They carry their sheepskin sleeping bags and other supplies off the boat and set up temporary huts.

Leif and his men agree that the port they have happened upon is perfect.

Frithiof’s Saga, a legend of ancient Norway, describes Leif’s arrival in Newfoundland in the late summer of AD 1000 called the Viking Code.

Now he swept o’er the seas, now and roamed far and wide, like the hawk in his airy abode,

For the warriors on board he wrote rules and decrees. Shall I tell you the Wanderer’s code?

“Pitch no tent on the ship; in a house never sleep: in the hall none but enemies stand;

With the sky for his tent, let the Viking-brave sleep on his shield with his sword in his hand.

“With a short-hafted hammer smites conquering Thor, and Frej’s sword but an ell long hath he.

’Tis enough; art thou brave? Then go close to thy foe, and too short shall thy blade never be.

“When the storm waxes fierce, hoist the sail to the top, it is blithe when the wind blows a gale:

Let it go, let it go; they are cowards who furl, rather founder than take in thy sail.”

Leif proudly steps off the boat and onto the shore and kneels down, bowing his head. His men do the same. He says, “Almighty God, to whom alone the hearts of all the saints are known, I thank thee for guiding my men and me to this new land; Lord of the heavens that cover the land, hold o’er us thy protecting hand.”

Lush green meadows cover the hills; they will feed the livestock. The spruce forest provides wood for building and fuel. The men build permanent structures where they can sleep and cook. Salmon are abundant; Leif catches them as they rush upriver to spawn.

When winter comes, there is no frost to wither the grass. And there is daylight: even on the shortest day of winter, the sun is up from breakfast until well into the afternoon!

So Leif sails up the shore and lands at the mouth of the river. He sends Haig and Haigie to run over all the hills. When they come back, they say they have seen neither people nor smoke from fires. Leif and his men go ashore and build themselves houses so that they can stay the winter.

All through the late summer and fall, they live in great plenty. They are carefree and do nothing but enjoy the land, for it is so rich that wild grains and all kinds of fruit grow there. The men eat wild berries and grapes right off the vine.

The sun stands so high in the sky that Leif knows he is very far to the south.

He and his crew begin preparing the ship for the return voyage to Greenland.

In the spring of AD 1000 in Newfoundland, Thyrker is chiseling runic letters into a stone marker. When he finishes, he plants the marker firmly in the ground. Leif and his crewmates have prepared the ship for the journey home, and the men have gathered for an impromptu ceremony. Leif gets down on his knees, reverently, and gathers a fistful of soil.

“We have sailed beyond the edge of our known world and discovered this new land,” he says. “Other men live way beyond our reach. We will return and befriend them. We’ll make alliances and join together under the flag of Norway.” He points to the runic stone. The crew ponders it. “We leave this stone for future generations, so that people will know that we discovered this new land in the name of my king, Olaf Tryggvason of Norway.”

On the return voyage, when the ship is just off the coast of Greenland, Leif suddenly changes course.

“Why do you steer so close to the wind?” Thyrker asks.

“I see a ship,” Leif replies. He steers closer to where he thinks he saw the ship; it is near some rocks. When he gets closer to the rocks, he sees that it’s a shipwreck. There are many people on the rocks—men, women, and children—and no way for them to get off. There is no land nearby.

“Yes, I see it too—on the rocks,” Thyrker says.

“We have to save them,” Leif says.

“It’s too dangerous,” Thyrker insists. “The rocks will tear our ship apart.”

“We can’t just leave them to die.” Leif grabs the tiller and steers his ship right up to the rocks, navigating between them. He throws a line to the people on the rocks and then jumps off the ship to help them. They leap aboard as the waves break over them. Leif saves all fifteen people.

When they’re safely aboard Leif’s ship, one woman turns to Leif and asks, “Why did you risk your life to save ours?”

“I will always risk my life for something important,” he says. “Why don’t you go below deck and warm up with your family.”

That evening, Leif is shaken awake by Thyrker, who’s saying, “You’re having a nightmare!”

Leif is in a hot sweat. He dreamed that King Olaf died. “The dream seemed so real,” he says. “King Olaf was gone, lost beneath the waves.”

“It was only a dream,” Thyrker says.

“What happened to the people on the rocks?”

“You saved them. You saved all of them.”

In Greenland, Thorvald greets Leif’s ship at the shore. “I have bad news,” he says. “Both Mother and Father both died shortly after you left on your trip.”

Leif goes inside the longhouse, devastated by the loss of both parents. Sobbing, he tells Thorvald that he can’t believe he will never see them again.

“Tell me about your journey,” Thorvald says gently. “I know that father would want to hear all about it too.”

Leif tells his brother about the new world he discovered. “Someday,” he says, “people will know that I discovered this new land on behalf of King Olaf. I left a marker with a message at the location of our first encounter with the new world.”

CHAPTER 37

It is the spring of 1960 in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, where archaeologists Helge and Anne Ingstad are digging up dirt around an excavation area. They have spent their professional lives looking for a sign of the Vikings’ landing in North America but have not found anything. Suddenly, the bespectacled Helge hits a solid object. He turns over a moss-covered stone. He takes out his tools and cuts away the moss to free the stone. He starts digging more and finds that the rock appears to be inscribed with ancient runic Icelandic writing.

“Hurry,” he calls to Anne. “I found something.”

Anne rushes over as Helge brushes off the dirt from the stone.

“Be careful not to step on anything,” he says.

“What does it say?” she asks.

He uses slender tools to clear away more mud.

“It is written in ancient Icelandic,” he says. He is shocked when he reads the inscription:

“For my God and for my country, we have discovered this land in the name of King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, AD 1000.”

Anne says. “It’s the runic stone!”

Helge hugs her. “The Vikings were really here!”

EPILOGUE

In America, the Viking settlements didn’t last long. Hostile Indians, difficult winter conditions along the coast of Canada, and challenging supply routes drove the Vikings back to Scandinavia.

The Vikings may have traveled as far west as the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, a thousand miles inland, and as far south as New England or even New York Harbor. Viking artifacts have been found in Native American sites in Maine.

The origin of the Newfoundland settlement is no longer a matter of dispute among mainstream archaeologists. Leif Ericson was definitely in Newfoundland, as a runic stone dating to the year AD 1000 was found in a Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows there.

There were approximately 160 Norse settlers in Newfoundland. Leif Ericson seemed to have made no lasting impression on the aboriginal Skraellings he encountered. The fair-skinned Beothuk Indians that Leif may have encountered around the year 1000 have been extinct since June 6, 1829, when Shanawdithit died of tuberculosis. She was the last known full-blooded Beothuk.

Yet the story does not stop there. Linguists have evaluated the inscriptions on the Kensington Rune Stone in Minnesota. On the stone are about sixty words and numerals from the distinctive runic alphabet of medieval Scandinavia. The words purportedly chronicle a bloody attack on a group of Swedish and Norwegian adventurers. The date, in rune, is “Year 1362.” The dialect is known to have been used in the south Norwegian province of Bohuslan as recently as AD 1200.

The End

HISTORICAL CHARACTERS

Abbot Karl Jonsson: Lived 1135–1213 Abbot of the Thingeyrar monastery, Iceland. Wrote the saga of King Sverri of Norway.

Anne Ingstad: Lived 1918–97. Norwegian archaeologist. Discovered the remains of a Viking settlement in 1960 with her husband, Helge Ingstad.

Astrid Eiriksdatter Tryggvason: Queen of Norway, mother of Olaf Tryggvason. Daughter of Eirik Bjordaskalle from Oprustader. Married King Trygva Olafson in 960.

Bjarni Herjolfsson: Sailed to the New World but never got off his ship.

Britta: Fictional.

Callan: Fictional.

Devon: Fictional.

Dixen: Fictional.

Earl Eirik Sigurdsson: Died in 1023. Abdicated as earl and became ruler of Norway in 1015.

Einar Tambarskelfir: Archer named in the Old Norse sagas.

Eric the Red Eirikur Thorvaldson: Lived 950–1003. Father of Leif Ericson.

Erlend Haakon: Son of Earl Haakon.

Freydis: Half sister of Leif Ericson.

Geira: Queen of Finland 982–984.

Gunnhild von Wenden: Died in 1000. Sister of Queen Geira. Mother of Canute the Great of Denmark. Some sources say she was the sister of Queen Sigrid of Sweden.

Haakon Haakonsson IV: Lived 1204–63. King of Norway 1217–63.

Haakon Sigurdsson: Lived 935–995. Ruler (Earl) of Norway from around 975 until 995, when he was defeated by King Olaf.

Helge Ingstad: Lived 1899–2001. Norwegian explorer who discovered Viking settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada, in 1960.

Karina: Fictional.

Klerkson: Estonian pirate; probably Oeselian. Known from the Old Norse Icelandic sagas and the Heimskringla.

Koll: Earl Haakon’s friend. His real name was Kark.

Leif Ericson: Lived 970–1020. Son of Eric the Red. Discovered America in 1000.

Olaf Tryggvason: Lived 968–1000. King of Norway 995–1000.

Olafson, Trygva: Died 958. King of Norway and father of Olaf Tryggvason.

Rea: Estonian slave owner.

Sigrid the Haughty (Sigrid Storrada): Lived 968–1013. Queen of Sweden.

Sigurid: Ukrainian nobleman in the royal court of King Vladimir I. Queen Astrid’s brother.

Sigvalde: Finnish earl. Husband of Queen Geira’s sister, Gunnhild von Wenden.

Snorri Sturluson: Lived 1179–1241. Icelandic chieftain who wrote the Old Norse sagas. Snorri’s family, the Sturlungars, had acquired so much influence and power in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that the last, violent period of the Icelandic free state was sometimes called “Sturlungaold.” Snorri was brought up in the family of Jon Loptson of Oddi. Snorri was Iceland’s uncrowned king.

Sweyn Forkbeard: Lived 960–1014. King of Denmark. Became the first of the Danish kings of England. Father of Cnut the Great.

Thjodhild: Mother of Leif Ericson.

Thorberg Skavhogg: Master shipbuilder.

Thorvald: Half brother of Leif Ericson.

Thyrker: Navigator who sailed to the New World with Leif Ericson.

Vladimir I: Lived 950–1015. Kievan king. Also known as Saint Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great.

Yaroslav the Wise: Lived 978–1054. First grand duke of Kiev. The Norse sagas call him “the Lame” after he is injured by an arrow. He founded the town of Yaroslav on the Volga.

AUTHOR’S NOTES

I have endeavored to be historically true to actual events. I have taken creative liberties with dialogue, the omission of some events, and the chronology of events. The names of some of the characters are historically accurate, while others are fictitious. The sagas upon which much of this history is based were in many cases written two hundred years after the oral chronicles.

I used as a reference Heimskringla: The Chronicles of Norwegian Kings, sagas written by Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241).

HISTORICAL NOTES

From 970 until Olaf Tryggvason’s rise to power in 995, Earl Haakon regarded himself as the sole power in Norway. His arrogance, violence, and lechery led to his defeat in 995, allowing Olaf Tryggvason to claim the throne as the successor to King Harald Fairhair.

The Battle of Svold is an actual event that took place on August 31, 1000.

The Greenland colony founded by Eric the Red lasted more than four hundred years, until the 1400s, when the climate in Greenland became much colder and the settlers abandoned the island.

The royal fortress of Nidaros existed very briefly in Scandinavia. The fortress was built in a geometric design. It was a circular rampart built of earth and turf with internal timber structures, wood facing, and sloping outer surfaces. The royal fortress was crowned with towers at all four points of the compass.

The site at L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern edge of Newfoundland was first explored in 1960 by Norwegian husband-and-wife team Helge and Anne Ingstad. It is believed to be a Norse settlement because it very closely mirrors settlements in European Norse lands around the year 1000, the date of the site at L’Anse aux Meadows.