Gone Viking 05

Gone Viking 05

Here be Monsters.

"Monsters?" I repeated in disbelief.

"That which cannot be named," the shaman explained.

"Beings? Creatures? Spirits?"

Our minds dueled to find common ground and understanding.

In some way, we had become one with a struggle for knowledge within.

The Shaman stated, "They have form and yet are formless, they are human and yet not men or women as we expect. They may appear as 'halflings.' Mischievous, funny, comedians, tricksters. Or they may be malevolent, wishing to do the People, all people... evil."

"Mestigoit?"

"Yes, woman of power."

"You will not use my real name?"

"This shaman is but a bush magician to a woman who can travel in time. To invoke your name, I am not worthy."

Ellat's command, snapped me out of my reverie with Mestigoit. "All hands to oars."

Ahead... a thick pillar of smoke. It was at the water's edge but obscured by a bend in the river.

The Northern Band of the People; in distress, an accident, a signal, a warning? These thoughts ran through the minds of the entire ship's crew, but I perceived with greatest clarity those of Agnar. Mestigoit's connection with me was broken, as I took my place on the rowing bench. We were all pulling hard against the current.

Agnar's strength seemed the most focused. There was something special about the land beyond the river's bend. A son! He spoke with pride of the daughter in the camp we left down river. A son here also!

Barufakr, like the Wave Horse it was, changed course on its own, guided by the spells of its craftsmen, without the intervention of the helmsman to avoid a river hazard. A boulder that could have crashed in the hull.

"That was not here last time," Agnar exclaimed.

"Demons at work," muttered Mestigoit.

The helmsman put Barufakr back on course, to the site of the pillar of smoke. Our Water Horse did not fight it, its instincts had saved us, and mere humans could control the magic ship again.

"Ship oars,'' was the order from Ellat.

We could see the village as we drifted into the quiet bay, with the current working for us rather than against us. Magic? The look on the shaman's face was indecipherable.

Our oars stowed; the crew's attention was to the shore. The pillar of smoke was a burning raft, full of pitch and green wood.

Agnar shouted to someone on shore, "What goes Sindri?"

"We meant to anchor this warning raft near the hidden rock, Father. We were rushing because we knew you were near, and it caught light before we could float it into position."

"Bad luck then, Sindri, but Barufakr saved us!"

"Father, we must feast tonight to honor Barufakr!"

By then, the "magic current" had swept us onto the beach, and Agnar leapt from the ship with the grace and agility of a younger man and embraced his son.

Ellat ordered the crew to begin unloading the trade goods. "I am going with Mestigoit to investigate that magic boulder."

The shaman left the ship by pushing himself up onto Ellat's back, his strong arm around Ellat's neck.

"The woman of power must come with us," the shaman whispered, into Ellat's right ear.

"Thyra goes with Mestigoit and me; Agnar, supervise the men."

The smiling Agnar looked up from chatting with his son and responded with a nod.

We three followed the shoreline, looking for signs of how the boulder entered the water-- rolled by demons? a result of a natural landslide? We moved invisibly and silently, cloaked by Mestigoit's power, in the forest of the People's land.

Close to the village, we passed an established latrine used by both sexes. Beyond that, we stumbled past lovers unaware of our passing.

I stared too long, in longing, as a lean young man with finely toned buttocks, powerfully entered a groaning young female on her knees, his leggings and loincloth discarded, her tunic raised above her waist, and her firm buttocks open to view; her breathing rapid and approaching climax.

Minutes later, we spied two men holding hands. Both naked, and both, to my eye, having impressive erections.

Ellat, laughing, whispered, "There are your demons; soon, they will have each other's 'stones' in their hands."

In response, Mestigoit swatted Ellat vigorously on the back of the head. "Those two are my acolytes, magicians in training, they spend too much of each other's seed and will never be truly powerful."

We scanned the shoreline, searching for a spot where the boulder may have entered the river. There was nothing, no sign. The brush was thick on the riverbank with no sign of disturbance. Indeed, there was no sign of the passage of any animal, this was strange. This area has been touched by magic.

Ellat placed Mestigoit on a mound of moss, and removed his baldric with his sheathed sword, his leather shirt, linen breeches and leather footwear; Ellat waded into the cold flow of the river.

Again, I was surprised by the extent of my lust for young male bodies. The sight of his strong muscled back and shoulders caused me to hold my breath to stifle an involuntary sigh.

Ellat was able to wade halfway to the boulder, the water then up to his neck. He then dove under and swam as gracefully as an otter to the boulder. He spent an amazingly long time underwater, examining the boulder before climbing onto it and standing up facing the shore. I could not help but smile to see his manhood so shrunken to the point of near invisibility.

Mestigoit saw me smile, and warned me, "Say nothing! It is a very frigid river."

My mirth was short-lived, when I heard Ellat shout from the boulder in the middle of the channel. "There are carvings on the stone, a message? or a warning? Thyra you are clever, see if you can read the carvings. They are of no language I know."

To be continued...

Many thanks to my editor, kenjsato!

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