Soren and Ailia rode in silence for the better part of an hour.
“It is best to travel quietly and not attract any attention from the Vikings or any other possible lurking danger,” Soren had said before they started their journey again.
As they approached the Small Mountains, snowflakes started falling from the cloudy, white sky. Finally, Soren stopped. His eyes searched the landscape.
“I am afraid a major snow storm is headed in our direction,” he said. “We need to look for shelter and, if weather permits, continue our voyage tomorrow.”
“I will welcome a break,” she said.
They rode on a bit further and finally came to an old cabin situated next to a frozen-over lake. Smoke rose from the cabin’s snow-covered roof, and she was looking forward to spending a night indoors. She had no explanation for it, but she had the distinct feeling it had been a very long time since she had experienced the comforts of a home.
Soren walked up to the cabin and knocked on the tattered door. Dirty rags had been stuffed into holes in the wood, and an ancient, broken rocking chair sat on the halfway-rotted porch. He waited patiently for an answer.
Finally, a middle-aged woman cracked the door open and stuck her head through the opening. Her face was etched with deep scars and Ailia immediately wondered what her life’s story was. The woman’s long, troll-like nose sat as the centerpiece of her face and her eyes were energetic and clear. Over her graying hair she wore a black scarf embroidered with gray flowers. She clasped her hands together when she saw Soren.
“What do you want?” she asked with a disdainful frown, her voice raspy and unwelcoming.
“We are traveling to Bergendal and my friend is injured,” Soren said, pointing to Ailia who was still sitting on Volomite’s back. “We need shelter for the night. Do you have room?”
“Yaren’t welcome here,” the woman said and then slammed the door shut.
Soren knocked again, no answer. He knocked again more fervently and the woman opened the door again.
“Leave me be. I don’t want visitors,” she snapped impatiently.
“Will this help?” Soren said, holding out a small leather purse. He shook it and it made a clinking sound. He then opened the bag and showed her numerous silver coins.
The women looked at Soren and then at the leather purse and then back at Soren again. “Why should I let ya in?”
“We are in need of shelter from the storm, and are on a very important mission to defeat Eiess,” he said.
The woman’s eyes grew large. Then, she opened the door all the way and stepped aside. “Hurry, come in quickly. Don’t let all the warm air out,” she said, waving them in. “ I don’t want any trouble from you or ya girl there,” she said, nodding in Ailia’s direction.
“Thank you, ma’am. We will not be any trouble at all,” Soren said humbly. He walked back over to Ailia, lifted her off Volomite, and carried her into the cabin, where he set her on one of the two chairs in the main room.
“May I put the horse in your—uh—stable?” Soren asked.
Ailia assumed he meant the rundown shack next to the cabin.
“Ya. There’s room for only one horse there,” the woman replied. “My horse recently died,” she said and laughed.
Ailia couldn’t see how that was funny.
“But, ya, you may put em in there. The stable still has hay and oats inside, so feel free to give em some of it.”
Soren guided Volomite into the stable before returning.
The cabin felt so warm compared to the cold outside, it almost burned Ailia’s. The room was dark and stuffy and it smelled like smoke, old linens and horsemeat stew. In the middle of the floor was the well-lit hearth, and above the hearth was a small hole in the ceiling where the smoke escaped. A pot sat on top of the hearth and Ailia suspected from the odor that the woman had been cooking the stew for a really long time. To decorate the walls, the woman had hung colorful pieces of fabric and several varieties of dried flowers.
“Your flowers are beautiful,” Ailia said. There was also a small wooden table with a burnt orange tablecloth on it and two non-matching wood chairs in the main room. From what Ailia could see, it looked like the second, smaller room was where the woman slept.
“I don’t have very much,” the woman started. “Since ma great uncle died, it has been hard. The past few months haven’t been kind to me or anyone in these parts. Only cold and lonely,” she complained. “I never get any visitors.”
I wonder why, Ailia thought. If anyone else had received the welcome they had, of course no one would be visiting. “We are just so grateful you’re willing to let us stay,” she said.
“Yes, thank you for your generosity,” Soren added. “We would be stuck in the snow storm had you not let us in.”
“Of course,” the woman said dismissively. “You just have to be careful who ya let into your house these days. Vikings, thieves—cannot be careful enough,” she said as she walked over to the table standing next to the window. She closed the shutters, which also had stuffed fabric in between the multitude of cracks. She grabbed three of the four bowls on the table and her ladle. “Horse meat stew?” she asked, holding up her ladle.
“We would love some,” Soren said. “I have some bread that would taste good with that,” he said, reaching for his bag.
“Lovely,” the woman said. “I’m Hannah.” She stirred the pot vigorously.
“I am Soren and this is Ailia,” Soren said.
Hannah scooped stew into the bowls and smelled each of them. She moved slower than slow as she methodically placed the bowls on the table. The stew looked like a mix of horsemeat and bark. “Come, eat,” she invited.
They sat down at the table. Ailia and Soren sat on the two chairs and Hannah flipped over a bucket and sat on that. The stew had a distinct earthy taste to it, Ailia thought.
“Tell me about yourselves then,” Hannah said.
Soren and Ailia both pitched in and told about their journey over the last couple of days. They excluded the part where Ailia had seen the boys.
“I will say. You’ve both been through more ‘en your share!” Hannah said. Her eyes turned dark and she raised her wild eyebrows. “Did you happen to see the spirits of the Isaksen boys?”
Ailia glanced at Soren and leaned forward toward Hannah. “What do you know about the boys?”
“So, you have seen ‘em,” Hannah said, nodding her head. She took another bite of her stew and chewed it thoroughly.
“Yes, they appeared to me, but not Soren,” Ailia confirmed. “They seemed so real. I heard them cry. I saw them as clearly as I see you and I even held them on my lap. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, they vanished.”
Hannah took another bite of her stew and chewed it slowly. When she finally swallowed, she spoke again. “They’ve been seen many times around these parts. But…I’ve never heard of anyone touching or holding them,” she said. “Now, that’s something special!” She wagged her index finger toward Ailia. “There’s some disagreement about what really happened to the family after they left Bergendal, but no one could really know for sure what great ills occurred to them since there were no survivors.” She paused. “I, however, was also one of the Viking’s prisoners at the time of the family’s capture,” she said intriguingly, taking another huge bite.
“Did you see the family when they were alive?” Soren asked.
Hannah nodded slowly. “Ya,” she said, not bothering to swallow her food before she spoke. “Regrettably, I was originally one of the Vikings supporting the Empress before she came to reign, but when I found out who she really was, I couldn’t and wouldn’t join in her grotesque, despicable lifestyle.”
Ailia stopped eating her stew. “Why would you ever support someone like her?”
“I was naïve then and I thought that Eiess was the answer to all our troubles. I learned in a short time that I had made a grave mistake in following her.” Hannah sounded depressed. “She’s a cunning liar, that empress, s
peaking of ideals, truth and glory. Eiess betrayed us and threw us out of her midst shortly after she took over the Northlandic Throne. I wasn’t a Viking myself, but I followed the Vikings to get away from the hatred of the people of Bergendal. But I should ha rather endured their cruelty than associate with the barbarians.”
“What do you mean?” Ailia asked.
“The Vikings soon became animals—no, beasts, or trolls without hearts, without love, compassion, or care for anyone other than themselves. They were vain and self-absorbed. I couldn’t get myself to live that way and they turned on me, imprisoning me in a cage like a wild beast.” Hannah breathed deeply as her weary eyes wavered.
Ailia and Soren exchanged glances.
“The mother of the young boys was killed first. They wanted her husband and children to watch the slaughter, hear her scream in pain and agony, and plead for mercy. I sat in my prison and couldn’t bear to watch or listen to the poor woman’s screams. Her desperate pained voice is etched in my mind forever. Then, the Vikings turned toward the husband. I’ve never seen a man treated with such disrespect. His body was dismembered and taken apart piece by piece—” Hannah stopped speaking and looked into the flames of the hearth.
“I don’t think I want to know what happened to the boys,” Ailia said, feeling rather queasy. She could never imagine hurting anyone, especially those two innocent children.
“I never knew what happened to the boys,” Hannah said. “One of the smaller Vikings decided to open my cage and take me into the forest to have his way with me again. First, he cut me.” She dragged a finger across several of the scars on her face. “I had had enough, and somethin’ in me snapped. I had to get away from em, kill em or harm em in a way, so I could escape from these horrible monsters. When we were a ways away from their settlement, I saw and picked up a large rock, and as quickly and hard as I could, I took the rock and smashed it against his head.” Hannah held her fist up into the air. It looked like she was reliving the moment. “He fell to the ground and never stood back up. I ran as fast as I could away from there and I never looked back.”
“Did you go back to Bergendal?” Ailia asked.
“Yes, but they would have no part in helping a former supporter of Eiess and drove me away immediately. I tried to go back to my family, but they had disowned me. My old father’s uncle took pity on me and invited me into his house. The day after he had taken me in, we were both driven out of Bergendal by a mob. After we left, we found this cabin to live in,” she said, gesturing to the whole house. “He was a good man, the only man with complete compassion and love for all fellow men, or woman in my case.” Hannah stopped and swiftly wiped the tears away from her eyes.
“He died?” Soren asked.
“Ya, a month ago last week.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Ailia said.
“Me too,” Soren said.
“Now eat!” Hannah said, slapping her hands on her thighs. “Food tastes much better when it’s warm.”
After repast, Hannah offered that Ailia sleep in her bedroom with her. She had a double bed that would fit them both. Soren would have to sleep on the floor in the main room. They were all very tired after a long day and the peace of slumber overtook them quickly.
14
Nukkern