Chapter 10 - Lost in the Dark

Chapter 10

The next morning started far too early for us. Completely her old self again, Idun stood by our bed only a few hours after we had finally closed our eyes. She repeatedly kicked the bed with the heavy wooden sole of her leather shoe. “Up, up, lovebirds. Ask, outside with me, Embla, downstairs, Oddgeir wants to talk to you.” She threw an armful of clothes down on us and stormed off again.

I was almost too tired to open my eyes. When would somebody finally invent coffee?

Samu grunted something vulgar and turned around to wrap his arm around my waist. “It’s not even dawn yet!” he mumbled and yawned deeply. “What did she say?”

“I have to go talk to Oddgeir and she wants to meet you outside.”

“What on earth am I to do outside right now?” again he yawned, but from the tone of his voice I could tell that he was alarmed.

With a lot of effort I sat up. “Let’s go and find out, shall we?”

“We shall not.” He pulled me back into the bed and simply rolled over to lie on top of me.

“Get off her!” Idun sounded angry but also a little amused. Throwing a leather breastplate down next to the open fireplace, she gestured between Samu and the cuirass. “Get dressed, for the love of all Gods! You’ll be back on your woman when the sun sets!”

Impatiently she remained standing in the doorway. With a shirt and a pair of pants in his hands, Samu got up. He threw a look at her and back at me, pointing at the clothes. “I might sound stupid, but can you tell me what they are wearing under this?”

Sitting up as well I rummaged around the pile of clothes, finally bringing a linen under-short to light. “That one might fit you.”

Grumbling he took the piece of cloth and slipped it over his legs. “What next?”

I couldn’t help chuckling. He looked ridiculous and he knew it as well as I did. Grinning he grabbed my hair and pulled me in for a kiss.

“So?”

“This.” I handed some vest-like garment over to him and helped him pulling it over his head. “Now the pants and the shirt and you’ll be fine.” Carefully I picked up the leather breastplate from the wooden floor, turning back at Idun. “I might need your help with that.”

She nodded with a smirk on her lips. “Let’s get the sacred man dressed like a proper Northman.” She joked and winked at me.

With her help I managed to close all the small leather straps around Samu’s waist and shoulders. I had to admit, he looked terrific in almost full Viking armour.

“Put your hand on my shoulder.” Idun pointed at his arm. “Your hand, man!” impatiently she grabbed his wrist, lacing a leather arm protector around his lower arm. “You have to learn how to speak our tongue, Ask!” she stated insistently before patting his cheek. “Now come with me.” Turning on her heels, she waved at him, stopping halfway as usual.

“Does he have any skills?” she asked, giving Samu an appraising look.

Astounded I broke into laughter, pulling my underskirt over my head. “You might by now be a reliable witness of his skills.” I answered, making her snort with laughter as well.

“Beside those. They are not too helpful in combat or battle, trust me!” she gave Samu another long look from head to toe. “Axe, speer, maybe horse riding?”

“Martial arts?” I stepped into some woollen pants. “Samu? Do you have any fighting skills?”

“You are gonna laugh your asses off when I now tell you that I once attended Capoeira-classes.” Slowly he shook his head and put some strands of hair behind his ears. “The usual, I guess. Fighting with wooden swords. I am pretty good with bow and arrow though. Darts and air gun at the fun fair if that counts.”

“I’m afraid, it doesn’t.” Pinning my hair back, I shook my head in Idun’s direction. “Give him a short axe and a shield that is not too heavy.” I told her. “He needs the basic techniques. Our weapons are different from yours. He is by all means good with swords, but you don’t use them, do you?”

The other woman slowly shook her head. “A short one maybe, more of a long dagger. He seems fit and strong, I think we should start with an axe and see about the rest.”

“Would you mind returning him in one piece?”

“Of course not, Oddgeir will have me skinned if I lay a finger on him!” grinning she winked at me again before she gestured towards Samu. “Come, come.” She said. “Time for a little fighting lesson.”

I held him back when he started walking after her.

“Listen to me. She will get an axe for you to practice with it. The shields in the movies often appear very small, trust me, they’re not. And they are heavy as fuck. An axe is also not the lightest of arms and it is an impact weapon. Try not to get hit too hard, draw back if you can and lower your shield arm whenever you get the chance to relax it, alright? The fight with axes differs from sword fights. Blades are not as heavy, you have a guard for your hand and you are quicker. Fighting with an axe is like fighting with a sledgehammer, so don’t take this too easy, alright?” Quickly I pecked his lips. “Look after yourself, promise?”

He stared at me with a puzzled expression. “I will.” He then said, kissing me back. “They won’t kill me, you know it is forbidden.” Jokingly he cocked his eyebrow.

“Maybe they won’t kill you but the will sure as hell test you and it will be their greatest pleasure to bruise you as good as they can.” I kissed him again and nodded at Idun. “Don’t be too hard on him.”

“Go talk to Oddgeir, I’ll do my best.” She grabbed Samu’s arm and pulled him along.

Only a few minutes later I made my way downstairs. Oddgeir and a handful of others sat around the big fireplace in the middle of the room. I was beckoned over and someone handed me the usual mug of warm Ale. Sipping it, I wondered whether I would ever get used to drinking it without shivering in disgust.

“Embla.” The old shaman bowed his head in my direction. “Idun tells me that you and Ask are quite fond of each other.”

Someone chuckled before I could say something and I felt my cheeks blushing. Oddgeir threw a deprecating stare around the fire.

“I have meditated over you and your connection last night. It seems deep and strong. But there is also a deep connection between you and Tyr.” With his walking stick he pointed at me. “He is strong inside of you, I can almost feel him. He makes his influence felt and I am by now pretty sure that you are unable to conceive.”

Completely taken off guard, I stared at the old man. What the hell was he talking about?

“What d’you mean?” I asked carefully, trying my best to hide behind the mug in my hands.

Again the seer pointed at me. “Tyr is blocking you. I can feel him, almost see him inside of you. He blocks your womb from conceiving.”

Still out of words I tried to make up my mind. This man saw Tyr in me. Tyr, the God of war. Tyr or ᛏ.

Was there a possibility that this man could actually see something inside of me? Something no one in this time could have ever seen or heard of, because it had not been invented until the 21^st century? I was unable to conceive, but it wasn’t because of Tyr or any other God. The simple reason was my intrauterine device. It was indeed shaped like the rune for Tyr but it had as sure as hell nothing to do with him. But how was I supposed to explain this to him?

“His … the ᛏ was placed inside of me.” I tried carefully.

“Did he do it himself?” Oddgeir bent forward in my direction. “Who did it?”

“Healers?” I answered evasively and he nodded as if he had known it all along.

“It needs to get out. If the God has not placed it inside of you himself, we have to remove it.”

“Excuse me, I don’t think it would…”

“You may keep the rune itself, make a necklace with it.” He nodded encouragingly and gave me a smile. “We just have to remove it because you are meant to conceive the first child of the new era. Our era in this country. And you, Embla, are gonna be the mother of our first and symbolic child.” Ceremoniously he smiled at me again and I was about to get sick.

Remove it? They seriously had no idea! The whole equipment, surgical tools and left alone cleanliness! No one in this fucking time would remove my loop as long as I had air in my lounges to protest against it!

“We only have to wait for another week, your bleeding will start and it should be possible to find a midwife to remove it from your womb.” The shaman simply continued enthusiastically and I sat up straight.

“There is a good chance that my uterus or my cervix will be destroyed during the procedure.” I objected but the old man only smiled.

“You have the God of war to protect you. And Thor himself will hold a protecting hand over you as well, Embla.” He insisted. “They sent you and they sent a suitable man for you. They will keep you safe and you will conceive a summer child within the next weeks. It shall be born one year from now in our new home, the new safe place of this clan.”

Entirely out of words I felt my blood racing in my veins. I had to talk to Samu right now. The risk was too high. This procedure would most probably cost my uterus, if not my life. And I didn’t intend to let anyone manipulate my inner organs. Slowly I got up, feeling the world around me spin.

“I shall meditate about the removal. If God… if the Gods decide in favour of it, I shall obey their orders.” I heard myself say, wondering how crystal clear I sounded.

Oddgeir seemed pleased with my answer. He gave me a warm smile and got up as well, to touch my forehead with the handhold of his stick. “You bestow honour on your life and your clan.” He said in a solemn tone and bowed again. The others around us mumbled something similar and I made my exit, leaving them piously silent.

With a few large gulps I emptied my mug on the way outside. This was insane. I had to get away from this place within a week. We had to find a way to escape. Now that they trusted us and left us alone without any guard, the chances for a successful escape had increased. We could easily pick a horse from one of the stables, pack a few things to eat without anyone noticing and then ride off into the proverbial sunset. Taking a deep breath, I opened a small side door of the house. From what Oddgeir had planned for me, we had a week. It was definitely possible to plan and carry out our getaway within the next two or three days. Maybe we didn’t even need a horse. If we had actually perambulated time, I was almost certain that it had something to do with the fog. The forest wasn’t far, maybe a few kilometres through the glen and up the hill. We would travel light and I was sure that I would find the right path for us even through the woodlands of those bad times.

The cracking of wood and another loud thump interrupted my thoughts.

“Shield up!” I heard Idun’s voice, followed be another loud crack.

“I fucking give you shield up!” Samu sounded winded when he imitated her sentence. “Come here, you bastard and I will fucking shield up your arse!”

Idun laughed and applauded, and I caught the sound of breaking wood. Quickly I made my way around the house and found Samu with a broken shield, completely covered in sweat and beating up one of the other men with the residues of his formerly round shield. Suddenly the Northman he was fighting fell backwards, laughing his head off.

“Enough, sacred man!” he gasped and rolled over to sit on his knees. “Well done, you didn’t back down!” reaching out his hand to a red faced and completely enraged Samu, the other man smiled and gave him thumbs up.

Confused Samu grabbed the arm that was presented to him and helped the bigger man back on his feet.

“Get him another shield!” yelled Idun over her shoulder and clapped her hands. “Good.” She patted Samu’s chest. “Good, good. You understand good, right?”

Breathlessly he nodded, wiping his face before he put the residues of his shield down and massaged his arm.

“Embla!” Idun smiled and gestured towards Samu. “There are some skills, but he is not as strong as I had hoped.” She took his upper arm between her hands and massaged it a little. “He looks strong but there are no strong muscles in his arms and legs.”

Samu’s gaze flashed over me and he cocked his eyebrow questioningly. “Am I doing alright?”

“Seems like the muscle factory has not built up the right muscles.” I teased, walking around him to take the small axe from his hand.

“Well, I have been trained to dance for the last eight or nine years.” He defended himself, obviously a little huffy. “I could dance them into flight or maybe sing!”

“At least it gave you stamina, didn’t it?” I handed his axe back to him when one of the other women brought him a new shield. “Go ahead.” I squeezed his tensed upper arm. “Let the axe do the work, don’t wind up too high. Dance around him and draw back when he tries to hit your shield. You have endurance for a long dance. And remember to always lower your shield arm right away as soon as you take a step back!”

Idun had listened to our conversation with interest, even though she didn’t understand a word. Suddenly she tilted her head, grabbing another axe from the ground. “Show me what you got, Embla.” She simply stated, handing me a small round shield.

Staring down at the weapon in my hand, I shook my head. “Not without protection.” I protested and she was quick to hand me a breastplate. It was heavy and it took me a lot of effort to pull it over my shoulders correctly. With my heart beating in my throat I watched Idun closing the clasps.

The axe she had handed me was well balanced and I weighed it in my hand, carefully swinging it a few times before I stepped back, raising the shield.

Idun gave me a mischievous smile and jumped right on me without warning. I managed to draw back just in time, parrying off her first attack, but she didn’t waste a second before she raised her axe again. Fending off another series of blows, I felt my arm hurting. Idun’s smile grew wider. She took pleasure in my weak attempts, gloating over me when I stumbled.

Gritting my teeth, I stepped back once more, regaining my balance. Her biggest mistake was that she seemed too certain of her victory. I was no worthy adversary in her eyes. Maybe this was my advantage over her. Hiding behind my shield, I faked another stumble and she screamed with glee, lifting her axe.

This was my chance. With two quick steppes I managed to close the gap between us, ducking my head. Her strong blow dashed into nowhere and I ran right into her unprotected side, blowing her off her feet with her own power.

She landed face down in the mud and rolled over to her back with a surprised yelp.

“Again?” I asked and bowed in her direction with a grin.

She struggled to her feet and spit out a mouthful of dirt. Returning my grin, she raised her shield. “Of course!”

For another few rounds we were the main attraction on the village square. We were hard on each other, no mercy, no breathing pause.

And when I finally lowered my shield and put my axe down to show my surrender, she took me in her arms and patted my back. Grabbing my hand, she lifted my arm. “The Godsend daughter of a Northman!” she yelled enthusiastically and laughed. “You’d be a bride worthy of the mighty Thor himself!”

Chuckling I returned her hug. “As well as you, sister.” I heard myself say, wondering for a second how close I felt to her all of a sudden. Even closer than during the night before.

She rested her forehead on mine, putting her sweaty hand on my cheek. “Yorick should consider espousing you, Embla. You are worthy of a Northman, a Jarl even.” With that she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “A drink for my sister and me!” she yelled jubilantly.

When we shared Ale from a large drinking horn, Samu suddenly touched my shoulder. He seemed surprised. With an amazed expression on his face he wiped a few strands of wet hair out of my forehead.

“That was remarkable!” he stated and massaged a few swollen spots on the palm of my right hand. “Where did you learn to fight like this?”

“As you know, I studied the Vikings and I also studied their ways of fighting. I am a teacher for kids and also give intensive training for adults with sword and shield. The axe is my weak spot, but I never stopped trying my best to improve.”

“You are doing great!” slowly he shook his head. “Mylady, I have to admit that I am really turned on right now.”

I broke into laughter, kissing him passionately. “We could surely have a few private lessons later on.”

He grinned broadly, winking at me before he lifted his own shield again. “I really wish I could promise you another great night, but I’m afraid I might fall asleep in my own dinner after a few more rounds with …?” he looked at the broad shouldered warrior he had fought before. The other man gave him a grin. “Thorbjorn.” He said slowly, pointing at Samu with his axe. “Ready to go, Ask?” he yelled jovially and Samu nodded, limbering up his shoulders.

“Ready to go.” He repeated the Viking’s words and winked at me before he stepped closer to his opponent.