Emer's Quest (Manannan Trilogy) (3 page)

“I’ve beaten Finnr at both archery and sword fighting and you are letting him go!”

“Finnr wasn’t trying to kill you at the time. You wouldn’t last an instant in a real fight. Enough. You would be a burden and no help, so you stay here and wait with the rest of the women. That is final.” With that Ragnar rose and walked away. Dag also stood up. He said,

“I’ll bring
both the whelps back to you, little brother, if I can. Finnr’s a man now and our enemies this time are cold and the sea, not warriors with axes, thank be to the gods. You were younger than he is now when you fought your first battle, remember?”

Edan grinned
, although his face was still very pale. “How could I forget? I’ve got the scars to prove it. I’d prefer Finnr to return with his skin whole if possible and Nele as well.”

“I’ll try.”

Dag walked away to the other fires, recruiting a crew to come with him. Roars went up when he mentioned the voyage and he had no lack of volunteers. Men rose and went to fetch their weapons for the journey. There was a great bustle. Women hurried to look out stores of dried food and other goods that they would need to take with them.

Edan rose and helped Renny to her feet.

“Come,” he said to Finnr. “If you’re going, you’ll need warm clothes and a good sword.” Father and son went out of the longhouse to the hut where the family lived and where Renny made her medicines.

Emer lay back on her bedding and turned her face from the room, to hide her tears. She felt desperat
ely tired and disappointed.
I’ve failed
, she thought.
Father’s gone and they won’t let me go with them to find him. Mother is right when she says I’m too impulsive. I’ve nearly killed myself and Vif. All for what?
She lay there miserably, hating herself, but she was warm now, the pain in her legs had eased. She started to doze, in spite of her jumbled feelings and the bustle around her.

When she woke, it was night and one of the bards was singing a ballad from the sagas. Emer sat up sharply, realising she must have slept through the evening meal.

“Good, you’re awake. This will make you feel better.” Renny handed her a bowl of broth and a bannock.

“I’ve slept for ages.”

“You
have.” Renny smiled. “All through the shouting and the packing too.”

“
Have they gone?” Emer asked with a sudden lump in her throat.

“They go at first light. Tostig says the wind will come round to the south by then and will blow them
towards
Stafi-oy
. He’s more often right than wrong.”

She stood up and Finnr slid into a seat his mother had just left.
Finnr was a tall lanky lad with his father’s dark hair and his mother’s smile. A couple of years older than Emer, they had always been friends. He teased her unmercifully when they were children but they liked each other in spite of it. Lately though, his teasing had changed and often Emer caught his eye resting upon her, which made her uneasy. His presence at her bedside did not surprise her but his words did.

“Do you still want to go with us?” he
whispered.

“Yes,” Emer replied unhesitatingly
, “but how can I? Your grandfather forbade it.”

“Meet me at the big tree by the river when we set out. I’ll smuggle you aboard
and fetch you proper clothing as well.” Emer looked into the face of her friend. His dark eyes stared into hers and his features had sharpened over the last few months since she had seen him. He looked what his uncle had called him, a man, and she became suddenly shy.

“What will Dag say when he finds out?”

“He’ll probably wallop you and me as well, but he won’t throw you overboard. You’ll be on the ship going to
Stafi-oy
. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“
Yes.”

“Meet me then. If you’re not there, I can’t wait for you.”

“I’ll be there.” Emer confirmed, wondering what she had let herself in for. Olaf did not beat her often but she knew he treated her lightly compared to some fathers. Dag was a strong man and likely to be in a towering rage at her disobedience. She shrugged. If a beating was the price she had to pay to find her father, she would do so. Dag was unlikely to kill her and start a blood feud with her family.

Emer wondered if she would be fit enough to go on the voyage.
She wanted to prove Ragnar wrong, but there was no point in going if she would really be a burden. Gingerly, she put her feet on the floor. They did not ache as much as they had this morning. Obviously Renny’s ointment was working its magic. She pushed herself onto her knees and struggled to stand. She swayed at first then, biting her lip, she hobbled out of the door in the direction of the privy. No one would question her right to go there. She took the long way back to the longhouse, circling the village. She was not comfortable, nor did she move with her usual grace. Yet the exercise warmed her and she returned to her bed much encouraged. Finnr was waiting for her.

“I’ve brought you some clothes,” he said
, showing her a small bundle. “Boy’s things but they should fit. Put them on and cover up your hair. It’ll gleam if there’s a moon and it’s too long. You still want to come?”

“I
do, but why are you doing this for me, Finnr?”

“Because I know what you
’re feeling. I felt the same when Ragnar told me I couldn’t go.”

“
It’s not the same. I’m a girl, you’re a man.”

Finnr grinned. “You didn’t say that when we wrestled last autumn and you
pinned me down on the ground. Olaf taught you well and you’re strong or you wouldn’t have made it through the snow. You’ll survive. As Dag said, it’s the cold we have to face not armed warriors.” He rose. “Meet you at the tree.”

Emer did not close her eyes for the rest of the night. She was afraid
she would oversleep and be left behind. When the watchman came into the longhouse to rouse the sleepers, she crept outside and made her way down to the riverbank. Although she had often visited the village with her parents, she did not know it as well as she did the area around her home. She stumbled a few times before she got there. The big old tree loomed darkly against the first faint light of dawn. She leaned against the wood, heart pounding as she breathed in the icy air. She started to shiver and hoped that Finnr would not be long. Then she heard the tramp of feet and the occasional words as the men made their way down to the ship. Silence fell as they passed and she wondered if Finnr had forgotten her. Then a hand caught her shoulder and she almost jumped out of her skin.

“Quickly, put these on,” he hissed and thrust a
nother bundle into her arms. She tugged on the extra garments, wrapping the fur cloak round her thankfully. Finnr jammed a fur hat onto her head over the scarf she had wrapped round it. “Push all your hair inside,” he ordered. “In this light, you’ll do.”

He grabbed her hand and set of
f at a run, leaving the path at the first opportunity and circling round the marching men. They reached the boat as the watchman jumped ashore to greet Dag and the others. Finnr dragged Emer around the other side of the ship and boosted her aboard. Then he followed her and pushed her into an obscure corner, piling bits and pieces in front of her.

“Stay there until we’re too far out to take you back,” Finnr
ordered. “Keep still and don’t make any noise.”

He whisked himself away and sat down
it the bows, just in time. Emer peeped through a gap in the coverings and saw him leaning back nonchalantly.

“Ho! Look who’s here.” It was
a voice she knew — Tostig’s. “Couldn’t you sleep, lad?”

“I slept like
the dead,” Finnr replied, “but I don’t need hours to get to the boat, not like you lot! Ow!” Tostig had cuffed him.

“Well, if you’re so lively
, you can help push the boat out instead of lounging here. Be off with you.”

A scu
ffle and then the boat began to shift on the sand and slide forward as it was manoeuvred into the sea. The crew scrambled over the sides and picked up the long oars to row out into the bay. Emer made herself very small and pressed as tightly as she could against the creaking hull. Men sat near her, but no one bothered to remove the coverings and she breathed easier. She was very tired and, in spite of her cramped position and the sounds all around her, she must have dozed.

She was woken by a cry, “What have we got here?” Hands seized her and she was pulled
out her hiding place. “We’ve got a stowaway, Dag!”

She was shoved forward into the open space around the mast. Still groggy and shaking with fear now the moment of discovery
had come, she risked a quick glance around her. The island was a distant shadow behind them and the sail was set and drawing well. They were going fast and they were too far away from the island to take her back.

“Shall I throw him overboard?”
Someone asked. Emer cringed, knowing there was no way she would be able to swim to shore.

“Let’s have a look at him.” Dag strode up to her and plucked the hat from her head, allowing her braids to tumble down. “Not a lad
; a lass.” He turned her face to the light and the grip on her chin was bruising. “Emer Olafsdottir! What are you doing here? Ragnar ordered you not to come.”

“I brought her, Dag.” Finnr stepped between them and gazed up into his uncle’s eyes.
“I thought it right that she should come.” Dag did not answer. He drew back his hand and belted Finnr so hard he fell sprawling to the deck. “You young idiot. If she dies, it will be your responsibility and your father can take the honour payment out of your hide. More fool me for asking Kari to let me take you with us. I thought you had more sense. It’s not your place to
think
, only to obey.”

“It wasn’t like that,
Fadirbrodir
.” Finnr scrambled to his feet, his cheek already turning blue and his lip bleeding. “I’m grateful to you for persuading
Fadir
and
Modir
to let me come. Emer wants to find Olaf and I wanted to help her. She’s tough or I wouldn’t have brought her. She won’t be any trouble. She might remember other bits about what she saw that can help us find Nele. She’s more use to us here than sitting at home spinning.”

“So we need her, do we?” In spite of himself Dag grinned and some of the others laughed.

“The whelp’s like his father, Dag,” Tostig remarked. “Argues well.”

“I’ll give him argue.” Dag swung his arm again and Finnr cringed but the blow never fell. Dag stopped short and said,

“Remind me to search the ship before we put to sea in future. Finnr, understand me now. Do anything like this again and I’ll have the skin off your back and so will your father. No matter how well you talk, when you’re given an order, you obey it. No argument — or this is the last time I take you on any ship of mine. As for you…” He turned to Emer. “Stay out of the way. You can share Finnr’s rations, since we brought none for you. You’ll both be hungry but neither of you will starve. When we find your father, I’ll give him the pleasure of thrashing you himself.”

Finnr and Emer slunk away, getting as far as possible from the angry man. When she dared, Emer whispered
to Finnr,

“Your poor cheek. Let me wash it for you.”

Finnr shook his head. “It’s nothing. Keep still and let his anger cool or he may think better of his decision and beat us both.”

They both stayed as much out of the way as they could, like little mice hiding in the corn loft. They did not go hungry, since Finnr had foreseen the need and brought extra food for Emer. A few of the men spoke with them
, but Dag and Tostig both ignored them. It was not until they made landfall, several weary days later that things changed.

“
Stafi-oy
!” Lokki the lookout cried.

D
ark cliffs rose out of the sea. Everybody stood and looked in the direction Lokki was pointing. Even from so far away, the island was a peculiar shape
—
like a loaf of bread with a flattened top. The wind was fair at first but then it died away and the men had to get out the oars and row. Gradually, as they came nearer and rowed parallel to the shore, a huge black opening loomed out of the base of one of the hills. Emer gasped as she saw it.

“Do you recognise it?” Dag had come up behind her unheard and these were the first words he had spoken to her since her discovery.

“Yes. It is the place of my dreams.”

Dag raised his hand and signalled the men to row further inshore. The had not gone far, when Lokki called,

“Shoals straight ahead!”

“Turn north. There
is a place we can get ashore further up the coast.”

It was not an easy landing
. An inlet led through the rocks but it was far too narrow for the dragon ship. They launched a small skiff which only held three people. Dag and Tostig were two. Hrani stepped forward to be the third when Dag stopped him.

“Let the girl come. When Tostig brings the boat back
, send Finnr. We’ll see if he can be more use on land than he is at sea.” That raised a laugh and even Finnr smiled.

The trip was uncomfortable and several times it seemed as if the small skiff would be dashed against the rocks
. Tostig managed to swerve away from danger at the last moment. Emer’s clothes were dripping long before she waded ashore. The ground was full of pebbles, some of them huge boulders. It was not easy to walk. Dag and Emer scrambled forwards towards a strip of land which looked somehow familiar to Emer. The boat had just landed for the second time when Dag shouted,

“Come here, all of you
.” He waved something above his head.

When she got nearer, Emer could see that it was a piece of wood
, like the others which were scattered around the rocks. It meant nothing to her, but Tostig gave an oath as he took it from Dag and stared at it. He turned it over and pointed to some marks on the surface.

“
What are those?”

“The runes
Ansuz
and
Laguz
. All that is missing is
Uruz
and we have the word
Alu
.”

“
Fadir
carved ‘
Alu
’ onto his rudder…” Emer shuddered. “He was here then.”

“Many of our people carve th
at charm onto their boats for luck and protection. Certainly a boat has floundered here but it need not be his. Let’s search further.” Dag let the piece of wood drop and strode off. Emer, though, picked it up and tied it to her tunic.

The group quartered the shore but found nothing more and Dag ordered them back to the ship. Then he changed his mind. They
had almost reached the dragon ship when he shouted,

“We’re going on. I want to see this singing cave they talk about. Meet us off the headland and we’ll come out to you.”