The Islands of the Blessed - Nancy

Thorgil returned from tending to the ponies and settled herself on the grass. She, at least, was in a good mood. The long ride and misadventure at the monastery had amused her. Her cheeks were rosy and the sun had brought out a spray of freckles on her nose. She was as finely dressed as a young knight. But where a year ago she had been easily mistaken for a lad, subtle changes had occurred. Her waist was more defined, her mouth was softer, her chest—

Jack looked away. No matter how hard Thorgil attempted to hide it, her chest definitely hadn’t stayed the same.

“An acorn for your thoughts,” the shield maiden said.

Jack felt his face grow hot. “I was trying to think where the Tanners might be hiding.”

“They’ll be easy to find,” Thorgil said.

“Easy! Where in this rats’ nest of a town do we start looking?” cried the Bard.

“We don’t have to look. Remember, Mrs. Tanner practically promised to marry my brother. He certainly thinks so.” Thorgil pulled up strands of grass and began chewing on them.

“Schlaup?” said the Bard, sitting bolt upright. “My stars! You’re a genius, Thorgil!”

“I know,” said the shield maiden, idly chewing.

They galloped back to the harbor in the gathering dusk. Egil and his crew had made camp on the beach. By day the men could pass for Saxons, but now, roaring songs and cavorting around a giant bonfire, they were clearly something else. A few women they had managed to lure from town huddled together in a frightened group. One of the crewmen swung a woman around in a wild dance, ignoring her screams.

“Haw! Haw! Haw!” laughed the Northmen. “She’s playing hard to get!” Kegs of beer, half buried in sand, were strewn around.

“Dragon Tongue,” cried Egil, rising as the ponies were reined in. “Have you found lodgings? You’re so late, we were beginning to worry about you.”

“Turn those women loose!” said the Bard, dismounting. “Thor’s thunderbolts! Do you want the whole town down on us? Go on, shoo, you silly geese!” He pointed his staff at the women and they fled. He pulled the dancing crewman away from his captive.

“I was only flirting,” the man grumbled. The last woman sped after the others.

The Bard sat down on a beer keg and mopped his brow. “Once and for all, get it through your heads: No pillaging. This is a trading mission. You can’t just carry off anyone you take a fancy to. Egil, I expected you to have them better trained.”

The captain grinned, not the least repentant. “Yes, sir. I’ll have a talk with them. I have to say, though, that those ladies were eager to come here when it was still light.”

“I’m sure they were,” the Bard said, sighing. “There’s feather-heads in every port. Now we have a very serious problem.” He explained about the loss of Fair Lamenting and the dire consequences if it were rung. “We need Schlaup’s assistance.”

“Schlaup?” echoed Egil. “Begging your pardon, Dragon Tongue, but if you think a little innocent pillaging is going to stir things up, wait till the townsfolk see a half-troll walking their streets.”

“I know,” the old man said, shaking his head, “but he’s our best hope. If we’re lucky, the whole thing can be accomplished under cover of darkness. Any late-night drunk who encounters Schlaup will think he’s hallucinating.”

With much complaining, and threats and blows from Egil, the crewmen unloaded the ship’s cargo. Half of them remained behind to stand guard and the other half took up the oars. This would be a dangerous voyage in near complete darkness. The Bard stood at the prow to navigate.

The night was moonless. Sandbanks and islets lay in their path, but when the Bard held out his staff, the sea was covered by an eerie glow. Waves foaming against rocks shone whitely. The water was as clear as glass with the sand below a pale green.

The Northmen had started out in a mutinous mood, but when they saw the strange light, they quieted down. Jack felt the fear radiating from them as they pulled the heavy oars. A bard that could do this kind of magic could turn them all into dolphins and order them to tow the ship.

When they reached the hidden inlet where Skakki’s ship lay, Egil blew a loud blast on a ram’s horn. Torches suddenly flared on the shore. Men scrambled for their weapons. Grinning with satisfaction, Egil guided his craft to shore.

“You rotten pile of fish guts!” screamed Skakki. “What do you mean sneaking up on us in the middle of the night? What’s the matter? Did the ladies of Bebba’s Town get a whiff of you and throw you out?”

“On the contrary, he threw the ladies out,” Egil said, pointing at the Bard. “But we have a problem and we need Schlaup.” After a quick conference it was decided to take Skakki’s ship. Speed was necessary, for they would need to ferry the half-troll there and back again before sunrise. Soon the swift, sleek karfi left the dock, with the Bard providing directions and Jack and Thorgil crouching beside Rune in the stern. Jack and Thorgil had changed into sturdy work clothes and were bundled up in cloaks. The midnight air had turned cold.

Rune manned the rudder. He might be crippled by old age, he told Jack and Thorgil, but his sense of place in the sea was as good as ever. Even without the Bard’s light, he could have remembered the way. “You feel that breeze?” he said. “It comes from a stream that cuts through hills on the mainland. It’s like a warm current in the cold sea air. Directly opposite is a tiny island. You can feel the breeze reflected back, along with the smell of bird poop.”

“I didn’t have a chance to ask the Bard,” Jack said after a while. “What’s so special about Schlaup?”

Thorgil laughed. “Everything’s special about my brother.”

“Schlaup has a skill the rest of us lack,” explained Rune. “You’ve noticed how he’s riveted on Mrs. Tanner. Love-smitten he is, the poor ignorant lout, while she’s as winsome as a box full of adders.”

“I think the whole situation is disgusting,” said Jack.

“Aye, you’re right there,” Rune said. “Our Schlaup deserves better. Did you notice how he kept sniffing Mrs. Tanner’s braid?”

“Yes… why, he’s like you,” said Jack as the realization dawned on him. “He has a memory for smells.”

“Schlaup’s ability beats me hollow,” admitted Rune.

“He inherited the gift from his mother,” Thorgil said proudly. “A Jotun can track an elk through fifty miles of forest.”

“He can sort Mrs. Tanner’s musty stench from a thousand others,” Rune said, turning the rudder to avoid an islet. The sound of crashing waves passed to the right. “Things should get interesting when we reach Bebba’s Town.”

Amidships, where there was less danger of capsizing the vessel, the large shape of the half-troll loomed. He had not yet been told what his task would be and so he sat, humming a tuneless song through his front teeth. All around, the green glow from the Bard’s staff fell into the sea and landed on the sand far below.

They reached Bebba’s Town and slid into a berth. Schlaup lumbered ashore, causing the dock to creak dangerously and Skakki’s ship to sway.

“Schlaup Olaf’s Son, I have a little chore for you,” the Bard said. “Do you remember Mrs. Tanner and her daughters?”

The giant bobbed his head enthusiastically. “Nice,” he rumbled.

“That’s a matter of opinion, my friend. Do you think you could find them?”

“Oh, yes!” said the giant.

“Now I want you to listen very carefully,” the Bard said. “Jack is coming with you.” The boy looked up, startled. “He’s my apprentice and will tell you what to do. Jack, your task is to search for Fair Lamenting. Find it quickly, and for Freya’s sake, don’t ring it. You must return before dawn. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” said the boy.

“Oh, and, Schlaup? Carry Jack on your shoulders. He won’t be able to keep up.”

The half-troll scooped up the boy. Jack suddenly found himself seated behind Schlaup’s bristly head and tentatively touched an ear. It was as scaly as it had looked from a distance. Schlaup swayed back and forth, snuffing the breeze, opening first one nostril and then the other as the hobgoblins did. Thorgil had explained that this gave trolls depth of smell, much as two eyes gave a man depth of vision. It was one reason why Jotuns were such excellent trackers.

“Gaaahhhh,” sighed Schlaup.

“That means he’s located Mrs. Tanner,” Skakki said. He handed the giant a flaming torch to light the way. “Go with good fortune, my brother, and may Heimdall’s eyes aid you, young skald,” he said, invoking the Northman god who guarded Asgard. “Find Tanners!”

Schlaup was off like a hound after a fox. He bounded through darkened streets and across the small gardens many of the townspeople maintained. His feet flattened cabbages, lettuces, and broad beans. Around and through the warren of houses he went, with Jack clinging on desperately and the flames of the torch streaming back.

They passed beyond the edge of town and entered an area of widely spaced hovels. It smelled vile, and Jack realized they had reached the dwellings of those who worked at trades normal folk wouldn’t tolerate nearby. The reek of tanneries, the eye-watering tang of chicken manure, the choking fume of smelters were almost unbearable even at this time of night.

Schlaup stopped abruptly and emitted a sigh of pure happiness. He plucked Jack off his neck, shoving the torch into the boy’s hands. “She’s in there,” he whispered, pointing at a structure surrounded by steaming pits.

Jack shaded his eyes, trying to see what kind of place they’d come to. It seemed to be a wasteland, far from other buildings. The hovel in front of them was slowly collapsing on one side, like a giant beast frozen in the act of lying down. The pits, to go by the stench, were filled with hides soaking in urine. A tannery, then. It wasn’t surprising. Mrs. Tanner’s husband had followed that craft until he staggered out drunk one night and drowned in one of his own pits.

This dwelling wasn’t even as tall as a man. Jack guessed you’d have to crawl through the door to get to bed, though he couldn’t glorify that entrance with the word door. It was merely a hole with a leather curtain in front of it.

Schlaup didn’t bother with the curtain. He peeled back the roof and felt around inside. “Troll-flower,” he warbled, lifting a shrieking Mrs. Tanner in his hands. More screams erupted from the darkness.

“All of you, be quiet!” ordered Jack. He didn’t want the neighbors aroused. “Your lives depend on silence. I’ll call up demons if you don’t behave.”

The screams stopped, and Jack heard muttering and rustling from inside. “It’s that wizard,” a voice whispered. All at once the leather curtain fell back and Ymma and Ythla scuttled out.

“Fetch Tanners,” Jack commanded.

Schlaup scooped them up easily and held all three in a hearty embrace. “Nice,” he cooed.

A man attempted an escape, and Jack held him at bay with the torch. “If you move one inch, I’ll tell my friend to bite off your head,” the boy said. The man fell to his knees.