By now the rest of his crew had recovered. Several huddled around their fallen companion, while Snorri joined Ulfrik at the prow.
"They laid a trap for us, lad. Thank the gods they were stupid enough to spring it early."
Ulfrik's fist beat the neck of the prow as he watched the ships glide farther into the distance. A black fletched arrow had sunk into it, and he snapped the shaft out of the wood. He held the broken arrow out for Snorri. "I'll put ten of these into each of those bastards. I swear it, Snorri."'
"And so do I." He took the shaft from Ulfrik's hand, then tossed it into the water. "But we don't have enough men on this ship to take on two of theirs. We barely escaped with our lives, except for Thorstein."
Shame immediately overtook Ulfrik. Einar had grabbed the tiller and several men worked the oars to keep clear of the cliffs. The rest stood dejectedly over Thorstein. He no longer squirmed on deck and a thick puddle of black blood spread beneath him.
The men parted for Ulfrik as he knelt beside the body. Thorstein's eyes stared into the trackless skies, and his hand clenched in death on the hilt of his sword. Ulfrik stroked his eyelids closed, then bowed his head.
"Our brother has gone on to the feasting hall. His was a warrior's death, one we will not grieve but forever remember. Keep him in your hearts when we avenge his death. We will follow their ship at a safe distance. They may raid Ingrid's hall on their way home. We must discourage them from that idea. Someone help me wrap Thorstein's body, and the rest of you get on an oar."
Snorri began to shift Thorstein's corpse to retrieve his blood-soaked cloak. Ulfrik cast his gaze north from beneath a furrowed brow. His flocks would not be recovered, and yet another dead man and another defeat marked a day closer to the arrival of winter.
Ulfrik licked grease from his fingers, then guzzled the bitter beer from his wooden mug. The stew had lacked flavor and the meat was overcooked, but his stomach had been filled. Leaning back on the bench at the high table, he glanced past Ingrid sitting before him. Behind her, embers in the hearth throbbed and the scant light of day slanted from the smoke hole. Doors hung open to let in gauzy light and fresh air, but nothing could clear the stale mood from the men silently chewing their meals at the long trestle tables. Ingrid had fulfilled her obligations to Ulfrik, ordering a feast prepared in welcome and surrendering her hall while he visited. However, burying Thorstein earlier in the day had soured everyone's mood.
Ingrid hid her age well enough, but Ulfrik spotted the gray in her platinum hair and the lines clustered at her eyes. Her half-smile irked him, as if she enjoyed his defeat, though his suffering was hers as well. Their fortunes were tied through marriage and sacred oaths. She rubbed her chin, then looked back to her bowl.
"Do you think they'll return?" Toki, who lived here with his wife, Halla, offered to take Ulfrik's mug for a refill.
"And why not?" Ulfrik said, handing over the mug. "I would come back until I'd taken everything I could."
His gloomy comment drew sidelong glances from the men at the lower tables. Forgetting himself, Ulfrik straightened his posture and tried to brighten his voice.
"But if we are united, and take this fight north, we will be victorious. We are the men of Nye Grenner, and we defend our own."
Ingrid smiled and glanced sideways. Halla sat beside her, and shared a fleeting smile with her mother. Ulfrik mistrusted the two of them, because Halla looked more like her father every year than for any other reason. Now that she had married, her hair was pulled into bun and hid under a covering. It was unflattering, and strengthened her resemblance to Hardar. But Toki was her husband, and he trusted him above anyone else. Still, his mood on this day was easily ruined.
"Do you not believe it, Ingrid? We cannot defeat those northern scum?"
"Why doubt my belief, Lord Ulfrik?" Her wide eyes sparkled and she put a blue-veined hand to her chest. "Of course we can defeat any enemy we choose. For some reason, we have not chosen to destroy them yet."
Toki returned to the bench with a filled mug running over with thin foam. "We've been merciful," he said as he sat between Ulfrik and Snorri. "But now they've gone too far. Almost a whole flock gone! They'll pay in blood."
Ulfrik's flaring temper cooled at Toki's timely interjection. Both he and Snorri shared happily surprised looks, since Toki's words historically worsened matters rather than smooth them over. Attacking his refilled beer with relish, Ingrid jumped into the gap.
"Mercy is a fine quality. But I fear it is wasted on Skard and Thorod. They have never understood mercy, mistaking it for weakness."
"Christ taught us to be merciful just as our Father is merciful." Halla's face beamed as if her statement was more profound than anything ever spoken. Ulfrik grimaced.
"My father would've cut the balls off the lot of them, then nailed their heads to his mast. I'll take my own father's counsel in this."
Laughter circulated around the room, which Ulfrik welcomed; it masked over the insult Ingrid had slipped at him. Disregarding Halla's sullen frown, he met Ingrid's cold eyes. She had appeared dutiful and loyal, despite fears she would side with her dead husband's family. Yet at the same time, her former family took no revenge on her and left her lands alone. He wondered at this luck.
"Those are all fine words, Lord Ulfrik. But the fact remains Skard and Thorod sail freely along our coasts. They've refilled their crews and now test your armor. Today they found a gap in your mail."
Silence settled over the hall, and Ingrid gently tilted her chin forward. Halla gasped then studied her lap, while others turned on their benches to watch. Ulfrik's stomach tightened and he felt his lip curling, but he bridled his anger and reminded himself to be firm and confident for his men.
"What they found was the path up the northern cliffs. Call it a gap in my mail, if it pleases you. But those two fools have gone beyond what I'm willing to tolerate from them. I've conserved my strength, ignoring those scavengers to focus on better things. Now they've invited me to war, which I will not give them. Instead, they'll get slaughter."
The hall erupted with shouts of agreement and oaths of vengeance. Toki patted Ulfrik's shoulder and added his own curse on the two cousins, Skard and Thorod. However, Ingrid did not waver in holding Ulfrik's eyes.
"Their strength matches our own, and soon will outnumber us. You couldn't even follow them today." Her voice came thin but confident over the roars of the men. "How will you bring this slaughter?"
"I have no fears of those two cowards." Ulfrik shoved away from the table, and stood. He threw back his cloak, so his gold and silver armbands gleamed in the shadowy light. "Your men and my own are more than a match for the bandits and scum those two recruit."
Ingrid's brow raised and a wry smile twisted her lips. Ulfrik knew he had accused the cousins of the very thing he did to fill his ranks. Her smirk further tested his control, and he balled his fists.
"What they've done today is murder. It's more than Thorstein, many more. Without our flocks, what do we eat in winter? How do we keep warm? What do we have when the traders come for wool? They're killing our people, and so they must die!"
"I did not ask why we should destroy them." Ingrid now stood, which gave Ulfrik and the others pause. "I asked how you plan to do it."
"Do not challenge me, woman." Ulfrik's voice lowered. "That I've vowed to destroy them is good enough for you. Your oath requires you and your men to obey me. So obey!"
His command broke across the hall like thunder, and many eyes turned to the floor or looked aside. Ingrid's haughty confidence melted and she slowly took her seat as Ulfrik glared at her. Not satisfied, he continued.