"You all know why I've had to call this meeting. But I wanted you to hear the news from me. Halla Hardarsdottir fled to my lands, seeking protection from a man she fears. I cannot say if her fears are true. But she came to us of her own will, and Toki has offered her shelter. Now Hardar claims she has been kidnapped and demands her return. I would have been glad to do this, but he also demanded Toki's life. He refused a payment of silver instead. So now he has fled and vowed to return with allies. We are at war."
Men spoke all at once. Snorri and Toki sat at the front, and both turned to the crowd to ask their silence. Ulfrik let the initial reactions subside before he continued.
"War is all Hardar wants, and so he shall have it. Each of my hirdmen are worth three of his. He counts on allies and numbers to crush us. He is wrong. We will send his men to the feasting hall, seize his flocks and wealth, and put an end to his threat."
Men clapped or shouted in agreement, but not all did. The young and warlike seemed eager to find glory in the shield wall. But the older men, the family men, frowned or blinked silently. One voice shouted louder than the others. "You gamble all our lives for one man. Who wants war if not you?"
Ulfrik started at the accusation, and the rush of voices dropped. He recognized the man, an old farmer, and realized he had two sons in the hird. The pulse in Ulfrik's neck throbbed, even though he had expected such a rebuttal. "I know it seems an unfair trade. But if it were your life, would you feel the same? Toki did not commit the crime Hardar claims. He does not deserve death."
Toki hung his head and picked at the grass. Ulfrik felt an awkward mix of sympathy for his guilt and satisfaction at his suffering. His rash action had cost Ulfrik his peace. The crowd returned to grumbling, a few voices calling out in support and others demanding to reconsider. Ulfrik's patience flagged.
"Hardar has no right to demand any of our lives without better proof than his own stories. Where does it stop if I surrender Toki? Will he then demand another life for another imagined crime? Law must rule or we will have chaos."
"Where is his daughter now? If you return her, his rage might cool, but never if you keep her."
Ulfrik paused, knowing there was truth in the claim. He glanced again at Toki, who continued to hang his head. "She is my hostage now. Hardar will not dare much with his own daughter's life at stake."
"She is Toki's lover," shouted a voice from the back rows. "You keep her for his pleasure!"
Men stood and the uproar echoed over the field. Toki leapt up and spun to curse the anonymous accuser. Ulfrik paced from one end of the crowd to the other, waving men down and begging for calm. He wished he had something to bang or a horn to blast. But he could do no more than yell over the confused voices until he prevailed.
"Silence! By the gods, stop your bickering! Listen!" The crowd grumbled a few moments longer, then returned their attention to Ulfrik. "Now, I keep her as my hostage and she fulfills that role before any other. Hardar cannot gamble with the life of his only child. I am no murderer, and I could no more kill her than I could kill a baby. But if Hardar attacks and she is in the hall with your women, will he burn it down? Does that help you understand the benefit to her presence?"
Ulfrik folded his arms and glared at this man. He avoided Toki's gaze, even though he felt it hot upon his own. Just as it seemed calm might prevail, another voice rose up.
"Is it true Toki broke an oath to the gods when he took in Halla?"
Ulfrik felt as if he had swallowed ice. His belly fluttered at the question. "Who asked that?" Toki's oath had only been known to Ulfrik's closest men. None of them would have spread this secret, yet one had.
Silence blanketed the group. Every expression turned stony and every face turned to Ulfrik. He attempted to assemble a response, scrambling for the right words. But Toki jumped in front of Ulfrik as if to shield him from an arrow.
"My oath is to the gods and not to you. But I will answer, since my actions have brought worry to your homes. Yes, I vowed to never see Halla again. I made a mistake, and the gods will have their vengeance upon me." Toki's head drooped and his voice became a whisper. "And they have already begun. Guilt is a worm that eats my heart."
Ulfrik placed his hand on Toki's shoulder and guided him to his side. "It is as the old sayings go: 'Nothing good can happen to a man who breaks his solemn vows.' But it is not our place to judge Toki, for many of us have broken small oaths. And many of us have not dared to take a heavy oath, and tested our own will. Let the gods deal with Toki. We must deal with Hardar."
The assembled men shifted and looked away, but many still folded their arms in dissent. Ulfrik leaned toward Toki. "Don't worry, old friend. It is easy to make accusations. I will bring them around."
Toki shook his head. "It is not for you to bring them around to me. It is my task. You focus on Hardar."
Ulfrik patted Toki's back, then addressed the crowd again. "We have much to prepare. If we suspected Hardar of raiding sheep or disputing fishing grounds before, we can plan on worse aggression. I want the levy prepared, and each man to take their flocks upland if you haven't already. We will watch from the cliffs, prepare beacons to warn us if Hardar returns. In the meantime, I will plan our attack with my war leaders. That is all for tonight."
He waved his hand in dismissal, and the crowd divided and wandered away. Ulfrik watched the two groups forming: men who were prepared to fight and those who were not. He spoke to no one in particular. "No matter what my plans, the first battle will be at home."
Halla's eyes and head throbbed from two days of crying and worrying. Muscles she never knew existed burned after the struggle to hold fast during the storm at sea. Even now, safely on land, she still felt the violent rocking of the ocean. When she closed her eyes, her mind replayed Toki's friend tumbling overboard with an arrow in his back, his smile incongruent with the moment of death. She knew no peace, no rest, since that moment.
She sat at the edge of Toki's bed while Dana sat on the floor, picking at her tattered dress and humming softly. Toki's home made her feel like she was in a box. The small fire pit was unlit and the smoke hole open. A watery light spilled down and outlined Toki's few possessions that hid in the dark corners. The home was uninviting and unused, a place for ghosts and forgotten dreams.
One of her dresses was balled up and tossed into a corner. It had been ruined during the flight to this place. She and her mother had made it together. The thought of her mother brought shudders of sadness, but her tears were spent. She expected to never see her mother again. Everything she took from her old life was stuffed in a sealskin bag that now lay on Toki's bare dirt floor.
Dana noticed Halla was now sitting up, and leapt to her feet. Her delicate face was smeared with dirt, but her smile came through. "Lady Halla, I didn't realize you were awake. Master Toki is away, but promised to return soon."
"I never slept," Halla said, stiffly rising to her feet. "My mind is too busy for it."
"You need sleep," Dana chided. "You must look your best for Master Toki."
Halla's shoulders slumped. "He favored me well enough to risk his life. Let him see me as I am, which is tired and unhappy."
"Lady Halla, you have to charm the others too. You need friends here, if this is our new home."
Halla walked the short distance to the door, pushed it open and welcomed more light and fresh air. She didn't dare leave, as if crossing the threshold would commit her life to Nye Grenner forever. The thought of Nye Grenner being a new home had appeal, until her father had complicated that possibility. Now I will become a hostage, she thought while turning back inside. I am still a piece on my father's game board, only on his opponent's side. What have you gained for all you've done?