Medieval 5: K and Y 5 The Norwegian Hag, part 2 of 2

Kirstie

As Kirstie squirted away from the men and ran toward the docks, she soon found a couple of fairies overhead and a couple of elves that ran with her. She ignored all of the fighting that went on around her. She hoped she would not come around a corner and find herself in the middle of it. Oddly enough, it never occurred to her to ask Elgar, or Diogenes or the Princess, or even better, the Nameless god to run for her. When she thought of Nameless, she got a clear picture of exactly where the hag was located and adjusted her run accordingly.

She arrived before an open space and saw the hag beside a building that saddled up to the water’s edge. Her men were hunkered down in and around the building, holding back the seventy from the ships that had come to shore. “It’s just a little old lady,” Kirstie said, surprised. One of the elves nodded as she pulled her long knife defender and looked at it closely, wondering how one kills a hag.

The hag started to yell but stopped suddenly. Kirstie saw the head turn and look in her direction. Then the hag began to change. The hag grew and became covered everywhere with hair. She ended up about seven feet tall and let out a roar that would have frightened a bear. Kirstie stepped from her place when she saw Frode and Rune with many men catching up. She stopped when she got struck by an arrow. It bounced off her chain mail, but it would leave a small bruise and she said, “Ouch.”

The fairies responded. That man did not live long, and in fact all the men on that side of the building either died or had to duck where they would be no threat. Kirstie just wondered what her elves were doing when she saw Chief Birger come racing up with some men in his trail. Those men from Strindlos attacked the building from the other side and took many of the hag’s defenders with them into death. Chief Birger attacked the hag and planted his bloodaxe directly in her chest. She scoffed and pulled it out.

“No weapon forged by men can hurt me,” she said, and with lightning speed, the monstrous hag crushed the chief and left his own axe in his own chest.

Kirstie looked again at Defender. She wondered if it would even make a scratch on such a beast. She knew her sword was too heavy for her even if it was not made by men. She did not know what to do.

The elves fired and three flaming arrows struck the hag in the chest. She roared. She felt those arrows not made by men, but then the flames spread, and the hag looked like she became even bigger and stronger. At eight feet, a ball of flame, she roared again in an even deeper, more powerful, and frightening sound.

“Look out!” the word came from over her shoulder. Vortesvin, the mountain troll rushed past her like a cannon ball. He was not quite as tall as the hag, but he was as wide. Kirstie wanted to shout, “No!” but she could not get her mouth to move as she watched, stunned. The hag swung an arm, and Kirstie knew that swing would take even the troll’s head right off, but the troll had ducked. It had no intention of fighting the hag. It tackled her instead, and while she shoved the troll away, she lost her balance and tipped straight back into the sea.

Kirstie heard the scream. It sounded like the old lady screaming as the fire that covered the beast went out all at once. Massive amounts of steam poured into the air, and Kirstie raced forward to see. The elves and fairies came with her to cover her. Frode and Rune and their men came behind, wary about getting too close to a mountain troll. Chief Birger’s men from Strindlos also came from the other side of the building, but carefully. They found the Vanlil stopped resisting and appeared to be willing to surrender.

Kirstie looked into the water’s edge. The monster had turned mostly back into the old lady, but she appeared to be melting. It would not take long for whatever melted hag remained to be carried out to sea and vanish in the deep. Kirstie looked up and saw Lord Amber there.

“Abraxas, son of Janus and Morrigu, born just before the dissolution of the gods, is the god of fire and water. He claims to be a god over good and evil, but no one has seen the good in him. The creature of Abraxas, the hag is empowered by the fire and water. Thus, she must be set on fire first, though it is a dangerous thing if there is no water handy because it makes her much bigger and stronger. The water that follows right away puts out the fire and breaks the bond of life in the creature. They end up melting as you see.”

Kirstie looked up and nodded. “Thank you very much. Thank Lord Bjork and Bellflower. Thank all the elves and fairies, and the dwarfs, though you might tell Booturn if you see him, I am thinking of having words with him.”

The five exiled men at the king’s house slept on the king’s ship, but the fifty Vanlil, not being sailors, camped on the ground around the burned house where they could keep their eye on the men camped in the king’s field. The dwarfs were told that any man who got to the ship should be allowed to surrender, so they moved in first to make a wall between the Vanlil and the ship so none could go there, then they proceeded to chop the Vanlil to pieces. The exiled men on the ship were presently cowering in the bow as far from the dock as they could get while the dwarfs taunted them, called them cowards, and told them to come to the dock so they could get their reward.

Kirstie shook her head and hugged Lord Amber briefly while she told him he better go. “And take that smelly mountain troll with you, please.”

Lord Amber smiled for her and faded from sight until the elves all vanished, taking Vortesvin with them. The fairies were already gone. The dwarfs eventually marched back to the mountains singing some strange marching song, and for nearly a decade after, people reported they could still hear the song echoing in the wilderness.

Mother Vrya caught up with Kirstie on the docks. She said now she had to go to work. Kirstie nodded and traded places with Mother Greta and said she would help, but when it came to the arrow in Kerga’s leg, she had to let Doctor Mishka take a turn. In fact, Doctor Mishka removed plenty of arrows that day, and Mother Vrya and Inga stood right there, looking over her shoulder, learning all they could.

When the day was done and Kirstie finally got to come home, she backed Captain Stenson and Frode into a corner. “Rune, you are no navigator, and Frode, you are a good skipari, but you are not any better as a navigator. My father taught me all there is to know about navigating the seas. I have all of his old charts and equipment and know how to use it. You take your new longship and go on your practice trading voyages, and when you get lost and have a hard time getting home, you come and see me. By then, I should be old enough and practiced enough with my weapons to sail with you and be your navigator. I’ll be ready when you are.” She harumphed at them and walked off without letting them object. They looked at each other and shook their heads, but that was what they did.

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MONDAY

Kirstie plans to sail off on an adventure with Rune and Frode, but first she needs to review her father’s notes on navigation, then she needs to learn to use those weapons she is carrying. Until Monday, Happy Reading

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Medieval 5: K and Y 5 The Norwegian Hag, part 1 of 2

Kirstie

There were no incidents in the night, and Kirstie actually slept well when she did not expect to sleep at all. Mother Vrya and one of the Witcher Women came with her so she would not be the only female among so many men. Who knew what the men were told, but they kept away from her in the night as well. Rune and his number one, Frode kept a good watch, so that may have had something to do with it.

The men gathered even as the sun first touched the horizon. They moved on the town as quietly as a bunch of clunky men could move, and as far as they knew, they would surprise the enemy. Thus far, neither the people of the town, who were likely under house arrest, nor the Vanlil nor the exiles showed any sign that they knew an army was on their doorstep. Kirstie, however, got a different word.

Svator came to her first thing and said the hag must have discerned their plans. She had men in the houses, the ones they had not burned, and they were prepared to repel the attack. Kirstie took a moment to hear from Elgar, Diogenes, and the Princess about what to do.

“Halt,” she said and sent Rune’s men to get the advance to halt because otherwise they would not see in the dim light. They made a ragged line, but Chief Birger and a couple of other chiefs at least came to Kirstie to ask why they halted.

“They are prepared for us, thanks to the hag. I’ll be sending the fairies in to try and route out their defenses and at least throw them into some confusion. Chief Birger, you need to take about forty or fifty men, about a full shipload to the east side. Don’t worry, the elves there will let you in and keep the dwarfs away.” She spoke to the Chief of Oglo. “You need to take about forty or fifty men to the west side. I want you to attack them from the side before the main army arrives. If you hit the sides, maybe even get a bit around to their back, they should feel like they are in a trap and need to escape. I do not want you to try and trap them. They do outnumber us two to one. I just want them to feel like they are being trapped when the main army comes up in front of them. They should pull back, and hopefully begin the exodus toward the docks and the fjord. Is that clear?”

The chiefs nodded and Chief Birger paused to say, “When did you get so smart?”

Kirstie smiled a little. “I have good teachers, Elgar included.”

“I figured there was more than one in there,” he said and left, and Kirstie did not feel obliged to correct him. The others were not in her. They were in their own time, living their own lives. When she borrowed them, they traveled through time to take her place in the present. Where she went at that time was a mystery, but in any case, that was more or less how it worked.

“Should we start moving?” Rune asked, but Kirstie shook her head. She looked at Svator who got big to present himself around the humans as a hunter dressed in his green outfit. Svator looked at the sky, but Kirstie knew he was not looking at the sky. He was listening for the reports from the fairies watching over the Chief of Oglo and Chief Birger and waiting to first tell the fairies on the edge of town to start the bombardment of the enemy positions, and then tell the humans to resume their slow march to the town. All of that did not take very long. It was all rather sloppy work, but by the time the hundred and fifty with Kirstie reached the town, the enemy had abandoned their positions and headed toward the docks.

The fairies hidden around the docks had to send the message to Buttercup and the waiting ships. Lord Amber moved a few elves in toward the docks as well to alert Yrsa when the time was right to make double sure the message got received by Captain Kerga. Those fairies and elves had to work hard to make sure the enemy did not escape aboard the ships before the trap could be set. Even so, fifteen men, twelve of whom were exiles who knew how the ships worked, made it to one karve and got it out into the deeper water. Captain Kerga on the lead ship caught them in the river delta.

The struggle in the delta did not last long. Kerga had some forty-five men aboard his longship. His longship was not damaged, though the karve burned. Kerga lost five men in the mele, and seven were wounded. None of the fifteen were allowed to surrender. Captain Kerga himself took an arrow in his thigh, but he ignored it and got his ship back out into the fjord and into position before anyone else could escape.

The other two longships sent longboats with men to take the actual docks. Shortly after that, two of the karve pulled up to the docks and unloaded. That put about seventy men on the docks itself, and the fairies and elves continued to strike at whatever enemy stuck his head up. Of course, they had to be careful not to shoot any of the men from Kerga’s little fleet.

There were some face-to-face fights in the streets among the mostly burned buildings. The Vanlil were not sailors, and besides, they were being driven by the will of the hag who herself did not have a very good military mind. Any human commander would have sued for peace almost from the start, at least as soon as their plan to repel the invaders went bust. Certainly, when Captain Kerga’s fleet arrived to blockade the town, even Lord Cornwallis would have surrendered. But the hag seemed to enjoy the death and killing, and seemed willing to sacrifice every life she controlled, even if and when she realized she was not going to win.

Soon enough, Kirstie knew she had to confront the hag, like it or not. She called to her armor and weapons and made a side comment to Mother Vrya. “The men will need healing hands when this is over,” though she supposed Mother Vrya was thinking the same thing. Kirstie turned to Frode who looked surprised when she became clothed in her armor. Frode was the one Rune commanded to stay with her and keep her safe. “I’ll square things with Captain Stenson when I get back.” Kirstie squirted away from the men and ran toward the docks.

Medieval 5: K and Y 4 Battle Plans, part 2 of 2

Kirstie

Elgar called. “Stovelurne.” That was the chief dwarf’s proper name in the land, though when the dwarf chief appeared out of nowhere, and the men shouted, and the dwarf shouted with them, Elgar reverted to his native Old English to name him. “Booturn, your people will behave when we camp in the night, won’t they?”

Booturn shook his head to clear it and took a quick look around the room before he answered. “We will keep to our own place in the night. We will even feed Vortesvin, the mountain troll, so he won’t go looking for a snack in the night.” He grinned. He just could not help himself. “But I must say this.” He turned serious. “When the fighting starts, the mudders better stay away from the king’s house. Truth is many dwarfs can’t tell the difference between one human and another, so you best leave us alone to do our work.”

“Maybe we should give the king’s house a wide berth,” one man said.

Svator spoke to the men, which surprised some of the men. “They know we are coming. As long as you are with Lord Elgar, the dwarfs will behave.” He looked at Elgar as Booturn sighed and nodded.

Elgar continued. “We will camp in the king’s south field tonight to be ready to assault the south end of the town at first light. Just remember, we are not there to engage them in battle, just drive them to the water. God willing, that will be where they think to go in order to escape aboard whatever ships they are able to capture. Svator and his people will fly cover. They will route out any attempt to gather the enemy forces to counterattack, so do not be surprised if you see fairies land on a roof, get big, and use their bows expertly.”

“But look,” Chief Birger was thinking. “What if they don’t go for the ships? You said the Vanlil are not sailors. What is to prevent them from slipping out of town to the east and west as soon as we begin our attack on the south? They can then gather in the wilderness and come up with a new plan, as you said, and we will be right back in the same mess.”

Elgar shook his head. “Lord Amber,” he called, and the elf lord appeared beside Svator, not entirely disoriented at first. The shouts were a little less this time. “The elves of light have positioned themselves in the east and west to prevent that very thing.”

Lord Amber bowed to Elgar. “Lord. My people are in position. We will not let any escape into the wild even if we have to chase them down.”

“I still think we should be allowed to chase the ones on our side,” Booturn spoke up. “You can trust us not to let any escape.”

“Yes,” Elgar said. “And leave bits and pieces of chopped up humans all over the woods. I don’t think so. Besides, there are dark elves just itching to be part of the action. If any should escape Lord Amber’s people, it will be much worse for them in the woods at night.” Elgar paused and let that thought settle among the men in the room. He saw from the horror painted on several faces what the men thought about that. “You stick to your assignment and stay off the King’s ship. If they escape to the skied, the longship, you need to let them surrender.”

Booturn sighed again. “It won’t be easy,” he said, but he nodded.

Elgar looked around the room and spoke to his little ones. “Thank you for helping these men understand that we have a good chance to stop these exiled chiefs and their Jamts in their tracks. Please go back to your people,” he said. “Svator, you need to get small and keep your eyes on the proceedings.” Svator got small, and when Elgar waved his hand, and Booturn and Lord Amber disappeared, Svator sped back to hide in the rafters at such a speed, it looked to the men that he disappeared too. “Please tell the ones outside that it is safe to come back in.” Elgar said. “Only humans here now, and we need all-hands-on-deck to prepare. And I’ll not hear any bad talk about men who acted in a perfectly natural human way. Save that coward talk for any who might run away in battle. I hope no one will.”

Captain Kerga appeared sensitive to the few who came back into the big house and sat in the back. He spoke right away, “So, now all we have to do is figure out the timing, so we bring our ships in at the right time to block the port.”

“The timing will be difficult,” Elgar said. “If the ships arrive before the enemy is backed to the water, they may yet find a way to slip out from our fingers. On the other hand, if the ships arrive too late, the enemy may grab the ships in the town dock and slip out into the fjord.” Elgar thought for a second when he heard Yrsa speak up, contrary to all etiquette where women only spoke in the council when given permission.

“Perhaps we can help.”

“Of course,” Inga understood what Yrsa was suggesting. “The three of us can ride in Captain Kerga’s ship and the other ships can follow his lead.” She stood to speak so Yrsa stood with her, and Captain Kerga asked an obvious question.

“The three of you?” Kerga glanced at Mother Vrya, but Mother Vrya shook her head.

“Buttercup, show yourself,” Elgar insisted.

A little head poked out from Inga’s hair. “Do I have to?”

Elgar smiled. “You have to,” he said. “In fact, I think you should come over here and face me.” Elgar made it a command, but he tried hard to not smile as he said it.

Buttercup came but stopped out of arm’s reach. “But I like Kirstie,” she said. “You’re too scary.” Several men around the room snickered.

Elgar looked at Captain Kerga, who stared at the fairy as he stared at all the little ones. He opted to call Kerga’s number one, what some might call the first mate. “Jarl the Younger,” he called, and the man came. He looked delighted to see the fairy. “This is Jarl, Buttercup. When your father or Svator, or Eik, or one of the other Fee send you word to go, will you tell Jarl to go. Shout it nice and loud when that happens. Your friend Inga can remind you. Would that be okay?”

Buttercup took a moment to fly around Jarl. It got him to turn once all the way around, but Buttercup, in that annoying fairy habit, stayed always barely in his peripheral vision until she faced Elgar again. “He seems nice. I can do that.”

“Very good. Thank you. You can go back and visit Inga again.”

“Goody,” she said, and fast as a bolt of lightning she hid once again in Inga’s hair. Elgar saw the smile that colored Inga’s face and turned to Yrsa.

Yrsa did not need to be prompted. “I can also say go when Father sends word to my heart.”

“Your father?” Jarl asked, young man that he was.

Yrsa stared at Elgar. Elgar lifted his hand briefly, so everyone caught a glimpse of the elf under Yrsa’s glamour of humanity. “Don’t go there,” Elgar told Jarl. That was one complication he did not need, or rather, Kirstie did not need it, young as she was.

“Well, Saxon,” Chief Birger rubbed his hands. “You seem to have covered all the angles.”

“No pun intended, I am sure,” Elgar mumbled, when Mother Vrya stood and spoke.

“Not all the angles. What do you propose we do about the hag, the power behind this Vanlil invasion?”

Rune Stenson also stepped forward and had something to say. “And these spirits of nature. We have all heard terrible stories. Can they be trusted?”

“More than most men,” Elgar answered Rune and went away from that place to let Kirstie come home in case any of the men present had forgotten. “The hag will be my responsibility,” she said. “And concerning the little ones, they don’t like their word and loyalty questioned, so Rune, you and your crew better stay with me. You can keep me safe when the fighting starts. And as for the rest of you, if any of you hurts a fairy, elf, or dwarf, even by accident, I dread to see what punishment will await you. Remember, they are on our side. Normally, they would not be permitted to interfere with a human conflict, even with a power on the other side. In this case, we do not have enough men to assault the town and block the port at the same time. So, they are allowed to be part of the action as long as they… as long as we all stick to our assignments.”

Inga spoke up into the silence that followed. “You will not be going with us in Captain Kerga’s ship.” She made a statement, but it was really a question.

Kirstie shook her head and said, “Come on.” She headed toward the door. “I want to have a snack and gather my things before I have to walk all the way to the king’s field.”

Medieval 5: K and Y 4 Battle Plans, part 1 of 2

Kirstie

Word came from the fairies Eik and Svator that the enemy overran the king’s house on the sixth day, even as the ships from Olvishaugr arrived in Strindlos Bay with a hundred men from the north. The enemy burned the king’s house to the ground. Svator was surprised that even at that distance the people in Strindlos could not see the great cloud of black smoke that wafted into the sky.

 Chief Birger’s spies arrived in the morning. They traveled through the night to get back first thing in the morning and reported that there were about four hundred men gathered to attack the town. By the fourth hour, about ten o’clock, the chiefs from Oglo, Frosta, and further north arrived in the big house and Captain Kerga took the lead in explaining the situation as well as he knew it. They began to argue about the best way to attack the enemy and drive them back into the mountains.

When the women arrived outside the big house, Inga asked. “Are we ready?”

Yrsa and Buttercup both nodded. They spent the night avoiding the widows, though Mother Vrya saw Buttercup fluttering around twice, and saw Yrsa once. Mother Vrya did not appear surprised on seeing the fairy in Kirstie’s company. Yrsa, of course, wore a glamour that made her appear human, and there were plenty of strangers in Strindlos by then, though not many women. In any case, Mother Vrya said nothing and left before dawn to take her place in the big house council chamber.

Kirstie thought to say something. “Buttercup. You better ride on Inga’s shoulder. I’m going to have to let Elgar talk to the men.”

Buttercup did not mind, and Inga positively smiled, like she got excited. Kirstie thought that was odd. She was not sure she ever saw Inga excited before. Buttercup and Yrsa knew Inga by then. Kirstie could hardly avoid introducing them to her watcher. They all seemed to get along well and talked into the night about many things. Kirstie mostly kept quiet and worried when the word came that the hag had moved down from the mountains to join the men.

If the Vanlil got a foothold on the Nid River, it would not be hard to cross over the fjord and overrun the hamlet of Stadr on the narrow place. They could block the whole fjord from there and cause the villages all the way up to Steinker to surrender. At least that was likely what they had in mind. Kirstie imagined them pushing west from Stadr to Hof, the place where the fjord and North Sea met. Kirstie also imagined the hag had some of the Vanlil and maybe some of the exiled men primed to invite the god Abraxas to come to their shores. Abraxas got told that putting his foot on the ancient land ruled by Aesgard would be instant death, but an invitation by the people might negate that threat. In fact, once he got a foothold in Norway, he might easily arrange an invitation to Denmark, and anywhere on the continent where the Danes and Norwegians went would be open to him. Abraxas was supposed to be confined to the British Isles, but it seems he found a way to get off the islands. He probably already had Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Danes working for him, and they all had cousins on the continent.

Kirstie shook her head and said, “Ready,” and the four women trooped into the big house totally interrupting the argument. Kirstie yelled, in case any of the men were not paying attention. “How many men do we have to march and how many ships have we gathered?” When most of the eyes glared at this rude young girl, Kirstie traded places through time with Elgar, and he came dressed in his armor and decked out in weapons. He spoke to Chief Birger in a softer voice. “I said, how many men do we have to march and how many ships have we gathered?”

Chief Birger smiled, having seen Kirstie change into this man before. Most of the outsider chiefs shouted from surprise before they quieted to listen. Captain Kerga answered the question.

“We have three longships, one of which is mine, and seven karve which are smaller but perfectly good transports in the fjord.”

“Saxon,” Chief Birger said. “What have you to say?”

“They attacked and burned the king’s house to the ground and captured the king’s monstrous ship you call a skied. They are preparing to attack the town, and I expect them to concentrate on taking the docks, which is good for us because we want them to back up to the fjord. They will try to capture the longships and karve in the docks. They will need all the ships they can get to cross over and take Stadr and to block the narrow place. We will need our ships to block the town docks and not let them escape on whatever ships they capture. Fortunately, the Jamts are not sailors, though they are excellent horsemen. How many horses do we have?”

Men began to shout until Chief Birger and some of the older village men got the others to be quiet. Captain Kerga picked up the telling. “We have two hundred and fifty men ready to cross overland to the king’s place. Not many on horseback. We have about as many that will sail to block the port in the third hour tomorrow.”

“Yes. Why wait?” Chief Birger asked. “We could block them in tonight.”

“No.” Elgar shook his head. “If we move before the men on foot can get there, they can escape with their whole army intact, and hide in the wilderness where they will just come up with a new plan. We have to trap them in the town and push them to the water. Some will have to engage face to face, but we mostly need our bows and arrows to drive them to the shore. When our ships come up, they will be surrounded and will only survive if they surrender.”

One of the northern chiefs stepped forward with a question. “How do you know they burned the king’s house? The spies we sent only returned a few hours ago. They said some four hundred are gathering outside the town but made no mention of any attack on the king’s place.”

“My spies,” Elgar said. “They have more recent information, but I hesitate to introduce them because I don’t want to frighten you.”

Men grumbled angrily at the implication that they might be afraid of anything, especially having that suggestion come from a Saxon. but Chief Birger asked, not too sharply, “What spies?” At least he could imagine.

Elgar nodded and called to the rafters overhead. “Svator, please come down here. The chiefs here want to know the source of my information.” Svator fluttered down from above but stayed facing Elgar the whole time. The men gasped, a few screamed, but only one ran screaming from the big house. “Please get big,” Elgar said, knowing that men, on first meeting a fairy, found it more palatable meeting them in their big size. When big, fairies lost their wings and appeared human enough. Svator obliged, appeared dressed in hunter green, and grasped tight to his excellent bow. He offered Elgar a bow.

“Lord.” he said. “There are five hundred Jamts—Vanlil, and fifty exiled men who once took refuge in Jamtaland. Fifty and five have been left to guard the longship in the king’s dock. Five hundred face the town, which is as many as live in the town, men, women, and children. They are negotiating a surrender, but some in the town want to fight. They have seen that the Vanlil are under the sway of the hag and are slow to react when confronted in a battle situation.”

“To be expected,” Elgar said and looked around the room to hear objections or thoughts. Only one man spoke, and not too loudly.

“They have twice our number on foot.”

“Not twice,” Elgar responded. “I have mountain dwarfs who will keep the men they left at the king’s house busy, so we won’t have to worry about them. When the Jamts-Vanlil and exiled men came over the mountains, they disturbed the dwarf home, and a dwarf child was killed. The dwarfs are anxious for pay-backs, as you might imagine.” Elgar paused and saw heads around the room nod. The men there likely never saw a real dwarf, but they all heard stories from their childhood and understood revenge was what they did when disturbed. He hated to bring a living nightmare into their midst, but the chiefs needed to see the reality of what they were dealing with, and they needed to be warned.

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MONDAY

Kirstie, Elgar, and the Vikings settle some details but some decisions about the coming battle will have to wait until they get there. Until then, Happy Reading.

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Medieval 5: K and Y 3 Little Ones, part 2 of 2

Kirstie

All three fairies seemed disoriented at first, but sight of the elves helped to steady them. “Amber?” the older, male fairy asked what was up by saying the elf’s name. Lord Amber merely pointed at Kirstie. Kirstie did her best to sound grown up.

“Lord Bjork. Do you know the disposition of the Vanlil—the Jamts and the exiled men around the king’s house and the town on the Nid River?”

Lord Bjork looked at Kirstie, Yrsa beside her, and back at Amber who waved toward Kirstie as if to say he should answer her. “We saw the men come down from the mountains and thought no good would come of it. We saw many villages on this side of the Trondelag fjord be attacked in the outlying farms. We know the men have moved on to the king’s house and the town, but we do not know how they are disposed.”

“I need to know how they are arrayed,” Kirstie said, or Elgar said it in her head. “Do you have any that can fly there and bring back numbers and maybe give an idea of their plan of attack? I see that you do. Eik and Svator,” she called, and the two younger fairies appeared as if out of nowhere. It took Kirstie a little time to explain what she needed, but she knew they would fly to the river, check on the enemy, and be back by the night meal, possibly before the men from Oglo and Frosta arrived.

Kirstie looked again at the patient dwarfs, a most unusual sight, and the elves that might stand there for days if needed. “I don’t know if it is right to ask for your help. I don’t even know what the men will be facing. I do not know how the battle may shape up, but if there is a place for you, I will not forget you.”

Lord Amber nodded that he understood. “The gods don’t make promises,” he said to Booturn who reluctantly nodded and let out a great sigh.

“In the meantime, Lady Bellflower, may I borrow your daughter for a while? Buttercup, would you like to be friends with me and Yrsa?”

“Yes,” Buttercup said quickly and a bit loud.

“With your mother’s permission, of course. You girls can meet my human guardian, Inga. She is very nice. You will like her. And we can stay among the Witcher Women tonight if you don’t mind.”

“And Mother Vrya will be there?” Lady Bellflower asked.

“Yes. Certainly, for the night,” Kirstie answered.

“Then I am sure it will be all right. Lady Kairos.” Bellflower offered a mid-air curtsey, and Kirstie noticed understanding came to Lord Bjork’s face, like he was not sure.

Kirstie stood in leggings and did not know how to curtsey, so she bowed. “And thank you Lord Amber and you too, Booturn for saving our lives.”

Booturn groused. “We would have if the skinnies had not interfered.”

“Well, thank you anyway. Meanwhile, we need to get back. Inga is probably worried about me. Buttercup.” Kirstie tapped her shoulder and Buttercup shouted, “Yes!” and Kirstie imagined this time the fairy pumped her little fist in the air as she zoomed up and took a seat, tugging only slightly of Kirstie’s hair to get comfortable. Of course, it was impossible to tell with a small fairy seen from a bad angle.

Yasmina

Yasmina spent that whole week moping and worried. She mostly stayed in her rooms and in her bed. Sometimes, she walked in the garden. Sometimes she went up on the wall to look down on the town and the marketplace, what she could see of it. Sometimes she went to the latticed windows and watched the soldiers and the comings and goings in the courtyard of the palace. Sometimes she wandered the halls of the harem looking sorry and lost. Mostly she stayed in her rooms and moped and worried.

She made a couple of friends among her father’s concubines, but they were mostly older, like Inga’s age, and hardly friends with a ten-year-old. They were good to ask what was wrong, but she could not tell them. Sometimes the slave girls who served in the kitchens and brought food to her room, and the maids who cleaned and straightened all the rooms asked, but she stayed silent. Every day after working out with the harem guards and assigning their duties for the day, al-Rahim asked what was troubling her. She just shook her head against unauthorized ears.

“Princess. I will be here if you need me or wish to talk about it.”

Yasmina knew that and hugged the man for his faithfulness.

Yasmina’s mother came twice at the end of the week. But it was no good. Yasmina would not snap out of her mood, and she would not explain it.

Finally, a young maid came to her with a snack for the afternoon. She placed the snack on the table and did something most unusual. Instead of offering a bow and exiting to return to the kitchen, or even asking what had Yasmina so worried and anxious, she quietly sat on the floor, lowered her eyes, and waited for Yasmina to speak.

Yasmina looked before she stared and squinted at the girl. When she spoke, it was one word. “Yrsa?”

“I am Aisha,” the maid said. “Yrsa is my distant cousin.” Yasmina sat up and her eyes went wide as Aisha began to tell her story. “One day, there were two brothers in a place called Kyiv. One felt the call of the cold, snowy north. He loved the winter, and he wanted to find the source of the Amber he cherished. The other felt the call of the warm, dry south. He loved the summer, and he sought after the emeralds that fascinated him. The brothers also loved each other but they heeded the call on their lives. They hugged and one went north while the other went south.”

“Wait a minute,” Yasmina made her pause. “When are we talking about? Kyiv has not been there that long.”

“Not as Kyiv,” Aisha agreed. “But there has been a village of one sort or another there for ages. I am speaking of the days when the Kairos Flern first brought the bronze making to the steppes.” She paused to let Yasmina process what she was saying. “The brothers left the area around the Caspian Sea and followed the army of the east when it invaded the west.”

“But…” Yasmina paused to calculate, and she heard for the first time from the Storyteller who estimated the year. “But that was 4400 years ago, SE—Storyteller’s estimate.”

“It was,” Aisha agreed, and smiled her relief. She would have been in terrible trouble if she mentioned something from the Kairos’ past that the Kairos herself could not remember. That was the law from ancient times. “Yrsa and I are the tenth generation since the brothers went their separate ways. I did not know I had a cousin in the far north, but Yrsa put together the clues in Kirstie’s early years. When Kirstie left… When you were born, Yrsa reached out to this place and confirmed her feelings. Her father, Lord Amber, and my father, Lord Emerald made contact over that long distance. The blood ties are still strong. And at that time, I came to work as a maid servant in this house, though this is the first time I have had a chance to see you with my own eyes.”

“Well…” Yasmina did not know what to say and could not speak through her sudden tears in any case except to say, “I am so afraid for Kirstie.” She began to weep.

“Lord al-Rahim,” Aisha called, and the man came from the other room where he listened behind the crack in the door while Aisha moved to sit on the bed, hug Yasmina, and cry with her.

“Princess. Why are you so afraid for Kirstie?” Al-Rahim asked kindly, no longer questioning the connection between his princess and the yellow-haired girl from the land of the Vikings. He certainly knew who the Vikings were.

Eventually, Yasmina got out the words. “She is my age, just ten, a young girl, and she is going into battle. Her home is invaded. She is leading the men. Things got complicated. She has weapons but does not know how to use them. She has no teacher. And worse. She is the one who has to fight the hag. A terrible monster. Tall and wide as that doorway. Strong as an ogre from the mountains. Faster than the imps of the desert. More powerful than the great genie, the marid of all genies. I am afraid she is going to get herself killed. She thinks that too, and there is nothing I can do to help her.”

“We can pray for her,” al-Rahim suggested.

Hours later, well after the sun set, Yasmina, Aisha, and al-Rahim sat around the table eating and laughing. Yasmina’s mother and father entered the room to this pleasant scene and stopped in the entranceway with questions on their faces.

Al-Rahim jumped to his feet and stood at attention. Aisha slipped to the floor and got to her knees her eyes humbly lowered in the presence of the Lord of Mecca. Yasmina also jumped up and ran to hug her father. She hugged her mother while her father spoke.

“Captain?” he looked at al-Rahim.

“We have resolved the princess’ troubles for the moment, but there are a few conditions.”

Yasmina let go of her mother, took two steps back and spouted. “I want a horse, two horses, me and Aisha. I have taken Aisha as my personal maid and companion, and we want to learn how to ride.”

“Baby.” Mother called her that sometimes when she got all parental and Mother knows best. “Girls do not ride horses. They are carried in a proper litter.”

“I want a horse,” Yasmina raised her voice, but just a little. “What is more, al-Rahim has promised to teach me and Aisha to defend ourselves. You know, a girl can’t be too careful in this world.” Mother was not buying it, so Yasmina looked at her father. “Please, daddy.”

The Lord of Mecca glanced at al-Rahim who nodded slightly. He turned to his daughter. “I’ll see what I can arrange,”

“Baby…” Mother started in again, but Father took her hand and dragged her from the room before she could say anything. Aisha and al-Rahim both exhaled.

Medieval 5: K and Y 3 Little Ones, part 1 of 2

Kirstie

Kirstie spent the week climbing the nearby hills and walking through the edge of the forest. Inga stayed with her most of the time and would not let her go too far into the woods, but sometimes Kirstie escaped so she could spend some time alone. She had a great deal of grief to work through and could only imagine that once again men were going to get killed on her insistence.

Kirstie also spent some of that week beginning to familiarize herself with the various weapons that came with her armor. She did not think good thoughts about the Vanlil or the exiles leading them. She decided that having weapons was a good thing because she would not have to beg someone to make her weapons. All she would have to do is beg someone to teach her how to properly use those weapons.

The sword Salvation was a bit heavy, but she liked the long knife, Defender. She found she also had a spear, a shield, a helmet, a beautiful bow with plenty of arrows, some of which were silver tipped, and some other odd weapons of every sort. She also had a small knife that fit down alongside her boot, and a hatchet she called her tomahawk. Best of all, she had a genuine Viking battleaxe she could take into battle. It was a one-handed axe. She needed to be able hold her shield with her other hand, but honestly, at her young age, it took both of her hands to hold the axe steady. She also needed to learn how to swing it less wildly. Inga made her walk down the road to practice, far away from the house and the old women in case it slipped out of her hands, which it did a couple of times.

On the morning of the fifth day, Kirstie escaped her watcher and headed for the woods. Men from Varnes came the night before. Men from Oglo and Frosta were on the road and expected in by nightfall. There was much excitement in the village, and Inga with the Witcher Women and plenty of volunteers had to work hard to see all those men housed and fed. The report was men from Olvishaugr, and even further north were coming by boatload. Clearly, all the villages along the east side of the fjord had been raided, and Strindlos was not the only place where women and children had been killed.

Mother Vrya, Chief Birger, and Captain Kerga, with the future Captain Rune Stenson were all needed to see all those men were properly taken care of, so Kirstie was able to sneak out. She felt nervous, knowing the men were all there because of her, well, because of Elgar. It was his plan, and the spies sent to the river Nid were not due back until morning. If the exiles and Vanlil were not gathered there, she would be in big, big trouble.

Kirstie came to a small clearing near the edge of the woods and only realized when she sat down that it was the place Father Fryer met her. The ash that had been trees had all blown away on the wind. The ground was hard since it had not rained all week, but here and there it showed signs of grass and weeds growing. Kirstie began to cry. She cried for her own father, buried in some distant land where she would never see him again. She cried for her mother, and her baby sister who would never grow up. She cried for Dorothy, and her farmhands who were such kind and hard-working men, and always good to her. She cried for her puppy.

“Why are you crying?” Kirstie heard and looked, half expecting to see Edelweiss. Instead, she saw a young woman about Inga’s age of eighteen standing in the shadow of the trees. The woman had small tears in her own eyes. Kirstie looked closely and realized this was one of the little ones Father Fryer mentioned. Then she knew the girl’s name, though she could not say how or why she knew.

“Yrsa,” she said. “You can sit with me and cry with me if you want.”

Yrsa looked startled that this human should know her name, but quickly she decided, “I will.” She sat next to Kirstie and they both cried while Kirstie tried to explain the reason for her tears.

“My father and mother are dead. My baby sister who barely knew three years of life is gone. My friends, the thralls who worked so hard on the farm got killed, and my house burned down, and the barn. I don’t know where the livestock has gone. I have nothing left.”

Yrsa hugged her and said, “I can be your friend, so you won’t be alone.”

Kirstie nodded and wiped her eyes. “Come on,” she said. “We will go to my home to see what has become of it.”

“Oh, but I am not supposed to leave the woods. Father said so.”

“Your father Lord Amber?” Kirstie knew. “I’ll explain it to him. I am sure it will be all right.” She took Yrsa’s hand and brought her to her farm wondering the whole way how she knew their names. Greta spoke to Kirstie in her heart that she was the Kairos, and they all belonged to her.

“What do you mean, belong?” Kirstie wondered out loud. “People belong to themselves, don’t they?”

“You are responsible for the elves light and dark, and the dwarfs in between. The sprites in the sky, in the sea, and in the fires under the earth.” Greta answered. That did not really explain it.

Kirstie could only think, I’m too young. At my age I’m not even allowed to be responsible for myself.

They arrived. It was not that far away since Kirstie had been thinking of going there when she found Fryer instead. She saw three men poking around the ruins, and thought to hide behind the bushes, but Yrsa shrieked on the sight of the men, and they noticed.

“You there. Come out from the bushes.”

Kirstie came slowly, still holding the older girl Yrsa’s hand. Kirstie knew these were men from Trondelag, not Vanlil, because she understood their words. She imagined they were from Varnes or further north.

“What are you doing here?”

Kirstie squeezed Yrsa’s hand and felt bold. “This is my farm. What are you doing here?”

The man smirked. “We left some prime livestock here when we came before. We came to fetch it to feed the men. We figured no one would be here after a week. I though we killed all the people here.” The man pulled a big knife and the other two joined him.

“Father!” Yrsa called to the wind. The call would have traveled for miles, but Lord Amber was closer than she knew. He came from one direction with several undisguised elves. A true mountain dwarf came from the other direction with a good dozen dwarfs, all hefting weapons, hammers, and axes, that looked too big for them.

The men’s eyes grew wide as they looked in one direction than the other. They started to run in the only direction not covered. They did not get far. The dwarfs roared and attacked, but the elves were quicker with their bows. The men all fell with several arrows in each.

“Damn it, Amber.” The chief dwarf, Booturn yelled. “They were ours.” One dwarf chopped a head off a dead man just on general principle.

“Just protecting my daughter,” Lord Amber said, and pointed at Yrsa.

Booturn tipped his hat. “And a human friend, I see. Surprised you let her be friends with a mudder.”

Lord Amber gave Yrsa a hard but curious look and Yrsa got ready to explain in good daughter to father fashion when Kirstie interrupted the father-daughter game. “Yrsa has said she will be my friend and I have taken her up on that offer. We are going to learn our weapons and in particular the bow and arrows. We may even go hunting. I will undoubtedly go hunting in a few years, but that will be aboard a ship, so she can come home then, for a while, if she wants. Meanwhile, what are you doing here?”

Lord Amber raised one eyebrow while the dwarfs stared, a couple with their mouths hanging open. “And who are you to be asking?” Booturn spouted.

“This is my farm, or it will be when I fix it up. I will rebuild the house and the barn, get some new livestock, and harvest the field which is already planted.” She paused to look at Yrsa and scrutinized Lord Amber’s face. “Yrsa and I can put a target on that tree there for target practice. I’m sorry, but it is the duty of certain elf maids to become good with a bow and arrows. Now, be good and maybe someday you will have a son to go with your daughter.”

Lord Amber looked surprised, then shocked, and finally resigned. He went to one knee and the elves with him followed his example. He said, “Lady Kairos.” Booturn and a couple of dwarfs who were more with it whipped off their hats, and Booturn spoke right up.

“So, you are gathering fighters in the village. I’m guessing you are going after the Jamts and escaped men that came over the mountains and have been attacking places, like your own farm.”

Kirstie nodded but kept her mouth closed.

“Er… So, any chance you might have a place for a few dwarfs in your battle. We could stay hidden and maybe back you up some if you wouldn’t mind. We would not mingle with your men. No need to even be seen. We would be careful.”

“Dwarfs, careful?” Kirstie, young as she was knew that was a fib. Lord Amber had to cover his smile and one elf let out a small laugh.

“Well, we would not get in the way, and you can count on us. No tellin’ that maybe the humans might run away once the fighting starts, no offence.”

“I’ll think about it,” Kirstie said, and felt she had to acknowledge the elves. “Please get up. I’m just a young girl and much too young for all this responsibility.” Kirstie could not keep the worry from coming to her face.

Lord Amber stood, but being empathic as elves are he asked, “What is troubling you?”

“I wish I knew what was happening in Hladir and Nidarosss. I guess it isn’t called Nidarosss yet, but I don’t suppose you know.”

Lord Amber shook his head. “Bjork might know,” he said.

Kirstie nodded. She suddenly knew who Bjork was, along with Missus Bellflower and their daughter Buttercup. She knew Buttercup and Yrsa knew each other and might be friends if given a chance. She called all three at once, and the three fairies vanished from wherever they were and appeared on the farm. Kirstie felt shocked by that. The elves and dwarfs less so.

Medieval 5: K and Y 2 Gifts of the Gods, part 3 of 3

Kirstie turned in the doorway and smiled. “I have a whole week.” She paused. Inga tried to return her smile but looked worried. “A week,” Kirstie said softly before she shouted, “Only a week! Where is Mother Vrya?”

Inga shook her head as she answered. “In the big house with Chief Birger and the men deciding what to do about the Vanlil.”

“Only a week,” Kirstie repeated and this time she grabbed Inga’s hand. “Come on.” She started toward the big house and Inga did not resist. Inga had too many questions and decided to stick with Kirstie until she got some answers.

When they burst into the middle of the meeting, Kirstie shouted, and the men paused to listen except for one man who said, “You girls don’t belong here right now.” Mother Vrya looked ready to say something, but the room quieted to utter stillness when Kirstie called and instantly got clothed in her armor, weapons included. Then Elgar urged her to let him speak to the men, and Kirstie, not entirely willingly, stepped away and let Elgar take her place. Kirstie knew the men would not really listen to a girl, and she was only ten years old besides.

When the young girl disappeared and a full-grown man, and a fighter by the look of him arrived in her place, most of the men in the room imagined it was one of the gods. They grew silent, and many became too frightened to talk.

Elgar started right in, giving the men little time to adjust to his presence or what just happened. “I am Elgar the Saxon,” he said in Kirstie’s Nordic language, and he paused to let them swallow. “I have come to tell you we only have a week to come to the aid of the king’s house and the town on the Nid River. The exiled chiefs and men, together with their Jamt-Vanlil allies, are gathering and will be attacking the king’s place and the town in a week.”

The room erupted with voices and questions. The men had assumed the Vanlil raided the villages on the eastern shore and raced back over the mountains with their plunder. They were talking about setting a watch in the hills and maybe gathering men to invade Jamtaland. They were not thinking this was an army invading them. Finally, one voice rose above the others and the rest quieted to hear the answer.

“How do you know this?” the man asked.

“This word comes from the god Fryer directly to Kirstie’s ears.” He looked at the faces around him. Curiously, he saw Mother Vrya and the men of Strindlos had no trouble believing him. The outsiders were not convinced.

“No god would lower himself to appear as a Saxon,” one man said rather loudly.

“Are you a goder?” a different man asked if Elgar was a priest.

“Who is Kirstie?” a third man asked.

“Yes, where did that girl go, anyway?” Captain Kerga asked at the same time.

Elgar answered the questions as well as he could. “No, I am not a priest, and where Kirstie went is a very complicated question. Let us just say she left the building.”.

“If not a goder, are you some kind of messenger of the gods?” One man tried to make sense of the conflicting ideas in the room.

“Elgar,” Mother Vrya interrupted everyone, and the men quieted out of respect for the Volva. “These men are from Varnes. That captain is from Oglo. Those two are from the Frosta peninsula, and those two have come all the way from Olvishaugr if you saw the karve in the dock. What is it you recommend?”

Chief Birger thought to interrupt to clarify the discussion up to that point. “We have been discussing gathering our men to strike back at the Vanlil in some way.”

Elgar shook his head. “Not and leave an enemy at your back.” He moved a bench and a chair and explained his makeshift map. “This bench is the Nid River. The town is here at the mouth of the river. The king’s house is here. Mother Vrya is standing in the fjord. I propose we take our footmen and whatever horsemen we can gather and cross the land on the afternoon six days from today. We set a camp and be well fed and rested in the morning while we scout out the enemy positions. If the town is holding out against them, we may have to adjust things, but my guess is they may be around the king’s house, if they have not burned it to the ground by then.”

The men in the room tried to grasp the ideas, and one of the outsider captains asked a pertinent question. “Why don’t we attack them at sundown and catch them by surprise?”

“Men who are hungry and tired do not fight well,” Elgar said, giving the answer he had given more than once in the past to other kings and chiefs. “If we are careful in the night, we might still surprise them at dawn. We will look for where they are vulnerable and attack at sunup. Our job will be to drive them to the sea. I expect every karve and longship we have to arrive in the third hour. No later than the fourth hour. We will have the enemy surrounded and some of them may choose to surrender. That’s okay. Let them surrender. Let the king decide whether to chop off their heads or not. After we protect our own, we can talk about an attack on the Jamts of Jamtaland if you will.”

Men stood around quietly staring at the bench and chairs. No one raised an objection to what he said, so Elgar spoke up again. “The ships need to be full of fighting men, but we need as many men here on foot and horseback to assault the enemy and drive them to the docks by the sea.” He waited another moment before he turned to the men from other towns. “Well? You best get going. Today is day one and that does not give much time to gather your men and get them here by the morning of the sixth day.”

Chief Birger grunted and nodded and made no objection. He waved like giving permission, and the foreign men hurried from the big house. The local men stayed a bit longer while the chief asked. “So, Saxon. I hope for your sake your information is correct.”

“The gods have been known to mislead people at times,” Elgar admitted and saw Mother Vrya nod in agreement. “But not this time. This information was unsolicited. Kirstie did not ask for this. Rather, the god Fryer dumped it on her and said she only had a week, and good luck.”

The men there all knew Kirstie, and they knew and respected her father and mother. They did not really doubt the veracity of the god, or that he might select someone like Kirstie to speak with, but at the same time, Captain Kerga had another question. “And what will you be doing while we prepare for battle?”

Elgar smiled and said, “I intend to get well rested.” He traded places with Kirstie, which looked like the man vanished and the young girl took his place, the armor instantly adjusting to Kirstie’s slim, beanpole body. “I’m going to sleep. I have a lot to think about,” she said, and added, “Weapons go home.” Her weapons vanished and she grabbed Inga’s hand. “Come on.”

Inga had no intention of going anywhere else. She stepped up beside Kirstie and said, “So, Fryer?”

Kirstie simply nodded.

************************

MONDAY

Kirstie finds a little help for the coming battle, and Yasmina is scared to death and worried about a ten-year-old going to war. Until then, Happy Reading

*

Medieval 5: K and Y 2 Gifts of the Gods, part 2 of 3

Kirstie

Inga kept an eye on Kirstie over the next three days. Kirstie did not appear changed in any noticeable way. She seemed to be grieving and Mother Vrya said that was healthy. Sometimes she wandered the village streets, watching the vendors in the marketplace. She mostly avoided both Hilda and Liv for the first couple of days. Sometimes she watched the boat builders. They were building a karve for the village to trade with other villages up and down the fjord. They were also nearly finished building a longship for Rune Stenson who had gathered a crew to sail with him to distant ports.

On the third day, she finally visited Hilda in her home in the afternoon. She stayed long enough to have supper with Hilda and her family, and Hilda’s father Haken walked Kirstie home in the dark, what with Vanlil and other enemies about. On the fourth day, Inga saw Kirstie head for town and thought nothing of it, but Kirstie felt the need to be alone for a while, so she veered off the path as soon as she was out of sight. It did not take long to make her way to the long field.

Kirstie wanted to go home, but she did not want to go. She stood for a long time looking in the direction of home, but eventually she moved to the edge of the trees. Something called to her, and she had to find out what. When she touched a tree, it began to burn.

Kirstie quickly pulled her hand back and stared. The burning tree was not her doing. She wondered what could cause a perfectly good tree to suddenly catch fire like some form of spontaneous combustion. She blinked and a whole section of woods right in front of her turned to ash, hardly having time to burn. The light came with the heat and Kirstie blinked, shielded her eyes, and complained.

“Please. Whoever you are. Can you tone it down a little? My fair skin is going to turn red as a lobster.” He did. It was one of the gods as she suspected. The light and heat lessened, and the man appeared, but up close he had a ghost-like quality she could not describe except to say he never fully manifested. She recognized him right away.

“Fryer,” she said, before she added, “Father.” Fryer had been her father, the father of Beauty who in Beauty’s language was called Faya. That was nearly five thousand years ago. Then Kirstie had a thought. Fryer was Njord’s son, so she should not have been surprised to see him. She wondered if Fryja the goddess of love and war was around. Fryja was Fryer’s twin sister, daughter of Njord. “What are you doing here?” she asked the same question she asked Njord.

“I am not really here,” he gave the same answer. “I am just a beam of sunlight able to break through the canopy and touch the forest floor.”

“My night owl,” Kirstie said, remembering something of Faya’s life. “My al-Rahim. My guardian.”

“My daughter,” he said. “A different daughter, but all the same. I have a gift for you.” Kirstie said nothing. She did this before. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. “No, no,” Fryer said, and he took her hands. Kirstie caught fire. She flashed bright as the sun, and then the fire receded. The flames quickly became less as the man spoke. “I am sorry I was not a very good father to you.”

“Oh, no,” Kirstie said. “You were a wonderful father. You watched over me and kept me safe when no one else could, and I love you very much.” Without realizing it, Kirstie went away, and Faya came all the way through time from the deep past to stand in her place. She hugged her father, and Fryer tried to be as solid as he could so he could return her hug.

Faya pulled back, smiled for him, and went back into the past, letting Kirstie come home. Kirstie had a question. “What did you give me?”

“Enough,” Fryer said softly and lowered his voice against listening ears. “You must set the fire and put it out with the water to break the empowerment. They should fall apart.”

“Like the Wizard of Oz.” Kirstie giggled. “Fire the scarecrow and splash the mop bucket in her face. I’m melting. I’m melting.”

Fryer caught the images and grinned. “Something like that. But now you must listen.” He gave her a second to settle down and focus. “After you were my daughter all those millennia ago, I learned some about how you function. Time does not normally open for you early, and you learn you are the Kairos only after you reach puberty, or later. That way you make a firm foundation of who you are in each life before you become aware of the others. You really are too young for this.” He shook his head.

“I’m ten.” Kirstie stood up as straight and tall as she could. “I’m old enough. Besides, I already know about Yasmina, Mother Greta, and the good Doctor Mishka.”

Fryer nodded. “Rarely, maybe sometimes you open to other lifetimes earlier. Necessity is the driving force, and right now the Kairos is needed. First you must learn to call for your armor and weapons. The fairy properties in the material are such that it will always fit you no matter your shape and size.” He taught her right there how to call for her armor and how to call again for her regular clothes, which was important to know. She only made one side comment.

“Those weapons are heavy.”

“I am sure you will master them in time, though I hope you will not need them,” Fryer said. “But now, I am able to tell you this, that the exiled men and the Vanlil will meet in a week at most and assault the king’s house and the town on the Nid River. Kairos, you only have a week. You know if the exiled chiefs and men are able to retake the Trondelag area and kick out the king and the king’s men, history will be impacted, badly. And more than that, the hag that is driving the Vanlil—the Jamts from Jamtaland—will have gained a foothold to the sea, and Abraxas will be able to return to the northlands.” He paused to place a gentle hand against Kirstie’s young cheek. “I am sorry I cannot be there for you. It is up to you to do what you will.” He smiled, though he looked sad. “There are little ones near if you wish to call on their help. You know, I agree with some of the others. This is too much responsibility for one person, even with a hundred lifetimes to call on.”

That small place in the forest flashed as bright and hot as the sun for an instant. Kirstie did not even blink this time. She thought of calling to her father, Faya’s father, that he might stay a little longer. She did not want to be alone, but she said nothing. She had too many things to think about.

Kirstie walked slowly back to Mother Vrya’s; her mind preoccupied so she hardly looked at where she put her feet. What did she need to fire first and put out with the water? The Wicked Witch? What water? Those weapons were heavy, but that armor was cool… awesome… far out.” She heard a male voice in her head. “We don’t say far out anymore.” Kirstie nodded and continued with her own thoughts. What did he mean little ones? “Hey,” she said out loud as she arrived at Mother Vrya’s where Inga was stacking some freshly cut logs for the fire.

Inga stopped to look at Kirstie, but Inga said nothing, so Kirstie mumbled, “Let me help.” She was still thinking about shining bright as the sun and the fire in her hands. In fact, she looked at her hands as she picked up a bundle of sticks and the wood caught fire. Inga shouted, but Kirstie just looked at her hand holding the burning wood. She lifted her other hand and saw it burst into flames. Then she came to herself. “Sorry,” she said in a very unconcerned voice which stopped Inga in her tracks. She was coming to knock the burning wood out of Kirstie’s hand and try to put out her hands, but the hands stopped burning. “Sorry,” Kirstie said again, but when she opened her mouth, a stream of water came pouring out from her insides. It put out the bundle, soaking the wood, but it also splashed on Inga, soaking her all down the front.

“Sorry. Sorry,” Kirstie said again. “Maybe I should go inside.”

Inga nodded and dripped before she raised her voice. “Don’t set the house on fire.”

Medieval 5: K and Y 2 Gifts of the Gods, part 1 of 3

Kirstie

On the third day of Kirstie’s stubbornness, Inga herself brought a small morning meal. Chief Birger, Captain Kerga, and Mother Vrya walked up to the short ridge above the docks that separated the fishing boats from the actual village. It was the place people came to look out on the fjord in search of the sails of loved ones. They talked about the exiled chiefs and the men with them, and what they could do about the Vanlil invasion. Knud and the others might have found men willing to turn to them against the harsh rule of King Harald Fairhair, but they made a grave mistake in attacking the outlying farms to feed their men. Some could not get over the killing of women and children. Instead of supporting those chiefs, the men were angry and ready to fight against those chiefs. Chief Birger sent men north and the word he got back was that the same raiding happened in Varnes, Oglo, and all the way up the Frosta peninsula.

Inga and Kirstie knew none of this. They had a pleasant breakfast filled with small talk and not too much gossip. Inga began to clean up. She just reconciled to the idea that Kirstie would sit there and wait for her father if she had to wait a month or six months, when suddenly the sea began to boil in that spot. Kirstie stood and stared at the churning water. Inga stood and took a step back. She quickly looked but saw no one around in the immediate area.

The water began to lift into a waterspout that slowly shaped itself into the watery figure of a twelve-foot giant. Kirstie blinked. Inga took a couple more steps back but stopped when the giant spoke.

“Kairos.” The giant spoke to the girl as if speaking to a good friend. “Traveler.”

“Njord,” Kirstie named the giant and then shocked Inga with her next words. “Once Grandfather.” Kirstie offered the slightest bow as if the Lord of the Seas deserved no more. “But why are you here? Did you not cross over with the others, ages ago?”

“More than eight hundred years ago,” Njord said.

“Yes, and I bet Old One Eye wasn’t too happy about it,” Kirstie said.

“Frigg had to drag him,” Njord admitted with a slight grin, and Kirstie giggled. Poor Inga did not know what to think.

“But what are you doing here?” Kirstie asked again.

“Where the Waters are, my Spirit will always linger and never be far away,” Njord said. “But I am not really here. I am just reacting to the fire still loose in the world that is seeking to harm my grandson, though at the present you happen to be my granddaughter.”

“I don’t understand,” Kirstie looked down.

“Kairos. I can tell you this. You father will not be coming home. He fought bravely in Normandy and died a hero’s death. I am sorry, but now you have greater concerns.” He whispered and directed his words to Kirstie’s ears so Inga would not hear. “That Abraxas who should have gone over to the other side has sent emissaries to all the coasts. He awaits only an invitation to return to the continent where you forbade him to go. His schemes must be ended. His days are over.” Njord appeared to clear his throat and spoke up again. “I am here to give you a gift. It will be enough.”

“But grandfather. What gift are you talking about? Enough for what?”

“Just open your mouth and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise,” Njord said, and she did, trusting him with a complete trust. Njord changed into a mighty river, then a roaring stream, and last a gentle fountain of water that filled Kirstie, entering her mouth, and vanishing away.

Kirstie opened her eyes and saw that Njord was gone. She panicked and called to him. “Njord. Grandfather.” She took three quick steps and dove into the cold water. They were fully into spring, but the water was still cold with some ice in places along the shore. Inga worried when she did not see Kirstie come up right away. She began to panic.

“Kirstie,” Inga called, thinking the girl must have come up behind a skiff or fishing boat where she could not see. “Kirstie.” She got ready to jump in to look for the girl, but Kirstie popped her head out of the water right where she jumped in. She stood and walked back to shore, dripping wet.

“That was warm,” Kirstie said. “But the air is cold.” She had a blanket and wrapped herself. Poor Inga did not look like she knew what to say, do, or think. Kirstie let out a sigh. She sniffed. “We might as well go to Mother Vrya’s.”

“What about your father?” Inga asked.

Kirstie sniffed again and lifted her head as high as she could. “He won’t be coming back,” she said, and collapsed in another fit of tears. They passed another night of no supper and Kirstie crying herself to sleep.

Yasmina

Yasmina walked in the garden with her friend, al-Rahim. He was her guardian even as he guarded her father when he was a young prince, but in his way, he was also something of a grandfather figure. He always watched out for her.

Yasmina loved the garden. She drew in the sweet aroma of the flowers before she had to sit. She began to cry, though it was not as bad as when Kirstie lost her mother.

Al-Rahim knelt beside her. “Are you well? Do you feel ill?”

Yasmina shook her head. “I’m fine. It is my friend Kirstie.”

“The one with the yellow hair,” al-Rahim clarified, though he knew who she was talking about. When she was five, he followed her all around the harem looking for the girl her age who had yellow hair. She wanted to go out in the street to look for her, but of course that was not allowed.

“The one I can only meet in my dreams,” Yasmina affirmed and sniffed to hold back her tears. “First, she lost her mother, and her sister, her thralls, and her puppy. They were killed by men from over the mountains come to invade the great fjord. But her father was not there. He sailed off in his longship in search of trade and adventure, but now it seems he got caught in a fight in a foreign land and got killed. Kirstie is all alone. She is an orphan, like Inga. I wish I could be there for her.” She cried some more.

Al-Rahim thought it through and came up with a valid question. “How did she hear about her father? What evidence did she see? Maybe it isn’t so.”

Yasmina shook her head. “She was told by the ancient god Njord, the god of the sea in that place. Njord would not be mistaken about a thing like that, and he certainly would not mislead her, her being something like family and all.” Yasmina did not explain what she meant by all that, but al-Rahim caught something in what she said and quickly looked around to be sure no others might have overheard her.

“Princess. You must not talk about the ancient gods like that as if they were alive. They are dead stone and wood to be destroyed. They are not to be worshiped. If others should hear you, you might be accused of being a pagan and an infidel. Such idolatry is to be condemned by all.”

Yasmina looked around even as al-Rahim looked and she nodded her head that she understood, but then the tears came again.

Medieval 5: K and Y 1 Twins not Twins, part 3 of 3

“Where are we going?” Kirstie asked.

“You need to tell Chief Birger what you just told me.”

Kirstie nearly stumbled. She did not get dragged willingly, but she did not really resist. When they got to the big house Inga did not think twice about butting into the middle of the men. “Tell them,” Inga insisted. “Tell them what you just told me.” The older men were polite enough to listen.

Kirstie noticed the looks of sympathy that covered the men’s faces, but she quickly looked at Inga and repeated what she said, beginning with the idea that there must be a power driving the Vanlil to come and fight or otherwise they would have no reason to risk their lives for strangers. When she finished, the men nodded, like they may have been thinking something in that direction but maybe did not spell it out quite so clearly. Then Chief Birger said something to Kirstie that struck home.

“I’m so sorry.” That was all he had to say.

Kirstie felt the tears come into her eyes and she shouted for her mother. She ran out of the big house, Inga on her heels, yelling. “No. We have to go to Mother Vrya. We are supposed to stay with the Witcher Women. Kirstie! Come back.”

Kirstie ran all the way home. Inga gave up at last and walked the final leg. When Inga arrived, she found Kirstie on her knees, weeping. The house still burned. The livestock had scattered. The dead littered the ground. A dozen men, including Captain Kerga stood around staring at the destruction and talking softly about getting shovels to bury the bodies or maybe building a funeral pyre. The spring was full on, but the ground might still be too hard to dig deep. Kirstie’s mother and baby sister were gone. Dorothy was dead, her arms wrapped around Kirstie’s dead dog, Toto. The three farmhands, the lion, the scarecrow, and the tin man all died, but they took a half dozen of the enemy with them, so it was a battle.

“To make war on women,” one man yelled. “These Vanlil have no honor.”

Captain Kerga responded in a loud but calmer voice. “Their ways are not our ways.” He kicked the boot of a dead man. “But I remember this one from so many years ago. He lived in Haudr above the Skaun before King Harald came.”

“Captain,” a man interrupted. “It looks like the women picked up weapons. I would guess they tried to defend themselves.”

Kirstie sat and cried for a long time, but eventually, Inga got her to move.

Inga took Kirstie to Mother Vrya’s hut where they had a cot already made for her. The Witcher Women on that farm consisted of three older widows of the sea and the Viking lifestyle where the men lived with the constant threat that they might die on some distant shore. Sometimes, such women had no prospect of remarriage, and had no offspring to care for them. Younger women always had a chance to remarry, but some older women had nowhere else to go, and often died before their time. The Witcher Women cared for one another and stayed alive, farming a little, and making textiles for the village.

Mother Vrya was the Volve, which is the seer and something like a shaman. She had chosen Inga to teach and pass on her knowledge and skills, and Kirstie got to sit in on some of the lessons. Mother Vrya built a place on the edge of the village and invited the widows to live on her land. Kirstie was not the first orphan child the Witcher Women cared for, and she would not be the last. Caring for the orphans was another way they helped the village, and the village respected the women in return.

When Kirstie was shown where she would sleep, she fell to the cot and curled up under the blanket. She refused to get up for supper and spent most of the night in tears, eventually crying herself to sleep.

In the morning, Inga found Kirstie down by the docks. “My father should be coming home soon,” Kirstie said. “I will wait here.”

Inga frowned. “That could be months from now.”

“I will be safe here, by the fjord. There are farms and mountains with cliffs to my left. The Vanlil will not come from that direction. To my right are the docks.” She pointed to where Captain Kerga’s longship and a Karve, a fjord trading ship rested, and some men were milling about. “And beyond the docks are the ship builders. The exiled chiefs and men may come for the ships, but there are men there, workers and such to fight them while I escape. I will be safe here where the skiffs and fishing boats come to land.”

Inga put her hands to her hips and deepened her frown. “And what will you eat? And how will you shelter from the storms?”

“I will be fine,” Kirstie insisted. “You have lessons to attend and much to learn from Mother Vrya. Don’t worry about me.” Kirstie turned her head to look out on the fjord. She did not want Inga to see her tears.

Inga may have wanted to reach out and grab Kirstie’s wrist again to drag the girl back to Mother Vrya’s place, but she kept her hands to herself and opted to bargain instead. In the end, Kirstie agreed to let one of the Witcher Women bring her food in the morning, and she agreed to come to Mother Vrya’s at sunset for supper and to sleep on her cot. But otherwise, Kirstie insisted on staying by the docks and waiting for her father to return.

Yasmina

Yasmina stood by her mother looking out from the upper floor window. Yasmina waved to her father who was going to Medina, a whole host of soldiers following him. She never saw much of her father, but he was always nice to her when she did see him. She never saw much of her mother, ether, for that matter. She had plenty of duties of her own. Mother was more strict, but she generally hugged Yasmina and genuinely cared about her.

Suddenly, Yasmina began to weep great big tears. She practically wailed, and her mother was right there to say, “Yasmina, your father will be back. He has made this trip before. He is going for thirty days, and he will be right back. Why are you crying?”

Yasmina reached out and hugged her mother. “Just don’t leave me,” she said between her tears. “Don’t ever leave me.” She held on to her mother thinking Kirstie could never do that again.

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Monday

Kirstie is gifted by the gods and Yasmina does not know what to think about that. Meanwhile, Kirstie is told something important. It is a matter of life and death. Until then, Happy Reading.

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