Page 39 of Alien Viking's Plunder

But when the afternoon had passed and the shadows were getting longer, it was clear that he was walking uphill.

That was good. From the other side of the valley, he had spotted a few places where hunters may have built a hut because the terrain would help keep it hidden. He was approaching one of those places now.

Soon he was on top of a gentle hill, covered in trees and bushes. On the south side another round hill was growing out of it, covered in green moss with a dusting of snow, much smaller and with a curious regularity to it.

He walked over and kicked at its side. It was stone, but not bedrock — it was several smaller stones stacked on top of each other, carefully laid in a circle. The walls curved inwards until they met at the very top, forming a dome. On its eastern wall hung a small iron hammer — the sign of Zhor, to keep evil away.

It was a hut, a hunting cabin carefully built by men long dead. Nobody built huts from stones anymore, but many centuries ago Hjalmarheim had been devoid of trees. Rocks were the only material to use, and all those huts were still standing unless they had been deliberately razed. Today nobody knew how to build them.

There was no door in the walls, but the hammer showed where the entrance was.

“Josie,” he whispered to the sleeping female.

She opened her eyes to moist, clear little slits. “More dfergir?”

“Hopefully not,” he said. “Are you able to stand up?” He set her down.

Josie grabbed hold of him for a while, testing her legs. “I think so.”

Bragr handed her back her spear and got down on all fours, digging into the snow under the hammer. Reaching the ground, he widened the hole until he could open the wooden lid. Under it was a tunnel that went into the hut.

Ducking back up, he scanned the woods for dangers. “Yell if you see anything.”

Josie swung her spear through the air. “Easier if I just hit them myself.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But all our enemies will have learned how to deal with us. Or rather, how not to.” He got back down and crawled into the hut.

It was surprisingly big, and he could stand upright under the middle of the dome. Light came in through dozens of tiny transparent crystals carefully placed in voids between the bigger stones. The hut must be ancient.

There was a fireplace with a pyramid of wood and kindling, ready to light. Several wooden chests and furs were pushed up to the walls. This was obviously a hut that was still in use by hunters among his people. If so, they had probably modified it… yes. He spotted the added wooden wall and small door.

“Thatwould be pleasant,” he muttered to himself, checking the chests and finding them full of unspoiled meat, dried fruits, and pots of frozen myod. To his surprise, there wasn’t a single sign of rodents. These huts were extremely well built, so that not even a littlemusrcould sneak in. And yet the air was fresh and the smoke from the fire could escape through the tiny cracks in the rocks above the fireplace. He crawled back out.

Josie was looking over at the setting sun, shielding her eyes. “When do you expect that Shine you talked about?”

“Probably not this year,” he replied, not seeing any threats nearby. “Myskaldrtell me there is no way to tell exactly.”

“Your bards?” Josie asked, a curious little smile on her lips. “Thoseare the ones you ask about Straum?”

“They are the ones who know the lore,” he explained. “From the old poems, the drapa, the stories about other Shines. Anyway, I hope the oracle would have told me if it will happen this year. Want to see the inside of the hut?”

He let her crawl first, enjoying the sight of her behind when she was crouched down.

She was appropriately impressed. “This is reallycool!It’s like a stoneigloo!”

“Akull igglo,” he agreed, happy to see Josie back to her energetic self. “We will be safe from vettir and fenrir in here. Dfergir would never raze a stone house. Only trolls could destroy it, but if they haven’t done so until now, they never will. I see many runes here, the signs of Zhor and Freyja.”

“Built by hunters, right?” Josie said, finding one of the small crystals in the wall and putting her eye to it. “You can see outside, too. Snow and trees and a red sky. No trolls.”

Bragr lit the fire and put a pot of myod on one of the chests, dragging it closer to the fire so the liquid would thaw. “And they stocked it well. Again I want to reward the hunters who use it.”

Josie sat down on the hard-stamped dirt floor, cross-legged. “Seems like the hunters here like to be ready, stocking the huts and caves in case they need them. Or in caseweneed them, I guess.”

Bragr blew into the fire as it caught and spread. “Those who use this hut will be glad to know that it was of use to their earl, especially when he really needed it. The same is true for the cave. And yet I will reward them and honor them for having made such preparations, for having kept their hunting cabins in good condition, for having stocked them with food and drink, for having foresight. Not for me, but for themselves, for their next hunting trip. Look, the fire was ready. All I had to do was light it. Iwanthunters like that among my people. Iwantfarmers like that. Iwantshipwrights and blacksmiths and potters like that! I want them all smart and prepared, strong and healthy, I want their children happy and growing, I want them all to prosper and to live happy lives in a safe land where they are left alone.”

12

- Josie -

---