Page 67 of Alien Viking's Plunder

“He’s Ivarr’s boy,” Kark said. “One of your future warriors, no doubt.”

“When he passes his Trials,” Bragr said. “Not before. He will have to sit this battle out.”

“There is the difference between you and your father, Chief. He would force any child who could hold a stick to fight for him.”

“Gornt will never again terrorize Hjalmarheim,” Bragr growled. “Nor will he terrorize any other place.”

He’s saying he’ll kill his father,Josie thought.

“I think that is wise, Chief,” Kark said carefully. “Nobody wants him, and he would always be a menace.”

There was a metallic whine, and a strange shape came out of the stone building. It looked most of all like an old wooden sled with curved runners that rose high in front, each topped by a carved boar’s head. It was beautifully painted in red, with colorful swirls here and there, similar to the longships. It was the kind of thing that looked like it should have had a team of reindeer pulling it. But it slid towards them on its own, although the runners didn’t seem to be touching the ground.

You must be kidding me,Josie thought.

Hansr was standing in the sled and had it stop beside them. “It’s ready, Chief.”

Bragr gave the strange conveyance a critical look. “It’s in good shape, Kark.”

“We keep it ready,” the old man said. “I only allow it to be used for serious errands. We use our sea-going ships for most of our needs.”

Bragr took Josie’s hand and helped her into the sled, making it rock on soft springs. “Sit down here. It’s safe.”

She gingerly sat down on the simple wood plank, noticing that the sled had primitive controls made from artful spirals of cast iron.

Bragr turned to Hansr. “Do you know the hut up in the mountains?” He pointed to the ridge where they had spent the night.

“Yes, Chief! It belongs to our village. We often go there.”

Bragr fixed the boy with a blue gaze. “My guess is that you’re the one who keeps it stocked with food and furs. It’s the kind of job someone like you would enjoy.”

The boy went red. “Yes, Chief.”

Bragr grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it. “Well done, Hansr. Josie and I needed it last night, and it served us well. I will return with more supplies for it when this is all over. Lendmann Kark, gather all your warriors and march north. We will destroy Gornt and his unholy army once and for all.” He sat down beside Josie, grabbed the strange iron controls, and had the sled accelerate forwards until it lifted off the ground and rose to a height of several feet above the grass.

Josie grabbed onto the wooden handhold with one hand, the other holding her spear with the butt on the floor and the sharp end straight up. “How does this even work?”

“We often talk about that,” Bragr said. “It must be similar to the longships, although the shortships can’t go into space. Only our shipwrights say they know, but they keep their knowledge secret. I suspect they don’t know, either.”

“Someonemust know,” Josie insisted. “How else can they repair them and keep them running?”

“Those who made them to begin with knew, and since then all we do is keep the ships in order. We replace boards when necessary, we touch up the paint, and we use them sparingly so as not to wear them out. The only parts on this shortship that have not been replaced are the runners. On the longships it’s the masts and the keels, from the dragon’s head in the bow to the dragon’s tail at the stern. We think that’s where the magic lies.”

“It can’t bemagic,” Josie fretted. “Magic doesn’t exist.”

“I’ve traveled to many planets on raids,” Bragr said as they passed another burned farm, making him glower. “I’ve seen many wonders, and some of them seem like magic to me. Your space station, for instance. How does it stay up above the planet? How does the air stay inside it? How can it support so many people? But I notice that nobody has anything like our longships, and nobody can explain to us how they work. Here on Gardr, most people say they work by magic. You and I know that it is false. They must be made by someone. The makers must have known secret arts. They lived a long time ago and left us these ships, but no clue about how they work. All we know is that theydowork and they allow us to travel to other planets and raid them.”

“They must have something to do with that pulsar,” Josie said. “I saw your ships travel faster than light, andthisthing is a heap of firewood that should not be able to fly at all. It’s alien tech on a crazy high level.”

“We do think Straum is involved,” Bragr agreed. “And aliens. Or possibly our ancient ancestors. The ships only work in daylight. That’s all we know.”

They were going fast now, passing one burned farm after the next, and the wind was forcing tears from Josie’s eyes. “How far is it?”

“Not so far now,” Bragr said, his jaws clenched. “The skrymtir must have moved fast.”

“It’s a strange way to invade,” Josie pondered. “Just burning the barns and not fighting anyone?”

“Much like your station, nobody here expects a sudden attack like this,” Bragr said. “My warriors had no time to gather and fight. And this is just a show of strength. It’s a way for Gornt to tell Hjalmarheim ‘I’m back, and I’m in charge’. Everyone will understand that things are about to get really bad.”

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