Page 73 of Viktor at Sea

I still loved the sea and the freedom it gave me–the kind of freedom I couldn’t find anywhere else–but I loved Astrid more. The thought of turning down the offer didn’t bother me as much as it would have before because now, I had Astrid.

Everything was easier now that I had Astrid, including staying on land.

Perhaps if Astrid and I had been married for longer than two days, I wouldn’t immediately be opposed to the idea of another mission so soon after the last. If I had it my way, I wanted to spend at least six months with my wife before I left for any long missions, but I had a feeling Barden wouldn’t like that.

“Not long,” Barden answered, his voice dragging me away from my thoughts. “Two months. Possibly three. We’ll need to sit down and map the journey out with Garth and Odin to be certain about the timeline.”

“Three months?” I exclaimed in surprise. “How are you considering three months as not long?”

“You never thought three months out on the sea was long before.”

“I wasn’t married before.”

“I was worriedshewould change things,” he pursed his lips, a displeased look on his face. I didn’t like that one bit.

“Her name is Astrid,” I snarled, my lips curving into a deep scowl. “You’re out of order right now, Barden. You have no right to speak to my wife that way. I will not stand for the disrespect.”

“I know,” Barden sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry for my tone. I knew you wouldn’t be happy about this, but like I said, this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. I’ve been in my head about approaching you with this for quite a while now, and I guess I becamedefensive. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak about Astrid like that. It won’t happen again.”

“It’s okay,” I sighed, accepting his apology not because he was the Chief, but because I knew him. I knew Barden, so I knew this was a mere lapse in his judgment. “Is this why you pushed for the wedding to take place so soon after my proposal?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “You can’t say no, Viktor. It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up on.”

“I don’t know what kind of opportunity this is, but I can’t leave Astrid behind for three months while I go to sail the Seven Seas for you. We’ve only been married for two days. I wanted to wait at least six months before considering going on another long mission.”

“You’ll probably only have to sail two seas,” he joked, but I didn’t laugh. “You’re serious about the six months?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Yes.”

Barden pursed his lips, looking conflicted. “Let me tell you more about the opportunity. It might change your mind.”

“It won’t.”

“Hear me out before you make a decision,” Barden requested. “Long before you returned, I received letters from neighbouring islands and faraway lands. It appears that word of your travels and the riches we’ve accumulated has spread, and everyone wants to do business with us.”

“That’s good, I guess. But what has that got to do with the mission?”

“Just listen, Viktor,” he sighed. “I have a large pile of letters, and after going through them, I’ve plucked out some really good opportunities for us. We’ve been very busy while you’ve been away with the spears and other weapons, and this year’s harvest has yielded far more fur, wool and materials than we know what to do with. Not only could we sell these to those lands far away that don’t have access to these things, but they’ve also promisedus things that we’ve never seen or even heard of before.” Barden’s eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

It was only by travelling by sea to all these unknown locations that we were able to accumulate our bounty, but there was still so much more that we were yet to discover. And that’s why the prospect of this mission was so exciting.

It sounded like the mission of all missions.

I got it. I really did, but I was still torn. I didn’t want to leave Astrid so soon after we’d married.

“What islands do you have in mind?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“We’d obviously start with the lands closest to us, but they’d only be quick stops. Oh, and we wouldn’t be selling too much to them. Asmund from Isle has requested some more spears. I said no to him at first because we’ve already got so much on our plate, but then he said he’d pay double, and I couldn’t say no to that. You’ll slowly be working your way from there with the end goal being Greenland, wherever that is. That’s where we need Garth and Odin to come in and help map things out for us.”

“Greenland?” I asked, wracking my brain but coming up with nothing. I had never heard of Greenland before.

“I’ve never heard of it either.” He shrugged. “I received a letter from their Chief from passing by boat, and the fur and gems they speak of sound unimaginable. I need you to check it out for me.”

“How long will it take to get there?” I asked, weighing all the pros and cons of this mission.

“The letter said a little over three weeks. Perhaps more, depending on the weather and the accuracy of the map they sent.”

“And it would be even more with all the stops you want us to make along the way,” I sighed.

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