"You must help, Ida! Alone, your child does not manage to be born! "

Naya had no idea what she was doing here. By the gods, she was also just by chance to this place. She wanted to beg for a bowl of milk and heard screams from the shabby longhouse.

It had been a while since she had been here in the area. She was a simple storyteller, not a skald who was welcome everywhere. She could be happy if she was not chased away. She would never get close to her father's talent, which had been welcome everywhere. He always used to say that home could be everywhere, if only welcome.

But she had no home and had to look where she stayed.

She remembered the court of Göran well. Here she had often been a guest with her father. Her father Alvar had been a skald and had taken her on his travels after her mother's death. But he also died a year ago and so she had to breakthrough alone. Göran's farm had been remembered differently, however. Not so shabby and rundown.

"I can not anymore! I do not want any more. I'll leave this brat to the tides! "

Ida moaned when the next woe came, but she did not press. It was strange because she was bleeding heavily and Ida was getting weaker and weaker. She was unnaturally pale and her breathing sounded very strange. Naya had been with some births,but that was not normal.

Gradually Naya had to learn what had happened.

Göran and his sons had died in a battle. Ida had suddenly been alone, because the servants was up and away. Ida wanted to go to her jarl and stay there as a maid, but before she could travel, the farm was attacked. They had been rapedand left to their fate. A few days later, the scoundrels came back to live here in the yard. They had kept Ida with them, but since their womb was getting fatter, the men had left again, but kept coming back as if that was their home. It was only a matter of time before they came back.

Naya sighed.

She could understand Ida, but it did not help. She had to go through it now.

Ida cried out as the next woe came.

"Try to squeeze, Ida! Then you did it soon. "

Naya was more daring than the woman who lay in the dirt before her. It stank beastly. Not the best place to be born.

All at once Ida became calm. Too calm.

"Ida?" 

Naya looked up.

Ida lay on her back and did not move. Her eyes were staring into space. The contractions had also stopped, only the blood was still flowing.

Naya knew what that meant.

"Oh no! Not now, "she whispered horrified.

She felt Ida's pulse, but he was no longer there. But the child still moved as if to show Naya that it was alive and wanted to get out of here.

Naya looked around. She had to act fast.

At that moment, the door to the nave opened and two men entered.

"Fast! I need a knife! "

Naya did not care if it was the scoundrels who had made Ida pregnant. It had to be fast, so that the child could survive.

The men looked stunned at first, but then one of them knelt beside her and handed her his knife.

"What are you doing, girl?"

She snorted.

"I want to save the child. It's still alive, but not for long! "

She put the knife to her abdomen and carefully cut into the meat.

The man who had stopped moaned and leaned against the wall.

"Get out, Raik! Now! Tell the others, I'll come right away! "

Naya heard the door closing behind her.

"Cut deeper into the flesh! She is dead. It does not hurt her anymore! "

Naya snorted, but then her blood and liquid came in a big rush. She enlarged the incision and threw the knife aside carelessly to grasp the wound. A courageous grip and she brought out the child. The man cut the umbilical cord over time andknotted it.

"The child is not breathing!",She stated in horror.

The man took the child from her and freed the mouth from the mucus. Then he carefully blew his breath into his mouth. He rubbed the child's back and kept repeating it until the child finally stirred and screamed.

He gave her the child and took off his leather vest and tunic.

Naya took the tunic and wrapped the little guy in it.

"What ... what am I going to do with him?"

The man shrugged.

"Give it to the father!"

She shook her head.

"Ida was raped. Of several men.She had no idea who the father is. "

He cleaned his knife on his pants.

"Where is Göran?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Dead!"

Then she frowned.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" She squinted, "Are you one of those guys who raped the poor girl?"

Actually, he did not look that way. His clothes were clean, tidy and of very good quality. Besides, he had helped her, though she had not asked him for it.

"No! I had never dishonor a woman!"

That's what she believed. He looked very good. Tall, broad-shouldered, but a scar graced his right cheek.His hair was cut short and she saw some cuts on the scalp. Apparentlyit was not that long ago that he had taken off his hair. His head was tattooed.

"I am Thorge Stijnsson! We are looking for robbers who have stolen cattle! "

She frowned.

"We?"

He nodded.

"Yes. My brothers, I and the sons of my uncle Tjark! "

Suddenly she knew who she had in front of her. There was only one Tjark in this area.

"You are of the Gunnarssons, right?"

She had already heard of the three brothers and had already come up with stories about the stories of them. It was said that all Gunnarssons had a wife from the future. That was not believable, but Naya had always had romantic ideas about it. Then she remembered something else.

"Thorge Stijnsson!", She murmured thoughtfully, "you are also from the future!"

He laughed out loud and the child in her arms grimaced and bellowed in full lungs. He teased it briefly on the belly and cooed softly until the child calmed down. Only then did he turn to Naya again.

"That was too long ago, that I could remember! But what's your name? "

She raised her chin.

"My name is Naya Alvarsdottir!"

When he heard her name, his face lit up. The little one started crying again.

Thorge sucked his little finger off and then put it in the child's mouth, which immediately fell silent and sucked on his finger. It looked like Thorge knew very well about small children.

"You are Alvar's daughter? Whereis he? As a kid, I always listened to his stories when he was with my Jarl! I loved the stories. Especially the ones with the dragons. "

She sighed.

"My father died too! He was old and the gods might listen to his stories. "

Thorge stood up. That did not suit the little guy, because he started screaming again.

"I've never had a kid that was so hungry right now!" Thorge muttered.

He went to the door.

"Einar. I heard a goat moaning back there. Pray to the gods that it is not a buck and milk them. "

She heard someone say yes, Thorge!cried.

"What are you doing here?"She asked.

He sighed as he rummaged in a chest and pulled out fabrics. With every rag he pulled a face, because they were all dirty.

"I said livestock was stolen. We followed a trail and it led us here. "

Naya nodded.

"There was nobody here. Except Ida! "

At last he found what he was looking for and at that moment the door opened and a young lad came in. He carried a bucket.

"A very miserable goat, but I was able to milk it. Why do you need ... at Thor's lightning ... is that a kid? "

That was not to be overheard, because the little one roared meanwhile from body forces.

Thorge picked up the bucket and placedit next to Naya. Then he handed her the towel.

"Soak the cloth in the milk and let it suck. Be right back! Einar, you take care of her. "

Einar did not look like he would like that, but he sat down at the dirty table. His face expressed disgust.

"My mother would not let that happen!" He murmured, wiping the grottest dirt off the table with the back of his hand.

Naya had already dipped the cloth inthe milk and put it into the child's mouth. He sucked it hard, so she had to dive it again soon.

"I think Ida did not have the wi ll to live anymore. That's why she will not have kept order here. "

She told him what she knew and he shrugged helplessly.

"I do not know anything aboutwomen. Because I think I would be too young for that. I'm only fourteen! "

She smiled slightly.

"Half a man, then. Have you been on a raid? "

He shook his head.

"I'm allowed to come next time because my uncle Lasse wants to stay with my sister. She is expecting a child soon! "

She opened her eyes. By the goddess Freya, what were those conditions?

"Your uncle has married your sister?"

Einar grinned.

"She's just my half-sister and Uncle Lasse is not her blood relative. Jule is the sister of Thorge! She is a twin, just like me! She shared my mother's womb with Thorge,as I do with my sister Anika. "

Now Naya understood. At least she believed.

Meanwhile, the little boy was well fed.She lifted him onto her shoulder and gently stroked his back.

Immediately after, the door opened again and Thorge entered. More men followed him. There were seven guys with Thorge and Einar and one looked better than the other.

He sat down opposite Naya, who could no longer feel her legs. But she did not dare get up and scare the kid with it.

"We talked. The guys will comeback here. That's for sure. We will bury Ida because we did not find any wood to burn her. You should stay close to us until we have the guys and can bring back our cattle. If you stay alone, we can not guarantee your safety. If they catch you, they'll do the same to you as Ida. "

She nodded.

"And what about the little one here?"

The other guy, who had been here first with Thorge, wrinkled his nose.

"It's a little kid and you're a woman!"

She snorted softly while Thorge laughed.

"I think you upset her, Raik. Even if she's a woman, Naya does not belong to the child! "He looked at her seriously," Do you know what Ida wanted? "

Naya closed her eyes for a moment.

"She wanted to drown him!"

Thorge nodded slowly.

"I understand!" He mumbled.

Involuntarily, she pressed the child gently to herself.

"I saved him. I do not want him to die! "

The men mumbled softly until Thorge raised his hand. You could see that he had the respect of the men,even if some were not pleased.

"Since it is also my merit that he still lives, I also have a say. And I think he should live. We'll take him with us and hand him over to our Jarl. "

Naya winced slightly.

She herself had been placed in the care of a Jarl until her father brought her to him. And it had happened to her not very good. But she did not want to contradict Thorge. How could she?

He hit his thighs.

"Well. Then it is settled. We'll stay here until Ida is underground, get our cattle and then we'll go home! "

It was the middle of the night, when  the guys bellowing reached the estate.

Thorge had taken cover with his men behind the trees.

He had hidden Naya in the forest, sothat she and the child were safe. The goat he had left her, if it took longer than he suspected.

Raik snorted.

"They actually have our cattle! I heard it. If we're lucky, they have not sold one yet. "

Thorge nodded, not taking his eyes off the guys.

"Ida! Come out, you lazy woman! "

The leader of the Horde roared around and you could hear that he was already drunk.

Another went into the hut and came out laughing.

"She vanished! But there is blood on the floor. I think she will have given birth to the brat. Then she probably left! "

The leader roared with laughter.

"Is the blood still fresh?"

It has been confirmed.

"Then we'll get her tomorrow. I w ill not let her go! "

Another snorted.

"What do you want with her and the brat?"

The leader knocked him down.

"It could be my brat! And now we sleep! Tomorrow we'll bring Ida back. "

Thorge raised a warning hand, then brought out his sword. The others followed suit. Everything happened silently.

Thorge turned to his younger brother.

"If we attack, you grab a horse and bring it to safety."

Sjard looked at him questioningly.

"What for?"

Thorge shrugged.

"The storyteller has no horse. If it survives more, we are lucky. Otherwise we have at least one horse!"

Sjard nodded, though reluctantly.

"Yes, Thorge."

He whispered further instructions and everyone nodded to him without asking questions.

They waited until the guys got louder.Then it stopped suddenly.

"Did you hear that?"

Thorge swore softly.

You could hear the child screaming for a moment. But only briefly, then it was quiet again.

"Did you hear the child screaming?I think Ida is very close. "

The men laughed.

"Shall we get her?"

Thorge heard a snort.

"No! If she thinks she's safer in the forest, then she should freeze her ass. Maybe then the brat will die too. "

The candles were extinguished and aftera while you could hear the snoring.

Thorge nodded to his men and they creptquietly to the hut. Sjard went straight to the horses as Thorge had asked him to do. He inspected the horses, then took them all with one hand and indicated to Thorge that three of them were usable.

Thorge took a deep breath.

Only three!

The others he would have to feed on,that he would get a good price in the market. This put his plan back into the distance.

Nevertheless, he gave his brother the  sign that he should take all the horses. Sjard nodded and led the horses into the woods.

The rest of the men sneaked up to thehut. Everyone was waiting for Thorges sign. He listened to the snoring sounds for a while, then raised his hand.

Everything went smoothly.

Raik quietly opened the door and w ent in first. Thorge followed him softly. There were five men sleeping onthe floor or at the table. It stank pitifully of unwashed bodies and spilled peeling mead.

Thorge grabbed the first by the hair and cut his throat before he could make a sound. The others came into the hut and the men did the same with the other three. The last one jumped up and stared at them, aghast.

"Who are you?"

You could hear the shaking in his voice and a puddle on the floor told him he had no control over his body.

"We come from the Gunnarssons. You stole our cattle! "

The man swallowed hard. He knew exactly which cattle Thorge was talking about.

Before he could answer, Einar hit him in the face.

"Where is the cattle of my father and my uncle?"

The man spit blood on the floor andThorge shook his head while he looked sharply at Einar. Then he crouched down and folded his hands together. Everybody else might have looked nice, but not with him. It seemed threatening, because his thighs tensed and you could see the muscles playing. And that despite the leather pants he wore. His bare upper arms did theirs too.

"Have you been the leader of this lot?" He asked softly.

The man shook his head.

Again he pissed his pants when Thorge pulled out a knife.

"Do you know who I am?",Thorge asked softly again.

A trickle threatened him, but Thorge did not dodge. He stayed in his posture, cleaning his fingernails with the point of his knife.

"You are Thorge Stijnsson."

His men laughed around him.

"Exactly. You know what I do with men of your own kind? "

Again the guy swallowed hard.

"I know it. I know your reputation. And also your father's and your two uncle's. "

Again his men laughed and Thorge clicked his tongue to keep them quiet.

"You're the worst of all!"The guy whispered.

Thorge nodded.

"Yes, I am. Explain why I have spared you. "

The guy dropped his head.

"You want to know where the cattle are!"

Thorge nodded slowly.

"That's right! You did not sel lit. The time was too short for that. Besides, I can see from the barren food and the shelled mead t hat you have no coins. So! Where is our cattle? "

Faltering, the guy explained where they had hidden the cattle.

Thorge nodded, satisfied. It was not far and they would be home soon.

"Is the herd still complete?"He asked.

The guy nodded.

"Yes. Sven wanted to slaughter a cow, but since Ida had become so fat and could no longer work, he has left it. We did not feel like working. "

Thorge nodded again and sighed softly. It sounded regretful for a moment.

"Ida! Yes. That's a thing too. Who is the father of her child? "

The guy shrugged.

"We did not know that ourselves.Everyone has taken her at least once. "

Thorge raised an eyebrow.

"So you could be the father, too?"

The guy nodded vigorously, as if expecting Thorge to spare him.

Thorge clicked his tongue again.

"That will not help you, you know?Ida is dead and she can not confirm it. You stole our cattle. You have invaded the court of Göran. And you have violated his daughter."

The guy became more courageous now.

"You have already attacked some villages and monasteries yourself. Do not tell me you want to kill me for that! Your reputation precedes you. Thorge the butcher! You and Lasse Gunnarsson are the worst men of Jarl Thorvald! "

His brothers and cousins grinned, but Thorge made a face.

Yes. He and Lasse had won this call. However, Thorge did not particularly like the nickname Butcher. He was not harmless, he knew that himself, but he did not kill without meaning and reason. He only killed when it came to his life or that of his family. And if it helped his plan, which he had long cherished.

"That's why you're breathing too! But I see that you are not exactly blessed with reason. Otherwise, you would not spit on me. "

He got up and grabbed the guy by the hair.

"Pity! You are still very young. Would not you have just joined Sven! "

"Sven was my brother ..."

The last word went into a gurgling, because Thorge had rammed the knife into the guy's throat.

Slowly he pulled it out again.

"Give him a sword. He was braver than the others. He deserves his place beside his ancestors. "

Raik snorted, but then did what Thorge demanded.

The guy grabbed the sword with his last strength, then he took his last breath.

As soon as he was dead, they began to put the bodies together.

Thorge went out and Einar followed him.

"Raik did not like it!"

Thorge nodded.

He realized for a long time that Raik claimed his place. After all, he was the eldest son of his uncle Tjark and he would inherit the estate. It would not take long andRaik would put Thorge in his place.

"I know you have a plan, brother."

Thorge sighed.

"I was not made to kneel in front of others. You know that. But if I stay, I'll have to go soon. "

Einar nodded slightly.

"Raik and Sjard already agree on how they divide everything up. It is decided. And neither you nor Lasse are in their plans. "

Thorge snorted.

He had expected it from Raik. He had always had respect for him and Lasse, but he did not like being superior to him. But that his own brother was so devious, he wouldnot have thought possible.

"I just have to hold on for awhile. Then I did it! Some more raids and I will be able to buy it! "

Einar looked at him seriously.

"Do you need another man?"

Thorge sighed.

"Da will kill me if you go with me! He wants you to help Sjard! "

Einar grunted.

"We are too many descendants. Andall are very strong-willed. But I'd rather stay under you than underSjard. Besides, he does not need me. He has Raik, whom he treatsbetter than his brothers! "

It was no secret that his brothers did not understand each other. Only he held them together and that washard work. Einar was right. They were just too many for a good.

He put a hand on Einar's shoulder.

"We talk to father. But it willnot be easy. You do not know what I intend to do! "

Einar shrugged.

"I do not care. The main thing isthat I have enough air to breathe! "

Thorge laughed.

"More than enough!"