Fire and Blood

The First Raid

The boat ride is long; Floki sits by Bálburunn, telling her stories of the Gods. Björn stares at the two of them, arms crossed. "I have prayed to Odin for fair winds on this journey."

"Your prayers have gone unanswered." Rollo stares at Floki. "Thor must be angry with us," He points to the west, where dark storm clouds gathered, "he wants to strike his hammer down to sink us."

"Oh no..." Floki giggles, "He is celebrating! He is challenging my boat! She will not sink! The Gods love my boat!"

Rain begins to pour, causing Bálburunn to scrunch up her face and slowly nod her head as the rain starts to fall on her face. Soon enough, the Vikings were all soaked. Bálburunn looked up at the sky as it rumbled, feeling the power of Thor's storm.

Well into the storm, Hakon begins accusing Ragnar of conspiring with Loki. He screams at Ragnar, causing the blue-eyed man to pull a knife out and stab Hakon in the neck. Blood sprays onto Bálburunn's face.

"Does anyone else doubt my navigation?" Ragnar shouts. The men and women avert their eyes. Ragnar walks over to the cage of ravens they carried on board, opening it to release the birds.

"If they come back, we are lost. If they do not, they found land."

It is silent for but a moment before Bálburunn speaks to Ragnar, "so are you going to give me a rag to wipe off the blood or not?" 

Ragnar rolls his eyes at the girl before throwing a piece of cloth at her face. Bálburunn reaches up and grabs the material and nods her head in an "I deserved that" motion. 

Hours pass as they sail through fog and rain. Ragnar stares blankly in front of him, lost in his thoughts.

"I thought I would be fighting by now," Bálburunn says, frowning. Floki reaches down, playing with the braids in her copper hair.

"You will, my child. Odin did not bless me with you just to get us lost at sea." He kisses her on the forehead.

Among the sounds of crashing waves, the caws of birds sound through the fog. Bálburunn turns to Ragnar, who looks defeated. Floki stands up, staring at the sky to see the birds.

They were seagulls.

The entire boat let out a sigh of relief.

"Land!" Floki jumps up and down before picking up his shield. They dock the ship, grabbing their shields and hopping out. A warrior places a bucket of goat's blood is placed onto the shore. They each took turns painting their faces with the blood. Floki reaches in with two fingers before raising them to the skin under Bálburunn's eyes. He drags them down her face giving her a fierce look. A large building up a hill in the distance is sounding a bell.

Ragnar stands beside Bálburunn. "They know we are here." He says. He is grinning like a madman. Rollo lets out a war cry from behind them, charging towards the building after watching the man for a moment, Bálburunn, Björn, Floki, and the rest of the fleet join in on the charge.

They burst through the doors, striking down strange-looking men in dark cloaks; their hands are clasped, holding odd jewelry. Bálburunn walks up to a man holding a chair in defense. He mutters something to her in a foreign language. His eyes were sincere as he shook. She smiles before swiping her sword down, embedding it in his skull. Björn marches in, running to the man clad in darker cloth and multi-colored jewels. He is the only resident that seemed to fight back. He is wielding a large cross.

Björn yells as he swings at the man. He blocks the boy with the cross. Bálburunn runs over, striking down more cloaked men as she makes her way to the boy. He pushes the boy away, causing Björn to fall backward. The man picks up Björm's sword and runs up to him, clumsily swinging the weapon.