A Whale Riders Journey - Updated 19 December 2013

[Rex Anglorvm]

It is back, and with a bang as well!

The duel description was very good, and I loved seeing Dogface back in action. It is such a shame this is one of your least read stories, but I hope you'll continue.

+rep and I'll look forward to where this rampant horde head off to next.

Well you kept asking for an update so I had to give in and write one in the end

As you say it is a real shame that its had so few views, I think maybe i should have used another title such as 'Bloodthirsty vikings on a booze cruise' that might have been better

I like your writing style, Rex

+rep

Thank you ATP, much appreciated.

[Tigellinus]

Well you kept asking for an update so I had to give in and write one in the end

As you say it is a real shame that its had so few views, I think maybe i should have used another title such as 'Bloodthirsty vikings on a booze cruise' that might have been better




Thank you ATP, much appreciated.

So few views? 'slaps round the face' how do you think I feel? Yes I have yet to read this and I will begin promptly

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Seventeen – Did I dream the angel?

My head felt like a thousand banshees were trapped inside singing me to sleep with a cacophony of devilish noise….

I opened my eyes slowly and took in a sharp intake of breath as I felt a dull stabbing pain on my left hand side, then I remembered the fight and the crashing of my body into the dusty courtyard and a breaking of ribs. I groaned and rolled onto my right side, and was able to breathe a great deal easier. Looking around I realised that I was abed in my cabin, the subtle movement of my ship, making me realise that we were underway and heading who knows where. Feeling a little better and more aware of my surroundings I touched my face, to feel only the smooth skin of youth; somebody had shaved my beard off!

Outraged, I sat bolt upright only to feel a fresh surge of pain and a feeling of nausea overwhelm me. Who the bloody hel had shaved my beard off!? A disembodied voice floated towards me and I turned my head to face it, seeing a figure sat in the shadows on a small stool nearest the only entrance to the cabin, a guard then.

‘Careful Hakon, the big man almost done for you, sit back and I’ll fetch you some water.’ The smooth voice of the valleys came at me, and I realised that Huw had been sitting in the corner of my small cabin waiting for some signs of life it seemed.

My voice croaked at first and then rose in a fit of anger ‘What happened, Huw? The attack, did it go well? How long have I been in bed? And I don’t want water, fetch me some bloody beer! And what swineherd shaved my beard off!’ of all things I was most angry about my beard, as any Norseman will tell you, our beards are our most precious possession and I felt curiously unmanned without it.

The Welshman infuriated me even more by laughing at me, if I could have got out of my bed I would have brained him with my battle axe; a grin split his face ear to ear as he erupted into a unseemly fit of giggles, finally regaining his composure and with tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks he spoke ‘I’m so glad to see you alive my Lord; I was worried you were going to bugger off to Valhalla and leave me with this pile of heathens to control all by myself.’

I began to interrupt again, this time a placating hand was held up by Huw and I stilled my tongue.
‘I’ll tell you it all. Just hang on and I will get you the beer you want’, rising from his seat, he pulled the cabin door open and bellowed for some beer for us both. Outside I could hear a hearty cheer, as my men must have realised that I was awake and was calling for a drink. Huw sat back down and shortly after a young man came into the cabin with two foaming tankards of ale, the beer a ‘gift’ from Fulk the mean. Huw motioned to me first and broken ribs or not, I grabbed the tankard and drained the contents in four gulps. By the Gods ale had never tasted better.

With another smile on his face the Welshman stood and took his ale from the lad raising it on high ‘to your health my Lord, I’m glad to have you back in the land of the living’ and with that he drained his beer even faster than me. Huw motioned to the door and then closed it firmly behind the youngster; he then perched on the end of my bunk before regaling me with the tale of the sack of Saib.

‘Well, let me see, ah yes that’s right. The big bloke, from what I’m told there you were yelling like a madman while brandishing the giant’s head in the air and all of a sudden you crumple. Yes, that’s what Abdalla said; you just crumpled to the ground. Abdalla takes control, orders the men to chop the heads off of the other giants in case they get any ideas, tells more of the lads to find the monthly gold shipment that pays the garrison and to strip the citadel of anything else of value, then finally he sends a runner to find me and the rest of the lads.’

Here the Welshman paused to reflect on the events once more; ‘err, yes. Now I remember, anyway I find out and come to the citadel with the rest of the lads, there’s great sorrow as they all think that you’ve had it, until Abdalla shakes his head and says if we can find a Doctor you would be ok. It seems the Arabs have really good doctors, and put great store by them unlike the butchers we have back home. So the boys ransack the town looking for doctors, even too busy for the ‘usual stuff’ with the local maidens. So, in the end four different men are brought in, and we’re all thinking, which bloody one to trust and then she turns up!’

He had my attention; a woman, a woman saved my life?

Huw nodded realising what I was thinking ‘yes, a woman. No ordinary woman mind; and when I say turned up, well she didn’t so much turn up as stroll in! There are all these men, well armed, blood splattered, full of war lust and itching to carve anyone up, because their Lord is dying and in she strolls. We all stood there as she walked out of the citadel’s highest tower and then down from the battlements in a silken green dress, all veiled and demure, but there was just something about her. What’s left of the Arab guards drop to the ground and bow low as they can get; she looks at the bodies of the eunuchs and a small anguished expression can be seen in her eyes alone; and then she speaks, now you know me boyo, I’m no stranger to women, but that voice was like a thousand angels playing on their harps and any man there would have been torn apart by every other man in that courtyard if he had sought to harm her, she spoke softly to the bodies of those giants, as if saying goodbye. Then she takes a look at you, and her eyes moisten, she looks at the doctors all arguing over the best treatment of you; and don’t ask me why, but from the moment she sees you, she’s taken with you and the voice changes, although I don’t know much Arabic I can tell it became harsh and authoritarian, later Abdalla fills me in that basically she called three of the doctors charlatans, orders them shown from the citadel and then tells the last one to stay.’

‘Then before me or any of the Northman can move, Abdalla and his boys plus what’s left of the Arab soldiers show the other three men out of the main gate, and none to gently either. She then takes command of your care, Abdalla and me round up the lads, gather in any stragglers around the town, take the gold and whatever else we grabbed from the merchants and we all set off back to the docks, and there she is marching at our head, with Abdalla and his boys sticking close to her, that was a week ago, and your beard by the way, she likes you clean shaven, so the beard had to go! She’s been the one nursing you all this time, her and the doctor; apparently your lung was pierced by a rib bone, that’s why you dropped like a stone. Oh, and she is a princess or something or other.’

Sitting on the bed, I was dumbstruck, my mouth gaped open like a gaffed fish. I had thought I was dreaming the angel, it turned out I hadn’t.

Huw chuckled again…

[Scottish King]

Ahh! Good to still see this going! I wonder if the princess will have a further part to play in this tale.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Oh no they didn't... his bead?



Great update mate, nice to see a new character addition to hopefully kick off some moere updates.

[Rex Anglorvm]

Oh no they didn't... his beard?



Great update mate, nice to see a new character addition to hopefully kick off some moere updates.

I have some spare time, so I'm hoping to up the production a little! Glad to have you reading again.

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Eighteen – Beard today….gone tomorrow

I was still angry about my beard as Huw sat laughing at me; by all the Gods if it had been any another man finding fun in my beardless predicament I would have gutted him like a pickled herring.

Grumpily in the end I had got to my feet and snapped to be left alone when the Welshman had tried to help me as I struggled to don my clothes. In the end I had managed to dress myself, but it would have been quicker if I had of allowed Huw to help me. After dressing I sat on the edge of my bed and waved him over; ‘come on help me up and out of this cabin, it stinks of sickness in here and I need some sea air.’

With Huw supporting me I shambled outside, the sunlight hitting my eyes and startling my vision for just a second, then a great wave of sound hit me, as my men cheered themselves hoarse at seeing me back on my feet, even if I was as wobbly as a two-day old colt. I smiled my appreciation back at them.

The first two men to greet me were Abdalla and Erik, they had seen me when I had first left my cabin, Erik had been busy trimming the sail while Abdalla had been piloting the ship by steering the helmsman’s oar that lay aft, Erik came over with a broad grin on his face, ‘its good to see you on your feet my Lord Hakon, we had feared that the big bugger had done you in!’ I was startled to see that Erik had changed somewhat; he looked like he had had a bath; in fact all the men looked somewhat cleaner.

I stared at Abdalla who had followed in Erick footsteps, a big soppy pleased with himself look on his face; still in an irritable mood I barked at the sailing master ‘why are you so bloody happy? And why does my crew look and smell like a bunch of altar serving choir boys!’ I ignored the fact that I was in exactly the same state as my men, in fact I even smelt of a rose incense, just what had that woman done to me!

Abdalla struggled to contain his amusement at my outburst and bowed low at the hip to me, ‘my Lord, as Erik says, it is most wonderful to see you on your feet, that is the cause of my happiness, and as for the crew they are as you see them because of the orders of the Princess and the Doctor, they say that a clean ship is less likely to spread disease, and from experience I can say they are likely to be correct.’

Grumbling to myself I let the issue lie for the moment, still wrinkling my nose at the rose-scented smell of my own body, but I would have words with this Doctor; and as for this Princess we had a small matter of a beard and a bath to settle between us! ‘Well we can talk later about all that, I want to know where we are and what the haul was from the sack of Saib. So let’s all have a chat by the steering oar, come now move!’’

As I moved across the deck of my ship, I took in the movement of the ship as it took in a steady pace; the men rowing steadily and with practised ease, while the large square rigged sail at the centre of the vessel caught a fresh but pleasant breeze blowing from the west; I was still aboard my ship ‘the boat’ I presumed that its slower pace and bigger cabin space made sense when looking after a sick man, but if all my leading men were aboard this boat running around like prize hens looking after me, then who by Odin’s beard was steering the captured corsair ship that was sailing with half speed on a larboard side?

As usual Huw read my thoughts ‘the captured ship is being crewed by our lads and some of the Princess’s Arabs; she’s piloting the ship, but the Frank is keeping an eye on her.’

My mind was in a whirl; here I was recovering from a near fatal wound, only to be told that my captured prize ship was now being captained by a woman! And to top that she was being watched by the Frank! A man who I was not certain we could trust after being made to fight a duel in the fortress of Faulk the mean; ‘what the hel do you mean! You have my ship being led by a woman, who is watched by a man I’m not sure off! Come to think of it what Norse would serve under a wench in the first place, what manner of men are crewing that vessel!’ I pointed angrily over the thwart of my ship at the corsair vessel sailing sedately alongside us.

Huw held up a placating hand whilst Erik and Abdalla looked at me realising that their Lord was well and truly back on his own two feet. ‘My lord, we had no choice, we all wanted to stay with you and ensure your recovery! For most of the voyage so far Abdalla captained the corsair ship, but when you were well enough, the Doctor remained, but the Princess left for the corsair; she proved to be a fine sailor so she took control of it, and she insisted that Abdalla return to pilot the boat, as he can glide her over the water like no other man, the Princess wanted you to have a gentle recovery.’

‘Am I hearing this right? You my senior men have let a woman take control of a vessel, then order you all about and then make you all have a bath; at least I was out cold! We will be the laughing stock of the Norse world if this gets out! What the bloody hel has gotten into you idiots!’ by now I was in a fuming rage, all thoughts of taking it easy to aid my recovery were now long forgotten.

Erik then coughed politely to interrupt my tirade ‘My Lord, I understand how this must look to you, but she is no normal woman, she is a Princess, a real tough nut for she will brook no argument, and too be fair to her she has got you back on her feet, got her men to behave themselves and has given her word that she will not try to escape until she had spoken to you in person. I believe she is a woman of principle; as for the Frank he has proven his loyalty for at Saib he saved Huw’s life.’

I looked at Huw for confirmation of what Erik had just told me, the Welshman nodded his head in affirmation, ‘its true my Lord, he did save my life, as for the takings at Saib, they will keep the men happy for quite a while’ with that Huw reached into his sailing jacket and handed me a tally board, I snatched it from his hand and greedily read the figures.

‘Good. I am pleased with the takings; my apologies if I have been of ill temper, I want to know our present position, our strength and our supplies status. But I would speak with this Princess first. Now! Call her to this vessel, I would have a word with her about my beard!’ then catching another whiff of my perfumed self I added ‘and other matters…’

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

I'm sorry I missed this mate.

A great update, and about time dog face found a woman in his life.

[McScottish]

*Cough*WTFHAPPENEDHEREWHEREISMYSTORY*Cough, cough, cough!*