Runestone (59 page)

Yes, there were many things to offset the loss that he had felt at leaving the sea. The actual ocean was far behind, of course. Still, until they left the place called Mishi-ghan, they had never been out of sight of the water. At least, not for long. There was the continuum of the gulf, the river, the chain of freshwater seas … but when they left the last of those behind, there had been a landlocked feeling that was new. He
had quickly overcome it, or at least, he had thought so. He had felt no special affinity for the rivers and streams that they had encountered.
Maybe they were not large enough
, he thought to himself. This one was. If not in size, certainly in
spirit
.

Nils had, a little at a time and without realizing it, accepted one of the basic premises of the People: Everything has a spirit. Every person, animal, every tree and rock, every
place
. If he had been asked, he might have denied it, because this was not a part of his childhood learning. Yet he had no hesitation in thinking of a glowering sky, an angry sea, or a place whose mood or feeling was joyful and comforting. Or sometimes, maybe, foreboding. He had not actually reasoned out all of his feelings on this, but he was dimly aware that his tendency was to go along with the thinking of his wife and her people. It was easier than questioning.

Thus, when they talked of the annual war between Sun and Cold Maker, he understood. They watched the shifting weight of advantage in each individual battle, and he could relate this to his grandfather’s stories of the Norse gods and their battles with the ice-giants. Was it not much the same story? Each season the forces of cold and evil attempted to push down into the area where the People were. Sun would retreat to the south, the rays of his torch becoming weaker with each confrontation. Sometimes it seemed that the pale and watery yellow rays of Sun’s fire would go out entirely.

But by the Moon of Hunger, when supplies were growing painfully short, it usually could be seen that there was hope. With the coming of the Moon of Awakening each season, it could be seen that Sun was growing stronger. Cold Maker began to retreat toward his ice caves in the frozen north. He did not go willingly, of course, but snarling and snapping vindictively as he went, like a wolf driven from his kill. There would be intense confrontations as Cold Maker retreated, but they were usually short, for the Moon of Awakening was the beginning of the new growing season, the new year.

That was when they had begun to travel this year, as usual. They had reached this, the Big River, in the Moon of Greening, and it was apparent that there were some decisions to make. Nils was waiting, like everyone else, watching the children
at play. It was midday, and it would be late afternoon by the time the last of the stragglers rejoined the main column. Probably there would be a council.

As if in answer to that thought, Odin joined him.

“There is to be a council tonight,” the newcomer stated. “How is it with you, Wolf?”

“Good. I was looking at the river. I thought it might be bigger.”

“I, too. Its spirit is powerful, though.”

Nils nodded. “I wondered if others felt that, too. It speaks to me in a strange way. You feel it, too, no?”

“Yes,” Odin said thoughtfully. “It speaks, but I cannot hear what it says. That is why we have the council tonight.”

“What will be decided, Odin?”

“Who knows?” Odin shrugged, with a wry smile. ’Maybe nothing. But they will talk of whether to stay and plant on this side of the river, or to cross first. Big Tree will ask what your medicine says, maybe.”

Nils nodded again. That had become an expected thing. Usually it was no problem, merely to agree with what seemed the most logical course of action. That would have been discussed in advance between Big Tree and Clay, the holy man. Sometimes, it was not so apparent.

“What is your thought on this, Odin? Do you know what Big Tree wants?”

“No. I am made to think that he wants to hear how the People are thinking.”

Nils nodded agreement. Big Tree, a good leader, was certainly capable of using that approach.

“We have half a moon,” Odin went on, “maybe a moon, before we
must
plant. To cross, we would need to build boats. And we do not know how welcome we would be on the other side.”

That was a big question. Would the first few of the People on the other shore be in danger from the local natives? There would be a little time before they could land in force to protect those who followed.

“Could the People build boats in half a moon?” asked Nils.

“Maybe. Yes, I think so. But we still have to find a place to plant.”

“Have the scouts crossed?”

“Yes. Two of them, I think, in a skin boat. They did not talk to any one.”

“You have heard that?”

Odin smiled. “No, but if they had talked to anyone, we
would
have heard, no?”

   The council was one of dissent and argument. Very quickly, three factions emerged. One group wished to stay on the east side of the Big River for the season. Plant crops, harvest, and then move across the stream to winter on the west side.

An equally vocal group argued for an immediate crossing, to plant for the season on the other side.

A third faction, represented largely by the other clan, was highly critical of the leadership of Big Tree.

“There has been no planning,” one of their leaders observed.

It was a calmly stated accusation, but guaranteed to strike fire among the loyal followers of Big Tree. It was apparent that a political power struggle was under way. Big Tree, trying hard to maintain his composure, reacted calmly, asking for comment, nodding in answer to statements made with emotional fervor. He seemed to remain calm, but if one looked closely, his seething anger could be seen. His teeth were clenched, indicated by a bunching of muscle along the jaw and in front of the ear.

Nils was quite aware of this, and watched Odin closely for a reaction. He was certain that Odin’s loyalties lay with his own, in support of Big Tree. However, he was unsure as to the headman’s preference. Although Big Tree was a strong and clever leader, he sometimes had a tendency to give too much leeway in decision making to the crowd. At least, that was Nils’s opinion.

There comes a time when a leader must
lead
. A decision made by a good leader is usually respected, even if it is wrong. The thing that will not be tolerated is a lack of decisiveness. The leader must act. Nils had, several times over the years,
thought that Big Tree had come perilously close to that point. Yet, each time, there had been subtle maneuvering in the council, and by various means, Big Tree usually achieved his preferred goal.

This time, it was not so sure. For one thing, Nils thought, Big Tree had not made his preference apparent. This in turn made the leader appear weak. Even so, Nils had to admire the man’s composure as he presided over the council and faced the challenge to his authority.

Odin now asked for and received the right to be heard. That was a bit unusual, Nils thought. Usually Odin merely listened in council, and must be somewhat concerned about the direction the discussion was leading, to take this step.

“My chiefs,” he said calmly, in an almost puzzled tone, “I am ready to cross, if it is so decided.” He turned to face those who were urging such action. “But I have no boat. May I use yours for my family?”

There was a momentary pause and then general laughter, growing from a chuckle. It was known that there were no boats, except for one or two that the scouts had used to look at the west side of the river.

“If we are to cross,” Odin went on, “we should not be sitting here talking. We should be building boats.” More laughter, and Odin continued. “We have come a long way, these past seasons. Big Tree has brought us safely here. Now let us help him take us on.”

Nils could see the satisfaction in the face of Big Tree, the little crow’s-feet of amusement at the corners of his eyes.

“It is as our brother says,” he noted. “We are arguing whether to use boats that we do not even have.” He turned to Clay. “Holy man, can we build boats before the seeds must be planted?”

How clever
, thought Nils. In his own country, a clash among leaders might have led to violence, and overthrow of one or the other. Here, the diversion of the discussion to a common problem, that of the boats, had avoided it. Once more, he was impressed with Odin’s skill, as well as that of Big Tree. The need for boats would be there, regardless of other decisions. Let
that
become the primary concern.

Clay, in his answer, was quite vague. “How quickly,” he asked, “can we build boats? How many do we need?”

There was a murmur of excited discussion, and it was apparent that the confrontation had been avoided.

“It is good,” stated Big Tree, without any reference to
what
might be good. “Let us think on this, these boats, and speak of this again tomorrow.”

There was some grumbling as the council adjourned, but mostly excitement over the coming adventure, no matter when.

T
he day for cooling tempers proved quite successful. When the council reconvened, there was really very little to decide. People were already starting to build boats. This also had another effect, possibly one anticipated by Big Tree. It was apparent that boats could not be built quickly enough. They must cross the river, find an area in which to plant, settle there, and have the seeds in the ground within half a moon. There was simply not enough time.

This may have been the reason that the discussion was now at a much lower intensity. There was little argument. Even that was limited to
how
to accomplish the tasks before them, rather than what those tasks should be.

All of this was satisfying to the Norsemen. There was a sense of accomplishment, to be on the water again, and to be building boats. Nils realized that he had left the lakes behind with regret. Svenson, too, had cast backward glances that held a look of longing when they left the freshwater sea called Erie behind them. They had followed its shoreline for two seasons. It had been then, with the shining water fading behind them
in the blue haze of distance, that the Norsemen had stopped discussing their plans for shipbuilding. Nils had not realized it at the time. It was not a conscious thing. There simply was nothing to discuss, with no large body of water at hand. Their conversations turned to other things. The children, the crops, the day-to-day problems of the People.

It was a land of a different sort that they had crossed after that. Flatter than any they had seen, yet rolling, gently rounded hills, often covered with grass rather than trees. This seemed to be an ideal setting for grazing animals. They now saw herds of humpbacked oxlike creatures, much larger than deer or elk. The local tribes hunted them aggressively, and the People followed their example. The flesh of these creatures, the Norsemen found, was much like beef. It was not long before the People discovered that the skins of these shaggy oxen provided warm robes when tanned with the fur still on. The meat dried well and had good keeping qualities. The Moon of Hunger had not been quite so threatening for the past few seasons. The herds were filling a need.

There had been less notice, therefore, of the absence of the bodies of water that were so important to the Norsemen. They were preoccupied with the excitement of the hunt. True, the brief contact, the sight of the inland sea at the place called Mishi-ghan, had stirred their seafaring blood. But it, too, had been left behind.

Now the primary task for a little while was the building of boats. Sven was in his element again. Though not a boatbuilder, he was certainly a boat user. As such, he had a great interest in the proceedings. With this came more discussion between the two Norsemen.

“Nils,” said Svenson, “have you thought of the danger to the first boats to cross?”

Nils had, actually, but had said nothing. Still, it made him quite uneasy to think of the first boat as it pulled up to shore. The small round boats would carry no more than three people. Two would be left on the other shore while one boatman returned for more passengers. If any potential enemies were there on the west bank to meet them … Well, the two who were left there alone would be at great risk.

“But surely we will have contacted whatever people live over there,” Nils suggested.

“Maybe.”

There was silence for a little while. It was apparent that even with several boats, there would be danger. Even if several crossed at once, they could not all land at the same place. The warriors who landed first would be scattered up and down the shore, two by two. Nils paused to think of how such a landing would be carried out by a Norse exploring party. The situation would be different, of course. A landing party from one of their ships would consist of perhaps a dozen men. Well armed, they would approach the shore in a longboat, running the prow up on the beach. Warriors in the front of the boat would jump out to face any threat and to protect the others as they moved forward.