"This is difficult for you. It is a hard time for us all. I wish things could be otherwise, but they are not. My heart is loyal to you, Halla, and will always be so. If I can find a way to settle with your father, I will. But I doubt he wants to make peace. There was a time when I thought your father's threats empty. Now it is a real possibility that he will have my head. But for you, the risk is worth it."
They fell into silence again. The ship swayed and mast creaked as the sail filled, driving the ship over the foamy sea. Toki waited patiently for Halla. After several moments, she placed her delicate hand on his knee.
"I'm sorry, you did not ask for this. I first sought you as a way to escape Vermund. I wasn't sure what else I wanted. You are a good man, and I have no other to turn to now. It's just hard to accept what is happening. I have the same guilt that you do. Your sister hates me and blames me for this."
"That is untrue," Toki said. It was yet another statement lacking conviction but one he thought necessary. Halla withdrew her hand.
"You know it is true. I hope your sister can accept that I am not my father." Frustration infused her voice as she touched her head, shaking it. "But I did choose you, and I still believe it was the right choice. The time we spent together in secret gave me the fondest memories of my life. We spoke to each other like I never imagined two people could. Be patient with me on this mission. I understand how my father has brought this upon himself. I know he sought any excuse to make war with Ulfrik. I know he thinks me tarnished and useless now that I've left with you. But it still does not mean I wish to see him dead. Can you understand that?"
Toki nodded.
"Good, I will need your support in the coming days. I want to start a new life, one where we control our destinies. But so much seems uncertain today."
Toki took her hand again and squeezed it. He glanced around, and everyone was absorbed in other duties, real or feigned. His face heated up at the thought of displaying his tender side. Rather than deepen his embarrassment, he merely stood with Halla's hand in his own.
"You will have my support. But remember your speech is for all to hear on this ship, even when others pretend they are deaf. My sister worries for her husband and her son fears for his father. Your words must be soothing ones in their presence. Save other thoughts for when we can be ashore and alone."
"I will. I'm sorry to have been so thoughtless." She withdrew her hand, a sincere smile widening on her face. Her hair gleamed white with a ray of sunlight poking through the gray clouds. Toki felt calmer now, having navigated those treacherous emotional currents without a wreck.
Feeling the tension in his neck and shoulders abate, he returned to the tiller. As Einar handed it over to him, Toki caught Runa glaring at him again. He smiled, but it was like smiling at a wolf. She would rip out his throat if he gave her cause. He pulled hard on the tiller, hoping his sister and his future wife could share this ship long enough to find help for Ulfrik.
The morning of the next day, Toki conferred with Einar and the two other men. Toki had camped them on shore for the night, and woke to discover a square sail on the horizon. Fortunately they had not started a fire, and the ship sailed past. Toki had actually held his breath as he watched the ship vanish into the morning fog. Raven's Talon with a cargo of gold and women would be a plump target for raiders.
"Could it be more mercenaries drawn here by Hardar's offer?" Einar asked.
Toki frowned and shook his head. "We'll never know. It could be anyone. But I saw it filled with crew, and even a peaceful crew might make slaves of us. We must skirt that ship."
The two other men were brothers and close friends of Toki's. The older brother was near Toki's age, broad shouldered and stout. He was called Njall the Tall. His younger brother wore an innocent face ruined by a lazy eye, and was called him Thrand the Looker. Together with Bork they had been the core of Toki's friends.
Njall studied the point on the horizon where the unknown ship had disappeared. "What if they're headed to the same place? Wouldn't want to sail in on whatever business they're doing?"
"So can't we try somewhere else?" Thrand's sideway gaze landed on Toki. "Just go find another jarl to persuade."
Toki spit on the sandy grass. He heard Runa shouting. His stomach lurched and his hands went cold. But when he spun around she was yelling for Gunnar to climb down from a pile of high rocks. Toki's shoulders slumped in relief. The three others gave him worried looks. "I thought she was warning of danger," he lied. He had feared Halla and Runa were at each other's throats. "You've got a point, Thrand. But Ragnvald is our best hope and if we can gather him to our cause, we will have more influence on the other jarls."
No one appeared to have any better ideas and they shifted around rubbing their hands or stretching and delaying. Toki hated the absence of Snorri and Ulfrik. One of them would have taken his ideas and make a real plan from them. But now he was on his own, and the obvious leader. Then an idea flashed and he started to put it together as he spoke.
"What if we were to hire our own mercenaries? We can offer some gold up front, and promise a take in whatever spoils they can capture from Hardar." Toki's eyes widened in excitement at his new idea. The others seemed less favorable.
"Wouldn't have Lord Ulfrik thought of the idea himself?" asked Einar.
"Yeah, it sounds dangerous," Njall said. "Why not just kill or enslave us and take all the gold we carry?"
"Let me think this out." Toki clapped his hands together and rubbed. "We only want to bring more men to the cause. If we have more men, the other jarls will be encouraged to join us. Why join a single ship of desperate women? A ship of fighting men will give them confidence enough to join."
"But Lord Ulfrik said we should hurry. Where are we going to find mercenaries?" Einar asked.
"The islands to the east are filled with the remnants of the armies that faced Harald Finehair at Hafrsfjord. Among those lands are men ready for battle. Bork came to us from those lands, you'll remember." Toki's excitement began to overtake his judgment. "We could seed the word along the shores, hire those who seek adventure and be back to persuade Ragnvald. My ship can hold twenty men or more. A filled ship is more likely to attract another filled ship."
Einar frowned in thought while Njall and Thrand looked to him for a response. Toki believed in the superiority of this idea. Ulfrik had planned in haste and under a tremendous burden. But this type of daring plan seemed more like the cunning Ulfrik loved. Even if only Ragnvald joined them, he could still bring three ships full of men to Ulfrik's aid.
"So your silence means you haven't a better idea?"
Njall folded his arms. "I'm just trying to think this out. It's two days sailing with good weather. Then we need time to find men willing to join us. Once we get back to Ulfrik it could be weeks gone."
"It was going to be weeks anyway," Toki insisted. "How fast do you think the other jarls will act? What if one of them decides to side with Hardar? We will have no men of our own for protection. Ulfrik would be truly lost then. But with a larger crew, we can deal more safely. I think this is the right plan."
Njall and Thrand both appeared to accept Toki's reasoning. Only Einar seemed to still debate the idea.
"There's an ill cloud over this plan. But I can't say what it is."
"That's only because the plan is new to you. Give it time and you will see it makes sense." Toki looked to Njall and Thrand for agreement, which they gave. "Besides, we need time for Hardar's mercenaries to depart and that strange ship to pass through. So let's get back to sea and take advantage of this wind."
Einar begrudgingly nodded. Toki scanned the distant sea, seeing nothing but gray fog obscuring the horizon.