Chapter ThreeThey sat inside the stone-built hall that was the largest building in the village, with the mist creeping outside and a great fire roaring at the head of the room. Smoke coiled from the open fire to the rush thatches far above, while uneven beams of driftwood spanned the breadth of the hall, some decorated with elaborate carvings, others still as rough and crude as they were the day they were lifted from the shore. Shaggy-haired dogs lay on the floor, or watched the men and women who shared the long table that stretched the full length of the building; a table spread with horns of ale and great hunks of meat piled on wooden platters. There was the occasional burst of song and rough northern voices roaring their opinion on every subject that came up.
Frakkok and Erik sat at th
