The Sceapig Chronicles Collection

Chapter 6

Deormund turned the whittled object in his hand, not yet satisfied. Another trimming of the fipple, the mouthpiece of the horn whistle, a rigorous scraping of the flue and it was ready. The twenty-two-year-old never wasted a shed antler, carving them being an integral part of his life as a deer herder. The haft of the knife he’d just sheathed was his handiwork. He wondered how his best friend would respond to his latest piece of handcraft. Only one way to find out—he raised the whistle to his lips, blew, and it emitted a shrill note that carried on the sea breeze to the woodland where Mistig was passing the time.

He came, breaking out of the trees, bounding towards him, lolloping to a halt, his shaggy grey head tilted inquisitively as if to ask what adventure awaited. The deerhound’s chest heaved, his tongue lolling after the exertion of his sprint to his master.

“It looks like the whistle will do, Mistig, if it brings you like that. You were so fast I should have named you Windig. But your name better suits your shaggy grey coat.”

The hound wagged his tail, which was long enough to touch the ground, the eager-to-please companion responding to the tone of his master’s cheerful voice. Mistig was one of the main aspects of Deormund’s life that made it so perfect.

He was the first and only deer herder on Sceapig—Sheep’s Isle—all the other inhabitants being shepherds who bred, bought and sold ewes and mutton. The island was separated from the mainland of Kent by the Swale Channel, where ships sometimes sheltered from the fury of the open sea. This strait provided a natural barrier to predators, making life easier for those who tended their flocks or, in the unique case of Deormund, herd. His eye strayed to the southern side of the isle as he distractedly stroked the beard of his hound. That part of the island was marshy, crisscrossed by drains and inlets where the sun flashed off the sparkling water on this fine late-spring day. The silvery flashes, offsetting the white of the frolicking lambs and sedate ewes interspersed with the chestnut coats of his hinds, made him sigh. Was there a more perfect life? If there were, it probably pertained to a nobleman, he thought wistfully. Ay, those wealthy thegns who relied on him for their hunting ritual, not to mention, by association, the venison for their table.

herd“I’m glad I didn’t follow in my father’s footsteps to become a shepherd, Mistig. If I had, I’d never have brought you to Sceapig, would I?”

By way of reply, the seemingly fearsome, but docile, animal snuggled his flat head into his master’s chest. He could do this because the deer herder was sitting on a smooth boulder, his favourite perch, likely deposited from the seabed by a storm. Folk could not imagine the appalling force of an enraged sea. The two remained locked in this amiable posture for some time, Deormund happy to reflect about his life on such a peaceful day and setting.

He sometimes wondered whether the choice of his trade had been determined unwittingly by his parents soon after his birth. When baptised a Christian, like them, in the church of the metal-workers’ village across the channel, the priest of Faversham had asked, “What shall he go by?” and his father had replied “Deormund.” It was not a common or even family name but, in accord with his parents, he liked it. Mund means protection and the deor is a beautiful animal, especially the male—Deormund identified with the stag, while his lean, muscular frame and chestnut-coloured hair and beard set many a hind’s heart a-flutter on market days in Faversham! Not that Deormund had time for womankind, because his work as a deer protector absorbed him and rarely left him with idle time, such as these beatific moments of reflection. Besides, he considered himself too young to wed, which was nonsense, as his mother continually stated when nagging him to find a bride.

Mund means protection and the deor is a beautiful animal, especially the malehind’sdeer protectorWas that his father down by the creek? He smiled fondly; it seemed to him that his father cared more for the ewes than the youngest of his three sons. At least he didn’t badger Deormund about finding a maiden. He understood and approved of his son’s dedication to his herd. But mostly, he appreciated the steady flow of coins that entered the family home, for Deormund unstintingly shared his hard-earned income with his parents. His elder brothers had chosen to gain a living in Kent. They kept a tight knot on their purse strings. In any case, Cynebald was a family man: his priorities lay justly with his wife and two girls. Cynebald’s skill as a smith and reputation as a good husband and father was well-founded—he chuckled at his unintentional pun, causing Mistig’s tail to wag again—“Well-founded, are you with me, boy? Founded, foundry, see?” He laughed heartily and the hound leapt away from his embrace and began to bound around, as much as to say, haven’t we work to do?

Foundedhaven’t we work to do?They had, but Deormund was waiting for the wind. He needed to capture a new stag, preferably four years old or more. It was the right time of year for trapping because the fierce stags shed their antlers this season, so capturing one would be less dangerous. The old boy that serviced the hinds was long in the tooth. Time for fresh blood. The wind was a problem; he had waited three whole days for it to strengthen. A stiff wind brought the deer out from the undergrowth to cruise along the downwind cover in untroubled search for feeding opportunities.

“You’re right, my lad.” Deormund addressed the hound, whose short ears were pricked to catch the nuances of his master’s tone. Was this an allusion to work? There was nothing Mistig would prefer at that moment than a headlong chase after a stag. “We should take the ferry.” The dog barked and wagged his tail in approval: he knew the word ferry meant work and exercise.

ferryDeormund hurried home to collect his hunting bag and money pouch. The former contained a net to snare his prey, as well as twine and a rope for a leash. As soon as his mother, Bebbe, saw him swing the pack over his shoulder, she asked, “Are you off to Harty Ferry?”

Deormund sighed heavily, knowing that admission would lead to the usual request. “Ay, I’m away before the wind gets up.”

Sure enough, the little woman, who was only tall enough to reach his breastbone, clutched his arm. “Wait, while I ready a package for our Eored.”

She fussed around, wrapping cured sausages into linen cloth. She grasped a string net containing winter apples. “Here, put these in your bag. Eored should be fattened up; he was all skin and bones last time he came over. I don’t know what you two have in your heads—un-carded wool, like as not! A man needs a good woman to look after him. Take our Cynebald, for example, he has two beautiful daughters!”

“Ay, that’s all I need, another three women to nag me!”

He snatched up the proffered packages, stuffed them into his backpack and grinned provocatively at the tiny, loving woman, another lynchpin in his perfect life. Why should he swap her expert care and attention for a younger, inexpert version?

“I was going to stay with Cynebald, Wilgiva and the girls, but a visit to Oare will do just as well, I expect our wheelwright will be pleased to see his brother.”

“Of course he will! Besides, Oare is only across the creek from Faversham; you can call in on your nieces easily enough.”

She smiled fondly at her tousle-haired son, thinking proudly what a handsome catch he would make for some young woman. The object of maternal machination dodged through the door, accompanied by his impatient hound, overjoyed at the sight of his master’s pack, a guarantee of adventure. As he hurried away, his mother’s call to find himself a maid in Faversham was lost to his distant hearing.

The boatman, seated at the door of his hut, greeted them with a cheery wave as soon as they came in sight. Deormund and his hound were regular and valued customers, crossing the channel at least twice a month. Helmdag, the ferryman, liked the young deer herder who neither haggled nor failed to pay the fare, unlike many others. The boatman charged his passengers according to the weather conditions. Sometimes crossing the Swale set his toned muscles afire, other times the boat seemed to shoot across the three-hundred-yard stretch of water.

“You know a thing or two, lad!” The old ferryman tapped the side of his hooked nose. “Favourable current, backwind and no ebb plume from Conver Creek. I’ll have you over there in a heartbeat!”

Deormund grinned, knowing it meant the fare would be lighter on his purse. The hound, used to ferry travel, was already sitting beside the rowing boat, his tail thumping the ground.

“Can you take me right into Oare Creek, Helmdag? I’m going to call in on our Eored.”

“Right you are.” the ferryman’s strong pulls had sped them beyond midstream. “Is the young fellow still unwed?”

Deormund groaned inwardly. What was it with the people of Harty Island? Why could they not leave him and his brother happily unbetrothed?

“I hope so,” he said, after a brooding silence designed to dissuade the boatman from further questioning. He had little success.

“You know how people will chatter?” the ferryman continued. Deormund nodded, he did know only too well. “I heard he’s walking out with the miller’s daughter. So, it’ll be your turn next, young fellow-me-lad!”

With a stern expression, Deormund muttered an oath that was lost in the wind, which only served to earn him a broad grin. Much more of this and he’d threaten to become a hermit. Slipping a coin into the boatman’s hand, he made his pleasant farewell, watching Helmdag pull strongly away from the wooden platform into the midstream of the creek. Mistig, already sniffing around this less usual landing place, re-established familiarity with a clump of heather.

“C’mon, Mistig, we’re bound to catch Eored unawares!”

At the name ‘Eored’, the hound yapped and pranced around his master’s feet, almost tripping him and eliciting a very unhuman growl that served to calm his exuberance.

Head bowed over his work, which consisted in repositioning a reinforcing panel on a cartwheel before nailing it into place, Eored saw only his brother’s feet.

Without raising his head, he said, “Good afternoon, Deormund. What brings you to Oare?”

“Have you grown eyes under your hair? How did you know it was me?”

Eored straightened. “By your shoes—few people around here have footwear made of deer hide. Besides, I could see Mistig’s huge grey paws next to you.”

At the mention of his name, the hound began the ritual festivities, tail wagging, bounding around one of his favourite humans. As expected of him, at least by the dog, Eored ruffled his fur until the animal rolled onto his back to expose his stomach for stroking. Eored, who loved Mistig as if he was his own, obliged.

“So, what brings you to Oare?” he repeated.

“It appears that my mission is to fatten you up and check that you’re betrothed.”

The wheelwright tipped back his head, unwise in his squatting position over the hound, wobbled, and stood. “How is our mother?”

They chatted over such pleasantries until Eored suggested an ale in the nearby tavern. It proved to be a drink that would unexpectedly change the perspective of their sedate lives.

At the next table sat a man with a black eye and dried blood in his blond beard.

“Looks like he’s been in a fight,” opined Deormund idly.

“Frodwin? That’s odd. He’s a peaceable fellow, a sailor, he works out of Faversham for a trader in sheepskins and wine. They take the wool to Frankia and bring back wine. Let’s cheer him by offering an ale. He must have a tale to explain the mystery.”

A few casual remarks and they were soon engaged in conversation with the eager recipient of the ale.

“What happened to your face, friend?” Deormund asked.

As suddenly as a windswept cloud passes in front of the sun, the trader’s countenance darkened.

“I’m in trouble now. Have to find another captain. I’ll wager someone will want a man of my experience. He’s dead, see?”

The brothers rightly assumed he was talking about his former employer. This, he confirmed. “They drowned poor Oswin in a barrel of red wine. Held his head under till his soul fled. That’s how I got this swollen eye, trying to save him. I also got a lump on the back of my head that left me senseless. When I came to, there was no sign of our captain. They must have thrown him overboard. At least, they were carousing and half-drunk on the wine, likely their drunkenness helped me. They used my mates and me to roll the wine barrels over to the side and hoist them into their vessel. A beauty of a ship, theirs, long and narrow; I’d reckon twenty oars each side.”

“Pirates then, but who were they?” Deormund asked exasperated.

Frodwin touched his bruised cheekbone gently but still winced: a gesture that the brothers separately thought reminded the sailor of his misadventure.

“They call themselves vikingar, which means sea-rovers in their language—another word for what you said, pirates!”

vikingar, “Do you know whence they hail?” Eored asked.

“Where are they from? In my experience as a trader, I’d say they are from the far north, at the edge of the world. Take my advice, if you come across a vikingr, give him a wide berth. Those fiends are merciless—take what they did to Oswin because he tried to defend his goods.”

“Yet, you live to tell the tale, friend.”

The trader gave Deormund a sour look. “Ay, only thanks to the cask lid they’d prised off and flung into the sea. When we finished shifting the barrels, they had no further use for us and hurled all five into the sea. None of my mates can swim and they all drowned.” His voice caught, causing him to pause to suppress his emotions.

The brothers waited respectfully as he took a long swig of ale. Setting down his beaker, he resumed his tale. “As I said, I was lucky. You can’t stay afloat for long in these clothes, but I managed to reach the lid and cling on. I wager they were too drunk to notice, which accounts for why no arrow or spear struck. Saved by an act of scorn, for contempt was what it was when the vikingr flung the wooden cover into the sea. It buoyed me long enough for the current to bring me ashore. I reckon they must have boarded us a mile or so out of Herne Bay, where I washed up.”

“In your misfortune, you were lucky, Frodwin. Another ale?”

“Ay, don’t mind if I do. But mark my words,” he stared hard with his unsettling injured eye, “if ever you come across the vikingar, expect no mercy.”

That observation would return to haunt the brothers and shake them out of their perfect lives, miller’s daughter and all.