Sea Rover

In 1873 A.D. thunder cracking all around the Eastern lands, where Jordan Korg and Stanley are fighting. Here Jordan sees Odin and Valkyrie in Vision. After completing the battle, Jordan returns home where his wife Abigail, son Mason, and daughter Fanky are waiting for him. Abigail: What are you two doing? Jordan: I am taking Mason to the thing tomorrow. Abigail: Not yet. He is not enough old. Jordan: He is 12 years old. Abigail: Take him next year. Next year soon is enough. Jordan: He will need a silk ribbon, Abigail. You are a handsome boy. Funny ears, though. Now, go and sleep Mason. Tomorrow, you have to go with me for rituals. Abigail: Don’t sleep with lots of women in Kattegat. Jordan: I can do without it for a few days. Abigail: Is that another way of saying you loving me? Huh? Jordan: I always dream of you. Last night, I dreamt you were feeding me blood pudding. Abigail: What does that mean? Jordan: It means you are giving me your heart. The next morning after meeting with Abigail and Fanky Jordan got out completing the rituals with son Mason. While, Fanky and Abigail were alone at home. Jordan: Get your dog, boy. Mason: Frodi! Come on, boy. Mason: What will happen at the thing? Jordan: The Earl will deal with some criminal offenses, and then, we will discuss the summer attack. Mason: And where will you go? Jordan: The Earl decides. He owns the ships. He will send us to the east, as always to the Baltic lands, but I want to know what’s to the west. What cities and Gods are over there? See, I am not satisfied with this. Odin gave his eye to acquire knowledge, but I would give far more. Mason: And will Earl Chetwynd let you? Abigail: Good. Like this, nice and tight and on three one, two, three very good Fanky. (Door opens) (Footsteps approaching) Fanky feed the goats. Go on! What do you want? Thief: We know you are all alone here. All the men are gone. Abigail: If you are thirsty, I will give you drink. If you are hungry, I will feed you. Otherwise you must go. Thief: We will eat and drink after we have satisfied our other needs. I don’t want to kill you, women Abigail: You couldn’t kill me if you tried for 100 years. (Both Grunts) Out! After the thief left the house, Abigail ran towards Fanky. Halfway through, Jordan and Mason will stop to stay. In the night Jordan talks about the son for his arm ring and expressing his love. Jordan: I went to confess my love with her, but I was set upon by a bear and an enormous hound who guarded her home I killed the bear with my spear, and I managed to strangle the hound with my bare hands, and that is how I gained her hand in marriage. Did she tell you the same story? Mason: Just about. Jordan: Are you ready to receive your arm ring and become a man? Mason: Yes. Jordan: And what does a man do? Mason: He fights. Jordan: And? Mason: He looks after his family. Jordan: That’s right. Jordan: Could you look after our family? Mason: What do you mean? You look after us. Jordan: Say I was not there. I have a big decision to make. It may change many things. Now go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow. The next day Jordan and Mason set out on their journey and met with Stanley on the way. Stanley: Mason! So, here you are, brother. Jordan: Stanley by Freyr and all the gods, how you have grown. Mason: Hello, Stanley. Stanley: Are you here for the thing? You are a real man now. Come, let’s get a drink. Looking a little pale, Mason are you ready for a women? There are some good looking women in Kattegat. Some of them are free. Jordan: Can’t even grow a beard, can you, boy? Why don’t you go lie down? Mason got up to sleep after saying good night while Jordan and Stanley talks about the raids. Stanley: So where do you think the Earl is going to send us this year? Those bastards to the east are as poor as we are. Jordan: I know. That’s why we should sail west. I have heard such tales, Stanley. Great town and cities and treasures hordes of gold and silver, and a new God. Stanley: I have heard those stories, too, but what does it mean? We can’t sail across an open ocean. Jordan: I believe there is a way to go west. I have something that will change everything. Stanley: What? What is that? Jordan: Now just listen. A while back, I met someone, a wanderer. He told me it was possible to go west, over the open sea, using this. It’s a sun board. It needs to sit in winter. Stanley: Another wanderer? Jordan: This time it’s different. Stanley: Now tell me, this wanderer of yours, has he ever sailed west himself. Jordan: Just get some water. Now, this candle is the sun. Every day, the sun rises up into the sky until noon. See, how the shadow shortens? At noon, it is as it’s shortest. Stanley: That’s only tells me how far south I have traveled. Jordan: Didn’t I just you to listen? The day before sailing, you mark a circle around the pointer. Where the shadow is at its shortest at noon, the next day at sea, you place the bored back into water around noon and watch the shadow. If the shadow only touches the circle… Stanley: Your course remains true? Jordan: Yes and if it is passes outside the circle, like this… Stanley: Then you have drifted, and you must steer further south. Jordan: Yes. And what if never reaches the circle? Stanley: Then you are too far south, and must steer more to the north. Jordan: That’s it! Keep the noon shadow on the circle, and your course will be true. West Stanley: But if there is no sun? How can the board help you then? How could you find your way? Jordan: Using this device follow me outside. They call it a sunstone. You see? There is the sun. Now we go west. Next day, in early morning Jordan, Stanley and Mason go to Earl Chetwynd hall. Come on. Come on. MAN! Silence! (Banging Stick) Silence! Olaf Anwend, You have pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing. Tomorrow, you will run a gauntlet of stones and turf as a punishment. Yes, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Olaf Anwend: Let it be known, a fine is to be paid by anyone who fails to throw something. Bring in the next accused. MAN 1: There he is! MAN 2: Murderer! MAN: Burn him! Olaf Anwend: Eric Trygvasson, you are accused of the murder of sigvald strut this January. How do you plead? Eric: It wasn’t murder, Lord. I killed him in self-defense. Victim’s family: Liar! (CROWD PROTESTING) Olaf Anwend: If it wasn’t murder, why did you not declare your crime to the first person that you met afterwards, as the law obliges? In fact you passed by several houses before you reported it. Eric: I thought the relatives of the dead man might be living in them. (CROWD DISAGREES) Olaf Anwend: The law allows you to pas too houses, in such circumstances, but never a third. Victim’s family: You murder my brother in cold blood! Eric: It’s not true! We argued about some disputed land. He pulled out of a knife! Victim’s family: You wanted that land for yourself! You are a liar and a coward. Eric: Who says that I’m a coward? I’m not a coward. Earl Chetwynd: Silence! As the normal procedures were not followed, this killing can’t be atoned for by compensating the victim’s family. Murder is a dishonorable deed amongst our people carried out in secret, unacknowledged, and lightly to give rise to a series of revenge killings that would involve your own family. Eric: Lord, you knew about that land. You knew i had a claim to it… Earl Chetwynd: Enough! I ask you to look to the accused. If you think that he is guilty, raise your arms. The decision must be unanimous. Eric Trygvasson, you have been found guilty of murder. MAN 1: Yes! MAN 2: Justice! Earl: How do you wish to die? Eric: By beheading, Lord. Earl: Your wish is granted. You shall be executed tomorrow. After which we shall feast and talk about the summer raids. (CROWD CHEER) (CROWD JEERING) (GROAMS) Jordan: You have to throw stones Mason. Mason: Why is he smiling, father? Jordan: He wants to die well, without fear, to atone for his sins. You must watch, for his sake. Stanley: It’s his only hope of reaching VALHALLA. (GASPS) (CROWD CHEER) Earl Chetwynd: Feed him to your pigs! And I curse him. May he never enter VALHALLA. May he never feast with the gods. Mason: Why did he do that? Jordan: He should not have done that. Stanley: Someone told me he wanted that land for himself, and he Trygvasson had the best claim to it, but refused to sell it. Jordan: You hear that, boy? This is how things are done around here. Earl Chetwynd: Olaf, son of ingolf, Mason, Son of Jordan, and May you accept this gift of salt and earth to remind yourself that you belong to both the land and the sea. These arm rings bind you in loyalty to me, your Lord, your chieftain. Any oath that you swear on theses rings must be honored and kept. Do you understand and swear to this? Both: Yes, Lord. Earl: And do you freely give your fealty to me, your lord, and your chieftain? BOTH: Yes, Lord. Earl: Good. You may put on the arm rings. Debby: Come here. (CROWD CHEERS) Earl Chetwynd: Let us feast! Jordan: My lord! We all want to feast, but we also want to know where we will be raiding this summer. Earl Chetwynd: Can’t it wait, Jordan? Stanley: No. tells us. We want to know. We have a right to know. Earl Chetwynd: Very well. We will raid east again, to the east lands and into Russia. Jordan: Every year we go to the same places! But there is an alternative, if you choose. Earl: Yes, yes. choice, yes. I have heard of these rumors, these stories. That if we travel west, that we will somehow reach a land that is rich and plentiful. (CROWD LAUGHS) But I tell you that I will not risk my ships or my reputation on such a deluded fantasy. They are my ships. I pay for them. And they go where I tell them to go. Now that’s the end of the matter. Let’s feast! (CROWD CHEERS) Jordan: Let me see! It’s a fine ring (SIGHS) Jordan Korg, Earl Chetwynd son wants to speak with you in private. Stay with your uncle. Earl Chetwynd: Jordan Korg. Sit down. Are you hungry? Jordan: Yes, Lord. Earl Chetwynd: You want to feast in my hall? You want to sail in my ships? Anything else you want from me? Jordan: Lord… Earl Chetwynd: You keep talking about the west. What do you know of it? Hmm? Why are you so certain that it’s a land of great riches? Jordan: I can’t be sure. But I believe that… Earl: I don’t care what you believe. You insulted me out there, and not for the first time, but, believe me, it will be the last. Olaf Anwend: Who told you? You could go there? Earl Chetwynd: You are a farmer. You should be content with your lot. Farms are few and I great demand, and there are many people here who would like to possess your land. Do you understand? What I’m saying? Jordan: I understand. Earl Chetwynd: Then don’t ever stick your nose in my face again. I don’t trust him. Watch him. After talking about the summer attack Jordan and Mason go out because Jordan wants to go west for attacks at any cost. Mason: Where we are going now? I’m so tired. Jordan: To talk with the gods. It’s what we do. Oracle: Why don’t you come in? I’m waiting. Jordan: Sit Mason. Oracle: What do you want? Jordan: I want to know what the gods have in store. Oracle: For you, or for the boy? Jordan: I’m more interested in myself. Oracle: The gods desire you have a great future. I see that. But they can withdraw their goodwill at any time. Jordan: To have this great future, must I challenge the law? Oracle: You must convince the gods to alter the runes so they work in your favor. But the laws of men are far below the workings and shaping’s of the gods. Jordan: So I should take the laws of men into my own hands? Answer me. Oracle: You already have your answer. Jordan: No, I don’t. Oracle: Well, then go and ask the gods yourself. What are you afraid of ? Jordan: Wait outside Mason. MASON: All right, Jordan: U have not helped me at all, ancient one. Oracle: Perhaps you asked the wrong question. After meeting Oracle, Jordan thinks about moving on, next morning Jordan takes Mason to visit his friend. Jordan told to his son that we have someone special to visit. His name is Herbert. He is different. Mason: How is he different? Why didn’t he come to the thing? Jordan: Because he is shy. Herbert, this is my son, Mason. Herbert: Hello. How are you Mason? Mason: Well. Thank you, sir. Herbert: Let me see. You have your father’s eyes unfortunately. Jordan: Why unfortunately? Herbert: It means he will be like you, and therefore he will want to do better then you, and you will hate him for it. Mason: How can you tell that by just looking at my face? Herbert: It’s the same with trees. I can tell which trees will make the best planks just by looking at them. I can look inside the tree. Jordan tells to Mason that Herbert is a boat builder. He can make any type of boat Herbert: This is one. Inside this tree are two almost perfect planks. They will bend, then curve, like a women’s body from the thighs to the back. When I split this tree, I will find them. Mason: You can see that? Herbert: Do you think I’m joking? I joke about many things, son of Jordan, but never about ship building. Do you imagine ships are just dead things? Jordan: What about our boat? Herbert: It will be lighter and carry a bigger sail. The construction is different. It’s built with a strong central plank. The two strakes above it are nailed directly onto the knees of the frame. But the ones below, Look! Are cleated and lashed onto the frames, not nailed, so they can move in relation to each other. This means the boat won’t butt against the waves like a goat, but move over them like a ripple. Jordan: The hull is deeper. How will my men set their oars? Herbert: I will cut them into the sheer strakes, and the ports can be closed when the boat is at sea. Jordan: And you think it could handle long sea voyages? Herbert: That’s why I’m building it. Jordan: But will it be strong enough? Herbert: We won’t know that until we try. Jordan: When will it be ready? Herbert: As to that. Jordan: what? Herbert: We are out of money. We have to pay for the sail and then the anchor. I know what those blacksmiths are like, greedy bastards. Jordan: For the anchor. It’s all I have left form last summer’s raid. Herbert: Don’t worry. We will soon be as rich as dwarves! After meeting his friend Herbert, Jordan goes back to the house where his wife and daughter are waiting for him. Jordan tells her wife that he missed her a lot and asked her that anything happens while he was not at home. Abigail: No! Jordan: Did you miss me? Abigail: I ached with love longing. My belly was empty of laughter. Jordan: Is that what you want? Hmm? You want me to make you laugh. Abigail: I don’t want to laugh now. I want to ride you, like a bull, like a wild bull. Mason was sitting outside the house in the evening, when Stanley came Stanley: Hello, young Mason. Mason: Hello, Stanley. Stanley: Where are your parents? Mason: They are having s*x. Stanley: Well. I guess we will have to wait. Stanley starts conversation with Mason and Fanky. So, is your mother teaching you how to use a shield? Fanky: Yes, I know how to use a shield. Stanley: Your mother was a famous shield maiden. Abigail: “Was”? Stanley: is a famous shield maiden. We fought in the same shield wall against the east landers. She fought like a Valkyrie. Abigail: Come on, children, to bed. Let’s leave the men. Mason: But I’m a man. I have a ring. Stanley: Let him stay a while. Abigail: To bed! Say good night. Jordan: Good night, my children. Mason: Good night. Fanky: Good night. Jordan: Hey! Mason: good night, Father. Abigail took the children to the bedroom to sleep. While Stanley asked Jordan about the boats. Stanley: Tell me your news. What about the boats? Jordan: It’s nearly ready. Stanley: Do you trust Herbert? Isn’t he a great joker? Jordan: He is a great boat builder. I trust him to do that. Stanley: I won’t go under your command. I won’t go unless we’re all equal. Jordan: We are brothers. You and I always are equal. Stanley: Then we must find a crew. Not many men will go against the wishes of Earl Chetwynd son. Many will be afraid. Some may even go to him and betray us. Jordan: But I will definitely go to the West. Saying this, Jordan stood outside the house while Stanley was there. Abigail entered the room and Stanley starts talking with Abigail. Stanley: Yesterday, I was with a girl from the town. Abigail: Thank you. Stanley: A good looking girl, too. But when she shouted out in pleasure, I didn’t see her face. I saw yours Abigail… Saying this, he turned to Abigail. Abigail: Don’t talk like that. Stanley: Why not? I think about you all the time Abigail: That’s too bad. Stanley: Don’t insult me, shield maiden. Abigail: No. I would never insult you. You are too great warrior, but perhaps not so great a man. When Jordan was standing outside the house, he received a signal from God. He came into the house immediately. Jordan Korg: I saw something outside. Stanley: Why did you see? Jordan: A sign. It may be certain we are doing the right thing. By telling this, he went to bedroom with Abigail. Good night, brother. Next morning, Jordan and Stanley went to Herbert to see the boat. Jordan: It’s no need to say. I see it in your eyes. Beautiful Herbert: It’s only beautiful if it works. Jordan: Set the sail. Herbert! The sail! Herbert: She’ll sink Jordan: No, she bloody won’t. Herbert: I should not have pretended to build such a boat. It’s beyond my humble capabilities. Jordan: I will set the sail. Herbert: I am sorry, Jordan. I have wasted all your money. It was all a joke. Jordan: Shut up, man. Herbert: Ha! Now it runs on its cool keel. It’s beautiful. Why didn’t you believe me? I told you I could do it! Now it’s all up to you Jordan Korg.