The two scouts followed the course of the Ribble on stolen horses. At present, encamped near the shallow-hulled longship moored many leagues downstream, their chieftain Ragnall ua Ímair had ordered them to survey the river channel. He intended to penetrate as far inland as the depth of the watercourse would safely permit rowing.
The scouts stopped to water their horses and to stretch their legs. Following the long winding course of the Ribble kept them on horseback all morning. So far, they had ridden through one important settlement, known as the Priest’s Town or Prestune, having taken its name from the Priory of St Wilfrid near a ford that would cause some trouble to their ship’s passage. The scouts, Skarde and Frode, had surreptitiously noted the thriving industry of the inhabitants a
