Murmers in the Great Hall

The room was brightly lit by the warm hearth that adorned its centre, which filled the room with heat.

The room itself was quite large, though not for a great hall.  Earl Hailaga, while known for his greed, was not the wealthiest of rulers.  Still, he was far wealthier than any who graced his hall that evening.

Standing by the main archway was Hailaga’s son, Ulfr.  With his raven black loose hair and his large frame, he looked far more the warrior than his father – who was a much shorter and thicker man.

He has just arrived from a scouting mission, and he was still sweat-stained from a hard day’s ride.  Despite being a man of restrained character, he always found himself in high spirits when he was successful in his missions.  As his gaze moved around the room, however, his face soured.

They’re all too young.  No experience. He thought.  There’s no way they’ll make it back alive.

His eyes settled on a pair of archers near the back, the son and daughter of a farmer.  He’d met them once before, at a shooting competition, and they weren’t entirely worthless with a bow.

The others that stood about the hall were new to Ulfr, though he could see in their movements that they were inexperienced in combat.  He had seen every type of fight from a battle to a brawl, and even the slightest motions revealed everything he needed to know about them.

As he stood there, silently judging them one after another, one of the women left her place against a large pillar and approached him from his right.

“You’re Ulfr, aren’t you?” she demanded.

“I am” he said, not bothering to look over at her.

“If you’re the son of Hailaga, then you must know what our task is going to be.  He must have told you what he’d ask of us” she continued.

Now Ulfr understood who she was.  What little her stride might have hidden from him, her mouth gladly gave.

“The Earl said that we must wait” he calmly stated.

He heard a huff from her.

“I came here to prove myself, not stand around” she complained

Ulfr was beginning to become annoyed, and turned his large frame to face her down, and to put her in her place.  Yet as he turned, he lost his nerve.

She was a shieldmaiden, yes, but not of the sort that he had fought alongside in his many battles.  Instead of being shorter and perhaps stocky, the girth of her body was in her generous hips and her sizeable breasts.  Instead of rough skin and blood-stained hair, the soft skin of her neck was covered by the flowing mass of her rich brown hair.  Instead of a sharp and hard face, hers had a feminine softness about it.  As a maiden, she would likely choose any husband she wished.  As a whore, Ulfr thought, most men would likely trade a small fortune for a night between her thighs.

For a moment, he wondered why such a woman would throw her life away on one of his father’s foolish quests, but he quickly dismissed the thought.  His father promised respect, and honour, which were beyond all other value to those who desired them.

“If you would rather, you could always give up” Ulfr said at last.

Once again, she seemed offended.

“I’ll never give up.  Not that I expect you to understand that, being the son of an Earl” she jabbed.

Now, another one of the young warrior stepped forward.  He was a tall boy, maybe twenty years of age, with long braids of light brown hair and a beard that was just growing in.

“Be quiet, Kara:  You don’t know what you’re speaking about.  If you knew anything about Ulfr Hailagasson, you would never have said such a thing.  He’s a great warrior.”

Instead of Kara, it was Ulfr who answered him.

“I don’t need your kind words.  Not if they were true – and if I needed to answer the claims of some weakling who knows nothing.”

Now Kara was deeply angered, the pale skin of her face flushing with blood.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sound of a door shutting echoed through the hall and the Earl emerged from a smaller entrance to the room.  By his side were three men, who were known to only Ulfr.  On his right was the mystic Alvis Egillsson and his apprentice Frodi Alvisson.  On his left was assistant, Agmundr Halldorsson.

As the four moved near the hearth, Kara moved toward them.

“Earl Hailaga!  Tell me, what is our quest?  Why have we been asked here?”

The Earl finished walking to his place at the head of the hall, as if he hadn’t heard her, but then turned to her and addressed her directly.

“We must all wait until all of you have arrived.  Only then, will I tell you.”

Kara crossed her arms.  This time, the others also seemed very upset.

A young man who had remained silent moved forward, swaying slightly from the weight of the massive battleaxe on his back.

“Please, Earl Hailaga.  We’ve been waiting all day...” he grumbled.

Alvis, the mystic, pointed a thin arm at the young man.

“This is a serious task!  Children will be of no use in your journey, so I suggest you show yourselves to be men and women.”

There was a brief silence.

“My apologies, Earl Hailaga” The young man mewled. “I await your word.”

There was a general sense of unease, but everyone seemed to have accepted that they would have to wait.  However, just then there was a noise down the hall – near the main entrance of the building.

What felt like minutes passed, until a person finally entered under the main arch of the hall – followed by a second person, who bowed to the Earl and left.

The person moved forward, revealing that they were a somewhat tall woman in her early twentes.  Her long blonde hair flowed loosely at the back, but was lightly braided in the front, framing her wide green eyes. 

The Earl smiled widely, taking in the beautiful woman’s figure.  She looked just like her mother before she had born her first child, and related thoughts drifted across his mind.  He, like many others, had desired her mother for many years – and seeing Sigrid was like travelling back to a time when Ingrid was still a maiden, open to the advances of men besides her husband.

“You must be Sigrid, Thorodsdotter” the Earl said.  “Welcome to my hall, shieldmaiden.”

Sigrid bowed.  ”It is an honour, Earl Hailaga” she said dutifully.

As she raised her head, she noticed intense stares from a few people in the crowd.

“Come now, everyone, and listen carefully:  I don’t wish to repeat myself, and what I am about to tell you will become a matter of life and death.”

There was silence, other than the shuffling of feet.

“But first,” the Earl added, “I must ask if there are any who wish to leave now.  Once I begin, you are all bound to carry out my quest – at any cost.  Unless you speak now, there is no other choice, but death.”

Still, noone spoke.

“Then I will begin..."