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"In
the year 985AD Viking raiders are again attacking the North of England. They
kill, pillage, rape and rob English villages and towns with little regard to
anyone. But there is one strange Viking Chieftain raiding the North that
doesn't quite fit the historical stereotype; Frode is accompanied on his raids
by a dark skinned stranger called Seth - who is rumoured to have dark powers of
sorcery - and appears to be searching for someone or something. But Jericho is
on scene because souls are going missing where the pair raid."
Episode Warnings:
Alcohol
– Strong language – Strong Violence [including murder and infanticide] – Strong
sexual references [including serious sexual assaults and violence] – Horror.
Author’s notes
about this episode:
[1]
This episode contains strong violence including sexual assault and mild horror
references.
[2]
The original Title for this episode was: ‘THE VIKING.’
[3]
A ‘Temporal Detectives’ original story.
[4] Illustration is the author’s created sketch from an original drawing found in the Public Domain with NO copyright details. If you know anything about this please contact the author via his website: https://stephenjohnwilliams.blogspot.com
Episode details:
Concept
date: 21st December 2020.
First
published: 9th November 2021
Status: COMPLETED & PUBLISHED.
Location: BOOK SERIES 5 – EPISODE 4.
Revisions: 3 [last revised January 2022]
Version:
Final.
Published Episode No. 049
Previous
episode: “Nuremburg.”
Next
episode: “The Knight.”
Age
recommendation: 15+
Average
reading time: Approx. 45 Minutes.
Angel-in-charge:
James
Team Assigned: Team 74
Human Time: 958AD-0346AH
Mission: 2
- 391671 - 12 - 0958
Episode Preview:
The old man was gasping and panting as he ran through the thick undergrowth of the woods and his heart was thumping like a drum. He reached the edge of the village and his strength was done, he screamed as best he could; “The devil is here! The devil is here! Oh sweet Lord have mercy!” The effect on those that heard his words was immediate; pure fear and panic. Everyone began running about; grabbing up young children and whatever important and precious possessions they could carry.
Through the tree line came the Vikings in scattered groups. The old man – unable to run anymore – fell to his knees and prayed hard. Bjars simply walked up and brought his battle axe down upon the old man; cleaving through his thin shoulders and ribs. The blood spurted in the air and the screaming old man was dead, sprawled in the thick grass. Gorm slapped his big friends back; “I see the Saxon dogs false God didn’t hear the old man!” Bjars smiled; “It never does.” The two men now ran forward, being joined by several of their ship-mates and the Viking raiders were now in the village. One of the villager’s went for Bjars with his pitchfork, but – laughing – Bjars shattered the implement with one swing of his axe, leaving the young man holding a piece of wood. He did the wise thing and threw it down; running like a rabbit into the dark woods.
Leif and Njat dragged a woman from a burning hut; infant in her arms and threw her to the ground. Njat ripped the dress from her and forced her onto the ground as she screamed after her child who Leif picked up by the feet and threw against a tree. They both raped the sobbing hysterical woman as Bjars sat on a tree stump with Gorm and watched. “Why didn’t she run? Hiding in the dam hut was no good. These Saxon women are quite stupid; had it been my Gudrun, she would have come out with spear in hand. Like she does when I have been drinking too much.” Bjars muttered, scratching his beard. Gorm was leaning on his battle-axe watching two other men burning the village’s big hut. Two bodies lay outside. “Same for those two idiots, the old man gave plenty of warning to run and they didn’t. A strange people Bjars, I don’t know if they are brave or stupid.”
Sten dragged a screaming youth from a hut and held him face down in the mud with his foot and swung his axe; twice. Cleaving and arm each time and left the boy twitching and spurting blood. He couldn’t even scream anymore. Sten cradled his axe in arms and shouted to Bjars and Gorm; “I’ve seen poor villages in this shithole, but this one is the worse. Not a single fighting man to be found.” He gestured to the dying boy; “They don’t even attempt to fight; just knell and call for their God. It makes me sick. I might as well stay at home and arm wrestle the wife.”
Bjars and Gorm laughed; you could always rely on Sten to make you laugh; he was their long ships joker. In modern parlance Sten would be called a psychopath; a very dangerous one. But to his crew mates; he was a real laugh.
Bjars tapped his friend’s arm and said quietly; “He’s here.” They stood and watched as Seth walked by; his black robes sweeping the ground. He was over six feet tall [incredibly tall for the age] with – again unusual for the time and place – a completely
shaved head. He was walking slowly looking carefully about. He was joined by the Viking Chief Frode carrying his battle axe over his shoulder; he was totally disappointed in the meagre haul of plunder from the village, but was happy that he hadn’t lost any warriors getting it. “Anything to interest you my friend?” he quietly asked Seth who shook his head.
Big Ulf came past the pair with a struggling young boy under his arm and a fat adolescent girl held by her long blond hair. Frode gestured to the boy; “What, by Odin’s boots, have you kept him for?” Big Ulf grinned; “The little bastard tried to stab me; twice. He’s worth keeping and this little wench will blossom into a big strong woman who’ll keep my winter bed warm. Liv [his wife] will be happy with such a prize.”
Frode just nodded and turned back to Seth. Currently his raid on the English coastal villages had not produced much gold and silver; just a dozen captives – mostly women – four goats and several bags of wheat. The best prize had been two barrels of beer taken from a little church. The priest was a clever man; on seeing the Vikings approaching, he rolled the two barrels at them and ran for it. They didn’t bother chasing him and stole the alter silver and burnt the church down.
As Sten put it; “Now that’s a man with real faith in his God.”
With smoke and ash floating around the wrecked village and nightfall just hours away, Frode decided to return to the long ships in the small sheltered cove that Seth had directed them to. The Vikings packed up their plunder and headed back to their ships. Seth stood by the edge of the dark forest, knowing that he was being watched by the villagers hiding in there. He slowly raised his arms and shouted in Saxon; “I am Seth the destroyer of souls! I will find where you dogs have hidden my most precious possession and your God will not stop me taking bloody revenge on anyone who kept it from me!”
He dropped his arms and pulled something from beneath his robes and laughing; threw it into the dark wood. It exploded with flame and smoke; illuminating the darkness briefly. He turned and walked away; joining his friend Frode who just sighed; “Don’t waste your magic on those dogs my friend. Just by farting I could put the fear of their useless God into them!” That made Seth chuckle and they walked away talking softly.
Young Godwin slipped down from the tree where he was hiding and watched the Vikings disappear into the woods. He wiped his face and hands on his rough tunic and fumbled in his pockets; pulling a small metal box from it and opened it. He smiled and headed for the track in the forest towards Doitwhich Abbey. It would take him three days to reach the King’s castle and leave his message for Mister Jericho Tibbs under the round stone in the Eastern turret.
The Vikings cooked on the beach – well the captured women actually did the cooking – and enjoyed the two barrels of stolen beer. They had no fear that the English King who ruled this part of the Anglo-Saxon lands would show up. Frode cradled his tankard and watched the sparks and flames flying from his fire. ”I don’t understand this Saxon King Æthelred; his father would be crawling up my arse upon hearing of such a raid. Yet he does nothing.” Seth sat on a chest next to him and just nodded, then smiled; “They say he made a treaty last summer with a powerful Northern Earl who gave him his daughter as Queen.” Seth actually laughed; “She was twelve years old and now good King Æthelred spends all his time in bed and cares little for his kingdom or its people.” Frode sipped his beer and shrugged his shoulders; “What pleasure can a girl like that give a man? A woman is a woman made to please man. A child is a child made to play and grow until she too becomes a woman. I don’t understand such a man.”
Seth suddenly stood and stared about, placing his tankard down. “We’re being watched my friend and I don’t think it’s the Saxon dogs.” He spoke quietly and stared into the forest that surround the small cove. Frode called for his men to keep their wits about them; he knew full well that if Seth said they were being watched; they were. They would cast off immediately and the men quickly filled the two ships and pushed them from the beach and climbed aboard. Torches were placed on the stem and Seth stood by them. A rope was cast to the following ship and tied fast. Seth stood on the stem and guided the boats through the darkness. Bjars and Gorm – pulling hard on their oars – were always amazed how the sorcerer could see through the darkness of night. “Must be part bloody cat.” Bjars whispered and Gorm chuckled.
Sten and big Ulf – rowing in the seat behind them – both laughed with Sten grunting; “If he was such a great magician he would be at the stern; robes pulled up and farting a wind that would push us along like geese on a lake. Now if he could do that I would be impressed.” They all laughed; yes, Sten was quite a joker.
The priest and the small boy emerged from the woods and watched the Vikings depart; “That is impossible Godwin. No man can see through darkness, He must be the devil’s own spawn; God help us.” They both crossed themselves and made for Doitwhich Abbey road. “They are not heading north – to return home – and so must plan to raid again. The Abbot will be interested in that.” He patted the smiling boy and they found a big tree to sleep in - unlike Seth – they couldn’t see at night.
The other figure slipped through the trees; having watched the Vikings depart and carefully looked about as night gathered around him. He pulled a slim, little black box from his pocket and spoke slowly, holding it up. The figure was gone.
"ALEXANDRA AND THE VIKINGS." 
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
“All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.”
CAUTION:
“SOME OF THESE EPISODES CONTAIN VERY STRONG LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, HORROR AND SEXUAL REFERENCES. Some are RECOMMENDED suitable for persons aged 15+ years only.”
THE AUTHOR.