Page 5 of Song and Sword
“Do I need a reason?” demanded Huw, laughing.
“No, sir,” replied Astrid, lowering her eyes but only for a moment.
“Wisdom tells me that someone in the worldprobablyhas more embarrassing parents than I do, but I honestly could not tell you who that might be,” said Sif reflectively, as they neared the entrance to the Wanderer.
“Respect your elders,” said Astrid laughing, as Huw opened one of the two double doors of the tavern and shepherded them inside.
Shouts of greeting and well-wishes greeted the trio as they entered the venerable tavern. The Wanderer was the favored haunt of the more senior members of the Jomsviking brotherhood. The young might boast and jostle with each other at the Swinging Hammer two streets over, but the more established warriors preferred a place where they could drink and speak more sedately.
It was an unwise visitor who mistook the quieter gatherings at the Wanderer for a timid crowd. While fights were ten to the penny at the Hammer, roaring up and blowing out like a blacksmith’s bellows, they tended to lead to nothing worse than the odd broken head and bruised ego. Anyone foolish enough to provoke the drinkers of the Wanderer was unlikely to leave the tavern upright.
There was one regular of the Wanderer who was anything but quiet, however, and his voice roared unmistakably over all the others, drowning them out.
“Sif!”bellowed Brynn Thorson, rising to his feet. “By all the gods, look at you!” The massive man rushed forwards and plucked the young woman from her feet,holding her up to his eye level as she laughed in delight.
“There is no doubt,” said Brynn solemnly, placing her carefully back on her feet. “You are your mother’s daughter. I thank the goddesses that you do not look like your father, who is famed through the Nine Worlds for his ugliness.”
“When did my uncle Brynn become such a silver-tongued flatterer?” asked Sif, her eyes shining as she laughed, even as her father sputtered in indignation.
“He can be a clever fellow when he sets his mind to it,” said Kasia, stepping out from behind her husband and kissing Sif on the cheek. “Mind you, he’s been working on that line all day.”
The young woman let the sounds of Huw’s howl of glee and Brynn’s roar of exasperation fade into the background as she scanned the interior of the tavern. There was many a familiar face, both men and women, although they had all aged since she had last seen them. But the Wanderer was still a tavern for the veterans, not the young. There was no sign of Hakon, or Gunnar, either, for that matter.
Patience. When they arrive, they will be boasting of their feats down at the Hammer. Surrounded by envious young men and girls with lustful ideas.Gunnar may well avail himself of a fancy or two. Not Hakon. Not if he’s the same as I remember. And if he’s not, then he’s not really worth my thoughts anyway.
Why are you thinking about him at all, for Freyja’s sake? You made your decision years ago!
“Ale, my dear? Or would you prefer some mead?” asked the serving woman, snapping Sif back to her present moment. She smiled and sat down. “Mead, thank you,” said Sif. “Vana, I swear that you haven’t aged a day since I left!”
Vana smiled back. “Such a charming girl you are. You broke the hearts of all the boys in town when you went off to the Ironwood, I swear.”
“A fickle bunch of boys, with hearts easily mended by the next passing skirt, I suspect,” said Sif dryly, drawing a laugh from both Vana as well as her parents.
“There’s wisdom in your words, my dear daughter,” said Huw. “Look at Brynn’s boys, now! Why, I’ll bet they’ve been putting their longships into port all the way to Miklagard and back again.” Huw suddenly winced, as if he had been struck. Astrid was scowling.
“When it comes to Gunnar, there’s no doubt that you’re right.” said Brynn as he nodded. “He’s had an eye for long hair and rosy lips since he reached theheight of my belt. Hakon, now…sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with him!”
“How’s that, Uncle?” asked Sif, trying to hide the way her heart leapt at his words.
“Huh! It’s not that the lad is afraid of women, or any such thing. Far from it! Fear would at least be an emotion, by the gods. My second son seems to have ice water flowing through his veins! Never gave a girl a second look. Hopefully the olive-skinned beauties of Miklagard have cured him of that! Not that he’d tell his own father, even if they had. There’s a boy who’s always kept his own counsel.”
It was Brynn’s turn to wince, and Kasia’s turn to scowl.
“Enough about the boys,” interjected Astrid, placing her hand on her daughter’s arm. “Tell us ofyou, my dear! It’s been so long since we’ve seen you. How fares the Ironwood?”
Sif smiled and took a drink of mead. “Well enough, Mother. They still speak of you and Aunt Kasia in glowing terms—the Sisters who saved the Ironwood.”
“Your uncle and I might have had a little bit to do with that as well,” observed Huw, with a wry smile.
“Ignore him. Men fuss so when the attention is not on their deeds,” said Astrid, but with a kiss on Huw’s cheek to show the words were meant in jest. Brynn scowled and looked to be on the verge of saying something himself but stopped as he realized that anything he said would only show the truth of Astrid’s words.
“The Lady Brede is well, and she sends her blessings to you all.” said Sif, smiling.
“She’ll outlive us all, it seems,” observed Kasia. “And the other Sisters?”
“They are also well, although Gunhild caught a fever in her chest last winter and has been moving much more slowly ever since. Still, her spirit is strong. The Sisterhood has been growing in size, all told,” continued Sif. “The Elder Sisters are hard at work with their teaching. I think they fear the loss of learning with the passing of the seasons. Baedi, in particular, has taken a great deal of the teaching load. They are particularly skilled with the ancient texts that no one except Baedi and Lady Brede herself can still translate.”
“How goes your own education, my dear?” asked Astrid softly.
