It is spring when the grim tidings of Beowulf’s death come to the Isle of the Geats. With it comes the summons to a great midsummer folkmoot at Earnaness in the heart of the Geatlands, where all might agree upon a new king from amongst the atheling families of the Geats. Many Weather Geats think it right to attend, to voice a view or meet up with friends or kin long absent. Four young men take passage on a trading ship called “Fat Belly” from Wisport to Stokeney : Godwine, skop, rune-maege and nephew to an East Geatish Thegn; Morkere, stout yeoman of the Weather Geats; Gadd, Weather-Geatish rune-mage and Woden-Priest; Cuthbert from the East Geatish uplands whose keenest ambition is to own a franca.
No sooner are they underway when Cuthbert, due to ill-luck or his poor sea-legs, is cast into the chilly waters of the White Sea as the ship comes about. He is indebted to the hardiness of Morkere who bravely leaps to his aid. That evening they are late to their mooring on the shingle beach of the isle of Landfell and have little time to assess what dangers might there lurk.
In the morning Gadd spake up that by his rune-work he kenned that secret eyes were watching. Cenwahl bade all make haste to catch the wind ere trouble betide. As their bark pulled clear of the strand, they sighted two faerings packed with blood-handed Small-land reivers clearing the northern point under oars. Scorning to flee, the ship’s master set his sails to meet his enemy head-on. As the ship sped, brave Cenwahl called out to Woden to grant him victory and vowed him share of the spoils. Gad the Woden-Priest bore him witness.
Then Cenwahl showed his mastery of the steering board and with deft touch brought his keel alongside the first pirate boat, while with keen-pointed arrows Morkere and Cuthbert harried the other, hampering it from joining the fray. All our heroes showed their mettle in the fight. Godwine leapt upon the reiver’s boat, though it were fast sinking, and struck down the deadly waelcyrige who there he faced. Gadd summoned his Battle-Wod and followed after, laying about him in god-touched frenzy.
With one craft sunk and the other licking its arrow-wounds, the reiver-king stood off and begged to ransom his kinsfolk, taken in the fight. The victorious Geats bade him bring his store of silver to Stokeney ere the se’nnight was done if he wished their safe return. There were five captives including the waelcyrige struck down by Godwine – a fine looking woman, though of forbidding mien.
The Fat Belly sailed on then to Stokeney, where Cenwahl dealt out the spoils. A bag of silver came, through intermediaries, to ransom the Small-landers. Yet Cenwahl refused the ransom for the most valued – Aethelmod, close kin to Osred, the pirate chieftain. Instead he undertook to gift him to Woden as payment for his favour in the sea-fight.
Cenwahl determined to visit the Woden-stow at Sigiston to ensure that the god took full note of his sacrifice. He took on a pilot that knew well the twisting channels of the Malanmere and set his course inland, coming to Sigiston late on the second day. The intervening night was spent on Mickelney, where rumour of preparations to revive the Gisling line by putting forward a claimant for the kingship at the mid-summer folkmoot, reached their ears.
As dusk fell a small group, led by Cenwahl, rowed up the channel that led to Woden’s sacred grove. There, under the light of the stars, witnessed by Gadd the Woden-Priest, aided by Godwine and Morkere, Cenwahl cut the wyrd-thread of Aethelmod Osred’s-kin. A cord was set about his throat and pulled tight. As his deaththroes ended, he was consigned to the dark, bubbling pool at the heart of the grove. Aethelmod the Small-lander feasts now with the gods.
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