Erik paced up and down the longhouse. “You say she"s gone? And taken my children with her? How long ago?”
The man shuffled his feet and looked down.
“We went to her home first,” he said to the Jarl. “There was no-one there. The fire was still burning and a pot stood ready to cook a meal. We searched out the back, but there was only the usual midden and her animals—a few hens, her sheep and a pig.”
Erik stopped pacing as the man continued.
“We thought she might have gone to the Wise Woman Inga"s place, as she works there. When we got there, the Wise Woman said she’d gone to the forest to gather some herbs to try to stop this sickness that"s killing so many people. So we came back here to tell you.”
Erik rubbed his chin. “Did you see her servant?”
The man shook his head. “No, but we th
