Spirits were high among the crews of the six longboats. Purses bulged with coin, and the men considered themselves wealthy for the first time in their lives. Word had spread that after visits to two more markets, there would be a thing to decide their futures. Thanks to the jarl, now surveying the coast from his vantage point in the prow of the lead-boat, some were considering settling down, farming the land, and raising a family, on the strength of the wealth accrued by following him. Others refused to contemplate a life that did not involve the raiding and fighting in their blood. The future was not something that usually preoccupied Vikings, except perhaps for the possibility of a glorious death in battle as a means of entering Odin’s Feasting Hall.
thingBefore the jarl called the thin
