Sceapig Isle, Kingdom of Kent, 854 AD
Sceapig Isle, Kingdom of Kent, 854 ADEaldorman Raedulf ordered his men to spread oil over the decks and barrels of the Norse longship. The thought of burning the sleek vessel saddened him but, after careful consideration, it was better to destroy it than recapture it, and let it be used once more against the Saxons.
Despite their after-battle weariness, Raedulf’s willing troops gathered up the bodies of their foes and, two-to-a-corpse, heaved them aboard the stranded ship. The ealdorman had accounted for five of the slain Vikings, so well had he wielded his father’s and grandfather’s sword, which was, ironically, a Viking blade inscribed with the Runes of Victory. None of the three men had brandished the precious weapon in defeat, although they had u
