_How Wulnoth journeyed by the Birds' Road_
So Wulnoth became the guard to watch over Princess Edgiva, and some of
King Hardacnute's warriors were wroth, and said that the thing was a
shame, and that even if it were not so, a boy like Cerdic's son should
not be given such an honorable task when many a young noble would have
been glad to accept such trust.
But though Wulnoth was indeed a boy in years, yet in stature and in
strength he was a match for many above his age, so tall and so lusty
was he. And old Hald laughed again when he heard these words, and he
said--
"The wolf cub is almost grown; let those beware its fangs who would
pull its ears."
And amongst those who were angered at the King's choice was the keeper
of the arms, Æthelmar; and he, to spite the boy, gave him the weapons
of the strongest--the heaviest spear and the weightiest sword and
shield; and he in his turn laughed and said to himself--
"Now we shall see how Hald's wolf cub will bear the weight of the toys
he has asked for."
Wulnoth knew his weapons were too heavy, but he was too proud to seek
to have them altered, and he would have borne them in patience but that
Hald saw him; and the old Constable stopped and stroked his beard, and
asked him who it was who gave him his man's tools.
"Now, these are too weighty for you," he said when Wulnoth had answered
him, "and it was but a poor trick of Æthelmar's to give such to you.
You must have lighter ones, my young warrior."
But Wulnoth answered that since he had been given these he would keep
them, and even Æthelmar should see that his strength was equal to his
task.
"Not so," said the Constable, quietly, when he heard the boy's words.
"That only comes from a proud heart, and the Princess must not be
endangered because of your pride."
"How could the Princess be endangered?" cried Wulnoth. "I do not see
that, Hald."
"Weapons that you cannot use are as if you had no weapons at all,
Wulnoth," replied Hald. "How, if you had to use that long spear, which
is too clumsy for you, or that sword which is too heavy? The Princess
might suffer harm because you could not well protect her. We must have
this remedied, my son."
And Hald was as good as his word, and gave Wulnoth man's tools more
suited to his strength, and he said--
"Let not pride make thee fall, Wulnoth. If they laugh at thee for
having these, thou canst the better show them thy skill when the day of
testing comes."
At that Wulnoth was content, and though some laughed at him, he
answered laugh with laugh, and never bore himself like a boaster, nor
was led to talk of what he could do, but he only answered when such
questions were put to him--
"One cannot say what he will do until the test comes. When the hour
is, then I hope I shall not prove a nithing, and meanwhile I cannot
do better than watch such skilled warriors as you who now laugh at my
youth."
Now, that showed that Wulnoth was wise, for had he answered angrily
he would but have been laughed at the more, and would have made
many enemies, whereas now the soldiers said that he was modest and
well-spoken, and they taught him many things relating to war; and
Cerdic his father, each day when the boy used to visit him, made him
exercise both with sword and spear, and in running and wrestling; and
Prince Guthred would exercise with him, so that he, too, might become a
mighty champion in his day, and go to the wars with his friend.
But the Prince was not so cunning nor so strong as Wulnoth, and,
moreover, he was more gentle and tender; and sometimes the King his
father would be angry, and say that he was more fitted to handle a
distaff than to hurl a spear. But the King was wrong--the boy was
gentle and kind, but his heart was brave, and he was patient, more
patient than Wulnoth even, and he who has learnt patience has learnt a
mighty lesson.
But in all this time no sign of the sea-kings was seen, though by day
and night watch was kept, and all along the coast the great beacons
were piled ready for the lighting should the long ships of the pirates
be sighted upon the waves.
And the King laughed, and said that surely Wyborga the Wise was wise no
longer, for her stories, though they were ill-omened, did not come true.
As for the skin of the wood-roamer, that was made into a foot rug for
Edgiva, and the head and the paws were placed in the King's hall, with
a rude writing beneath, made by Reinbaldus the Scald, to tell how
Wulnoth, the son of Cerdic, slew the monster with his knife.
So the days passed away, and now Wulnoth was fifteen, and his little
Princess was nigh five years old, and so beautiful to gaze upon that
the buds of the flowers would open as she passed, so that they might
look at that which was more beautiful than they were; and the wild
birds would gather o'er her head, and sing their songs in honor of the
fairest of children; and already the jarls spoke to their young sons
and bade them strive to excel in strength and in war, so that when the
time came for Edgiva to be given in marriage they might be amongst the
mightiest who should strive for her hand.
Now it chanced one day that Guthred the Prince, and his sister, and
Wulnoth her watcher went together into the woods nigh to the spot
where they had met the bear--for they feared no bear now, nor yet the
surliest of the wild boars--and while they tarried in the woodland
shade Wyborga the Wise came and greeted them, and asked how they fared.
And Edgiva went to her side and answered--
"O good mother, we fare well, but we have not yet heard the wonder
tale, nor have we found the sign--the thorn-covered cross--though we
have looked long and searched far for it."
"The sign will come, and the tale will come, Princess--all in good
time will it surely come," was the answer; and then Wyborga gathered
the three around her and told them of many things--of wonders from far
lands, of the birds' talk and the beasts' talk, and things that men
know nothing of; and while they talked there came a blowing of horns,
and the King rode by on the chase, and reined his horse and spoke to
the wise woman with kind, good humor.
"Greeting, Wyborga," he said. "Our watch fires are piled, but they are
unlighted; our warders watch, but give no alarm; our swords are keen,
but they sing no song. Surely thy wisdom was at fault when thou didst
prophesy evil for the land."
"Art thou so impatient for the evil to come, O King?" she answered
sadly. "It will come sure, if it comes slow. God moves not quickly."
"God?" answered the King lightly. "Why, Wyborga, we have many gods, of
whom Odin and Thor are the mightiest--which of them dost thou speak of?
They move fast enough for me, for they ride the storm wind so swiftly
that all the storm sisters are left far behind in their path. Which god
do you speak of, Wyborga?"
Then Wyborga stooped, and with the end of her wand which she used to
aid her steps she marked on the ground, and the marks that she made
formed a cross.
"The God of this sign, O King," she said. And at that the King shook
his head, and thought with pity that surely poor old Wyborga was mad,
for of all the gods of the Northland was there none whose sign was a
cross.
"Now, good mother," he said aloud, "I understand not thy sign. Canst
thou give me no other by which I shall know when the time is near?"
Then Wyborga bent her head in thought, and was silent for a space, and
after that she looked up and spoke, and said to the King--
"So be it. I will give you one sign, and when you see that, then be
sure that soon the sword shall sing the death song in the land."
"Good!" cried the King. "Give me this sign."
Then Wyborga pointed to where Wulnoth stood near, and she said--
"This is the sign, O King. When this boy treads the birds' road, then
be sure that the time has come." And at that the King laughed aloud.
"Now, by my beard," he said, "if that were possible, then would I do
well to slay Wulnoth, son of Cerdic, and so the evil should never
come. But no mortal foot has trodden the birds' road yet, and none
ever shall, so let Wulnoth live, and let the evil be far off; and now
greeting, mother."
"Greeting, King," she answered, and Wulnoth and the Prince cried
"Skoal" to the King, and Edgiva kissed her hand to him, and so
Hardacnute and his men rode on, laughing to themselves; for how could
old Wyborga speak of any treading the birds' road without wings? and
where was there a man in the world winged like the eagle or raven?
And Wulnoth and the Prince and Edgiva went back to the hall, and they
wondered also, pondering over the strange things spoken by Wyborga the
Wise.
And yet that which the wise woman spoke came to pass, and this was the
manner of its coming. There was in the hall of King Hardacnute a young
noble of Denmark, a dark, black-haired young holda, who had journeyed
across the mountains seeking adventure, as he said, and had been well
received and given an honorable place by the King, in spite of the
warnings of his jarls, and especially of old Hald.
"A viper stings sooner or later," said the Constable, "and a Dane plays
false. Kill the stranger or send him on, for we want no spying Haco
here."
But the King answered that a man's hall must ever be open to the
wanderer, and that it did not become brave men to be inhospitable;
and so this youth, whose name was Osbert, tarried in Lethra--a big,
bragging young giant, and over fond of the drink horn.
Now, one day, as Wulnoth stood guarding the couch of Edgiva, for she
had fallen asleep in the shade of the courtyard, lo, there came Osbert
the Dane striding along, all flushed with wine. Now, Osbert looked upon
Wulnoth with scorn, because he was a boy and a thrall, and also because
he knew that his father had smitten Berwulf with his own axe in the
hall of Tholk, son of Cerdic--for Osbert was of the blood of Berwulf.
Therefore, seeing Edgiva sleeping there and guarded by Wulnoth, Osbert
thought to make mock of the boy, and he strode up and seized Edgiva and
kissed her, so that she cried out partly in fear and partly in anger at
being so rudely aroused; and Wulnoth started forward, and presented his
spear, and cried fiercely--
"Set down the Lady Edgiva instantly, thou rude Dane, or I will pierce
thee with this spear."
Then did Osbert place the Princess down, and he drew his heavy sword,
and swung his shield from his back to his arm, and he laughed right
scornfully.
"Thou wilt pierce me, thou carl. That will we see," and with that he
made at Wulnoth fiercely.
But Hald the Constable was nigh, and when he heard the signs of strife
he seized his great sword and strode into the courtyard, and struck the
weapons apart, and demanded sternly how it came that any dared to fight
in the courtyard of the King.
"This dog insulted me," cried the Dane fiercely, "and for it, by Thor,
he shall die!"
"By Thor, he shall not die!" answered Hald, "until we know the truth of
this business; but, for that matter, thou mightest find it hard to slay
him, Dane."
So Wulnoth told how he came to have a quarrel with Osbert, and the brow
of Hald grew dark when he heard of the slight to Edgiva, who now stood
weeping, and he commanded the Dane to be carried before Hardacnute,
that the King might say his pleasure.
And when the King heard, he said sternly--
"Osbert, stranger amongst us, hadst thou been one of my people, I would
surely have had thy head smitten off. But thou art a stranger, and one
who has been my guest, and I may not do this thing. Yet this I will do.
Thy arms shall be taken from thee and broken as the arms of a nithing,
and thou shalt be scourged with rods, a blow for every tear that the
Lady Edgiva has shed, and thou shalt be driven from my lands; and if
thou comest here again, then thou shalt be slain."
And the King's word was obeyed, and the Dane's weapons were broken, and
he was scourged with rods, a blow for each tear that the Princess had
shed; and when the scourging was ended the King bade him begone as he
valued his life.
And Osbert, smarting with the beating, and mad with rage, spoke boldly
and said--
"Perchance this scourging I deserve, O King, for letting the wine horn
make me into a weakling; yet bitter shall be the price paid for it, O
King. For each blow of the rod blood shall flow, and the sword sing its
song. Now I go as thou hast said, for indeed I could not remain longer;
but be sure that thou wilt hear of me again, ere long, O King, and our
greeting will be brief."
But the King laughed scornfully. "Big words from an angry boy," he
said. "Get thee gone while thou art safe." And Osbert turned and went.
And a few days after that, Wulnoth and Guthred and Edgiva went to the
top of the great Raven Rock, from whence they could see for many a
mile, and at the foot of which the sea fretted and chafed and broke
itself into foam at the high tide; and here they sat watching the
sea-birds circle as they trod the birds' road down to the water, and up
to the crags where their nests were built.
Not a sign of living man was there; all was peaceful and calm; and
Wulnoth lay on the ground, watching the Princess, who had strayed to
gather wild blossoms, whilst Guthred cautiously bent over the height,
seeking to steal the eggs from a seamew's nest.
And while thus they were all serene and safe, suddenly a shadow fell
upon Wulnoth, and a dark face looked down upon him, and a strong hand
seized him, and the voice of Osbert hissed in his ear--
"Thou dog of a Saxon thrall--die!"
And then came the sharp bitter bite of a knife in the side, and a red
mist rose before Wulnoth's eyes, and a wicked laugh echoed in his ear.
And it seemed as though he were sinking into the storm-land, when a
sound called his spirit back, and that sound was the scream of the
Princess Edgiva. He heard also Guthred shout, and he heard Osbert cry--
"Greeting to thee, Prince. Yonder lies thy thrall friend slain, and
here is the Princess, thy sister. Go and tell thy father--for this I
spare thy life--that I have sent her to the storm-land by the birds'
road."
Then Wulnoth managed to stagger to his feet; and he saw,--oh, the
horror of it,--he saw that nithing lift Edgiva the Beautiful high in
the air, and send her over the Raven Rock into the angry sea so far
below; and he uttered a great cry, and all his strength seemed to come
back, so that he picked up his spear and hurled it, and it smote Osbert
a fierce blow in the shoulder, making him cry out and turn and flee,
plucking out the weapon and casting it aside as he went.
"Run, run," cried Wulnoth to Guthred. "Run so that the grass feels not
thy touch. Nay, not after that nithing," as the Prince was starting
after the wounded Osbert. "We have more to think of than him. Run to
the shore and bid them launch a boat and come to the aid of Edgiva. I
go to her now."
"Alas, how canst thou, my friend?" cried Guthred. "The way to the water
is long and the path hard; and even if she lives now she will have died
ere thou canst reach her."
"The way is short and the path easy," cried Wulnoth, as he cast off his
tunic. "Tell thy father, my lord the King, that Wyborga's words have
come true, for I go by the birds' road."
And with that he stood on the verge of the mighty Raven Rock, and he
saw far below, a gleam of gold in the water, as when the salmon play in
the sunlit waves; and then, while Guthred stood in wonder and silence,
he dived straight and true, speeding to the perishing Edgiva along the
birds' road.
And this is how Osbert the Dane brought trouble into the land, and how
Wulnoth fulfilled the prophecy of Wyborga the Wise.