Another cup of ale was pressed into his hand. Eric pretended to drink, but didn’t swallow. If Katarina was right, that he could win passage aboard a ship—or even a ship of his own—he would need his wits.
“I will call out a number before I roll the dice,” Sigarr explained. “If one of the dice lands on that number, I win. If not, you win.”
Sigarr reached for the dice and held them a moment. Then he called out, “Four.” He rolled the dice and his left hand was relaxed. The dice landed upon a three and a five. “You win.” Sigarr handed him four pieces of silver. “Now it is your turn. If you guess correctly, I will give you eight pieces of silver. If not, you give them to me.”
It was still a risk, for he had only five pieces. Yet, he had no doubt the game was rigged. The question was whether or not Eric could manage to manipulate the dice correctly. He lifted the weighted dice and tried to get a feel for them. “Six,” he said, before he flicked his wrist. The dice rolled hard, but one did land on a six. He held out his hand, and Sigarr gave him eight coins.
Before the next wager, Eric said, “I propose a different game. I will try to guess the number you roll. And you will do the same for me.”
Sigarr frowned, considering it. After a moment, he seemed to agree with the idea. “But if you guess wrong, you must pay sixteen pieces of silver.”
Eric nodded, and the man seemed intrigued. With a smile, he predicted, “Prepare to give me more silver, Arik Thorgrim. What number will I roll?”
Eric glanced at Katarina, who was still seated upon Leif’s lap. She pointed to her left hand in a silent reminder. But then the man began to nuzzle at her throat, his hands wandering. It clearly made her uncomfortable in such a public place, but she said nothing to stop him.
She isn’t yours,his brain reminded him.And he isn’t hurting her.
Eric glanced at Sigarr’s relaxed left hand and said, “I will guess just before you release the dice.”
The man agreed with a nod, and just as he flicked his wrist, Eric said, “Three.” As he’d predicted, the dice came up as a three. His opponent appeared annoyed, but he gave over the silver. Leif lifted Katarina off his lap and patted her behind, ordering, “Bring us more ale.”
Eric didn’t at all like the way the man was treating her, like a maidservant. “I want to play against Leif now,” he said to Sigarr. Perhaps it was a foolish idea and he might very well provoke a fight. But he wanted a chance to gain the measure of this Viking, to know whether he posed any harm.
Leif was drunk enough to agree. He went and sat across from him, draining the cup of ale Katarina brought. “I would welcome a game so I can take the rest of your silver.”
“Or I take yours,” Eric countered. “We will start with four pieces of silver, just as before.” He glanced up at Katarina and saw the worried expression on her face. It was clear that she didn’t want him engaged in this gambling match.
Leif rolled the dice and when it landed on the three, Eric gave him four pieces. He tried to do the same, but this time, the die didn’t land on a three. It became clear that Leif had his own strategy, and it was working well.
Instead of worrying about the coins he’d lost, Eric continued to watch the man’s body language for patterns. In time, he discovered how to read Leif, and he won a single round of thirty-two pieces of silver. Then another.
After the third win, Leif’s fists curled, and rage lined his face. Katarina appeared uneasy, and she had slipped back into the shadows. It was time to end this with one final round before a fight broke out.
“I propose another wager with different stakes,” Eric said. “This will be the last roll of the dice.” Though he was well aware that he could lose everything, his winnings meant nothing at all. The greater challenge was to win passage back to England.
Leif had a smug expression on his face, for he had won most of Eric’s silver. “You will have nothing left, Thorgrim.”
“My ship sank during the storm. I want another.”
At that, Leif grew sullen. “The only ship I own is for fishing, not long journeys. You could never go a-viking in it.”
“One roll of the dice. If I win, I get the use of your ship for my voyage. I will return it to you when I come back to Rogaland. If you win, you take all my silver.”
But Leif was already shaking his head. “My ship is worth more than the silver.”
“Then do not take the wager.” As it stood, they each had half of the winnings.
The Viking stared at him, weighing the choice. “More ale,” he growled to Katarina. She moved back from the shadows to obey his command. After she filled Leif’s cup, he drained the ale.
“We both roll one die at the same time,” Leif said. “For the same number. Whoever gets that number keeps the ship and all the silver.”
It was a game of high stakes, but one that was necessary. “So be it. But Sigarr should call the number.” It was the best way to keep the wager fair.
A small crowd had gathered around to watch, and when he looked up, Katarina was gone. His sense of uneasiness heightened, for he didn’t know if she had left of her own accord or whether she had been taken against her will.
Sigarr was called in to judge the outcome. “To win, you must roll a one.”
Eric gripped the bronze die in his palm, and he found the edge with the one. He didn’t know whether he could manage to roll the die correctly, but he had far less to lose than Leif. None of the silver had been his to begin with. With a flick of his wrist, he released the die at the same time as Leif.
