“I am not going out there,” she said. “I’m going out through Gunnar’s side door and I plan to sneak over to the village and see what I can learn.”
“You cannot do that, Saga,” Freydis said. “You must stay here where it is safe. What if this person is lurking about?”
Saga nearly laughed at her. “Do you think I am afraid of a couple of men?”
Freydis shook her head. “No I do not, but if they are wretched enough to cause this kind of harm, they will not hesitate to attack you.”
“I will take an extra axe from the armoury.”
Freydis shook her head. “This is Loki’s work,” she said in a mutter under her breath.
“Loki or not, I go to see what I can discover.” To Aslaug she said, “How does everyone fare in the hall? Is anyone bothering you?”
“No, the men are kind, especially the Scots.”
“Exactly my point,” Saga said. “They have no reason to engage in this crime.”
With that she left the chamber and snuck out through the door in Gunnar’s chamber. As she inched the door closed to make no sound, she stopped and listened to ensure there was no one around. The smell of burning wood met her the second she was outside, and smoke filled the air.
Creeping along the path behind the hall she made no noise. She and Bjorn used to play a game as children to determine how close they could get to one another before being detected. She always won.
Near the village where hours earlier Giric had been fascinated by the turf houses, Saga crept behind the buildings until she was close enough to see exactly who had gone to help douse the fire.
She had no trouble making out Gunnar and Magnus. Under normal circumstances Bjorn would be there too and she suspected Giric was having a difficult time being prohibited from lending aid.
Eight other men, all her clansmen, and all reliable helped get the fire under control. Luckily it was contained to three market huts. They could be easily rebuilt in a few days.
As she watched she wondered if Bjorn’s stabbing and this fire were connected. While the two events had occurred while the Scots were here, she was not convinced they were responsible.
Saga stepped back to draw a breath of clean air since the smoke billowed thicker once the water doused the flames. She accidentally stepped on a branch which drew Gunnar’s attention. He came bounding for her as she stepped into view with her hands raised.
While Gunnar ran toward her, she noticed something moving in trees off to the side. Magnus’ head turned in the same direction as well and they both started toward it. By the time Gunnar caught up to her all three were chasing what looked like a slight man running several paces ahead of them. He was fast, and Saga’s lungs already burned from the smoke. Running made it worse.
Magnus’ stride was longer than hers and he passed her and within a short time, she heard a thunk and‘oof’coming from up ahead.
By the time she got to where they were and bent over to catch her breath, Magnus had the man’s arms pinned behind his back and his hood pulled back.
Aslaug. Saga could not have been more shocked if she’d been punched in the gut.
* * *
Giric leaned forward watching every man’s face in the hall. He’d already scrutinized each of his own men thrice over and had whispered to Osgar to do the same. After all he’d been the one to hand pick these men. If there was a criminal among them, Gunnar would have to stand in line to punish him.
So much could be lost and at a time they were so close to forging a mutually beneficial and permanent alliance. All they had worked for may have just gone up in flames.
While he understood that Gunnar had to make decisions based primarily on what was best for his people, Giric would not give up on the alliance or having Saga for his wife without a fight.
“I see no sign of guilt in any man here, Giric, much less our own,” Osgar said.
“Aye, nor do I. I have done everything I can to detect any hint of deceit and unless the man is good at deceiving, the one responsible is not here.”
“Which is good because now the wedding can proceed.”
“Aye,” Giric said. “Providing half the village does not burn to the ground. I do not know why Gunnar did not take more men. I saw how close those buildings were together. If one catches they are all gone.”
Osgar leaned back and looked around. “Where is that maid gone with the ale?” he asked.
Giric too looked around. She was nowhere in sight. “Mayhap she is seeing to Saga and her sister,” he said. It was odd that she was gone since she’d been present and attending ever since their arrival.
