Raven Boy

Chapter 14

Soon after that, Hrafn started naming people for the crew of each ship.

They had in their possession two large warships and one small. The twins decided that the small one was to stay, which did not really please some Vikings. Hrafn would sail on one of the large ships, and Orm and Kirk would be in his crew together with his uncle Örjan. He wanted Ari to command the second ship.

"Why are you taking Kirk with you?" whispered Olaf. "Put him with Ari.

Hrafn shook his head. "He is the most upset with
everything I do or say, I'd better keep people like that close."

Olaf rolled his eyes. "It's crazy! If you keep them all on your ship, you are sure to have a mutiny, or worse – to get killed before you even reach the Foreigners!"

Hrafn turned to look at his brother. Olaf was right. "We'll divide them then?"

Olaf nodded, his expression serious. "Yes. Make sure you separate each of them from his best friend. It will
weaken the opposition."

It was easier to say then to do. They didn't know the names of some of the warriors, let alone the connections between them.

Finally, Hrafn called Ari and asked his advice. The latter was happy to offer his help and his intervention visibly
reassured some warriors who clearly doubted Hrafn's
abilities to command.

"Thanks for your trust, Konungr." Ari said. "As I am not on the same ship with you, take Sveinn to your crew. He is very good on the rudder and he knows how to read the stars and the sky just as well as Kirk does."

Hrafn eagerly followed this advice – he itched to have his sword-wielding lesson with Sveinn and thus Sveinn's presence on his ship had a double advantage.

Ari was really helpful – he called each warrior by his name and mentioned the biggest strengths or weaknesses of each. Hrafn knew he was doing it on purpose, but he did it naturally, without stressing Hrafn's ignorance or making it look like a lesson. Both Olaf and Hrafn learned a lot and felt very grateful to Ari.

Each warship was to carry sixty warriors. The rest – two dozen men – would stay in the town under Olaf's command. The fact that another child was given command only
worsened the situation. But angry protests quickly turned into low muttering because someone spotted the rune caster walking by and the old man waved his hand in a general greeting. The rune caster was deeply respected, not because people feared him, but because almost everyone had used his prophecies and seen them turn into life; no one had a reason to accuse him of lying.

"Why aren't they sailing with us?" asked someone with glaring disappointment, waving his hand toward the group of those who were staying. Several other Vikings muttered in agreement.

Hrafn turned to him and explained, "We can't leave the town with no protection at all, can we? It's a war, after all."

"Sure," Kirk cut across indignantly. "But it's unnecessary to have that many people here when they are much more needed on board! Who will attack us, anyway? All the neighbors are our vassals or allies! To prove it, you have some of their people right here, in your crew!"

Hrafn listened and after some consideration, he
announced, "Maybe you're right... Let's see..." he turned to face the Vikings that were selected to stay. "You and you," he called, pointing his finger at the two men who seemed most unhappy with their staying. "One of you joins my ship and the other goes with Ari."

Somewhat mollified, the warriors followed. Hrafn turned back to Olaf, recalling what they had been talking about.

Kirk's face went bright red; that puppy was mocking him! Burning fury washed over him. His fists clenched and a snarl started building in his chest. His strongest urge was to throw the boy across the knee and to spank him until he fully understood the idea of "respect one's elders"!

But he didn't make a move – Hrafn's uncle, who had just appeared out of nowhere as the boy's bodyguard, made a step toward him. Örjan didn't make a sound, but his frown was loaded with threat. Despite Örjan being a farmer, he knew how to wield an axe and the impressive size of his fists indicated that he was a formidable opponent in a hand to hand fight. Kirk decided to postpone his educational session. He lowered his fists, but the suppressed fury raged inside him, only getting stronger because he was denied to let it out.

Watching him, Olaf silently laughed. "I wish I could go with you just to be able to look at Kirk's face when he reacts at your orders!" he whispered.

Hrafn half-smiled, his eyes serious. "Well, I'm not
exactly in the position to find it funny," he complained. "I wish you were going with me, but apart from you, no one can help me here."

Olaf grudgingly nodded, "I guess, next time."

~~~

By sunset the ships were ready to sail.

Before dinner, Hrafn gathered all the Vikings who were leaving, as well as those who were staying. He told them, "We should have a system of signs to communicate between us in case we need to act in silence."

"We do have some," interrupted him Ari. "The open palm means 'wait'. When you beckon with the right arm, it means 'attack'. The same with the left arm means 'follow'. Otherwise, every captain knows what to do."

"Right..." the boy mused. "It's just that I think we should act more like a team. What if it gives better results? Wouldn't it be easier if everyone knew what the others were doing?"

The Vikings remained silent, but their expressions
indicated that Hrafn still had their full attention. He went on. "I suggest we come up with signs for 'row', 'stop rowing', 'hoist the sail', 'lower the sail', 'weigh the anchor', 'throw the anchor', 'fire arrows', 'stand by the rail'..."All of those had been invented by Olaf and himself long ago. It was their secret system in their games, and, knowing the efficiency of it, the boy wanted to test it in real life.

The Vikings didn't seem particularly excited about it. Nonetheless, they repeated the signs after Hrafn several times with rather bored expressions, and then hurried to the table.