Partially demoralised because of their lack of progress with the sail, the pair decided to hang around Birger’s workshop for a few days more than initially planned.

Maddie and Jörmun went in the nearby villages during the day, scouting for anything that looked out of the ordinary, hoping to hear of any rumours or people that had anything to do with the remains of an old ship; unfortunately all to no avail.

With the fifth day passing they returned once again in the afternoon at Birger’s place. They found the man enjoying a cup of tea while visually analysing the progress made so far.

“Any luck?” he looked at the pair. Judging by their faces, nothing new but more dissapointment was added to their search mission; the two of them shaking heads in denial was the confirmation he needed to validate his presumption.

“Nobody knows where the mast originally came from. All everyone remembers is how many times it was struck by lightning,” Maddie sighed as she took a seat on a stool nearby the ship.

“And how many times was it hit?” Birger asked, genuinely interested; he never really knew.

“Everyone says a different number,” she added. “Not that it matters anyway!”

Birger laughed. He poured hot water from the kettle in another cup and after adding a tea bag, he offered it to Maddie. He then did the same for Jörmun, but got politely refused.

“Thank you, but I will stick to some cold water. Days are getting really warm here,” he watched the man withdraw the cup with a tint of disappointment in his eyes. Jörmun made a swift hand flick, and adjusted his clothing to something lighter, fit for the mid-summer weather.

“There is also lemonade in the fridge,” Birger offered.

“Water will be enough,” he repeated and with a flat smile he left the workshop.

Birger and Maddie starred after the fiery haired silhouette until he went completely out of sight. The man wondered for how long Jörmun would be gone. He wanted to chat with Maddie in a while, but never really got the chance to; the other was always watching over her like a hawk, trailing her every step like a shadow.

Birger eventually decided to open the talk. At least Maddie would be aware that he wanted to discuss the matters. “Jörmungandr seems troubled; more with every passing day. I don’t see him come and look at the Skuldelev with the same eyes.”

The girl looked up at the other, a bit surprised by the observation. She never cared to notice such a detail. “I suppose he is nervous in the absence of a track for the sail. It’s the missing piece.”

“I know a woman that does volunteering work, sewing sails for the viking ships they put out for tourist rides.”

“It’s very kind of you to suggest that, Birger. However, even with her potential help, we’d still need at least a piece of the original material,” she let out a heavy sigh. She was beginning to think it will be impossible to achieve that, considering their current, inexistent progress.

The man nodded. He was still unable to understand why all three of them were working so hard into piecing the old ship together, but he gave up on trying to get any information from Jörmun, who always conveniently diverted from the subject.

“You said that the longship you were working on has a special meaning,” Maddie started, wishing to shift the topic away from Jörmun. She wasn’t feeling comfortable talking about him in his absence. “Do you have any plans for it?”

Birger smiled bitterly then reached into his pocket. He took out the toy-like version of the ship, where the actual vessel was now trapped into.

“It was my son’s dream. We planned on building it together.”

“Did he lose interest?”

“No. He sadly passed away.”

“Oh, I am sorry for your loss…”

“It was shortly after we started to work on the ship that he got diagnosed with an incurable disease,” he paused, running his thumb over the small sculpture. “He was probably your age.”

“What a terrible fate… I am really sorry,” Maddie touched the man’s arm in a compassionate gesture; he smiled briefly. “Do you plan to finish the longship in his memory?”

“I named it after him; Narve,” he said proudly. “I hope it will be as mighty as he imagined it to be.”

“I have no doubt. It will be. Even the progress you have so far looks formidable!”

“Its construction could’ve been far more advanced, but after my son’s passing, I lost all my will to work on it,” he confessed as he took a seat in the sawdust powdered armchair. “You know, seeing Jörmungandr speaking so passionately about the Skuldelev, reminded me of Narve. They would’ve probably gotten along well.”

Maddie nodded silently. She didn’t want to add anything, but she knew how hard it was to deal with Jörmun at times. However, she admired Birger’s commitment to resume working on the ship after such a great loss. “He is strong,” she thought with a small smile as she glanced at him, noticing how he was still toying around with the small sculpture.

---

Later, during the evening of the same day, a potential track came on the horizon; a ray of hope in Maddie’s mind, which she hoped to extend further to Jörmun, as soon as he would be back in sight.

The girl sprung on her feet as soon as she caught glimpse of the fiery hair. She nearly end up on her four, stumbling upon the sofa while she made her way to the other, with her eyes still glued to the article she came across.

“I may have news regarding the sail!” Maddie paused before him with the most excited smile she had in a long time.  She was greeted with a sceptical glance from Jörmun.

“May have?”

“Well, I am not sure if it is the one or not, but maybe it’s worth a check?” she added before handing him the phone for a quick read.

The designer of the art installation that collaborated with the furniture giant for their anniversary celebration, said: “While exploring my Norwegian roots, I came across the old sail stored away in my great-grandmother’s house. Myself and my family have no record of where it originally came from or whether she was the one that made it, but finding it preserved in such an amazing state, could only ask for it to be reused. Through my latest creation, I wanted to celebrate the idea of old things remaining new. Standing the test of time, just like the first designs of the brand I collaborated with.”

Jörmun finished the read with mild surprise in his eyes. Maddie could easily see the positive change of mood that the news caused. She hoped that it would bring back the spark Birger noticed to be missing lately.

“We have to travel to the neighboring country,” Jörmun said as he gave a second read to the article. One thing that stood out for both himself and Maddie was the surprising state of the sail material, despite of its unestimated but undoubtedly old age.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she reclaimed her phone and searched for the quickest route to their new destination. “A five hour bus ride from where we landed.”

“Reasonable,” he appreciated. At the sound of footsteps, he turned around to see Birger joining their conversation, visibly curious.

“I heard something about a bus ride. Maybe it’s faster if I drive you there. Where do you need to get?”

“Stockholm,” Maddie said in a breath, but Jörmun stepped in immediately.

“As much as we appreciate your help, Birger, your focus should be the Skuldelev,” he watched the man nod at his words. “We should be back fairly quick and hopefully with the missing sail.”

“Will you go and just ask for it, similarly to how you demanded the ownership of the old mast?”

Jörmun snorted. He glanced at Maddie, who was likely already aware that it won’t be the case. “We’ll find a way to bring it here if it proves to be the one.”

“I hope not as you did with the boat,” Birger started on a warning tone. It was still impossible for him to grasp at the idea that they had a relic of the past hidden in the workshop; one that was very intensively searched for by the authorities, making circles even internationally.

“Leave that to me, Birger,” he offered the man a confident smile.

Maddie was glad to see the positive emotion floating again in the air, but she couldn’t help not being anxious at all in regards the potential chance of them having to steal something again. She planned to ask for a disguise; being seen in two places where important pieces of a ship went missing was not exactly desirable. It was likely that nobody would know of the relation between the body of the Skuldelev and the modern-art-turned-sail, but she was not going to put her bets on that fact alone.