By the time day breaks, I still haven't shut my eyes long enough to fall asleep. Part of me is still on edge from my company, but the rest of me doesn't want to miss any detail of this journey.

At the other end of the ship, Ulmar mans the steerboard. The men have been rowing since they left Aebelgården. But as soon as the sun rises, Ulmar allows them to stop rowing and rest. 

"Miss Öman," Ulmar commands my attention, "Won’t you read to us whilst they take a rest?"

I turn from my position to face the men and then rummage through the bag to find the leather book. Some of the men wait for me to start, others have resorted to laying down or holding conversations of their own.

My eyes skim the first page containing a short preface. 

"The author left a note at the beginning of this..." I mutter.

       "Dear Reader,

         The pages of this book, while separate, are all joined by the spine. Similarly, the information written upon each page is intertwined with history. What is true on earth is true in the heavens, and whoever uses this knowledge for evil on earth shall be deemed evil to the eyes of the gods."

Silence follows my words and all that can be heard is the slap of the water against the hull of the ship.

"Find the page containing information about the stones," Ulmar says snappily as he approaches.

I squint at the paper and flip through the book until I find something that looks correct, "Here it is."

Ulmar sits down beside me to listen better.

"Godstones are gifts to mortals. Each stone contains power that only the holder of the stone can come to know. If all stones are under the possession by one man, he will be like the gods. He will be made immortal," I say, using my finger to keep my place as I look up at them.

"So the man you mentioned..." I begin, "The one you are afraid of is trying to find the stones?"

Sindri, who sits to my right, answers, "It is the Brandr. Their leader is Thorgrim Bori."

"And he has two stones already?" I mumble uneasily, remembering how I left the amber in my father's possession. 

Sindri nods and I try to return my attention to the book.

"“Every stone is associated with a deity. Each deity has an environment with which they are associated with. In those environments, the stones shall be found.

Amethyst is found amidst the ocean waves. 

Amber breathes in fire. 

Emerald drops from thick tree branches. 

Carnelian lies in the eye of a storm. 

Onyx sleeps in soil. 

Garnet hides within mountain tops. 

Diamond shines in a ray of sun. 

Lapis sits in the river’s lips.”

At the bottom of the page, another note is scrawled. 

"The Godstones hide from mortals that look with their eyes." I finish, and then shut the book. 

My stomach twists with worry over the amber. I silently begin to pray that I made the right decision of keeping it at home. 

Next to me, Ulmar scratches the side of his head, "Well, that's mighty cryptic."

My eyes move across the faces of the men on the ship. I'm not sure whether they're excited for this journey or terrified, and I don't blame them. At the other end of the ship, Henrik sits with his elbows on his knees. 

His eyes scan the ship just like mine and then land upon my face. We look at each other blankly for a moment, then both of us look away as if it never happened.

Ulmar stands, straightens himself, and then speaks to me in a soft tone, "Before we can continue our search, we must return to our clan and replenish our supplies."

I stand at his words and look towards where the boat is pointed. Not too far ahead of us, a town sits on and below a cliff. 

"That is Deildara," Ulmar announces, "home of the Ira Clan."

As he begins walking away, he shouts a command that makes the men begin rowing again. The wind picks up in the sail and helps kick us along faster.

Ulmar laughs, "You feel the wind, men? The gods want us home!" 

The men smile and my gaze remains upon the town ahead of us. The knot of fear from leaving home begins to ache in my chest again.

- 

When the boat reaches the dock, a large group of people wait for my viken counterparts. I, the first to leave the ship, am not greeted by anything other than silent stares. 

However, as soon as the other men begin disembarking, the crowd begins to howl and yip for them. I stand back as far as I can from the group in order to watch the loved ones be reunited with one-another. 

Ulmar is met by many friends, but no woman. The same is for Henrik. I begin to feel curious about the whereabouts of his mother, but then decide it's probably better I didn't ask.

The rest of the men unload while Ulmar waves at me to join his side. Henrik is also there, but neither of us pay each other any mind.

"Runa, there is a spare bedroom in our home if you would like to stay there," Ulmar offers kindly, "Henrik can show you to your room if you would like."

"Thank you," I respond genuinely, surprised he even offered me a home in the first place. 

Ulmar rejoins his group of friends and I look to Henrik expectantly. Henrik doesn't spare me a glance before he begins towards the house on the hill. 

The house upon the hill happens to be much larger than the other buildings in town, so I soon realize that it's the Jarl's hall. I hadn't realized Ulmar was a jarl until that point. 

"So you're the jarl's son?" I say in hilarity.

Henrik sighs, "What does it matter?"

"Well, you gave me trouble for being the jarl's daughter," I laugh, "When you yourself are the same as me."

Henrik stops walking to point a bony finger at my sternum.

"If there's one thing you will learn today, it is that you and I are absolutely nothing alike," he growls, "I am insulted by the very idea."

I laugh again as he continues to walk, "What, you think a dirty savage like you  has more dignity than a farmer?"

Henrik shakes off my words with a grimace, urging me to keep going.

"Listen, Jarl's son," I challenge, "If you think you're going to make me submit into silence by your insults, you've got another thing coming..."

Henrik hisses at me, "If you've got an ounce of intelligence in you, you'll stop talking right now."

We reach the front door of the hall and turn to each other bitterly.

"Well, I am just a stupid farm girl, right?" I laugh, "So I guess I can keep talking then."

A small hint of remorse flashes over the anger in his eyes. 

"Don't look at me like that," I shake my head coldly, "You've insulted me quite enough for one day, Henrik. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off doing whatever stupid farmhands do."

He doesn't respond, just opens the door and lets me in to find my own way around. Once the door shuts behind me, I am officially left to my own devices. 

I suppose I should find my room, but I also suppose a little snooping can't hurt at the moment.

Two doorways lay on either side of the hall, leaving me with the freedom to choose my own expedition. I begin heading to the left and am soon greeted by a long hallway with numerous doors inside. 

I feel as though I've been left in a maze to find my way, and at the end I win a bedroom of my own. That's enough motivation for me, so I begin my journey through the maze in silence.

Behind the first door is a long table with a chandelier of forged iron above it. I assume it's a dining room and simply move on. To my disdain, the next door isn't hiding anything exciting either. Behind it is an empty servants quarters. Five beds line the wall and two large looms sit in front of them. 

Here I was thinking there would be dirt I could use to dislike Henrik even more, and now I just look like a fool.

I go into the next door thinking it'll be the same empty room. As it turns out, it's the exact opposite. 

Behind the third door is a large, bustling kitchen. There are three old women causing all the commotion, along with two young women helping them. As soon as I enter, their trance is broken and they look at me curiously.

"Hello dear," an older woman with long white hair says kindly, "Can we help ya?"

"Oh, I was just..." I begin, my words feeling as slow as molasses, "..trying to get to know the place.."

"Where did you come from?" another older woman asks, "And are ya hungry?"

"I'm from Aebelgården," I answer, watching them begin to work once more, "I'm a guest of the Jarl's."

They raise their eyebrows at me and the one with long white hair waves me to the empty stool next to her. One of the young women shuts the door behind me and the other hands me a cup of ale.

"My name is Siv," the one with long white hair says warmly, "The one peeling potatoes is Astrid, and the one in the corner is Ranveig."

Astrid and Ranveig are both beautifully aged women, just like Siv. They are all plump and warm, making the environment in the kitchen feel more like home. 

"We've been with Ulmar for years," Siv explains as her old fingers run thread through a soon-to-be shoe, "Our sister, Ulmar's mother, died in childbirth. We helped raise him, even more so after his father left."

While she speaks, I sip my ale and listen intently, incredibly glad that I opened this door.

"Tell us your business with Ulmar," Astrid requested, her voice tinted with skepticism. 

I clear my throat and turn my eyes to her, "Ulmar arrived at my home asking for help on his current conquest. They needed someone to read a book for them, since no one else could read, and my father and I are the only ones in our town that can...

"My father is not well, though, at least not well enough to travel with vikingrs. So I took his place," I finished, "And now I'm here."

Astrid smiles at me with a strange glint in her eye as she peels one last potato.

"Goodness," she grins, "You're quite the go-getter."

I feel my cheeks turn hot and I force a meek shrug, "I'm just trying to help my family."

Siv pats me on the shoulder kindly and I see Ranveig nodding in the corner as she washes some clothes.

"Have you met Henrik?" Ranveig asks, her gravely voice echoing off the stone floor.

I stifle a laugh and nod, "Yes I have."

"You two would get along famously, I think," Siv smiles brightly.

All I can do in response is laugh and try to gulp down my ale as quickly as possible.