Arn was in such a good mood as he returned to the longhouse that Eskil felt prompted to mutter that he didn't understand how their conversation during the day's boat ride could have caused him such delight. Arn instantly turned serious as he sat down across from Eskil at the table and cast a startled glance at the wooden trencher of porridge, drippings, and bacon before him. He shoved the trencher aside and placed his scarred hand over Eskil's.

'Eskil, my brother. You must understand one thing about me and Harald. We rode for many years with the Reaper at our side. At matins with our dear knight-brothers we never knew who might be gone by evensong. I saw many of my brothers die, also many who were better men than I. I saw the heads of the best stuck on lance-tips below the walls of Beaufort, the castle I told you about yesterday. But I leave my sorrows for the hour of prayer; believe me that I am diligent in my prayers after you are asleep. Don't think that I took lightly what you have told me.'

'The war in the Holy Land gave you strange habits,' Eskil muttered, but was suddenly filled with curiosity. 'Were there many Templar knights who were better than you, my brother?'

'Yes,' Arn said gravely. 'Harald is my witness. Ask him.'

'Well, what do you say to that, Harald?'

'That it is true and yet it is not,' replied Harald when he looked up from the plate of porridge swimming in fat and bacon, to which he was devoting much more interest than Arn had done. 'When I came to the Holy Land I thought I was a warrior, since I had done nothing but fight from the age of fourteen. I thought I was one of the strongest swordsmen of all. That false belief cost me many wounds. The Templar knights were warriors like none I had ever seen or dreamt of. The Saracens thought that a Templar knight was like five ordinary men. And I would agree with them on that. But it's also true that there were some Templar knights who stood far above all the others, and the one who was called Arn de Gothia, your brother, was among them. In the North there is no swordsman who can compare with Arn, I swear to you by the Mother of G.o.d!'

'Do not blaspheme Our Lady!' said Arn sternly. 'Remember swordsmen like Guy de Carcasonne, Sergio de Livorne, and above all Ernesto de Navarra.'

'Yes, I remember them all,' replied Harald. 'And you should also remember our agreement, that as soon as we set foot on Nordic soil I would no longer be your sergeant or you my master who could command me, but your Norwegian brother. And to you, Eskil, I can say that the names Arn mentioned were those of the most superior swordsmen. But now they are all dead, and Arn is not.'

'It's not a matter of sword, lance, or horse,' said Arn, his gaze fixed on the table. 'Our Lady holds her protective and benevolent hands over me, for She has a plan.'

'Living swordsmen are better than dead ones,' said Eskil curtly and in a tone indicating he considered the topic finished. 'But porridge and bacon do not seem to please our swordsman?'

Arn admitted that he was not in the habit of rejecting G.o.d's gifts at table, but he did have a problem with liquid pig fat. Although he could also understand that such fare would warm the body well during a Nordic winter.

Eskil took an inexplicable pleasure in the fact that his brother complained about the food even on this day. At once he ordered one of the men sitting at the oarsmen's table on the other side of the long fire in the hall to go to the stores in the riverboat. He was to bring from the rear magazine some hams from Arnas and a bunch of smoked sausages from Lodose.

After the meal, when all were sated, Eskil went over to the log-fire and picked up a piece of charcoal. Back at the table he swept aside with his elbow the remnants of the meal and quickly began drawing on the tabletop with the charcoal. It was the route from Lodose up the Gota River and into Lake Vanern, past Arnas and up to the mouth of the Tidan where their river journey had begun. Via the Tidan they were now on their way to Forsvik on the sh.o.r.e of Lake Vattern, and on the other side of Vattern they would head for Lake Boren and on to Linkoping. From there other routes branched out, leading north into Svealand and south to Visby and Lubeck. This was the backbone of his realm of business, he explained proudly. He controlled all the waterways from Lodose to Linkoping. He owned all the boats, riverboats as well as the larger ships with rounded hulls that sailed across Lakes Vanern and Vattern, as well as the portage chests located at the Troll's Fall on the Gota River. More than five hundred men, most of them freed thralls, sailed his ships on these waters. Only during the most severe and snowy winters was trade sometimes brought to a standstill for a few weeks at a time.

Arn and Harald had quietly and attentively studied the lines that Eskil had drawn on the table with his piece of charcoal, and they nodded in agreement. It was a great thing, they both thought, to be able to connect the North Sea and Norway with the Eastern Sea and Lubeck. In this way they could thumb their noses at Danish power.

Eskil's face clouded over, and all the elated self-confidence drained out of him. What did they mean by that, and what did they know about the Danes?

Arn told him that when they had sailed up along the coast of Jutland they had pa.s.sed the Limfjord. They had turned in there so that Arn could pray and donate some gold to the cloister of Vitskl where he had spent almost ten years in his childhood. At Vitskl they couldn't avoid hearing some things and observing others. Denmark was a great power, united first under King Valdemar and now his son Knut. Danish warriors resembled Frankish and Saxon warriors rather than Nordic ones, and the power that Denmark possessed, so evident to the eye, would not go unused. It would grow, most likely at the expense of the German lands.

From Norway they could sail to Lodose up the Gota River without being captured or paying tolls to the Danes. But to send trading ships to the south from Lodose and sail between the Danish islands to Saxony and Lubeck could not be done without paying heavy tolls.

Yet they didn't need to trouble themselves with the tolls, since the strongest side would use war to force through its will. War with the great Danish power was what they had to avoid above all.

Eskil objected that they could always try to marry into the Danish clans to keep them quiet, but both Harald and Arn laughed so rudely at this idea that Eskil was offended, and he moped for a while.

'Harald and I have talked about a way to strengthen your trade that I think should cheer you up right now,' Arn then said. 'We heartily support your trade, and we agree that you have arranged everything for the best, so listen to our idea. Our ship is in Lodose. Harald, being the Norwegian helmsman that he is, can sail that ship in any sea. Our proposal is that Harald sail the ship between Lofoten and Lodose in return for good compensation in silver. Remember that it's a ship that could hold three horses and two dozen men with all their provisions and all the fodder required, as well as the ten ox-carts with goods that we brought from Lodose. Now convert that into dried fish from Lofoten and you'll find that two voyages each summer will double your income in dried fish.'

'To think that you still remember my idea about the dried fish,' said Eskil, somewhat encouraged.

'I still remember that ride we made as young boys to the ting ting of all Goths, from both Western and Eastern Gotaland, at Axevalla,' replied Arn. 'That was when you told me about how you wanted to try to bring cod from Lofoten with the help of our Norwegian kinsmen. I remember that we instantly thought of the forty days of fasting before Easter, and that was when the idea came to me. As a cloister boy I had already eaten plenty of of all Goths, from both Western and Eastern Gotaland, at Axevalla,' replied Arn. 'That was when you told me about how you wanted to try to bring cod from Lofoten with the help of our Norwegian kinsmen. I remember that we instantly thought of the forty days of fasting before Easter, and that was when the idea came to me. As a cloister boy I had already eaten plenty of cabalao. cabalao. Dried fish is no less expensive now than it was then. That must be good for your business.' Dried fish is no less expensive now than it was then. That must be good for your business.'

'In truth, we are both sons of mother Sigrid,' said Eskil nostalgically with a wave towards the room for more ale. 'She was the first who understood what we're talking about now. Our father is an honourable man, but without her he wouldn't have ama.s.sed much wealth.'

'You're definitely right about that,' replied Arn, deflecting the ale towards Harald as it was brought in.

'So, Harald, do you want to go into our service as first mate on the foreign ship? And will you sail around Norway for cod?' asked Eskil gravely after he had guzzled a considerable amount of the fresh ale.

'That's the agreement between Arn and myself,' said Harald.

'I see that you've got yourself a new surcoat,' said Eskil.

'Among your retainers at Arnas there are several Nors.e.m.e.n, as you know. In your service they all wear blue and have little use for the clothes they were wearing when they arrived. I bought this Birchleg surcoat from one of them, and in it I feel more at home than in the colours I always wore in the Holy Land,' Harald replied with some pride.

'Two crossed arrows in gold on a red field,' Eskil muttered pensively.

'It suits me even better, since the bow is my best weapon, and these colours are my birthright,' Harald a.s.sured him. 'The bow and arrow was the Birchlegs' primary weapon in their struggle. In Norway I had no equal with the bow, and I grew no worse in the Holy Land.'

'That's undoubtedly true,' replied Eskil. 'The Birchlegs relied heavily on the power of the bow, and that brought them their victory. You left for the Holy Land in their darkest hour. A year later, Sverre Munnsson came from the Faeroe Islands. Birger Brosa and King Knut backed him with weapons, men, and silver. Now you have won, and Sverre is king. But you know all this, don't you?'

'Yes, and that's why I want to accompany your brother to Nas to thank King Knut and Jarl Birger, who supported us.'

'No one shall take that right from you,' muttered Eskil. 'And you're ystein Myla's son, aren't you?'

'Yes, that's right. My father fell at the battle of Re, outside Tnsberg. I was there, a mere boy. I escaped the foes to the Holy Land, and now I shall return in our own colours.'

Eskil nodded and took another drink, pondering where to lead the conversation. The other two waited patiently.

'If you are indeed ystein Myla's son you can a.s.sert your right to the crown of Norway,' Eskil said in his business voice. 'You're our friend, just as Sverre is, and that's good. But you have a choice. You can choose to support the rebels and become king or possibly die trying. Or you can sail north to King Sverre, taking a letter from King Knut and the jarl, and swear allegiance to him. That is your choice, and there is nothing in between.'

'And if I then become your foe?' Harald asked without pausing to consider what this new revelation might mean.

'There's no chance you would become our enemy,' replied Eskil in the same clipped, businesslike tone. 'Either you'll die in the battle against King Sverre, in which case you wouldn't be much of a foe to us. Or else you'll win. In that case you would still be our friend.'

Harald stood up, holding his ale tankard in both hands, and drained it to the bottom. He slammed it to the table so that the charcoal dust outlining Eskil's business realm sprayed in all directions. Then he gestured toward his head and staggered toward the door, sweeping his red mantle tighter around him. When he opened the door the bright summer night dazzled them all, and a nightingale could be heard singing.

'What ideas have you sown in our friend Harald's head now?' Arn asked with a frown.

'Only what I've learned from you in our brief time together, brother. It's better to say what needs to be said now than wait till later. What do you think he should do?'

'The wisest course for Harald would be to swear an oath of allegiance to King Sverre at once, on his first trip,' said Arn. 'A king would not treat badly the son of a fallen hero who served the same cause as he did. If Harald makes peace with Sverre it would be best for Norway, for Western Gotaland, and for us Folkungs.'

'I think so too,' said Eskil. 'But men who catch the scent of the king's crown don't always act with reason. What if Harald joins up with the rebels?'

'Then Sverre will have a warrior opposing him who is stronger than any other in Norway,' Arn said quietly. 'But the same is true in the other case. If he joins up with Sverre, the king may then have so much power that the struggle for the crown will wane. I know Harald well after the many years of war he has spent at my side. It's easy to understand that it would make a man's head spin if he suddenly found out that he could be king. The same would have happened to you or me. But tomorrow, once he has thought it over, he'll decide to be our first mate rather than chase after the Norwegian crown through fire and a rain of arrows.'

Arn got up, declining Eskil's offer of more ale. He took a few sheepskins, bowed goodnight to his brother, and went out into the bright summer night. He heard the nightingale again, and the cold morning light shone in Eskil's eyes before the door closed and he could reach for more ale.

Arn shut his eyes and took a deep breath as he stepped out into the summer night, the likes of which he remembered from his childhood. There was a strong aroma of alder and birch, and the fog hovered like dancing elves down there by the river. There was no one around.

He wrapped his unlined summer mantle around him, crossed the courtyard, and went into the cow pasture so he could be alone. Out there a black bull appeared out of the mist and began to paw with one front hoof and snort at him. Arn drew his sword and slowly continued across the pasture. Once across he sat down under a big willow tree whose lower branches drooped toward the river. Nightingales were singing all around him. They sounded different up here in the North, as if the cool, clear air gave them a better singing voice.

He prayed for the brother he had never known, Knut, who had died from youthful pride and the desire of a young Danish lord to kill someone in order to feel like a real warrior. He prayed that G.o.d might forgive the Danish lord's sins, just as they must be forgiven by the dead man's brothers. And he prayed that he might be spared any feelings of revenge.

He prayed for his father's health, for Eskil and Eskil's daughters and his son Torgils, and for the sisters he didn't know who were already married women.

He prayed for Cecilia's treacherous sister Katarina, that she might come to terms with her sins during her time at Gudhem and seek forgiveness for them.

Finally, he prayed for a long time that the Mother of G.o.d would give him clarity in his words at the meeting to come, and that no misfortune would befall Cecilia or their son Magnus before they were all united with the blessing of the Church.

When his prayers were done the glow of the sun appeared above the mist. Then he meditated on the great mercy he had received, that his life had been spared despite the fact that his bones should have long since been bleached white under the merciless sun of the Holy Land.

G.o.d's Mother had taken pity on him more often than he deserved. In return She had given him a mission, and he promised not to fail Her. With all his power he would work to fulfil Her will, which he had held close to his heart ever since the moment She had appeared to him in Forshem church.

He wrapped a sheepskin round him and lay down among the roots of the willow tree that enfolded him like an embrace. He had often slept this way out in the field after saying his prayers but with one ear open so as not to be surprised by the enemy.

By old habit he woke up abruptly without knowing why. He drew his sword without a sound and stood up as he silently rubbed his hands and looked all around.

It was a wild boar sow with eight small striped piglets cautiously following her along the riverbank. Arn sat down silently and watched them, careful that the light wouldn't glint off the blade of his sword.

The next morning they got a later start than they'd intended; Eskil's contrary mood and somewhat red eyes had something to do with it. They rowed due south for a few hours, which was harder work for the oarsmen since the river was narrowing and the current increasing. But by midday when they reached the rapids of the River Tidan, where the boat had to be hauled by oxen and draymen to the lake of Braxenbolet, the worst of their toil was over. They had to wait a while because the draymen were hauling a boat from the other direction; both the men and the oxen needed to rest before stepping into harness again.

The party had encountered several small cargo boats on the journey, and there were two in front of them waiting their turn to be taken across the portage. There was some grumbling among the boatmen when their helmsman went ash.o.r.e and began ordering the two waiting boats to yield their places. The harsh words quickly ebbed away when Eskil himself appeared. They were all his men, and he owned all the boats.

Eskil, Arn, and Harald led their horses ash.o.r.e and then rode in the lead along the towpath beside the corduroy path for the boats. Arn asked whether Eskil had calculated the cost of digging a ca.n.a.l instead of keeping oxen and men for towing the boats. Eskil thought that it would cost the same, since this location wasn't suitable and they would have to dig the ca.n.a.l further to the south across flatter land. A ca.n.a.l south of there would also increase the travel time beyond what it took to tow the boats. During the winter when all vessels were towed on sleds, this portage was just as pa.s.sable as the frozen river. Runners were fastened to the bottoms of the smaller boats so they could be towed like sleds the whole length of the river.

At the start of the short ride they met the draymen pulling a heavily laden boat; Eskil thought the cargo was iron from Nordanskog. They reined in their horses and made way for the oxen and ox-drivers, who came first. Several of the draymen let go of the towline with one hand to greet Herr Eskil and ask Our Lady to bless him.

'They're all freedmen,' Eskil answered Arn's questioning glance. 'Some of them I bought and then released in exchange for their labour; others I pay to work. They all work hard, both with the towing and in the fields on their tenant farms. It's a good business.'

'For you or for them?' Arn asked with some mockery in his tone.

'For both,' replied Eskil, ignoring his brother's gibe. 'The truth is that this enterprise brings me in a lot of silver. But the lives of these men and their progeny would be much worse without this work. Maybe you have to be born a thrall to understand the joy they take in this toil.'

'Could be,' said Arn. 'Do you have other portages like this one?'

'There's another on the other side of Lake Vattern, past Lake Boren. But it's not much when you consider that we sail or row the whole way from Lodose to Linkoping,' said Eskil, clearly pleased at how well he'd arranged everything.

They were able to make up for the delay they'd had in the morning once they got out onto Lake Braxenbolet and headed north. The wind was from the southwest, so they could set the sail. The next river they followed downstream to Lake Viken, which made the rowing easy. And out on Viken they sailed once again at a good speed.

They reached Forsvik in the early evening, having proceeded with good tailwinds.

Forsvik lay between Viken and Bottensjon, which was actually a part of Lake Vattern. On one side of Forsvik the rapids were powerful and broad, and on the other the outlet was narrower and deeper. There the currents turned two millwheels. The buildings were laid out in a large square and were mostly small and low, except for the longhouse which stood along the sh.o.r.e of Bottensjon. They were all built of greying timber, and the roofs were covered with sod and gra.s.s. A row of stables for the livestock stretched to the north along the sh.o.r.e.

They docked their riverboat at the wharves on the Viken side. A similar boat was already tied up there. It was being loaded by labourers with carts who came from the other direction.

Arn at once wanted to saddle his horse and ride out to take a look around, but Eskil didn't think it was proper to show disregard for the farm's hosts. They were Folkungs, after all. Arn agreed with this, and they led the horses into the courtyard and tied them to a rail by a watering trough. The visitors had already occasioned much commotion at the farm when it was discovered that these were no ordinary guests who had arrived.

The mistress stumbled with eagerness as she came running with the welcome chair. Eskil joked that he'd rather have the ale inside him than spilled over him. He and Harald at once downed a manly draft, while Arn as usual merely tasted the proffered ale.

The mistress stammered an apology, saying that the master was out on the lake tending to the trout nets, and since she had not expected company it would be a while before they would have supper ready for their guests.

Eskil grumbled a bit, but Arn quickly explained that this was even better, since all three of them would like to take a ride around the property at Forsvik. They would be back in a few hours.

The mistress curtseyed in relief, not noticing the displeasure in Eskil's eyes. Reluctantly he went over to his horse and led it around the watering trough, where he could more easily mount by placing one foot on the trough before he heavily hoisted himself into the saddle.

Arn and Harald were ready to go. Without mounting, Arn slapped both of their horses so that they started off at a slow trot past Eskil. When Eskil, puzzled, looked up at the riderless horses, Arn and Harald came running fast from behind and then jumped, each landing with both hands on the hindquarters of his horse before pushing himself forward into the saddle and galloping off, the way all Templar knights did when there was an alarm.

Eskil didn't seem the least amused by the performance.

At first they rode to the south. Outside the farm buildings was a garden where the bright green vines had already climbed up their poles to the height of a man. Then they headed down toward the rapids and bridge, where the blossoms from an apple orchard covered the ground like snow.

Across the bridge the fields of Forsvik stretched before them. The closest field lay fallow, and there they discovered to their surprise four youths practicing on horseback with wooden lances and shields. The boys were so engrossed in their game that they didn't notice the three strangers ride up and stop at the edge of the field. The men watched the boys with amus.e.m.e.nt for a long while before they were discovered.

'They're of our clan, Folkungs all four,' Eskil explained as he raised his hand and waved to the four young riders. The boys rode over to them at a gallop, then sprang from their mounts. Holding on to the reins, they came over and knelt quickly before Eskil.

'What sort of foreign manners are these? I thought you were hoping for a place in the royal guard, or with Birger Brosa or myself?' Eskil greeted them jovially.

'This is the new custom. It's the practice of everyone at King Valdemar's court in Denmark, and I've seen it myself,' replied the eldest of the boys, giving Eskil a steady gaze.

'We aim to become knights!' one of the younger boys said c.o.c.kily, since it may have seemed that Eskil misunderstood.

'Indeed? It's no longer enough to be a retainer?' asked Arn, leaning forward in his saddle with a stern look for the boy who had just spoken to Eskil as if he were an elderly kinsman who understood nothing. 'Then tell me, what does a knight do?'

'A knight...' began the boy, quickly turning unsure as he noticed the Norwegian retainer's amus.e.m.e.nt. Harald was vainly trying to hide his mirth with a hand over his brow and eyes.

'Don't mind the northerner, my young kinsman; he doesn't know much,' said Arn kindly and without the slightest ridicule. 'Illuminate me instead! What does a knight do?'

'A knight rides with lance and shield, protects maidens in distress, slays the forces of evil, or the dragon like Saint orjan, and most of all is the foremost defender of the land during times of war,' said the boy, now quite sure of himself and looking Arn straight in the eye. 'And the foremost of all knights are the Knights Templar in the Holy Land,' he added, as if wanting to demonstrate that he did know what he was talking about.

'I see,' said Arn. 'Then may Our Lady hold her protective hands over all of you as you practice for such a good cause, and let us hinder you no longer.'

'Our Lady? We pray to Saint orjan, the patron saint of knights,' replied the boy boldly, now even more certain that he was the one who was the expert on this topic.

'Yes, that is true, many pray to Saint Georges,' said Arn, turning his horse to the side to continue his survey of Forsvik. 'But I mentioned Our Lady because She is the High Protectress of the Knights Templar.'

When the three men had ridden off a way, they all had a good laugh. But the boys didn't hear them. With great earnestness and renewed zeal they rode at each other, holding out their short wooden lances as if they were attacking with Saracen swords.

By nightfall as they returned to Forsvik, they had seen what they needed to see. In the north the Tiveden woods began, the forest that according to ancient belief was without end. There was timber and fuel in immeasurable quant.i.ties, and close at hand. To the south along the sh.o.r.e of Lake Vattern there were fields with pasture that would feed more than five times the livestock and horses now at Forsvik. But the fields for grain and turnips were meagre and sandy, and the living quarters decaying and rank.

Eskil now said bluntly that he had wanted Arn to see Forsvik before they decided. A son of Arnas ought to own a better farm than this, and Eskil at once proposed either of the farms Honsater or Hallekis on the slopes of Kinnekulle facing Lake Vanern. Then they could also live on neighbouring farms to their mutual enjoyment.

But Arn stubbornly insisted on Forsvik. He admitted that there was much more to build and improve than he had imagined. But such things were only a matter of time and sweat. Forsvik had the advantage of possessing enough water power to drive the forging machines, the bellows, and the mills. And there was one more important thing that had already occurred to Eskil. Forsvik was the heart of Eskil's trade route, and that's why he had placed Folkungs as caretakers and not more lowly folk. Whoever controlled Forsvik held a dagger to the entire route, and no one could be better suited to the task than a brother from Arnas.

There was a constant stream of loaded ships in both directions between Lodose and Linkoping. If Arn was in charge, great smithies would soon be thundering at Forsvik. If the iron from Nordanskog came by boat from Linkoping, steel and forged weapons would continue on to Arnas and plowshares toward Lodose. If limestone came from Arnas and Kinnekulle, the boats could continue toward Linkoping or return to Arnas with mortar. And if barrels of unmilled grain came from Linkoping, barrels of flour would move in the other direction.

Much more could be said, but basically these were Arn's ideas. And he had many foreign craftsmen with him; not all those at Arnas were fortress-builders. Here at Forsvik they would soon be able to manufacture a great number of new things that would benefit all of them. And which could be sold at a good profit, he added with such emphasis that Eskil burst out laughing.

At supper, as was the custom, the master and mistress of the house sat in the high seat together with the three n.o.ble guests Eskil, Harald, and Arn. The four boys with bruises on their faces and knuckles sat at the table farther away. They knew enough of manners and customs to understand that the warrior who had asked the childishly ignorant question about knights was no ordinary ruffian of a retainer, since he sat next to their father in the high seat. They also saw that like Herr Eskil he bore the Folkung lion on the back of his mantle, and no mere retainer was allowed to do that. So who was this highborn lord of their clan who treated Eskil as a close friend?

The master and mistress of the house, Erling and Ellen, who were the parents of three of the boys with dreams of knighthood, made a great fuss about their guests in the high seat. Erling had already raised his tankard of ale twice in a toast to Herr Eskil. Now, the third time, he was red in the face and spoke with a bit of a stammer as he sometimes did, exhorting all to drink to Sir Arn Magnusson.

An uncomfortable feeling began to come over one of the boys, Sune Folkesson, who was a foster brother at Forsvik. He was also the one who had spoken most boldly about what it was like to be a knight and to whom knights should direct their prayers.