It's been a long time. [Svart]

The news of a trader from Uddevalla had reached the blacksmith earlier that day. The trader had brought a lot of materials, and he had heard he also sold iron. It would be kind of nostalgic for Svart to work with the materials he had learned his skills with. Maybe he could even try melting it together with the iron that was provided by other traders, to make even stronger weapons. But then he had to approach the trader first. And there he was a little bit reluctant. Running away from Uddevalla had sure put him on some kind of wanted list, King Vidar sure didn’t like ‘traitors’, as Björn Ironside would put it. He had ran away with the knowledge he had learned from the King himself, and if he found out Svart was still alive, there might be consequences.

So he had considered asking Ubbe to go buy some iron in his place. He would even give the Prince the right amount of money. But on the other hand, only the blacksmith himself would be able to pick the best pieces of material. Out of experience he could sort out useless chunks. This way, the man had been debating with himself back and forth throughout the day. But then the decision seemed to be taken out of his hands. When he returned to his shop after having dinner, he saw a visitor walking around. Someone he hadn’t seen before in the village.

It had to be the trader. And it would be rude to just leave him there without greeting him. Maybe he was in luck and the man wouldn’t recognise him. He had grown a thicker beard over the years and sure had grown a couple of inches too. ”Good evening”, He said in a friendly way when he approached the figure near the fire. The brightness of the light made it hard for him to distinguish any facial features, so he had no idea if he possibly knew the guy at all.

Somewhere deep down he was always scared someone would recognise him and alert King Vidar of his whereabouts. The King wouldn’t come look for him in the wilderness. But now he was in a village, a fast growing one, with a lot of trading too. If he found out Svart was ‘hiding’ here, maybe he would send out warriors to have him taken prisoner or even kill him. He had no idea how the King felt about him after he left, but it sure as hell couldn’t be positive. Therefore he approached the trader with some caution, hoping the man wouldn’t pay much attention to his appearance. No one would expect him to be here so that could be in his advantage.

But he was out of luck this time. ”Svart Rauðrsson.” The trader said after looking at him for quite some time. He felt his heart-rate go up. ”How long has it been?” The man then asked. Could it be that they had known each other personally? He had still no idea who he was talking to though. ”Huh” He hummed. ”You’ve grown old.” He then joked, after which he started laughing softly. And then it dawned on him. ”Svip?” He asked in disbelief. Could this man, who honestly almost resembled a bear, be the boy he used to be in training with?

The fact dat it could be Svipday standing in his shop, so far from Uddevalla, seemed so unreal he couldn’t believe his own eyes. He also had changed so much he didn’t even recognise him. His memories were also a bit hazy, to be honest. After all the things he had seen, after all the people he had met, faces seemed to blur together. But the smile and small nod confirmed it was really the boy he used to know back in his youth. ”The one and only.” The man then said. Svart couldn’t help but laugh softly, partly out of shock but also because he was happy to see his old friend again. If the other man still considered them to be friends. He had no idea how where his loyalties were right now, but he guessed they would be with King Vidar and not with some traitor that had left eight years ago.

”I must say, it’s a nice place you got here.” Svip remarked, after which he put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly. ”How have you been?” He then asked. Before answering he pointed at one of the chairs standing in the corner of the shop. ”Please, sit down. We will have a drink first, then we can talk”, He grinned. It also gave him some extra time to think of an answer. He pulled out two cups and a jug of ale. He filled both cups and handed one to Svip. Svart proceeded to sit down too, after which he took a big gulp from his cup.

”I was lucky I could settle here yes. I was running out of money to finance my travels”, He then started his story. He looked around for a second, at the interior of what had become his new workplace. ”I arrived not long ago and took the opportunity to earn some money”, He proceeded. It was the truth. He was known to take the chances as they came by. ”I have been doing great. You would not believe the things I have seen while exploring”, He then said, with a big smile on his face. Talking about his travels always made him excited, for the obvious reason he was simply meant to live like this.

Sometimes even he didn’t believe the things he had seen with his own eyes. Some events were clouded in mystery, and as any viking would do, he believed it had to be the work of the Gods. The stories he could tell were always highly entertaining though. Mostly the people that were listening, didn’t believe him, they just laughed at it. But he didn’t mind that. He just laughed with them. ”Well why don’t you try me out?” Svipday grinned. ”I’ve got enough time to hear some of your stories.” He then assured him. The blacksmith shrugged his shoulders lightly and chuckled. ”Alright, just do not call me crazy when I am finished. Cause I would doubt my own sanity again”, He joked. ”In return I might tell you some stories of my own.” The other man then promised, something he was looking forward to. ”I would love to hear your stories as well my friend”, He smiled, happy that he finally had someone to sit down with and drink again.

”Okay, first thing you should know, people who live in smaller towns often have weird rituals and hobbies”, He started of, almost smiling with the thoughts popping in his head. ”Not every village is as.. Sophisticated as Uddevalla”, He chuckled. ”In some fisher village, I think it had no name, it was that small. There the boys who want to become men, they have to try and catch a fish with their bare hands”, He continued. ”So, naturally, I had to dive in and prove myself too”, Svart paused a second to drink some more ale. ”Somehow the fish did not really trust me, I still wonder why, because there were no fish around. I splashed around for a while, still, no fish in sight”, He then continued the story. ”And then it became clear why. An alligator, Svip. I saw its eyes before I could see the rest of his body. He was staring at me, not even blinking, not moving at all. Just staring”, The man shivered with the thought, it went down his spine and he moved a bit closer to the forging fire to feel comfortable again.

The fact that Svart was allowed to participate in one of the sacred rituals of the clan he was visiting, had meant a lot to him. Some places it was easy to fit in, others it wasn’t. Like here, in Kattegat, where strangers were not as welcome as other places he had visited. The more remote a place was, the easier it seemed to find shelter for a couple of weeks. Everyone was pretty interested in hearing stories about how the world was evolving outside of their own village. Rumours even reached the smallest of towns, and a visitor could either confirm or deny those, and bring new rumours with him. And new stories. Stories like this one, stories he could tell to curious friends over a cup of ale. He saw said ale spilling all over Svip’s beard when he said alligator. The reaction he had expected. It had sure made the impact he had hoped for.

”And did the brave Svart, go and tame the beast?” Svip asked teasingly. ”Did you go and catch it with your bare hands?” He said, urging him to continue. ”A stupid Svart would have, yes. But smart Svart got his ass out of the water as soon as possible”, He laughed heartily. ”Someone once said to me it is wise to pick your battles. Besides, we hunted down the beast later on, when I was safely standing on the shore with a spear and shield in my hands”, He chuckled. It had made a fine meal, totally different than anything he had ever tasted before.

It would have been very impressive if he could have caught the alligator with his bare hands. It’s a one up from a fish, that was for sure. But he would probably have lost his hand if he had tried that. The animal had left him alone, but he was not stupid enough to provoke it. He had been attacked by wild animals enough in his life to know he didn’t want to get it angry. Just as you didn’t want to annoy an aggressive drunk person. At last they had killed the alligator though. And everyone else lived. ”I am happy you’re still alive after such an adventure.” Svipday said, and he nodded in agreement. ”Honestly, there have been many occasions I thought that day I would enter Valhalla”, He replied. It was the truth. But he was not scared to die. He just wanted to live a little bit longer, have more adventures and tell more stories.

”Did you eventually prove yourself a man?” Svip then asked. Svart took the can of ale and refilled the cups again. He took a sip before replying. ”I did yeah, a few days later. The fish came back, and the ritual could be finished. Afterwards there was a feast, and we all got to eat the fish we caught. It tasted better just by knowing how much effort I had to put in”, He said with a grin on his face. ”So, now it is your turn”, He continued, leaning forward a bit towards Svip, to hear him better.