Alfheimr Renaissance

Sailing to Borgarsandr, day 3

Kambsnes (Stavanger)

I switch with Danr in the middle of the night and keep the course and continued sailing during the morning. We want to reach Kambsnes before the Ting day and market, and the weather isn't bad enough to loose a day. Been a hard night but still manageable. It's still gray, drizzling and glum in the morning but I'm used to it. Sailed here many times, several times a year. This is far from the worst passage we've had here. But I choose to take the route further inland in the archipelago, so we get a little more protection from the open sea and for a longer time, before we have to pass the large open stretch of water north of Kambsnes.

We have been gliding through the water for a while when Sejdmann Arnesson comes out of the cabin, and it's hard to avoiding smiling when I see that Sejdmann hasn't had a good night - seems to be his first time sailing. He's standing below me by the railing, yawning and looking tired. Sejdmann just stands there for a while and stares in front of him at the weather, sea and coastline. He comes up on the aft deck and take out his wonderful north arrow and looks puzzled at it. He looks around, at the arrow and unfold his paper map from his weird, but elegant side pocket. Just the way it open and closes up again is weird. He just pull on a small tab and the fabric splits, and then sews itself close again. Truly a Sejdmann - he doesn't even use a leather pouch with a drawstring like everyone else. He go over to the railing, looks at the coast and around him and then he seems to understand and he looks up at me.

"Excuse me, but why are we heading inland? Avoiding the weather? I thought Kambsnes was in that direction four hours away?" I shouldn't be surprised, but Sejdmann is absolutely right about the direction and reason but I don't understand what he means by hours, which he seems to understand so he shows; "When the sun moved from ... there to there?"

Ah, now I get it, and he's absolutely right about the direction of the sun too, even though it can't be seen through the clouds just now.

"We take this route to be more sheltered before we head south to Kambsnes, but it's the right direction and time."

"I'll be in the cabin. Bad weather."

I just watch Sejdmann Arnesson as he walks back down to the cabin. I shouldn't be surprised, but with his little North Arrow and paper map, he is far too good at figuring out where we are, how long it takes to sail and which direction we should be going. I have sailed here so many times and that may have seemed easy to the uninitiated, but is one of the most impressive proofs of navigation I have seen - from someone who has probably never sailed before, and definitely not here. I'm really starting to understand why Danr offered him so much for his compass, and it is a wonderful little thing, absolutely worth much more than it's weight in gold. Maybe not 20 ounces, but at least 5. Maybe 10. Although Danr's right that if it helps preventing the loss of the ship and cargo in bad weather, it is worth every ounce.

Sejdmann Arnesson. All my life I have seen sejd as something feminine, and not for a man, but what he done the last few days... The first time I saw his compass was just shocking, and it's even more impressive because anyone can use it. His equipment is different and in excellent condition, but not sejd-like, and most people probably wouldn't suspect that he is a Sejdmann. That might be the point, as you won't expect his true power.

But I will never forget that feeling when I stood with Hagan and chatted and we watched Sejdmann sitting there hammering and working and doing other things on the beach with his back to us. How he worked and then when he seemed happy, he just called on Thor and with a small 'Bang!' he had bound a lightning bolt in the iron. Just a quiet flash in the evening twilight. Then he calmly picked up his things, cleaned up and returned. As if it was nothing. No ritual, no sacrifice, no long chanting or sejdish things. He just asked Thor to make it sejdish; Bang!

... and the little North Arrow works.

A simple little piece of iron that probably was a nail, suddenly has such terribly strong sejd bound in it.

I wonder what he has been doing in his cabin, because I've been standing up here watching dim white light reflect up from the water from his cabin window. There have been white light shining out around the cabin door. I don't know what he's doing in there, and I honestly don't want to know. It's safest that way. The crew have seen it too.

Danr comes out a couple of 'hours' later when we are out on the open water, but the wind has decreased a bit and it has stopped raining. I tell Danr about Sejdmann's skilful navigation and I say I now understand why he paid so much for the North Arrow. I just wish we had his maps too. Imagine being able to find your location with such accuracy where you've never been before, and in bad weather.

I'm just dozing in my cabin. The bad weather outside and the rolling ship make me feel unmotivated. And slightly seasick. The journey so far has shown that the world is the same on the large scale, and is correct when it's mountains that limit flowing water, and that most are primeval forests, not cultivated fields, and of course no roads, and few villages and farms here and there.

Although it seems to be lower landrise here, so it should be possible to compensate for it to some extent. In general, this will mean 'the water level is higher' than my maps show when it comes to the coast, etc, and some lakes will contact where they no longer do in Midgård. But exactly where the water line goes and how much difference seems to take some figuring it out. It doesn't seem to be too much of a difference either, but that might change as well in another location.

I take the opportunity to go through my equipment. I need to wash my dirty clothes. They're dry but I want to keep them in good condition and they will start to stink sooner or later, but I don't know if it's acceptable for men to wash his own cloths. I should have ask Astrid more questions. Much more questions. But that wasn't really on my mind, was it? I realise I'm having a wide smile when I think back on that morning, and how distracted I was, and how happy Astrid and Lova were. A nice memory, and I wonder if it count as my first threesome?

The ship arrives in Kambsnes at noon, and Kambsnes is what they call a town here. It's without a doubt the largest settlement I've seen here so far. There are many boats of different sizes and shapes here in the harbor, and there are many houses and streets. I don't know how to estimate the population size. I have no idea how many people live in a house, or how their lives are. Or which houses to count. But not unexpectedly, the city is more 'stony' than what I would expect from the Viking Age. It should probably have been more a wooden walkway as a street with scattered longhouses and animals.

We'll be here at least one day, probably two, depending on how business goes. Might even be three. It's market days and the Ting is tomorrow, but we can't participate in the Ting as we are not residents here, but we can stand outside and listen and watch to get updates on events and get some entertainment. It's worth doing. It will be my first Ting, and I need to know about how things are done here.

Kambsnes is a really big 'viking' town with lots of life and movement, and I would actually like to go for a walk in the afternoon and buy things - I have a couple of ideas for stuff that might be practical. I take the opportunity to take a few photos of the town and the ships while I stand there on the aft deck and look out over the town. I'm a little worried about leaving my backpack and stuff, and the chest with all that gold and silver on the boat. It's everything I own, and so very valuable.

But sooner or later I have to do it, so I go down to the cabin and put 20 ounces of silver in the Tasmanian Tiger pouch. I have an idea and take out the yellow packing bag with computer and camera cables and pour them out in the top compartment. Then I put the 10 ounces of gold in the yellow bag, and hang it around my neck in a piece of paracord. It hangs under the clothes on my chest. It's a little uncomfortable but whining about it's heavy and impractical feels idiotic. I let the Mora knife stay attached in my belt. Everyone seems to have a knife in their belt. I miss my pockets.

I talk to Danr about my plans to take a little tour to look around and maybe shop for something, and thankfully he offers a couple of his men to accompany me as protection; a larger man named Hagan, and a more normal one named Cnut. I thank and ask if it's okay that I give them two coins - penningar - each for their service, and Danr replies that it is a bit much as a good well known warrior as a guard earns around 3 penningar a day, but it will make them like me. Liking me is good. Also good to know a bit more about normal day wage. Until further knowledge I will assume 2 coins per day is a good wage.

It's a really nice afternoon in Kambsnes. Not too hot and the wind is blowing, and it's fun to see the slightly different and more modern architecture here; not just longhouses but also some stone houses and there is a larger rectangular stone fortress thats something like three floors with high ceilings. It has a stone wall and guards patroling around, but it's a bit outside the rest of the town. I really want to start taking pictures.

It's interesting to see that it really is a town with a small section with streets that are shops and houses mixed, and sales stalls in several open spaces. The streets are quite narrow and there are many many elves in motion. Add horses that are ridden on, some primitive simple wagons here and there, and it's an experience to just walk around. The guards give me a certain status and I get many curious looks. A lot of women give me longer looks on my face and beard, some try to flirt with me, but I just walk on smiling. It actually feels pretty good to get that kind of appreciation.

We find a seller of leather goods who seems skilled and I buy a lot from him. Above all, a larger shoulder strap leather bag of about 15l with a nice pressed pattern here and there and a bronze buckle. I also buy a nice braided leather waist belt with a pretty buckle in bronze, a couple of leather pouches - also with patterns and about 15x15cm and half as thick. And finally four small leather bags with drawstrings. I pushes everything down into the big bag.

I try to bargain a bit and I'm quite happy when I buy it for about 22 coins. Maybe a bit much, but I'm happy, and I have exchanged a silver bar and got 28 coins back. Honestly, I don't care so much about finding it cheaper. I need experience of trade and city life, so it's still worth it.

I take the opportunity to buy dried salted meat as a little chew candy, and give Hagan and Cnut a little too and we all walk around chewing and enjoying the day. Different, but taste good. I also buy a small barrel, maybe 15 liters with what I think is apple mead of some kind. I tasted it before purchasing it, and it doesn't seem to be too much alcohol in it, but there is certainly a little. No matter what I think about alcohol, liquid for drinking last better with it. Hagan and Cnut liked it too, and Hagan don't mind carrying it.

After a couple of hours of just wandering, looking at things and people and shopping, I've pretty much seen the whole town and we return to the boat. There are taverns, but I have a place on the boat and a tavern is an unnecessary expense and uncertainties due to the culture. When we return Toke informs us that Danr has been invited to the Jarl's feast and will sleep there tonight - they're apparently old friends. I thank them for guarding me and give each two coins. Both are surprised, but they gratefully accept. They didn't seem to expected anything after I offered them quite a lot of meat and a couple of mugs of mead, but 4 coins are nothing compared to their goodwill.

I take the opportunity to sew a couple of belt loops in leather on the back of the larger leather pouches, one at each end, so the belt can easily be pulled through, and so the pouch sits more stable. Many people have leather bags hanging by their loops around their belts and dangling, which feels uncomfortable, and I don't want some bastard to cut the strap and steal the bag. I replace the Tasmanian Tiger pouch with a leather pouch on each side, and I place the silver in a leather bag and tuck it into the side pouch. Then I split the gold around my neck and put 5 ounces in a leather bag that I can hang around the neck while I put the rest in the backpack.

I will have a lot of free time here, but I don't want to end up in trouble by going out on the town in the evening, and visiting any bar or tavern or whatever they're called here, doesn't appeal at all. Lots of drunk people partying and being noisy, that I can't talk to and have no topics to talk about. Nope. Using the tablet feels like a bad idea, and I can't really use the solar panel to recharge while sailing, so better save it's energy. But I can take out the little Sansa MP3 player and listen to some music in the headphones.

The thought strikes me how absurd this is. I'm listening and humming along to Sabaton's 'Karolinens bön' (Caroleans prayer) from a small MP3 player, lying in bed on a medieval sailing ship dressed in Viking clothes, in a world full of elves. Sounds like a damn joke.

... or probably the dream of some other nerds. Personally, I would rather be at home with relatives and friends, with access to modern amenities such as electric lights, a proper toilet and toilet paper. I don't look forward to running out of toilet paper. Or toothpaste.