SIGMARR AND THE SHIELD OF NJORDIST..........
(episode 5)
The camp broke late the next day,, Sigmarr wanted the men and
horses rested and he wanted to have as much sunlight come into
the darkness as possible,, for they would be riding quickly now,,
back the way they came... The ride was rough and fast thru the
darkness,, the torches still had to be lit,, but there seemed to be
a little more sunlight streaming thru the trees than when they
first came this way… Near the swamps edge,, where the
spinner-netters where know to be,, the pace was slowed and
all the men stayed quiet and were watchful of what was
above them…
“Do you see them??,, do you see them in my beautiful trees??”,,
the golden sprite asked…As it suddenly appeared before Sigmarr...
“Look,, look,, what that evil black witch has done”…
“Yes,, we have seen them,, they killed three of my men before
we could escape”,, Sigmarr quietly spoke,, hoping not to alert
the spinner-netters of their presence...
“The evil witch has done this,, she did this to my trees”,,
“She put them there,, can you kill them for me??” it asked,,
“My magic will not work on them,, my magic only works on
growing things,, not these creatures”…
Sigmarr thought for a moment,, he had no time for such things,,
he was only given 3 months wane to complete his quest or……
then he looked about the men and horses,, they appeared to be
very worn and tired…
“I will make a bargain with you”,, “we will stay here 2 days and
kill as many of these creatures as we can,, then we must go”,,
“but you must make the grass grow near this place for the
animals and horses”…”for 2 days only,, that’s as much as
I can do now”…
“Yes,, yes,, I can do that”,, “but what if you do not kill them all??”…
“We can only stay for 2 days,, that is all,, it is longer than
I should stay”,, “but I promise I will return with more men to
kill all these evil creatures than now live within your trees”…
“Yes,, yes”,, then it was gone,, and green grass started to rise
from the forest floor…
The camp was set up not far from the swamps edge and the
spinner-netters,, every torch was kept lit through out the day
and night…
The soldiers had a enemy to fight now,, that is what they
were best at… For 2 days the men shot flaming arrows into
the canopy above,, the silken strands of the spinner-netters were
easily lit on fire and many of the spinners were burnt alive in
their cocoons,, the swamp gas sometimes exploded as flaming
spinners hit the water,, the gas would flare as high as the canopy
itself,, burning more and more of the evil creatures…
But not all the spinners were killed during those 2 days,,
there were just two many,, and they moved and hid among the
branches with ease… No men or horses were lost during that battle,,
Sigmarr was very pleased about that,, but he would have to come
back to finish what was started some other day…
The glowing flames of the swamp were fading behind them now,,
the eerie screams of burning spinner-netters was also becoming
fainter and fainter as the men hurried thru the forest,, they still
had rough days of riding till the forest edge… The horses and men
seemed to have a renewed purpose about them,, no longer were
they so beaten and tired… Soon sparkling white light could be
seen ahead,, it showed the way,, then they were thru the blackness
of the Starkdall forest,, and onto the prairie lands,, beneath sunny
blue skies,, the wind tasted sweet to them as they rode…
The men rode thru the prairie land until the moons’ crescent
shape rose above them…
It was decided that night that Sigmarr and Kerjin would go ahead
with all the horses they could,, the soldiers would follow on the
pack animals and with only what horses they needed,,
it was a race now to King Tragihma,, a race that Sigmarr must win…
Sigmarr and Kerjin rode hard thru the valleys and prairie lands,,
they rode both by day and by night,, only stopping when they could
no longer see the road ahead,, a hard ride,, for man and beast,,
when Sigmarrs’ or Kerjins’ horse started to falter,, it was cut loose
to wander about the prairie lands and another would be ridden,,
until it too was exhausted,, this was done many times as they
urgently rode to King Tragihmas’ castle... At the river Fleigest,,
Sigmarr and Kerjin parted company and now Sigmarr rode alone
with only two horses behind him and the Shield of Njordist that
must be delivered before 3 moon’s wane… He was unsure of how
many days he had left or even if he was too late already…
Sigmarr now had to rest every night,, his reserve strength was gone,,
agonizing nights for him as he camped alone on the prairie,,
he had no time for rest,, but he must,, he knew this,, for if he fell
from his horse and was injured,, all would surely be lost…
All the reserve horses had been cut away now,, only the horse he
was on was left,, and still days to go… He must keep this horse going,,
so the pace was slowed somewhat,, for even a horse
can not run forever…
In the distance Sigmarr could now see smoke rising on the horizon,,
it must be the cook fires of the village around King Tragihmas’ castle,,
but the weather was now beginning to worsen and soon
thunderstorms were cast about him as he rode,, the road became
a slippery muddy way and the cart tracks were too uneven for
the horse to run in,, so he kept to the grassy shoulders as much
as he could… Sigmarr could plainly see King Tragihmas’ castle
ahead,, perhaps only a half days journey now… Sigmarr spurred
the horse to a full gallop,, no time to waste,, he would soon be there,,
to Anita,, and to Krista,, cresting the last hill,, the horse lost its
footing and both horse and rider toppled to the ground,,
rolling thru the wet grass…The horse was done now,, stabbed
by Sigmarrs’ sword as they twisted and rolled…
Sigmarr traveled on with the shield of Njordist on his back,,
the grass and mud making the journey harder and harder as he
hurried to the kings castle…Thru the village town,,
thru the kings gate and onto the kings courtyard and then into
the kings great hall…Sigmarr collapsed in front of
King Tragihmas throne… gathering what breath he could,,
Sigmarr threw the shield at the kings feet…
“There,, there,, is your shield,, release my wife and daughter now”,,
he shouted at the king,, still breathing hard from his labors…
The king just sat for a moment,, Captain Tisamar took the shield
and left thru the black draped doorway…
“Where is my wife and daughter??”,, where are they??”,,
Sigmarr now demanded…
“Your too late”,, the king softly spoke,, “two days late”,,
“You only had three moons wane to return the shield to me”
“That was our agreement”…
“Nooooo”,, Sigmarr rushed the king with his dagger ready,,
But the 6 royal guards held him firm and cast him to the floor…
King Tragihma motioned towards the black draped doorway,,
“Forgive me,, Sigmarr” the king spoke,, “it was just an old kings
bad jest”…
Anita and Krista rushed thru the black drapes to
Sigmarr on the floor…
“I have had riders out looking for you,, for these past two weeks,,
I knew you were coming and that you had the shield,,
forgive an old kings’ jest”,, “no harm would ever have come to your
wife and daughter,, no harm would I have done to them,,
even if you never returned,, I am not a murderer of women and
children,, I had to use them,, to convince you to find the shield
for me,, you were the only one who could have done it,,
I am a good king,, but like all kings,,
I will have my way sometimes,, no matter the cost”…
Sigmarr did not understand the kings “jest”,, but that was
unimportant to him,, now that Anita and Krista were safe…
Sigmarr,, Anita and Krista all stayed at the castle,, as honored
guests of King Tragihma…Kerjin arrived safely back at the castle,,
perhaps a week later,, and the remaining soldiers also returned safely…
A great ceremony was planned now that the Shield of Njordist
had returned… Sigmarr,, Anita,, Krista,, Kerjin and the soldiers
were honored guests,, and they were given the finest of clothes
to wear…
The great hall was filled with important dignitaries from
thru-out the land,, and from the village that wound around the
castle,, it was a joyous occasion… The Shield of Njordist was hung
high on the western wall,, in its rightful place beside the others,,
and 12 gold and silver inlaid swords were also placed beside the
shields in honor of the men who went on that quest that year…
King Tragihma then motioned towards the black draped doorway,,
and 8 royal guards came out,, each holding a wooden box,,
to each of the 8 remaining searchers these were given,, gold coins
as a reward for their bravely and courage in the search for
the shield…The soldiers were promoted to royal kings
guards then,, Sigmarr and Kerjin each received more land for their
leadership and efforts,, the king did not forget the ones who
had fallen,, wooden boxes with gold coins were also given to the
families of the lost ones…The celebration lasted long after Sigmarr
with his family and Kerjin left,, they were not much for
such royal affairs…
Sigmarr returned to his land,, a much wealthier man now,,
but it did not change him much,, he hid most of it away,,
and used very little of it,, just a new barn was built and some
more cattle and horses were bought,, and comforts for
Anita and Krista,, that was about all… Kerjin,, well,,
he had most of it spent within a years time,,
that was his way,, but he did hide some of it,, perhaps he was
growing wiser… King Tragihma pasted away perhaps three weeks
after the shield ceremony,, he was right about his time left,,
his eldest son Hjanrist,, then became king,, all about the land
hoped that he would be as wise and as good a king that
his father was…
In the months that followed,, Sigmarr,, Kerjin and 100 of
King Hjanrists’ best men,, returned to the Starkdall forest,,
and with the help of the golden sprite,, they rid the forest of all the
spinner-netters,, and some of the swamp creatures too,,
only 3 men were lost,, not to creatures of the forest,, but do to
their drunken foolishness… The Starkdall forest lost its black
hovering clouds,, now green,, yellow and red could be seen within,,
the golden sprite would soon have its forest back………………
This is just an old story that has been told many many times
at night,, along the campfires edge,,
of Sigmarr and the Shield of Njordist,,
About a mans love for his family,, just an ancient fable that is told...
Or is it just a fireside fable that is told??... Would you not seek
the Shield of Njordist,, if the headsmans axe was above your
loved ones head………………………
........................THE END......................
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS………….
