Foam splashed over the bow as the boat cut through the great North Sea. Pulleys rattled, the mast creaked, and over their heads the seagulls cried. Eric grabbed the railing and leant forward, trying to see what was ahead of them, but as far as he could see there was naught but grey waves.
Yet the birds above them were proof that they approached the coasts. He touched the blade of his axe and caressed the cold iron. They were near the green island, and soon they would see its muddy beaches.
" Land!"
Like the other idle men, Eric stared at the horizon to see if he could spot what the watch had seen. Hills rose where heaven touches earth and soon he could count their summits.

They sailed into a bay. The water got lighter and the waves smaller. A horn was blown and the captain gestured at the sculpture which lay at the deck. Eric laughed and cast aside his axe. Together with the other warriors he lifted the wooden beast and they hauled it to the bow. Then the dragon's head was placed and fastened where it belonged.

The church bell was sounded. Its heavy strokes resounded through the morning's mist. Nuala tossed the clothes she had been washing into the basket and she looked at the tower anxiously. Then a man came running towards the river, waving his arms.
" The vikings! The vikings are comming!"
The women screamed and ran away from the shore. Some picked up their baskets, but most left them on the bank. Nuala hesitated, but when she watched towards the sea, she thought she could make out the silhouette of a ship. She turned around and started running. It was better to loose a dress than to loose a life.

They landed quietly. The drakkar just slid onto the beach and the men jumped over the railing. Eric clasped his beloved axe and ran towards the noisy tower. He wanted to be the first to enter the treasure hall, the first to get his plunder. But Bjornhelm was faster. Dressed in nothing but a bear's skin, the giant overtook him. He waved his sword and howled like a wolf. A swift glance at the berserker's face showed Eric that he had been drinking the magician's brew. His eyes were red and his veins were swollen.

" Hide, hide!"
Nuala ran into the pigsty and climbed onto the garret. She crowled into a corner and tried to disappear into the darkness. She could still hear the bell and the voices of the men outside. They had prepared themselves for battle. She had seen the nobles with their swords and spears, but most of the villagers had grabbed their pitch-forks, hammers, knives and axes.

Eric jumped over a low wall and saw his way obstructed by a dozen peasants. They pointed their weapons at him and shouted. He felt how the blood rushed to his cheeks and he growled. His axe struck a pitch-fork's wood, and an instant later a churl's blood splashed over Eric's hands.
Something pierced his calf and as the pain burned in his leg, it unleashed his fury. He chopped and hewed, slashed and hacked and soon his clothes were soaked with blood.

Nuala felt the tears roll over her cheeks and she braced herself to stop the trembling. She heard the cries of men and beasts. Familiar voices made sounds she didn't want to hear. She knew of no one who had ever driven the demons back into the sea.

Eric followed a peasant into a pigsty and struck him down with a blow of his fist. He looked around, but when he couldn't find another opponent, he felt how his anger began to fade. He waited, but it seemed he was alone...

Nuala heard the squealing pigs beneath her and she tried to lay as still as possible. She knew that there was still at least one man downstairs, and she could only guess if he was villager or Viking.

Eric looked around. He had found these pigs, so they were his. Perhaps not as good as gold, but he knew that Bjornhelm and his men were still trying to force the stone building's door open. At least he already had some booty. He looked at the ladder in the corner.

Nuala shivered. What would a Viking do with her? Would he slay her? Or worse? She closed her eyes and tried not to think of the stories she had heard.

Eric shrugged. What was he doing in a pigsty? The real loot was inside the stone building. He grinned and stept outside. They would take the gold and then sail home.