A Vikings Tale

 

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Hunting And Friendship

 The soft sound of wood sliding over wood was the only sound as Archie drew back his bow. He was concentrating on a plump, brown rabbit nibbling on a small patch of bright green grass. Aria was standing beside him with her bow drawn as well in case he missed his shot. Archie took a half breath stopped and fired. His arrow flew true and struck the rabbit in the side with a thunk. Aria released the tension in her bow as Archie walked over to fetch it. As he bagged the rabbit he smiled. It was a good day for hunting. The sun was nearing the horizon signalling the end of the end of their successful catch. Together Aria and him had caught four plump rabbits and a bird. As they walked together in silent company Archie was glad. Hunting with one of your oldest friends was a great time. After about twenty minutes of walking they came across a small clearing with a fire in the middle. This was their secret meeting place to catch up at the end of the day. Two figures were huddled near the fire because even though it was autumn it was cold in southern lands of scotland, where they lived. Max and Henok were the two and they were good friends as well but they hadn’t known me as long as I had known Aria. Max was the smart one out of he group, he was a quick thinker and was a great hand to hand fighter. Henok was a cheeky one, he was as fast on his feet as he was fast with his wit. Aria was the cheerful person, always happy and friendly and good with the bow. Archie was the last, he was smart and fast but not as much as Max or Henok and was good with the bow and he was great at tracking.


As Archie cooked one of the rabbits in the middle fire the group talked about the day. Max had been training his own hand to hand combat technique and Henok had been running errands for the people of the village. They had a comfortable setup, a pair would go out hunting for food to eat or sell. One did chores for the village people to get money and the other had the day off. Although they swapped the activities every day Archie usually stayed with the hunting group because of his skill of tracking and because he enjoyed the comfortable silence and the tense moments. Henok dug around in his pockets and pulled out ten silvers. He set them on the table for everyone to count. “What did you get Archie and Aria?” Inquired Henok wanting to know what their total profit for the day. “Three rabbits and a bird not including dinner” replied Aria. At the mention of the word dinner Max asked hungrily “How long until that rabbit will be ready?” “Not long now I just need to flavour it” replied Archie as hungry as everyone else but waiting now for the increased flavour later. As Archie seasoned the rabbit mouth watering aromas floated around. Henok stood and grabbed the silvers. He flipped over his sitting still to reveal their secret savings box. As Henok put the box on the floor everyone stared at it anxious. They were going to count their savings for the first time this summer. As Henok dumped the silvers and coppers on the floor everyone started to sort them. The further they got through the coins the more exited they became. “245” shouted one of the counting groups and after a silent minute another shout came. “302”. 547 was the total. What they had all been waiting for was only 500 silvers. “We can buy it!” Shouted Max excitedly. “Let’s go” replied Henok eagerly. “Guys let’s be reasonable the store would already be closed” said Aria draining the excitement out of Henok and Max. “Plus dinners ready” said Archie and everyone turned to look at him with faces of hunger, they all agreed to leave it to the morning. They all ate excitedly eager for tomorrow. As they all walked away from the clearing they only had one thought in mind. Tomorrow they were going to get a boat. A Viking boat.

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Hemlock Gobur

Great chapter Archie, my first book i've read on Tablo

A Ship For A Viking

 They walked together to the docks. They all knew their practised positions on the ship. Max had trained to become a great helmsman, Henok was in charge of the sails and the rowing group whenever they needed. Aria was in charge of the ships map and the directions for the ship and Archie was the onboard cook as well as the ships ranged protecter, for he was the best with the bow, due to the amount of time he spent hunting. They walked proudly through the store towards the counter. Many fishing tools lined the stores walls, nets, rods, crab traps, fishing spears and much more. “Ah my persistent young children”, states the cheerful shop keeper. “How may I help you this fine morning, have you finally got enough for your order”. “Yes” they all said quickly. The shop keeper came out from behind the counter and led them towards a door to the outside. As they exited outside the back door they all saw a sight of viking beauty a ship perfect for a crew of four with the perfect rigging for the best speed possible for the little craft. It’s hull was sleek and thin only three meters wide and the length was six meters long. It had four rowing positions under the deck even though they would really only need two of them. They all marveled at the sight. Aria quickly went over to the ship builder and passed over the exact amount of 500 silvers. A group of bulky viking men came and strapped ropes to the humble craft and the rest placed the rolling logs to allow the ship to slide towards the waters edge. A feeling of excitement filled all of them as the ship slid into the water, the prow slicing the calm waters surface. Everyone, scince they had started saving for the ship, had trained for this moment to board a perfect ship. The bulky men dragged it across the waters surface until it came to the docks, from which they could board. As they all stepped onto the polished wooden surface they instantly felt the movement and matched it. They were all proud of this knowing that they were true sailors, and vikings. Max climbed up to the helm and grabbed the steering oar. Aria opened up her map of their vikings land and the lands beyond. Max nodded to Henok and said “ready the sails, it’s time we be off” and a grin split all of their faces.

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Authors Notes

 Congratulations you made it to the end of the book. Thanks for reading I am going to make others for this series and I hope you enjoyed this one. As always thank you for reading and goodbye.

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