I still did not ask Herger of this, because of his mood. Instead I watched the other warriors of Buliwyf, who looked to the sea. The ocean was gray and rough, the sky leaden, but a strong breeze blew toward the land. This satisfied the warriors, and I guessed the reason: that an ocean breeze toward the land would prevent the mist from descending from the hills. This was true.

Upon nightfall, work was halted on the defenses, and to my perplexity Rothgar held another banquet of splendid proportions; and this evening while I watched, Buliwyf, and Herger, and all the other warriors drank much mead and reveled as if they lacked any worldly cares, and had their way with the slavewomen, and then all sank into a stuporous droning sleep.

Now this also I learned: that each of the warriors of Buliwyf had chosen from among the slavewomen one whom in particular they favored, although not to the exclusion of others. In intoxication, Herger said to me of the woman he had favored, “She shall die with me, if need be.” From this I took as the meaning that each of the warriors of Buliwyf had selected some woman who would die for him upon the funeral pyre, and this woman they treated with more courtesy and attention than the others; for they were visitors to this country, and had no slavewomen of their own who could be ordered by kin to do their bidding.

Now, in the early period of my time among the Venden, the Northwomen would not approach me, on account of my darkness of skin and hair, but there was much whispering and glancing in my direction, and giggles one to another. I saw that these unveiled women would nonetheless make a veil with their hands from time to time, and especially when they were laughing. Then I had asked of Herger: “Why do they do this thing?” for I wished not to behave in a manner contrary to the North custom.

Herger made this reply: “The women believe that the Arabs are as stallions, for so they have heard as a rumor.” Nor was this any amazement to me, for this reason: in all the lands I have traveled, and so also within the round walls of the City of Peace, verily in every location where men gather and make for themselves a society, I have learned these things to be truths. First, that the peoples of a particular land believe their customs to be fitting and proper and better than any other. Second, that any stranger, a man or also a woman, is accounted inferior in all ways save in the matter of generation. Thus the Turks believe the Persians gifted lovers; the Persians stand in awe of the black-skinned peoples; and they in turn of some others, severally; and so it continues, sometimes by reason given of proportion of genitalia, sometimes by reason given of endurance in the act, sometimes by reason given of especial skill or posturing.

I cannot say whether the Northwomen truly believe as Herger spoke, but verily I discovered that they were much amazed at me by virtue of my surgery, [24] which practice is unknown among them, as they are dirty heathens. Of the manner of thrusting, these women are noisy and energetic, and of such odor that I was obliged to stop my breath for the duration; also they are given to bucking and twisting, scratching and biting, so that a man may be thrown from his mount, as the Northmen speak of it. For myself I accounted the whole business more pain than pleasure.

The Northmen say of the act, “I did battle with such a woman or another,” and proudly show their blue marks and abrasions to their comrades, as if these were true wounds of warfare. However, the men never did injury to any woman that I could see.

Now this night, while all the warriors of Buliwyf slept, I was too afraid to drink or laugh; I feared the return of the wendol. Yet they did not return, and I also eventually slept, but fitfully.

Now in the following day there was no wind, and all the people of the kingdom of Rothgar worked with dedication and fear; there was talk everywhere of the Korgon, and the certainty that it would attack upon the night. The clawmark wounds on my face now pained me, for they pinched as they healed, and ached whenever I moved my mouth to eat or speak. Also it is true that my warrior’s fever had left me. I was afraid once more, and I worked in silence alongside the women and old men.

Toward the middle time of the day, I was visited by the old and toothless noble whom I had spoken to in the banquet hall. This old noble sought me out, and said thus in Latin, “I will have words with you.” He led me to step a few paces apart from the workers at the defenses. Now he made a great show of examining my wounds, which in truth were not serious, and while he examined these cuts he said to me, “I have a warning for your company. There is unrest in the heart of Rothgar.” This he spoke in Latin.

“What is the cause?” I said.

“It is the herald, and also the son Wiglif, who stands at the ear of the King,” the old nobleman said. “And also the friend of Wiglif. Wiglif speaks to Rothgar that Buliwyf and his company plan to kill the King and rule the kingdom.”

“That is not the truth,” I said, although I did not know this. In honest fact, I had thought upon this matter from time to time; Buliwyf was young and vital, and Rothgar old and weak, and while it is true that the ways of the Northmen are strange, it is also true that all men are the same.

“The herald and Wiglif are envious of Buliwyf,” the old noble spoke to me. “They poison the air in the ear of the King. All this I tell to you so that you may tell the others to be wary, for this is a matter fit for a basilisk.” And then he pronounced my wounds to be minor, and turned away.

Then the noble came back once more. He said, “The friend of Wiglif is Ragnar,” and he went away a second time, not looking back upon me further.

In great consternation, I dug and worked at the defenses until I found myself near to Herger. The mood of Herger was still as grim as it had been upon the day previous. He greeted me with these words: “I do not want to hear the questions of a fool.”

I said to him that I had no questions, and I reported to him what the old noble had spoken to me; also I told him it was a matter fit for a basilisk. [25] At my speech, Herger frowned and swore oaths and stamped his foot, and bid me accompany him to Buliwyf.

Buliwyf directed work on the ditch at the other side of the encampment; Herger drew him aside, and spoke rapidly in the Norse tongue, with gestures to my person. Buliwyf frowned, and swore oaths and stamped his foot much as Herger, and then asked a question. Herger said to me, “Buliwyf asks who is the friend of Wiglif? Did the old man tell you who is the friend of Wiglif?”

I responded that he had, and the friend was of the name Ragnar. At this report, Herger and Buliwyf spoke further among themselves, and disputed briefly, and then Buliwyf turned away and left me with Herger. “It is decided,” Herger said.

“What is decided?” I inquired.

“Keep your teeth together,” Herger said, which is a North expression meaning do not talk.

Thus I returned to my labors, understanding no more than I had at the beginning of the matter. Once again I thought these Northmen to be the most peculiar and contrary men on the face of the earth, for in no matter do they behave as one would expect sensible beings to behave. Yet I worked upon their silly fence, and their shallow ditch; and I watched, and waited.

At the time of the afternoon prayer, I observed that Herger had taken up a work position near to a strapping, giant youth. Herger and this youth toiled side by side in the ditch for some time, and it appeared to my way of seeing that Herger took some pains to fling dirt into the face of the youth, who was in truth a head taller than Herger, and younger, too.

The youth protested, and Herger apologized; but soon was flinging dirt again. Again, Herger apologized; now the youth was angry and his face was red. No more than a short time passed before Herger was again flinging dirt, and the youth sputtered and spat it and was angry in the extreme. He shouted at Herger, who later told me the words of their conversation, although the meaning was evident enough at the time.

The youth spoke: “You dig as a dog.”

Herger spoke in answer: “Do you call me a dog?”

To this, the youth said: “No, I said that you dig as a dog, flinging [26] earth carelessly, as an animal.”

Herger spoke: “Do you then call me an animal?”

The youth replied: “You mistake my words.”

Now Herger said, “Indeed, for your words are twisted and timid as a feeble old woman.”

“This old woman shall see you taste death,” the youth said, and drew forth his sword. Then Herger drew his, for the youth was the same Ragnar, the friend of Wiglif, and thus I saw manifested the intention of Buliwyf in the matter.

These Northmen are most sensitive and touchy about their honor. Among their company, duels occur as frequently as micturition, and a battle to the death is counted ordinary. It may occur on the spot of the insult, or if it is to be formally conducted, the combatants meet at the joining place of three roads. It was thus that Ragnar challenged Herger to fight him.

Now this is the Northman custom: at the appointed time, the friends and kin of the duelers assemble at the place of battle and stretch a hide upon the ground. This they fix with four laurel poles. The battle must be fought upon the hide, each man keeping a foot, or both, on the skin all the while; in this fashion they remain close one to another. The two combatants each arrive with one sword and three shields. If a man’s three shields all break, he must fight on without protection, and the battle is to the death.

Such were the rules, chanted by the old crone, the angel of death, at the position of the stretched hide, with all the people of Buliwyf and the people of the kingdom of Rothgar gathered around. I was myself there, not so close to the front, and I marveled that these people should forget the threat of the Korgon which had so terrified them earlier; no one cared anything for aught but the duel.

This was the manner of the duel between Ragnar and Herger. Herger struck the first blow, since he had been challenged, and his sword rang mightily on the shield of Ragnar. I myself had fear for Herger, since this youth was so much larger and stronger than he, and indeed Ragnar’s first blow smote Herger’s shield from its handgrip, and Herger called for his second shield.

Then the battle was joined, and fiercely. I looked once to Buliwyf, whose face was without expression; and to Wiglif and the herald, on the opposite side, who often looked to Buliwyf while the battle raged.