The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay Read Free Page B

The only thing known for sure was that one lone someone, one great warrior, would do the business, make it to the island, and scoop the loot.
    “King Dudo was an intelligent man. He didn’t believe there was such a thing as an enchanted island in the middle of the sea stuffed full of gold and jewels. All the same, he did think there was a teeny possibility there was an island off the beaten track that had remained undiscovered for a ton of years, which just might, be a nice place to go and have a look around. Who knew, there might be some pleasant-looking trinkets buried there.
    “It was with this in mind that King Dudo the Mightily Impressive enlisted the renowned star-gazing monk, Brother Brian the Devout and Handy with Numbers.
    “Brother Brian spent a long time researching the island for King Dudo. He scrupulously documented all known Viking tales and songs about the island. He cross-referenced them with stories from other places, drawing up charts, plotting graphs, and double-checking his maps of the skies with the leading astronomers. When he felt he knew the exact location of the enchanted island, he dispatched a messenger pigeon to King Dudo and went to the upper lands to lead King Dudo the Mightily Impressive to the treasure.
    “King Dudo had asked Brother Brian to keep all this hush-hush. He didn’t want his men to think he believed in fairy stories. They were just going to go out of their way a little to look for the island, maybe pretend they were lost for a day or two. If they didn’t find it, no harm done; they’d be back on course and in the northern lands before they knew it. Although Brother Brian was a monk who wore a habit that looked a lot like a dress, he was no less concerned about his reputation among the Viking men. He was super psyched to be on first-name terms with the most powerful man in the land, so he gave King Dudo a wink and assured him that yes, of course, this would be their little secret.”

The Little Secret

     
     
    Granny had to shout now because of the noise of the wind on the gangplank of the ferry she, Dani, Ruairi, and Mum were boarding. Granny was eating the steaming hot pie Mum had gotten for her in a sailor bar in the port. They huddled close together and shuffled up the gangplank in their winter clothes.
    “About three weeks into the voyage,” Granny bellowed, “a few days after the warriors started wondering why they hadn’t found land yet, dusk fell on a clear, calm ocean. The night was full of light from the crystalline moon, and Brother Brian turned a little in his position in the prow of the lead longship and made a long slow nod of the head toward King Dudo, closing his eyes as his head reached its lowest position. It was a very cool move. Brother Brian had been practicing it in his head for weeks . He waited for King Dudo to take his seat beside him.
    “‘We are close,” Brian said to Dudo and looked to the stars, then back down at the books and scrolls and charts laid all about him and back up to the stars again. “‘All my information, all my years of training, and all my expertise tell me we are very close.’
    “The boat glided quietly through the water. Most of the Vikings were sleeping. Not so much as a seabird disturbed the stillness of the night. The monk and the king looked hopefully all around; it felt to them that they could see for miles. If the island was there, they would see it.
    “They looked and looked. An hour passed, two hours passed, then three. But no land came into view. All of a sudden, King Dudo swung his head around to the left. ‘Shh!’ he hissed. Brother Brian swivelled his gaze around and looked hard, but he couldn’t see anything. ‘It sounded like—’ King Dudo said, stopping short.
    “‘Like what, my lord?’ Brian asked.
    “‘Oh, nothing, it’s ridiculous … but for a minute there, I thought I heard children laughing.’
    Brother Brian gasped, clutched his chest, and went pale.
    “‘It’s nothing,’ King