Maroboodus: A Novel of Germania (The Goth Chronicles Book 1) by Alaric Longward Read Free Book Online

Svearna, but he would not leave.
    A man pulled at Hulderic. Father turned to look at him, puzzled and I saw Bero was being similarly instructed. ‘There will be a woman with them,’ the warrior said simply. ‘You must—‘
    ‘Of course there will be women with them,’ Hulderic growled. ‘They have been raiding. They are slave-taking.’
    ‘This will be a special woman. A high-born Svea. She must not leave the field, if some escape.’ Hulderic gazed up at Friednot.
    ‘Is this important?’ Hulderic asked the man thinly. ‘I cannot vouch—‘
    ‘She must not leave the field. Dead or alive, she must not be allowed out,’ the man told Hulderic and disappeared back up the hill.
    Hulderic grunted and adjusted his helmet. ‘So, this is about a woman? There is something Friednot’s not telling us about this war, and Hughnot is on to it, no doubt. Well, its for us to fight, not to dwell on. For now.’
    More men pushed out of the woods. They were a savage-looking lot. They were muddy, their shoes were stuck with leaves and covered in mud, and mostly ripped at seams and many were barefoot. They all carried javelins and spears, their shields made hollow sounds as they hit each other while the column of men stumbled on. There were at least a hundred and fifty of them.
    And they had prisoners. Slaves. Miserable Svea slaves, though perhaps there were some Goths amongst them, because they Saxons had passed through our lands as well, no matter how thinly populated.
    Most were women, many were children, though there were no men amongst them. Thirty of them were carrying great bags full of loot, but very likely their only interest were the human prizes they had captured. We usually raided for cows and horses, the true wealth of any man but it was hard to transport such loot across the narrow sea.
    And then there was the dreadful lord of the enemy.
    It was Cuthbert himself. He was famed as a raider, a lord of a Saxon gau, and a noble of old Saxon blood and we all knew him. His standard of dark wolf’s pelt flapped up and down amidst the trees, and the great, bald lord of the Saxon islands nearest to our lands was unhappily conversing with a woman of exceptional beauty. She did not answer him, but looked forward as if there was an annoying wind rustling by her ear. Her face was smudged, but otherwise she wore strangely pristine doeskin cloak and a gray tunic of fine make. Her fibula—the brooches holding her tunic on each shoulder—were of silver and her shoes were made of sheepskin. It must have been the woman Friednot wanted. Dead or alive.
    Her face was striking. I could not help staring at her.
    Her skin was pale as the fresh snow and her long, braided hair was nearly black, as black as the ravens of the deeper woods. She was a high noble, that much was clear and the suffering slaves that were being pushed for the ships were likely her subjects. Cuthbert sat on his horse, talking to her harshly, and as she still did not acknowledge him, he finally toed her so that she stumbled, before leaving her to walk in peace. Her eyes glanced furiously at the high Saxon lord, and her eyebrows were raised in a rage that made men in the Saxon ranks close around the lord. There was a look of such goddess-like rage on her face, the lord should have fallen from his horse, dead, that very moment. Instead, Cuthbert just spat at her feet. There was angry rumbling amongst the men, even if the Svear were not exactly friends to the Gothoni. Many former Goth women lived in the Saxon lands now and we would not forgive the slavers our losses. Suebian knots, the elaborate hair braids bobbled in our hidden shieldwall and the men spoke to each other with subdued, harsh tones and I almost felt sorry for Cuthbert then.
    The army below us was strong, though.
    And I felt fear. Yes, Maroboodus who would become a legend later in his life, feared.
    We were slightly outnumbered. Cuthbert had brought a sizable number of his men to the field. The outcome of the