The Long Way

[Ludens]

Hey Franc! Any plans to continue your intriguing story?

Request seconded!

[matteus the inbred]

request thirded...

[Franconicus]

Don't know. I am just thinking about a new interactive. And I did not think that anybody would miss this story. Maybe I think again.

[Franconicus]

[Franconicus]

Chapter 12 – The Battle of Noreia

Glum and the volk arrived in the afternoon. I hailed him and showed him the ferry.
“Well done! How did you get it, Gunnar?”
“Err, I found it upstream.”
“Where is the owner?”
“I do not know! It was forlornly.”
“Did you meet any natives?”
“No. The area I passed was deserted.”
Glum looked at the sword hanging at my side, but he did not say a word.

The volk rested for the night and at the next morning, we started to cross the river. Of course, Velleda wanted to know every detail of my trip. Unlike Glum, she was not so easy to please. I had to tell her every detail. When I told her about the meeting with the swan maidens, she shook her head and said: “Gunnar, you did not act very smart. It is not advisable to swan maidens on. It invites trouble.”
I felt that she was right, but I said: “Common, you are too pessimistic, aren’t you? What can a swan maiden do to us? We are strong, we can determine our fate.”
Then I told her how I had gotten the ferry.
“Gunnar, what have you done? You killed a subject of the Noreian king. Don’t you think he will bring us to book? Why didn’t you tell Glum about it?”
“I did what I had to do. We needed the ferry. I did not want to kill him; he forced me to do it. He is the one to blame. Anyway, he was nothing but a ferryman. He is not important at all. We can pay for atonement. And if their king does not accept.”
“Gunnar, show me the sword!”
“This is not the sword of a poor ferryman. Gunnar, I tell you, your act will cause misery.”

Despite of her words we crossed the river without any problems. The weather was fine and everyone felt happy that we passed another hurdle on our way to Alberich’s realm.

It took four days to cross the river, but finally all our people and all chariots were on the southern bank and we advanced into the land of Noreia.

Three days later, our reconnaissance spotted a big army. They were at the other end of a big plane. The plane gently inclined. On both sides, there were woods. Glum ordered the warriors to deploy for the battle. We had learned a lot in the passed months and the warriors knew there positions in the formation. The Ambrones formed our right wing, the Cimbrii the center and the left. Ger-men formed the first three rows. Behind them, there were the archers. The Teutons were our reserve. Behind them the old warriors and women built our camp. On the very right side, there was a small distance between the Ambrones and the wood. Glum sent our cavalry there, most of them former wild saw men, who had joined our volk during the last months. On the left, the Cimbrii leaned against the other wood. Inside the wood Magni and his werewolves took position.

Glum called me. “Gunnar, if possible, I want to avoid this fight. There is nothing to gain if we have to fight our way through Noreia. I send you to the other commander. Tell him that we do not want to make trouble; we just want to pass his country on our way to Alberich. Offer him a toll, if necessary. However, if he does not agree, tell him we will fight.”

Therefore, I climbed on my horse, called two comrades to follow me. We crossed the plain. I heard the sound of the upcoming battle. The Ambrones had started their war chants. From the left I heard inhumane cries; Magni’s following worshipping to Modi, the god of battle wrath.

From the other side a group of riders crossed the plane, too, and we finally met in their middle. The enemy delegation consisted of twelve men. They stopped at a distance of several hundred yards. Three riders separated from the rest. The man in the middle was quite old, maybe 45 years old. He was wearing a rich armor and was riding a noble horse. Obviously, this was the leader of our enemies. On his right, there was a young man of about 17 years. His equipment and his attitude showed that he was a nobleman, too. His face was somewhat familiar to me, although I did not remember why. The third rider was different. He looked meager and the way he sat on the horse showed that he was no warrior.

After the two groups had met, I said to the leader: “Why do you stop us here? Take your men and step aside or you will regret it.”

My opponent looked at me with anger: “I do not know who you are, young man, or where you come from. However, I tell you that it is accepted custom here at Noreia that the young men listen to the old and noble ones before they speak. I am Kvasir and I am King of Noreia. I am here to demand atonement. Someone killed my ferryman and I call for retribution. If you turn the murderer over and pay enough gold to balance the dead body you may leave this country and return to your home alive.”

“I do not know what you are talking about, old man. I do not know anything about a dead ferryman, but I know that there will be many dead men at Noreia if you will not get out of our way. If you want to keep your realm, step aside, old man.”

The king wanted to reply, but the man on his left interrupted him at his left: “It’s you! You are the murderer! You killed Honir! I stood on the other bank. I recognize you!”

“Keep your trap shut! You do not know what you’re talking! Who is Honir? I do not know any Honir at all!”

The king said: “Honir is my son. He was the strongest man in the realm. I do not know how you managed to killed him. It must have been deceitfulness.”

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

The young man on the left turned to the king and said: “Father, look at the sword at his side. Doesn’t it look like Honir’s sword Tyrfing? Stranger, give me the sword; I want look at it!”

“You want to make acquaintance with my sword. Don’t hesitate, my boy, it’s waiting here for you!”

The boy spurred his horse and attacked me. I did not know whether he recognized the sword when it penetrated his throat right below his chin. He fell from his horse and was dead without another word or even a sigh. When I turned around again, the king and the other enemy were on the run. One of my companions threw his ger at the king. It penetrated his back. He hurried to his own lines and his entourage covered his retreat.

We returned to our lines, too. When I reached Glum, the Noreians were already approaching. While they were running down the plane, they shouted their war cries. Our archers sent them the first greetings, however without any visible effect. The second volley did cause some confusion and the third one tore holes in the formation. Then the enemy reached our lines.

On the right, our cavalry tried to attack the flank of the Noreians. However, the Noreian cavalry intercepted. Our cavalry dispelled and the riders escaped into the wood. The Noreians did not follow. They attacked the Ambrones, which started to loose ground.

Our center stopped all attacks. At the right, the enemy sent cavalry, too. I stood side by side with Glum. He said: “Common, Magni. Now it is time to start your attack. Hit their flank and hit them hard.”
At that moment Magni and his men appeared, screaming and roaring. They were now in the mood for their Berseker’s raid. They were filled with wrath; they hardly noticed what was going on all around them. Glum sighed with relief until he saw that they were not attacking the Noreians but chopping the bushes.

Glum was shocked. He just could not believe his eyes. His elite formation was busy chopping trees! A messenger called him back into reality: “Glum, our left wing! The Ambrones are retreating!”

A look to the left showed that he was right. However, our right wing was not doing much better. The men there, shocked by the behavior of the werewolves, lost ground.

Seeing the danger for both flanks made Glum master of the situation again. He turned to me and said: “Gunnar, take five clans of the Teutons and turn to our right flank. You have to stop the enemy. I will go to the left and repel the enemy there.” I turned to go but he called me once more: “Gunnar, all depends on you, now. Make the Ambrones make a stand. The left wing has to stand.” Then he turned away and disappeared in the battle turmoil.

I went to the Teutons and told them my intention. We hurried to the left. Fortunately, the Ambrones had already picked up courage again and when they saw us coming, they started to attack the enemy. Together with my Teutons, I headed for the cavalry of the Noreians just as they tried to get into the back of the Ambrones. Suddenly they found themselves between the shafts of the Ambrones and Teutons and were slaughtered. Next, the fight between our infantry and the Noreians was fought with maximum rage. Success was going up and down. Suddenly, completely unexpected, our cavalry appeared at the edge of the wood and attacked the rear of the enemy. They had gathered themselves, again, and had waited for the right moment to interfere again. The enemy, attacked from both sides, gave up and run away. While our cavalry was chasing them, I gathered the Ambrones and Teutons and aimed for the center of the enemy.

Our attack made the enemy shiver. From the other side, I could hear the screaming of Glum and his men. They had cleared the situation at their side and were heading for the center, too. That was too much for the enemies. They turned around and run as fast as possible.

It had been a hard fight for all of us. Nevertheless, our casualties were relatively low. We had proven that we were no longer a robber band but a disciplined army.

[matteus the inbred]

Coooool. The plot thickens. Bit of a thieving rascal, is Gunnar! I like the bit about chopping trees...
the chaos of battle is well-described...this reminds of some of the slightly gothic short stories Games Workshop used to publish, that kind of semi-realistic semi-magical feel.

[Franconicus]

All wars are nothing but raids. (Voltaire)

[Franconicus]

Chapter 13 – Consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo

We camped for three days to lick our wounds. Many people were upset about the performance of Magni and his berserkers. They say they marooned the volk; they were useless and even a danger. Next time they would attack their own brothers in arms instead of innocent trees. Many said that Magni and his followers should leave the community.

Magni did not say a word, but it was obvious he took those reproaches very seriously. He was willing to accept any sentence. However, Glum commemorated the merits of Magni’s strength and courage and the benefits given to the volk before and he came up to an exemption from punishment.

Then we advanced to the Noreia, the capital of the homonymous realm. On our march, several small tribes that had knuckled down to the Noreian king joined our volk and compensated our casualties. Noreia was a rich country and we made good booties along the way. We gathered a lot of metal, iron as well as bronze, silver and gold and we became richer than we ever thought we could get.

When we approached Noreia, we made a strange encounter. There was a group of queer soldiers coming up. They marched in a close formation, each soldier close to the other, with synchronized motion. It was a parody of a real army. It looked so funny we had to laugh. We guessed that these were the jesters of the Noreian court.

We went closer and at close range, these men looked even weirder. They were small, indeed. At least one head smaller than an average human being. Their hair was black as coal. It was so ugly that they wore it very short. Each of them had the same equipment, a huge shield, a spears and a short sword. They all had helmets, and armours made of leather and metal covered most of their bodies.

Glum watched them for a while and said: “Look at them. They are so small. I guess they are afraid of us. That must be the reason why they cover their bodies with armor and why they crowd like sheep. We must be gentle not to scare them off.”

Vindelicus, the merchant, said: “Do not let yourself be fooled, Glum. These are Roman soldiers. People say that they are deadly warriors.”

Glum looked at him doubtfully, but did not say a word.

Vindelicus continued: “Additionally, these men may be the dwarfs you are looking for. Their home is far south; they live in the mountains. I heard they dig in the earth.”

The Roman soldiers began to deploy. Still they did not look very warlike. They carried coloured rags and there were even drums. When they finally stood in three rows, the lines opened and several cavaliers came in front. Glum, Vindelicus and me rode to them. The man in the middle was obviously the most important one. Although he was very small and had that ugly black hair, too, he looked quite impressive with his shining armor and his colorful clothes.

He began to talk. His words sounded strange, but Vindelicus said that it was Roman and that he could understand it fairly. The name of the Roman leader was Consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo. He said that he stood for the mighty Rome. Glum said that Rome might be the castle of Alberich. He said to Vindelicus, that he was happy to greet Consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo as the ambassador of the dwarf king Alberich. The Cimbrii and their allies wanted to become friends with the Romans.

Vindelicus translated this and Carbo first looked irritated. Then he asked why we had attacked Noricum, although the king of Noreia had been a Roman ally.

When Glum heard these words, he was frightened. He told Vindelicus: “Tell him: I did not know, that Noreia is an ally of Rome. This makes me very sad. We would never have fought them if we had only known. After all we had only asked to cross the country and the Noreian had started the fight. Tell him this. We do not want to have trouble with the dwarfs. If we did something wrong, we are willing to pay for compensation.”

While Vindelicus translated these words to the Roman, Glum watched anxiously the face of the Roman leader. Carbo reflected on what he had heard. Then he said something to Vindelicus, which was translated into the human language: “I see. Propably it was just misfortune; a capricious game some god’s like to play with us mortals. Kvasir is dead and most of his sons died in this battle. Only Voccio, his 8-month-old son is left. We already declared him king. We will protect him and help him to secure his regency. He is already on the way to Rome where he will be secure and where he will get the education that the king of Noricum needs. Until he is grown up, a Roman proconsul and a Roman garrison will help his mother to administrate the country.”

Glum said that this was fine to him and that he was happy that the incident did not stand between the Romans and the Cimbrii. Carbo said, translated by Vindelicus, that he wanted to learn more about our volk and about our cause. He said that he was very interested in foreign peoples and that he would enjoy hearing what we had learned during our march.

The Roman soldiers build a big colorful tent, where Carbo and we had our meeting. We saw novel clothes there as well as unknown pelts. There were many objects made of gold and silver. Carbo offered us wine, a drink we had already tried before, but never so sweet and so excellent. When Carbo saw that we liked the drink, he ordered more and his soldiers brought several barrels. His hospitality made us very glad and we were in a very good mood. We laughed about the fact that Carbo had to delute his wine with water. Obiously the dwarfs could not stand it.

Carbo was interested in everything that had happened on our journey. He also wanted to know every detail about our plans. We told him about Thor and the promised land that we will find in Alberich’s realm. The meeting took very long and in the end, I was so tired that I could not remember every detail. However, I still remember tha words that Carbo said when we finally left his tent: “Do not worry. We Romans will be glad to welcome you. Enough land is only waiting for you. We will live as partners. That will be guarantee wealth and security for both nations. Of course, you have to cross the mountains, but I will give you a guide to accompagne you.” Vindelicus stayed at Carbo’s tent to tell him stories of his own tribe.

With a warm feeling, we went to rest. We had found Alberich’s ambassador, we had made friendship and he was willing to give us land. Everything that Thor had promised would become true. That night I dreamed of Velleda, Idun and me living on our farm at the coast.

[Ludens]

Oh dear. Don't trust the Romans, even though they carry gifts. I fear Gunnar is going to pay the full price for his bloodlust.

BTW, why is he suddenly so warlike? Does he want to prove himself or has the journey made him so embittered he trusts no one anymore?

[matteus the inbred]

Yes indeed, I suspect some very naive Cimbri are going to regret laughing at the Romans quite soon! That's a very good bit though, how odd the Romans must have appeared to tribal warriors.
I expect plenty of treachery in the next installment...

[Franconicus]

BTW, why is he suddenly so warlike? Does he want to prove himself or has the journey made him so embittered he trusts no one anymore?

Of course he changed. The constant war and maroding did change him. Additionally he is no longer a boy, but a man and warrior. However, he is still the naive barbarian he used to be and he still craves for love and peace.

[Franconicus]

Chapter 13 – the Mountains

Next morning I had to tell Velleda about our meeting. I told her about the generosity and the amicability of the Romans. She shook her head and told me: “Gunnar, I do not know. I do not trust them. They are different than we are and I suspect that they are not honest.”
I said: “I cannot believe what you are saying. Everything what they tell us is according to Thors promise. Didn’t we all believe in this presage? Now that it is going to become reality you are pessimistic?”
“I do not know, maybe you are right. I just have a strange feeling about them and I can rely on my feelings.”
“You are so negative. You are just like your mother!”
She was offended and turned away. Maybe the comment about her mother was not wise, but she always found fault with everything. If men would always follow the concern of their wifes, no big deeds would ever happen.

Glum organized a Thing, where we discussed the offer of Carbo. Several chiefs, especially those who had joined our volk during the last year, were against the proposal. Especially Ganglerix, a young Celtic leader, was opposed to the plan:
“Listen volk! You all heard what Glum told us. Glum is our leader, but that does not mean that he can make any arrangement without our permission. We all are free men and we all have the right to decide our own affairs. He says that the Romans offer us land and that they offer us friendship. Let me ask you why they are so generous. I can tell you the answer; it is because they are scared. Look at them; they are small and they are weak! They have only a couple of soldiers. Now look at us! We are strong, we are experienced warriors and we are numerous. We can defeat them; beating them is not a big thing. It is no surprise to me that they say that they want to be our friends. Additionally Glum tell us that their tents are full of precious cloths, sumptuous wine and valuable works of art made of gold, silver and gems. If they have all these treasures here, far away from their home, can you imagine what they have at Rome? Wealth beyond your grasp. Therefore, volk of the Cimbrii, Ambrones, Teutons and all other tribes and clans of the great alliance, listen to my proposal. Take everything Carbo has; chase his soldiers away. Then let us march to Rome. We can beat the dwarfs everywhere. We can take Rome and all its treasures and divide their realm. Glum tells you that they offer us rank ground. Why should we take some acres from their mercy, when we can get all with our swords? Are we suppliants, or are we warriors?”

Many men showed that they agreed with Ganglerix words. Glum was forced to reply:

“Ganglerix, you do not know us well enough, you joined our volk lately. Let me tell you the reason for our march. We left home because of hunger and disease. Thor, the strong God of Thunder, gave us the order and he gave us the goal. He promised us a new, better home in the land of the dwarfs. We, the courage ones, started the march despite of all danger and risk. We had to cross the countries of many tribes and nations and most of them where hostile. We had to fight many battles and now finally we reached our goal. We met the Romans and they agreed to become our friends. Now listen to me: we will follow the order of Thor. We will go into the country of the dwarfs and live together with them in peace. No one of our warriors will do them harm as long as I am the leader. We are no robbers. We are tired of fighting and we yearn for a peaceful life.”

“You are dreamers! All this Thor stuff and the tales about dwarfs are nothing but cock-and-bull stories. I know these Romans very well. Yes, there is rank ground at Italy; I know that better than you do. My people, my family, owned it. They tried to live in peace with the Romans, but the Romans banished them, killed them. They burned their towns, raped their wives and killed their children. Do not tell me anything about Roman friendship. There will no friendship until they are all dead!

You all hear that Glum is tired of fighting. He shall be the leader of a bunch of hags, not of brave warriors.”

“Ganglerix, although I yearn for peace I can show you that I am not tired of fighting!” He unsheathed. When Ganglerix saw Odin’s sword he stepped back and disappeared in the crowd.

On the second day of the Thing, the volk voted and accepted Glum's proposal. We decamped and started to march again. At the parting Carbo gave us the guide. We slowly moved westwards until finally big mountains came into sight. We had passed some mountains on our way; however, there had not been anything like this. When we first saw them, they were still many days away. When we got closer, they grew and grew and we saw more details. They looked like a big barrier and yet they seemed to be the door to another world. We all realized that those mountains were different to anything we had seen before, very different to the low land we came from, the land between the oceans, the land of swamps and forests. This mountain world was a magic place and no one had a doubt that we approached the magic realm of the dwarf king Alberich.

We crossed the foreland, a land of huge mountains, but tiny compared to the ones appearing behind them. Before we entered the mountains, our guide ordered us to camp. He said that we had to get more provisions, because in the mountains food was hard to get. We separated into several groups, went hunting, and tried to gather food in many different ways. After two weeks, we met again and collected our provisions. The guide was not satisfied and told us to look for more food. We tried, although we had already killed most of the animals in the wood and the tribes in this area were not able to give us anything more. In the meantime, the guide received a messenger. He said that he came from Carbo, whishing us a good trip across the Alps. We thought that this was a good sign, and indeed, the next day the guide told us we could decamp. We sacrificed to our gods, especially to Odin and Thor, and asked for their help and support while we were crossing the mountains.

Marching in the mountains was very hard. The ground was full of stones and we had to pass cliffy inclinations. Often we marched through deep and narrow valleys and the convoy, already several hundred thousand people, stretched over many miles. Magni and his berserkers kept aloof from the rest.

I went side by side with Velleda. I had to carry Idun. She could walk without help, but in the mountains, she refused to. She also refused to stay in the cart, so I had to carry her all the time. In return for this service, she talked without a break. Finally, she fell asleep and I could lay her into the cart. Now I had some time to look at the outstanding surrounding. I walked side by side with Glum and Velleda. Looking at the majestic mountains Glum said: “Gunnar, to see these mountains is worth all the trouble we passed. Look at that one on the left. Its top is made of solid rock and although it is late, spring snow covers it. I have never seen anything like that. Can you feel the magic, can you feel the presence of Thor. I know that he is somewhere there, watching us. I assume he is pleased with us.”

Velleda said: “You may be right, Glum. However, there is something else out there watching us. I can feel it. There is another force and it is not a good one.”

We marched through the mountains for several days. We climbed up and down; we were getting higher and higher. Although we were closer to the sun, the temperature was falling. We were not used to all this climbing and became short-winded.

We did not meet many voyagers. The inhabitants had left the area before we arrived; we saw some travelers, but most of them made a big bow to bypass us. However, some of them came to talk with us. They did not know how to speak our language, so they talked to our guide and to Vindelicus. After the last concourse, our guide decided to increase our speed. He told us to turn into the next side valley. We were very happy because the valley was declining and we all were tired of climbing uphill. That night we spend in a canyon. We camped in several groups; I had a tent for Velleda and the papoose. In the middle of the night, Velleda roused me. She was wet of sweating and told me: “Gunnar, I had an awful dream! Nott sent me terrible signs. Something bad is going to happen.”
I tried to hush her. However, she said: “I am not foolish, Gunnar. This was not an ordinary dream. It was so real. I cannot describe it, but I know that something bad is going to happen. I know it for sure, as sure as I know that I love you and Idun.”
Hell, what was I expected to reply? I said: “I will look out. I will take care of you and our child.”
She shook her head: “I know, you will. However, there is nothing you can do. Maybe we should return, but even then …”
She lie down and fell asleep again, a very anxious sleep. Needless to say that I could not fall asleep for the rest of the night.
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That's it for a while. I need a break!

[matteus the inbred]

If men would always follow the concern of their wifes, no big deeds would ever happen

what's that saying? 'behind every great man there is a good woman'

Well done Franconicus, your keyboard must be smoking hot by now!
Left it on a nicely portentous moment too, a cliffhanger...

[Kommodus]

Thanks for continuing this, Franc! Looks like the great tragedy we've all been waiting for is about to occur.

You've earned a break. Just don't let it take too long.

[Franconicus]

I have to dampen your expectations. The way is much longer as you may expect. I will be on the road for the next two weeks. If you cannot wait, take a look at your j´history books. There you find the rest of the history.

[Ludens]

I have to dampen your expectations. The way is much longer as you may expect. I will be on the road for the next two weeks. If you cannot wait, take a look at your j´history books. There you find the rest of the history.

Pity. Well, good luck on your own long way and have a good journey.

[Kommodus]

I have to dampen your expectations. The way is much longer as you may expect. I will be on the road for the next two weeks. If you cannot wait, take a look at your j´history books. There you find the rest of the history.

I actually did that fairly recently, curious as to who the Cimbrii really were. It seems they were quite important to the history of the Roman empire. However, it looked as if you were deviating from history somewhat (for literary reasons, I assumed). Thus, while I expected the story to turn out roughly the same as history, I suspected it would differ substantially in the process. Perhaps you were planning to bring an end to the Cimbrii before their time?

Anyway, have fun on the road!

[Franconicus]

Hi Kommodus,

some time ago I was looking for a good story for an interactive and I thought that the Cimbrii could be a good one. So I started to gather information. However, I had to realize that there was not much and that an interactive would soon become pure speculation. So I started to write this story.

Many things are mysterious about the Cimbrii. It seems to be known where they came from. However, it is not so obvious who they were. They seemed to be somehow Germanians, although the Germanians did not have their identity then. And there were also some Celtic elements (for example the Ambrones). As they crossed Europe the Celtic element seemed to become stronger.

They seemed to be poor peasants at first. Not clear what made them wandering, propably hunger. Then they changed. The poor peasants became warriors that managed to beat the Romans several times. And they became maroders.

In my story I wanted to give an explanation why they started to wander. And I wanted to describe how the wandering changed their character, from peasants to warriors to marroders.

Another mystery is, that they did not try to invade Italy, although they had beaten the Romans several times and although they must have known about the wealth of this country. I wanted to find a (fictive) explanation for that too. When they finally decided to march south they were defeated and killed (men, women and children).

I agree that they were very important. First of all they made the Romans reform their army. Second, and maybe most important, they disturbed the Celtic societies north of the Alpes and destroyed the equilibrium there. I think that promoted the raise of the Romans as well as the raise of the Germanians. And third, they were the first wandering Germanian tribes.

You say that I am deviating from history. Where exactly?

[Franconicus]

Chapter 13 – Roman Friendship

I stood up early next morning. Velleda and Idun were sleeping. I left the tent. Over the top of the mountains the new day began to dawn. I crossed the camp and climbed up the hill. I wanted to be alone to rearrange my mind. Velleda’s dream was still obsessing me. I tried to prove myself that it was nothing but a meaningless dream. I did not believe it.

In this early morning hour, another person was awake; Magni. His nightmares might have driven him outside, too. I walked to him. He looked at me and I saw that he was painting his face with black and red stripes.

“Hey Magni, what are you doing? Can’t sleep, can you?”

“You know what, Gunnar? Soon we will enter the promised land, where we will live a peaceful and easy life. There will be no use for Magni and his Berserkers. Our deeds will be history. The worst thing is that we were a miserable failure at the last fight. Who will remember our victories? Everybody will remember our failure.”

“Do not be kidding, Magni! Everybody knows that you are awful warriors. Everybody knows what the volk owes to you!”

“I only wished that there would be another chance; only one more battle where we can prove what we are worth. I pray to Modi that he sends us this last chance.”

“Do not say that! We have fought all the way and now it is enough. Abandon your dark thoughts. Think of the bright future ahead. Life is more than blood and tears. We almost forgot, but there is also love and peace. So chase away your sad thoughts!”

Magni looked at me with sad eyes and shook his head. Then he turned away and continued to paint his body with shocking colors.

The meeting had not eased my mind. I turned around and went back to the camp. The volk was awaking. Soon we left the place. Magni and his Berserkers walked separately again. Most of the time I could not see them.

After an hour walk, the valley ended and there was no way to pass the mountains. The guide apologized for having chosen the wrong valley. No complaining helped, we had to return and climb up the valley we had just passed. Of course moral was low. Climbing up was much harder. Although it was rather cold, everybody was sweating. Dark clouds had gathered around the top of the mountains and it was getting darker and darker. Around noon it was almost as dark as night.

We came to a place were the sides of the valley were higher and where the valley was narrow. I was walking close to the head of our caravan, together with Velleda and Idun. Idun refused to walk and Velleda had to carry her while I helped to push the wagons over the rubble ground.

Suddenly someone called and pointed at the acclivities in front of us. At both sides of the valley, there were Roman soldiers; much more than we had seen before. They stood in several lines, one behind the other. When we saw them, we were glad. Our friends had come to help us out of the mountain labyrinth. The guide and Vindelicus rode to them to welcome them.

Then lights flashed all along the Roman line. It was a marvelous view as we stood in that valley and looked at the line of fire against the background of the dark sky. It became even more marvelous when fireballs flung into the sky like firebirds. We had never seen anything like that and the people were cheering when the fireballs began to shorten over their heads. When the first balls smashed into the crowd, the cheering was replace by cries of pain and surprise. The crowed pushed like sheep during storm. I saw Velleda stumble; she did not stand up again. I went to her; I cannot describe my horror when I saw flames coming out of her breast. At the first moment I thought her souls was leaving her body. I had panic to loose her and tried to push her soul back with my bare hands. First, I did not notice it but then I felt that my hands were burned. I also felt the arrow in her breast. I pulled it out and the fire was gone. Velleda still laid motionless. I looked for Idun, but could not find her. Around me, people were pushing. There was no order. Most of the warriors did not carry their weapons. They could not even move because they were trapped in the freaked out crowd. From the acclivities, the Romans sent one volley after the other. The crowd was so dense that they did not have to aim. They did not take the time to set the arrows on fire any more. They shot as fast as possible. It was a constant arrow rain.

I pushed through the crowd and reached the edge. I saw how single warriors climbed up the slopes to attack the Romans. However, when the finally reached the first Roman lines, the heavy-armed Roman soldiers slaughtered them. There was no plan behind our efforts, no coordination.

I ran to Glum. He stood there and looked at the Romans as if he could not believe his eyes. I cried to him and said that he had to give orders or the whole volk would die here in this damned valley. I did not know whether he heard my words. He did not react at all, he just started at the Romans while they where sending volley after volley.

I looked up the slopes, too, and I saw Carbo among his officers. He raised one arm. The first rows of the Roman infantry began to advance. There were three rows of heavy-armed spearmen. Behind them, there were three other lines with soldiers. Later I found out that these soldiers should have taken prisoners and carried them away. Even further behind there were several lines of archer, which continued to shoot.

Desperately I was looking for help. Would this be the end? After all this fighting, after all this pain? Where were our gods? Odin, come and help us or we all will be lost!

Then several things happened at the same time. The Roman infantry reached our lines and began their massacre. Some chiefs managed to gather their warriors and here and there, there was isolated resistance against the Romans. I gathered some warriors, too, and we jumped into the fray. We had little hope to survive but it was better than to die in the arrow rain.

Before I had reached the Romans, I looked up the slopes and I saw something that made me stumble. At the top of the hills, right behind the last line of the Roman archers, there was a new crowd of warriors. They were running down the hill, not in the orderly way the Romans do; they looked more like a wolf pack.

They broke through the Roman line. The archers were running away while their comrades at the lower lines had not even recognized that there was something going on behind them. The wolf pack attacked the next line. They seemed to be unstoppable. In front of them there was a huge man running – Magni. He had his sword in one hand and a cudgel in the other. No, not a cudgel, it was a tree, a small tree. He was beating at both sides and howling like a wolf. He did not look human at all; he looked like Holler, the God of Death and Destruction.

I cried aloud and pointed to the Berserkers: “Help is coming! Stand, fight, brave Cimbrii!” More and more warriors came out of the crowd and tried to stop the Roman infantry. The Roman spearmen still had not realized what was going on behind their backs. Our Berserkers had defeated the Roman archers completely. Now they lunged at the spearmen. Those were taken by surprise. They had not expected any attack from behind, they had been sure that the battle was already won. I saw Magni jump right in a pack of twenty heavy-armed Romans. At the same time, we attacked them from below. That was too much. They gave up their formation and run away. Our warriors were so angry that they chased them like rabbits. The Romans had their horses behind the gorge portion. They had to pass this bottleneck and here we could kill many of them. What can I say? We killed until our arms ached and we continued. Maybe we could have killed them all.

Suddenly there was lightning and thunder right above us and rain began to fall. A loud voice behind us cried: “Stop! Don’t you hear Thor? Stop the fighting or His ire will crush you!”

We looked around and saw Glum. In the background lightnings flashed out of the black clouds and the thunder was rolling through the valley. Although we were furious and wanted to kill the Romans, we accepted the will of the Thunder God.

Therefore, Carbo escaped.

[matteus the inbred]

bloody Romans!
Epic. The bit with Magni reminds me of an episode of the 2000AD character Slaine when he jumps into the middle of Roman testudo and then warps into the monster-Slaine.
This is a very abrupt move from peace to action, very shocking.

[Kommodus]

You say that I am deviating from history. Where exactly?

Well...

My only source is the Wikipedia article concerning the Cimbrian War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbrian_War). This article indicates that the Battle of Noreia was the first fight between the Romans and the Cimbrii, in which the Cimbrii discovered Carbo's treachery and attacked and destroyed his army. Your version of events has the Cimbrii fighting the native inhabitants of Noricum at Noreia, and doing battle with the Romans for the first time at a different time and place (as they try to cross the Alps).

It's a minor difference. This is not (and never was) a criticism; when people write historical fiction I don't expect precise historical accuracy - that would make it nonfiction, wouldn't it?

[Franconicus]

Well...

My only source is the Wikipedia article concerning the Cimbrian War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbrian_War). This article indicates that the Battle of Noreia was the first fight between the Romans and the Cimbrii, in which the Cimbrii discovered Carbo's treachery and attacked and destroyed his army. Your version of events has the Cimbrii fighting the native inhabitants of Noricum at Noreia, and doing battle with the Romans for the first time at a different time and place (as they try to cross the Alps).

There is another Wiki_link, however only in German, about the battle of Noreia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlacht_bei_Noreia
There are some details:
The Cimbrii had to fight there way through the land of the Celtic tribes before they got in contact with the Romans. When they entered the realm of Noreia, the Romans did send an army with Consul Carbo. Carbo started negotioations. He gave them guides to find the passage through the alps (which begin near Noreia) However, Carbo ambushed them in the alps. Nevertheless the Barbarians defeated the Romans because they attacked them furiously regardless the desperate situation. The Romans began to talk about the Furor Teutonicus. Only a thunderstorm prevented the Roman army from the complete destruction.

This is not (and never was) a criticism;

That is a pity. If you find something wrong or have suggestions you're welcome!

[Kommodus]

Interesting - so the English and German versions of the story would seem to be a bit different. I'd have no way of knowing which was correct.

The English version also indicates that the Cimbrii defeated the Boii (many of whom joined them) and the Scordii en route to Noricum. So there is agreement that they had to fight their way through the lands of several Celtic tribes on their way south, but some ambiguity as to which tribes were actually defeated.

Anyway, great chapter! I am no literary critic; if I were to criticize anything it would be the grammar, but I'm not inclined to do so as English is your second language (correct?).

[Franconicus]

Yes it is, obviously. Well, the story is told by a Germanian Barbarian, so grammar is maybe historically correct.
One reason for me to write these stories is to train my English. I know that there is room for improvements and I am thankful if you criticize!

[Franconicus]

Chapter 14 – Crossroads

In the pouring rain, we were looking for the dead and wounded ones. I found Velleda. She was still unconscious, but she was alive. I urged a wise man to care for her, and then I started looking for Idun. It stopped raining. I saw a group of warriors carrying a dead body down the hill. I stepped closer. It was Magni. Wounds covered his body. His comrades told me that he had still fought even with three spears in his side. He had not surrendered; he had just disappeared among the enemies. Well, Magni’s wish had come true.

I went on looking for Idun. There were dead and wounded people everywhere, men, women and children. Then I saw her. She lay below two other bodies. I picked her up. So many times, I had complained that she was too heavy to carry; this time I did feel any weight at all. Her face was so pale and her dead eyes looked at me. It was more than I could stand. The crush had smothered her small body.

I had promised to tell the story as I saw it. From now on I can only tell what other people told me, because for a couple of weeks I was in trance and did hardly notice anything that was going on around me.

After we had bandaged the injured and buried the dead, the chiefs called a Thing. The volk had to decide what to do now.

First Ganglerix rose to speak.

“People of the allied tribes! We all suffered a bad surprise! Our so-called Roman friends betrayed us and tried to kill or enslave us! Many human beings died, many were injured. Glum had promised to lead us into a land where we could live in peace side by side with the Romans. He had told us the Romans were our friends. I had warned you before, but you had not listened. Now look around what Roman friendship gave us; blood and dead. You ask again: ‘What shall we do, now that our friends betrayed us, now that we stuck here in the middle of these cursed mountains?’ I tell you the same I had told you last time, the same words you should have followed last time: I will lead you to Rome! We will defeat the Romans as we did here, let us repay their friendship with the same coin they gave us, blood and dead. Do not listen to Glum’s silly dreams anymore. Let us get real. Let us burn down Rome!”
There was common consent with his ideas. Especially the younger warriors agreed to his plan. And those who had lost friends and relatives in the battle.
After Ganglerix an old magus stood up:
“Ganglerix, I hear your words and I hear dolor and frustration. We all share these feelings and because of that, we all would like to follow your words and punish the Romans. However, I am an old man and I had to learn that dolor and frustration are not the right advisors. We should rather rely on our keen mind than on our passions. So let us first analyze the facts. We relied on the Romans because we thought they were part of Thor’s promise. However, something went wrong and the Romans attacked us. Why? I do not know! Maybe our interpretation of Thor’s vision was wrong. Alternatively, we did something wrong and the God punished us. Please remember the moment when we defeated the Romans. We could have killed them all; however, right in that moment Thor sent his thunder and lightning to stop us. Obviously, He did not want us to kill them. I do not have an explanation for what happened, but I know that we must carefully analyze the will of Thor and the other gods before we make a decision. If we march to Rome against the will of Thor none of us will survive.”
Everybody had to agree that there was a lot of wisdom in these words. Obviously, Thor had changed his mind and it was essential to find out what he wanted now. Therefore, the magni sat together and discussed this issue. All the rest of the volk sat beside and waited for their advice. Finally, they stood up and the magus that had spoken before turned to the volk:
“We discussed our problem and we asked Thor for his advice. Finally, we all agreed that Thor did not want us to conquer Rome. His thunder and lightning was a sign that we had to leave these mountains and look for a land to live somewhere else.”

The volk discussed this proposal and at the end, it agreed. It had no other option, because we did not know how to cross the mountains or how long the way was and the supply was getting smaller. Therefore, we had to turn around and leave the mountains the way we had entered them.

Glum’s share to the discussion was very small. He just sat there and murmeled: “Something went wrong! Something must have gone wrong!”

[matteus the inbred]

Ah, tragedy. I like the interpretation of omens and signs, perhaps you are thinking of adding a scene where a ceremony to consult the Gods is held?

I am a bit confused though: Magni is a character (the leader of the berserks, although now dead); a magni or magnus is a wise man?

[Franconicus]

Ah, tragedy. I like the interpretation of omens and signs, perhaps you are thinking of adding a scene where a ceremony to consult the Gods is held?

That is a good idea! I had to go the mystic way because there had to be a reason why the Cimbrii did not invade Rome, now that they defeated the Roman army.

I am a bit confused though: Magni is a character (the leader of the berserks, although now dead); a magni or magnus is a wise man?

My fault! Magni is the name of the stromgest man, named after Thor's son, the only one who was even stronger than Thor. A magus was a wise man, kind of priest.

[matteus the inbred]

I had to go the mystic way because there had to be a reason why the Cimbrii did not invade Rome, now that they defeated the Roman army.

yes, it very much differentiates tribal people from people like Rome, the way they had trust in their gods and would choose an apparently illogical course because of omens. Just a thought. I like that sort of thing though, it makes good sense in your story.

My fault! Magni is the name of the strongest man, named after Thor's son, the only one who was even stronger than Thor. A magus was a wise man, kind of priest.

I thought that was what you meant, but thanks for confirming it. I wonder, did the Cimbrii (and similar peoples) have any legends concerning Ragnarok? (Bit of a deviation or even a Monastery question, I admit.) Anyway, I look forward to the next bit, it's all good.

[Franconicus]

Chapter 14 – Westwards

We marched north until we left the mountains. Then we turned to the left and marched at the foothills of the Alps. There was no tribe big enough to challenge us. Therefore, our march was undisturbed.

Velleda was slowly recovering. However, the relationship between the two of us had changed. We never talked about Idun, but I saw the look in her eyes and I knew that she blamed me for what had happened. After all, she was probably right.

Sometimes at night when the wind was blowing outside the tent I often heard a voice, the tender voice of a child I knew so well. I could not understand the words, but I could hear them and I knew she was calling me. Then I stood up and strayed through the night. Usually I returned at the break of dawn. Then Velleda looked at me; she never said a word.

I always had had my share in the fate of the volk. Now, I only followed. Nevertheless, I could feel that many things were different, visible thinks as well as invisible. Many of the old comrades were dead now. I missed Magni. Glum had changed. Although he was still our leader, he had lost a big part of his authority. He had lost his spirit, his vision, and sometimes I had the impression that he asked himself constantly what went wrong with the Romans.

We had lost our mission, the reason why we were wandering. We kept on wandering, because we used to, because we had no other option, not because we had a target.

We finally reached a river called Rhine, which came from the Alps. We crossed it and found ourselves in the land of the Allobroges. Our chiefs tried to negotiate and get some land to settle down. However, they were allied with the cursed Romans. Their Roman friends told them to retard the negotiations. One day, while we still thought that we could find an agreement, we found the Allobroges in battle formation. Besides them, there was a huge Roman army under the command of Consul Marcus Junius Silanus.

We hurried to alert and then we assaulted. In the past, we had fought to win a passage, to get food or simply to defend ourselves. This time, with the hate against the Romans, pure lust to kill pushed us into the battle. Neither the Allobroges nor their Roman friends could stand our ferocity. We broke their lines and we slaughtered as many as possible. When we counted the dead enemies, we found alone 30,000 Roman soldiers.

Then we devastated the land of the Allobroges. I mean, we did not only maraud as we had done before. Yes, we marauded, but then we burned their houses, we killed the men, we raped the wives and then we sold them and their children into slavery. Those who were too old or too young to sell, we killed them too. We took all the domestic animals we could take and killed the rest. We burned the grain on the field; we destroyed the bridges and empoisoned wells. When we left, we left a desert.

After we had left the former land of the Allobroges, we camped for winter. Glum sent delegates to the close-by tribes. He sent me to a tribe in the high mountains. The mission was not very important and I assume he chose me to get me out of my lethargy. Ten warriors accompanied me. After a four days journey through the superb scenery of the Alps we finally reached the territory of the Helvetici. The chief of this tribe was very friendly. The Allobroges and their Roman allies had always oppressed them and they were very glad that this threat was gone. Therefore, they treated us more as friends than as guests.

During my visit, I made several walking-tours to explore this extraordinary nature. I loved the loneliness and peacefulness of these tours. I tried to retard our descent as long as I could. When we finally left, Gomix, the young leader of the Helvetici, invited me to come and stay in their village whenever I wanted. We returned to our camp and I reported to Glum. The camp had grown. Several hundred thousand people camped there and the area was full of noise, dirt and quarrels. There was not a lot I could do there and I decided to return to that village in the mountains. Gomix welcomed me. He offered me a place in his own house, but I preferred a small cabin at the edge of the village. I started touring again. From time to time Gomix accompanied me. We climbed the mountains and enjoyed the view. Gomix was the right partner for me; often we climbed side by side without speaking a word for hours.

Snow came early this year and cut off the village of the Helvetici. I spent my life with my new friends and shared their life. It was hard and simple. In many ways, it reminded me to the life home at the sea. It was full of hard work, but also full of silence and peace.

Spring came and I knew that the volk was decamping again. I decided to stay with my friends. Nothing called me back!

I spent four years in the Alps. From time to time traveling traders brought news from the volk. The Cimbri, still not showing any desire to invade Rome, went about their own business, looking for land in Gaul. Again, another Roman army under the command of Longinus met up with them near Tolosa. He had under his command the veterans of Metellus army from Africa. Longinus was initially successful, but was eventually caught in an ambush. Killed in action, his subordinate, Laenas was forced to surrender his position and return to Rome with fewer than 4,000 survivors.

The next year the Romans sent another army under Quintus Servilius Caepio. Although he won a minor engagement, he let the Germanians move off and returned to Rome.

The volk was still wandering, still looking for a place to settle down. However, the Roman Senate was not willing to accept the presence of the wandering tribes along the northern border of Rome. It authorized another army to be raised. This time, a force of over 6 legions was hastily prepared under Mallius Maximus, and he was given imperium over both armies. He marched to join Caepio, but Caepio, feeling that Mallius was inferior in social position, refused to obey or join his command. Bitter in-fighting between the two men, and armies, would prove to be disastrous. In the Cimbri returned and came across the Romans arranged in two separate camps, with two full armies functioning completely independent of one another. At the battle of Aurasio, the Cimbri crushed both Roman armies, killing nearly 80,000 men while sustaining minimal losses of their own.

We received the news of the battle of Aurosia with two months delay. I had almost forgotten the volk. Now all the memories jumped at me. The departure from our homeland, the long march, the battle of Noreia, the Romans, the fighting in the mountains, all my friends and acquaintance, the dead ones and the living ones. I thought of Glum. And Velleda, my wife! Was she still alive? Did she think of me? I became more restless from day to day and one morning Gomix took me aside and said: “Gunnar, my friend. I see the struggling in your mind. I know that you had hard times and that you long for peace of mind. However, you cannot escape your fate. You cannot hide forever.”
I knew he was right, I had known it for a long time, although I had managed to ignore it for a long time. Gomix was right. I could not escape my fate.
The next morning hit the road. My restlessness even grew and I forced my horse to run as fast as possible. It was not hard to find the way. The volk had left a trace of destruction. I followed this trace, came through Gaul, and finally reached the Pyrenees. There I found a part of the volk. Glum was not there, neither was Velleda. I talked to a Celtic chief. Despite the monumental victory of Aurosia, and the opening of the doorway to invade Italy, the Cimbri were still only interested in finding new land. They divided their force, with the old and weak remaining in southern Gaul, but with the bulk moving on towards the Pyrenees and Hispania, trying to find a place were they could live in peace. I hurried and crossed the Pyrenees. There in Spain I finally met the volk again. There was Glum. I was home again.

[matteus the inbred]

More good stuff, although it's starting to feel a bit like a history from an outside point of view now, losing the human element somewhat. Mind you, your knowledge of the history is impressive, and it's building nicely to a finale.

I have to point this out though, cos it made me laugh a bit -

Then we devastated the land of the Allobroges...When we left, we left a dessert.

A dessert is a pudding. A desert with one 's' is a wasted land.
I had this vision of the Cimbri marching away from the Allobroges land with only a gigantic Black Forest Gateau smouldering sadly on the devastated land behind them.