Free The Long Hunt (The Strongbow Saga) by Judson Roberts Page B

works. You need only keep things the same as they have always been." And I know I can trust you, I thought, and that is what matters most.
    "Gudrod will be the new foreman of the estate," I said in a loud voice, for all to hear. Gunhild rolled her eyes and shook her head.
    "There is one other thing I have to tell you," I continued. And you will like this even less, I thought. "Now that this estate is mine, there are going to be changes. All who live and labor here will be free. I will not have slaves on this estate."
    "You are selling the thralls?" Gunhild exclaimed.
    "No," I said. "I am freeing them."
    A long silence followed. The carls of the estate and their women-folk looked at each other with stunned expressions. Torvald and Tore, standing to my right, close to the hearth, glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Even the thralls looked taken aback.
    Hastein stepped up onto the hearth beside me and leaned close to whisper in my ear.  "They are your property now, of course. It is your right. But do you think this wise?"
    In truth, I thought it probably was not. But I did not care. I did not know if I would return from the pursuit of Toke. And even if I did, I did not know if the carls who had known me as a slave would ever accept me as their chieftain. Those were all threads that the Norns had not yet woven into the pattern of the great tapestry of fate. But whatever might happen in days to come, it was in my power, here and now, to free the thralls of this estate. It was in my power to allow them to escape a life of slavery, as I had.
    As the surprise from my words wore off, those standing before me found their voices, and a clamor of questions and angry exclamations was shouted at me. Most were some variation of "Who will do the work?" Fasti—whom I noticed was wearing his new tunic and trousers—cried out, "Where will we go? How will we live?"
    I held up my hands for silence, but was ignored. Finally Torvald roared out, "Let him speak," and stepped out in front of me, glowering this way and that, as if daring anyone to disobey. An angry giant is a daunting sight. The hall quickly fell silent.
    "Things here will not be greatly changed by this," I explained. "All of you here, free and thrall, have always done the work of this estate together. But from this day forward, this estate will be governed by two rules. No one may live here on these lands, no one may have the shelter of this roof over their head, unless they share in the work of the estate. And all who do live and work here shall be free. The thralls will continue to live here, so long as they do their share of the work. But they—you," I said, looking Fasti in the eyes, "will live and work here as slaves no longer. You are now free."
    And the carls? I did not say what I was thinking about them. When I returned—if I returned—at some point, there would have to be a reckoning. Those like Floki who refused to accept me would have to leave.
    "It will not be as simple as that," Hastein said to me, in a quiet voice. "Free men will not so easily accept slaves as their equals. There will be strife."
    I sighed. I was certain there would be. "Well," I replied. "As you have said, this is a troubled household."
    *   *   *
    We sailed the following morning, after the rising sun had burned the morning fog off of the sea. All of the folk of the estate who were remaining behind came down to the shore to watch us depart, and to say their fare-wells and safe voyages. Only two had any words for me.
    Gudrod approached me as I was walking from the longhouse down to the shore, carrying my sea chest on my shoulder and my bow in my free hand.
    "I suspect you may find a use for this," he said, and held out a bundle of arrows, bound together by a narrow cord wrapped several times around them. "These are all the finished arrows I had stored in my work shed, plus a dozen bare shafts that I have fletched and put heads on over the past few days. And this," he said, "is a sealskin