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1 Introduction

This describes the transcribed account of Izaz's travels…

2 Dramatis Personae

2.1 Izaz ibn Fadlan

Royal historian and messenger from Baghdad.

2.2 Yarl Bogworm

A wealthy leader of the raiders who had never raided, explored, or even farmed themselves.

2.3 Ben the Legless

A leader of the raiders. Ben lost one leg in a battle as a young child, eager to go to battle.

2.4 Cob the bold

A raider from the east, talented not in runes nor farming.

2.5 Zed the young

A farmer from the south now working for Bogworm.

2.6 Anders Anderssön

The eldest of a farmer who became a shipwright and bested Ben in battle by throwing sand in eir face when E came up behind em with an axe. Anders left the service of Bogworm before Izaz came.

2.7 Surturd the Cheerful

A raider who also took special delight in creating torture devices for thralls and prisoners. E works for Bogworm and some of the other nearby yarls.

3 The Story

3.1 1020-02-06

Ben went raiding. This left the farm unattended. E did not invite Cob this time. "You must stay here and learn from the other farmers. You have done well learning from Zed. Prepare the land for my return."

So one day, Cob tried to do as Izaz on the farm. But Cob could not. Cob yelled at Izaz before running off to the fields, "Farmers should not be expected to know how to use your foreigner tools!"

Izaz could do very little farming that day. The rest of the farmers looked away. No one would challenge Cob.

Cob took as many beasts on person could manage and found a large stone and hauled it back to the farm. "I will show ye the wisdom of our folk!" And so every night for months, Cob chipped away the runes. But no magic came. None of the farmers became wiser.

3.2 1020-05-06

Ben went for another raid and missed the thing. At the thing, Cob spread words of disatisfaction and failure about Izaz. Cob said only eir farm provided crops this harvest and that Izaz had failed to farm. But Izaz reminded the thing that at this very moment everyone ate crops supplied from eir farm.

Izaz left the thing and felt shame and worried the other farmers would see that one of eir crops had died from a pest. This made Izaz think that maybe Cob did indeed have magic. E would remain careful.

3.3 1020-06-23

It came to pass that the summer raiders grew too full on mead for days and days. The longships needed repairs. Ben asked Izaz to look at the unmended damage. One had taken oil and fire and burned everyone in it. Ben had towed it back to the north, with the bones still inside.

"I would have let it sink with the bones, but Rán left them to rot for the crows and ravens. Either E wanted to send them to Hel, or E knew Anders had something to do with this one. That weakling sure did know how to build a ship too stubbord to sink."

3.4 1020-10-02

Yarl Bogworm gathered a small group of raiders to attack a settlement in a group of islands just north of Scotland. But when they arrived, everyone in the city had fallen to sickness. Izaz stayed back. The other raiders touched the vomit soaked clothing while they plucked rings and necklaces off the dead. The smell could have woken the dead.

3.5 1020-10-06

Cob insisted the farms should move the field crops into the longships.

"If we move our farming as close as we can to the water, we can remove any wasted time transporting the water. And when we want to return inland, we just roll the longships just like we always do."

No one thought the idea seemed like a good one. And so Izaz remained silent.

3.6 1021-03-30

Surturd came to find Izaz one day to ask if they could try out something new for torturing a young man one of the other raiders had captured from a far off land. Izaz agreed to help, but mostly did so Surturd would not suspect Izaz of feeling sorrow for the prisoner. They walked to the longhouse. The boy already lay dead, with wounds too evil to put into writing. Izaz held back eir tears.

"What do you think? Does it make sense how it works!" chuffed Surturd, more yelling than asking.

"Perhaps, next time you could use a sharper blade so it would cut better." Izaz stated factually.

Surturd gnashed back to the suggestion, "But it wouldn't have hurted em as much! I think with your help, I could sell it to Baghdad."