Chapter 152: Strangers from another continent on the coast
Chapter 152: Strangers from another continent on the coast
At night Einar was drinking some herbal liqueur while watching the beautiful northern lights from the sky.
Felt a hand grab his shoulder “Einar, you should get some sleep because tomorrow we will return to the tribe.
I think that in this place we only need to be sending materials and when the merchants begin to arrive, we can send slaves that we send them.
We will be able to review them in December after Ansgar makes the journey of the way with which we can return without running the danger of having to wait months.
In addition, traveling that road, perhaps we will be able to discover some things, from perhaps some mines, how some places that may be feasible to turn them into towns that may be important points for a future trade route.
You know your grandfather learned many things from the Eastern Roman Empire and implemented changes in our ancestral land; it is only that due to the attacks of the nearby tribes and the civil war that broke out, everything was lost.
But regardless of that, I still remember some knowledge that I also learned from him, such as finding gold in rivers or reviewing some metals that were found in the hills, looking in this way for some mineral ore such as iron or silver.
Also, the use of small guard posts on trade roads to prevent caravans from being attacked by thieves. This I could personally see and learn when we turned to the lands beyond Miklagard.
Well, hundreds of caravans traveled through the province of what they called Anatolia. Maybe if you ask Kassia she can tell you much better about the way they took care of the trade routes. “
Einar smiled and handed his horn where he was drinking liquor to his father.
“The system of care of the commercial route will serve us a lot because we are an island and we are far from the largest commercial center on the continent.
That is why we can afford to gradually create security on our roads and forests so that we will have control over how trade is going to develop within the island.
As we advance in the future we will create a solid nucleus around all our settlements and perhaps in the long term, we will not have to worry about groups of thieves or rebels who try to go against our government.
Since anyone who goes against our laws will very possibly be a foreigner who tries to harm us.
My only regret is that due to the icebergs and a large number of volcanoes in the center of the island, we cannot fully inhabit it.
But we can create a beautiful capital island in which all the young people come from our overseas provinces to study and do their military service.
That way ties will be created to prevent them from developing a disconnect with their nation, but I think it’s getting a bit cold, don’t you think so, father. “
Sven laughed and after finishing drinking the liquor, the two of them retired to their tents as it was already quite a night.
In the morning, all the soldiers who had accompanied Sven prepared the few things that were going to return to the ship because they planned to leave before noon.
Before retiring and as the last check, Einar was in charge of supervising for the last time the construction of the drainage, the public baths, and the thermal water pool.
The construction of the public toilets was progressing quite well because it was only to create the cubicles where the residents could sit in a kind of latrines where they can relieve themselves.
Because Einar did not want the disease to spread; Every week, the villagers will have to travel to the main tribe village to stock up on paper and soap.
This way they could keep their bottoms and bodies clean without risking disease if they use tools like sponges to clean themselves.
The drainage system for its part was quite advanced and was only being covered with cement to prevent it from seeping through the earth and generating unpleasant aromas.
Finally, the thermal water pool was the one that took a little less and I advanced this because it became quite large and you had to wait for the cement that was used to glue river stones to dry.
As for the hole to get to the underground hot water, they had reached a layer of soil that would only have to hit a little for the hot water to gush out of the ground.
But they hadn’t done it because they were waiting for the right moment.
After reviewing and saying goodbye to the leader of the Vali village, Einar, his father, and the group of warriors led by Goi took their things and embarked towards the coast where they planned to board their ship and leave for the tribe.
The path was quite safe, as they did not encounter any danger that required the use of the crossbows they had.
When they were about to reach the coast, Einar, who was in the vanguard, stopped suddenly and quickly raised his hand, signaling for them to prepare their weapons.
No one understood what he had seen, but following orders, they quickly took the crossbows that had his shoulders and began to load them.
Well, they feared that it was some bear or group of bears that could present a real battle to them.
Einar, who was quite nervous, did not understand why a group of three canoes had reached the beach where they were.
‘I knew that the Vikings had first arrived in the Americas, but I never thought that a group of Native Americans could reach Iceland using canoes.
Now I have two options, the first one tries to approach me in a calm way and tried to start a conversation with them or attacked and enslaved them to know where they come from.
But if I am correct, the only indigenous peoples that inhabited the northern part of the American continent were the so-called Eskimos or better known as Inuits, but I’m not certain because at this time there were not even precise historical records of what is happening in the European continent. ‘
With the first big decision that he had to make, Einar decided to consult his father first, so turning to see he asked him to come closer.
“Father, I would like you to look towards the coast and see those canoes and those men who are wearing strange clothes made of leather. They should be inhabitants of the continent that we have to conquer.
But somehow that I do not know, they seem to have reached our island before we reach the place where they come from, there is a big problem and it is that I have no idea of the language they are going to speak and I doubt very much that they can communicate with us by therefore they can become hostile or we can try a dialogue in which we can communicate.
That is why I want to ask you father, in this situation that we should make us approach with the crossbows ready to fire while I tried to communicate with them or directly we start a conflict in which we will possibly annihilate them all.
Whichever option we choose, it will possibly lead us to a confrontation with them. The only difference is that in the first option we will not have the surprise factor, so we may be somewhat injured. “
Sven closed his eyes for a moment and began to analyze the two different options “If they are our future population of our tribe I think it would be worth trying a dialogue with them, anyway sooner or later we will have to meet face to face.
But in this case, you have the last option son. “
Einar at that moment took a deep breath and looked at all the warriors who accompanied him “Prepare your weapons and do not shoot unless you see that they are going to try to attack us, let me get closer and try to talk to them.
If I am correct they should be Inuits, a group of tribal people who inhabit the entire northern part of what we call the new world, stay together and prepare your weapons because today we will start perhaps the first exchange is our tribe with the future members that we will have in our glorious nation. “
Once Einar gave the order, they all readied their crossbows and began to walk in a line that covered a lot of space.
This is to allow them to fire their crossbows in case those people start hostilities.
As they approached, the Inuit tribe members readied their bone spears and looked warily at the white men walking towards them.
The two groups began to come together in dangerous ways, but Einar tried to reduce the tension between the two groups when he stepped in front of them.
Pointing to his own chest, he looked at the Inuit men in front of him “Jeg er Einar.”
Using his hand he pointed to what appeared to be the leader of the Inuit group “Hvem er du.”
The Inuit leader understood after hearing for the second time what the red-haired young man who seemed to be asking his name had said.
So he pointed out to himself, “Uvanga Natukt ativa”
Seeing that his attempt at communication had worked, Einar decided when it was time to learn which of the three strange words the Inuit leader had said was his name, so he pointed himself out again.
“Einar”
The Inuit leader also pointed and said “Natukt”
At that moment, Einar, who thought he had understood how to say his name, remembered the words that the Inuit leader had said before, so he pointed himself out again.
“Uvanga Einar ativa”
At that moment all the Inuit warriors were surprised by the words of the white and red-haired young man because he had told them that his name was Einar.
Seeing the surprised faces of all the Inuit, Einar felt that his ability to be polyglot was working again. He just needed some time with them to understand their language.