Chapter 16: The return of the memory
Chapter 16: The return of the memory
“Dad, why didn’t you save me? You promised mom you’d take care of me.
But not only are you forgetting about me, but you are also sleeping with a woman you hardly know. “
In an entirely black place, Max heard Erika’s voice, which seemed to be scolding him.
“Erika, where are your daughter.”
Max began to scream in the dark, hoping he could see his daughter, but at that moment, he could feel as if he fell and looked in the dark as the face of his late wife Margaret was formed who looked at him as if he were a piece of garbage.
“Margaret, it wasn’t my fault the plane went down, and I couldn’t do anything even I died.
I couldn’t save our daughter, I, I… “
Max then woke up quite upset and could feel Kassia’s naked body next to him, so he realized he was having a nightmare, so he wiped the tears in his eyes and sighed as he closed his eyes again.
Kassia, who was next to him, only remained silent, looking at Max’s sad face, so she decided to hug him with a little more force, hoping she could help him sleep with a bit more peace of mind.
In the morning, Max woke up because he could smell a fishy aroma; when he got out of bed, he could see Kassia sitting in her dining room chair wearing her purple silk robe that revealed her voluptuous body.
“Good morning Kassia.”
Kassia, who was having tea, looked at Max with a smile. “Good morning Max, I’m glad you woke up.
I prepared some fish broth since we have to go to the village before noon, there are still many wounded to attend to, and Felipa, I don’t think I can handle all of them. “
Max got up and walked to the table to have breakfast; after finishing, they left the house, and the two smelled a smell of burned meat while they saw in the distance a great cloud of black smoke that seemed to have no end.
“I suppose the fat from the corpses hasn’t finished burning,” Kassia said while ignoring the sweet scent of burned meat.
Max only scratched his beard and shook his head. “It is expected since the human body takes about four hours to burn, that is at a high temperature.
I had the misfortune to be able to see some graves with corpses filled with a flammable liquid. “
Kassia, who was next to him, hugged his arm and looked at him with curious eyes. “What is an hour.”
Max smiled and started walking with Kassia towards the village. “An hour is a measure by which time is measured, a day is divided into 24 hours, and an hour is made up of minutes.
The minutes are divided into seconds, and that way, the time is measured. “
“Is there a way to do something to measure time?”
Max frowned and looked at the sky. “There are three possible ways, the first is to make a sundial.
The problem is that Iceland is in part quite north of the planet, so it would need to do calculations on latitude. “
With a sigh, Max looked down as he headed down the slope. “Unfortunately, I don’t remember what latitude Iceland is at, so the sundial cannot be built, but we still have two viable options.
An hourglass or a mechanical clock, the mechanical watch will be possible. Still, I will need gears of different sizes and a pendulum. “
Max held his chin. “But without a true metal craftsman, the gears may have flaws, so the only option is an hourglass.
But without glass calibrating, it will be complicated even if we use water.
I will need a valve to measure the amount of water that passes, but it does not have to be a mechanical valve. “
Kassia felt how Max stopped for a moment and almost fell when she looked at her face with joy; Max realized this and held her very carefully as he stole a kiss from her quickly.
“I already know how to make a water clock; I’ll make some plans for Ibssen and show you how wonderful it is to use a scale and a Tesla valve.”
A smile formed on Kassia’s face as she was sure Max would teach her something new.
In the center of town, some children were playing throwing stones at a flayed corpse that was impaled with open arms and that on its head had a wooden crown covered with human skin.
The face of the corpse showed a wince of pain that was marked in their expressions.
Peder, who was sitting on the ground leaning on his spear, looked at the little children with sadness because their small stones were his way of avenging their parents, who died in the Viking raid.
As he watched the children, a hand touched his shoulder, and a woman’s voice spoke to him “Peder, you should sleep, you’ve been up all night taking care of that corpse.”
Peder raised his face and yawned. “Thanks, Felipa, but you’ve also been busy during the night and haven’t slept.”
Felipa made a face and shook her head. “Not at all, my mother took care of the wounded all afternoon and part of the night with Einar.
During that time, I took the opportunity to sleep and then take care of the wounded in the early morning, although I have to admit that the Alcohol that Einar did is wonderful.
I have not been able to see any traces of pus in the wounds, which makes me quite happy, especially in children, since it is painful even for me to have to end their lives if their injury becomes infected.
Otherwise, they will only suffer. “
Peder exhaled and got up from the ground while shaking his pants from the dirt he had. “I think I’ll take your word, Felipa, seeing those little orphans makes me sad, he asked me how long they can live alone.”
Felipa patted Perder on the shoulder. “We can’t save everyone, Peder, not unless you can keep them in a warm home with enough food.
They will be lucky if they can survive until next winter. “
Peder looked in the distance as he approached the center of the town, Kassia and Einar. “Hey Felipa, I have an indiscreet question, for about three days, your mother has not separated from Einar, it is all because he is Odin’s herald or is there something plus.”
Felipa showed a forced smile. “I don’t know Peder, but I’m sure of something.
Einar is not the same as he was three days ago, and neither is my mother; I just hope I don’t have to call Einar father since I am two years older than him.
Not to mention, my mother is 39 years old already, but you know, last night I could see her smile like when I was a child. “
When Max got to the center of the village, he could see a group of about 23 young boys and girls who were throwing stones at the bastard’s corpse.
Kassia, when she looked at the little children, could only shake her head. “It’s a shame that they can only get revenge with a corpse since they will most likely die in the winter.”
Max was surprised by Kassia’s words; he knew that life at this time was very unimportant, but seeing a group of children die could not allow it.
Not that he was a moralist or a pure soul, it was only his selfishness that when he saw the children reminded Erika that he could not save on that plane.
“Kassia, if I want to save those orphans, what I have to do.”
Kassia scratched her head. “First, you will need money because the little ones have to eat and sleep somewhere, but you will also need the approval of the Thing.”
“Yesterday, my father also spoke about her, you know how much power they have, unlike me.”
With her arms crossed, Kassia started walking towards the wounded. “The political system in our Hegebak village is quite unique.
Before dying, your grandfather reformed the rules of the town, adopting a system similar to that of the Byzantine Empire, with the rule that the first-born of his blood became Jarls.
But because your grandfather only had your mother, Elin, your father, Sven, occupied that place. “
When they arrived at the place of the wounded, Max endured the horrible smell that was in the air and began to change the linen bandages of the most seriously injured for others that had been placed in boiling water.
Kassia, for her part, began to use the little Alcohol that they had made yesterday to clean the wounds and thus prevent them from becoming infected.
“The cost your grandfather paid to reform the tribe’s rules was that the Thing would be made up of the warrior leaders and the religious leader of our village.
A kind of parliament was formed where your father has the right to oppose anything the Thing approves, but he needs an extra vote in the Thing if he wants to pass any reform. “
Very carefully, Kassia began to clean up the excrement of a girl who was in a coma. “In total, the Thing was confirmed by 15 families of the strongest warriors in the village.
But after the storm’s misfortune, the number was reduced to only 7; each of them represents one vote.
Sven’s vote has a value of 4, and Asgot’s vote as a religious leader has a value of 3. “
After finishing changing a bloody bandage, Max wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I see, so I will have to work a little more.
Kassia, if I can make a table or chair that can only be supported by rope, you think it can win the favor of the people. “
Kassia, who was cleaning a wounded man, stopped and looked at Max in disbelief.