but had Roman belts with gold buckles.
I was eager to hear Rochus and Evorik’s stories of adventure, during our ride to the nearest village of the Naharvali people. Their stories were filled with descriptions of Roman buildings and cities filled with marketplaces that sold anything you wanted. They described the women with their hair piled high on their heads, their beautiful ‘stolas’, and sandals. Water seemed to flow freely out of the fountains and into the bath houses, as well as high above the countryside in arched structures called ‘aqueducts’. I marveled at each new description of their food and homes, as well. The Romans seemed to be very rich with many coins. If I could only see all the wonders of Roman life for myself. I’d be thrilled.
The other two men were much younger. Roderic was a serious fellow. He never smiled. He seemed intent upon getting to the destination and accomplishing the mission. He rarely spoke at all—a quiet man. Eiriks was a jovial man, who loved to wink at us with a great smile after telling a good joke. He was also a good listener, when we shared events of our own. He was very curious about how we had traveled without our families. He wondered where our husbands were—in battle, or off visiting a town to trade goods? He was amazed when I told him that we ran away from home to find great adventures. The other men thought we were a bit crazy for doing so. Eiriks understood our need to explore the land and the people—the curiosities, and the beauty.
Before midday, we arrived at the Naharvali village. Roderic decided to inquire at the village blacksmith about the horses we described to him. The two older men, Evorik and Rochus, thought they would investigate some shops. Meanwhile, Eiriks would accompany us to the local marketplace, where we would search.
In the marketplace, there were people selling livestock, clothing, pottery, leather goods, beautiful amber jewelry, silver and gold bracelets, fabric, and plenty of fresh food from crops and gardens. At one stall, I inquired about several pieces of jewelry; asking whether there was anyone new in the village. I searched articles to see if any had belonged to the brothers or to Saskia and me. Perhaps they were brought here to be sold. I was stunned when I picked up a mirror similar to the polished bronze mirror that Gerulf had given me. I was disappointed that it was not the same mirror. I thought of Gerulf’s blue eyes staring at me. I missed his laugh.
Next, I searched for Saskia’s ax in the weaponry stall. I failed to find any that resembled her ax. I didn’t see any items that I recognized as belonging to the brothers, either. As I walked between the stalls, I saw some deerskin tents standing to the side of a stall. They looked identical to the ones we had made. Upon closer examination, I thought the stitching to be mine. I had the habit of stitching very crude patterns, and these stitches were undoubtedly identical to mine. The skins seemed to match, so I looked closer at the opening flaps. I noticed my mark, XXX where I had sewn them. I had no doubt that this was one of the three tents I had sewn. I looked at the other tents and found my mark again.
I asked the vendor where she had found these tents. The woman was happy to tell me about finding them on a short journey through the Carpathians. Her friend’s family had accompanied them. They found not only the tents, but a man who was wounded. He was injured from falling, and he was blinded, bleeding from his eyes and other wounds. I held my breath. I was astonished to hear a perfect description of Gerulf, as the wounded victim. With further insistence, the woman promised to take me to her friend’s home for a meal. I told the woman that I would return with my friend, Saskia, and then, we would go together.
“Saskia! I found the tents we had sewn. The woman who was selling them told me that she had seen Gerulf. He was wounded and blind, but alive! Oh, Saskia! Can you believe it?” I shouted. “Did you find anything?”
“I found this!” she smiled. It was the ax that her mother had given her. We were amazed to find it. It was old and probably of little value to someone else.
“Hurrah! You found it! I wonder whether the others discovered anything, especially the horses, or better yet, the brothers and Anselm, of course.”
“Let’s go find the men and find out,” Saskia said. So we walked through and around the perimeter of the marketplace. Eiriks appeared by a stall filled with weapons. He smiled at us. He knew we looked excited, and that we must have learned something. He rushed over to us.
“You both look happy. What have you learned? Did you find out something useful?” he asked.
“We found Gerulf’s location, and we are going there at our next meal. A woman knows where he is and will take us there—can you believe this good fortune?” I said.
As we walked back to the woman’s stall, we talked some more about the tents. Eiriks insisted that he buy the tents for us, but we declined the offer. We were more enthusiastic about seeing Gerulf again.
The woman packed up her wares and slung them into her cart. She started to push the cart ahead of her, but we tied it up to my horse for pulling. I thought of Brunhilda and Gerulf. Gerulf and I would ride Brunhilda back to our camp. Perhaps Roderic found Gerulf’s horse. Gerulf and I could ride beside each other. I felt breathless with excitement.
The woman took us up to the door of an old house. Smoke was spiraling up from the roof’s vent. Someone was home. She yelled inside, “Tota! You have guests for dinner, my friend. We must talk.”
A tall, blond matron appeared inside the doorway, smiling at her friend. “Oh! Elduara . . . it’s you! Did you say you brought some good company for a visit? Are they your friends from the village? Come in—come in, good friends.” Tota warmly invited us into her home.
“Tota, this young woman is called Ermentrude, and this is her best friend, Saskia. They are with their friend, Eiriks, this tall and handsome man,” Elduara explained. “They have come to see your son-in-law, Gerulf.” When the words, ‘son-in-law’ reached my ears, I gasped. Saskia looked at me with alarm. I prayed it was not my Gerulf.
Tota urged us to wait; she fetched her son-in-law, so we could meet him. I clenched my fists to my breast and closed my eyes, praying to the goddess, Frijjo, that it was not the Gerulf I knew. Tota returned with the son-in-law, who was indeed blind. He was indeed my dear Gerulf. I bent my head and tried to hold back my tears of both gladness and sorrow. His blue eyes were covered with scarred flaps of skin. His mouth was still the same, smiling at what ever he was imagining.
I walked over to Gerulf and spoke softly, “Gerulf, my dear friend. How happy I am that you are alive,” I whispered, hugging him. “I am grieved that your sight was taken from you.” I swallowed hard, as he returned a hug and a smile. “So . . . you are married, now. I hope you are happy with your new bride. What is her name?” I continued, despite the wretched pain in my heart.
Gerulf spoke tenderly to me, “Ermentrude—my lovely sister. I missed you! I thought you were captured and enslaved. I saw when those men took you and Saskia. I am so happy that you are free! Yes, I have married a beautiful woman. She cared for me when I was wounded. I thought I would never find you again, and I thought . . . but never mind, now. I shall introduce you to my lovely qen-s, Vilocia. She is kind, as you, Ermentrude.”
Tota walked into the room holding her daughter’s hand, leading her slowly. Vilocia was also blind. Gerulf felt for Vilocia’s hand and grasped it for courage. He needed it, to tell me that he was happy . . . even without me. He probably felt that I would have rejected him, now that he was blind. I know that I would have loved him despite his blindness, but eventually, I would have moved on. I wanted more in life. It hurt me so much to see Gerulf wounded, but I realized that it was best that he found another love. He was happy with Vilocia. I smiled, and tears welled up in my eyes.
As we ate our meal, we listened to the account of how Tota and her family had found Gerulf. Later, I told them how his injuries were avenged.
