Alfheimr Renaissance

Sailing to Borgarsandr, day 2

Skaro (Førde)

It feels quite early when I wake up, but there is sounds of life and movement outside. I can hear several voices, and no matter where we are, I guess the trade is in full swing already. My watch shows it's almost nine. After putting on my Viking clothes, I go outside and look, and two of the sailors who see me greet me with obvious respect and reverence. After asking, it turns out that we are in Skaro. Which tells me nothing. But I take a compass direction and try to figure out where we can be, guessing around Førde according to my Midgård map. When we leave I will get more data points as I see more of nature on a large scale, and then mark where Skaro is.

Skaro turns out to be some farms with fields all around and a pier, clearly smaller than Hildifjoer, but larger than the first place Gaulverboer. Seems to be quite a bit to buy and sell in tools, clothes and luxury goods they themselves can't manufacture, but for me it's not even worth stepping ashore. I take a couple of discreet photos of the trade and Skaro, and then ask one of the sailors - a fairly large guy and taller than me - for breakfast, which he arrives with after a few minutes. Some bread, salted meat and fish and a mug of water. I guess someone has told them I prefer water, which is good. I thank the sailor who introduces himself as Hagan and return to my cabin to eat in reasonable peace and quiet. Everyone keeps looking at me. While I eat, I make the decision that it's a good idea to use that the ship is more stationary to modify the leather bracelets. Easier when everything isn't rocking so much.

The leather bracelets are identical and a matching pair, in soft leather with lacing and imprinted winding pattern. They're about 9 cm long. I look through some of the leather I took yesterday for the North Arrow work. The thinnest is just a shade darker and that's good enough.

The idea is to hide a flashlight in the left bracelet, and more specifically my little AAA flashlight from the keyring, a Pocket Burner Rainbow from PK Design. A couple of years in the key ring and it's still excellent. Even it's titanium surface is still quite pretty. It's waterproof and I screw in the top to start it in high mode, and if it's switch off and started again, it will be at low power which is half a day operating time, but still very good light with a lithium AAA. It's simply the best small flashlight I have with me, and they way it is control will be useful.

I lace on the bracelet and trying pushing in the flashlight, which works, so I take the bracelet off and completely de-lace it. I cut a small neat hole in the underside of the bracelet so a finger or thumb can access and turn the flashlight, but it won't happen by mistake. It's possible to push the flashlight in a bit more so that it is barely visible. With the thin leather, and the same black polyester thread I used for the North Arrows, I sew a channel for the flashlight so it doesn't move sideways. It will be held in place and not slip out with both friction and with a loop on the bracelet's lacing. I sew quite large stitches and it looks okay. I takes a bit of time to sew, but with even, neath stitches, it will be good and look perfectly okay. Sewing hiking and tactical equipment, both for myself and friends, have given me some skills, and this is much easier than sewing 10 layers of Cordura.

When the left bracelet is finished, I try it on my arm and it works well. I can adjust it a bit counter clockwise if I need to use it so the lamp ends up directly under the palm and if I have longer sleeves or no one looks closer, I can make light come out of the hand. Heh, it's possible to combine the hands in a movement where the fingers of the right hand turns it on and off. I can't stop myself from testing a low HADOUKEN with a smile.

No.

No, no... we're not going there. But it works and is quite easy to control.

I don't really know what I can use on the right side, but I sew on a small pocket on the inside in the same thin leather. Big enough to push the tiny knife from the wallets Victorinox swisscard and a neodymium magnet from the camera mount, or the small Leatherman Squirt PS4 multitool from the keyring. The only thing usable for 'sejd' is of course the magnet, but only if there is thin and light iron nearby, and most things seems to be wood here. The placement is stupid, but at least the magnet is available.

It would have been better to have the magnet in a ring, but that ring will be big and custom made. I don't want the magnet there all the time, as it will be annoying and will fuck with compasses etc, but I can quickly push the magnet in there if needed. On the other hand, the mini knife and small firestarter from the keyring fits, and it's not that uncomfortable to carry. I can peel it out with a finger even if it takes some time. I shouldn't really lace the bracelets tight anyway, as they will become sweaty. I have to test wear them for a day if it's comfortable enough. I really miss my pockets. It's definitely something that needs to be introduced here. Pouches hanging from the belt suck.

In the mean time I remove a small Tasmanian Tiger pouch from the pack, and hang it on the leather belt. I sew a simple small linen wrap for the compact camera so it's appearance and display becomes more discreet. I stuff the camera together with the Wave multitool and compass in the pouch. I have second thoughts, and add one of my small Nitecore Tube flashlights in the pocket.

It's noon when Danr finishes trading and the ship lifts anchor, and after going north we turn towards southwest. I wonder where our next destination is? I think it's the big city Danr talked about. We're apparently just sailing past another large village, Njaroey, which is halfway there, because he was just there a couple of weeks ago. I discreetly take a couple of photos with the linen covered camera - it's almost a reflex to document my travels - and it will probably be a good photo of Danr and Toke being illuminated by the midday sun shining through the clouds.

Danr invites me to eat in his cabin and as we small talk, I get him to describe what it looks like where we are going, and the time frame. I have deleted a few songs and put the little Sansa MP3 player on voice record to be able to listen to our conversations in the cabin. I need to practice the language and understand it better.

I believe our next goal is about Stavanger, but they call it Kambsnes. We sit and discuss maps, North Arrows and other things and I lead the conversation into trade and traveling around with a ship as he does. Still huge language problems, but I ask if he can provide some information on how business here are usually conducted; I want to adapt to local customs and not make any simple dumb mistake. Danr explained that here, almost all trade use barter or is for silver. Or gold.

He takes out his scales and show me. Both a finer elegant set, and a travel set that can be assembled and disassembles into a small metal ball. Like a ball is an optimal shape for packing. There is room for a few smaller weights inside - quarter, half, one, two, four and eight are marked - so I have a chance to learn those numbers as well. Danr also shows his self-made weight measurements in lead with inlaid small silver or gold marks in it so they can't be replaced by some dishonest bastard during the course of business - you need be careful, especially when you are far away. The usual measurement weights are everywhere, and can unfortunately be falsified as well.

Practically everything is measured in 'uns', and it almost sounds like British ounce and seems to be around there in weight, if I'm to go by 10 ounces of gold and so on. Eight silver is one gold, and you get four sheep for one silver ounce, and a cow costs two ounces. A female slave costs about 6 ounces, but it depends on age, knowledge and how beautiful she is, so it can be much more. A male slave costs twice, ie 12 ounces, about the same as a good helmet. Double this for chain mail armour or a good horse. A worse horse maybe 2/3 of a good horse. Cheapest sword for about 4 ounces, two cows or a slave woman. But I shouldn't buy those. A beautiful and really good sword can cost the equivalent of two good horses, i.e. 50 ounces of silver, so that says a bit about the North Arrows value, because I have 160 ounces of silver. If I add everything together, an equipped warrior on horseback will be quite expensive around 60-70 ounces. Farms land really depends on location, size and how good the soil is, and in this region it is very hard to buy farmland.

"I thank you for that, but I mean if you want to buy smaller things? It's not practical with silver, and an ounce is still a big amount if you just want some food for the day."

"Then we have penningar." Which he picks up and shows. Small silver plates of about the same 10-12mm in diameter size, "These arn't practical for large purchases, but the weight is the same anyway, and they may be needed if a silver ounce is a little light. 50 penningar is one uns, and they can be divided into half and a quarter of a penning."

Which should mean about 0.5g of silver is a penning, a coin.

"That is about what you can expect around here in prices, but it depends a lot on quality, and how sought after something is and so on. In the end; if buyers and sellers can't agree on the price, there won't be a deal."

I thank him for the very useful information and I now really understand how much the equivalent of 20 ounces of gold I got for the North Arrow is really worth, and how much Danr was willing to pay for my compass. I have 160 ounces of silver. Enough to buy 80 cows, or 25 slave women who can fan me where I lie on a divan and they compete in feeding me grapes...

It's kind of depressing that a small modified magnetized nail, could give me my own harem of elvish slave women. Says how much the value is of both people and goods. I can't help but smile a little when a fleeing thought makes me think that it's lucky that I didn't see grapes here, but yuck for a harem. Urgh for slaves. On the other hand, I need a couple of maids when I eventually have a house, because I don't intend to cook, clean and wash my cloths, given how labour-intensive and primitive that will be here.

Danr wants to know how business works where I'm from, so I explain that it is similar but we use standardized coins in different denominations, and I get my wallet and show some of my coins, and they impress him enormously. Then I show some banknotes. So very fine craftsmanship. He like that we use larger copper coins as the lowest, and as the value increase become a special hard variant of silver and then gold, even though the SEK 5 coin is not pure gold because it would be too soft as well. Coins need to be hard to survive handling.

It's kind of difficult for him to understand the value in Banknotes, but he realise what works of art they are, and that they are exactly the same. Danr can't read the denominations, or the serial numbers, but he understands they are very nice and special, without a chance to recreate here and I briefly explain what the scale is in denominations.

Danr almost soil himself when I tell and show with my fingers how much goes between banknotes from the gold coin; 10 gold coins on a 50 kronor banknote, and four 50 banknotes for a 200 kronor banknote, etc. Danr fully understands how practical it can be and how many large banknotes you can easily take with you when they are so light and thin. How easy it is to carry great riches. I carried these in my wallet.

I realise that Danr believe there are about four Swedish 5 kronor 'gold coins' by weight on an ounce of gold, ie 20 kronor is an ounce of gold in Danr's view, and then a 200 kronor banknote is worth 10 ounces of gold, and one of the 500 kronor banknotes I show him is worth 25 ounces of gold. 200 ounces of silver. A thin fine piece of special paper instead of almost 6 kg silver, and I have several. He touches it with such reverence that it's funny, because as he sees it in this world, that note would be worth eight fine horses. Not in my world. But inflation might be unknown here, at they use precious metals and goods.

Danr would very much like to buy a banknote, and although I say that it is not worth anything here except for its appearance, he would very much like to have one anyway. So I sell him a 200 kronor banknote for 4 ounces of gold. He gets a 200 kronor banknote and I get a little more than 100 grams of gold. Danr's convinced I just gave him a huge discount, as I've had to have given 10 ounces for the banknote before - which I might have if he sells it for more in the future, but he can't know that I expect to never be able to return to Midgård. And who knows the value of that banknote in the future here? Most special things and art wasn't very expensive when new, or there were lots of them. Stamps are proof of that. That banknote will last, and will be quite unique. He should probably frame it.

We talk for about an hour and get back to navigation and the ship, but Danr apologizes that he has to sleep for a few hours, at they apparently will try to sail during the night and he takes the first shift by himself and Toke takes over before the sun comes up.

It is an unpleasant day for sailing out here on the west coast, outside the protection a fjord has, and the weather is not to be played with. The waves are quite large and the clouds are starting to get greyer. This is the North Sea. After a few hours it starts to rain. Wonderful. I've been going in and out of the cabin a few hours apart to try to keep our position updated. The map seem to be alright so far, and from what I can see through the window, my maps seem to be dead on for reality, as far as mountains goes. The rest of the time I try to listen to our recorded conversations and memorize words and facts.

We continue heading south, and in the evening, I ask if they will take the route inside the big island a bit further south and stay there during the night, or they usually take the outside, and if we will anchor? Toke quickly say inside because it's more sheltered from the weather, but we won't anchor in Njaroey and just head south. I completely agree with that plan, because it's unpleasant now, but at least it confirms my guess that the world seem to be the same as in Midgård. Which is weird but useful. I thank him and after eating with Danr when he wakes up, I go to bed for the night. It has been rocking, windy and raining quite well all day and I am happy that I don't have to be out on deck like the sailors. There isn't any wind or rain cover at all for the man at the rudder. It will be an unpleasant night, but they will anchor if it gets worse, or too poor visibility. It's stupid to take unnecessary chances.