Ch 52: Ocean

Leading two longships away from Britain, Bjorn arrived at the Northern Coastline of the West Francia Kingdom—later Normandy.

Current West Francia was ruled by the Carolingian Dynasty, King Charles “the Bald”.

After his father Louis the Pious died, Charles “the Bald” and two other brothers signed the Treaty of Verdun, dividing Charlemagne’s vast empire from west to east into three parts—West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia.

West Francia was located in what would later be France.

Middle Francia stretched from the Netherlands in the north to Italy in the south, a long and narrow territory.

East Francia’s territory included the central and western parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

Compared to the Anglo-Saxon lands of Britain, West Francia was stronger, and Bjorn did not get entangled, following the coastline west to Brittany, then sailing south to the Garonne River mouth.

“By Odin, there were vineyards everywhere, almost every village had the habit of making wine.”

Recalling the scene, Bjorn drank two large cups of wine, the crimson wine dripping down his messy beard, looking particularly slovenly. “To be honest, compared to the wine I drank in Bordeaux, this wine is at most second-rate.”

Tempted by the fine wine, the Vikings wandered along the Garonne River, heading straight for the wine cellars wherever they went. They lived this absurd life until the local lord dispatched knights to purge them, forcing Bjorn to lead his two longships back to sea.

Following the coastline south, they arrived at the Kingdom of Asturias in northern Spain.

In the fifth century AD, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Goths took advantage of the turmoil to seize Spain and established the Visigothic Kingdom.

Three hundred years later, the Visigothic Kingdom was deeply mired in power struggles. Some, unwilling to accept defeat, decided to seek the help of the Moors—a local term for the Arabs, Berbers, and other desert peoples. After seven years of warfare, the Moors conquered almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, with only a few regions in the north still resisting.

“The locals have been at war, they are very vigilant, and many beacons have been set up along the coastline. After encountering enemies, they light the beacons, and a militia force can be assembled in a short time.”

Bjorn was not stupid enough to fight the locals head-on. After replenishing fresh water, he sailed to Portugal and eventually passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.

After pillaging two towns on the North African coast, Bjorn was pursued relentlessly by a dozen sailboats and was forced to flee north along Spain’s East Coast, dodging and weaving until they reached the southern region of Francia for a brief rest.

As the initiator of the voyage, having failed to obtain the expected spoils of war, Bjorn was questioned by his sailors during the rest period, ultimately leading to a duel.

With his superior strength, Bjorn barely suppressed the sailors’ dissatisfaction. After repairing the ships, he gritted his teeth and pressed on, harassing settlements on the North Coast of the Mediterranean Sea: Montpellier, Marseille, Cannes. Eventually they arrived at a city full of marble buildings—Rome.

“Wait,” Vig interrupted his narrative, “Are you sure that coastal city was Rome?”

Bjorn’s eyes flickered. “Uh, I think, maybe, perhaps, it was Rome.”

After looting the dock area of “Rome”, the Vikings luckily obtained a large quantity of precious spices from the East. Feeling that they had made enough enemies, the remaining thirty raiders proposed returning to Britain.

Although reluctant, Bjorn could not defy the collective will of his crew. They followed the same route to Gibraltar, and under the cover of night, they crossed the strait and safely returned to Britain.

Compared to the legendary exploits Bjorn boasted about before, the current version of the story is much more realistic. There were no legendary giants or terrifying sea monsters, no captured enemy kings, and no love from foreign princesses. They spent most of their time at sea, every landing potentially involved battle, and they couldn’t even sleep peacefully.

As for the so-called looting of “Rome”, Vig is ninety percent sure it’s a lie.

Rome is not a coastal city. The Tiber River flows through Rome and eventually flows into the Mediterranean Sea at a port called Ostia. Even if Bjorn looted the docks at the mouth of the Tiber, it has little to do with the city of Rome itself.

More likely, Bjorn didn’t even find the mouth of the Tiber; he merely arrived at some coastal port in Italy, such as Genoa or Pisa. After landing, dozens of Vikings seized a pile of spices in the chaos and fled before the city guard arrived.

Swirling the wine in his cup, Vig sighed, “Ninety-two Vikings set out, and after two years, only twenty-eight returned to York. Although the yield was substantial, the cost was too high.”

“You’re right, I don’t plan to return to the Mediterranean Sea for a while,” Bjorn let out a long sigh. “My story ends here. It’s your turn to tell the story of Jotunheim.”

“As you wish,” Vig poured some wine onto the table and began to sketch the coastline of western Norway.

“This is Bergen. Sailing west will reach the Shetland Islands; further west, you’ll reach the Faroe Islands. A small number of Vikings live here, where you can get supplies for the last time. If Odin blesses you, your ship continues west, and you will find an island slightly larger than Ireland.

Remember, this is not Jotunheim. It is still our mortal world, without frost giants or other monsters, just a barren and poor land, with very little arable land. If you want to survive long-term, you can only rely on pastoralism and fishing.”

“Is that so?” Bjorn’s tone was somewhat low. “Are there any minerals such as gold, silver, copper, and iron?”

“I’ve never been there, how could I tell you about the mineral deposits?” Vig was speechless. If he knew there were rare mineral veins on the island, he would have sent people to explore it long ago—it wouldn’t have been your turn.

After finishing their discussion of Jotunheim, the two men drank in silence for a while. Vig suddenly noticed the Berber captives in the corner of the hall and asked if any of them knew about shipbuilding.

“Five of them have worked as shipwrights, and two of them have sailed to India. I learned my seamanship from them,” Bjorn took out a brass astrolabe and a wooden quadrant from his bosom and demonstrated how to use them.

“Using these to observe the North Star and the sun’s altitude, you can determine the approximate latitude of the area. In addition, the Berbers have a unique technique for sewing planks together, using coconut fiber or palm rope instead of iron nails. Their sails are also special, a kind of triangular lateen sail that allows for flexible sailing in headwinds and side winds.”