The Wizard And The Warlord Read Online Free PDF

accountable for these crimes and I challenge you now to defend yourself, it you regard yourself as a man.” Sigurd took a strong grasp on his axe and braced himself in a defensive position.
    The strangers gasped and murmured excitedly. The leader called Halfdane threw his cloak out of his way and unsheathed his axe. “I have no wish to insult your manhood by refusing to fight with you, nor do I intend to appear a coward by seeming unwilling, but your accusations leave me no choice but to defend my honor. You must remember that any misfortune that befalls you is of your own manufacturing. But first I would like to know the name of the old woman who lived here and if that was her pyre on the hilltop.”
    “I don’t know what business it is of yours,” Sigurd retorted. “Don’t attempt to dishonor her; she was my grandmother, Thorarna.”
    Halfdane looked at him for a long moment. “Was that her real name? What was her father’s name? And who are your parents?”
    “I heard her use no other,” Sigurd snapped, “and she told me nothing of my parents before she died—nothing I would care to tell to a stranger and an enemy. Now, are you done with your questions?”
    “Not quite. Does the name Halfdane of Hrafnborg mean anything to you? Perhaps you have heard it as Halfdane the Warlord.” The increasing dawn light illuminated his grim, lowering countenance.
    “If that is your name, the only thing it means to me is that it is the name of my enemy,” Sigurd declared. “My grandmother told me that a warlord intended to destroy me and she laid the blame of the sendings and trolls on him. It must be an old and bitter feud for you to stalk my grandmother and me for so many years, but I believe this will be the end of it now.” He swung his axe impatiently and measured his opponent.
    Halfdane raised his axe and advanced a step. “Your grandmother has done an excellent job of teaching you to hate a man you have never seen. If I tell you she was mistaken, you’ll be insulted, will you not? Perhaps you yourself have made a hasty and ill-formed conclusion about what I have done.”
    “My grandmother never lied to me,” Sigurd replied angrily. “You can’t change my mind. I know you’re the warlord she spoke of, the one who caused all the misery of Thongullsfjord out of your spite against us. You’re an evil being, and I challenge you to a holmgang.” He made a menacing move with his axe.
    “And you’re a hasty, ignorant being, but I’m always glad to oblige a fool in throwing away his life,” Halfdane answered. He allowed Sigurd to take the first swing at him, deflecting the blow with ease. After that, he took command of the fight, allowing Sigurd to expend himself in desperate and futile attempts to get past his enemy’s defenses. Sigurd fought like an army of one, but his fury was no match for Halfdane’s cool, collected skill in parrying his rushes. Each of the warlord’s moves proved to Sigurd that he was capable of ending the fight quickly at any time he chose, which only made Sigurd the more furious.
    “Now you’ve lost your common sense,” Halfdane said and felled Sigurd with a single sharp rap with the handle of his axe. “You’re not a bad fighter, but you need teaching and practice. I can see you’ve had some experience. No, don’t look for your axe, the fight is finished for now.” He put his foot on Sigurd’s axe. “Dagrun, we can’t leave him here for the trolls. We’ll put him up behind Skeifr. You see to it while I look inside the house.”
    Sigurd sat up unsteadily. His skull felt absolutely split, and they had taken away his axe, but he was still defiant. “I don’t like this talk of being carried off. I’d rather take my chances with the trolls than with outlaws. This is my house, and I intend to defend it and the ashes of my grandmother.” He rose and clenched his fists as Halfdane returned from his inspection of the house.
    “Don’t be absurd,” Halfdane replied. “You