After the stealthy assembly broke from the foot of Dunadd, MacBeth and his cousin Gille Frog secured passage with Thorfinn the Black to Moray, whose rugged coast looked north over breakers and mist at the Jarldom of Orkney.  Just beyond sight of the Isle of Iona, Jarl Brusi implored his brother Thorfinn stop to pay homage to the shield-maiden, a much older cousin of their father’s, after which she surprised them with her insistence upon accompanying them as far as Orkney, wanting to attend a counsel of kings in Norway, and they of course obliged.

The south wind was steady, the sea calm, and the small fleet sailed within the safety of the Argyll coast without any outward sign of haste.  The dozen ships, oars pulled in and sails full, enjoyed the easiness of blue skies and quiet water as they cre...

Please subscribe to keep reading.