How Eric's Men Took Irish Slaves

Spoke Maebh with disdain, "And what if we both of us refuse to sing for thy pleasure?"

"Then thou shalt both provide for that pleasure in other ways," said Skallagrim, as the woman before him laid hands upon his mighty thighs and struggled to warm his member with her mouth. "Nor will it be well for you if we perceive that thou dost sing poorly out of love for thy sister."

"So be it," said Maebh, and turning to her sister, "We shall both sing our best, and leave our fate to the gods; and no matter what comes of it, we shall conduct ourselves well and show ye savage animals what honor is." And she stepped first before the crowd to sing. High she raised her head, and despite her poor circumstance, showed a fierce and brave face, staring at them as if she were the judgment of the gods themselves, and the men fell silent despite themselves in the face of it.

Liking nothing more than the humbling of a proud woman, Skallagrim called out just before Maebh took her first breath. "Hold!" said he. "I spy some dirt upon thy dress from thy earlier misadventure; stay still and I shall remove it."

And taking a knife in one hand, he cut at Maebh's clothes, tearing strip upon strip from them, and moreover cutting away her undergarments away in full; while Maebh stood frozen for the fear that the knife might slip and cut her skin instead. And when he was done she was wearing but rags of fine embroidered cloth, that hung loosely upon her chest and covered her but barely, and which were cut so close to her lower regions that they did nothing more than draw the gaze more closely thereon. The men jeered and shouted in approval, the strange intimidation of the woman's gaze having passed; and for her part her face flushed red in humiliation, and losing her composure she drew one arm across her chest, the other pulling down the remains of her tunic to cover her shame, though in vain.

"Now that that our friend Skallagrim hath garbed thee more gaily for this merry occasion, sing thou on!" encouraged Hrafn. And perceiving no other choice before her, Maebh breathed deep and sang. Despite the circumstance, still she showed her worth - her voice rose to a wondrous high pitch, with notes clear as a bell; and when the song called for her to rest, all men waited with baited breath for her to resume.

"Truly she is a singer of note," said the men to one another, and they called out to Dana, "Sister, thy had best prepare for thy forfeit! Or, if thou be not prepared, we shall gladly help thee in spreading thy legs!"

Now Dana was much afraid of the men, and though she had lived at her sister's side all her life, deep within herself she was not without envy. Always had Maebh been the stronger of the two, from the very first moments of their lives when she had been the first to venture forth from their mother's womb. And Dana knew full well that it was she who followed, and Maebh who led, when they raised their voices. "Alas! Maebh would surely have the strength to bear it, but if these men fall upon me I shall surely perish! We must leave our fate to the Norns, she said; but the mouth is an easier fate by far than to have the jewel of my womanhood ravaged by a band of vikings! Why must it be I who takes the brunt of this blow?"

And thinking quickly, she came upon a tactic to save her womanly virtues. When she stepped before the man to perform, she fell upon her knees herself. She forced a smile upon her lips, and she met the eyes of the men bravely as she sang,

"Like a warm leg of lamb

in a cold winter night,

I yearn, I yearn

to suckle thy staves.

Like a cool drink of water

on a hot summer day,

I yearn, I yearn,

to swallow thy seed.

Starve not this lonely slave,

but fill this empty vessel

as rain is sucked into the greedy earth."

And although this was not the most elegant of verse, the vikings were much impressed with her glibness and courage, and bewitched by Dana's smile; for although it was clear to all that she did not speak from the heart, but simply out of fear of being mishandled by a great many lusty men, this made the song no less charming. Though all men were already comfortably in the mouth of a fair lass, still they stiffened further at the thought of those vivid eyes staring up at them while her tongue did its womanly work. Thus Dana concluded her song to great cheers and commendation from all quarters, to exceed even that given even after the previous song.

"I think it plain to all that Dana is the victor of this contest," announced Hrafn, "therefore rise as thy would and convey the fruits of victory and defeat to each." And pushing away the women between their legs, the men all rose and descended upon the two sisters.

At this Maebh was most dismayed, for she had been right proud of her singing skill; and moreover she felt betrayed, that her sister might pander to the base desires of these men and thus make her into a sacrifice. "My sister, what demon bewitched thy mind?" she cried out as the hands of men fell upon her.

Dana might have called out for forgiveness, or then perhaps she might not have; but the matter was taken out of her hands forthwith, for at this time her mouth was put to use by her eager audience. One by one warriors presented themselves to her, and resigned to her fate she wrapped her lips around their members and steadily bobbed her pretty head upon them. When out of shame or tiredness she closed her eyes, the men reminded her of her song, and promised her that she would not be short of the food she craved; and when they came as they sometimes did, they ensured that every drop of their nectar reached her belly.

During this time Maebh was being filled most eagerly from the other end, for she drew an even greater crowd who were eager to punish her for her failure, and she was forced upon the ground by many men and her legs spread open in short order. Grim-faced, she held her tongue and attempted to deny that their abuses were having any great effect upon her; but taking Hrafn's plan to heart, they took great sport in making her cry out by any means they could; most often by swift blows from their hands to her face or chest.

"Sing for us more, sweet bird!" they said. When Maebh's voice soon fell to only gentle sobs, a strong viking man entered her rear, such that two men enjoyed the use of her at once, and they held her between them like a hissing cat who had lost its claws; for this fresh usage gave her again great energy to scrabble and scream.

Now, although there was little before her eyes but mens' members, Dana heard well the despairing cries of her sister. And having always found her elder to be haughty and proud, it pleased the darkest parts of her soul that Maebh should be brought so low as to become an unwilling vessel in the hands of evil men. Her own womanly places began to moisten, though men had not laid any touch upon them; and in time, to distract her from aching of her mouth and the sight and smell of the viking manhood, she allowed one hand to fall between her own legs and seek pleasure there.

But it was not long before this act was espied by one of the men who was waiting his turn to make use of her pretty mouth. "Look upon this!" he cried in astonishment. "It seems the victor's task does not fully satisfy this poor dove - mayhap she seeks to join in her sister's work!"

Swiftly retreating her hand, Dana attempted to pull away from the steely prick before her to deny this. "Nay, sirs, I me... rrph!" For she was not allowed to finish her thought, but the first viking seized her head and drove himself more deeply down her throat.

"Speak no more," instructed the man, "unless it be around my staff, for the time for thee to have a voice hath passed, and thy tongue is only fit now for worship of thy betters. As for the lusts of thy whorish body, why, we shall take pity on thee; for I see that thy sister is finding herself of use to two men at once, and there is no reason you should not serve in equal measure."

And forcing Dana to raise herself on her knees and hands like a cow, a man took his place and entered her from behind, thus putting to use the moisture which her sister's misfortunes had provoked within her. Though this made a lie of Hrafn's earlier promise, the girl's desperate protests reached few men's ears, as her mouth was kept well-occupied. Men gripped her head and pounded her mouth as vigorously as the men behind her fucked her cunt, relenting only to release their seed where it pleased them: largely within her mouth, but sometimes directly upon her face, where it soon pasted her eyes shut and flowed down her neck and chest. Moreover, her clothes thus far having survived intact, they too were torn and disheveled by impatient men while they waited to claim their turns, and wishing to see better the bouncing of her tits as she was rocked back and forth, and what effect the men's staves were having upon her formerly tight and clean womanly places.

So out of her three spots that are given over to men, Maebh's mouth only was spared; and Dana's ass remained unused. When at last the men had taken their fill, the two were in a sorry state indeed: right sore and hardly able to move, with their gifts from the men oozing in great measure from their formerly charming holes. They were dropped beside each other on the earth floor, and, old resentments forgotten, clutched at each others' ravished bodies and cried for comfort.

Some of the men found this sight to be stirring, and regretted that they had not forced the two to bestow unsisterly kisses upon each other before they had been so bruised and unclean. But that thought was set aside for another time, for they were all well spent. Had Fryja herself visited them and offered herself up, she could not have coaxed more pleasure from them.

When the morning came, the men sorted the women, and in good humour. One task before them was to choose what prizes they would take to market from the village; for their ship was not so large that they could carry every woman whose charms they had sampled. And lining up the women and stripping from them any clothes that remained, they moved along the line and provided much spirited debate about which women were of the most value. Breasts were compared, and the tightness of the places between their legs; as well as beauty of the face, and their rears, and many other things beside, until tears were upon many of their eyes from shame; at which the men also laughed, and set extra value upon, calling it most becoming of a new slave.

One who did not cry was the chieftain's wife, Dubheasa. She glared with eyes full of fire at Eric, who was standing to the side, upon whom she laid the greatest blame for their fate. "Look you at what beasts these men you lead be," she spat at him. "An unworthy crew of bullies and cowards, debased in the eyes of the gods."

"They are rough men in their ways," replied Eric philosophically, "and they have done you and yours ill, it is true; yet not before ill was done to them. Furthermore, they are brave and loyal and true, and they have never promised hospitality and then revoked it, nor broken any other oath to my knowledge; so methinks they will stand upright before Father Odin in Valhalla when the Gods call them."

Now Dubheasa herself was not taken aboard the Gudruda, for there were other women more than her equal in beauty and youth, and more easily broken to men's will; but many others were brought aboard with the provisions, their hands and legs tied and draped in simple clothes for their warmth on the journey; and this included the singers Maebh and Dana, and Skallagrim's lover, and Jon Maidenbreaker's, and the daughter Roisin whom Geir had spared from his lust; and that girl was valued especially, for she was one of few whose virtue had been spared the previous night; and the men were merry indeed for the whole of their journey to Dublin.

At that, this modest tale reaches its conclusion, though of course many more adventures of greater fame and glory befell Eric before his unhappy end. But there is one thing more yet to say of the matter; for when bringing their slaves to market, the men were loath to leave the company of women again. Thus it was decided that they would retain one slave to serve them onboard their ship, and that they would share the use of her (save for Eric, who would not bend a second time in the matter of his devotion). And this became the practice of Eric's men for some time, and much of viking seed did these chosen chattel take in the times of their service, before they were sold to other hands no less tender and each replaced with a new piece of comely flesh.

Here we end the tale of Eric in the town of Finpoul, in the early years of his exile from Iceland.