Chapter 17

"Why did you come here?! I told you to run, didn't I?! I even spoke in English!! There's still time! Run to the forest!! Get as far as you can from the shore! If you don't run, they'll... - ...!"

- Thorfinn]

England, 1008 (イングランド－1008年－) is the 17th chapter in the series and the first chapter of Volume 3.

Overview
In East Anglia (Eastern England), in 1008 A.D., Thorfinn's unconscious body is found in the river by a mother and daughter, an arrow sticking out of his left arm. They take Thorfinn back to their home, patch up his arm and take care of him. They soon realize he is likely Danish and does not speak English, but the English woman nevertheless believes taking care of him is the right thing to do. When a soldier comes and warns her a young Viking boy who has an arrow wound in his left arm has killed two thegns and infiltrated the village, she claims Thorfinn is her son and does not give him up to the soldier. Later that night, in broken English, Thorfinn tells the English woman and her daughter to run. He lights a shack on fire by the shore, a signal to Askeladd's nearby ships. As the villagers try to put out the fire, Thorfinn kills several soldiers, including the one who had spoken to the English woman earlier. The English woman sees Thorfinn kills him and looks at him uncomprehendingly with tears streaming down her face. Thorfinn tells the woman and the villagers to run again, but it is too late. Askeladd's band disembarks and starts to raid the village. Thorfinn, visibly upset, steels himself and joins the fray with an apathetic look on his face.

Summary
The chapter's prologue summarizes the war between the Vikings and England. The Vikings began pillaging England in the early ninth century, leading to an over three centuries long war aimed at deposing the anglo-saxon king. The Vikings coveted England for its vastness and fertility. After 1003 A.D., the war became notably more vicious.

In East Anglia (Eastern England), 1008 A.D., Thorfinn runs through a forest in the darkness, holding his shortsword in one hand and his injured right arm, pierced by an arrow, with the other. He is chased by armed men and their dogs. He turns around and his shortsword is bloodied to the sound of the yelping dogs. The next morning, a middle aged English woman does the laundry by the river with her young daughter. She tells her daughter she thinks their king is a bit soft in the head and laments the old king, Edgar, who was a respected Christian who kept peace with the Vikings. She doesn't blame the Vikings for being furious, since King Ethelred killed all the Danish settlers with no warning. Her daughter warns her not to speak too loudly and not to talk politics, but the mother laughs her off. As they are leaving, the daughter spots Thorfinn slumped over a large tree branch in the river with an arrow sticking out of his left upper arm.

Thorfinn wakes up in the English family's home, startled when a house dog jumps on the bed he is laying in and licks his face. He notices his arm has been bandaged. The English mother walks in with her daughter, relieved he is awake. She tells Thorfinn she is about to get dinner fixed and asks him how his arm is feeling. Thorfinn eyes her distrustfully. She tells Thorfinn she washed his clothes and points to clothing he can wear in the meantime, then tells him his knives are there as well. She invites him to join them at the table. Thorfinn keeps looking at her warily, but joins once his stomach loudly gurgles. He rapidly scarfs down his food in front of the bewildered family. The English mother, who notes he looks no older than ten, asks him his name, where he is from, and what happened to his family. Thorfinn does not answer. The daughter tells her mother that he is a foreign boy and does not understand them, and that she heard him muttering strange curses in his sleep. The mother says it's not surprising, since their king wiping out the Danes left a lot of orphans like him everywhere. The daughter is uncomfortable and says the Danes are enemies of England and the reason her father had to join the fyrd. Her mother reminds her that Jesus would never forgive them for leaving an injured boy for dead, no matter where he may be from, and that women and children don't have to play along to men's wars. The daughter starts to scratch and notices Thorfinn is scratching his head, sending fleas flying everywhere and into the food. The English mother brings Thorfinn outside and combs. She talks as she combs the fleas out of the flustered Thorfinn's hair, telling him of her young son also being unkempt and getting fleas before he died of a fever two years prior. Thorfinn tells her, in his tongue, that he is not English and cannot understand what she's saying. The English woman slaps his head good-naturedly and teases him about being able to speak after all, noting her daughter was right as Thorfinn's words did sound like curses. A soldier arrives on horseback and tells the woman a Viking spy infiltrated the area. He asks her if she's seen an unfamiliar boy and warns her he is not to be taken lightly and has already killed two of their thegns. He tells her he has an arrow wound on his left arm. As her daughter watches from the door, the woman sees Thorfinn, looking downward with his hair covering his face, begin to unsheathe his shortsword behind his back. The soldier looks at him and asks the woman if he is hers. She confirms and says John is her youngest. The soldier tells her the boy he's looking for is around that height and asks her to send word if she sees him.

Thorfinn is startled, realizing she must have lied to the soldier to protect him. Later that night, in the family's house, Thorfinn stares down the window as the young daughter tries talking sense to her mother. She tells her he's a Viking, a pirate, and has already killed two men despite being just a boy. She asks her why they're keeping him. The English mother tells her young boys don't just decide to become pirates and that he must have reasons. The daughter is not satisfied with her answer, tells her the boy cannot replace John, and tells her mother she wants to go find the soldier. Thorfinn gets up and lights up a stick in the fire. He looks at the English woman and tells her, in broken English, to run away. He then bolts out of the house with his makeshift torch. On the water, Askeladd and his crew stand on their ships, watching for Thorfinn's signal. They spot his signal fire. Thorfinn stands by the shore, having just set fire to a wooden shack with his torch. Village men start to run over with buckets, assembling to put it out. The horse-riding soldier who had come by earlier gallops up to the shack and sees Thorfinn. He recognizes him from earlier and calls him a sneaky little demon. He unsheathes his sword and attacks Thorfinn, who looks like a boy possessed and has already killed and wounded several soldiers in front of the bewildered villagers. The English woman, who has run over, watches things unfold. Thorfinn startles when he notices her, but kills the soldier attacking him. He walks towards her and asks her why she came after he told her to run in English. He walks her way and tells her and the nearby villagers that there is still time and to run into the forest, far away from the shore, but they cannot understand him and think he is coming their way to hurt them. The woman simply stares at the bloody Thorfinn with tears streaming down her face and Thorfinn looks back at her, wide-eyed and suddenly looking very young. Askeladd's ships come into sight and the villagers notice. They abandon the burning shack and start to run away, but it is too late. The Vikings disembark. Askeladd taps Thorfinn on the back, congratulating him on doing his job and noting the place looks wealthier than he thought. He tells his men to ransack the place without wasting time, before the enemy troops arrive. Thorfinn, who looks sad and conflicted, steels himself and sighs, settling into an unaffected, apathetic expression before joining the fray.

The chapter's epilogue specifies that five years later, in 1013 A.D., King Sweyn of Denmark led a Danish invasion which chased King Ethelred of England into exile in France. In the early 11th century, the Viking age reached its apex, though their war with England was never given a name.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Thorfinn
 * Askeladd