Chapter 8

"Um... Mister Leif...? Does that mean... Thors is going into battle alone?"

- Village Girl

The Journey Begins (旅の始まり) is the 8th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
Ari visits a sleepy Ylva at her home and promises to return from his conquest from England with a necklace for her. He also tries to ask her hand in marriage, but is cut off by his mother who brings him his lunch. Leif tells a village girl infatuated with Ari that Thors secretly has no intention to bring the five village boys departing with him to war, as he plans on dropping them off in Norway and sending them back to the village with Leif. Thors looks for his son Thorfinn to say goodbye to him before departing, but cannot find him. The ship sets sail, Leif's knarr alongside it. When they have sailed too far to turn back, Thorfinn, who had stowed away, pops out of a barrel and runs over to the starboard to empty his bladder. An angry Thors approaches his son to scold him, but melts when he sees how elated Thorfinn is over the sea view.

Summary
Leif and Thors look upon the water on the docks, remarking it is a perfect day to set sail. At Thors and Helga's doorstep, a sleepy Ylva listens to Ari talk about the hard voyage ahead, saying he will return a bring her a beautiful necklace plundered from England. Ylva has little interest in what he is saying and wonders if she can go back to bed. As Ari starts to ask her if she will marry him when he returns, he is interrupted by the arrival of his mother, bringing him the lunch she packed that he nearly forgot. Mord and other departing village boys also come to talk to Ylva, who asks them if they could try someone else. At the docks, the villagers are saying farewell to the five teen boys departing with Thors: Ari, Magni, Grimm, Mord and Harkon. Some of the villagers wonder why Thors would only allow such a tiny force to go with him, being that five is barely enough to move a ship, but other villagers note he must know what he is doing. Ari and Mord are bickering about Ylva when a flustered village girl approaches Ari to bid him farewell, which he barely acknowledges. Once they've moved out of earshot, Leif approaches the girl and asks her if she's worried about Ari. He tells her that the boys will not be going into battle; they will stop by Norway on the way to Jomsborg and Thors will leave the boys behind there, hiring a crew instead to sail the rest of the way. Leif anticipates this will be easy, since he is friends with the last king, who will help them. Thors had limited the number of boys he was bringing with him to five, as it was the maximum number of people Leif could ferry back from Norway on his knarr. He asks the girl to keep it a secret, and notes that Thors not taking any of the boys to England is just the kind of man Thors is. The village girl asks Leif if that means Thors is going into battle alone. Thors walks through the village screaming Thorfinn's name, unable to find him to say goodbye to him. He boards the longship to leave. The five village boys are manning oars on one side of the ship, while Thors mans the other by himself with a gigantic oar. Helga and Ylva stand on the docks alongside other villagers to see the men off. Ylva expresses her disapproval at Thorfinn missing seeing their father off, noting he must still be sulking after being scolded the previous day. Thors tries to tell Helga to tell Thorfinn something, but gets tongue tied. She says that she knows and will tell him, and Thors thanks her. In his knarr, Leif starts the rowing beat. The boys in Thors's longship start rowing after being momentarily stupefied by the strength Thors displays manning his giant oar. The villagers cheer and yell out well wishes from the docks, while Ylva waves and Helga looks on sadly. Some time later, Thors asks the boys to hoist sail and gives them instruction. The boys look exhausted, but Ari denies being tired when Thors asks him. Thors reassures them that they won't need to row for a while, as they've reached the current and the ship will travel on its own for now. Someone asks if that means they can't go back, and Thors says he supposes it does. He startles, noticing the voice referred to him as "father". Thorfinn bursts out of a nearby barrel and rushes to the ship's edge to relieve himself. Thors approaches him, clearly angry and about to scold him, but Thorfinn points to the sea with an amazed smile on his face, melting away Thors's anger for the time being.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Thors Snorresson
 * Ari
 * Ylva
 * Grim
 * Mord
 * Magni
 * Mols
 * Hakon
 * Helga
 * Thorfinn