Read Maroboodus: A Novel of Germania (The Goth Chronicles Book 1) for Free Online Page A

shoulders shook, the silver and gold beard dripped wetly and he carried a huge sword, the Head Taker, another treasure of our family. His banner of scalps and skins was swaying high up in the air behind him as his great warriors were readying for battle. Osgar, his warlord, a tall man with a scarred jaw and the beardless Ludovicus, a young terror of battle were readying the men. Grandfather nodded at us, and we knew Friednot could smell battle, always had, like a dog smells excrement, and so Maino and Hulderic nodded and even Bero’s men began to get ready. ‘Best piss now,’ Hulderic said stiffly.
    Maino looked down at the obscure path below us. ‘About damned time. They have been raiding for days in the inlands, and sure, they are probably tired and starving. The Svea have killed some. I am certain of that. But still, we might have stopped them before—’
    Hulderic nodded. ‘Yes, they have lost some. And that’s how we wanted it. We might have deals with the Svearna near our borders, but we don’t mind seeing some humbled. And there is the rumor of the Thing.’
    There was indeed. The Svearna had ever been divided like we were, but that spring they had called for a great many men to sit somewhere days away from us, and what followed was a virtual peace between Svearna. There had been few burning villages, very few mounds being built for their fallen, and they had had an excellent harvest. ‘They are making peace. Next spring they will attack us together,’ I said, having heard Hulderic discussing it with Bero.
    Maino snorted, readying a disgusted comment, but instead shrugged, as Hulderic’s eyes were on him.
    ‘We’ll be ready,’ he stated.
    ‘Saxons today,’ Hulderic agreed. ‘Svearna tomorrow. Let’s think about the scrawny sea-dogs now. This is where they will come and we need not look for them. They are coming. Father knows these things.’
    ‘Maino!’ Bero called from the side. He had thirty men, we had the same and Grandfather had the rest of the men we had had a chance to gather so fast in our gau, another thirty. It could be thousand and more, but we only had had a day to gather what we could. ‘Get here and stop prowling.’
    Maino set down his mug and spat. He was groping with his pants, trying to fish out his cock to take a piss and stopped to regard me. He was not ugly, nor handsome, just strangely beefy and powerful. He could not resist a final jab at me. ‘You wish to hold if for me, Maroboodus? I must preserve my strength, and it is rather heavy.’
    I glared at him as men laughed around us. ‘My hands are frozen. Wouldn’t want to make it even more insignificant, cousin.’ Hulderic quaffed and looked ahead as his nephew glowered at the men around us.
    ‘It’s a fine thing,’ he told me, ‘and you should learn to respect a berserker. Gods love me, cousin, and you should not doubt them. They would not favor a man like they do, if I were armed with a small cock.’ He turned away from me, unable to show his size after my insult and the men noticed that, and were laughing softly. I leaned over and slowly spat in his mug. The yellow snot fell true, though some of it landed on the rim and hung in there. He straightened, grabbed the mug and scowled at me. Then he walked back to Bero, drinking heartily. I felt very happy as Dubbe held his belly, chuckling like mad.
    ‘You should not,’ Hulderic said, hiding his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh, ‘antagonize him. He is not all well up there.’ He tapped his forehead. ‘His brother Catualda is a saner specimen, but there is little Bero in Maino.’
    ‘This was all Bero’s idea,’ I cursed. ‘Standing here in the rain.’
    Hulderic nodded. ‘And Father agreed. We could have fought them in the cover of the woods, but we want to annihilate them. We have to hide here for a bit.’ He glanced up the hill at the lord of the gau who nodded at Father. Hulderic was the steady spear in Friednot’s hand, Bero a fair tactician.