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she misjudged him so badly? She looked away in anger, but a hand rested upon her shoulder.
    â€œThere is nothing wrong with having a streak of doubt in your mind when you overhear an unbelievable tale, lass.”
    Thorfinn had moved to the bow and was now standing between the two young adults. He had mistaken her anger for doubt of the truth of the sagas. “Your doubts are no different from the ones I had in Iceland when, over the roaring flames of the hearth, old warriors would tell the tale of the Ancients sailing across the Atlantic in leather boats only slightly larger than a barrel. It is said that those old Celtic mariners were already living in Iceland when my Viking ancestors first arrived in those northern lands. Being defenseless, they fled further west with each Viking advance, including Greenland. My favourite legend went on to describe how they had found the Promised Land, the one referred to in the Holy Bible. Some of the Ancients made the return home to Ireland to tell of their adventures but never to reveal the exact location of what the old Celtic maps had labelled their “Land of Promise”.
    â€œYou didn't believe those tales, did you?” asked Mats.
    Thorfinn laughed. “The combination of old men and ale often makes for storytelling that tends to, shall we say, stray away from the truth on occasion. But after living here, in Vinland, I now believe the ancient tales.”
    â€œBecause of the Stone,” added Kiera, smiling.
    He nodded. “Aye, because of the Stone and several other stones that Leif and I found further ahead on the coast. They've been here. We believe they were carved over two hundred years ago.”
    Mats' mouth dropped open. “Two hundred years ago! That I don't believe.”
    â€œYou'd better apologize to Kiera and her ancestors right now. Those ancient Irish mariners are like ghosts. We have been chasing their movements ever since our people started sailing west. I tell you, what they lacked in ship construction, they made up in brains and guts.”
    Mats' eyebrows went up. “So there really are forests filled with delicious fruit and large native villages ahead?”
    Thorfinn nodded and looked towards the shore. “Everything in the sagas describes the events of Leif's voyage. I have seen those forests and villages with my own eyes. This is a land of huge abundance. There is no limit to the amount of fish, game and fresh water contained here. We just need to find a place that will allow us to live together in peace with the native people.”
    â€œBut is that possible?” Kiera asked. “From what I've seen, we are not exactly welcomed guests.”
    â€œIt's true that the skraelings are everywhere, but some are different from others. The first Vikings to make contact with the skraelings to the north of our settlement had a misunderstanding which led to an argument. A fight broke out. Men on both sides were killed. The northern skraelings still remember that ill-fated moment. We think that it is why we are still attacked today.
    â€œBut Leif and I met other skraelings to the south who were friendly. That is where our hope lies. We are going to sail to the land of the Mi'kmaq. They were a friendly people and welcomed us as we resupplied our ship all those years ago. We will travel to their settlement and ask permission to build our own settlement in their lands.”
    Thorfinn paused, then looked carefully at the passing shoreline. “We are being watched.” Mats and Kiera turned their heads towards the shore.
    â€œWhere?” they asked.
    â€œAmong that clump of cedars over there,” he pointed. “Just above the rock face. Look for a dark red colour.”
    Kiera squinted in the afternoon sunlight and searched the shadows among the thick evergreens. What seemed like a dark red stone along the craggy shore suddenly shrank and disappeared.
    â€œI saw it!” she shouted.
    â€œWhere?” complained