The Thrall (The Viking Hero Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

he wasn't mistreated in general or
even abused. He knew he was fortunate to be owned by the blacksmith
as he'd seen how other thralls were treated by other owners. Many of
them abused and quite often beaten. Rowan had never been beaten and
even though he had no intention of running away, he still had to wear
the neck ring. There were just times like this when his status, for
some unknown reason, was made clear.
    Bjord motioned forward and said, "come on,
we've got to find the others."
    They continued to follow the trail left behind by
the running sheep pack. Sven and Rowan followed behind Bjord as he
tracked their way up the mountain. The route was gradually starting
to incline steeper as they went further.
    The men were starting to sweat and Bjord stopped
and sat down on a rock to rest. The younger two sat down on the
ground near him. It was then that Rowan noticed that something just
wasn't right around them.
    The forest was just simply too quiet.
    The usual sounds of wildlife and birds were
missing. There was an unsettling stillness in the forest. The only
thing that could be heard were the occasional sounds of leaves
rustling when the wind blew, but that was all. It was too quiet.
    "Do you hear that?" Rowan asked nobody
in particular.
    Bjord listened for a minute and said, "what?
I don't hear anything."
    Sven, who had also listened, nodded in agreement.
He didn't hear anything either.
    "Exactly. There's no sound, not even the
birds are chirping." Rowan pointed out.
    Sven began to look openly worried, but Bjord
shrugged, stood up and said, "come on, we've got to find those
sheep."
    They continued up following the trail until they
came upon another dead sheep lying on the ground halfway in a bush.
It was like the first one, you could tell it ran itself to death in
total fear. Sven shuddered at the sight of it.
    "Rowan, pull that sheep out of the bushes."
Bjord said. "I want to be able to find it on our way back. I am
sure we can salvage some of the meat from it."
    Rowan did as he was told and pulled the sheep out
of the bush it had fallen into when it died. Sven stood back and
watched, offering no assistance. Not that Rowan expected any help, he
was used to Sven idly watching him. It just amused him how Sven
seemed to be afraid of it.
    After Rowan had the sheep pulled away from the
bush Bjord turned and continued walking up the hillside. There was
still a visible track and he followed the remaining trail up the
hill.
    "Keep moving, there's still four sheep that
may still be alive. That is, if the wolves don't find them before we
do."
    As they proceeded further up the hillside, ever
determi ned, the trees and brush
began to get even thicker. Even though it was only mid day, the
density of the foliage was starting to make it darker and darker
around them.
    Pushing their way
through the brush, they suddenly were overwhelmed by the most
horrendous smell of rotten decay.
    It seemed to be
thick in the air and clung on everythin g like a thick
invisible fog. It permeated the air as if it had been there for quite
awhile.
    Sven gagged and said, "what's that smell?
It's awful!"
    "Something dead nearby. Keep going, it'll
pass." said Bjord as he used his arm to cover his mouth and
nose.
    Rowan had never smelled anything like it before.
He'd once came across a rotting boar carcass in the forest when he
was gathering wood. The boar was discolored, bloated, and putrid. It
was definitely dead and definitely had been there for a while. It
laid in a patch of sunlight that beamed in through a clearing of the
trees. It was so putrid, not even the flies wanted it.
    The smell in the air now was similar, but way
worse. It made Rowan's stomach churn in a most unpleasant way. He
tried using his sleeve to cover the smell. It didn't even help.
    By the looks on Sven and Bjord's faces, they were
just as disgusted and feeling just as green as Rowan was.
    The men stopped in their tracks. They were all
trying to cover their noses and mouths as best as