Sven froze. He tried to guess whether the dog's barking was caused by its getting wind of strangers or by something harmless, such as a piece of meat dangling just out of its reach. He glanced left - Lasse's eyes were fixed on him. He glanced right - Jens was watching him, too. They were both waiting for his decision, for his move.
Henrik was in position for sure, but Lennart probably wasn't. It didn't matter. If the barking dog made the inhabitants of the village aware of the Vikings preparing to attack their settlement, then every moment that passed was a moment lost.
Sven stood up and raised his arm and swept it forward and down, pointing at the village with his ax. Then he started running towards the buildings. He heard Lasse and Jens start running, too.
