Kassia felt more anxious each time she saw the expedition ship approach. She unconsciously squeezed Elin's hand.
Who when feeling Kassia's squeeze only smiled, because he did not have the feeling that something bad had happened to Sven or his son Einar.
When the expedition ship reached the small wooden harbor, a wooden platform was set up by two warriors who were waiting for the ship to come to a complete stop.
The first person to get off the boat was Sven, who did it while carrying two bales of bearskin that he carried on his shoulder.
This surprised everyone in town, as they realized that in just one bale there were more bearskins than they could ever have gotten on any of the past expeditions.
But if they were surprised when they saw Sven, when they looked at Einar who was holding a ceramic urn, they were completely silent.
The young Einar had a large scar on his face, not to mention that on his hand he also had some scars, they all had something in common and that was that they were visibly cooked.
It was at that moment that, for a moment, everyone ignored the other warriors who were carrying large bales of bearskins, as well as some completely full sacks.
Their gazes were on Einar who, upon arriving at the port, the first thing he did was approaching a woman who had two small children by her side.
Einar with a serious face walked towards her and without hesitation handed her the urn "Galt died a true warrior while facing a large herd of white bears.
We clean his corpse and using fire we burn his bones, these are his ashes. "
The woman took the urn and hugged her with her trembling hands. At that moment, Einar put his hand on the woman's shoulder. "Your family as well as those of those colleagues who are missing or dead will receive help from me.
So your children will not starve or suffer from any problems in the future, they will also receive their fair share of the loot we get. "
After those words, Max climbed on top of a wooden box that was in the port.
"As you have heard, some of our companions are no longer with us, others are guarding a small fort that we built in a forest.
The expedition to the north became a matter of life and death for our entire tribe, as we encountered dozens of hungry bears there.
If we let those bears continue to multiply or else they could winter, in the spring we would have had an invasion of those bastards in our tribe.
That would have meant that perhaps our children, siblings, or parents could have died fighting those damn four-legged creatures.
Two of our companions died in the Galt expedition from whom we could recover the body and deliver it to his family. The other warrior who lost his life is Kaj.
He died from injuries from fighting white bears, and his body is currently resting inside a cave.
Well, we decided to respect the tomb built for him by the companions who were with him, who were Ansgar, Derick, and Elof.
The three of them decided to find a route from the north of the island to our tribe. That is why we do not know if they are alive or if they will achieve their mission.
Regardless of whether they succeed or die trying, they are all heroes and must be remembered. Their sacrifice meant that our tribe did not have to face a greater evil.
No, should we forget the 7 members of the expedition who bravely decided to stand guard at our camp in that forest in the north of the island.
They will wait until spring when we return, but this time, who wants to contribute to the tribe by creating a small settlement on the island.
With the sole purpose of being a shield against the white bears that invade our island from beyond the North Sea.
For all those who agree to settle in the north, I will see that when we buy slaves, a large handful of them go to the settlement.
Like farm animals, so they never lack food and labor. "
When Max finished speaking, he pointed to his face, "On the expedition, even I suffered firsthand what it is to fight a white bear all alone.
This scar will remind me throughout my life that the enemy should never be underestimated, regardless of whether it is an animal or a person.
But not everything about the expedition is bad news, we currently have over 80 bearskins.
We also managed to obtain sacks full of boiled tendons, bear fat, and dried meat.
Although our greatest achievement was the live captures of 7 small cubs and 27 arctic foxes "
When Max finished speaking, all the people turned curiously to see the ship from which strange noises came. They saw a group of warriors who were lowering some animals that were supported by ropes.
They were surprised to see the beautiful white and even bluish coats of those little foxes who were extremely curious about where they were.
The cubs for their part were growling all they could to try to find their mothers because the look of the humans made them feel anxious.
Max walked towards them and carefully took a small blue fox with his arms "From today my family will care these foxes.
We are going to raise these foxes so that they learn to be faithful pets that can take care of us, but they will also serve to produce fur when they are old enough.
As for the cubs, I will build a thick enough wooden palisade around one of the hot spring pools that we have.
This in order that everyone in the tribe can see how these animals act in nature. Also, I hope that our children and grandchildren take care of the cubs that these bears produce.
Well, if we take good care of them for at least a thousand years, I can guarantee that they will become our mounts.
But that's something that only our descendants will be able to enjoy, for now, I think it's time for all warriors to spend time with their families. "
When Einar finished speaking, Kassia, Helmi, and Elin ran over to where he was standing.
Max almost lost his balance when his two wives and his mother rushed to where he was.
This scene was repeated throughout the port with all the warriors of the expedition who were received by their families.
For those families whose husbands, children, parents had decided to wait in the northern camp, they could only feel pride because their efforts would protect the island and the tribe from any possible invasion of white bears.
As for the families belonging to members of the expedition who had died or disappeared, they could only unite among themselves trying to overcome their losses.
The only thing that gave them peace of mind in this situation were the actions that Einar would take to take care of all of them.