I needed Ingrid to come with me to the forest. It's not like I was scared of walking alone. Ingrid was a local. She would know where to look for hemp plants around here.
Of course, I knew she'd refuse if I just asked her for help. I had to figure out a way to persuade her to come along, and the idea that popped into my head was to teach her how to smoke weed.
Technically, hemp isn't weed—it's more like marijuana's "cousin". Hemp has low THC levels but is high in CBD. I'd read studies that CBD can relieve anxiety.
Just think of it. Ingrid is a Viking. War is a normal part of Viking's life. Teaching her to smoke weed might help ease her anxiety before battle. Plus, CBD doesn't have the psychoactive effects that THC does.
As a doctor, I probably shouldn't suggest this, but I needed her help.
"Smoking? Weed? What do you mean?" she asked, curious.
"It's kinda hard to explain. So, listen closely."
I explained what smoking is and what weed is in the simplest way possible. I gave her a rundown on its benefits and side effects, keeping things accurate but easy to understand. I might not like Ingrid, but I didn't want to harm her.
She narrowed her eyes, clearly skeptical.
"Let's cut the crap. I know you want something from me, right? Just be straight with me."
I sighed. There was no point in hiding it. She could see right through me. Besides, my idea was pretty dumb too.
"Alright. You got me," I said, raising my hands in surrender.
She lifted an eyebrow in response.
Then I laid it all out for her—my plan to make an anesthetic and perform surgery. I even used Einar as an example, explaining how I'd give him anesthesia if I had to fix his leg again.
Ingrid just listened, not saying a word. I wouldn't have been surprised if she argued or, at worst, called me crazy. But I was a little bit surprised to see her taking me seriously.
If she didn't want to help, that was fine too. I could always ask someone else to help me find hemp. She wasn't the only local around, after all.
"Alright. I'll help you, but it's for my people."
I raised my eyebrows, a bit surprised by her answer. Honestly, I hadn't expected much from her, especially since she didn't like me. I guess she just cared about her people.
"Good. Give me a minute. I need to wash my face."
I brought a huge basket. Really huge. Since the THC levels in hemp were so low, I was going to need a ton of it, so I needed something big to carry all the leaves.
But before heading into the forest, we made a stop at Varin's place. He lived near the bay, close to the docks and shipyard.
When we got there, Varin was busy at the shipyard with his men, working on a longship.
Ingrid told me that Varin was the best shipbuilder in the land. Rumor had it that none of his longships had ever sunk or been destroyed. He was also the one who built Ragnar Lothbrok's ship during the Siege of Paris.
That was why Ingmar and his father were so eager to recruit Varin into the Varglund Clan.
"Maikal!"
A familiar voice called out to me. I turned and saw Birna running toward me, throwing herself into a hug.
At the same time, the shipbuilders paused their work, all eyes on me.
"What brings you here, Maikal?" Birna asked cheerfully.
The girl looked completely different from when I first met her. Now, she was acting like any other kid.
"Well, look who's here! The man who saved my life, Maikal!"
Varin came up with a wide smile. He looked healthy, like someone who'd never been sick. But that's just the outside. Still, I needed to check on him. The guy had just had surgery three days ago, after all. He needed plenty of rest.
"And you're here with the Jarl's daughter. You two seem pretty close," Varin said.
Ingrid scoffed. "We're not close. I'm only with this pathetic because he needs me."
I wasn't going to get mad or offended. I'd gotten used to her by now.
Varin frowned. "Don't talk about my savior like that. If it wasn't for him, my men and I might not have survived, and my daughter could've become a thrall. And your clan might never have had the best shipbuilder in the world."
I could hear the displeasure in his voice as Varin said that. Some of the shipbuilders were also glaring at Ingrid, clearly annoyed. Even Birna stuck her tongue out at her.
The atmosphere got a little tense. I worried that this minor disagreement might escalate over something trivial, especially considering Ingrid's temper and how quickly she could explode.
I had to defuse the situation before things got worse. But before I could say anything, Varin beat me to it.
"But you know what? We're all in the same boat now. No point in dwelling on the past. I'm part of the Varglund Clan now. Same goes for Maikal. I heard he even fixed someone's leg."
"Yeah," Ingrid replied simply.
I let out a relieved sigh as Ingrid backed down.
"Oh, right! People are talking about you, Maikal!" Birna chimed in.
Hearing that, I raised an eyebrow. The incident only happened yesterday, but the word had already spread far. Even Varin and Birna had heard about it.
"Really? I didn't know about that." I turned to Ingrid. "Did you hear about it too?"
"Yeah. Our settlement's small. News spreads like a plague. They're really impressed with you. Not many people can fix a broken bone."
I had to admit, I felt a little proud of myself. It's always nice to be the center of attention. Not that I'm a narcissist, but getting recognition from a lot of people—who wouldn't like that?
"You know what people are calling you, Maikal? You're gonna love it," Varin said.
They even gave me a nickname. Now I was curious. "What do they call me?"
"Maikal the Boner."
"WHAT?"
Instantly, the euphoria drained out of me. They're calling me Maikal the Boner? Seriously? Why would they call me that?
"Why'd they give me such a dumb nickname?" I asked, frustrated.
Varin frowned, and so did Ingrid. They seemed surprised that I didn't like my new nickname.
"Dumb? It's a cool nickname," Varin said.
"You reset broken bones. Not everyone can do that. You should be proud of it," Ingrid agreed.
No matter how they tried to explain it, it sounded more like an insult than a title to me. I should've seen this coming.
"You should be proud of that name, Maikal," Birna said sweetly.
Not you too, Birna. You're just making it sound worse.
"Okay, okay. Let's just drop this. I don't want to talk about it anymore."
They still looked confused about why I didn't like the nickname, frowning at me. I wasn't going to explain it to them, though. If they found out, they'd just laugh at me. And Ingrid would probably use it to tease me later.