Children of the Chieftain

The year is 950 AD and the story starts in the town of Birka on an island in the great lake which covers a vast area inland of what is today Stockholm. It was a wealthy town at the center of an international trading network where merchants from as far afield as Turkey, Russia and Ireland met to buy, sell and barter. The wealth of the island also attracted unwelcome visitors and frequently the Birka warriors had to defend their homes and families against gangs of Viking raiders.  

When one of their friends is captured and sold into slavery in the land of the Rus, the children of the old chieftain and their comrades decide to risk everything to rescue him. Little do they know what awaits them when they embark on the Viking ship, the Eagle. In addition to the dangers of the sea voyage, they must face the villainy of a traitor, marauding pirates, and robbers, before they end up in a seemingly hopeless situation as slaves in a quarry.

The young crew of the Viking ship Eagle set out on a new journey when they are given the task of delivering a message in the land of the Rus. But fate has a surprise in store for them when they are ordered to travel on the Viking trading route south to Constantinople, a route fraught with danger. They must face warring tribesmen, deadly rapids and a host of other dangers before they reach their destination. 

After three years in the service of the emperor of the Greeks, Ahl and his Viking friends have become very rich. Now the crew longs to return home with their wealth, their problem is that the emperor will not permit them to leave. They make a daring plan to escape. The route home is perilous as they navigate uncharted seas. They must overcome robbers, storms, and hostile strangers as they seek their way back to the Northlands with the riches they have earned.