Among the fleet of longships, one at its center was far longer and wider than the surrounding vessels, large enough to hold over a hundred men. Its dragon figurehead towered majestically, its warriors were well-equipped, their long-axes fearsomely sharp, and its runes were ancient and profound.
Seated within, Godred, the King of the Isle of Man, gestured to a burly warrior in animal hides beside him. The warrior nodded, grabbed the horn at his waist, and ran swiftly along the longship. He clambered onto the massive dragon figurehead at the bow and sounded the horn.
It was the call to set sail.
Soon, deckhands moved back and forth, undoing the walrus-hide ropes mooring the ship. They pushed the vessel away from the dock with long poles. Oarsmen dipped their oars into the water, and the captain began directing them, having them row the ship from the pier into the current at the mouth of the harbor, where spray splashed against the ship's thin planks.
