A ship full of Viking-like barbarians is fleeing from some catastrophe. In it is an extended family of the barbarians. The ship is captained by Thorvald, an experienced warrior. Accompanying him is his wife Elga, a young woman (who is likely a servant), 2 sons (one late teens, another about 9-10), and some of Thorvald's comrades in arms.
They are shipwrecked in a civilized land. They are rescued by someone from the civilized land and nursed back to health (a merciful priest perhaps) At first, the populace of the civilized land treat the castaways with suspicion and contempt. However, Thorvald wins them over by defeating a monster that was terrorizing the land.
One day most of the barbarians just disappear, leaving the two sons and the servant girl. Number 1 son then tries to track them down. One day, he is kidnapped. Number 2 son sees his brother being dragged off. He is distraught because he believes that someone from the civilized land committed the crime. He bursts into a meeting of their ruling council and accuses them. When they try to get rid of the boy, he grabs a kitchen knife and kills one of the council members. He then stands over the corpse, waving his bloody blade, and issues a challenge to the council.
"If you are innocent, prove it in a test of arms. I will fight any of you cowards and criminals!"
The sergeant at arms disdainfully agrees and stands before the kid. A ring forms around them. The boy realizes that his blade is bent. He states he cannot fight with a defective weapon. He demands that someone procures matching daggers. Someone finds some and hands them to the lad. He checks them and is satisfied. He throws one at the sergeant of arms, who is holding a wooden club. The dagger embeds itself in the club. The sergeant at arms and the rest of the crowd stare at the dagger in surprise.
The battle is over in no time. The boy easily dodges a clumsy attack by the sergeant at arms and stabs him through the heart. He then berates the council, calling them cowards, and pledges to find his family. The council does not try to stop him.
After many months of wandering, the boy comes to a series of caves inhabited by a strange race of humanoids. They are actually peaceful, and even seem to recognize him. They take him into their cave city, where he surprisingly finds his father and mother! I'm not sure how they got there, but they remained to help the beings. But what about his brother, the boys asks. His parents reply that he had been brought here and was safe. He was out wandering the land.
At that point, all activity in the cave stopped. Some monsters are seen moving through some of the adjacent tunnels. Thorvald explains to his son that the monsters were at war with the peaceful humanoids. He was helping his new friends against these evil creatures.
After supping with his family, the boy is alone in the tunnels when he is approached by a spirit, one of a race of spirits who appear to the barbarians. These spirits are like a person's conscience, guiding them if they are losing themselves to evil. The spirit tells the boy that he committed two murders, and must return to the civilized land to face the consequences for his crimes. In tears, the boy complains that they would kill him. The spirit replies that if that was what was needed for justice to be done, then so be it. However, there was another way; the boy could offer his services in recompense. It was a tradition in the boy's former homeland a person causing an accidental death could repay for it with seven years of service. The boy was to return to the civilized land and offer that deal. The boy wiped away his tears and sadly agreed.
"I will tell my father." the boy states determinedly. "I will go at once."
"No, not yet." The spirit replies gently. "Wait until you grow to be a powerful warrior. Then it will be your time."
That's when I woke up.
Wow, I thought. There are just SO many stories possible from this one dream. I could flesh out the story of Thorvald's escape and adventures in the civilized land. The war against the monsters, the eldest son's adventures, and the youngest's sons labors in recompense for his transgressions all make great fodder for stories. I guess I need to start writing.
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