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"The Old Grind"  
Chicks in Chainmail
Author Laura Frankos
First Appearance Chicks in Chainmail
Publisher Baen
Genre(s) Fantasy
Publication date 1995

"The Old Grind" is a short story by Laura Frankos, published in Chicks in Chainmail, edited by Esther Friesner, Baen 1995; reprinted in the omnibus Chicks Ahoy!, 2010. It can also be read on-line at Baen's website. It is a fantasy story incorporating characters and plot elements from the Old Norse poem Grottasöngr, as well as historical events from northwestern Europe during the period between 910-911 CE.

Fenia, a giantess living in the Orkney Islands, is discontent with her life as a salt farmer. Striking out for the wider world, she joins the army of the historical Viking chieftain Rollo and fights in the Siege of Chartres. After visiting Valhalla as a tourist (due to a royal mix-up with the Valkyries), Fenia decides that there's no place like home, and returns to her Orkney salt farm with a new perspective on life.

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