by Griff Hosker
As dawn broke Egbert brought the rest of the garrison to the walls. I told him what we had done and he nodded his approval. “I have eight older warriors who are willing to stand with the Warlord and his equites. With me that makes twelve any more would be unlucky.”
I smiled, “That sounds a little like Christian talking.”
“My wife is one. Let us say when I fight I follow the old ways but, in my home, I place my hands together. Today I am a warrior once more.”
It was the fourth hour of the day when we spied them. We had all eaten and prepared ourselves for war. We heard the sound of wagons and I waved the men to hide beneath the parapet. I peered through the gap in the stone. The Saxons snaked down the road. Lang Seax rode at the fore and he was on an equite’s horse. It was Garth’s. I saw that he had taken mail. He was too big for it to have been Gawan’s. It was the overlapping metal type. It was Pybba’s. Tethered to the back was a shambling bloody figure. It was Gawan. He wore just the white shift and he was barefoot. There was blood around his middle and his hands had neither fingers nor thumbs. His nose and eyes had been taken. I wanted to fly from the walls and to kill Lang Seax there and then but Gawan was surrounded by ten of Lang Seax’s warriors. I would be dead before I reached him.
They stopped when they were level with the gatehouse. Lang Seax glanced over. He saw the closed gate but appeared not to think it represented danger. He turned and shouted, “Some of you come and clear this bridge!”
It was what we had waited for. The twenty men who came did not bear shields; they left them by the cart. Agramaine said, quietly, “I have counted more than a hundred and twenty Warlord.”
“Let us see how many we can kill with our first arrow shower.” I peered again and saw the twenty men approaching the bridge. “Now!”
I had a bow and I aimed it at Lang Seax. The arrow was not a true one. It did not fly straight but still managed to hit his leg and drive into the side of the horse. He could not control it as it reared and he was thrown to the ground. Sadly, the horse protected him. He was on the wrong side for me to hit him. I flung the bow to the ground. Already the archers and slingers had killed ten Saxons. The men sent to the bridge ran back for their shields. I hurled a javelin and hit one Saxon who fell and brought down two others. As the two struggled to their feet they were slain too. One man reached his fellows who had all raised their shields.
Lang Seax’s head appeared above the horse. Pol sent an arrow at him but it just struck the saddle. The Saxon shouted, “I thought you dead Warlord. See your brother now. No longer the pretty little wizard he once was.” He grabbed the rope and pulled Gawan towards him. He put his hand over his bloody sockets and said something to the warrior next to him.
Gawan shouted, “Rheged and the Warlord!”
The Saxon grabbed Gawan’s tongue and slice it. I stood and hurled my spear. It was aimed at Gawan. I would put him from his misery. A fluke breeze diverted it and it sank into the side of the head of the Saxon who had taken his tongue.
Lang Seax laughed, “You will know where to find me Warlord for I will leave pieces of your brother for you to follow!” He was taunting me. He turned to his men and shouted, savagely, “Clear the bridge!”
Egbert said, “Warlord, he does not know how few men we have. If he did know then he would send them round to the other gates!”
I nodded and shouted, “Make them bleed. The more we kill here the fewer will escape!”
This time the Saxons had shields to protect their bodies but their legs were vulnerable. I threw another spear and it hit a shield square on. It must have driven almost through the willow boards. The warrior was struggling to hold up the shield and one of Egbert’s men hurled a stone which hit him on the side of the head. The first two ran into the spears and fell mortally wounded into the river. They began to clear the trees but it was at a cost. Another twelve fell before they managed to remove them.
“Now it is our time. Pol, sound the horn. Let them think we sally forth with an army.” Even as the buccina sounded I saw Lang Seax, using his horse as a shield, lead his oathsworn across the bridge. Those who had cleared the bridge joined them. The Saxon wagons were next and they had forty men to protect them. The gates were flung open and I led eleven men to attack them. The others on the wall targeted the drivers of the wagons. Those three had no protection and they died. When they did the wagons stopped, blocking the road. With my shield before me and a freshly sharpened Saxon Slayer held above me we ploughed into the Clan of the Snake. These had no mail. My first blow struck across the chest of the leading Saxon. It bit deeply and blood spurted. I punched my shield at the man next to him and as he reeled I whipped my sword across his side.
A Saxon thrust his spear at me and it struck my knee. Pain coursed through my body as it tore into the bone. I punched him in the face with the hilt of my sword. As he lay on the ground I smashed my shield across his windpipe. The Saxons were organizing now. They had realised how few we were. Two of the Mercians fell dead and I believe we might have all been killed had not the younger warriors in the fort suddenly dashed out and, cheering, charged to reinforce us. Even so it was desperate. One of the Saxons had an axe. He had just used its edge to slay a Mercian and he back handed the head into my side. I felt something break. I brought my sword across in a wide sweep before he could reverse the weapon and took his head.
Agramaine was fighting three men. Two Saxons were between me and them even as I sliced into the Saxon’s side Pol had slain one of the three. It proved to be his undoing for another Saxon axe swung and entered his spine. I threw myself at his killer. My sword drove all the way through his side. As I fell I kicked the legs from beneath one of the two men fighting Agramaine. As Agramaine slew the other I dragged my sword from the dead Saxon and plunged it up between the legs of the prone Saxon and into his guts. He died twitching and screaming. His screams seemed to act as a signal for the survivors, all fifteen of them to run to the river and swim across. They had had enough.
I crawled to Pol and cradled his head in my arms. He smiled, “I feel no pain, Warlord, but I am dead. I will see you in the Otherworld. I am sorry that I will not be with you when you rescue Gawan. Tell him…” His eyes glazed over and he was dead.
I stood. He had been a brave squire and a noble equite. Agramaine had tears in his eyes for they had been like brothers. “He gave his life for me.”
I nodded. I saw that Egbert had but ten men left. The rest had died. “Egbert, your men fought like heroes. In these wagons is treasure. It is yours to use as you see fit.”
“Do you not want it Warlord?”
“I need no treasure. We will bury our friend and pursue the enemy. In the unlikely event that we survive we will pick up Pol’s horse. Until then care for it.”
“Of course, Warlord, but there are but two of you. We slew many of them but, even so.”
“We are the Wolf Brethren and we do not give up. My brother is being tortured. We will not stop until we find him.”
Chapter 15
We buried Pol in the Roman cemetery of the fort. If was fitting. He was a Roman in all but name. He was buried with his mail, sword and shield. Agramaine tended to my knee and wrapped a bandage around my broken ribs. I now had three wounds and I knew that I would be slower. Agramaine had managed to avoid any wound and I would be more reliant on him. It was late in the afternoon when we crossed the bridge. We had sharpened our swords and taken spears from the armoury. I had seen more than fifty summers and I felt every one of those years. Our horses had benefitted from the whole day of rest and grain. We made good time on the Roman Road. We passed the bodies of two of the Snakes who had been wounded in the battle. They had been abandoned. We made almost twenty-five miles before we had to stop. It was dark and I did not want to risk an ambush. We found an abandoned hut and used it. We brought the horses inside. We could not risk going afoot.
After we had eaten, we had bread, cheese and ham which we had been given, Agramaine said, “Warlord it we do not catch t
hem until they are in their stronghold then I fear our quest will be in vain.”
“Then we catch them before they reach it. They have one horse. We can travel three times as quickly as they. I am guessing they are camped at the Roman Road. It is less than ten miles ahead of us.”
Agramaine nodded, “We have whittled down their numbers but many more than twenty remain.”
I smiled, “When we began they had more than a hundred and twenty. We take each step as it comes.”
That night I woke. I had a pain in my heart. I thought I had been wounded. I could not understand it. When I felt my body, I was whole. What had the pain been? Was there some wound inside me? Had the axe done more damage than just my ribs?
We rose before dawn and left as the sun peered over the eastern horizon. I would have left in the dark but I feared tricks from the Saxons. When we reached the cross roads where the road forked I saw the reason for the pain in the night. On a spear, ahead of me was a human heart. I knew that it was Gawan. My brother was dead. It was a message from Lang Seax.
As we buried the heart Agravaine said, “They will ambush us.”
“I know but not yet.” I pointed ahead, “This is a Roman Road. It is straight for many more miles and the hills are to the south and east of us. They will ambush us when we get into the rough country.” I pointed to the soil. “This cruelty will come back to haunt Lang Seax. He thinks we follow him blindly. We do not. Thanks to Gawan and Myrddyn we know where his lair is. It is by the river of the blue stones. When we get to the rough country we leave the road and we will spring our own surprise.” I knelt next to the grave. “This may be the only part of you that we bury brother but it is not out of disrespect. We will avenge you. That I swear.”
We mounted and rode down the road. We did not wear our helmets for we wanted to see as far ahead as we could. They would have men watching for us. Lang Seax wanted my sword. More than that he wanted my head. They would be the weapons I used to destroy him.
We had travelled five more miles when we found one of Gawan’s legs. It was hanging high in the branches of a tree which overhung the road. As we passed it I gripped the wolf clasp on my cloak and apologised to my brother.
We rode further down the road until we were a few miles short of where the high ground began. We went off the road and into the woods to the east. There would be shelter from any rain and we could make it more secure than being in the open by the road. We lit a fire and put water on to heat. Agravaine made a stew and busied himself around the camp fire. I went into the woods and used some thin rope we had brought from the fort. Using my dagger, I cut some of the wild brambles and spread them around the outside of the camp. None of my traps would kill or even hurt the Saxons but if they came we would have warning. That was all we needed. We ate the food and, having made certain that the horses were secure, we laid down to sleep. We wore our mail. In my case it was too painful to remove. I had no intention of sleeping but I would, as Myrddyn had often said, rest my eyes yet remain alert. Agravaine and I had said all that we needed to say. Any further conversation would be just a means of filling the silence. We did not need to do that. We had our thoughts to occupy us.
I heard the Saxon trip not long after the fire had become a soft red glow in the dark. Saxon Slayer was close to hand and I gripped the hilt. A second rustle told me that there were at least two killers. My eyes were open and I was looking into the woods when I caught the movement. Despite my wounds I was up on my feet at the same time as Agravaine. There were eight Saxons. We had made our camp so that we were on either side of the fire. It was at our backs. We would be looking towards the dark and the light would reflect off their faces. I slipped my dagger into my left hand. The four who came at me were confident. I was a greybeard. I had been wounded and they outnumbered me.
One was more eager than the others and he lunged at me with his sword. I flicked it away with my dagger and swept Saxon Slayer around to eviscerate him. A second saw his chance and lunged. I pulled back and the blade scraped along my mail. More of the links were damaged. My left hand slashed him across the throat. The other two were warier. They moved to my left and right thinking that if they both attacked I would be helpless. I had no intention of allowing them to dictate the combat. I feinted with my sword at the warrior to my right and even as he lurched back and his companion seized his opportunity to strike at my back, I was spinning around. The fire made him lose any night vision he had. I brought my sword around as I spun and although he tried to turn he was too slow and my sword slashed through his flesh and into his organs. I pushed his dying body towards his companion and I followed through. The dying Saxon stopped the last one from swinging his sword. I dropped to my good knee and drove my dagger up into his guts and thence his heart. He fell dead.
I turned and saw that Agravaine had killed the four on his side. He gave me a sad look, “Warlord, I am wounded.” He had his hand pressed to his side and when he lifted it I saw that it was bloody.
“Sit they are all dead.”
“There may be others.”
“There will not.” I grabbed a bandage from the leather satchel which lay by the fire. Perhaps I was gaining my dead brother’s powers for I knew that we had killed all the enemies who were around us. I lifted off his mail. He had been stabbed in the left side. The blade had gone through and he was bleeding profusely. “Lie down and hold this bandage to the wound. I will build up the fire. I will have to sear it.”
I threw fresh kindling and wood onto the fire and blew. The flames began to lick around the wood. As the fire grew I took the vinegar and honey. It was the last of the vinegar. I returned to Agravaine who looked pale. I wondered if he might pass out. I took the bandage from him and mopped vinegar along the wound. It would be painful. The blood was pouring. I hoped that there was no internal damage or else my healing would be temporary at best. I was not a wizard, I was not a healer I was a wolf warrior. I took the burning band, “Agravaine roll on to your side and put the handle of your dagger in your mouth.”
“Aye Warlord.” He sounded sleepy.
I had no time to waste and I sealed the wound. Mercifully he passed out and I was able to hold the brand there until the bleeding ceased. I waited until it had cooled and then applied honey. While he was asleep I fastened a bandage around him. I made it as tight as I could. He was still unconscious, or asleep when I had finished and so I put his mail back on. Then, as dawn was breaking, I went to the Saxons. They each had, around their neck, a snake amulet. They each had a gold coin as well. They had been paid by Lang Seax. My brother was right. He feared me.
Agravaine woke an hour after dawn. I made him eat. I would have ordered him to return to the Roman fort but I knew he would refuse. He smiled, as he mounted his horse. “This is my first serious wound, Warlord.”
I nodded, “It was honourably earned.”
As we neared the high ground I saw, in the rocks to the west, Gawan’s right arm. It had been carefully placed so that I would have to climb and be exposed if I was to remove it. There would be men hiding close by waiting to ambush me. Behind it I saw Wyddfa and that gave me hope. Myrddyn’s spirit and that of my father were close by and watching me. I began to recognise where we were. I had been here with King Cadwallon when he had been a prince. I seemed to remember a hunting trail off the road. I wondered if my memory was playing tricks. Then, where the road began to climb I spied the track to the left. It was the hunter’s trail I remembered. I remembered my dreams. I knew where we were.
I took the trail and dug my heels in to Star once we were in the trees. I knew that it would be agony for Agravaine to ride through such rough ground for my wounds were hurting too. It could not be helped. The end was almost in sight. Soon there would be no pain. At first, I thought that the trail would take us in a circle but then it turned back on itself and began to wind up around the hill. The trees masked any noise our horses might make and we rode until noon. We emerged east of the road. I saw the road winding up to the north west. I knew wher
e we were. This was the place I had seen in my dream. This was where the magical pool lay. This would be Saxon Slayer’s last resting place. This was wyrd. We were less than ten miles from the tomb of Myrddyn and my father. Lang Seax would not know that.
I did not approach the road. The trail seemed to run parallel to it. I wondered if this had been used by the ancient people when they had attacked the Romans invading their land. Agravaine and I did not talk. Sound travelled. I knew that he was close for I could hear his horse. The afternoon was passing quickly. Would Lang Seax stop? Was he waiting to ambush me? The questions raced through my head and then, as the sun started to drop behind Wyddfa, I heard a voice in my head, it was Myrddyn. ‘Hogan Lann you are close. The enemy are near. Remember the pool with the blue stone!’
It confirmed what I had thought. We had found a blue stone in an underground pool. It was here in these mountains.
Donning my helmet, I said, quietly, “Draw your sword, we are close.”
I took out Saxon Slayer and peered ahead. I caught a whiff of smoke. Someone was lighting a fire. We had no idea how many enemies faced us but I hoped that half of them were still waiting to ambush us. That way we had a chance. The trail made the difference. It dropped below the road and then climbed. I heard the voices of the Saxons above us. I dug my heels into Star and began to climb through the trees. I knew that the Clan of the Snake was close enough now that they would hear us but Star would be like a warrior. As I breasted the rise a Saxon turned from making water. My swinging sword was the last thing he saw. I spied Lang Seax. He was surrounded by four of his men. Another three were close to the fire. I rode at them knowing that Agravaine would be right behind me. Two of the three ran at me One had an axe. Star reared. His mighty hooves hit the axeman’s companion in the head but the axe bit into brave Star’s chest. Even dying he fought for me and his body fell on the axe man. I allowed myself to be thrown from his back and I rolled next to the fire. I saw Agravaine slay the third Saxon.