by Griff Hosker
When I saw light coming from it I knew that it was being opened. I ran hard and the monk who saw us had the time to shout, "Vikings!" before I ran him through and we burst in. Rollo and Rolf had gone around to the rear of the church, leading more of my warriors as we drove the terrified monks towards the far end of the church and their altar. Two older ones stood, bravely brandishing an incense burner and a candle snuffer in their hands. The rest fled.
I spoke in Saxon, "Put them down and you live. Your God would not want you to die for a candlestick."
Perhaps my tone of voice and use of Saxon surprised them for they obeyed.
"Take them to 'Red Snake'. Olaf gather the treasures and the books."
By the time the church had been stripped the other crews had taken everything of value from the halls and the outbuildings. We even had some sheep and a cow. The cow would be butchered and we would eat well on the voyage back.
"Raibeart, send word to Snorri and then guard the priests. Do not harm them. They are worth coin to us."
We made our way back to the drekar. So far it was all going well but I knew that the next part might prove to be more difficult. We left our treasure and captives and set sail up river once more. We led the way but this time we kept well to the middle of the river. We knew that it narrowed before widening again. There were twists and turns in the Tamese. Had we been using sail it might have taken forever but with my crew rowing we powered through the black waters. The huts and halls along the shore were in darkness. I knew that there were no forts or defences until Lundenburgh.
The huge Roman burgh loomed ominously on our right. It was still pitch black and we saw no one but I knew that our oars would make white water. Perhaps the guards were asleep for no one shouted the alarm. On reflection we may have been mistaken for barges for we had no sails to mark us as drekar.
Even though we had made good time, dawn was not far away when we rounded the bend in the river. As we neared Lundenwic I waved to Sigtrygg and Asbjorn to head to the monastery at Lambehitha. I led Ketil and his men to the north shore. We had used this before when we had served King Egbert against King Coenwulf. With the King of Wessex away I counted on a weak garrison.
There were ships tied up at the jetty and they gave the alarm as we approached. By then it was too late. Erik and Olaf put our drekar hard over to stop next to the ships and we used them as a bridge to the shore. It also gave us protection from attack. As we leapt over the side of the merchant ship I shouted, "Rolf Horse Killer, take four men and capture this knarr!"
"Aye Jarl."
Already we had booty for I saw that the ship over which we passed was still laden. They must have been waiting for the high tide to sail. The crew were sleeping on the deck and they sensibly cowered away from us as we passed over their deck and on to the stone jetty. Speed was now of the essence. We had to get to the edge of the settlement as soon as we could. I did not mind the people fleeing to Lundenburgh, slaves were not important, but we wanted them to leave their valuables in their homes and halls. When we had been here before we had seen what riches they had in Lundenwic.
Inevitably some foolish men decided that their goods were too valuable to leave. While I led my Ulfheonar to the edge of the houses I heard cries behind me as Ketil and his men went to empty the halls, houses and storage dwellings of all that they had. I stopped when I saw the walls of Lundenburgh just four hundred paces from us. King Egbert had cleared the land after the attack by King Coenwulf. I had no desire to lose warriors attacking its walls. Women, children and a few men ran from back lanes and narrow alleyways to run towards the fort which was now in uproar.
"Shields!"
The Ulfheonar locked shields and we formed one line across the road from the fort. Other warriors formed a second line. I saw a glow from the fort as the huge gates opened to admit the refugees and to allow some of the garrison to come out. They had no idea how many men they faced and I guessed that the Eorledman, Thegn or Gesith who commanded would bring men to see if he could chase us off. He was in for a shock.
Most Viking raiders use spears. We sometimes did but my Ulfheonar preferred their own weapons of choice. Haaken and I favoured swords while Olaf Leather Neck liked his axe. The Saxons who approached all had spears. I saw the first glow of dawn behind the walls of Lundenburgh and I saw that there were forty men approaching us. We were evenly matched in numbers but I doubted that they had the quality of warriors who stood with me. The leader had a fine full face helmet with small wings at the side. The rising sun glinted from it. The overlapping scales told me he had good mail as did the five hearthweru behind him.
When they were sixty paces from us they halted and the Saxon shouted, "Wedge!"
Had I chosen we could have charged them and attacked them when they were in the process of forming a wedge but I waited. I shouted, "Lock shields!" My men all moved a little closer so that each shield overlapped the next by a third of its width and I felt the shields behind us push into our backs. If these had been the Welsh, with their fine archers, I might have had the second rank of shields held over us. Saxons made poor archers. We just braced ourselves for the attack. We all stepped forward on our left legs so that we were braced for the moment of impact.
The wedge complete, the leader led his men towards us. The warriors who approached us moved slowly. I guessed they were more used to watching from the walls. We waited patiently. When they were twenty paces from us the Saxon shouted, "Charge!" The sun suddenly flared brightly above the walls and bathed us all in light.
As one we raised our shields so that they covered half of our heads. It left the Saxons with two targets, our eyes or our thighs. Our thighs were covered by long byrnies. Our eyes were a small target. I held my sword above my shield and that of Haaken. I watched as the Saxon leader deliberately aimed his spear at me. He was relying on the weight of the wall to ram their weapons into us. We waited patiently. We knew how to deal with Saxon spears. Our mail, even if they managed to penetrate our shields, would block any blows.
I used the blade of my sword to flick the spear head harmlessly up into the air. It slid between my head and Haaken's. Then they struck us. The wedge became a line as I held the leader and those behind him flowed around. Once we were beard to beard then the spear became a useless weapons. The second rank tried to stab over the heads of the front rank. The Saxons had made the mistake of putting taller men in the front rank and the spears were ineffective. Our line had held.
The Saxon leader's face was slightly below mine but he was close enough to hiss at me, "Viking dogs, we shall gut you like fish and put your heads on the walls! I am Eorledman Brynoth and I have slain many Vikings!"
I smiled, "But not, I think, an Ulfheonar! Push!" The Saxons had lost all cohesion now and were a swirling mass of warriors. They had not locked their shields and when I pushed, along with all of my men, with our shields the Saxons were forced back. As soon as there was space I stabbed forward with Ragnar's Spirit. The Eorledman's shield came up to block my strike but the edge slid over the bindings on his scale armour. As I withdrew it I saw leather beneath. We did not relent but all stepped forward once more. This time we had enough space to punch with our shields. I heard a cry from my right as Haaken slew one of the hearthweru. There was a second shout as the warrior who came to take his place was also slain by Haaken.
I pulled back my arm and, as we stepped forward again I lunged at the Saxon's middle. His scale armour held but my punch winded him and he reeled back into the men behind. The weight of the Saxon and his armour knocked down two other Saxons and the Eorledman struggled to keep his feet. There was space before me and I brought Ragnar's Spirit down towards Eorledman Brynoth. Had the blow struck he would have died but one of his men tried to intervene. He took the strike instead and my sword hacked off his arm close to the shoulder. His falling body afforded Eorledman Brynoth the time to regain his balance and shout. "Back to the burgh!"
They turned and ran. I had no intention of following. I turned as I sensed a
weapon coming towards me. A shieldless Saxon was thrusting his spear at my right side. I deflected the spear head with my sword and then smashed him in the face with the boss of my shield. It struck him square on the face. His nose disappeared in a mess of blood and bone and he fell down dead. I was so surprised that I looked down at him. I had never killed a man with my shield before.
Turning around I saw that we had slain fifteen or so of the Saxons. My men were despatching those who were wounded. "Search the bodies and take the mail and the weapons to the ships. Olaf, take six men and stop them leaving by the north gate. I will send a messenger to you when it is time to leave."
Haaken joined me, "They were poor warriors."
I nodded, "Egbert will have his better men in Corn Walum. Did we lose many?"
"None. Some of the newer warriors were wounded. Arne Sheep Head now has a long scar across his face. Aiden will need to sew it."
"Let us see what we have and then return downstream."
Ketil's men were carrying boxes, chests and jars back to the ships. They were in good spirits, "We have a fine haul, Jarl Dragonheart!"
"You know what they say, Sven Thrallson, do not count your treasure until you are safely in your home. The Weird Sisters might be listening."
The warrior clutched the amulet around his neck, "Sorry Jarl! You are right!"
When I reached the river I saw that we had managed to capture four knarr. I did not have enough crew for all of them. We would crew two and sink two. I took off my helmet and walked down the river bank so that I could see Lambehitha. My drekar were still tied up but the men I saw, in the distance, did not look to be in any danger. I returned and climbed aboard the first knarr we had captured. Aiden was there organising the storage of the captured items.
"I think this knarr and the one at the end are the best two, Jarl. They have the largest holds. I am filling them first."
"Good. We will burn the others before we leave. Is it rich pickings?"
"Kara and the women will be happy. There are chests of fine pots from Frankia as well as spices. The other knarr we will take has a cargo of wine."
"Why were they not unloaded?"
"It was the festival of Easter. It is a holy day for the Christians and they do not work."
That explained much. I crossed to "Heart of the Dragon". Erik was still refitting the mast. He smiled, "A successful raid, Jarl. When do we leave?"
"I have Olaf watching the north gate. We will leave when Sigtrygg and Asbjorn are done. I need two men to captain the two knarr I will take. The men from Cyninges-tūn can guard the crew. We can row back to Tilaburg with just the Ulfheonar."
"I have two captains in mind. Thorir Svensson is one and Cnut Cnutson the other."
Cnut was the son of one of my dead Ulfheonar. He was now a warrior but he had been a ship's boy. He knew how to sail.
"Jarl! The other drekar come!"
I looked upstream and saw the sails of my two drekar as they sailed towards us. I shouted, "Snorri, fetch Olaf and his men. We leave." I crossed the knarr to the jetty. "Rollo Thin Skin, we take this knarr and the last one at the end, the one with the wine. Have the men from Cyninges-tūn crew them."
"Aye Jarl."
"Aiden, we fire the other two ships, see to it."
"Aye Jarl!"
It was mid morning as we let the sails and the current take us back to Tilaburg. The smoke from the burning knarr obscured Lundenwic but I knew that some of the houses closest to them had also caught fire. Even as we passed Lundenburgh I saw Eorledman Brynoth leading his men out to try to save them. As we headed downstream I saw warriors on the south bank close to Suthriganaworc. They were pointing at us. I saw a rider heading upstream. Soon they would summon the fyrd.
I saw Erik looking back at the knarr. "What do you think of them, Erik?"
"They will slow us down but we can take more goods. What will we do when we return home? We cannot row 'Heart' with just the Ulfheonar."
"I will put my mind to that when we reach Tilaburg."
"You intend to stay?"
"I have seen nothing yet to frighten us off. We have fourteen days before we need to think about heading back to the Sabrina. With one good raid now we can enjoy the whole of summer back in our home."
Aiden had joined us, "I, for one, would rather spend more time with my family. I do not feel the need for as many adventures as once I did."
We reached Tilaburg at noon. Raibeart came to greet us. I saw Siggi with the knarr. I stepped ashore and pointed to the two newly captured ships. "Empty the first of the knarr on to yours Siggi. I would not crew her unless I had to."
"The treasure from the monastery did not take up much hold space. What is the cargo?"
"The second has wine. We will leave that aboard as the knarr is full. The first has a variety of goods but the women will like the pots!"
Siggi rubbed his hands, "And more profit for us!"
I headed up the hill towards the monastery. Raibeart met me half way up, "A successful raid, Jarl?"
"Aye Raibeart. We lost no men and the Saxons fled to their fort. We will raid along the river. Take your men, on the morrow and cross to the southern bank. We will rest here today and I will take men north. Are there any horses close by?"
"The monks have four."
"Good, then I will send Snorri and Beorn to scout."
"I put the monks to work preparing food. They have a plentiful supply of food and ale here."
"That is excellent, for I am hungry."
I went to the hall where the monks ate. There were ten of them and Raibeart's men were at the doors to prevent them escaping. I took off my helmet. A young priest saw my red eyes and made the sign of the cross. I smiled, "Fetch me food and ale."
I laid my wolf cloak down and slumped at the table. I was tired. Time was I would have thought nothing of raiding all night and all day too. My Ulfheonar entered. Haaken was animated as he told the others of his two blows which killed two men in quick succession. They took their helmets off when they entered the hall and then sat down.
Haaken sat next to me. "And what of you, Jarl Dragonheart? You killed a man with your shield. Who has heard of such a thing?" He put his hand around my left arm. "This must be like an oak tree."
"It was just lucky. Perhaps he had a thin skull."
Haaken tapped his own head. We had fitted a small piece of metal into his skull when he had been laid low the previous year. "You cannot say that of me. I am Haaken One Eye, Iron Head!"
The food was brought over and the ale. The monks were terrified of us. We had been raiding the north and the west for many years but I think this was the first time that the Tamese had been raided. It was a rude awakening for them. I waited until we had eaten and drunk before I spoke with my Ulfheonar and my jarls.
"Tomorrow we leave a guard on the monks and ships then we head north. Raibeart will search the southern shore and we will see what Essex has to offer. We will not range far. I have no doubt that the Eorledman will send for help and we will have to face Saxons in the field. Rest today. I want one man in five as sentry. Arrange for the changes yourselves."
Olaf Leather Neck banged the table with his seax handle, "Jarl Dragonheart! You have led us to success again! May the Allfather watch over you!" They all began banging the tables, making the pots and beakers rattle. I was lucky to have such men to lead.
When I awoke it was late afternoon. Aiden had done little during the night and had not bothered sleeping. He had been examining the books and the parchments we had captured. Knowledge was Aiden's treasure. "Well Aiden, are you pleased?"
"There is much here which we can use and some that we can sell. I have given thought to the knarr we emptied. If we fill it with the goods we wish to trade we can sail to the land of the Franks. They will buy the Holy books and the items from the churches. We have no need for such things. Siggi could come with us and then we could even sell the knarr too. You are right we cannot crew two such knarr. This way we make profit and do not have to wast
e such a fine ship."
That made sense to me. "Good, then see Siggi and sail tomorrow. Choose your crew."
The two knarr sailed before dawn and I led my warband north. We went as three boat crews. We had left enough guards to closely watch the monks although they were so frightened that we would kill them that they seemed quite submissive. Snorri and Beorn had taken horses and they rode north before dawn. They met us on the Roman Road not far from Tilaburg. "We have found a hall. It is unguarded and looks to belong to an Eorledman or the like. It is on a hill. There is a farm and they have animals."
"How far is it?"
"Six Roman miles."
I had thirty men with me and I was confident that we could reach the hall and return unharmed. We began to run along the road. We reached the small stream which was a mile or so from the hall and we watched from the trees. "Snorri, take Beorn, Rolf Horse Killer and Rollo Thin Face. Make sure no one flees north."
We gave them a start and then spread out in a long line to ascend the slopes to the hill. It was a rich farm. There were sheep, cattle and horses grazing in the fields. I saw thralls with yokes around their necks labouring. It looked like the owner was building a second wing to the house. We approached unseen. The land lay in such a way that we were hidden from those who were toiling around the buildings. I had time to wonder why the thegn had not built a palisade around his home. The slope was such that a palisade and a ditch would have ensured he was safe from attack.
As we emerged from the dell, just fifty paces from the hall, we were seen. There were screams from the women and the men ran for their arms. I needed to give no commands to my men and ran as quickly as we could to those with weapons. I recognised the thegn from his fine clothes. He grabbed his sword and axe and stood before his door. I ran straight at him. He held his sword before him. I just raised my shield and hurled myself at the entrance. I knocked him to the ground. He slashed at my leg with his sword but I moved my foot out of the way.
"Surrender and you live! You are a brave man but you will die if you fight."