by Griff Hosker
"Snorri, how many horses do we have?"
"Thirty, Jarl."
"We take the Ulfheonar and Sigtrygg and his men. We will ride to Lundenburgh. I think I will speak with this Eorledman Brynoth."
The horses were not the largest I had ever seen and my feet almost touched the ground but it saved walking and cut the journey by half. We were seen long before we reached the Saxon stronghold. The gates were barred and the walls were manned. I dismounted and, with Leif the Banner and Haaken One Eye, I approached the walls. I stood a hundred paces from them. It was a contemptuous act for if they had any decent archers they could have easily hit me but I knew that they would not even try. My guards at the monastery had told me that the Saxons regarded me as some sort of mythical monster. I think they believed I was a half human form of Grendel!
The Eorledman shouted down, "What do you wish now?"
"If I wanted your town I would take it for I have seen little to stop me. Even when you hire savages from the east we defeat you. You have no honour, Saxon. I did not see you in the shield wall. You did not trade blows with us. King Egbert will not be happy when he returns."
I had hit home with my last barb for he jabbed an accusing finger at me, "And he is returning, Dragonheart! We have sent riders to him!"
I laughed. It would take almost half a month to reach him and as long for him to return. Even if a message had been sent to the King of Wessex, Egbert was too clever a general to come back for one Viking raid.
"Then I should go, should I not, before he returns? Perhaps I shall go now and sell my captives in Dyflin's slave market. And yet I stay here. You have much yet which I can take and no one to stop me. Your men of Kent failed to arrive, did they not? Who is left? Perhaps the Mercians will come to aid me? We change our allies these days. I fought for Egbert against Coenwulf and the Danes and now you bring Danes to fight me. Strange bed fellows!"
He was silent and Haaken said quietly, "You have him confused now, Jarl. He knows not what to do."
"And I have not finished yet, Haaken." I raised my voice, "Perhaps I should bring my men and ships from Tilaburg. We could camp here around your burgh. What say you to that?"
He had not seen that possibility. I doubted that there would be enough supplies in the burgh to feed the ones who had fled there and I knew that we had hurt their trade and Lundenwic prospered on trade.
After a short silence the Eorledman shouted, "What will it take for you to leave?" Before I could answer I saw a priest next to him say something. "And to leave all the captives here too?"
"Gold and silver!"
"How much?"
"Bring all that you have in three days to Tilaburg. If it is enough I will leave. If you have brought all that you can then I will let you have the captives."
"But how do I know how much is enough?"
"You tell me. How much is the prosperity of Lundenwic and how much do you wish the captives returned?"
He spoke to those around him and said, "And how much would you pay if the situation was reversed?"
I laughed, "You do not know me Eorledman; any who touches what is mine pays with his life. Ask the Danes Egbert sent to hurt me. They enjoyed the blood eagle. Do not make the same mistake King Egbert made. I inflict this upon Lundenwic because your King Egbert sends assassins, warbands and killers into my land. So the answer is, I would pay in blood! I would pay in death!"
Even from a hundred paces I saw his shoulders slump as he said, "Very well we will come but do you give your word that you will not raid while we gather the gold?"
"If you want me to stop raiding then come sooner!"
I sent Asbjorn and Ketil south of the river, the next day and they scoured the lands of Kent. The men of Wessex had taken much but we still managed to bring pots, treasure and weapons.
Siggi and Aiden returned the day before my deadline. I noticed that the knarr rode higher in the water. They had managed to trade. Aiden and Siggi's faces confirmed the success of the voyage.
"We have many chests of gold, Jarl. The King of Wessex is not popular in Frankia. They may not like Vikings but they despise the men of Wessex."
"Did they know you were Vikings?"
"They suspected but, like Haaken here, they turned a blind eye to it for they wanted the knarr and the treasure we took."
"Good. We can begin loading the knarr with the best of the animals and the rest of the treasure. The Saxons come tomorrow with gold to buy us off. I intend to sell the captives back to them. We will not have the bother of selling them in Dyflin. Siggi, we will need someone from your knarr to steer the captured knarr."
"I will see to it, Jarl. I have one who could be a captain." He looked sad, "Since Trygg was slain I have missed the company of another captain. Einar Blue Eye has served me well. I would, with your permission, give him the knarr."
"Of course."
That last day was hectic as the animals we would not be taking were slaughtered. We took the skins and hides. They would be treated back in Cyninges-tūn. Tanned hides and skins were both valuable and useful. The meat we salted and put in some of the empty beer barrels. We had drunk many of the barrels of beer and ale the monks had had and they made the perfect container for the salted meat. The captives knew that something was going on and I was approached by Hilda, the wife of Wulfric, the slain thegn. She had learned to defer to me and she gave a slight bow, "Lord, you are leaving?"
"We are leaving!"
"And us?"
"You will leave too unless Eorledman Brynoth brings enough gold to satisfy us."
She looked upset, "My fate is in his hands? Then we are doomed for he has coveted my husband's lands for years. If my son is sold as a slave then he will have the land for himself!"
I had thought that the man was cunning. "Do not worry. They want the churchmen so much that he will pay. You have shown courage, lady and I would spite this Eorledman. You will not be sold in Dyflin but say nothing to the priests."
"But why?"
"I have my reasons." I smiled, "Do not judge all Vikings by the actions of a few. If the priests know what I have just said then I will sell you and your family to the Irish and that I swear!"
"Then I swear I will say nothing." As she held the cross which was around her neck I believed her.
My scouts reported the arrival of the Saxon host. There was a large number but I could see that they came not for war. They had priests with them and wagons carrying chests. I went to meet them with my jarls.
"Let us get this over with I either have a tide to catch or Saxons to slaughter. First where is the gold to make us leave?"
The Eorledman snapped his fingers, imperiously, and ten chests were brought forward. I nodded to Haaken who opened each one and sifted through them to make sure that they had not filled the bottom with rocks and salted the top with a few coins. "It is good, Jarl Dragonheart."
"And now for the captives."
The priest who had the most regal robes waved forward two slaves who carried two boxes and laid them before us. Haaken check them again and nodded. I turned, "Bring forward the captives."
Aiden led Hilda and her family and the farmers and their families. The priests and monks, all twenty of them, were guarded.
"Here are your captives." Hilda gave me a grateful nod as she passed me.
Eorledman Brynoth and the priest became almost apoplectic, "This was for the monks and priests!"
I smiled, "I am the seller here. If you wish the monks then I want another three boxes of gold and coins."
I was gambling but I had seen more wagons lower down the hill. The priest nodded and waved them forward. They unpacked three chests and brought them to us. They were filled to the brim. I had seen one more box chest there.
"Very well you have paid my money and we will leave." I turned and shouted, "Fetch the priests and burn the monastery!"
The priest in the regal robes shouted, "No! We have paid you!"
"And I have given you that for which you paid. We said nothing about l
eaving the church and the monastery standing!"
"Here, one chest of gold to leave the church alone." A final chest, smaller than the rest appeared as if by magic.
I smiled, "Very well. Do not fire the church!"
The Saxons did not leave but watched as we loaded our drekar and knarr with our booty. We had achieved far more than I would have dreamed possible. As we headed out to sea Haaken said, "When others hear of this raid, Jarl, they will visit this land in even greater numbers."
"I know, Haaken, but next time they will defend better and pay less. This is wyrd. It is weregeld for all that King Egbert has done to us."
We were watched from the banks as we left. The skies were dark and foreboding. It seemed ominous. My drekar led the other ships. We had used a couple of men from each drekar to crew the new knarr which we had named "Weregeld". With Siggi abeam of her and Asbjorn behind she would be as well protected as any. Sigtrygg and Olaf sailed on the flanks.
Aiden seemed disturbed as we headed out to sea. "What troubles you, my galdramenn?"
"The Danish mercenaries worry me. They came within a short time. You say there were about thirty and that is not enough for a boat crew. Where are the rest? Had I been there when the battle was fought I might have detected their thoughts."
I looked astern. "Let us assume you are right," I smiled, "and you are rarely wrong, then there may be more Danes and they have to be north of us." I turned to Erik, "Where is the wind from?"
"The north east Jarl. It carries us home quickly."
"Aiden thinks that there may be Danes around. Aiden, when did the feeling come upon you?"
"When we passed the island where first we sheltered."
Erik nodded, "There are many channels on the north side. You could hide a fleet there. What do we do, Jarl?"
"We have to sail at the speed of the knarr. Slow down and I will speak with Siggi. When we begin to turn around the coast I will let him and the other knarr lead. We will be a wall of wood behind them. The Danes will have to come through us."
The coast of Kent turned south and, as we slowed, Siggi came abeam of us. I had Erik get us as close as he could but, even so, I still had to shout. "Aiden fears Danish pirates. You lead, "Weregeld". If trouble comes then sail for the Sabrina and we will catch you up."
"Aye Jarl."
We used Leif and the banner to signal the other drekar into a line. I needed not tell them anything. I merely pointed astern and held my sword up. They knew the signal. There was danger. As soon as we made the turn to steerboard the wind pushed us along at a far faster rate. If there were Danish pirates they would be able to close with us quickly. One fear I had was that they might be ahead of us but then I realised that Eorledman Brynoth would have waited until he had the priests before telling his erstwhile allies. We had a little time. We could have rowed but that would have tired my warriors and would have done us little good. We had to keep the knarr in sight and they sailed at the speed of the wind. The advantage would be that the Danes, if they caught us, would have rowed and they would be tired. We were on the left of the line with the two smaller drekar between us and 'Odin's Breath'. We were the biggest by some way but Asbjorn's drekar was bigger than most. Sigtrygg's 'Crow', was the least of my worries for he was an experienced captain and warrior. He would keep his drekar out of trouble.
"Snorri, break out the bows and have the archers gather here in the stern. We will keep them at a distance for as long as possible."
"We will be releasing into the wind, Jarl."
"I know but we do what we can. A couple of lucky strikes can make all the difference."
I was not certain I believed it but Ragnar had told me that a true warrior never gave up until he saw Odin's face.
Erik shouted, "Thorir, keep a good watch astern!"
"Aye Captain."
The ship's boy had his legs wrapped around the mast as he sat on the crosstree. He had young eyes and he would see the enemy first. We began to edge around the southern coast of Kent and were heading due west. Hope sprang in my heart. I began to believe that Aiden might have been wrong when Thorir's voice rang out. "Jarl Dragonheart, there are six Danish drekar astern."
"Prepare for war!"
I had not yet taken off my mail and I picked up my helmet. I would delay putting on until the last moment. Haaken and Olaf joined me. "They will catch us and we must somehow defeat them.
"'Red Snake' and 'King's Gift' are both threttanessa, Jarl. They have small crews."
"I know Olaf."
"And their captains have never fought at sea."
"Thank you, Haaken. Is there something you wish to tell me that I do not know?"
Haaken was silent. Aiden said, "Is it too risky to use fire?"
"The wind is wrong, Aiden. Fire arrows do not have the range of normal arrows and we would be releasing into the wind. No, I am afraid this will be an old fashioned battle. We must use the skills of the Ulfheonar and Asbjorn."
"'Crow' has Sigtrygg and his men on board. He has fought at sea."
"But not for some time." This was all my fault. I had been so confident that I could defeat the Saxons I had forgotten about sea battles. We had not prepared. I promised myself that, if we survived this, then we would work out tactics should such a situation occur. Had Wolf Killer been with us we would have had a second drekar which was as big as mine. I glanced astern and I could now see them. They were catching us. I was tempted to row but that would not help my knarr. If anything we needed to go slowly. I put my hand on my sword and stared up at the skies as though they might give me inspiration.
And then the idea came to me just as suddenly as the lightning had struck the tower back on Man all those years ago. "Aiden and Snorri have fire and fire arrows prepared."
Erik said, "But Jarl that is risky and they will not reach the enemy!"
"They will if we are behind them."
"But how ..." He smiled, "You have the cunning of a fox."
Olaf looked confused, "Then explain it to me Jarl for I know not what we do!"
"We turn and sail across their bows and then into the wind. They are using oars and they will go beyond us. They will pass close enough for our arrows to do them damage and then, when we are turned the wind will be with us and carry our arrows further."
"But what of the others? They will not know the plan."
"I have three experienced jarls aboard those ships. They will work it out quickly enough beside, we are the largest drekar and we can do this alone."
Haaken burst out laughing, "Each time I think I have the saga in my head, Jarl Dragonheart excels himself!"
I turned to Erik, "I leave the turn to you, Erik. You know how to judge these things."
"We need them close enough so that they are still rowing. They will stop when they are within three boat lengths. I will wait until they are four lengths away. If we shorten sail a little now it will slow us down and, perhaps, tell the other captains what we plan."
"Good idea. Olaf, you keep watch on the Danes."
Now that I had a plan I felt better about the way the events were turning out. Firstly it would ensure that the knarr escaped. Our people would benefit even if we were dead. Secondly it gave us a fighting chance. If they held the wind gauge then they could dictate the battle and thirdly they would now not only be tired but confused and those two conditions made men make mistakes.
"Five lengths, Jarl."
Erik said, "Then it is time!" he shouted, "Prepare to come about!"
I had to help him, along with Olaf, to push the steering board hard over. We began to head south and we kept the wood of the steering board hard over as we turned to face east. Snorri, Aiden and the archers were now in the bows with the small brazier and the fire arrows. They would not release yet. As we began to turn east I saw the bows of the Danish dragon ship hurtling towards us. The captain had not managed to get all of his oars in and, as we turned and my archers released arrows at his stern, our drekar smashed across half of the oars. I had seen the effect
before at first hand and not only would the oars be broken and therefore useless, the splinters could severely wound and even kill a rower.
"Haaken, what of the other drekar?"
"They have all turned, Jarl and they are passing between the Danes." Asbjorn would have two drekar to contend with; one on each side. I hoped that my others were as lucky as I had been and that they would also break some oars and that their arrows would inflict casualties.
We were close enough to see the faces of our foes. Some shook their fists. I saw others lifting wounded warriors and all the time Snorri and his ten archers were loosing arrows at the crew around the steering board. We were going so slowly now, heading into the wind, that we were barely making any way. Had our sail not been partially shortened then we would have stopped. Erik continued, with the help of Olaf, to turn us so that we could sail along the sterns of the Danes.
As we passed the stern I saw that we could almost touch it and that the helmsmen and the others had been slain. I grabbed the torch which we kept at the stern to signal the other drekar and hurled it as high as I could. The wind caught it and carried it to the stern. There was no one to douse it. Ship's timbers are notoriously dry and as we began to move, more quickly north, flames leapt up and the ropes and sheets began to burn. One Danish drekar would not be able to fight.
None of my other ships had thought of using fire arrows but they all had archers ready and as they sailed, now ahead of us, they showered arrows on the Danes. The four remaining Danes were trying to turn to mirror our course. As they turned into the wind their full sails caused them to slow to a stop. We now had the wind and we sped along their line.
Snorri and Aiden worked as a team and their arrows struck the second drekar. This time there were crew ready to douse the flames but the Norns aided us and two arrows struck the sail, which could not be doused. And then we had passed that and the third drekar loomed up. Fortunately for the Danish captain he had not turned as quickly as his fellows and only two arrows struck him but he was too far away to be a danger. A fourth had become becalmed as its captain miscalculated and I saw him as they used their oars to turn the lumbering drekar around.