by Griff Hosker
"I made these preparations when I received your warnings but I am still uncertain if they are true."
"They are." I told him the reasoning. "Even if Egbert comes by sea it is well that we gather here for we could attack him from two directions but I do not believe he will use the sea. I have Siggi and Olaf watching the waters off Úlfarrston. The two knarr are crewed by my drekar captains. We will have adequate warning."
Sigtrygg said, "Then I am satisfied. We need to choose our ground well."
"You have the high ground to the east watched?"
"Two of my best hersir are there and they are well mounted."
"Then we guard the ford of the Ēa Lōn. That is our best opportunity to hold them. Our archers can use the bluffs above the river. Send your scouts south to watch for them but they should not allow themselves to be seen." I pointed to the area behind the new animal pens. "We will camp there. I intend to send for Ketil and Ulf when we know more. There is little point in hunting your animals to death. My men will need feeding."
Sigtrygg knew the land well and he said, "If we have the men hunt south of the Ēa Lōn then it will not harm my people and it will give us warning of the Saxons."
"Good."
My war band arrived just after dark. Sigtrygg's people had prepared both food and the camp. The weather was damp and it would not be pleasant for our warriors but we had the satisfaction of knowing that our enemies would have to march in the wet and would be far more uncomfortable than we were. Wolf Killer arrived the next day and I was happier. We could now contest the ford. Our two warbands were the best trained and the best armed as well as being the two largest.
We went to the ford the next day while my Ulfheonar went hunting. The rest of our warbands made the camp more habitable, digging drainage ditches and erecting better shelters. Aiden was the one who had the ideas for making the ford more difficult for our enemies.
"They will be forced to the middle part of the ford. If we build a small dam upstream then we can burst it and make the ford deeper."
"Will they not cross where the dam is?"
"We build it well upstream and have a few men to guard it. Remember, Jarl Dragonheart, that this is the main road north to your land. Egbert does not come here to attack Sigtrygg. He comes for his jewels and for you." He turned to the bank. "We can make this bank slippery. I will have water laid in at the top. As soon as we see them we make it slick with water. They will get up the slope but they will have to fight the earth as well as our arrows. Then, at the top we will make a barrier of bramble and willow. Once again, they will get through but it will take them some time. We need to make them bleed when they advance."
"And have you given thought to those horsemen we encountered?"
"Aye, I have. Bjorn's grandsons have been making these for three days." He took out the wicked three pointed spikes with which we could sow our flanks.
"And Dragon Fire?"
"We save that for the shield wall. If we use it before then it will be wasted. They will use a shield wall." He turned and pointed behind him. "The land between here and the stronghold is where they will form up. I assume you will fall back to the stad?" I nodded. "Then the boys with the slings can hurl it over your heads to the shield wall."
"Well done, galdramenn. You have done your part. Now it is up to warriors to face them beard to beard."
Aiden took a party of villagers and young warriors east to make the dam. The warriors were delighted to be working with such a famous wizard. I knew that they would make a good job of it. As we headed back to his hall Sigtrygg said, "I have quarters for you, Jarl Dragonheart."
Shaking my head I said, "No Sigtrygg. I will sleep amongst my warriors and endure the same hardships that they do. This is not high summer and it will be cold. When they know their jarl suffers the same privations as they do then they will fight that bit harder."
Leif had already put up my shelter for the night. He was unpacking my mail as I reached him. He looked up at the skies and shook his head, "This damp will do nothing for the mail, Jarl."
"Coat it in seal oil and that will give it protection." Ragnar's Spirit hung from my waist. That was protected by a sheepskin scabbard which was coated in oil.
Haaken approached me. He looked bedraggled and his hair hung lankly down his head. I saw that he was losing hair now. It was a sign of our age. He shook his head, "My only consolation is that King Egbert is suffering as much as we are."
Olaf shook his head, "He may be safe in Wintan-ceastre. Perhaps it is we who are the fools."
"And a few nights in the open is a small price to pay, Olaf Leather Neck. The alternative is for us to wait until they have devastated the lands to the south of us and we are penned in Cyninges-tūn."
"You are right, Jarl. Anyone would think I was a warrior on his first raid complaining because his mother had not cooked his meal!"
Wolf Killer arrived the next day at noon. Our hunters brought in game but no news of the Saxons and we continued our preparations for war. It was Sigtrygg's people for whom I felt sympathy. They were forced to stay within his walls and to have two large warbands nearby.
A rider galloped in from the north just after the sun had set. He threw himself from his horse, "Jarl Dragonheart, I come from Siggi. He has been to the Dee and spied upon Caestir. There is a great host assembling: Mercians, the men of Wessex and some Danes."
"Did he estimate numbers?"
"No Jarl for Saxon ships chased him to sea."
"And when was this?"
"Three days since."
"Tell Siggi he has done well. Ask him to wait at the mouth of the Ēa Lōn. Watch for our signals."
I sat with Sigtrygg, Wolf Killer and Haaken. "We know he comes. The question is when?"
Sigtrygg said, "Although it is but a two day march from the Dee if he has baggage and horses to carry it then it will take up to four days. There are few roads from the south and the poor weather means he will not travel swiftly."
"Then tomorrow I send for Ketil and Ulf. We will need their men. They have Danes." The Danes were nothing more than mercenaries. They would fight for any master but they were devious. When they had served they stayed and took the land anyway. It was a worry.
Raibeart Ap Pasgen and his men arrived the next day. They were mixture of Norse and the warriors of Úlfarrston. Although there were just thirty of them they had fought alongside us on many occasions and all were well armed. Six had full mail byrnies and he had six archers. In times such as these every stone we had made a larger wall. Our warriors were the wall against which the Saxons would break.
Two days later first Ketil Windarsson and then Ulf Olafsson arrived. There was still no sign of the Saxons but we knew that they were somewhere to the south of us. Aiden had built the dam and the water level at the ford was much lower. The enemy would be tempted to cross in greater numbers. Aiden would be responsible for ordering its destruction. He had young boys placed at intervals between the ford and the dam. When the Saxons were in the vicinity he would be at the dam. We gave him and his messengers good horses for we would need every man that we could muster to fight such a mighty host.
Snorri was not happy that he could not be out with the hunters and the scouts but I insisted that he organize the archers. We had over fifty of them and they were almost a third of our entire force of warriors. We had another forty farmers but I was loath to risk them in the shield wall. They would defend the walls.
It was the Ulfheonar who brought us news of the enemy. Erik and Rollo were the first ones to return, "Jarl, we have seen Saxon scouts. They are ten miles south of us."
Aiden mounted his horse, "I will go to the dam."
Over the next few hours the rest of our hunters returned and each brought the same story. A large army was heading north. Then we had disastrous news. The warriors assigned to signal Siggi came back to tell us that four Saxon ships were in the estuary and were landing men on the northern shore.
"Jarl, there are fifty warriors. They will be landing even now."
"Do they have mail?"
"No Jarl."
"Haaken stay here with the Ulfheonar. Wolf Killer bring your warband. We will meet these before they can organize themselves."
We had rested for some days and we ran the two miles to the mouth of the estuary. I knew that landing from any ship was difficult but a Saxon ship had to land further out in the water. They would be like drowned rats when they got ashore. We had to hit them and hit them hard. Wolf Killer had forty men and half were mailed. More importantly all were oathsworn. They were called the Wild Boars and they were ferocious fighters.
As we ran towards the coast I said, "We just hit them as hard as we can. It will take the rest of the day for Egbert and his men to get to the ford. I am guessing this landing is to catch us by surprise. They will not have anticipated that we would be waiting for them."
We saw their masts before we reached the coast. I was aware that the younger warriors were leaving me behind. I forced myself to catch them up. As we reached the headland which overlooked the sand banks of the treacherous estuary I saw that only two ships had managed to land their men. The other two lay grounded on the mud flats some way from the shore. The tide went out very rapidly in this bay. When we were seen an alarm was raised and those that had reached the beach tried to form a shield wall. It was hard for they were covered in mud and their clothes were soaked.
"For the Dragonheart!"
Wolf Killer's cry heralded our attack and we tore into the shambolic shield wall. We had no order but we needed none for we had all fought together before. They were slow to move and we were fresher. They hurried to the firmer sand of the shore. As the spear came towards my head I easily fended it off with my shield and, pressing close, stabbed the warrior through the chest. The warrior behind did not even have time to thrust at me and I brought Ragnar's Spirit over my shoulder to hack him across the neck. We were through the flimsy shield wall and the rest ran from our ferocious attack. They ran back to their ships..
"Hold, Wolf Killer! If we go out on to the mud we, too, might get stuck."
"But we cannot leave them! They are a threat!" My son pointed his sword at the two ships which were less than forty paces from us.
"Not for long." I pointed at Siggi's knarr. Siggi knew the waters as well as his own hand and he had sailed in these channels many times. The Saxons could do nothing about him and I saw Erik and his crew with fire arrows. They might not have been the greatest of archers but they could not miss at twenty paces. They set the sails and masts alight and soon it spread to the hulls. Both of the ships which were stuck began to burn. Their crews threw themselves overboard and the thick, cloying mud dragged them down.
Siggi turned and headed out to sea again. Wolf Killer said, "Why does he leave?"
"Watch, he will block the mouth of the estuary. These ships are going nowhere." The two ships to which the survivors of our attack had fled were both stuck on the mud flats. When the tide came in Siggi and his two knarr would do the same to them.
Even as we watched we saw Saxons sinking beneath the mud and the waves. As the tide came in they began to drown. A few managed to make it to the remaining two Saxon ships but they would not trouble us. Egbert's plan had hit a problem; the river. We took Saxon weapons, shields and helmets and headed back to our camp. We reached there at dark. When we peered across the valley we saw the first Saxon fires being lit on the southern bluff above the river. Egbert and his allies had come. We had had the skirmish, next would come the battle and I was under no illusions. The next one would not be as easy.
Chapter 15
Wolf Killer shook his head, "We were lucky that they landed the way that they did, father. Had the mud not held them they were a formidable force which might have caused us trouble."
"No, Egbert planned badly. He did not scout this river. We all know that it has mud flats and shoals. Our luck was in having Siggi and an experienced crew patrolling. I know that Erik Short Toe had much to do with that victory. He knows how to win. And it is now that we have the advantage for Egbert will not know the fate of his ships. He will camp and expect his men to be creeping up for an attack on our western flank. Come the morrow he will be disappointed."
Sigtrygg joined us, "I am glad that you were here Jarl. What now?"
"We light no fires to tell the Saxons we are here. We make them wonder. They will see your stad but the land between will be bathed in darkness. One in four men will be on guard and we rotate every two hours. I want all of our men to be rested for the battle."
I went to see my Ulfheonar. "Tonight I want you to be ready to battle."
"You want us to attack the Saxons?"
"No, I want you to go half way between where we killed the Saxons and our camp. When I come we will make a noise as though we are being attacked. I want Egbert to think that his men have succeeded and attacked our right flank. In the morning he will attack this flank and we will be waiting. After we have feigned an attack we camp on this flank. We stand no guard this night but I suspect we will hear them if they try anything. We are, after all, Ulfheonar."
Wrapping ourselves in our wolf skins we lay down on the slopes of the northern bluff. We were not a large number but, if the Saxons tried a night attack, then we would be the first to know.
I said, "Ready?"
The Ulfheonar were keen to play this trick and they said, "Aye!"
I counted to three and then we began banging shields with the shafts of our spears and shouting. Haaken made some wonderful noises as he died at least ten times. I said, "Gradually quieten down as though we have all been slain!"
Inevitably it was Haaken who was the last to die and then there was silence. The grins on their faces told me that my warriors had enjoyed the trick. We lay down. As with the others, one in four would watch. I wondered what the rest of our army had made of it. We were well to the west and isolated. All that they would have heard would have been a cacophony of battle noises.
When I awoke Haaken was sitting up and looking south. "Do you hear something?"
"No Jarl, at least not here." He pointed to the east where there was a faint lightness in the sky. "But they are stirring."
"Then when I have made water we will rejoin our brothers. If they try to come now we will see them. There is no dark of night in which they can hide." As I walked down the slope I felt the breeze from the west and the smell of the smoke from the burned out Saxon ships. I knew that when dawn broke I would see their skeletons on the mud flats. Over years they would be broken up by the sea and disappear but, for now, they were a reminder of the failure of the Saxons. It gave me hope.
I finished and returned to my men. They had awoken, disturbed, no doubt, by our earlier words. "Come let us join the rest of the army."
We headed east into the rising sun. It would be a grey day. I could see that from the thin sun which peered over the hills to the east. If the wind was from the west then that would bring rain. It always did in this part of the world. It might aid us for it would make the bank up which they had to climb even more slippery. When we reached Wolf Killer and my other jarls I saw that the water barrels had been emptied down the slope during the night.
He laughed, "That sounded a fierce battle last night but I am guessing that they did not come then, father?"
"No. Perhaps they knew their attack had failed or were waiting for a signal which never came. It does not matter we know where they will attack today. Are Aiden's messengers in place?"
"They are."
I nodded, "There will be a delay between the signal to break the dam and the water arriving. I want some of the men of Wessex on this slope before the water strikes them."
I went to find Snorri. He and his archers were close by the walls of the stad. There was a dell just below the ridge and the rest of the army was on the other side of the ridge. Snorri could not see the Saxons but, more importantly, they could not see him either. He was awake already although some of his men slept. "You are ready Snorri?"
"I am but you
know I would rather stand in the shield wall with you. This feels wrong. There is no Beorn and I lead strangers."
"But we both know that you and the archers you lead can swing this battle in our favour. Egbert will be looking for archers before he launches his attack. You and your men must remain hidden until he has committed to the attack. When the attack is broken then you can join us."
"Erik Ulfsson says that he counted their fires and they have almost double our number of warriors."
"Perhaps but we have played that trick before have we not? We have lit fires and had them tended by one warrior. Besides these men have marched many leagues and are far from home. I will take these odds."
"And yet we now have less than fifteen Ulfheonar."
"True but we have Wolf Killer's Wild Boars and the oathsworn of Sigtrygg, Ketil and Ulf are doughty warriors. Asbjorn was Ulfheonar and the men he leads are well armed. Trust in our people." He nodded. "It is Beorn who is on your mind is it not?"
"He came so close to death that I began to dream of my own. I have neither wife nor son. All that will remain of me when I am killed is a line in one of Haaken's sagas. That will soon be forgotten. I see Cnut Cnutson and see his father. Young Ragnar is evidence that Wolf Killer has lived and yet what do I have?"
"You have the chance to make that right when we return from this battle. We defeat the Saxons and you take a woman. Spend the winter making babies!"
He stared at me and I could almost see the thoughts in his eyes. Was I becoming a galdramenn? Then suddenly he smiled as a brief shaft of light from the east lit up the dragon which hung around my neck. "We will prevail, I have seen the dragon smile. When the dragon roars then we shall win!"
It was as though the scales had been removed from my own eyes. I had a sudden idea. "Thank you Snorri!"
I raced to find my son and grandson. "Ragnar, find yourself a horse. A good horse; for today you ride!"
"I am not leaving you am I grandfather?"
"No, my young warrior. Today you carry the dragon banner. I want you to wait with it by Aiden and when he releases the river then you will ride down the valley holding the dragon banner and making it wail."