by Griff Hosker
“What of the garrison at St.Asaph? Do you think that they will come to our aid?”
“They will only know something is the matter when they do not hear from us for a week or more. By then we could be dead.”
“And the island? What of the warriors there?”
“They might investigate.” He pointed a bony finger in my direction. “It depends what these murderous heathens do with us.”
I had heard enough. “The only warriors we have left to deal with are those on the island. We will leave in the morning.”
I went to the collection of chests we had gathered and took out the map. I could not read the words but I recognised where the sea was and the land by the colours. The forts were marked in red. The mountain was clearly marked and so, by identifying the island of Anglesey I saw where we were. It was marked with a red dot. I hauled the old priest to his feet. He cursed me in Saxon. I pulled out my seax and sliced the lobe from his right ear. The others gasped.
I put my face close to his and spoke in Saxon. “Do not curse me again priest or you will lose more than a useless piece of flesh.” He looked shocked. I cut a piece of cloth from his vestments. “Here hold this until the bleeding stops.”
I picked up the map I had dropped. I pointed to the red dot. “Is this where we are?”
I saw the hesitation and I dropped my hand to my seax again. “Yes, yes. It is. Bangor.”
I had never heard the name but there was no reason why I should have. It was then that I noticed, as he dabbed his ear, the rings he wore. I saw one with a blue stone similar to that on my wolf amulet. I took it from his finger along with the other ones. His face became angry and I laughed. “I could have your fingers along with the rings if I chose. You are alive because I allow it. Remember that.” I know now that the concept of someone who was not afraid of his god was a strange one for the followers of the White Christ to comprehend. They thought the fear of burning in their hell would be enough to grant them better treatment. This priest was learning the truth.
“Where does this stone come from?” For the first time he seemed nonplussed by the question. I pointed to the map. “Show me on the map where the blue stone was mined.” Comprehension dawned and he jabbed a bony finger at a place to the south of us. I could see a river, for it was marked in blue, and I could see the mountains surrounding it.
I now had enough information. Rolf emerged with his men. “I want you to take these slaves to Duboglassio. I am sure that Prince Butar will want to buy them. Then take the treasure to Scanlan. While you are away we will sail around the island and we will meet you back here.” I waved a hand around the fort. “This looks like a good place to winter.”
“What if Saxons return? We are too few to defend its walls.”
“I listened to the priest. The nearest warriors are on the island. We will raid there and eliminate the warriors. Remember we are after their grain. They will be harvesting it now and their warriors will be toiling in the fields.”
Rolf grinned. “Now I see why you became a jarl at such a young age. You have a clever mind, my lord.”
“I do not know about that. We must now bury our fallen.” I turned to the prisoners. I said to the captured warriors, in Saxon, “I want a grave digging.” I pointed at the monastery church. “Over there.” I saw the fear on their faces. They thought that we were having them dig their own graves. I laughed. “The graves are not for you. You will be sailing to our home.” I turned to Rolf, “Have four of your men watch over them. I have asked them to dig a grave. We will make a barrow next to the monastery.”
Aiden and Erik had returned. “Aiden, help me off with my armour. I would bathe.”
Once my armour was removed I stripped completely and went down to the sea. I sat in the sea and felt its icy water wash over me. I felt cleansed. When I emerged I was refreshed as though I had had a good sleep. I knew that when I did sleep it would be the sleep of the dead but that could wait. By the time I was dressed the grave had been dug. We carried the three dead bodies and laid them in the bottom side by side. Their swords were laid along their bodies with their hands on the hilts. They would be ready to rise in the Otherworld. I ordered the Saxons to put the earth back and then to keep piling it until there was a mound. Some of our people would have decapitated the prisoners and ringed the mound with their heads but I was more practical. I had other uses for slaves.
The old priest asked, “May we bury our own dead?” He asked it querulously I think he was afraid that I would kill him.
I nodded. “Very well.”
I said to my men. “They are going to bury their dead. Let them.” I said to the Saxon warriors. “Go with my men and fetch your dead from the fort. The priest will bury them.”
It meant that the Saxons were occupied and allowed us to load ‘Bear’ with the chests. The map and the rings I kept. I had much planning ahead of me.
The priests buried their dead individually. We had taken the armour and the weapons but it did not seem to bother them that they would be going to the Otherworld unarmed. They had a strange set of beliefs. When they were in the ground they placed a crude wooden cross on each grave. Finally they sang songs in a strange language which was not Saxon. The warriors did not join in. I shook my head. How had the priests managed to turn warriors like the Saxons into helpless sheep?
As soon as they had finished I said to Rolf, “Get them aboard your ship. Leave Snorri and Ragnar Olafson with us. We are two rowers short. I will meet you back here in three days.”
He nodded, “Very well. Any message for your wife my lord?”
I laughed, “No, Rolf, I will give her my own message soon enough.”
They laughed and then there were just the Ulfheonar left. Snorri and Ragnar were delighted to be with the Ulfheonar. “This does not make you Ulfheonar yet but you both know ‘Wolf’ and I can see how you row.”
Neither was put out by my words. They were both desperate to prove themselves. We slept, that night, in the comfort of the fort and I dreamed again of Ragnar and the mountain. It had a powerful presence.
Chapter 6
The morning was overcast as we sailed towards the island of Anglesey. I was fascinated by this rock for it was in direct contrast to the mountain and the land we were leaving. The rocks, crags and steep sided valleys of the mainland were replaced by rolling fields of wheat and barley. It looked to me to be flat. I had the men row as the winds were not in our favour but I did not push them. We had all day to circumnavigate the isle. There were small farms and we saw few settlements larger than a couple of huts until we reached the western edge of the island. I could see that although the map had been skilfully drawn it had been made by a priest and not someone who knew the sea. It showed the coastline but not the rocks beneath the sea. A sailor would have added those. We kept a close watch for the rocks and I used a piece of charcoal to mark them on the map. When we had time I would make them permanent. It was for this reason that we kept at least half a mile from the shore. I did not want to wreck my ship before I had the chance to capture the treasures of Anglesey.
There appeared to be a rocky island joined to the main island by a wooden bridge. The settlement was fortified. I could see Roman walls and stone. Warriors appeared on the walls as we sailed along the coast. We were not trying to hide. If anything I wanted them wary. I needed them to watch for us coming from the sea. When we came we would come by land. They would not know we had the straits under our control.
There were cliffs and steep places around the small island which looked to be a place of refuge for the rest of the fertile granary. The walls of the fort were extensive and looked to have been built by an older people than the Saxons. Once we had passed the rocks then the island returned to the rolling fields and isolated farms.
As we approached the mainland again I could see that the stretch of water which separated the island from the land of the Welsh was very narrow. It would have been hard to turn Harold One Eye’s boat ‘Sif’ in such a confined space. It wou
ld be easy to hold the two ends. The monastery fort guarded the eastern approach. As we headed north east again I saw that in places it narrowed quite alarmingly. I had crossed larger rivers! I wondered why those great bridge builders, the Romans, had not built a stone bridge here. It was coming on to dark by the time we reached the monastery fort. I saw that there was a landing place built of stone and wood close to the south western edge of the walls of the fort. It was here where the straits narrowed so much that if you had three or four large drekar, end to end, you could walk from the mainland to the island.
“Snorri and Ragnar, you sleep aboard with Erik and Sweyn. Aiden will bring you food.”
If they were disappointed it did not show. I suspect they were all grateful to be on such a grand adventure. We spent the next day exploring the fort. It had neither the look nor the feel of a Saxon built place. There was much stone in its construction. I could see that whoever had made it had used the rock from the nearby mountain. We found evidence of a bath house of sorts. It had mosaics on the walls and floors but we could not fathom its workings. In the warrior hall there was a mighty table. It was oval in construction. The room was pleasant and we ate our meal there. We could all see each other.
“Who made this?”
I ran my hand along the polished wood. “I think this must have come from the people of Rheged; my people.”
“How did they fail then for this would have withstood anything that the Saxons could have thrown at it?”
“According to Prince Butar, my mother said that the Saxons ambushed them and they were betrayed by the Welsh whom they thought were their allies.”
“So you are the last of your people?”
“Half of me has Rheged blood. The rest is Saxon but there will be others like me. They will have been descended from the survivors and there will be others who still live in the land which was Rheged.” I spat out a piece of gristle. “I do not feel Saxon so perhaps it is the heart that makes you and not your blood. I feel as though I have the blood of these isles coursing through my body and I have never felt as at home as I do now, seated at this table, on this beautifully carved chair.”
Aiden had been serving us. “What are we then, my lord?”
I looked at him for it was a curious question. “What do you mean?”
“You talk of Saxons, you talk of Rheged and you talk of the Welsh. Yet you have no name for the warriors here.”
It was a good point. “I suppose that these warriors are Norse but now that we live on Man we are something different.”
That sparked a debate about what we should call ourselves. Haaken ended the argument when he said, “We are Ulfheonar. We are the people of the Wolf.”
That seemed to satisfy us all.
We had guards on the walls and one alerted us the next morning with his shout. “Two drekar; ‘Bear’ and ‘Man’.”
‘Man’ was the ship of my brother in law Jarl Erik and I wondered why he had come. We strode down to the beach to meet them. Jarl Erik was older than me yet he had not raided as much as I had. He had fewer rings on his sword than me for he had not killed as many warriors as me. Even so he was a doughty warrior and as loyal a warrior and friend as they came. Rolf allowed the jarl to greet me first.
He embraced me, “Brother, forgive my visit but I wish to serve under you on this raid.”
“You are welcome Jarl Erik but why do you wish to serve under me? You could lead ships of your own.”
“The whole island is talking of your success. The treasures and slaves you have sent home will make Hrams-a the envy of all. When I lead raids they are not as successful as yours.” I then remembered how he had lost many men when he had raided Hibernia with the treacherous Jarl Harold whom I had slain. “Perhaps I can learn from you.”
“In that case your men will be welcome. I am down to twelve Ulfheonar. They are not easy to replace.” I turned to Rolf, “Come Rolf, I have much to tell you both.” The smile on his face told me that he had been wary of intruding on two jarls and brothers. The truth was Rolf was as important to me as any of my Ulfheonar. He led my warriors and was as loyal and faithful as any man I had ever known.
As we walked I told them of the fort and of the island. “I believe that we can cross the strait here easily by using one boat as a ferry. Two of them can then guard the crossing while we raid.”
Erik shook his head, “You see I am learning already. I would have taken the ships and landed warriors. Why use this idea?”
When they see the dragon ship then they flee to their strongholds. I have seen their main one and it is formidable. We can winkle them out but it costs us men. When I sailed around the island I noticed that the farms were isolated. We can take each one without others knowing. Eventually they will realise that we are raiding but by then we will have scoured at least half of the island.”
Rolf screwed his face up; a sure sign that he had a question. “And the third ship?”
“That will menace the small island on the west coast. It is their stronghold. It will draw their eye away from the south. If anyone spots us in the south and flees to their sanctuary then they will assume we have landed from the boat. I do not want them sending their warriors to the south of the island until we have gathered as much of their food as we can. The food will feed our people through the winter and it will weaken the Saxons.”
“What of those who are not Saxon?” Haaken had been seated close by and he had a good mind.
“What do you mean?”
“You said yourself that a generation ago this was Rheged. Unless the Saxons have slaughtered them all then there must be people of Rheged who live here still.”
He was right and I should have seen it. “If there are people who are of Rheged then we will free them. They are my people and not my enemies. It is the Saxons we slaughter.”
And so we began our raid on Anglesey. Jarl Erik sent half of his men on ‘Man’ while the rest came with us. We left the boys and four warriors guarding the two ships, our bridge, and we crossed the straits and began our journey across the island.
We now had healthier numbers of warriors. There were sixty of us who crossed the narrow boiling waters to the island of Anglesey. My Ulfheonar led. We knew that there were settlements on the eastern coast and we headed that way. Beorn and Ulf ran ahead of my wolves. They could sniff and smell where the Saxons were. I knew that there would be people of the Cymri there too but they had betrayed my mother’s people and could expect no mercy from me.
Ulf stopped us, “There is a farm and a mill ahead. We saw no warriors and the grain is heaped in the silos. It looks as though they are ready to move it.”
“Haaken and Cnut, take the Ulfheonar and prevent any escaping north. “I sent the Ulfheonar around the village while I ran with Ulf and the rest of the warband to the farm. I waved my hand as we ran and Rolf’s men went to the left while Jarl Erik went to the right. With my wolf warriors preventing escape the Saxons were trapped.
I heard a scream and a shout as we approached the farm. I saw Beorn with a bloody sword. At his feet lay an older man and a youth. A woman and two young children screamed. Beorn shrugged, “They tried to attack me and I had no choice.”
I nodded. The man and his son would be alive if they had not tried to defend their property. “See if there are any carts or wagons. Get the grain on them if there are.”
I heard a whinny and knew that they had horses. Soon the grain and the slaves were heading back towards the straits, just two miles away. The carts showed me that many people would be fed for the winter. I felt some sympathy for the family until I remembered the betrayal of my mother’s family and her own enslavement.
We captured five more farms and eight slaves by nightfall. It was not glorious but it was the reason we were there. We were watching out for our own people. So far we had only encountered Saxons. Perhaps there were no longer any people of Rheged. They might have been taken as slaves. We made a camp in a sheltered dell. We had food from the farms we had devastated and we
were in high spirits. We were invisible. There was no-one who knew we were there.
Jarl Erik put his arm around me, “I told you that you bring luck Dragon Heart. We have had victory and none have died.”
“I urge caution, Jarl Erik. When the Saxons know we are here they will move heaven and earth to dislodge us. Judge me then.”
It was as though the Norns had been listening to Jarl Erik and decided to punish him. The next morning we awoke to heavy driving rain. Within a short time the trails and the tracks were turned into a muddy morass. This was my raid and I was the leader. It was time to cut our losses.
“We return to the mainland. We will need to wait for a break in the weather.”
“But it is a shower; nothing more.”
Cnut gave cynical laugh and pointed to the skies. It was as black as my wolf cloak and covered the whole sky. “I think, Jarl Erik, that this is more than a shower. I agree with Dragon Heart let us shelter whilst it rains.”
“Besides,” added Haaken, “the farmers will need to let the grain dry out. Even when the rain stops there will be nothing but scraps for us to take.”
It did not take us long to reach our ships where the slaves and the grain had been loaded aboard the boats already. “Haaken and Cnut, take the Ulfheonar and row ‘Wolf’ back to Hrams-a. It will give the men the opportunity to see their families. Return in three day’s time.”
They needed no second bidding and they left. As we disembarked on the mainland I began to worry about Jarl Erik’s ship. I had expected it to be back by this time. The captain had been told quite clearly to just let the Saxons see him and not to approach too closely. With just one drekar left I could not afford to seek it.
“This Siggi, he is a good leader, Jarl Erik?”