Viking Jarl

by Griff Hosker

  As soon as the fire was doused the secrets of the cave disappeared. We left and I saw, as I turned back, the glow from the eyes and the mouth of the rock wolf. This had been well made. The whole structure had been hewed from the mountain which rose high above it, guarding it.

  We trudged back in silence. I know that the experience had affected us all. This was a holy place. The followers of the White Christ would not think so but we knew that the mountain guarded the dead.

  When we reached the fort Rolf and the others looked at us expectantly. None of them asked us anything, perhaps because of the looks upon our faces. “We found another tomb and it was a warrior.” I looked at Arturus. “I think it was one of our ancestors and I think he fought the Saxons.” There was a stunned silence. “Aiden come with me. You have skill making marks. I wish you to copy something.”

  I went to the hall. Erik, Rolf, Aiden and Arturus followed me. Behind me I heard the babble of voices as the warriors who had escorted us were questioned.

  “Aiden get some vellum and some quills.” The monks had had many such items and they were in a chest in the main hall. He came back with some small pieces of vellum and one larger one.

  “Here my lord.”

  “Good. I will make the marks I think I saw and you copy them so that they are neater.”

  Erik asked, “What will you do with them?”

  “You remember those nuns we enslaved? Deidra and Macha, the cheese makers?”

  “Aye I do.”

  “They can read and they may be able to decipher these words. I think they are Latin.”

  I took the quill and began to make the marks we had seen. When I finished I asked Erik, “Is that how they looked?”

  He leaned forward and adjusted one of the marks a little. “More like that brother.”

  “You are right. Aiden copy those but make them look like the Latin letters the priests use.” Aiden had been fascinated by the books we had raided from the monks and had admired the pictures and the lettering. He was always sad when we sold them.

  When he had finished he stood back. “There my lord but I do not think they are complete.”

  “You are right. The rock had fallen on that longer inscription.”

  The two messages said: MYRDDYN VENEFICUS while the incomplete one read N DUX DUCIS AB RHEGED. I was now desperate to return home and question the nuns but we had to wait for my would-be Ulfheonar. I distracted myself by exploring the fort and the monastery. When we went to the derelict bath house I noticed that it too had painted walls. I had seen them before but ignored them. Having seen the painting in the cave I realised that they must have used the same materials. I touched the paint and saw that it had been painted, not on rock, but on some white smooth plaster. I found a piece flaked away and it crumbled between my fingers. I think that had been the case in the cave. I would return with Haaken and Cnut and investigate.

  As I wandered with my son and Aiden I saw, seemingly for the first time the high quality of the building work. How had the Saxons dislodged and eradicated this people who were capable of building such fine structures? It was when I took the boys to the gatehouse that a thought struck me; these people had copied what the Romans had done. I would not have the first idea how to copy this fort but the people of Rheged, my people obviously had.

  Time dragged and I was desperate to return to the cave. However each day I expected Haaken and Cnut to return and I did not wish to miss them. Aiden approached me as I sat staring out of the window towards the mountain.

  “My lord?”

  “Yes Aiden.”

  “When we return home would it be possible for the nuns to teach me to read and to write?”

  “I thought you wanted to be a smith and a warrior.”

  He cocked his head to one side and asked, “Cannot a warrior write, my lord?”

  It was as though a veil had been lifted from my eyes and my mind. This youth was correct. Why should he not learn to read and write? Why should I not do so also? The people of my mother must have been able to do so. I closed my eyes as I pictured her. Had she ever read? Then I realised that she might have been able to do so but she had not the opportunity. My father was a Saxon; they cared not for such things. This was the days before the Saxons converted to the White Christ.

  “You are right Aiden. Of course you shall learn to read and I will too. I will command the nuns when we return.”

  Our men returned the next day. I saw one or two had suffered wounds but they had not lost any men. I saw that each warrior sported a wolf skin. They had been successful. We met them at the gate. I glanced up at the darkening sky.

  “You have made it back just in time. There is a storm coming.”

  “Aye we saw it all the way across the mountain. It has come from the west. The gods are going to punish us for something.” Haaken said it in jest but I wondered if we had offended the gods.

  That evening Haaken and Cnut told the tales of their hunt. Siggi and Snorri had proved to be the best trackers and most fearless hunters. “They are both Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart. It is in their nature. They both faced down a he wolf and slew it with a single thrust of the spear. Some of the others required the aid of Haaken or myself. They were brave but not as skilled.”

  “You know who the Ulfheonar will be then?”

  They looked at each other and nodded. “Aye.” As Cnut said each name Haaken nodded and held up a finger. “Siggi, Snorri, Harald Green Eyes, Erik the Tall, Sweyn Erikson and Grimbal.”

  “Good and now we have some news for you. You have a saga in the wolf hunt, Haaken One Eye but we have our own.”

  I told them of our two visits and the effect it had had on me. Haaken became so excited as I was telling the story that I thought he would erupt. “Let us go now! I yearn to see this cave of magic!”

  I pointed out of the window where the rain was lashing down and thunder and lightning danced around the mountain. “I think Thor wishes us to stay in tonight but if you wish to go in the dark and get wet then be my guest. It will still be there in the morning even though the trail might be wet.”

  Their own story forgotten they questioned me at length and then asked to see the words and to compare the two amulets. Like me they were fascinated. As Aiden folded the up documents he said, proudly, “I am going to learn to read and so is Jarl Garth.”

  They both looked at me as though I had said I would convert to the White Christ. I said defensively, “Why not? As Aiden said why cannot a warrior read?”

  “Well then you will be the first and that is as it should be for you do not walk the same paths as other men.”

  “Well I am looking forward to visiting this cave tomorrow. Perhaps it will give some of its power to me. Maybe I will have a vision too.”

  I was not certain. “Perhaps, Haaken, the vision was for me because I am connected with Rheged through my mother.”

  “Perhaps but we shall see when we all visit the cave.”

  The evening became quite boisterous as the storm grew in intensity. It was late and the storm was at its height when there was a crack and a rumble which was not thunder. The whole fort shook and we all touched whatever protective amulet we had. Then the shaking stopped as suddenly as it had begun and we waited for the world to end. Surprisingly the storm began to abate and within a short time it was over.

  When we woke the next day we saw the damage that it had caused. The beach was littered with wood, trees and other strange objects. The storm had had an effect out at sea. The ditch was almost filled with sand and part of the wooden towers had been destroyed. We could see on the mountain side where trees had been struck by lightning and destroyed.

  Cnut and I laughed at Haaken. “A good job you did not venture out last night.”

  “We can go now though, my lord. I will take plenty of firewood for I would look closely at this cave.”

  All of the hunters went with us as well as Rolf. Jarl Erik stayed at the fort but Olaf and Harald came with me. It seemed appropriate. As we climbed up th
e mountain we could see that something was wrong. The trail was lighter and there were fewer trees. As we turned the corner we saw that the rocks and trees above the cave had fallen. There had been an avalanche and the cave was buried. There was no sign at all of the wolf rock. Had others not seen it before I would have thought I had dreamt it all. Olaf and Harald began to shake with fear. The three of us had visited it three times.

  Olaf’s eyes were wide with terror. “We have offended the gods my lord. You were meant to come here but Harald and I are now doomed. “

  I could see what they meant but I tried to reassure them, “No, I was meant to see inside and you were meant to protect me. The gods just wanted no one else to visit. They have sealed the tomb for all time.” I could see the doubt on their faces. “If you were to be punished then the fort would have been destroyed and not the cave for Jarl Erik and the others visited the cave too.”

  I could see that they believed that. Harald said, “If Jarl Erik gives his permission we would serve you, Jarl Dragon Heart.”

  I was taken aback for they were oathsworn. “If we serve you then we will live.”

  I could not fault their argument and I nodded. We trudged back to the fort. We had glimpsed behind the curtain to the past and now it was gone, forever.

  Chapter 12

  There was a constant drone on the way back to Man which sounded like a hive of bees. It was the men. They had much to talk about. The landslide was seen an act of the gods themselves and Thor was seen as the most likely one to have dispensed his justice. Those who wore Thor’s hammer around their necks had that self satisfied look of a warrior who has chosen the correct god to follow. For myself, I did not see it as punishment but closure. I was meant to find the bodies but no one else. I had thought about the events which led me to climb the mountain. I had chosen only those close to me. But for Jarl Erik it would have been just my son and Aiden. I had been drawn into the cave and meant to find it. Whatever spirits still inhabited the mountain they had wanted me to find the bodies and the amulet.

  Olaf and Harald sat together rowing at the bow end of my ship. Jarl Erik had understood their plea and he released them from their oath with the understanding that they would swear one to me. They did so gladly. As they told me, they felt that their fate was now bound inexorably with mine. As long as I lived then so would they. They became my bodyguards. From that day on whenever I went into battle they stood on my left and right. They did not want to be Ulfheonar, although they had all the skills necessary and they rarely took orders from Cnut or Haaken. They were like my shadows. Erika was more than happy with that for she had known both warriors. They had served her brother when she had lived with her family and knew of their skill. Wyrd. The Norns had woven a complicated web this time. It was as convoluted as a Byzantine mind.

  When we stepped from the ship we were met by a crowd. They knew nothing of my adventure but they knew the reason for the voyage had been a wolf hunt. Even though the wolf skins had not been cured each warrior wore it proudly across his back. It was a status symbol and marked each one as a special warrior.

  I was just eager to speak with my wife and the nuns. Cnut, Haaken and the boys stayed close by me; along, of course, with my shadows. It caused an amused expression from Erika when she saw us appear with such serious faces.

  “What is this, boys? A shield wall? Am I under attack?”

  I smiled, “No, my love, but we have had a strange experience on and in the mountain and we need Deidra and Macha.”

  “Now I am intrigued.”

  “Mama, there was a stone wolf!”

  Aiden put his hand across my son’s mouth. “Do not spoil the tale! It is your father’s to tell.”

  Erika nodded, “Aiden is quite right, Arturus. Come I will take you to them.”

  The two nuns had been more than resentful when we had first enslaved them. I could understand that. However they had been treated well. The tales of rape had been a worry and when they found that no-one would bother them then they accepted their fate. My wife had recognised that they needed something which they could do together and she had taught them to make cheese. They now produced a wonderful variety of cheeses and, even if they were not happy, they were not unhappy and they were respected.

  When they saw the five men approach I saw fear flit across their faces. Erika said, “Fear not. Jarl Dragon Heart needs to ask you something.”

  They all looked to me as I told them the story of my visit to the cave. I saw my wife’s eyes widen when I described finding the body. The two nuns crossed themselves. It appeared to be a reaction to anything to do with either death or spirits.

  “And so we copied down what was written above the two graves. Aiden has put them on vellum. Are they words and what do they mean?”

  The two nuns appeared intrigued. This was out of the ordinary. Aiden unrolled the one which was a partial message. They frowned and pointed to the first symbol. The elder, Deidra, said, “This is not a word this is a letter. Was something broken off?”

  “It was. This was the first symbol after the break.”

  They nodded, “The rest says General of Rheged.”

  Macha said, “Rheged is the old name for the west of Britannia after the Romans left but I think the first word means Warlord.”

  Haaken, Cnut and Erika stared at me. My mother had told Prince Butar that I was descended from a warlord. It had been an ancestor. Cnut nodded, “It was a message for you. What about the other one? The one who was not a warrior?”

  I nodded to Aiden and he unrolled the second piece. Deidra gave a scream and they both crossed themselves and stepped back. “What is the matter? What does it say?”

  It took them some moments to recover their wits and then Deidra said, “It says Myrddyn, Wizard!”

  “And who is he?”

  Macha looked at her companion who said, “Go on tell him.”

  “Myrddyn was a wizard who lived for many years and served many kings. It was said he could fly through the air and there was a story that he had entered a castle through its stone walls and killed a king before flying out again. He served the Warlord and King of Rheged. It must be a legend for the stories talk of him living longer than any other man. He survived all of the last kings of Rheged.”

  All of the stories my mother had told my stepfather and the information that I had found out myself showed me that I had been meant to go to both the abbey at Hexham and the holy mountain. None of it had been my decision. I had thought it was but higher forces had directed me. My return to that land in the spring was now even more important.

  “I thank you.” I looked at Aiden who nodded nervously. “Aiden and I have something else to ask you.” I gestured for Aiden to step forward.

  “I would like to learn to read and write as would the jarl. Would you teach us?”

  I have no idea what they thought that we would ask but it was not that. For the first time since I had known them they actually smiled and then both nodded. “Of course but we would need quills, ink and vellum. Unless you have books?”

  There was an element of cheek in their words but it was to be understood. “No, they have all been sold but I have what you desire. Aiden go and bring the chest from the ship.”

  I returned with Erika to my hall and my mind was filled with more questions than answers. I now had a thirst for knowledge. I wanted to know… everything.

  It took some days for the two nuns to prepare for our lessons. Winter was almost upon us and so I journeyed to Duboglassio. I knew that Prince Butar would be interested in my news. I took Haaken with me. He had composed a saga about both the wolf hunt and the cave. He had not yet tried them out and Prince Butar would be a sympathetic and knowledgeable listener.

  When I met him I was pleased that he still looked as bright eyed as the last time I had spoken with him. “I brought Haaken with me as he has some stories which might amuse you.”

  At that his face lit up. “Olaf will enjoy that.” He shook his head, “He has not been well la
tely. A good story will lift him. I will just have Sweyn and Olaf to enjoy the story. I do not need a large feast and besides I can be selfish in my old age. The others can hear them later.”

  Olaf did, indeed look old. He had the coughing sickness. He looked thin and underfed. I mentioned this to Prince Butar who shook his head. “He eats as much as me. Perhaps he has a worm?”

  Olaf shook my hand as firmly as he could. “Well Dragon Heart, have you a tale for me?”

  I bowed and deferred to Haaken. “Haaken One Eye will tell the tales. He does it better than I do.”

  After we had eaten and drunk, more moderately than hitherto, Haaken stood and told the story. He had a flair for the dramatic and I saw appreciative nods from the two older warriors as he spoke of the wolf hunt.

  “Almost as good as you and Ragnar in the forest Dragon Heart.”

  Haaken gave a wry look. That saga had come too early in his story telling. After they had drunk some more and asked Haaken to repeat one or two of the sections he stood to begin the tale of the cave of the wolf.

  The Wolf Cave

  The wolf snake-crawled from the mountain side

  Hiding the spell-wight in cave deep and wide

  He swallowed him whole and Warlord too

  Returned to pay the price that was due

  There they stayed through years of man

  Until the day Jarl Dragon Heart began

  He climbed up Wyddfa filled with ghosts

  With Arturus his son, he loved the most

  The mouth was dark, hiding death

  Dragon Heart stepped in and held his breath

  He lit the torch so strong and bright

  The wolf’s mouth snarled with red firelight

  Fearlessly he walked and found his kin

  The Warlord of Rheged buried deep within

  Cloaked in mail with sharp bright blade

  A thing of beauty by Thor made

  And there lay too, his wizard friend,

  Myrddyn protecting to the end