Viking Jarl

by Griff Hosker

  “Raibeart told me of that. They are ancient weapons and they can pierce the armour of many men with one of their shafts. We will camp close by, but well out of the way of that weapon. Find us a camp which cannot be seen from their side.”

  Snorri waved us from the road and led the column down to a dip in the land behind the rocky cliff of the island. Once we dropped down the fort disappeared from sight. We would be unseen. While the camp was prepared I went with Haaken, Cnut and Beorn to the edge of the rocky shore. We bellied up to the top. The cliffs were not high; we were less than thirty paces above the maelstrom of water which surged between the islands. I spied the weapon Beorn had feared. It was behind a small stone wall and protected the bridge. None would be able to cross it whilst it was manned.

  I turned my attention to the fort. I recognised parts of it from the one at Caestre. It was Roman. I watched as some warriors went up to the gate and I noticed that they had to walk in a zig zag. The builders had made it hard to attack directly. The Saxons had been lucky to take such a well built stronghold. It would not fall easily to a direct assault which meant that we needed to be cunning too. The wolf would become the fox. This Saxon had not met the Ulfheonar; he would learn of our skills. I had seen enough.

  “Let us return to the camp.”

  Once at the camp I set three of the new men to walk to the coast where they could watch for ‘Wolf’; I needed my ship if my plan was to succeed. I explained my plan to Erik, Haaken and Cnut. “Have the Ulfheonar sleep. When my ship arrives we will board her and begin our attack.”

  As I lay down to sleep Haaken said, “You are changed Dragon Heart.”

  “How so?”

  “You seem to see the future. Was it the tomb?”

  “It might have been but I cannot see the future. I just know who I am and who we are. The Ulfheonar came from the past; that was Ragnar’s doing but my past, my life before I was born, also gave me skills which I will use.” I leaned in. “When this is over I will take ‘Wolf’ and find the mine of the blue stone. It is connected to me and to the wolf. Perhaps we will all change when we have the blue stone.”

  Jarl Erik was keen to attack and he urged me to order an assault on the bridge.

  “Are you so keen to lose you warriors that you would launch a fruitless attack?”

  “Warriors would die but we would gain the bridge.”

  I spread my arm around the men. “How many could we afford to lose? Be patient. Eardgarth is going nowhere. We have food and we have time. Let him worry inside his walls. Let him wonder how many men we have. He saw you bring your warriors but he cannot have counted them. None of his scouts have approached us. We keep him in suspense.”

  He subsided, “So what do we wait for?”

  “My ship and a cloud sky at night. When we have those two then we will capture the bridge and then we can threaten the walls.” I saw Haaken and Cnut nodding. They knew what I was about and Jarl Erik did not. “We should not rush at this. When we have captured this fort then the whole of the island is ours. The people who are here will hold the isle for us but we need to judge the moment when we attack. I would not lose one man more than I had to in the attempt.”

  ‘Wolf’ arrived the next day. Cnut Whitebeard and the crew came ashore. We left just the three boys aboard. “I sent the slaves back to Man aboard the ‘Serpent’. Your steward will know what to do with them.”

  “Good. I will take my Ulfheonar on ‘Wolf’ when the time is right. You command the rest of the warriors here with Jarl Erik.”

  Jarl Erik threw me a surprised look. “You will lead the attack?”

  “I am Ulfheonar, it is what we do.”

  It was three more nights before conditions were right. The Saxons brought more warriors down to the bridge in an attempt to intimidate us. It did not work. For the three days before we attacked we took my ship and sailed close to the fort. They showered us with ineffectual arrows. I was playing a game; it was a war of nerves. I wanted them worried that we would attack their fort and keep a watch both day and night. It would wear down their warriors.

  When the moon went behind the wall of rain bearing cloud we attached a long rope to the stern of my ship. As the rain began to pelt both land and sea we rowed, silently to the low cliff close to the bridge. The oars were muffled and we were all dressed in black. We could not be seen. We slipped over the side and into the white flecked, stormy waters. The noise of the surf and the storm hid us from prying eyes. Cnut and the others hauled on the rope and pulled my ship back to the shelter of the land. When the Saxons awoke the ship would be where they expected it to be.

  Once ashore we huddled beneath the rocks. The bridge was four hundred paces away but there were no defences between it and the sea. Beorn, Ragnar and Snorri scurried up the bank and then we followed. There were just twenty two of us all told. Harald and Olaf were still my shadows but the rest were Ulfheonar. Our shields were all on our backs and each warrior held his sword and a seax. The seax could be used to help us climb the steep slope we faced. We had counted the warriors at the bridge and knew they outnumbered us but half, at least, would be abed. When we descended upon them it would be with terrible swiftness and total silence.

  When we reached the top Beorn signalled to us the numbers and positions of the men who faced us. Haaken led six warriors towards the shelters where the sleeping lay. Cnut led ten warriors to the guards at the bridge while I led the other warriors to the machine which might wreak havoc on my attacking warriors. We ghosted across the ground. Each warrior watched where he placed his feet and then scanned the waiting Saxons to ensure he had not been seen. The Saxons’ attention was fixed upon the other end of the bridge. The rain and the wind helped us as the Saxons huddled beneath their cloaks. We were oblivious to the elements. We were the wolves and the Saxons were our prey.

  I knew that I could leave Haaken and Cnut to deal with the men they faced. I headed towards the crew of the giant bow. I saw that there were eight warriors. Two looked to be asleep. Three were talking while the others stared across the bridge at the glow from the fires of my warriors.

  I signalled with my sword and the others spread out in a half circle. The rain was almost coming at us horizontally. The water was crashing noisily on the rocks and walls. We could have stamped our feet and not been heard. I raised my sword and hacked down at the warrior who was talking to his companion. Even as he fell dead I stabbed at his companion with my seax. One of those sleeping leapt to his feet and Ragnar’s Spirit took his head. I quickly looked around. None remained alive. I looked over to the bridge where Cnut and his men were busy slaying their opponents. I waved my men towards the sleeping guards as I saw Jarl Erik leading our warriors across the bridge.

  By the time Jarl Erik reached us there were just dead Saxons. “Cnut Whitebeard, see if you can work out how to turn and work that machine. I want it facing the fort by dawn.”

  I waved to Haaken, “Take some men back over the bridge and bring our ship here. I want it moored next to the bridge in case we have to leave in a hurry.”

  Jarl Erik took his helmet off and inclined his head, “Once again you are right. What now?”

  “Put half of your men on guard facing the fort. The rest should sleep if they can. We have our fingertips on this rock let us try to hold on to what we have.”

  By dawn the rain had eased, ‘Wolf’ was tucked safely close to the bridge and we had rested all of our men. Jarl Erik came to me as we ate a cold breakfast of salted fish. “What now?”

  “I am hoping that Eorl Eardgarth will send men to relive his guards. I would like to kill as many of his men as we can before we attack.” The fort was a good mile or more away. Most of my men were hidden and the murky weather meant that it would be difficult to identify us as an enemy. They would see what they expected to see, warriors guarding the bridge.

  It was mid morning when the small column of warriors left the fort. We saw them snake their way down the road and ditches surrounding the fort. There looked to be thirt
y of them; the same number as we had slain. Haaken and Cnut commanded the Ulfheonar to the left of the road while Jarl Erik had his half of the men on the other side. They were well back from the road and hidden by the gorse which ran rampant on this small island. There were archers along both sides of the road and I hoped to avoid casualties. With luck we might even be able to achieve total surprise and then attack the fort.

  It was one of Jarl Erik’s warriors who attacked prematurely. It was a lack of discipline and he loosed his arrow too early. The column was not within the ring of death and they began to flee back to the fort. The archers loosed their arrows and some of the Saxons fell. My Ulfheonar caught a few of them and slew them but there were still twelve who escaped back to the fort. Eardgarth knew we had captured the bridge. What would he do about it?

  I walked down to the failed ambush where the wounded were being despatched. Jarl Erik was berating his warrior for attacking too soon. I put my arm around his shoulder and led him off. “Brother had you trained your men well then the attack would not have gone awry. You are too worried about failure. Trust your men. You will have the chance for glory and honour. I promise you that.”

  “But Carl has ruined our chances of surprise!”

  “No, he has not. They would have discovered we were here soon enough. More of his men survived than I would have hoped but they will now be worried. They know we are here but not how many men we have.”

  “We attack the fort then?”

  “No, I will not lose men unnecessarily. We will rest today and let them worry. Tonight we plan how to take St.Cybi.”

  It had not been a disaster and we had still to lose a warrior. All of our losses had been in the attacks when we had first landed on the island. I knew that we would suffer casualties when we tried to force the defences of this stone built fortress.

  The rain had stopped but we were all still damp. Some armour was rusting and we needed some shelter. The better weather would soon be with us but we needed success soon or the fighting ability of my men would deteriorate. We sat around a blazing fire. “Cnut Whitebeard has examined the arrow throwing machine. It is deadly.”

  “Could we not use it ourselves?”

  “We would have to move it and I am not sure that we would be able to work it well without practice. We will take it back to the mountain fort and examine it when we have the time. I intend to make a night attack. It will mean that they will not be able to use the machines they have. I will use the Ulfheonar to scale the cliffs on the south west side of the fort. I have watched and seen that they have fewer sentries there than on this side. Jarl Erik you and Cnut Whitebeard will approach the front gate.” I smiled, “Let us see what you have learned from us. I would have you move like shadows in the night. When we launch our attack then you can close with the walls. You will need to be almost under the walls when you attack so that they cannot use their machines. I think that, as with their horsemen, they will think that they have our measure with that weapon but its value lies in keeping an enemy away.”

  Cnut Whitebeard nodded, “And if we are seen before we reach the walls?”

  “Then men will die!” It was brutal but honest. “Tomorrow we rest as much as we can but those on guard need to move around as much as they can. I also intend to sail ‘Wolf’ around the island to keep their attention.”

  I was playing with the Saxons’ nerves. They knew that we would attack but they did not know where. That was our secret weapon.

  The next morning we crewed my ship and set off south. I knew that their towers would see which way we were going and we would be watched. That was what I wanted. When we were a mile off shore I turned and followed the coastline around. I was partly trying to confuse them but mainly finding out what the landing area would be like. The cliffs were steeper than at the bridge and there were many nesting seabirds. That could be a problem. Even so they could be climbed. This was not the sheer smooth cliff of a fjord. This was a tumble of rock and gorse. There would be handholds.

  I saw that there were towers all the way around and they were all manned. That worked to our advantage; they would not know where we would attack. The cliffs further east and north were much lower and would pose no problem. When we turned to follow the island back to the bridge I saw the harbour. Again it was Roman built and there were two ships within its protective walls. I wondered why they had not used them. I decided to turn and return back from whence we had come. Suddenly as I turned they used one of the weapons. It was terrifying. The crack sounded like the crack of thunder and the arrow was so big that I saw it as it left the machine and hurtled towards us. We were turning and could do nothing about it. Perhaps we were lucky or it was badly aimed, I know not but it went through the sail and ripped a hole as big as Aiden’s body. I heard a cheer from the land.

  “Right boys, we have seen enough, I think we will go home.” I had been shaken by the attack. The arrow had travelled almost half a mile and it had continued long after it had struck our sail. I would not risk my men facing such a weapon. We would proceed with the plan I had made. Our fate was now in the hands of the gods.

  When we reached the others I told them of the weapon and its effect. They could all see the hole it had made. “We will signal with a torch if we can capture the gate. If not then we will send a fire arrow into the sky. Both are the signal for you to attack.”

  They seemed satisfied. Haaken said, “You know Raibeart told me that the warriors of Rheged had a dragon standard which made a wailing noise and it frightened their enemies. He also said that they used a horn to signal. Perhaps we should think of using one.”

  “Perhaps. He told me that too.” I fingered the dragon emblem given to me by Prince Butar. “It is wyrd the way events have turned out.”

  Chapter 17

  We rowed ‘Wolf’ around the headland. This time we would let the outgoing tide take her from shore and the three boys would anchor it. It would be a refuge should my plan fail. This would be a harder climb than the previous one. We did have one advantage; the Saxons could not know how we had captured the bridge and so would not be expecting such a fool hardy venture.

  We had to disembark further out than was preferable. The water was up to our necks as we began to struggle ashore, fighting against a tide trying to take us to Hibernia. Harald Green Eyes, one of the new Ulfheonar was not as big as the rest of us and Olaf had to plunge a hand beneath the foaming sea to drag him, spluttering to the surface. It was fortunate for our new recruit that Olaf was such a powerful warrior else his service would have ended that night.

  We had no rain to mask us but that also meant that the rocks were not slippery. We began to ascend the cliff. There was a watch tower at the top of the cliff and Beorn and Ragnar Siggison would have to silence the guards there. Snorri went with his bow in case they needed help. We took it steadily better to get there late than make a noise or fall. We used the seax to dig into the crevasses and give us a hand hold. It was not easy but we managed it. We had one scare when Erik The Tall disturbed a seagull family. The bird flew out at him screaming and calling. We all froze and pressed ourselves against the cliff. Erik buried his face in the vegetation which clung to the cliff and after the bird had pecked ineffectually at his helmet, it returned to its nest. After a few moments’ silence we continued our climb. We did not look up for although our faces were darkened some of the men had helmets which would reflect light and might glint. Not all had had their helmets blackened like me.

  When we reached the base of the wall we stopped and our three killers climbed the wall next to the tower. This was an old wall and some of the mortar had fallen from the stones. It had not been repaired and it made easy hand holds. Had there been guards at the top then the three would have died. We were fortunate that they relied on nature for their defence. The guards were safely tucked up in their tower. Once they were up they threw a rope down. I climbed first. Snorri waited for me. When I reached the top he nodded and followed the other two into the tower. It was deadly quiet. I st
ood guard for the next warrior to join me. As I waited for Cnut to climb I heard the Saxon guards talking. There appeared to be four of them. Once Cnut had joined me he threw a second rope down and soon, all of our men were up. We now waited for the tower to be silenced. We did hear a noise; it sounded like someone dragging their feet but there was no sound of a struggle. The three of them emerged from the door at the foot of the tower.

  We were inside the citadel. There was a low wall running from the gate towards the sea. The centre of the defence of St.Cybi was the stone gate house. There were two towers there and we knew from our observations that the road in would be a death trap if the gate house was held by defenders. We had to take the gatehouse.

  Descending the stairs to the inner part of the fort we hurried purposefully in the dark. The sentries were all watching the sea. We had silenced those who might observe our movements. There were many more buildings within this fort than in the one close by the mountain. I could see Saxon round huts which were new as well as the square buildings we had seen before. The Saxon huts had just been thrown up with no thought to the structure already existing within. It aided us for we were not in the open. It was like moving around a maze.

  Suddenly a warrior emerged from a hut. I think he must have been going to make night water. Haaken reacted first; he swung sideways with his sword and took the man in the throat. Sven White Hair caught the body before it hit the ground. He laid the body next to the surprised looking head. It would be discovered but not for some time. The gate had a bar on it but there were also two doors leading into the gatehouse itself. I left Ulf and Tostig guarding the gate while we entered the bastion. There was another gate some thirty paces away and stairs climbed from both sides. It was double protection. If one gate fell then there was a second. While the others guarded the stairs I went for Tostig and Ulf. We could leave the outer door barred for now.