by Griff Hosker
Chapter 18
After I had eaten I went, alone, to the gate overlooking the harbour. I persuaded Olaf and Harald that I would be safe and I sat staring across the island at Wyddfa in the distance. I could feel its power even at this distance. The Saxons had fled because they knew we would find the corpses of our people and they must have worried how we would react. I had been meant to come here and to rescue those three. Perhaps if I had come sooner or attacked quicker then more of them might be alive. I would never know that.
Aiden appeared next to me. “My lord, I hope you do not mind but I have looked at some of the books we found. I could not read all of them but there was one which was about the Warlord of Rheged and Myrddyn. “
I spun around, “Were you able to read it?”
“Not all of it but enough to know that his name was Lord Lann and he lived here once. We will have to wait until Macha can read it for us.”
I ruffled his hair, “You have done well.”
“How could the Saxons starve those men to death? I understand killing an enemy but what honour is there in starving a man?”
“There is none. Some men get pleasure from watching others suffer. Perhaps this Saxon was one such.”
“My lord, one of the warriors is awake!”
I followed Einar to the hall where Haaken and Cnut were feeding soup to a warrior. He looked tired but there was a fire in his eyes when he spoke. He tried to rise but Cnut restrained him, “They tell me you are the warrior they call Dragon Heart.”
“I am.”
He nodded and took another spoonful of soup. “It was you that we sought. We came from the old land and wintered in Orkneyjar. There were forty of us in my drekar, ‘Storm bird’. I am Carl Haakenson and I wished to serve the warrior who had the sword touched by the gods.” I saw his eyes flicker to my blade. I touched it and he nodded then continued. “A storm blew up and forced us off course. There were dragon ships in the estuary of the Ribble and we felt we could find help from fellow Norse. The winds were from the west and we could not make Man. We thought to take shelter with our kin. We were welcomed at first and then the Jarl, Harold One Eye, heard us mention your name and our desire to serve you and he slew my brother with a single blow. We had to fight our way out and the twenty of us who survived barely made it to our ship alive.”
I looked at Haaken and Cnut. Wyrd!
“We had to sail in the teeth of the gale with only half a crew. I kept trying to head west but we were forced south until, finally, we were wrecked upon the rocks close to the harbour here. We thought that Ran had smiled on us for we all made it to shore but then the Saxons fell upon us and they beat us and then threw us in this hole. They gave us neither water nor food.” His voice broke and he began to weep. “Two of my sons died and the third is over there, barely alive.”
I put my hand on his shoulder, “You are welcome to serve with us and we will help you to gain revenge on both Eorl Eardgarth and Jarl Harald One-Eye.” I looked to Cnut. “See that they are cared for.”
I left the hall with more on my mind than I could cope with. When had our tormentor arrived on the mainland? Was he here to conquer land or for revenge? I would leave more questions until Carl was in a better frame of mind and his son and last companion were out of danger. I went to find Jarl Erik. “I am going back to bring ‘Serpent’. When Raibeart returns see that he has all that he needs to defend against Eardgarth although I do not think the Saxon snake will return soon. We have bloodied his nose. I will leave Prince Butar’s men here until the men of Rheged are established.”
“What would you have me do?”
“I have one more task and that only needs the Ulfheonar. You are free to return home. Should I have your ship brought here?”
“Aye, I will send some of my men with you. It will help you to get home quicker.”
And so we left with forty rowers. ‘Wolf’ flew across the waves. It was an exhilarating ride. When we reached the fort I was pleased that our wounded had recovered and were keen for action. We stored the treasure in the vaults beneath the hall and then the three ships returned to St.Cybi.
Raibeart had arrived and taken charge. He had sent word across the island and already veterans were turning up with their weapons for service at St.Cybi. As he was meeting with his new recruits I sought out Carl Erikson, the leader of the Duboglassio contingent. “I would have you spend the summer here in case these people need assistance.”
He frowned, “We had thought to spend the summer raiding with you.”
“I am going on a small voyage to find stones but you can still raid. Just use this as your base.”
He brightened at that. “Good, we will raid the Welsh further south. I will take my men back for our ship.”
“Then you will be able to journey in Jarl Erik’s ship; he is returning too. We will be dividing our treasure at the mountain fort.”
We put Carl Haakenson, his son Gorm and the other survivor, Oleg the White, on board my ship. They wished to be away from their bad memories as soon as possible.
“Well Raibeart, you have your island back and it is free from Saxons.”
“And this time we will keep it that way. We were betrayed by the Welsh once before and now we have learned our lesson.”
“I will be leaving warriors at the mountain fort and one of my ships will be based here for the summer. Once the word spreads you will find that more of your people will return. If we find any on the mainland we will tell them that Rheged lives again.”
“A small part of Rheged lives and that is thanks to you.”
We armed the men of Rheged and then took the rest of the weapons and the armour aboard ‘Serpent.’ Our dead were laid in a mound overlooking the sea. We said farewell to Carl Erikson. This had been his first raid but he had acquitted himself well. Then the heavily laden ships set sail and we left St.Cybi to those who had built it.
The dividing of the treasure was complex because of the different items we had found. The swords, armour and metals were easy but the books were difficult to divide. In the end we agreed to send them back to Hrams-a where the nuns could examine them before we sent them to Frankia to sell. As Jarl Erik and ‘Serpent’ sailed back to Man I was relieved. With Eardgarth and Harald One-Eye on the loose I wanted my home protecting.
Before ‘Serpent’ left I gathered my warriors about me. “You have all served me well during, not only this raid, but in all of our time together. However I know that some of you wish to settle in this land.” I pointed to Thorkell the Tall who still showed signs of his wound. “Thorkell the Tall for one. We have spoken of this and I understand your feelings. I make this offer to all of you. If you wish to remain here then you can do so and I will not think any the worse of any of you.” I saw some hesitation. “Tomorrow I sail south and ‘Serpent’ sails home. Decide before then.”
I had spoken of this to Haaken and Cnut before. We sat by the window looking out at the mountain while my warriors all talked of their wishes. One by one they came to speak with me. Some seemed almost embarrassed to be telling me they wished to stay. All of the ones who did so were single. None had families on Man. I understood their decision.
Three of my Ulfheonar wished to stay, Harald Green Eyes and Erik the Tall joined with Thorkell. Fifteen other young warriors wished to stay. Ulf was torn between his loyalty to me and his friendship with Thorkell the Tall.
I gathered the men together in the hall. “There are too few of you to go raiding by ship. You hold this for me and I will visit from time to time with supplies. Thorkell, I make you Jarl. Keep your friendship with Raibeart but trust not the Welsh.”
They all knelt and Thorkell held his wolf arm ring, “I speak for us all Dragon Heart when I say we still hold our oath to you. When we have families then we will grow.”
We clasped hands and the three Ulfheonar were embraced by their comrades. This was the first time we had said goodbye to any of our fellows and it was a hard parting. The world we had created was changing. It was right
that it did so but it did not make it any less hard. With just a dozen Ulfheonar to row we took six keen young warriors to fill the benches. They were keen to join in the adventure. I know that they hoped to impress me and join my ship. That was a good thing.
We headed south, through the straits. We would be passing new lands. We had seen the coast of Cymru from a distance but this time we would be hugging the coast. I was keen to see what targets there might be for our warriors to raid. As we rounded the first headland I saw an island with a monastery upon it. It was a small simple settlement and I guessed there would be no more than thirty monks there but sometimes they held the greatest treasures. When we returned I would tell Thorkell of it. It was close enough for him to raid.
Haaken, too, saw it and said, “We could pick up a little treasure on the way.”
“I am keen to find this mine first and besides Thorkell needs to make his own reputation.”
Aiden was by me at the steering board. His reading had improved and he had discovered that he could read the map. He found that there was a way to measure distances. The map had been made by a clever man and the more that Aiden examined, the more he discovered. He was confident that he would recognise the estuary we had to navigate.
“It will look narrow but once you have passed through its mouth it widens to become almost a lake.”
“That means we will have to enter at high tide.”
“That would be the best.”
We had decided that we would find the mine first. The area where the gold was to be found was less obvious. The small dots were spread over a large area of the river. Aiden thought that meant that the gold had been found in the river. We knew that there would be somewhere close by where there was gold in the ground but none of us knew how to look for it.
There were few settlements along the wild coast. The ones we did see looked to be small communities of fishermen with little to raid. I hoped that Carl Erikson would not be too disappointed in his raids. As we sailed along the coast I could see that we were in a huge bay. When we returned we would be able to save time by heading directly for the monastery island.
“There, my lord, that is the river!” He looked excitedly from the map to the land and back.
“Erik, get the sail down. Up oars. Throw the anchor out.”
We waited half a mile or so from the estuary. We would have to wait for high tide. Once the current stopped trying to pull us out to sea we raised the anchor. It showed that the tide was on the turn. My men returned to their oars and kept the ship pointing east. As the current increased so I gave the order to row. Erik hung from the dragon prow scanning both sides for rocks. It was a narrow entrance but ‘Wolf’ was a small drekar; we managed it comfortably. Once we had passed the entrance I was impressed both by the map maker’s skill and Aiden’s ability to read it. Those lessons with the nuns had paid off. They might have done me little good but Aiden now had a rare skill amongst our people; he could read.
We rowed slowly, looking for signs of occupation. We saw, to the south, a small circle of huts half way up the slope and there were four or five small boats drawn up on the beach below. Apart from that there was nothing. No houses, no roads and not even a tendril of smoke showing a fire. We kept to the north shore for Aiden had told us that was where we would find the mine. Sailing was easy in the wide lagoon and we were all able to look at the mountains which seemed to rise from beneath the waters of this river.
Erik’s shrill voice brought us back to reality. “My lord, the river narrows.”
“Get the sail down.”
The river did indeed narrow to two ships’ lengths. I had a decision to make. Did I risk sailing further up? If the river was tidal this far then we could be stranded. On the other hand we wanted our ship as close to us as we could for both protection and comfort. I decided to risk it.
“Cnut, we are heading up the river keep it as slow as you can. Aiden go and help Erik. Take the map with you and call out when we reach our destination.”
We were looking for a stream which came from the mountains to the north. Once we reached that we would have our route to the mine. I stared intently at our dragon prow. Erik would direct me from there and I would have to trust his arm movements. He waved to the north and I put the steering board over slightly. A moment later he repeated it and I repeated the move. Then his hands came together and I straightened us up. So it went as we twisted and turned up the meandering river. The mountains on both sides rose alarmingly; this was not Anglesey. This land was more like that around Wyddfa. I could also see where the river had flooded for there were small shallow lakes on either side.
“It narrows again, my lord!”
“Back oars.” I ran up the centre board to the prow. The river became a ship’s length in width. “Aiden, how far to the river we need?”
“A mile or so.”
I walked back to the steering board. “Haaken, Cnut, turn the ship!”
There was still enough room for us to turn the ship along its length by rowing in opposite directions with the two banks of oars. Soon we were facing the sea again. I stood and took off my armour. I grinned at my men. “Off with your armour we are going to get a little exercise.”
Haaken groaned and Einar said, “What does he mean?”
“He means we are going to pull ‘Wolf’ up that river!”
“Erik, come here and hold the steering board. It will take two of you. Keep her straight.”
We rigged a rope from the stern post and then we all disembarked. What we were doing was not unusual. I had heard, from Olaf the Toothless that they had done this to cross ridges and small hills before now and ships had been dragged over cut trees. This would not be difficult but it would be tiring. I grabbed the end of the rope and slung it over my shoulder. I heard Cnut shout from the back, “Ready!”
I shouted, “Heave!” We all stepped forward with our right leg. Nothing seemed to happen. “Heave!” This time there was a slight movement. “Heave!” On the third pull I was able to step forward. We now had to keep going. We had the boat moving and that was the hardest part, getting her started. Cnut began a chant to help us to move her and we strained up the river. We were heavily dependent on Erik for he had to use the steering board to manoeuvre the ship. As he had to do this opposite to his normal action I knew it would be hard. Once you were in the rhythm and chanting it became almost hypnotic and, despite the effort time passed. I saw the sky ahead darkening as the sun began to set behind us. We were in the lee of a ridge and this would be a dark valley. Then I heard the bubbling of water on rocks and, ahead, I saw the river cascading down to join the Mawddach.
Aiden shouted, “We are here!”
We had reached our destination. We anchored the boat upstream of the tributary and we tied her to trees on either bank.
We had no idea how long we would be there and so we set up our camp on the northern bank. We used the rocks from the river to build a cooking pit and rigged a damaged sail for shelter. By the time night fell we had a fire going and we were cooking fish trapped in the river. The smell of the roasting fish made me realise how hungry I was. We were going to be short of water and so Sven White Hair and Ulf went up the tributary to fill a water barrel. With no human occupation the water would be safe to use.
We sat and looked up at the dark forbidding mountain. I still thought back to the tomb of Myrddyn. I remembered the mountains where I had grown up with Ragnar. I had lived for ten years without seeing a mountain and now they were as much a part of me as the blood which coursed through my veins. What would this mountain bring?
I took the Ulfheonar and Aiden with me the next day. The rest we left guarding the boat. They would also hunt and fish for we knew not how long we would be. Aiden reckoned that the mine was eight miles up the valley. It is always hard to estimate how long it will take you when climbing a mountain. We left our armour on the ship and wore only our wolf cloaks. We carried our swords but left our shields on the ship. We had seen no sign of occupation but i
t was unlikely that there would be heavily armed people in such a remote place. I was taking a chance. We carried heavy hammers and chisels as well as seal oil to use as lights.
Aiden led us. He was small and unencumbered by equipment. It meant we were constantly catching up. Sometimes when he waited he would use a piece of charcoal to make marks on the copy of the map he brought. The original was back in the fort. It had been too valuable to bring. Aiden had copied the part we needed and he was now improving that.
By noon we were high up the valley and the river lost from sight. Suddenly Aiden stopped and held up his hand. Within a heartbeat every warrior had his sword in his hand. Aiden pointed to the trail we had been following along the river; it branched off into the forest.
“I think this leads to the mine. We have travelled the right distance and the position of the peaks around us seems to confirm it.”
I heard doubt in his voice. He did not want to let me down. I smiled, “It will be so. Lead on Aiden but tread carefully.”
I sniffed as we walked. If there were people here I would smell them before I saw them. The air just smelled of pine and earth. The trail became more overgrown when we moved further from the stream. Nature was claiming back her property. I began to relax. It was possible, now, that the mine had been abandoned and we would not have to fight the owners for its secrets.
And then we were in the open. There was a large area which had been cleared of trees. There was a half stone and half wooden building ahead. Part of it had collapsed and there were weeds growing around the door. The ground to the right fell down sharply to the valley below.
“Cnut, check the valley. Haaken, let us investigate the building. Aiden, you stay here with the others.” Of course Olaf and Harald followed me as I knew they would.
The door had been made with leather hinges and they had rotted. When we pulled at it the whole thing fell away. There was a fluttering of wings as some roosting birds erupted from within. We had enough light from the door to see that this had been some kind of workshop which they had used to process the stones. Haaken reached down and moving away some soil and debris picked up a blue stone. It was rough and irregular but it was the same colour as that on my amulet. We had found the mine.