by Griff Hosker
I nodded, “Then let us find one.”
It did not look hopeful as we entered the forest, with the sun slowly slipping behind us. There were oaks and there were elms, there were even apple trees but I saw no pines. I had to trust in the memory of a dead king and a long dead ancestor. Aðils led us down a hunter’s trail. It descended. He was looking for water. It did not take long to find the stream. We followed it down until we came to a clearing. There were stumps there but they were oak stumps. They looked to have been mighty ones too. They were big enough for two or three men to sit upon.
“Here, Jarl Dragonheart, this is a good place.”
We set up a camp. We did not risk a fire. This land had been conquered by Saxons and the men of Om Walum were no friends to the Vikings. We would have cold fare. We sat and ate. Gruffyd’s two oathsworn were fascinated by the Ulfheonar. This was the closest they had come to them. Bili Leifsson and Eystein the Curious plied my men with question after question. They soon discovered that Olaf Leather Neck did not respond well to questions but Haaken would talk all night!
Aðils came over to sit with me. Of all the Ulfheonar he was the one who understood nature the best. He was also the cleverest of my men. He was a thinker. In battle, he was the one who had the most control. I had never seen him wounded! Haaken was telling the tale of how we had managed to enter Din Guardi and slay a renegade Viking. I had heard the tale many times and each time Haaken told it the story became even more fantastic!
“Jarl I have been thinking. The oaks that were taken from here were mighty oaks.”
We were seated on one and it was big enough for two of us. “You are right. This must be a good spot for them to grow.”
“They use stone here to build so I asked myself why would they need such oaks and the answer is simple, shipbuilding. Oaks are the strongest of trees but they would also need other trees, different species, to make the yards and the masts.”
I nodded. I could see where he was going with his thoughts, “Pine trees!”
“Aye jarl. I believe that they are close to here.” He pointed to the path which led downstream. “See how the greenway is wider here and there are ruts. They have had wagons here or carts.” He pointed in the opposite direction. “Tomorrow we will search there first. It is higher ground and I can see, even in the dark, that the trees are thinner there. Pines do not mind poor soil. An oak likes rich earth beneath its roots.”
“I am glad that you are Ulfheonar.”
“And I enjoy serving you, jarl but…” His face had a worried expression.
“I like not this but.”
“But I fear the time of the Ulfheonar is coming to an end. Rolf and Rollo are no longer young men and the rest of you…”
“I know, I listened to Haaken’s song, we are old men. You are not.”
“No but like Rolf and Rollo I am seeking a wife. There is a young woman at home. I would have sons. I love the forests and the woods. I would teach my sons what I know. It is our duty to pass on our skills. You have done so with Ragnar and Gruffyd. I would not be as Haaken One Eye and leave my family as often as he does. I would still raid but not every raid. Does that make me a nithing?”
I smiled, “No Aðils, it makes you a man. I am pleased that you told me. It is good. Our time has passed. We are a relic. The clan needed us once but now Ragnar is there to lead. He will lead in a different way but he will be a good leader. The clan is in good hands. What is this woman’s name?”
“I cannot say, Jarl Dragonheart, for I have yet to speak with her father. You understand?”
I smiled, “Of course. You are an honourable man and I shall miss you.”
Before I slept I gave instructions for the others to watch. I would have offered but I knew that my offer would be rejected. Gruffyd and his oathsworn had their pride and they knew that the young watched over the old. I dreamed but I could not tell what the dream was about. It was confused. I seemed to be everywhere and yet nowhere. Fantastical beasts were in my dreams and I had flashes of faces of the dead. However, it was the dream which saved me. I was suddenly attacked by a dragon. It made me start and when I did so I sat up awake. As I did I saw Bili Leifsson fall forward with a sword sticking out of his chest. Ragnar’s Spirit lay next to me. I jumped up and shouting, “Alarm!” I ran at the hidden assassin who had slain Bili from behind.
As Bili’s body fell I lunged at the black shadow. As I did so I sensed danger from my left. I struck out blindly with my hand and knocked away the spear aimed at my side. It cost me a deeply grazed hand but that was better than the alternative, death. My sword found something soft and I heard a grunt of pain. I took another step and hoped that one of my warriors would deal with the spear man. Bili’s killer swung his sword at my head. My step forward had closed the gap and I saw his black bearded face. He was not a Saxon. I put my bloody hand up and grabbed his sword hand. I had cut him and he was weaker now. I rammed my left knee hard into his groin. I felt his right hand weaken and I slid my sword across his throat. Blood flooded out of his torn and bloody wound.
As I turned I slipped a seax from my boot and looked for other enemies. I now saw other shapes. Some were fighting with my men and others were approaching. I ran to attack the two warriors attacking Beorn the Scout. These killers had no shields. They had swords and daggers. As I slashed my sword across the back of one of Beorn’s assailants I knew that they were bandits. They must have seen us as easy targets. In the dark, nothing about our clothes identified us as Vikings. None of us wore helmets or carried shields. The axes Rolf and Olaf had brought were wood cutting axes. The bandits had made a costly error.
Fighting in the dark in a forest was never easy. I had no doubt that the bandits had scouted us and knew our numbers. We did not know theirs. Beorn and I ran towards the huddle of swirling blades and cloaks. A man with a cloak was an enemy. I lunged at a cloak and was rewarded by a scream. I pulled out Ragnar’s Spirit and saw that it was bloody! A sword swung at my right side and I barely blocked it. I swept my seax across the throat of the assailant. Even as he put his hand up to stem the bleeding he was already dying. I saw Olaf swing his wood axe and it bit into the chest of a bandit. Gruffyd’s sword hacked through the thigh of a bandit as he fended off the sword blow with his seax. We were winning.
I was aware that I could see more clearly. Dawn was breaking. The ground was littered with bodies. Only Bili had fallen but I saw that Eystein the Curious could not use his left arm. He was gamely fighting on but the bandit was much bigger than he was and it was only a matter of time. The bandit swept away Eystein’s sword and pulled his arm back to end it. I threw the seax at him. I had little chance of hurting him but the distraction made him look up and fend away the seax with his hand.
“Eystein, drop!”
Gruffyd’s oathsworn obeyed me and I took two strides and lunged at the bandit. He swept around his sword to deflect Ragnar’s Spirit. I pulled Wolf’s Blood from my belt and brought it up under the rib cage of the giant. I pushed hard and when his eyes glazed over I knew that I had found his heart. I looked around for another bandit and saw that there were none. We had won. I sheathed my weapons and tore a piece of the giant’s kyrtle. I bound Eystein’s arm.
“Thank you, Jarl Dragonheart. I owe you a life.”
“You owe me nothing. We are all Clan of the Wolf.”
As dawn broke and we surveyed the clearing we saw that there had been sixteen bandits. As we examined their bodies we found evidence that they had been warriors. They had the vestiges of signs of service. I turned one body over and saw the sign of Mordaf ap Hopkin. I tried to hide it but Gruffyd saw the token.
He showed the pain he felt inside on his face, “These are the warriors who fought for my wife’s father! This was ill done.”
I put my arm around my son. “Would your wife have had you dead too? These men attacked us. Had they approached us then, who knows, they might have returned with us to serve Ebrel still. This is the work of the Norns. You have lost an oathsworn. We have pai
d the price for our success in Essex. The Norns give and they take away. We could do nothing about this. We will bury them for they deserve that.”
By the time the sun was fully up we had used the shovels and the mattocks and buried all of the dead in one grave. We buried them with their weapons and marked the grave with a spear and the one helmet we had found. Perhaps one day someone would come and wonder what had happened. While we buried them Aðils and Beorn scouted for the pines.
Gruffyd said, “This is a sign, father. I am not meant to come to Om Walum. I thought it was my destiny and that I would create a land here like the Land of the Wolf. It is not meant to be. Bili’s death and the death of these warriors has shown me that. My wife will have to make a new life with me.”
“Aye, just as your mother did with me.”
I heard Aðils as he hurried down the trail towards us. He looked excited, “Jarl, we have found them. Had we turned off sooner, last night, we would have found them. They are towards the edge of the forest. There are four stumps.”
We followed the two of them to the stand of pines. We should have smelled them when we had passed and then I realised that the wind had been behind us. The Norns! “We will take two stumps back. We need as much of the roots as we can get.”
We split into two teams. Eystein’s wound meant he could not help and he kept us supplied with water. It was hot work and it was hard work. We had to use the mattocks and the shovels to expose as many of the roots as possible. Olaf and Rolf then severed as many of the smaller roots as they could see. When we had enough exposed we rocked it back and forth until the tap root could be seen. Once that was cut we began to work the root and stump from the ground.
Once one was out we began to cut branches from the elms, which were nearby, to carry them back. By noon we were ready and we headed back. We were warier this time and Beorn and Aðils ranged ahead in case there were more bandits. My son had been quiet and I knew that he was brooding about what he had done.
We saw, from the top of the cliff, the longphort and the kiln which Erik Short Toe had made. They would have seen us and counted our numbers. They would know that one of us was missing. As soon as we reached the beach, Erik had men ready with axes to cut up the stump and the roots into smaller pieces. That would speed up the process. While they did that I told the others what had occurred.
Ragnar nodded, “This was not of your doing Gruffyd. It was the Norns.”
“I know but it is a sign. I have spilled the blood of my wife’s kin on her land. I have no claim to this kingdom and this throne.”
I cast my mind back to the fruit knife. I had had a mind to give it to my son. Now I did not know. I would need to speak with Aiden. My son would not appreciate a link to the land of the west.
It took a whole night to render down the pine tar and collect it. The wool had been teased and was now rammed beneath the sprung strakes. When the tar was applied it would take half a day to dry. Erik Short Toe was pleased with the result. The men did not mind the delay. Shellfish and birds’ eggs abounded. They ate well. When we left the bay, the gods sent a wind from the south west. It was a wind to take us home.
Chapter 15
My thoughts turned to my home as we beat up the green and fertile coast of Mercia although these days it was a debatable land. The Mercians fought with the men of Gwynedd and the men of Wessex. Their north-western coastline was now a place the men of Man and Dyflin could raid and plunder.
Atticus stood with me and looked at it as we headed north. “It is green, jarl, and there are many trees. Is your land like that? The land around Lundenburh was full of swamps.”
“My land is like that one but there are mountains. It may remind you of your home.”
He brightened, “I would like that but you do not have a mountain of fire, do you? They have many around the Blue Sea.” Atticus was clever and had picked up many of our words. Although I still used Saxon to him he could converse with the others in Norse. In truth, our language was changing. We used many Saxon words and some of the those of the old people. If the word fitted then we used it.
“No, we have no mountains of fire. We have wolf mountain and have peaks that no man can scale. They are the domain of the gods.” As a Christian, he could not contemplate such ideas and yet he had already seen magic at work.
With such a huge fleet, we were seen when far out to sea. A single sail might be missed but not the many that billowed and fluttered above our hulls. People were gathered to meet us. I knew that they would be counting the sails. As we drew closer they would identify the ships and those who had family in Gerlak the Cunning’s drekar would now wonder what had happened to their men.
I saw my wife. She was holding tightly to Sámr and Elfrida held Ulla War Cry’s hand. I could not help smiling as I saw Úlfarr prowling behind the four of them. He was on guard. The three mothers were there too. Two were holding sleeping bairns but Astrid was feeding. She truly was a mother. Kara had often told me that she could have been a priestess of the cult of the Mother. Kara got on well with Astrid. There was a bond there which went beyond family. As leader, Ragnar was afforded the honour of entering the channel first. It meant he received the cheers. As we had sailed north I had told Erik that we would be the last. I was now the least important of the jarls. Better that others received the acclaim that was due for a successful raid. I wondered if I had sailed on my last one.
It was almost dark by the time we entered the channel to tie up alongside ‘Odin’s Breath’ . Drekar would have to be moved but this was the safest mooring until the treasure and grain was unloaded. Erik Short Toe and Olaf Leather Neck came to me. Olaf said, “Jarl you go ashore. I have no family and I will see to the unloading of your chests. Your Greek monkey can help me.”
Atticus turned and scowled, “And I know enough of your words to be insulted. Have you ever seen a monkey?”
Olaf laughed, “Every time I see you, little man!”
It was banter. On the voyage home Atticus had learned that the best way to respond to insults was to give barbs back.
Atticus pointed to Olaf’s not inconsiderable belly, “When you give birth I hope your child is not as ugly as you!”
Olaf laughed and clapped Atticus on the back, “You grow on me, Greek.”
“I do?”
“Aye like a wart!”
They would be fine and I left. I stepped over ‘Odin’s Breath’ . Being the first to land most of her cargo and chests had been offloaded. As I stepped down the gangplank Úlfarr broke away from Uhtric and bounded over to me. Behind me I heard Atticus yell, “Jarl! There is a wolf! Save yourself!”
Úlfarr leapt up at me so forcefully that I fell back onto the gangplank. He began to lick me. Uhtric rushed up, “I am sorry, jarl, I could not hold him.”
I laughed, “It is no matter. I am pleased that someone is happy to see me.” He hauled Úlfarr from me and I stood. My wife had gone inside with my son. The mothers had gone inside with their husbands. I would be welcomed but her son was the first in her thoughts.
“He has missed you, jarl, but he is very close to Sámr.”
“Not Ulla War Cry?”
“He never leaves their side but it is Sámr who has Úlfarr’s head resting on him as he sleeps. Ulla War Cry does not seem to mind.”
The hall was filled with a cacophony of noise. Kara the Golden had awoken and was welcoming her father in her own unique way. The cry was so piercing that it hurt my ears. Ragnar did not seem in the least concerned. He grinned. As I entered I saw Gruffyd glance over at me. I knew what was in his head. He was thinking of the men we had slain in Om Walum. I needed to speak to my daughter and her husband about that. Kara and Aiden were not there. They were still in Cyninges-tūn. They would be told of our arrival when my jarls took their men home. All roads led through Cyninges-tūn. Ragnar would be the one dividing the treasure. I hoped that I had set him a good example and that he would not offend any of the jarls. I could not interfere. This was a lesson he had to learn. I had the bo
nes of the saint, the parchments and the maps. They were of little use to any save Aiden. The bones I would save for a time where we needed to trade something with the Saxons.
I sat by the fire and listened to the noise around me. I was content. Úlfarr sat by my feet. Sámr and Ulla War Cry appeared on either side of me. They both clambered up to be on my knees. They put their arms around my neck and hugged me.
Sámr spoke. He was the more confident of the two. “We missed you, great grandfather.” He ruffled Úlfarr’s head, “All three of us.” He lowered his voice, “Great grandmother tells us off all the time and she does not like Úlfarr sleeping with me! I have to sleep in Uhtric’s quarters!”
“I laughed, “Mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers are all a little bit like that Sámr. They mean no harm but they like things to be clean.”
He nodded as though he understood that women were different from warriors. “Father said that you lost a ship.”
“Aye, that is what happens when you go to war. It is not like the games we play. If you lose then you die. You are a Viking and you will learn the ways of a Viking.”
“And will I sail with father next time?”
Ulla said, “And me!”
Sámr shook his head, “I am older than you Ulla. When I go then Úlfarr will stay and protect you. He will sleep with his head upon you.” For some reason that seemed to placate Ulla.
“That is not my decision but your father’s. It will not be until the new grass next year. We have enough grain and coin now. We can watch our land and see it prosper.”
Atticus came in. Seeing me he came to me as unobtrusively as possible, “Jarl I have placed your chests in the chamber. Olaf showed me the one you use; the one close to the little ones. Would you have me sleep within or without the chamber?”
“Inside for there is a spare cot.”
He suddenly noticed Úlfarr and he recoiled. Sámr said, “Do not be afraid. He will not harm you. He is just warning you that he is our protector. Give me your hand.”