by Griff Hosker
“Shitting myself, I always am, but somehow that helps me to think a little clearer. I reasoned that once he began his swing it would be hard to reverse its direction and so it proved. Half the skill in fighting is letting your opponent defeat himself.” I pointed to their swords. “You can of course make your weapons more effective. I punch with my sword guard and the sharp edges cause wounds. Notice on my boss, there is a nail protruding. I put a fresh one in each time I fight. But I have decided that I want two sheaths for daggers on the inside of my shield. When you are fighting close, sometimes you cannot swing your sword but a dagger could be used.”
“Ah there they are; my heroes who held the line magnificently. “ King Urien was obviously proud of his son and his nephew. He embraced them in turn and then hugged me. “When I saw the numbers and how you were pressed I thought that all was lost.”
“It would have been father but for the archers; when they ran out of arrows they gave us extra numbers against their flanks.”
“We will not run out again, King Urien. We will make more and carry them with us to the battle.”
“Do not be hard on yourself. We did not know we would be fighting today.”
“No, King Urien, but we were ready and I am pleased with that more than anything and,” I spread my arms out, “we have more arms and mail as a result. This is a victory in every sense of the word. When we go to aid your allies we will go as victors and not novices.”
The king looked at me and nodded, “And we will go with a champion; a warrior who can beat the best that they have. We have Lann, Champion of Rheged.”
All the men around who heard cheered. All the warriors save one, Bladud, who cast me another hateful glance. I had made my enemy have even more reason to hate me.
Chapter 10
The stronghold was a hive of activity over the next couple of weeks. Replacement warriors were sought. Although the numbers were short of what we needed we had volunteers at least, and new weapons were made. Our archers did not practise but made arrows and bows instead. Poor Aed was almost worked to death. Aelle took to making the shot for the slings himself. He used the forge and melted the metal while Aed grabbed some sleep. He had his boys make the moulds and they produced high quality slingshot in short order. They seemed quite happy smoothing them off to make them polished. Aelle was a quiet, yet clever man. He deduced that the sand on the seashore and rivers was produced by rocks crashing onto rocks and he made a series of boxes which he filled with stones and his uneven shot. The boys shook the boxes and, after a few hours there were smooth stone, shot and fine sand.
King Rhydderch and his army arrived just when the snowdrops were dying. Green was sprouting everywhere and we were as ready as we could be. His army was not impressive. There were five hundred warriors and they all looked like his bodyguards, if a little smaller in stature. They favoured two handed weapons such as axes and war hammers. Most of them did not bother with shields and few had armour. They seemed to regard the use of a helmet as almost dishonourable and cowardly! They were however brave and keen. The king assured us that they would never retreat. Part of me wondered about that; sometimes a retreat might be the right strategy. But I kept my own counsel.
Ywain came to see me the night before we left. “Bladud has been very quiet of late. I would watch your back.”
I laughed, “I have watched my back ever since I met him. He just does not like me does he?”
“I confess that I was always a little afraid of him. I feared he was such a powerful warrior that he would take the throne from my father.”
“But your father is a great warrior. I have seen him on the battlefield and his bodyguards are devoted to him.”
“Father’s trouble is that he is too honourable. He believes the best in all men and he remembers how Baldud saved his life. He trusts him implicitly.”
“Then we shall all have to watch Bladud closely.”
“There is another thing.” He hesitated as though unsure how to continue. “My father would like Raibeart alone to lead the archers. He wishes you to command the swordsmen while Gildas has the spears.”
“But I am a good archer!”
Ywain shook his head ruefully. “You are the best but you are the most skilful warrior with a sword we have. However, more than that, the men see you as something of a symbol, the Wolf Warrior, the Saxon Slayer, the Mystical Sword. These are all names by which you are known.”
“And what of you Prince Ywain?”
He looked embarrassed and looked at the ground. “I am to command the whole army save father’s bodyguard. He will command the combined armies.”
I suspect he thought I would resent his promotion but I was delighted for him. He was a thoughtful leader and the men would not suffer. While his father lived the strategy would be the king’s but he would lead the men well. “If I might make a suggestion Prince Ywain?”
“Ywain please. Of course; what is it?”
“We need a banner for the army. Somewhere we can rally around and a method of sending signals.” He looked confused. “When your father rides to battle he has the dragon standard which all men see and hear but when we fight then you and I shout our orders. In the press and clash of battle voices can be silenced by the noise.”
It was as though a light had gone off in his head for he suddenly smiled. “Yes and we need standards for the men; the archers, the spears and the swords.” I smiled and nodded my approval. I had not thought of that but it would be a good idea. “I shall have a flag with a dragon on it.”
“Like your father’s?”
“Yes but instead of a white dragon I shall have a red dragon. And you shall have a wolf.”
“No I will let my brothers have a wolf for I am to fight with the swords am I not?”
He nodded, it made sense and the archers would love the idea. We spent the next hour working out some simple signals. Once we were satisfied then we sought Gildas, and my brothers. They had to be as confident about using them as we were. Ywain was so excited he sought his mother to ask her and the ladies of the court to sew two standards, a red dragon and a red wolf. My brothers and I went to the forge where we painted our shields with the red wolf. The Wolf Brethren were going to war and their enemies would know who they were.
When we left the next day the standards were still being made but Ywain left two of his younger brothers with their mother to bring the completed standards with them. The army looked magnificent as it set off. The two kings led the column: King Urien with sixty horsemen and King Rhydderch with fifty axe men. King Rhydderch’s five hundred warriors followed and then the sixty archers and thirty slingers led by my brothers with their wolf skins gleaming. Prince Ywain came next on his white charger. I followed with my three hundred swordsmen; all of them proud to be following the Wolf Warrior and his Saxon Slayer. Lord Gildas guarded the wagons and spare horses with his two hundred spearmen. It was the largest army any of us, the king included had ever seen, and we could not see how we could lose. We had servants and slaves this time with the horses and wagons. Our four horses carried spare arrows while armour, weapons and more arrows as well as tents and skins were in the wagons. I knew that the wagons would slow us down but I also knew that we needed the supplies they carried.
The king had said we would do the journey in three days- we took four. The wagons and the rains slowed us down but they did, at least, allow the standards to catch up with us. The two young princes both begged their brother to allow them to become the standard bearers. They were both still little more than boys but they were like their brother and they had true hearts. He could not gainsay them but he asked them to keep both the standards and their role quiet until he could tell his father.
Even though I had been honest in my description of the fortress of Din Guardi, the kings, princes and my brother were taken aback by its site and the imposing nature of its defences.
“With that as my castle I could hold the whole of Britannia.”
We were walking up the ramp
which led to the castle. “You would need to have other forts guarding the road your majesty.”
King Urien nodded at my words. “I see what you meant Lann; this does give security to the king and his men. They would never fear being ousted from such a castle, made by God and improved by man.”
The guards all recognised me and I was greeted with smiles and nudges. Prince Ywain said, “It seems that Lord Lann has a reputation on this side of the land too.”
I just kept my head down. I did not take compliments well. Riderch almost ran up to me to embrace me. “We have captured two more ships and ambushed thirty more warriors and we now have some bows. We await the lessons from your archers eagerly.” His words gushed out like a river over a waterfall.
The honest and open warrior was suddenly aware that kings and princes were watching him closely. He gave a slight apologetic incline of his head and I said. “Do not worry old friend. They like to see an enthusiastic warrior.” I lowered my voice. “A little different from my first visit eh?”
“Do not remind me. I am ashamed of the way we behaved.”
“You redeemed your self ten fold as did your men.”
It was just the kings, princes, champions, and commanders who attended. Bladud had accompanied the king although Ywain said, somewhat petulantly, “It should just be you who is here. He is no longer the champion.”
“Peace. I am not concerned. I know that King Morcant keeps a good table and the mead is fine. Just enjoy the evening and do not worry about one sour faced warrior.”
The feast was indeed gargantuan and King Morcant Bulc was going out of his way to impress his peers. Riderch made a point of seating himself next to me and he described, blow by blow, his victories. Ywain and Gildas seemed bemused by his enthusiasm. When the candles had burned half way down King Morcant banged on the table and stood.
“Tomorrow we will speak of our assault on the island the Saxons have taken from us. But I know that, with the army we have, victory is assured.” He waved his arm around us all, it seemed a trifle unsteady to my semi sober eye, “Here we have champions and warriors who have fought the Saxons and defeated them before and we will do so again.” Everyone cheered and banged their tankards loudly and drunkenly. King Rhydderch the Generous was living up to his name having brought some jugs of a fiery liquid they brewed in his land. We called it King Rhydderch’s fire. It sent waves of heat through the blood and I had just had one mouthful. I wanted my wits about me.
As the evening degenerated into stories of battles past King Urien took my arm. “I have been watching you Lord Lann,” he insisted on giving me a title even though I had refused one many times, “you watch what you drink and you keep your wits about you.”
I nodded. “My family was taken from me because we did not keep out wits about us. Besides I do not want to spend tomorrow morning vomiting the good food we ate tonight.”
“Each day I learn more about you. I think my visit to Stanwyck was the wisest move I made.”
The next day was a dark day. I was one of the few who had a clear head. I had spent the night with my brothers in the camp eschewing the generous quarters provided by King Morcant. Part of the reason was that I did not want to spend the night listening to warriors empty the contents of their stomachs and the other was to talk with my brothers. The coming battle would be unlike any other we had fought. We would not be defending, we would be attacking and that had inherent dangers. I wanted them both to have a clear idea of what would happen for I knew that I would be leading the wedge when we did assault. Raibeart and Aelle were also concerned. They knew that they would be on the periphery of this battle, guarding the flanks but their big brother, the Wolf Warrior would be in the most dangerous place of all.
“When the arrows are exhausted my men will join you brother.”
“And we can never run out of stones, for we fight on the shore but we will stay close to you Lann.”
I smiled, “Then all will be well so long as the Wolf Brethren are together.”
When I returned to the hall the next day for the meeting which would decide the strategy I could tell that no one had had a good night’s rest. Although the king had remained relatively sober his night’s sleep had been disturbed and he was, unusually for him, a little grouchy. The kitchen had laid on cooked meats, bread, cheese and beer. However, apart from the king and I, no one ate or drank and there were some very green faces around the table. The champions were there as well as the commanders and the kings. Bladud’s bloodshot eyes made him look even more sinister than he had the previous night. I wondered if I judged him ill because of his appearance but Ywain’s words came back to me and I knew the truth.
As host King Morcant began. “We will assault tomorrow. I will lead the armies across the causeway and drive the Saxons from our land.”
I was not the only one taken aback by the effrontery of the young king. King Rhydderch and King Urien both raised their eyebrows and Ywain stared at me in amazement mouthing the word, “What!”
King Urien was nothing if not a diplomat and he was a kind man generally who thought the best of others. “It is a generous offer you make King Morcant Bulc but I fear that we will need to assess this island of Metcauld and decide on the best strategy and as for leading the attack, with due respect King Morcant you are not well versed in war as yet. “
King Rhydderch the Generous was a plain spoken man, “And the other reason is, in case you had not counted, the bulk of the army and the better part of it is King Urien’s. I am not sure that seasoned warriors such as Lord Lann would take kindly to being given orders by a novice.”
Morcant Bulc reddened and, although the king had praised me I wished that he had not for I knew that I would be put on the spot with the next utterance from the King of Bryneich. “Tell me Lord Lann do you agree with the comment from King Rhydderch?”
All eyes were upon me and I noticed a savage satisfaction in the red eyes of my enemy. “As I said before your majesty; I am King Urien’s man and if he asks me to follow you then I will do so. It is my liege lord’s decision. Not mine.”
Morcant’s eyes narrowed and he pursued the point. “You did not answer my question. Would you follow me?”
I could see no way out of this which would not result in the king being offended and so I made a joke of it. “Your majesty, I will follow any man who allows me to kill Saxons; even Brother Osric.”
All but Morcant Bulc and Bladud laughed and the atmosphere was calmed but I could see that it was not forgotten. I had made another enemy although in truth I could not see how I could have avoided it without betraying my king. “So we will ride to the causeway and examine the defences and then we,” he emphasised the ‘we’, “will decide the best strategy. I would suggest just the kings and their bodyguards. The other commanders will need to prepare their warriors for the assault.”
As we left Riderch sought me out. “I am sorry that you were placed in such a position my lord. I know your honour and your bravery.” He looked darkly at the back of his king. “As do all my men. If you are chosen to lead the attack then we will not let you down.”
I was touched by the young warrior’s honesty. He was patently no diplomat. “Thank you Riderch that means much to me.”
As I left the hall I found Ywain waiting for me. “What does Morcant Bulc think he is about? He has less experience of leading a battle than Aed the blacksmith.”
“He sees himself as the saviour of Britannia; the next Artorius.”
“You mean Dux Britannica?”
“He does.”
Ywain laughed. “That is ridiculous. If anyone has claim to that title it is my father and I know that he is far too humble to compare himself with Artorius.”
“I am afraid that he has delusions of grandeur but we have more pressing matters to consider.” Ywain’s look was one of confusion. “When we attack tomorrow we can not use a shield wall for we will be attacking and, as far as I know, the men have not practised the wedge. We are going against hardened
men who know their business.”
“You are right but how do we know what the kings will decided?”
“No matter what their strategy it will involve men with spears and swords attacking across the causeway and that means a wedge.”
“Which you will lead.”It was not a question but a statement.
“If I am ordered I will do so but it is more than a decision about one warrior. We need to consider where we place the men. We have much work to do this day.”
I had no doubt that the king would come up with a plan which would lose as few lives as possible. Equally I also knew, from my own visit, that the only way, without a fleet of ships, was across the causeway at low tide and that would be a narrow, wet and deadly killing ground.
There was a high, dry although undulating piece of ground about a mile away and Ywain and I marched our army there. The other two armies just watched us with mild interest. As far as I was concerned the battle would be won by our men whom we would lead. The wind was blowing hard but the men could hear me as I gathered them around in a large circle. Ywain stood next to me, not that I needed his authority but I felt that, as he was the leader of the army he should be acknowledged as such. “We will be attacking that island,” I pointed to the rocky island which dominated the bay. “Now there are well over five hundred Saxons there who will dispute that. “ I had no idea of actual numbers but that seemed a reasonable figure to me. For one thing more men could not be brought into action on such a narrow front. I grinned at them and put my hands on my hips. “Now they have never fought us before; they fought against me and they didn’t like that so imagine how they must be feeling knowing that there is an army of you, all as good a warrior as I am.” They gave such a roar at the statement that the kings and their bodyguards on the beach looked over to us. “These Saxons are good fighters but, “I tapped the side of my head, “they are a bit thick!” I received the laugh I wanted. “They don’t have archers and slingers.” I pointed to my brothers. “We do. The best in the whole land so when we go to fight them we will have our brothers loosing arrows and slingshot to make their life a little uncomfortable and you know that these men can shoot the eye of a gnat at a hundred paces!”