by Griff Hosker
One greybeard asked, “But we have no weapons.”
“You will have. While my men repair the walls of the fort I will bring you weapons so that when the Saxons come they will feel Rheged steel and they will find easier victims to plunder!”
I saddled Blackie the next day and left Garth to improve the defences. He had to cut down trees and make ramparts behind which the people who lived nearby could shelter while their men killed the enemy and I was going into the land of the enemy to find those weapons. I was returning to my secret cache. My men would be as well armed as the Romans were and the Saxons would learn to fear the warriors of the wolf. I did not take armour nor did I use my helmet. It would be my bow, sword and wolf cloak which would protect me.
I worked out that I was less than forty miles from the Roman fort on the Dunum, I could not get there and back within a day but I could make most of the way back and be closer to home. Not that that would save me if the Saxons pursued. In that case I would have a lonely and unmarked grave. I risked the road to make the quickest time. The Romans had built well and the gentle turns took the pain from the climbs. When I reached the windswept tops of the hills I could see the land of my birth nestling fifteen miles ahead. I hoped that the Saxons had no-one watching the road or this could be a short journey and a savage death. I had with me some sacks which would carry whatever weapons remained. It was worth the risk to give my new warriors weapons which could hurt the enemy.
When I neared the river I left the road and walked Blackie. He would need a rest from my weight anyway. I gave him a bagful of oats while I scouted the bridge. The enemy were there. They had occupied the bridge and were denying passage. I could not dig up any of the other treasure and I would have to rely on the goods I had stashed years before. I walked Blackie and soon found my spot. It was undisturbed. I dug up the weapons and found that they had begun to rust but it was superficial. There were ten swords and ten daggers. I put them in sacks and balanced them on my saddle. There was one mail shirt which I laid across Blackie’s flanks and there were twenty javelin heads. Those I split between two bags. I was torn between the nails and the caligae for I could not bring both and eventually settled on the nails. At least they would come in useful to improve the defence of shields and in the making of arrow heads.
I walked away from the river with Blackie. I would ride him when we reached the road. We were not far from the road when he whinnied. It had to be the enemy. I was too far from friends. I tied him to a tree and took out my bow. I saw three Saxons searching the ground. They had found my tracks. They were a hundred paces from me and they would inevitably find me. Blackie was in no condition to gallop anywhere. I had to stop them finding me. I stabbed three arrows into the ground. I drew my bow. When they were eighty paces from me, still peering at the ground I loosed. Before I had struck the lead warrior I had drawn and loosed a second. Both men died instantly but before I could loose my third the last warrior dropped to the ground. I smiled to myself. It would be a blind shot but I knew were he was I loosed and then, drawing my sword I ran. When I reached him I saw that I had pinned his shoulder to the ground. He was bleeding to death but slowly.
I spoke to him in Saxon. “You are dying. “He nodded. I can give you a warrior’s death if you answer some questions.” I drew his sword and held it in my hand.
“What do you want to know, Lord Lann?”
“You know my name?”
“Every Saxon knows your name; the warrior with the wolf cloak who kill King Ida’s champion. We were hunting you. King Ida has put a price upon your head.”
“Who is King Ida?”
“He held Metcauld until you took it.”
“And where is this lord now?”
“He gathers an army in the south and next year he will come north to kill you and all the men of Rheged.”
“Thank you.” I took his sword and ended his life. This was news indeed. I stripped the swords, daggers, spears and helmets from the dead and loaded Blackie. I would need to walk further!
My warriors met me on the road the next day. They had been worried when I had not returned and I was touched. I gave them the first choice of weapons and Garth appreciated the mail shirt and the Saxon helmet. The spare weapons and spear heads were reserved for the men of the community.
“Garth, I will ride to the king on the morrow. Continue the work.”
The king was not in the fortress but Brother Osric was. I explained to him what I had discovered. “That is worrying. The King had thought that the defeat of this Ida would have dented his ambitions but it seems not.” He smiled at me. It seems you are always surprising us.”
I shrugged, “I just do what I feel is right.”
“And it is always the correct decision. I have some bow staves and arrows would your new fellows like them do you think?”
“I think we could make use of them but I could do with a spare horse.”
“We can manage that too. And your cleric is here. Brother Oswald fled the Saxons to the south. He is a young man and will work hard.”
Brother Oswald was a happy, cheerful priest. On the journey back to Castle Perilous I discovered that he did not mind me being a pagan just so long as I didn’t mind his trying to convert me. I wished him luck with that enterprise. I found that he had some skills with healing which would be useful. He told me that Brother Osric had impressed on him the need to take all administrative burdens from my shoulders. He grinned as he told me, “Brother Osric said you are a warrior from your toes to your head. He said you are the consummate warrior.” I had wanted to ask him what the word consummate meant but I assumed it was a compliment.
When I reached my castle I was a satisfied man. My men had made the gatehouse into a stronghold with a deep ditch which had an ankle breaker at the bottom. They had lined one side with stakes and made the wooden walls firm and easily defended. They had roofed what I assumed had been the principia so that we had a room we could use to eat and meet leaving our towers as our barracks. Brother Oswald found a small room which suited him as both office and cell. From the look of the debris in there I deduced he was hard working!
On the first morning after the work was completed I gathered them around me. “We are a small company. We cannot just use one method of fighting.” I held up Saxon Slayer. “In a shield wall this is unbeatable…unless, of course we are heavily outnumbered but we can reduce the numbers of our enemies with this.” I held up my bow. “Three of you have witnessed its power but, by the time winter is upon us you will all be proficient archers and the Saxons will fear us.”
I was kept busy training my men as archers and the local men as part time warriors but it was worth it. More men came each holy day and we soon had forty men. They were rough and ready and they would not stand up to a Saxon horde but they could defend my walls and they would kill Saxons and that is all that I could hope. The nails I had brought back were used to give my warriors better shields and we encouraged our other soldiers to make a shield, however rudimentary. All had a Roman sword, a dagger or a spear. I promised them that, after our first battle we would have more. Brother Oswald kept a record of their names and their families. I felt that was important. If they died then we knew which families would need our help.
As the harvest was collected in I prepared my warriors to march to the king’s muster for winter training. The headman of the nearest village, Ambrosius organised a rota of my part time soldiers to garrison the fort while we were away and they would be supervised by Brother Oswald. They were honoured and proud to be given the task and I knew that, when we returned it would be in better condition than when we left it. Finally, as we left, Garth carried my Wolf Standard and I thought that we looked like real warriors. They walked behind Garth and me like legionaries from the Roman Imperial army and could not wait to meet the Saxons in battle.
Civitas Carvetiorum seemed bigger and more solid after my time in the shell of my new home. Garth and the two warriors from my shield wall had been there but the other sev
en looked at the imposing walls in amazement. I could hear their words as we approached along the Roman Road.
“The Saxons could never take such a castle.”
“How did they make the walls so high?”
“Look at the men on the walls. King Urien must be the greatest king in the whole of the land.”
I smiled to myself; it was almost the same conversation my brothers and I had had when we had first seen it. The sentries stood aside as we entered. “Garth, take the men to the barracks and then stable our horses. I will join you later.” Garth strode confidently towards the barracks, smiling at the naïve young warriors who were so intimidated by the experience thus far.
Brother Osric barely glanced up as I entered the principia. “You are not the first to arrive this time. Lord Gildas is with the king already.” He finally put down his quill and looked at me. “He was disturbed by the intelligence you gave him. He has had the news confirmed by other refugees fleeing the invader.” He actually looked concerned as he put his hands together and said. “It is highly likely that you will be the first to know of any attack. How are your defences?”
I shrugged. “I have fifty men. Only ten are warriors but we can protect the people from the area. I am not sure that I could deny the Saxons the passage of the bridge and that is the point of the castle is it not?”
“That is the king’s worry too but he will tell you of his plans I doubt it not. Fortunately the muster is going well and the king is pleased.” He looked at me, giving me the scrutiny he always did. “How is Brother Oswald working out?”
“He is, as you told me, hard working and he fits in well.”
“Good I am afraid we have not been able to procure a warrior to help you.”
“Do not worry. I have enough local men and I would prefer to have men with something to fight for.”
The King, Gildas and Ywain were gathered in his hall with the map of Rheged before them. Their smiles told me that I was welcome and I did feel at home. These were men I trusted and I felt sorry for Riderch serving such a devious man as Morcant Bulc. King Urien’s men fought for more than a man and a country, they fought for an idea.
“Welcome Lord Lann and thank you for your news, however grievous and worrying it has allowed us to plan.”
“I explained to Brother Osric that, while I could protect the people I cannot stop an army invading. There would be too many of them.”
“I know and Ywain has a solution.”
“My bodyguard have spent the autumn learning to be true equites and we can now fight from the back of a horse. We can cover great distances on horseback. If we alternate our patrols from here to your fort and here to Raibeart’s it means that we will be within a day of you both at any time. We could summon the army. You will have a patrol every three days.“
“But if they come from the south, through Glanibanta…”
“Then your brother Aelle would be in a worse position than you for he is the most isolated of the outposts.”
I looked at the map and the extensive land that was Rheged. The mountains and lakes made travel difficult, especially from the south. “You need riders in each fort. Not warriors but young boys who ride fast ponies and horses. If each fort had three or four such riders then they could bring daily despatches to Brother Osric.”
Gildas scratched his head. “And how would that help us?”
“If you had news then it would reach the king quickly and if a rider did not arrive then it would be an instant method of alerting the king to danger.” They nodded at the sense. “There must be many ponies which are too small to be used for war and there must be many young boys who are too small and young to fight. I know that I have at least six who could carry out the task. As Prince Ywain says, no fort is more than a day away from here.”
“When all the Seven Stars are here we will tell them and then we can begin the training. We will only keep the men for two weeks. I fear the Saxons may try a winter attack.”
Gildas looked at his uncle in horror.” But they have never fought in winter before.”
“I know which is why they may try it. They know that we have no standing army and it may be the trick that will capture this kingdom for them.”
“In which case, we would have to let the land fight for us. Winter is harsh here and the Saxons will find it hard to move when the snows come.”
It was good to see my brothers. Aelle looked as though he had suddenly become a man and he had the confident look of someone who has had his life changed. “It is Freja, brothers. She is with child and she makes me happy. It seems that she was taken as a slave when the Saxons raided Elmet. She was only a child and she learned their language. She had no choice of her husband.” He blushed, “She said that she had longed to choose a man for herself.”
“And she chose well brother. How is your fiefdom?”
“It is a rich land. The fort is now repaired and we have over a hundred men who can fight although they are not warriors and would not stand in a shield wall.” He grinned and was suddenly my little brother again, “but they are excellent slingers and archers.”
“With you as their teacher how could they be anything else and you brother, how is life on the wall?”
“The fort needed little repair but there are few people who live there. I only have twenty men who can fight but they are tough men. They have to be to live on the wall.”
I had told them of my news. “We three will be the first to be attacked if the Saxons come and you, Aelle are the most vulnerable.”
“I know but there is a mere to the north of us and an island is on that water. I have had boats constructed. If they come then I can send my people to the island where they can hide and be safe from attack. My men will fight harder if they know their families are safe. My fort is not large but it has water on three sides. There are many places between here and there where a determined force could halt them because the valleys are narrow.”
“Aye but come they will and the king worries they might come in the winter.”
The training was a success. We learned to fight in a battle line which now had horse warriors on both flanks. We had better weapons and arms than when we had gathered before and we had a much bigger army. When we paraded before the king we had over seven hundred and fifty warriors. It was not the largest army but it was the largest one I had ever seen. I noticed the envious glances from my brothers when they saw my wolf standard. I knew that when they returned home they would also order the making of their own rallying point. We departed just when the first snows came. Brother Osric had procured the requisite ponies. Six for each of us and I felt better knowing that we now had communication with the king and each other. The three of us shared the road east from the capital for we were loath to part. The time we had spent apart had made us somehow closer.
“Remember little brother, tell us when you are a father, we would both like to wet the baby’s head.”
He blushed. “I will but Freja’s daughter, Anya, calls me father now.” He shrugged, “And I did nothing for that one.”
We left each other ten miles along the road. Raibeart, north, I went east and Aelle and his handful of warriors had the longest road, south.”
Chapter 14
We had many offers to be despatch riders. I used Garth and Brother Oswald to help me choose. Garth knew which families needed the extra hands on the land and Brother Oswald would be dealing with them on a daily basis. I remembered when we had lived at Stanwyck there were always tasks for the three of us. Eventually he found four. We would only need three initially but the fourth was probably too small and young to be used but they all needed work. None could ride and that was my task. Having taught myself I knew how difficult it would be. There was a leather worker in one of the nearby settlements and, in exchange for some of my nails he made three simple saddles. While they were being made we gave the boys some slings and taught them how to use them; they were young and quick learners. There were few enough warriors to fight the Saxons
without discarding the young. While I taught the four boys to ride, Garth and the rest of my men worked on enlarging our hall under the supervision of the quick witted Brother Oswald. It was crudely built, using the stones of the Roman Praetorium, but we had used wattle and daubed and turf buttresses to make it stronger. Aelle’s island refuge had set me to thinking; we needed somewhere for the people to shelter with their livestock when the Saxons came. We had plenty of water but not enough accommodation. By enlarging the hall, however crudely, we would save lives.
As a precaution Garth or one of the other senior warriors took to riding a twenty mile loop around the area to look for sign of tracks. Blackie was a quiet and reliable horse and he gave the novice warriors a gentle ride. When I could, I would get a second horse for Garth. Ywain and his patrol came every third day and, as the White Christ’s birthday approached, I felt sure that the Saxons had yet to make an appearance.
Once they were ready the three chosen boys could not wait to make their first journey. We had made them a tabard with a wolf’s head emblazoned upon it. It served two purposes, it told the guards at the fort where they came from and it gave them some extra protection from the biting cold. The ponies which had been a little thin when they arrived had benefited from the fine grazing on the river bank and their winter coats shone in the snow. We watched with some trepidation for the return of the first rider. When he did there was an audible sigh of relief. The messages were oral of course because neither the boys nor I could read. The first message was banal and yet a relief. “No sign of the Saxons.” They soon developed a close relationship with our cleric.
Once the system worked I could return to my main job; watching for the Saxons. The two days when there was no patrol I would take out five of my men. While I was away Garth or one of the other senior men would remain at the fort. I rotated the men for I wanted to know their mettle. I was pleased with what I saw. They were all keen and willing to learn. They all had bows and I combined the patrols with foraging for food and soon we were bringing game back every day. Sometimes it was merely hares, rabbits and squirrels but it supplemented the diet; at other times we managed to bring back a deer. So far the wild boars had eluded us but I was a patient man. The community also brought their surplus; sometimes some old apples or plums or vegetables which would not last the week and sometimes surplus meals, about to go off. We learned to make sustaining stews on the pot which we kept constantly bubbling. My mother always maintained that a truly hungry man would eat anything.