by Brian Smith
6
Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur was a proud man, a rich man and a very greedy man. As far as he was concerned the world was his for the taking and there were only two kinds of people: those who helped him and who might be rewarded, and those who opposed him who were to be killed or sold into slavery.
If there was one thing he lacked, it was patience. For him the idea of merely staying in his palace to govern his country well so that his subjects might work hard and slowly increase the state’s prosperity was ridiculous.
“Work is for slaves!” he liked to say. For himself there could only be the glory of conquest! And after the successful attack against Lisbon he had immediately started to look for the next worthwhile target. And what better target could there be than the town of Suddene, a town famous for its wealth and its hardworking inhabitants?
The Caliph had long wanted to attack Suddene and thanks to the riches he had acquired in Lisbon he had finally assembled a fleet and an army which were strong enough to attack such a powerful city. Bringing together such a large fleet, from building new ships to training soldiers and amassing sufficient supplies, took well over a year. And what was more, during that time the Caliph managed to place a spy in Suddene, a spy who sent regular and detailed reports about the forces in the city, about its walls and gates and anything else that was important.
When the Caliph’s fleet was just a few hours sailing from Suddene a carrier pigeon from his spy arrived. It explained how King Murry had taken almost the entire force out of town to fight Lord Rochefort that morning. The Caliph was jubilant. Suddene was undefended!
“Hoist all sails!” he commanded. Find every bit of cloth you can and get it up in the wind!”
Men rushed about the ships to carry out his orders. The Caliph looked at the sky. It was a grey day and there was a fair wind blowing.
“With a bit of luck,” he said to himself, “just a little luck we’ll be in Suddene before King Murry is back. We won’t even have to fight for it, it’s just a question of taking it.”
The Caliph was sure he had two big advantages over King Murry, first his forces were fresh and rested while those of Suddene would be tired and with losses from fighting Lord Rochefort, and secondly King Murry did not know that Suddene was about to be attacked from the sea.
Soldiers of Suddene
King Murry and Prince Horn watched the last of Lord Rochefort’s men disappear into the distance. He ordered one of his captains and a cavalry unit to follow them with caution to make sure they really did leave. With this precaution taken he turned to his men.
“Victory!” he called.
The cheers of thousands answered him.
“Let us go home, my men. Our city, our homes, our kith and kin are safe once more. I am proud of you all.”
The men cheered him once more and then the exhausted army and turned back towards Suddene. There was hardly a man who was not bleeding and those wounded too badly to walk were taken in carts. They had only just set off when a messenger from Suddene could be seen riding towards them at full speed. Horse and rider galloped towards King Murry and the tired soldiers wondered what could be so urgent.
The messenger began to shout to the King even before he had reached him.
“Saracens, my King! Saracens are attacking Suddene! The Queen begs you to make haste or all is lost!”
Spurred into action King Murry shouted his orders to the army. Knights on horseback charged ahead while the foot soldiers followed as fast as they could.
When the knights approached the town gates they saw smoke rising from parts of the town and screams filled the air. The town gate was one of the few areas still under control of King Murry’s forces and when the soldiers saw King Murry and his knights they let down the drawbridge and raised the portcullis.
The knights charged through the gate and right into a group of shocked Saracens. They rode them down easily. There were Saracens carrying screaming women and children out of houses, some were carrying plunder, and some were fighting at the few pockets of resistance in the town. When they heard the knights more and more Saracens came to fight and soon the knights were hemmed in on all sides. In the narrow streets their horses had little room to move. Some Saracen archers started shooting at the knights from windows above while others stabbed from below or even pulled knights off their horses. King Murry realized he had made a fatal mistake in riding ahead without his infantry. They were surrounded and there was no way back.
“Hold out!” he shouted. The foot soldiers will be here soon!”
At that moment an arrow struck him in the eye and he fell of his horse.
King Murry was dead!
The remaining knights were soon overpowered and either killed or taken prisoner. One of those captured alive by the Saracens was Prince Horn.
When the Caliph heard of King Murry’s death he was delighted.
“Suddene is mine!” he said exultantly.
“Suddene’s foot soldiers are approaching the town,” a captain informed him.
The Caliph thought for a moment and then smiled a vicious smile.
“Block the town gates and send word to the soldiers that we have captured their women and children. If they fight we will kill their women and children, but if they surrender we will be merciful.”
Left with no alternative King Murry’s army surrendered and was taken prisoner.
The last pocket of resistance in Suddene was the royal chapel where Queen Godhild and the three children were hiding. They were being protected by a small group of royal guards. The thick door to the chapel was barred and the guards were lined up behind it, yet everyone knew that they would not be able to hold out much longer. The Saracens had found something to use as a battering ram and they were pounding against the door. Every time the battering ram crashed against the door small clouds of dust descended from the hinges and the wood was weakening. It was clear that the door would be broken soon.
“Enough!” Queen Godhild said. “Open the door.”
“But my Lady…” the captain of the guard said.
“This is futile,” the Queen said. “Open up.”
The soldiers obeyed.
Queen Godhild stood facing the door, ready to meet the attackers.
The door opened and Saracen soldiers poured in. The first one through the door ran in shouting with his sword in front of him. He struck down Queen Godhild.
Horrified everyone stared at him. Feeling surprised he simply stood over the dead queen with blood running down his sword.
Anthony was the first to recover from the shock. He ran to the soldier and kicked his shin shouting “You bad man, I hate you!”
The kick to his shin was painful and the soldiers held his shin while jumping on one leg and cursing.
The other Saracen soldiers laughed.
“Well, well, what have we here? A little lion?” one of them said.
Then the Saracens took them prisoner. Their hands were tied behind their backs and they were led towards the port.
The children knew it was all over.
A little later Anthony, Edward and Geetu found themselves down below deck in a ship’s hold. The same kind of hold in which poor Isabella and all the others from Lisbon had been taken to slavery in North Africa.
In another ship Prince Horn and his loyal friends Athulf and Fikenhild awaited their fate, along with thousands of other men, women and children who had started the day as the proud free citizens of wealthy Suddene and who had ended up as slaves by nightfall.