by Griff Hosker
I had asked the others to scout before but now I crawled to the ditch and peered in. I needed to see what we would face and make my plans accordingly. There were no spikes and they had been careless and discarded their rubbish in the bottom. It was not as deep as it should have been. When I looked at the wall I saw that, although it was only made of wood, it was high. We would have to have two warriors lift a third on his shield. We had to clear the walls of sentries first and I knew that getting men inside would not be quick.
When I returned to the warriors I outlined my plan, “Sweyn, take eight men and silence the sentries with arrows. You need to do it at the same time and there should be no noise.”
“It will be done.” He gathered his men and spoke to them. One came and stood near us for there was a sentry just above us. I saw him counting. He began to draw back, still counting. Suddenly the arrow flew from his bow and the sentry put his hands to his throat before falling into the ditch.
I clapped Harald on the back and led the men forwards. Olaf and Egill held a shield for me and I stepped on to it and then sprang up to the top. I quickly looked for any sentries but they all lay dead. I put my arm over the wall and felt Olaf take hold of it. I leaned back and he began to climb up the wall. When he reached the top he did the same for Egill while I ran to the steps. We had to take advantage of every moment of silence.
When I reached the bottom I was joined by Cnut and Rolf. I pointed to the warrior hall. It was a stone building and looked old enough to have been built by the Romans. That was a problem as I had no idea what the inside would look like. We had rarely been in such buildings. We would have to go in and trust to luck. A dozen other warriors joined us, including a grinning Snorri. I unsheathed my sword and hefted my shield around to my front. Waving the line forwards we hurried to the door. Surprise was our greatest weapon. I held my finger to my lips. I wanted silence. A noise would only alert them. I wanted us to be as ghosts in the night.
When I reached the door I checked that I had warriors behind me and then, throwing the door open, I stepped inside. I was struck by a wall of heat and the smell of unwashed warriors. A fire at the far end threw some illumination on the scene and I could see that there were many warriors. This was a powerful fort. Before I could do anything a man who had been four paces away filling the night bucket saw me and shouted, “Vikings!”
His prompt action cost him his life. Even as I killed him I was moving on to the next warrior. We had no time to lose and we raced in hacking stabbing and killing the half dressed men who threw themselves at us furiously fighting to save their fort. More and more of my men flooded into the hall and it became a maelstrom of bloody combats. Our armour and our weapons made the difference. The Saxons were brave but they were half asleep and half dressed. Soon the hall was filled with the dead and the dying.
I looked around and saw Rolf. “Rolf, get to the gate and secure it. Haaken and Cnut come with me. The rest of you start collecting their weapons and give them a warrior’s death.” I saw Olaf’s surprised look. “I know they are Christians and do not need it but they fought well and deserve it.”
When I reached Cnut and Haaken I saw that Snorri was behind me. I was about to chastise him for disobeying orders when I saw his ashen face. “I killed two men, Dragon Heart.” I then remembered that this was his first time.
“You did well, come with us.”
There was another stone building close to the warrior hall. When we reached the door I saw that it was locked. There was an axe lying nearby and I gave it to Cnut. Within a few strokes the door was open and there, cowering behind a bed was a priest. This was a young priest, little older than Snorri. I put my sword to his throat. “Tell us where the treasure is or you die.”
He almost burst into tears. He pointed to the door behind the bed. Cnut opened it, looked in and then said. “It is empty.”
In a petrified voice he stammered. “Th.. th.. there is a trap door. It is where the Romans kept their coins.”
Haaken lit a candle and the two of them found the hidden handle and opened the trapdoor. They held the light and peered down. Haaken gave a whoop of joy. “There is treasure here. Come on Snorri, give me a hand.”
While I watched the terrified priest the other three brought out boxes of coin and other valuables but my heart sank when I saw that there were no jewels, no crowns and nothing that was from Rheged.
“Where are the crowns? Where are the Rheged jewels?” I was not my normal calm self. I knew that I had become obsessed by these crowns and had to have them. I found I was shaking him hard. He began to weep and I could see that I had gone too far. He was terrified. I forced myself to calm down and I released him. I gave an apologetic half smile to reassure him. “I promise you shall live and I will not enslave you if you speak the truth.”
He nodded, seemingly persuaded by my words. “They were taken away a week ago by the bishop and King Eardwulf’s men. They took them north to the monastery at Hexham.”
“How far away is it?”
“It is a hundred miles north. It is on the old Roman wall.”
I could tell that he was speaking the truth. It was a blow but at least I knew that they existed and I would find a way to get there. “How many crowns are there?”
“There were five until one was taken some time ago. There is the king’s crown and the crowns of the three princes. There is a mace from Byzantium and a golden Roman helmet.”
I smiled; I now knew more than I had before. “Tell me about this monastery. Is it guarded and how far along the wall is it?”
“I have never been there but I think the monastery is in the big town. The monastery is half way along the wall and I think the wall is a hundred miles long.” He smiled and reminded me of a puppy who has done something good and expects a treat for doing so.
“Stay here until we leave and then go. Find a new life for yourself. All the rest are dead.”
“All of the warriors?”
“All of them. Thank your White Christ that Dragon Heart was in a kind mood this night.”
We had plenty of time to head back to our boats for there was no one left to follow us. We had lost five warriors and we carried their bodies with us. The arms and the treasure made this a very successful raid but I tasted ashes. I did not have the treasure I wanted. My men were of a different mind. They were singing my praises as the leader who would make them the richest of warriors.
Chapter 16
The elderly priest had a smug look on his face as we sailed home. He had seen my disappointment. He knew that the jewels had been taken away. I suppose his main disappointment was that we had not been slaughtered by the fort’s defenders as he had hoped and predicted.
We reached home by the middle of the next afternoon. It had taken some time to balance the boats. We did not need speed, we needed care and we did not want to capsize because of a badly loaded boat. I was just grateful that the “Bear” had a small crew and could carry more. There was great rejoicing at Hrams-a. We had returned quickly with much treasure and we had returned with most of the warriors.
Erica saw my disappointment and she did her best to cheer me up. She had Maewe and Seara cook me my favourite foods and went out of her way to keep me amused. As we lay in bed she asked me why I was so disappointed.
“I did not get what I wished for. The crowns are still missing.”
She laughed, “No they are not. You know where they are.”
“They might as well be on the moon. Hexham is in the middle of the country; the middle of Saxon country! How would we get there?”
“I did not say it was easy I just said that they were not lost. Of course if the task is too hard for you I will understand.”
I smiled, in the dark; I knew what she was doing and she was quite correct. I did know where they were. My next job was to find out how to get there. It was still early in the year. I had plenty of time to plan and to find out all that I would need to know.
“You are right, my love, now let us see if
we can make a brother or sister for Arturus and Kara.”
After we had divided the bounty I took stock. I was now very rich but I did not know what to buy next. Haaken and Cnut had no such worries; their money was frittered away in less time than it took to acquire it. They both bought better mail from Bjorn but the rest went on things that they ate or they drank. Snorri managed to buy a decent helmet from Bjorn. I think our blacksmith did the best out of the raid for every warrior wanted a sword or a helmet and the lucky ones, like Rolf who had a lot of money to spend, had mail byrnies made. All of this meant that they were content for a while which allowed me to consult with Olaf and Prince Butar about Hexham and how I might get there.
In the end it was the two slaves we had captured who proved the most help. They had both adapted well to the life in Hrams-a. They were well treated by Erica and confided in Seara that their new life was, in many ways, better than their old one. Ironically they thought that they had more freedom. They told me that we could sail up the river close to the wall and only have a forty mile journey to get to Hexham. It was the best news I had had in a long time. My dream could still be a reality. They had heard of the monastery which was as important as the one on the other coast, Lindisfarne. It suggested that we might make a good profit from this raid even though it was the most dangerous one we had undertaken.
I met with Rolf, Cnut and Haaken to tell them what I intended. “We will sail north. The female priests tell me that the estuary is the biggest north where we acquiredd the first crown. We just sail north until we find it. We can sail up the river and hide the ships amongst trees. There is a Roman road and a Roman wall which leads to Hexham. We can do this.”
Cnut and Rolf both nodded but Haaken shook his head. “And they will just let us go there, steal the crowns and then not try to stop us?”
“Of course they will try to stop us. This is why we are meeting now. I want your ideas on how we escape.”
“We will need horses, or ponies.”
“Good, Rolf. Now how do we get them?”
“Steal them!”
I knew that was a good idea but I also knew that a band of Norse warriors stealing ponies and horses as we crossed the land would attract the kind of attention we were trying to avoid.
“We will need to buy them otherwise they will alert the whole of the land that Norse raiders are about.”
Cnut laughed, “And you think that forty or so warriors turning up on their doorstep would not be noticed.”
He was right, of course and then, like a flash of sunlight on a cloudy day I saw the answer. “We use Scanlan and Aiden. Scanlan is Saxon and he could buy them without attracting any attention at all.”
Rolf raised his eyebrows. “You would trust a slave when he is out of sight?”
Cnut nodded and I said, “I would trust Scanlan. When you come to know him, Rolf, then you will understand why.”
“We cannot buy enough horses for a large warband.”
“I know Haaken. I am thinking of leaving half of the men on the route for protection. I am certain that we will be pursued and having other warriors along the way will increase our chances of avoiding detection.”
They looked sceptical. “And you would leave some guarding the boats. The warriors you are able to take get smaller with each breath you take.”
“You are right Haaken but I am only taking one ship. It is not as if we have to bring back a great quantity of treasure. We will be able to carry it. We will take extra crew and that will give us greater speed if we need it. This way we risk just one boat. If we fail then our people will still have warriors and a ship.”
“Then you are thinking of capturing the treasure with just twelve men?”
“I was thinking more like ten.”
Even Cnut who normally agreed with my every word shook his head. “That is madness.”
“Think about it Cnut. We have raided two monasteries. How many warriors did we lose in the attacks?”
“None?”
“Was that because we had overwhelming numbers or because the priests are an easy target?”
“They are an easy target.”
“Danger comes when we try to escape for they will pursue us with warriors and that is when we will be aided by smaller numbers. A small group can hide and vanish.”
Haaken sat back and smiled. “You have made your mind up any way. I do not know why you asked our opinion.”
“Because when I explained it to you I explained it to myself and I refined the plan.” I looked at him. “You need not come, Haaken. I only intend to take those who wish to come.”
The normally affable Haaken suddenly became angry, “I am not saying I wanted to be left behind! I am your oathsworn and I will be with you on this mad escapade.” He smiled again, his anger dissipated, “Besides, who else can make your saga?”
Scanlan was delighted to be going with us. He felt it made him more of a man and less of a slave. I took Rolf and his two warriors as well as six others who begged to join the Ulfheonar. All of the Ulfheonar wished to be part of this adventure. They all knew that it would be worthy of a saga by Haaken as well as a chance to spit in the face of the priests of the White Christ. They all knew that the objects we sought were pagan and that the Christians would, eventually, transform them into objects of worship in the shape of a cross. We were doing the work of the gods and we would be rewarded in Valhalla.
We left Hrams-a at midsummer. That was the riskiest part as far as I was concerned for it meant more daylight for us to be seen. However it also meant that the farmers would be busy working to use every hour of the day and that might help us. Whichever way you looked at it we were taking a risk. I still did not know why my heart kept telling me to do this. My mind told me that it was a mistake. I had to go with my heart.
Perhaps we had not made the right sacrifice to Ran, I do not know, but the weather and the winds were against us from the start. The summer winds, which normally came from the south west bringing warm conditions, perversely came from the north bringing icy blasts and forcing us to row. The extra crew came into their own and the balance of the boat was better in the choppy, icy sea. It meant the voyage was not as bad as it could have been. We were also able to change rowers and keep going for longer but it took us a whole day to reach the start of the wide estuary we had been told to seek.
When we found it we knew we had the right place. It was as wide as the estuary of the Dee and the Dunum. This was a big river. We saw high mountains to the east. Some of them looked higher than the ones we had left before we had sailed west to find our new home on Man. The land intrigued me. It looked beautiful and yet there was something else which attracted me now. This was Rheged and the land of my ancestors. I was going home. It may have been that Ran was trying to help us. We reached the estuary after sunset. We were able to row up the river and find a sheltered bend with shady trees for our berth.
My men had rowed hard and were tired. I took Snorri and Aiden with me as I went to scout out the land which lay around us. I needed to know if there were people nearby. We clambered over the side to explore the northern bank. The river had a wide flood plain and the ground was quite marshy for at least three hundred paces. That was good. It would be unlikely that anyone would stumble upon us. I let Snorri lead for he was smaller than I was and had a good nose. He eventually found us a path and we headed west. It was not a well used path, it was more like the kind hunters or fishermen might use. After four miles of trudging through the moonlit land we spied a farm. It was not large but it had a stockade around it. The idea of creeping in there and slaying the occupants came to mind but then I thought better. These people might be descendants of the men of Rheged. It was just one farm and was far from the river. I turned around and we retraced our steps.
When we reached the ship I saw that Haaken and Cnut had stepped the mast and disguised her with branches. It would not fool anyone who was close to the ship but that was a risk we would have to take. She would not be seen unless someone ca
me to the bank of the river and the guards would be able to deal with them. After a brief nap, I could hardly call it a sleep, we left. Eric Short Toe remained behind along with Ragnar Ericsson and five other warriors. I took the Ulfheonar along with Rolf and his men.
Scanlan and Snorri walked in the middle of the column with Aiden. My warriors would protect them. Cnut led and we headed east. By the time dawn broke we were on the slopes of a steep hill. We could see, in the distance, the Roman Wall curling away east and we knew we were on the right road. The trees and the dips occasionally hid it from us but, by keeping the sun to our right we knew we were always heading east.
Once we started to climb I sent Egill to the right and Harold Blue Eye to the left. They scouted parallel to our course about a mile from us. The land was, surprisingly, devoid of any human life. There was game a plenty but no houses and no people. Wood smoke can be detected from a long way away and there was none. We reached the wall when the sun was high in the sky. We stopped to eat some of the cheese and bread we had brought. It would last us another day and then we would have to forage. As we ate I looked at the wall. It was impressive. It was as high as me and four men could have marched along it. We did not risk that as it would expose us to being seen from a long way away. Egill had joined us and he reported a Roman Road to the south. We could have risked that as it was flatter but this way was safer and the way was not particularly hard. The land around the wall, especially to the south, looked ripe for farming. I had not even seen one sheep. Why were there no people here? Far from satisfying my curiosity this adventure was drawing me further into the land. I needed to know more about Rheged and the ones who lived here.