Viking Warrior

by Griff Hosker

  I pointed to the pigeons now roosting in an ash tree. “Then what made those birds move?”

  “Olaf and Oleg?”

  “They would have been further down the trail. I smell an ambush. Rolf, detail three men to stay with the horses. Tell them to count to a hundred and then move down the trail slowly.” He nodded and hurried off. “Cnut, get the Ulfheonar.”

  Rolf returned and the Ulfheonar reached me. “Haaken, take Rolf and half of the men and go to the right of the trail. I will take Cnut and the other half to the left. I think there is an ambush ahead. If I am wrong then feel free to mock me but at least then you will all be alive.”

  Cnut said seriously, “If you say there is an ambush then there will be one. You can see things which are hidden from others, Dragon Heart. Ragnar speaks with you still.”

  I drew my sword and pulled my shield around. I had to be ready for whatever came my way. The undergrowth to the left was thick and the ground was uneven but it made perfect cover for us. I was mentally counting one hundred. The problem with waiting in ambush is just that, the waiting. The Ulfheonar are very good at this. I hoped that the Saxons ahead were getting nervous and hearing every little noise as an enemy. We would make no noise. We advanced silently and stealthily through the undergrowth moving leaves and branches of the bushes as little as possible. I knew that the Saxons, if they were there, would be nervously waiting for us to appear. Their eyes would be focussed on the trail. They would be waiting to sink their sword into our flesh.

  As I peered through the blackthorn bush I saw the first warrior, his back was to me. I turned and nodded. Cnut nodded back and turned to Gudrun. I continued through the undergrowth. My black armour, helmet and cloak made me hard to see, even in daylight. My men would not strike until we had reached the end of the ambush. We would ambush the ambushers.

  We passed the bodies of Oleg and Olaf. There were five dead Saxons around them. Their swords were in their hands. They would be in Valhalla. The number of wounds showed that they had fought long after they had been mortally wounded. They had given their lives for their comrades and we would not forget them.

  The Saxon ambushers were not even looking in my direction. They were just watching the trail and listening for the clip clop of the horses. I counted six warriors and then I stopped. In my head I was up to eighty. Soon the horses would come down the trail. I turned and looked at the warrior I would kill. He had no mail but he had a long sword almost as long as mine. I could choose my target. With his back to me I chose his right side. I would slice upwards and he would die. I glanced to the left and saw the next Saxon. He had mail and an axe. I would take his head. As I counted down to one hundred, I drew my sword back. The others were all counting as I was. I pulled Ragnar’s Spirit back and stabbed as hard as I could upwards. My sword entered his side and, before, he could scream, entered his heart. He slumped to the ground. The warrior next to him sensed my presence but by then I had withdrawn my sword which was slicing towards his neck and there was nothing he could do about it.

  I watched as the next warrior in the line raced towards me his sword held ready and his shield protecting his chest. He swung his sword at my head. I dropped to one knee, stuck my shield before me and, as his blade sliced harmlessly above my head I slew him. I could hear the screams of the dying and the clash of arms. We had foiled their ambush but could we escape with our lives?

  I knew that there were no Saxons behind me; my men were too good to allow any to survive and I headed down the trail aware that the horses were trotting down behind me. Three warriors suddenly materialised before me. I held out my shield as they all hacked down at me. The trees and bushes prevented them from outflanking me and they got in each other’s way. Although they all struck my shield, it held. I jabbed forwards and felt my blade sink into the soft middle of a warrior without armour. As I withdrew the sword I punched forward with my shield. They were not expecting the blow and one fell backwards. I ignored him and brought my sword overhand to slice through the helmet and head of the warrior before me. The warrior on the floor was struggling to rise. I stamped on his face and then stabbed him in the throat. They were all dead.

  I peered west. There were no more warriors before me. I found myself breathing heavily. The long night had taken it from me. Behind me I saw the Ulfheonar ready to go into a shield wall if needed. As Aiden and the horses trotted by I pointed my sword to the opposite side of the trail. We slipped through between horses. There we found the men led by Rolf and Haaken surrounded by Saxons. They must have had more men on one side. The Saxons had forced the survivors into a small circle and were advancing towards them. Their backs were to us and their focus on the men they thought they were about to slaughter. We showed no mercy and soon there were just the dead and the dying before us.

  Cnut banged his shield and shouted, “Ulfheonar.” The chant was taken up by all of the warriors. We had won and we had survived.

  Chapter 18

  The Ulfheonar had emerged from the ambush with their lives. Oleg and Olaf were the only losses amongst the Ulfheonar but only Rolf and his two men survived from the ones who aspired to be Ulfheonar. It had been a brutal encounter. All of the Saxons perished but I mourned Olaf and Oleg who had been with me since we had conquered Man. We could train new men but we could not replace old friends. The horses were, once again laden with the weapons and we built another pyre.

  “The Saxons may see!”

  “I know, Rolf, but if there are any Saxons close to us they would have to be suicidal to face us now. The bodies of their dead mark our trail. We will honour the dead and we will send them to Valhalla.”

  Snorri and Aiden were both distressed at the losses we had suffered. I could see that they were visibly shaken. As the bodies were consumed by fire I took them to one side. “Those warriors are happy now. They fulfilled their oaths and they died with their swords in their hands. They will be with Ragnar and the others waiting for us to join them. You two need to decide quickly if you can make that sacrifice. If not, there is no shame in not being a warrior. None of the dead would change places with you. All of them killed our enemies and will be celebrating in Valhalla.”

  They both wiped their eyes and Snorri said, “But lord, they are gone and we will never speak again.”

  “You will, when you go to Valhalla.”

  Scanlan came over and put his arm around Aiden’s shoulders, “Lord I would fight next time. I like not running away.”

  “You obeyed my orders. You did not run away. You shall fight, Scanlan, for I know that you are a warrior.”

  When the fires had died away we trudged down the trail towards our ship. It was getting towards dusk when we drew close. I felt such relief to reach it that I almost kissed the hull. I knew that I had to be strong. I was the leader. I could not think about the dead. I had to think of the living. The weapons and the treasure were placed below the deck. Cnut and the others raised the mast.

  Scanlan came to me. “These horses have served us well. Could we not take them home?”

  I looked at him and I knew that doubt was written all over my face. “Could you get them aboard and keep them calm on the crossing?”

  He nodded, “We have fewer rowers and there is more room.” He gave me a resolute and determined look, “And if I cannot I will slit their throats myself.”

  I was dubious but I owed it to him for his service. “If you can then do it but you and Aiden must watch them on the voyage. We only have a few men to row and Ran may be against us again.”

  The young all conspired to help Scanlan. Snorri and Aiden coaxed each animal aboard on a rough gangplank. Cnut kept shaking his head as he watched whilst raising the mast. Eventually all of the horses were aboard and the three of them held the ropes which tethered them as though their lives depended upon it. Even Eric Short Toe helped.

  We pushed off and began to row west. At first the horses were calm but once we struck open water and the boat began to bob up and down they became distressed. Suddenly Aiden
began to sing. I knew he had such a pure voice but I did not know it was powerful enough to be heard above the sounds of the sea and the ship. It worked and the horses began to calm. The rowers also seemed to pull better and I found myself in a better place. When Snorri joined in with the singing it was as though the gods had smiled on us and was making our journey home easier. My thoughts turned to those who had died, Lars, Olaf, Oleg and the others. I knew that they were happy; they had fulfilled their oaths and died well. We had succeeded and I wondered what King Eardwulf would make of it. We had erupted into his land and left a savage scar. His response would tell us much about the man. From what I had seen of Rheged, it was a land worth fighting for. There would come a time when we would land and stay. We would build as we had on the Island of Man and then we would measure King Eardwulf as a warrior.

  The journey home was in direct contrast to our outward journey. The winds blew from our quarter and the sun shone. We were truly blessed and we knew it. When we saw the shadow that was Man I was tempted to sing myself. I had the treasure of Rheged and we had given the Saxons a bloody nose. Life was good.

  The sentries on the tower must have been watching for us. The whole of Hrams-a appeared to be waiting too as I ordered the sail to be lowered and the oars raised from the water. It was a proud moment and, at the same a poignant and sad moment. There would be widows who did not know that yet. We had much treasure and the dead would be rewarded along with the living. No amount of treasure, however, could compensate for a dead warrior.

  As was traditional, I stepped ashore first and was welcomed with a cheer. This time we did not let the men off; we had livestock who would need to be coaxed ashore. Aiden and Scanlan proved to be masters of the horses and they were happily led ashore. I looked at the bottom of the boat, Eric and Aiden would have a dirty job clearing up after the horses but I knew there would be farmers desperate to trade for the pungent gold that the animals had left. As for the real gold, we had not removed it from its chest. That was a pleasure which would be savoured. I left Haaken and Cnut to bring the box and I raced to greet Erica. Leaving home was always hard but the return made the absence worthwhile. As I hugged her Arturus gripped my leg tightly. I was home.

  After we had eaten Haaken and Cnut joined me in my hall for the opening and examination of the box. The crowns, all four of them, were of a similar design to the queen’s crown we already had. The main difference was the lack of a blue stone. It was obvious they were all a set and yet why just the one blue stone amongst them all? It was a mystery. We also found golden objects which the priests had stored there for safe keeping. I removed them from the chest as they would be shared between my warriors as a reward.

  After Cnut and Haaken had taken the gold to distribute amongst the men Erica and I lay in each other’s arms. “Well, my love, have you rid yourself of the need for adventure and travelling?”

  I nodded, “I have. I shall stay at home and watch our children grow. But…”

  She laughed, “I knew there would be a ‘but’.”

  “No, I just meant that I have warriors to train and some time,” I tickled her, “a long time in the future, I would like to return to this land. It has possibilities. It is even richer than this island.”

  “Ah the wanderlust…”

  “Not so much wanderlust as a desire to make life better for our people. All of them.” I had no title as jarl but I felt responsible for the people in Hrams-a; even the slaves like Scanlan and Maewe.

  Prince Butar arrived a few days later to view the crowns. He was as impressed as I had been. “And now what do you do with them?”

  I had to confess that I did not know. “I am not sure but I think that, for the moment, I will just keep them safe. I think the followers of the White Christ would have melted them down to make another of their golden crosses. Some day there may be a kingdom of Rheged again.” I shrugged, “Who knows.” I looked him in the eye.” I did this for my mother.”

  “I know and it was a noble thing to do. She would have been proud of you.” He chuckled, “She would have been angry with you for risking your life but that would have passed.” I nodded; he was right. “And Erica tells me that this land you passed through was fertile and green?”

  “It was. I think our people could make a good home there.”

  “At the moment we are too few but it maybe for the future.”

  We put the crowns back in the chest and placed it in the secret place we had built beneath the floor of the hall. Eric had not come for he was preparing his ship to go trading. Prince Butar, too, was planning on visiting Frankia. The success we had had meant that we could afford to travel to Frankia, and Sigismund, where we could trade for those objects we could not make. The horses we had captured meant that we could now trade for a plough. We could grow our own grain. Bjorn had said that he could make one but he would prefer to have a good model to copy. It made sense and we did need more sword blanks. The warriors who had died had taken their swords to the Otherworld with them. We had more warriors who would need to be well armed. We still had warriors who arrived in ones and twos having heard that our island was a place of sanctuary for those who were Norse or Dane. We made sure that none were like Jarl Harald.

  Rolf came with us when we went to see the two ships off. His work as a bodyguard had given him an insight into how Sigismund and Sigurd worked. He also gave Prince Butar tips on the right value of trades. I did not think that we would be robbed by the two traders but any knowledge would help us to benefit.

  The two ships were not to be fully crewed. They had bulky items to trade. It was about this time that we began to consider having a trading vessel instead of a drekar. The drekar could still escort and protect but the trader could hold more goods. That would be for the future. Olaf stayed on the island and did not accompany his old friend. He looked old and he looked tired. I think that my stepfather was happy that Olaf was staying behind. His home would be safer with Olaf and Dragon Heart watching over it.

  Eurwen came to stay with us. She was delighted for Kara was a giggling gurgling baby and more fun to be around than the noisy and active Arturus who loved playing with his wooden sword and fighting with Aiden. It was a wonderful couple of months. I was able to make my home and my fort even stronger. We were able to train even more warriors and the glorious summer promised us a bounty from nature that would keep us well fed all winter. It was a good time. It was also the time of babies for not only Erica but also the wives of most of the Ulfheonar fell pregnant. Once again the women all said that the babies would be the dead Ulfheonar reborn. For myself I was not too sure but it was not an unpleasant thought.

  The only cloud in that glorious summer was the appearance of Irish pirates. Since we had met with the High King there had been peace but two ships appeared off the western coast of our island. The warriors left by Jarl Eric rode to me to tell me that the two ships had been seen lurking off the coast. I sent word to the other two towns and we prepared ‘Wolf’ and ‘Bear’ to deal with them if they came too close. The towers we had built were now manned all the time as we watched for their reappearance.

  Although they did not reappear for a few days we knew that something was wrong when two fishing ships and their two man crews vanished. They were good fishermen and the weather had been clement. I summoned the Ulfheonar.

  “We will find these pirates and discourage them. Rolf, I want you and the other warriors to keep watch in case this is a diversion to allow them to attack Hrams-a. We will seek them out.”

  “But there are two of them.”

  “And they are pirates. ‘Wolf’ can out sail and outfight anything that floats. I might worry about taking on a drekar but these crews will be ill disciplined. I suspect that when they see us they will turn tail and run for home. You can keep ‘Bear’ here in case we miss them.”

  I was wrong. I had become too confident because of our success. I took Scanlan and Snorri with me as I wanted help with the steering and Snorri was a competent sailor. Scanlan had
become a skilled archer and I wanted his ability to aid us in case they were set to fight us.

  I made sure that our men left their mail behind. It made the ship lighter and I did not think that we would need it. As the fishing boats had disappeared from the east coast I took my ship to the west. My sentries on the towers had not seen the pirates pass them. We deduced that they had to be sailing towards the southern end of the island.

  We passed Jarl Eric’s stronghold and I took us close enough to wave to the sentries on his ramparts. Had there been a problem they would have alerted us. I did not often travel down this side of the island and it was gratifying to see the new huts springing up on the hillsides and the white dots which showed the flocks of sheep. We had come a long way in a short time and it made me more determined than ever to stop the pirates from spoiling our life style. They would need to be taught a harsh lesson and find easier victims to torment.

  We saw the Hibernian pirate ships as we edged around the southern headland. The two pirates were closing with the smallest port on the island. Olaf the Toothless had made it well defended but I knew that he had the fewest warriors of any of our settlements within its walls. They were mainly fishermen. The ships had not yet landed but it would only be a matter of time before they did so. Ran was with us and the wind was behind us and helping to move us quickly towards the two enemies.

  “Ulfheonar, the Hibernians are attacking Olaf and his people. Row as though your lives depended upon it. Scanlan and Snorri take your bows and aim for the men at the stern of the ships.”

  Although they only had two bows I knew that they might get lucky and, in any case, it was hard to concentrate when arrows were raining down on you. I estimated that the two ships had forty or so men on each of them. “Eric, come here!”