The Bear and the Wolf
Page 15
All of us wore mail and had a helmet and shield. I still wore Dragonheart’s helmet, but I knew that I would return it to the cave once the quest was completed. The lessons from the spirit of Dragonheart had been the start but now I knew I needed to work harder to become a warrior. I had never fought in a battle and Sámr told me that we would have to fight shield wall to shield wall if we were to drive the Norse from the Land of the Wolf. Æimundr Loud Voice was still the leader of the warriors and he began to tutor us so that we could fight in a shield wall. We had taken the ash spears from the dead Norse and we now trained to use them. If I thought it would be easy, then I was wrong. There was a point of balance which had to be found. The shields had to be locked and, hardest of all, we had to march in rhythm. Ebbe, Bear Tooth and I had never fought like this and some of the others had not fought in the front rank. When we met the Norse the Clan of the Fox would fight together and so Æimundr Loud Voice had us march back and forth on the shingle covered beach of the Water. The slippery stones trapped the unwary and we learned after a few falls to be careful. We used chants to help us and we became familiar with those next to us. I was between Ebbe and Bear Tooth and we were on the extreme left of the line. I knew that was the safest place and Mikel had the most dangerous position, on the right.
“Hold your spear so that its shaft rests upon your shield. When we strike it must be as one and remember, the Norse will be doing the same to you. It will take skill and courage to strike Norse flesh while avoiding being skewered. I doubt not your courage but your skill?”
Æimundr Loud Voice was right; we had tricked the Danes and used magic to defeat them. Bear Tooth’s skill with a bow had also aided us. The battle we would fight against the Danes would find our weaknesses. I found myself holding the two spells, the one from Ylva and the one from our volvas, in my left hand as we fought. I would need all the help I could get.
After three days Sámr came to speak to us, “Tomorrow we march to Whale Island. I have enough men now and we need to strike before Finehair brings more of his men from the islands. I come here to say, once again, that you have done enough now and need not fight.”
I nodded for he had watched us practise, “You think we are not good enough and we might not be but if we cannot fight for our home then we do not deserve it. If we are marked to die, then so be it. The Norns spin, Sámr Ship Killer, and we are helpless for their threads have bound us.”
He beamed, “A good answer, Fótr the Wolf.”
I nodded, “I will leave your great grandfather’s wolf cloak here.”
His face became serious, “No, for I have dreamed and Ylva has spoken to me. Until the Norse are driven hence then we need the illusion which terrified the Danes. When this is over you and I will return to the cave and we will both say goodbye to the Dragonheart and to Ylva.”
After he had left us Æimundr Loud Voice said, “That was well spoke, Fótr, but you realise that the Norse will try to get to you. Their heroes will try to defeat the one they think is the spirit of the Dragonheart.”
“I know and that means I place all of you in danger too. For that I am sorry.”
“No, Fótr, you are the jarl and when we return to the clan, the Thing we hold will confirm that. I confess that I was not sure you were anything more than a good sailor, but I can see now that I was wrong. When you went into that cave you changed and were transformed. I will follow you wherever you lead!”
The others all banged their shields in agreement, and I felt humbled and a little afraid of the responsibility. I held their lives in my hands!
Chapter 11 Fótr
As we marched, in the thin light of dawn, down the water with the craggy features of Old Olaf looking down on us, Sámr confided in me that he did not think we had enough men. There were less than two hundred warriors. Forty boys and youths accompanied us, and they would be the ones whose stones and arrows would weaken the Norse before we clashed but Sámr knew that the best warriors had died.
“I have much rebuilding to do.” He smiled, “As do you and yet you are far younger than I. Perhaps you will succeed where I will fail. I have three tasks: defeat the Norse, make my land strong again and find my family.” He shook his head, “I put the task last which I should do first but that is because I lead the people. You are the leader of your clan, Fótr the Wolf, and there will come a time when you will have to choose.”
He was right and as we headed towards the forest path I thought of Arne. He had not put the clan first. He had put himself first and the clan had paid the price. My father had always put the clan before all else and we had prospered. If I were chosen to lead the clan then that must come first; my family and I would be secondary.
Bear Tooth was beaming as we walked along the rough road through the forest, “I like this land, it feels like my home in the west.”
Ebbe asked, “Do you miss your land and your people?”
I saw that he was thinking about it and he finally said, “Yes and no. My old family is dead, and I miss their spirits but my new family, the Clan of the Fox, Anya and you two make up for that. When I die, I will be with them all.”
“Do you have to die with a weapon in your hand for that to happen?”
“No, Fótr, but when you are reborn it is with the body you had here in this world. A cruel enemy will take your eyes so that you cannot see in the next world.”
Their heaven was different from ours. We could look forward to Odin’s mead hall. Which was right?
Sámr had scouts out ahead of us; they were men who had lived close to Whale Island before the Norse had come. Sámr had wondered why the enemy had not sent warriors to scout us out and he had concluded that they knew that we had retaken our two burghs and were waiting for us. I also suggested that they were not as strong as Sámr had believed. Egge had told us that Finehair’s men had ravaged the land after they had captured Sámr. Perhaps the Norwegian King believed that three warbands and his mercenaries could control the land for him. It was not long after the sun had reached its zenith that the scouts returned. Whale Island was closed. The gates were barred, and men stood on the walls. I thought that did not bode well but Sámr appeared happy.
I joined him and his senior warriors as we neared the edge of the forest. “Sámr, if they are locked within their walls then how will we take it?”
“We will not. They will come out to fight us. They, like us, do not know our numbers and their leader is being cautious. When they see how few we are they will bring us to battle.”
“But if they have more men than we then they will defeat us.”
“They will think that they defeat us. Riders headed to the south and east when you freed me. Men will join us from the east. My great grandfather fought battles here and I remember the stories. We will fight them with the forest behind us and we will leave them space to the east. Our men who come from the east may be few in numbers, perhaps only twenty or so but if you fight in a shield wall then the last thing you want is to be attacked in your rear. We fight to hold them. Men will arrive in Cyninges-tūn even as we speak and our people there will send them down to reinforce us. This battle might last all day, perhaps even into the night. The Norwegians will not be reinforced but we will.”
Bjorn Asbjornson asked, “But, lord, you are still weak. How will you be able to fight all day and all night?”
“I am the last of Dragonheart’s blood in the Land of the Wolf. The land will feed me, and the spirits of the dead will come to our aid.”
When we left the security of the forest, we found ourselves in farmland and pasture. Sámr had told me that there were people who lived here who had occupied the land before the clan had arrived. They were friends and allies. It was they who had cleared the land. Sámr marched us obliquely to the south-west. We could see, in the distance, the wooden towers of Whale Island and, further east, the smoke from the houses of Úlfarrston. We stayed in column as we marched but Bjorn Asbjornson sent the boys as skirmishers ahead of us. They would warn us of any attack from t
he warriors who had taken the stronghold. I saw sunlight glinting from the helmets and the mail of those who were within the walls. I knew that they would see us as a long metal snake winding its way towards them. If Sámr was right, then the jarl who led them would be making his decision as we marched.
When we were half a mile from the walls Sámr had one of his men blow his horn three times. It was the signal for us to form a line. My clan warriors all wore mail and so we were in the front line. Sámr was twenty men from us and there were another twenty to our left. Those who formed up behind us had spears and shields but no mail. The boys advanced to stand forty paces in front of us. I saw the slingers picking up stones from the ground around them to add to their stock. We stood and waited. Eventually, Sámr began to sing and the Clan of the Wolf joined in. We did not know the words, at first, and did not join in immediately.
The Danes they came in dark of night
They slew Harland without a fight
Babies children all were slain
Mothers and daughters split in twain
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Across the land the Ulfheonar trekked
Finding a land by Danes' hands wrecked
Ready to die to kill this Dane
Dragonheart was Eggles' bane
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
With boys as men the ships were fired
Warriors had these heroes sired
Then Ulfheonar fought their foe
Slaying all in the drekar's glow
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
When the Danes were broke their leader fled
Leaving his army lying dead
He sailed away to hide and plot
Dragonheart's fury was red hot
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Then sailed the men of Cyninges-tūn
Sailing from the setting sun
And now the blood of the Dragonheart
Will make the Norse fear and start
Their blood will flow from cowardly veins
Their bodies leaving base black stains.
Finehair will find that the wolf can bite
And even a cub knows how to fight
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
Viking enemy, taking heads
Viking warriors fighting back
We joined in with the chorus and I felt power surge through my body as we sang with the Clan of the Wolf. We were now part of the clan.
Either the words carried to the defenders, or the jarl decided that he had enough men to defeat us for the gates opened and disgorged Norse warriors. It soon became obvious that they outnumbered us, and I began to fear that our time fighting with the Clan of the Wolf would be brief. They formed a shield wall.
Bear Tooth was observant and said, “They have no bows. That is a mistake!”
Bear Tooth was a warrior and he had not seen the beaker as half empty but half full. We were outnumbered but they had no missiles. Our slingers and archers would weaken them before they could bring us to battle. As we had seen at Hawk’s Roost that could make all the difference. The shield I had taken had belonged to Harald Haraldsson and had his dragon still on the front. I had not had time to change it. I knew that, along with my mail and helmet, it would make me a target and I felt guilty for I was bringing danger to Ebbe and Bear Tooth, not to mention the others of my clan. It was the Norns and I could do little about it now. I would have to kill as many as I could before I fell.
I saw that their line would overlap ours and I saw Sámr speak to two warriors. One came towards the men behind us and I heard the order given to echelon back. As I looked, I saw how clever Sámr had been. He had chosen to anchor our line by a wood and there was forest just half a mile further back. The echeloned line now touched the small wood and would give us some protection.
The Norse began to bang their shields and then I saw my first berserker. He began to chew on his shield and then threw it away. He took a long Danish axe and started to run at us. I had heard that the convention was for one of our warriors to go and fight him but Sámr was having none of it. He shouted, “Archers and slingers, kill him!”
The man was brave, and he was tough but the arrows and stones which battered him ended his life within twenty steps. That enraged the Norse and the whole line raced at us. The slingers and archers barely managed to loose a few arrows and stones before they had to run for the safety of our line. It was only later that I realised just how cunning Sámr had been. He had precipitated the attack and a line of Norwegians racing at a shield wall is not as effective as a solid line of men striking as one. I was relieved to see all the slingers and archers make our line and then, as Bjorn Asbjornson shouted, “Brace!” I squeezed tightly on the two spells held in my left hand.
I said, quietly, “Ylva and Ada protect me!”
The enemy came at us piecemeal and a large warrior with an axe ran at me. I saw him begin to swing his axe over his head when he was five paces from me. He was an experienced warrior who had done this before. I was almost mesmerized by the axe head, but I had enough of my senses to thrust with my spear. Ebbe and Bear Tooth struck at the same time. My spear hit his shield and his chest but Ebbe hit his shoulder and Bear Tooth’s spear punched through the Norwegian’s screaming mouth and emerged from the back of his skull. The axe fell from his lifeless hands and I punched his body away with my shield.
Bear Tooth’s Skraeling scream chilled even my blood. And then the rest of the Vikings hit us. I felt a shield being pushed into my back as four Vikings struck at us with their spears. Æimundr Loud Voice had been correct. It was hard to strike while watching for the spear which was coming at you however the spirit of the Dragonheart must have been with me. Perhaps it was the wolf cloak or the helmet but, as I thrust, I swayed to the side. My spear hit the Norse shield and then slid up to tear into the Viking’s eye. His spear scraped off the side of the Dragonheart’s helmet. I punched again with my spear as the Viking screamed in pain and then the screaming stopped as my spearhead entered his brain. I feared I might be knocked off my feet but the shields in my back held me there. The dead man was held before me and it became not a battle of weapons but of bodies as the two armies pushed against each other. Then I heard the whoosh of arrows as our bows loosed their missiles into the sky to descend on those pushing against us. More than half would do no harm for they would hit helmets and mail but enough struck flesh to make warriors behind the front line lift their shields and suddenly we were pushing them from their feet.
Æimundr Loud Voice shouted, “Sword foot, move!” I stamped forward and the dead Viking began to slide down.
I said, “Watch your feet!” If any of us fell, then we would be skewered in an instant. I saw the dead Viking’s body and used it to stand upon. The height it afforded me allowed me to strike down at the nearest warrior who was now below me. My spearhead struck his shoulder. He had mail but the head of my spear popped open a link and entered his flesh. Æimundr Loud Voice had told me to twist the head once it was in flesh as this would cause a bigger wound and make it easier to withdraw it. The Viking screamed in pain and was forced back. His movement allowed me to step forward and push his body to the ground. As I withdrew my spear, I stamped hard on his head with my sealskin boot. His skull crunched as he died.
It was at that moment that the enemy shield wall disintegrated. We had made inroads in places while, in others, our men had fallen. My shield was no longer locked with those o
f Ebbe and Bear Tooth. I saw a warrior run at me. It was obvious that he had sought me out on the battlefield.
“You have taken my kinsman’s shield and I will have that wolf skin as weregeld! The Clan of the Wolf is a spent force!” He chopped at my shield with his sword.
I thrust at his shoulder as I shouted, “I am Clan of the Fox and I fear no faithless follower of Finehair!” Although my spear caught his shoulder, he had quick hands and he chopped the head from my spear. I rammed the broken stump at his head, and I caught his cheek. The shards and splinters of wood ripped into his skin. I dropped the ruined spear and drew my sword from the scabbard over my back. I squeezed the two spells as I did so. Now I would need all the power of every witch I had ever known.
Spitting out a tooth I had dislodged, he snarled, “You are a trickster! Wearing blackened mail like the Dragonheart will not help you for I am Leif the Mighty, and I have killed many men in single combat.” He twirled his sword above his head and then suddenly lunged at me. I think he thought I would step back, but I did not. The sword came dangerously close to my head, but, as I swayed, it slid over my shoulder and I swung my sword hard below his shield. I hit his knee which was not protected by his byrnie and my hand jarred against the bone. He screamed again and I knew that I had hurt him. I sawed back with the sword and this time he had to step back on to his good leg to avoid falling. As I stepped forward, on my left leg, I punched with my shield into his already mangled face. He tried to step back again but his injured leg would not hold him, and he tumbled to the ground. I knew that I was lucky and as he fell, I put my sword to his throat and pushed my whole body down. He died instantly and I withdrew my sword and then looked around for my next enemy.