by Hume, M. K.
Beowulf was very glad that this cold stranger had no arguments with him.
CHAPTER II
Cold Comfort
He knew that the essence of war is violence, and that moderation is imbecility.
Thomas Babington Macaulay, John Hampden
The sound of smashing pottery shattered the quiet inside the tent. A jug full to the brim with foaming beer had been thrown into the fire pit. The captive jumped guiltily and flinched.
As Beowulf’s sickening information sank in, it ate at Arthur until his rage overwhelmed him. Fortunately, the beer jug was the only object broken. Beowulf Minor could see that the Briton wanted immediate reparation from the Geats for the hundreds of children who had passed into slavery on Heardred’s orders. Later, after the captive’s ransom had been paid and the Geat jarl had been returned to his home, Beowulf admitted to his wife Mina that he had felt quite nervous in Arthur’s presence when he saw the fury in those implacable eyes, and that he feared Heardred’s rash decisions would herald more deaths.
But such reflections were in a kinder future. For now, Beowulf shuddered as he visualised the fate of his people when they inevitably burned in their villages.
Slow-burning, inexorable wrath drove Arthur towards Stormbringer’s tent. Stormbringer had chosen to keep the grim message of murder and rape at Lund in retaliation for the Geat defeat at Lake Wener from Arthur to spare the Briton from any further feelings of guilt. Yet some secrets are so terrible that the earth that hides the bodies of murdered innocents refuses to conceal them. The suddenness of Arthur’s discovery and the link with his night horrors had exacerbated his feelings of impotence.
Arthur burst into Stormbringer’s tent without preamble. Stormbringer was studying a series of incomprehensible rolls of hide on which were drawn lists of data on water depths in the channels around the Sound. Usually, Arthur would have been fascinated by the method used to measure the depth of water and the manner in which these records were kept. But not today.
‘You should have told me about Lund, Stormbringer. Did you think to spare me?’ As Arthur’s voice rose, Stormbringer examined his hands with more attention than the situation warranted. ‘Heardred promised us that little children would suffer for the insults I directed towards him. The man would be ridiculous if his actions weren’t so heinous.’
Stormbringer recognised the depth of pent-up anger and sadness in Arthur’s expression. He cursed inwardly that Lund’s fate had become common knowledge, for Arthur would no longer be alone in the animosity directed at the cowardly actions of the Geat king. The Skanians were crying out for justice, while his own men would be incensed that Heardred could believe Dene warriors were men of straw who would tolerate such a direct insult after the victories gained in Halland and Skania. As well, the kings in the surrounding states of Noroway, Saxony and Friesia would judge Stormbringer’s mettle as they heard how he dealt with Heardred’s revenge on harmless traders and farmers.
But time was Stormbringer’s enemy. His supply lines were extended and, while he had a sizeable force of men at his command, their numbers could scarcely compare with the horde of warriors available to Heardred. The situation in Jutland grew worse by the day and Hrolf Kraki would have let King Heardred know that he’d not lift a finger to assist Stormbringer. As far as Heardred was concerned, Stormbringer was a traitor who had been banished by his own king. To make a bad situation worse, autumn had arrived. All too soon, snow would turn the sky and the earth into a monastic world of monochrome and the Dene army would be forced to seek shelter for the long, freezing winter. Despite the prestige of his family name, Stormbringer was aware that he couldn’t mire himself down in a long campaign in Skania – and Heardred knew it too.
Arthur had considered all these complications. The two friends had on many occasions mulled over the difficulties they could expect while they were developing their plans to crush Heardred’s ambitions. Like many leaders, the Sae Dene needed a colleague who could offer his opinions honestly, without worthless fawning or a search for advancement. Arthur always made suggestions that were realistic and pragmatic, making him the perfect sounding-board. But this situation had changed now, for their relationship had developed a crack when the Geat king had employed such dirty strategies. In his bid to shake Stormbringer’s resolve and win a reputation for toughness and invincibility, Heardred had tried to steal back the advantage lost at Lake Wener, Halland and Skania, using the children of Lund as expendable pawns in order to shatter Dene confidence. Whatever Stormbringer attempted now, the weather prevented a concerted campaign against the Geats despite Arthur’s determination to pursue the Geat king himself.
But Arthur was still prepared to go alone if necessary, as he bluntly informed the Sae Dene. ‘I don’t care if I’m captured, killed, tortured or held up to public ridicule. I’ll not allow the fate of those children to stain my honour, and I’ll ensure that the real culprit will be awash with blood for his crimes. As of this moment, my Britons are at war with Gotland, regardless of the number of warriors that will be aligned against me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Arthur. You’ll be killed before you reach Heardred’s palace, let alone gain an entry to his throne room.’
The Sae Dene knew that Arthur’s honour had been besmirched, and this young man would mount a personal attack if necessary, but that he was really searching for a sensible and achievable way of gaining revenge.
‘Can you provide me with a plan that could defeat Heardred’s forces in a short campaign of less than two months in the field?’ Stormbringer demanded.
Arthur grinned malevolently. ‘Yes! I’ve devised a plan that would give us time to carry out a destructive raid and then sail back to The Holding before the onset of winter – just!’
Stormbringer’s question was a major concession from the Sae Dene king, and one the young Briton had hoped to win.
‘I believe that Heardred is a vain man by nature, which suggests he might be a bag of wind as well. He has taken exception to me for imagined insults to him after our successes at Lake Wener. He doesn’t plan ahead, so he can be beaten by superior strategies. Like Hrolf Kraki, he’s a perfect example of an arrogant ruler with limited competence.’
‘True, Arthur. In his position I’d have called for a truce and a parley to gauge the mettle of my adversaries – and then I’d have brokered a face-saving treaty.’
‘But that’s because you’re a man of sense, rather than a fool who thinks that the good luck of being born an aristocrat is a sign of superiority. According to my old teacher, the Greek gods warned them against hubris because such boundless arrogance will always lead to destruction. Heardred reacts to circumstances and would never face us on the field of combat, unless he is certain that he will win. If this were not so, he would already have taken direct action against us.’
Stormbringer, confident that his friend’s agile brain had devised an effective way to bring Heardred to ruin, listened intently.
‘Heardred went to war against us in Halland and Skania and was defeated. Though these battles were skirmishes rather than full-scale engagements, the fighting was vicious and involved a heavy loss of life for the Geats. But Heardred continues to lose! Such a man could never contemplate thoughts of failure, and he yearns to crush us!’
Although his eyes gleamed with passion, Arthur was aware that only reasoned argument and calm, plausible planning could influence Stormbringer’s logical mind.
‘Not only does Heardred use ineffective battle strategies, but he wastes his forces by attacking places such as Lund that have no strategic value. His only purpose in that raid was to send a warning to us that he intends to revisit the scene of any skirmishes that are fought and won by us. The Geat king is a coward and a bully at heart. He is trying to demoralise us, but such threats make me angry, because I know he will make ordinary people suffer, again and again, if we don’t stop him permanently. As
soon as our ships have sailed over the horizon, Heardred will return to revenge himself on our people.’
‘You make him sound like an incompetent, a paper king who isn’t fit to rule,’ Stormbringer observed.
‘Aye! He continues to underestimate us because the Goths, the Dene, the Swedes and even the Jutes and Saxons are farmers first and fighting men second. Don’t bristle, Valdar, because I mean no insult. War isn’t a profession for you and your people, despite your competence in its prosecution. The Romans who trained my people were professional soldiers, so they taught the arts of war to all their subject races, including the Britons.’
Stormbringer looked a little bemused.
‘I was raised for war, Valdar! Imagine! From five years of age, every aspect of organised conflict was part of my education, including the legalities of treaties, speaking other languages, weaponry, strategy and the history of great battles. Unlike Heardred, I am a professional warrior and I would never leave a live enemy behind me to be a constant thorn in my side. On the other hand, you take pride in The Holding and its agriculture, because you have been raised to grow crops, as well as learning how to become a gifted warrior, especially in personal combat. Do you understand the fundamental differences in our education?’
Stormbringer nodded as he saw the wisdom of Arthur’s deductions about Heardred’s nature and his probable courses of action.
‘What would you suggest then?’
‘We should hit him on his own soil, in those places where he is most vulnerable. That’s what really upset him about the battle at Lake Wener. We were fighting on his precious land! We must hurt him so hard that we’ll draw him out of his protective shell. Then, when we lure him into our grasp, we must crush him like the insect he is. Eventually I expect us to become the owners of the Geat lands. He won’t enjoy that!’
Arthur used the hilt of his eating knife to sketch a rudimentary map of his battle plan in the dust, while Stormbringer scratched his head and looked at the shapes on the earth in search of landmarks. Then, once he absorbed the sense of what Arthur was presenting to him, the Sae Dene’s enthusiasm began to grow. Arthur knew that Stormbringer would understand, because any seafarer who possessed the wherewithal to keep track of the depths of water in ports and coves would have little difficulty with the concept of maps and control of territory.
‘We are here, Valdar.’ Arthur drew a cross at the southern point of Skania. ‘And this is the port of Calmar in Smaland, according to the information that Beowulf Minor has revealed to me. The port is protected by that long island, so it has become the main trading centre for the area. Colberg of the Pomeranians, Narva, Memel, Riga and the overland trade routes to the south are all serviced by the trading fleets that winter in Calmar. I know if we burn his fleet and his port, Heardred will be forced to come there to extract his revenge on the Dene traitor and the outlander from Britain. He’ll never consider you to be a major threat, because you’re a sea raider who’s unfamiliar with land warfare.’
Stormbringer’s face was blank with his lack of understanding.
‘You’ve come by ship in all your previous raids on his warriors – and you’ll do so again if we attack his fleet on the coast as a diversion. He believes your strategy consists of short, fast raids where you retreat on your longboats as soon as you’ve taken your plunder. He’ll never expect us to move inland where we can ambush his forces, or that we would use concealed cavalry as part of our armoury.’
‘Why in Loki’s name would we commit suicide by attempting either of those strategies?’ Stormbringer asked. His face was thunderous, for he suspected that his friend was somehow insulting the courage of Dene warriors.
‘Heardred won’t imagine that we’ll leave the coast to carry out an inland attack, just as he’d never expect us to bring horses with us on our little inland jaunt. I’m not talking about hundreds of horses, Valdar. All I’ll need is twenty good mounts and a similar number of competent horsemen, and I’ll show you how we can destroy the heart and plans of the Geat king.’
‘Explain your strategy then!’ Stormbringer ordered. He trusted Arthur enough to be prepared to listen, but the young man would need to be at his persuasive best.
‘First of all, I plan to use archers again,’ Arthur began. Although the Sae Dene had consented to the use of fire arrows at Lake Wener, only two or three men were involved, all wounded warriors, so he had accepted what he believed to be a cowardly strategy as necessary to achieve their aims.
‘There’s no honour in killing at long distance, where the archer can’t be touched. It’s disgraceful for my warriors to even contemplate it,’ Stormbringer stated angrily. ‘It was only with the greatest reluctance that I accepted your advice to set the stables alight at Lake Wener.’
‘I admire your tactical and strategic knowledge, Valdar, but the use of bowmen in warfare is common throughout the civilised world. I can assure you that it won’t be too long before it becomes accepted throughout your lands.’
Arthur gave a conciliatory smile to show the Sae Dene that he understood the quandary in which he had placed his friend. Wisely, he then allowed the matter to drop and moved on to safer areas of discussion.
‘Our first point of attack will be Calmar, a port that can be taken with relative ease. We’ll burn the Geat fleet and leave a lasting memory of our visit. We’ll also destroy the warehouses so that Calmar’s trade will be in ruins for several years. Heardred will be apoplectic; he’ll blame you for the invasion and he’ll receive the news of Calmar’s fall very quickly. But you won’t be a part of Calmar’s destruction, because that will be my task. You’ll be elsewhere!’
Stormbringer looked distinctly put out, because this was the very type of warfare that the Dene understood.
‘I estimate that I’ll only need twelve ships to complete my task, but we’ll have about twenty other ships, including a force of at least twenty horses, secreted in a suitable cove further up the coast. You’ll be in command of this force. I’d suggest that a total of about one thousand men would defeat any army that Heardred will recruit to relieve the defenders of Calmar. I’d caution against using a larger force than this in case our warriors are needed in Jutland. We all know that trouble will eventually come from the Jutes and the Saxons.
‘You’ll need to reach the wooded country near the smaller lake of the two that lie to the north of Calmar. According to Beowulf, there’s a small village there which has a large religious community. He says it has the makings of an important town one day in the future. Initially, I will be marching towards it as if to destroy this community.’
Stormbringer nodded. So far, Arthur’s plan seemed sound.
‘Beowulf unintentionally revealed far more to me about his homeland than was sensible. He lives to the north of Calmar and spoke of that part of the Geat kingdom with the affection of a man who is far from home. Were you aware that Beowulf is actually Heardred’s heir? Heardred’s only son was killed on Rugen Island in a boating accident about a year ago, and Beowulf holds the honour of being next in the bloodline leading to the Geat throne. In fact, the possibility of rule scares my friend because he knows that his cousin neither likes nor trusts him. But then, Heardred doesn’t trust anyone. Beowulf assures me his cousin never listens to counsel from any of the wiser heads among his jarls.’
Stormbringer was absorbing Arthur’s information with deep concentration.
‘There is certain to be good plunder in the district to the north of Calmar, if the opportunity arose to attack the lakes of Smaland as well. Beowulf described the lands there as being suitable for horses, mantraps and a fighting square during our military operations, although he has no knowledge of such tactical manoeuvres. Our task would be to march some six hundred men with as much noise as possible into the north and to camp just outside the town with the religious community, to give the impression that this is our prime objective. I don’t know its name
, but that hardly matters.
‘When Heardred learns that Calmar has fallen, he’ll come running to intercept my warriors. At that time, he’ll learn that the religious community has been destroyed as well. I’m sorry about this, but it’s necessary and I’ll let the monks live if I can. Because he’s overconfident, Heardred won’t stop to think that he might need reinforcements or consider changes to his attack plans. He’ll have received intelligence about the number of ships used in the initial attack on Calmar but we’ll make damned sure he doesn’t hear about you and your secret reinforcements that will be held in reserve at inland locations. This strategy was quite successful at Lake Wener, but this time we’ll be reversing the positions when Heardred and the Geat army make their appearance. I’ll be holding an entrenched position in a fighting square with only a barely viable defensive force, so he’ll think we’re ripe for the plucking. I’ll be easy meat, his favourite kind!’
Stormbringer remained silent, but his eyes were now very bright.
‘I’ll build concealed mantraps, and my warriors will dig ditches soaked with pitch around our positions where I can light fires in the trenches. I’ll also have a group of archers among the defenders who will make life difficult for the attackers once they are committed to the fray. Meanwhile, with Heardred fully extended and believing I am at his mercy, your small cavalry force will explode out of the ruins of the religious community and cut his force in half. Our erstwhile masters, the Romans, used horsemen because a force of twenty cavalry was worth more than a hundred foot soldiers during those stages of a battle where speed and surprise are paramount. At the same time as the cavalry charge at the Geat force, you and your warriors will attack on the opposite flank. I predict that the Geats will collapse under this multi-pronged strategy, once my force goes on the offensive.’
‘From your lips to God’s ear,’ Stormbringer murmured abstractedly; Arthur shuddered as if a shadow had passed over his grave.