The King Is Dead

by Griff Hosker

  I pulled back my lance as I aimed at the green shield with the two yellow birds upon it. The knight tried to turn but all he succeeded in doing was opening his body. My lance caught him just above the cantle. Hunter's speed was such that, as I punched, the head of the spear was forced between the mail links, through the gambeson and into the stomach of the knight. He fell to the side, taking my lance with him. Drawing my sword I pulled Hunter to ride at the next man at arms. He did not try to turn but held his shield before him. I stood in my stirrups and jerked Hunter's reins to the left so that I was able to bring my sword across his unprotected neck. It bit into his coif and blood spurted.

  We had lost cohesion and I heard trumpets ahead. Sir Guy de Senonches was organising a counter attack. We had done enough. "Back, follow me!"

  Hunter's head was already coming around and we headed towards our own castle. The rabble who lad led the attack were retreating and we ploughed through them. Those that survived our horses' hooves were butchered by our swords. The trumpets behind signalled the enemy charge. As we neared the road I shouted, "Slow!"

  Looking behind me I saw that the French had had to negotiate their dead, dying and retreating men. They would not reach us before we made the gate. I waited at the drawbridge for all to enter and then I followed. "Pull up the bridge." As the last drawbridge was hauled up I asked, "Did we lose any of our men?"

  Rolf nodded, "Two of my warriors. But the French paid a much heavier price. They died well."

  Nodding I said, "To the walls. Let us show him our banners!" I dismounted and let Hunter stand. He was a warhorse. He would be ready when I was!

  I heard the sound of shouts and screams. Edgar who stood on the bridge gate shouted, "The pig grease worked my lord. There are two horses with broken legs!"

  I clambered up the steps and saw that the enemy had galloped hard down the cobbles. The grease and the missing stones had achieved what I had hoped. Five men lay wounded either by their falls or the arrows and the rest were making their way back to their own lines. Even as I watched Griff of Gwent's archers scored another four hits.

  I moved quickly past the north east tower. I heard the voice of Guy de Senonches, "Where is your father, squire? Please tell me he is not yet dead for I would have that joy! Is he hiding in the keep?"

  Before I reached the northern gate I heard my son answer, "Why should my father bother with a brigand such as you? A squire such as I am good enough to deal with a cut throat such as you. You are best suited to skulking around in woods and forests. You have no honour and you are an assassin in the night!"

  As I reached William's side I saw Guy de Senonches raise his sword. "There will be no quarter and I will roast your heart over an open fire!"

  Suddenly an arrow flew and smacked into the side of the Frenchman's helmet. The range was too far to do serious damage but it knocked his head sideways and my men cheered. I waved my thanks to Dick.

  I raised my sword and shield on the walls and shouted, "I would not hide from a murderer such as you. When you wish it seek me and I will be there. If you would have a trial by combat then I can accommodate you!"

  Silence hung over the field like a black cloud. De Senonches sheathed his sword. "I will not bother for by this time tomorrow I shall have you at my mercy and you will watch as my men cut your son up, piece by piece!"

  They turned and headed back to the eaves of the forests. Sir Leofric laughed, "He has hurt his own cause mightily there my lord! No man will like to follow someone who refuses combat."

  "I know, which is why I made the offer. It weakens him. That was a fine strike, Dick."

  My captain of archers had joined me. "It was extreme range but it warned them what we can do."

  "Have your archers rest. We will need them before too long." He nodded and led his archers away to be fed and to sleep. "Sir Leofric, have a large fire lit in the bailey. I want it going all night. Have a cauldron filled with the pig fat."

  Karl asked, "Do you think they will come this night?"

  "I am not certain but we can be prepared. One man in two rests. The others watch." As they began to descend William approached me, "That was well done, my son, but you have made an enemy."

  He shrugged, "I care not for those as friends!"

  "Well Sir Thurstan, what made you of the first battle you have seen?"

  "I could not believe that such a small number of men could have had such an effect. You lost but two and yet I saw twenty of their men felled."

  "They still outnumber us but we achieved it because we were trained and we know how to fight together. You now see why you might have put us in jeopardy."

  "Yes lord. I have much to learn."

  I went to speak with Wulfric. I had something he needed to build.

  Chapter 19

  They did not return that night. Leofric, who watched during the night, reported that he could hear the sound of axes. They had brought ladders but not a ram. They spent the night hammering and making a war machine to batter down our gate. I wondered if they would risk the northern ditch. As dawn had broken we had seen the corpses littering it. My archers and the boys with slings had had an easy time as they had killed and mortally wounded the men who floundered in the mud and sinking soil. They had died slowly, they had died badly.

  Dick pointed to the north east. "They come down the road, my lord. It looks as though they are going to try the eastern gate."

  "Bring all of your archers to this wall. I will leave the north wall with a light guard. We know that the ditch will slow them down and we have time to reach it should they have a secondary attack."

  Our warriors began to climb the steps the ramparts. Everyone had been told what they needed to do.

  Wulfric came over to me, "We have made it, my lord. It is crude but it works."

  My men had made a balance arrangement and covered it in the mail of one of the French who had fallen before our gate. It would throw a pig skin filled with pig fat further than a man. It was an idea first written of by Archimedes. I hoped it would work. Next to it was a hoist which also employed an old byrnie. We would use it to hoist hot pig carcasses to the ramparts. After placing them on the balance it could be tipped so that the ignited pig would slide off and set fire to the ram. I had used burning pigs before and the danger came to those throwing them. This was safer.

  "Leofric, have your men ready at the river gate. If the bridge is threatened then you must relieve it."

  "Aye, my lord."

  The river gate was a small sally port. Opening it would not result in danger for us.

  This time they were more cautious and organised. It helped us to estimate their numbers more accurately. There appeared to be almost seventy outlaws and brigands. We had killed almost thirty the day before. Twelve knights, including de Senonches remained. There were sixty men at arms but few wore livery. They were mercenaries. They also looked to have twenty Flemish crossbowmen. If my archers caught them then they would not live long. As they moved the ram down the cobbled road I wondered if the other attacks had taken place.

  Dick drew my attention to the road. "They will reach the first of the broken sections soon my lord."

  "Then make them look up eh Dick?"

  "With pleasure!"

  His best archers, Griff of Gwent, Ralph of Wales and the others began to target the flesh which they could see. When men began to fall I saw a knight order more men to bring up large crude, willow shields. They moved again. When the wheel struck the first gap in the cobbles and stuck the front pitched down and the jolt exposed some of those pushing. They were struck by arrows. Men were summoned to the deadly duty of trying to move the ram on. One of Sir Thurstan's archers pitched over the side, his neck pierced by a bolt. Dick shouted, "Aelric go and tell those archers how to protect themselves!" Aelric ran off. Dick turned to Ralph of Etal. "Take your men and support Aelric. Kill those crossbowmen."

  "Aye Captain Dick." Ralph had grown much under the watchful eye of Dick. He would be sad when we left him with Sir Leofr
ic and returned to Stockton.

  The ram was now close enough to the men at arms for them to hurl rocks. These were the cobbles we had lifted and a willow shield would not stop them. They punched holes in their defences and they had no way of hurling the stones back at us. The slippery road and the gaps in the surface made the progress of the ram very slow and they paid for each pace with dead men. However it reached a place where they could charge it at the gate.

  Guy de Senonches was cautious. I guessed that he had scouts watching the north and east in case we were reinforced. He could afford to take his time as he would have ample warning of the approach of any relief. He changed the men on the ram and replaced them with mailed warriors who would be less prone to hurt from our walls. He gathered a wedge of mercenaries behind the ram. My archers still hit those on the ram but the wounds were not mortal and they began to pick up speed. They had built a ram long enough to bridge the ditch and they hurled it across. It cost them six men to do so. Two fell screaming into the trap filled ditch. The ram hit the gate but, because the drawbridge had been drawn up, the second barrier was not penetrated. They would have to cross the bridge and break down the door.

  Wulfric shouted, "Bring up the first pig!"

  The French brought up more men to stand behind those who would assault us. My archers were too few now to do more than thin them out. I felt a wave of heat as the pig skin which had been filled with boiling fat was brought up. Globules of boiling fat fell from its mouth and hissed on the wood of the ramparts. "Steady! We don't want us to go up in flames." Wulfric was wearing a pair of mail mittens but even so the skin must have been hot to the touch. Wulfric was a hard man. "Ready the brands!" He and his men manoeuvred it on to the balance and then stood holding the other end. He looked at me and said, "Ready, my lord."

  Raising my shield I leaned over the parapet and saw mercenaries with axes as they made their way across the ram. Three fell despite their shields. I waited until there were twelve on the top of the ram. They had their shields held above them and the front three hacked at the gate with their axes. I saw more men coming and I said, "Now!"

  The balance was tipped and the pig slid down to strike the men and the ram. The four burning brands were thrown and the whole ram, pig and men erupted in a wall of flame and fire which roared up and singed my beard. The boiling fat penetrated mail and burned close to the skin. One mercenary had a torch for a head. They all fell.

  Wulfric shouted, "Next pig!"

  The men had been waiting for the order and it was raised to the top. This time Wulfric and his men pulled down hard on the balance so that the pig did not slide but flew. It landed just beyond the ram where the next knot of mercenaries were waiting to attack. They were showered by the boiling fat and their screams intensified as flames leapt from the ram to ignite them. The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and the screams of dying men.

  The trumpet sounded and the army withdrew. "Wulfric, take men from the sally gate and push the ram into the ditch before it ignites the gate. Dick, have your archers cover him. I shall go to the north gate."

  The north gate had been the subject of harassment rather than a full attack. That had been a mistake. They could have divided our forces. I did not think they would make the same mistake a second time. I watched as Sir Guy de Senonches withdrew his men to the forest to lick their wounds. We had time to clear our defences once more. Already we had lasted two days. I had done all that I had promised. However I was in the dark. I had no idea what was going on in Anjou or Normandy. Had the French and men of Aquitaine attacked? Did the Count of Flanders have a column of men making its way to Rouen?

  I saw the archers resting their arms. Pulling a war bow was hard. "You men did well. Keep a close watch on the enemy and summon me if you see anything which you deem to be unusual."

  "Aye. Lord." Griff of Gwent knew his business.

  During the day the ram burned itself in the ditch to a smouldering, smoking log. Bodies lay along the road and in the ditch. We left them where they lay. The smell of burning and decaying bodies filled the air. I saw Sir Thurstan as he fought the urge to vomit. I smiled when I saw William advise him to tie a piece of cloth across his face. William had had that smell in his nostrils before now. My son was the equal of a knight. He was growing.

  As the day drifted into the afternoon and we had been fed I sent half the men to sleep. We would need them to watch during the night. Eventually Sir Guy would try a night attack. We had to prepare for one. I sat in the Great Hall with my knights. I had forced Wulfric to take on some rest. He had been tireless during the attack. The smell of death had taken away my appetite but I felt that I needed to eat something and I picked at the bread and cheese. It was the last of the fresh bread. We would be eating stale bread and onion soup soon.

  "Will they come again, my lord? We have slaughtered many of them."

  "They will come, Sir Thurstan, and there are many more left. Most of these are mercenaries and are here for plunder. If more of their fellows are killed so be it. They will have more to share when they win. They fight for coin and not a lord."

  Sir Leofric said, "Even so, my lord, we have hurt them. Why do they stay?"

  "They think they can win and they do not know that we have been made aware of their plans. Sir Guy thinks that his allies are striking into the heart of Normandy. Until he is threatened he will not withdraw."

  It was Rolf who identified our weakness. "He will come again and this time will strike at the north wall and the bridge. He must have seen our paucity of numbers. He has enough men to throw at us and divide our forces. He played into our hands today by attacking the one gate."

  "You are right and now he has a rough bridge with which to cross the ditch. If he uses faggots then he can cross and attack there too."

  "Faggots, lord?"

  "Yes, Sir Thurstan, bundles of wood tied together and used as a bridge over a ditch we have used them before."

  Karl said, "Then we should have a pig ready."

  "We have but two." Leofric shrugged apologetically.

  I leaned forward. "Then this is our plan for their next attack. Sir Leofric and Sir Thurstan you will man the north wall with your archers. I will place my archers in the north east tower and the bridge gate. Wulfric and half of my men will man the pig. Rolf, we will take your Swabians and the rest of my men. If they attack the bridge then we will sally forth." He nodded.

  Sir Thurstan was no longer as confident as he had been. He had seen his men die and smelled death. This was not the glorious charge of mailed knights he had been expecting. "What if we cannot hold them?"

  Sir Leofric said, "Then we die on the walls and our bodies will slow them down." He smiled, "Do not worry, Sir Thurstan, we shall prevail."

  "But they outnumber us!"

  "They fight for money, my friend," Sir Leofric nodded towards me, "we fight for the Earl. We live and we let them die."

  William helped me out of my mail and I fell into a dreamless sleep. I was exhausted. When I had been Leofric's age I could have fought all day and all night and not noticed it. Now I felt every muscle aching.

  I was awoken before dawn by Long Tom. "They are coming my lord, a dawn attack!"

  "Have the men roused."

  "Wulfric has already done it, lord."

  As William dressed me I said, "Put an edge on my sword, we shall need it today."

  "Yes, lord."

  "And I want you on the north wall with Leofric and Thurstan; they will need your sword today. I cannot afford to have Wulfric or Dick there. This is your day, my son. You will have to hold the wall for me."

  "Thank you for the honour father. We will not let you down."

  Once dressed I bit into the stale bread and washed it down with some watered wine. That would have to sustain me until after the attack. As I made my way to the north wall I took solace from the fact that the enemy would be eating less than we were. They would be starving. It was another reason for them to finish us quickly so that they coul
d eat our supplies.

  When I reached the north wall I saw that they had split into three equal sized bands. One came towards the wall. One marched resolutely down to the bridge but the third ran, like a horde to the unoccupied and undefended town. They must have finally worked out that it was undefended. They would rob it. At least they would get little of value. My townsfolk lay safely across the river.

  While the other two advancing bands came slowly the ones heading for the town had no such restrictions and they soon reached it. They would have to be the reserves De Senonches would use to bolster whichever of his two attacks went better. Suddenly I heard a cry from the sentry in the western tower. "Lord, they have fired the town!"

  I licked my finger and held it up. The breeze was coming from the west. Soon we would be enveloped in a pall of thick black smoke. It would favour the attackers and not us. "You will need to cover the western wall too." There were just slingers and some of the older retainers guarding that gate and that wall. The ditch however was strewn with traps. An attacker would suffer before he reached the walls. "William, keep the horn close to hand. If things go ill here then sound it three times."

  Sir Thurston asked, "Will you come to our aid?"

  I shook my head, "No it will just tell me that we have little time to finish our fight at the bridge." He looked shocked, "May God be with you!"

  I walked along the ramparts to Griff of Gwent's tower. "You must support both Dick on the bridge gate and Sir Leofric. I know you have few men but this is your home now, Griff."

  He nodded and pointed to the corpses which still lay before the north wall. "And there lie the crossbows. They have only a handful left. They will bleed their way towards us."