by Griff Hosker
Cnut and Arturus joined their wounded companion and Cnut dropped his spear to prise apart the jaws before they stiffened in death. The three of us had each notched another arrow and we headed for the entrance to the cave. There was a howl which chilled my blood and then a huge male wolf flanked by two young wolves charged towards the nearest hunters, my son, Beorn and Cnut. The three of us let fly. I dropped my bow and drew Ragnar’s Spirit even as the arrow was in the air.
My brave son stepped in front of the wounded Beorn and held his spear before him. I saw that he had braced the end against the rocks. One of the younger wolves had been struck by arrows and had turned his attention to Snorri. He raced towards him. Haaken desperately notched another arrow to loose it at the young wolf leaping at Cnut. I only had eyes for the enormous male wolf which was about to devour my son.
The wolf had tried to clamp his jaws around Arturus’ head and his exposed chest struck my son’s spear which drove deep into the beast. It missed his heart and the wolf’s teeth snapped towards Arturus’ head. He jerked it out of the way but the weight of the wolf and his motion made him overbalance and he fell backwards, the wolf’s teeth sinking towards his unprotected throat.
Ragnar and my mother gave my legs added strength as I prayed for help. I swung my sword back as I flew over the ground. I struck with all of my might and the sword bit deeply into the back of the wolf’s neck. My sword was sharp and the head was severed. I arrested my motion before my blade struck my son. The wolf’s teeth had left a red mark on the throat of Arturus. Another heartbeat would have seen the end of my son.
We had no time for self congratulation. Behind me I heard howls as the rest of the pack emerged from the cave. Although five lay dead there were four females and three large cubs which charged from their lair. The winter had been good for them and they were not lean. They were muscled and they were savage. Snorri took out two cubs in two arrows. While Arturus struggled to his feet, Cnut stood before Beorn with his spear ready. Haaken, like me, had drawn his sword.
Two of the females leapt at me and Haaken at the same time. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cnut spear a third female. As I slashed at the she wolf I saw, with sinking heart, the last female leap at a shaky Arturus. My brave boy had drawn his seax. My inattention meant I caught the wolf on its shoulder. It did not die immediately but, as it fell to my feet, the beast fastened its teeth around my ankle. I chopped off its head. Turning quickly I saw that Arturus had a hand beneath the throat of the she wolf while he was stabbing her in the side with his seax. I stabbed forward with Ragnar’s Spirit and the tip went through its eye and into its brain. It shuddered and died.
And then it was over. The pack was dead. I was shaking. My son had nearly died twice and in those moments I had felt my world end. I lifted him to his feet. “Are you wounded or injured?”
He rubbed his neck and shook his head. Then he threw his arms around me, “You have saved my life…twice! I am your son by birth and now I am your oathsworn by choice.”
I nodded. I was too upset for words. I saw Beorn rising. Cnut was tying a bandage around his left hand which had been savaged by the wolf.
Haaken said, “Anyone else hurt?”
We all shook our heads. Snorri said, “Haaken, come with me and we will see if any survived in the cave.”
“Arturus are you able to fetch the ponies or do you need to rest?”
It was a test for my son. Was he a warrior? “I will go father.” He looked at Beorn. “What of Beorn.”
“Cnut and I will see to our friend.” I smiled for my son had become a man in those few moments.
He disappeared down the path and I went to Beorn. Beorn was a little pale. “Thank you Cnut I owe you my life.” He looked at his hand. Two of his fingers were mangled. He nodded at them. “They must come off, Dragon Heart.”
“I know. Cnut, light a fire. Beorn you had best sit down.” As he sat down I took the skin I had with me. In it was the liquor of distilled mead. “Drink some of this.”
“The cave is empty.” Haaken and Snorri wandered over to us.
“He will have to lose some fingers. Begin to skin the wolves. It is getting late. We will need shelter and food.”
When the fire was burning well I took my dagger and placed it into the fire which Cnut had started. It needed to be hot enough for the grim task ahead. We heard the whinny of the ponies as Arturus led the beasts, preceded by Wolf, up the path. Arturus took the ponies into the cave where there was a large pool of water and he took off their saddles and they drank.
Haaken had skinned the huge male wolf first. He did it well away from the nervous ponies. When he had finished, Haaken held up the skin of the beast slain by the two of us. The head was not attached but it was still a magnificent skin. “There, Arturus Wolf Killer, you now have your wolf skin. When you have passed the tests then you can join the Ulfheonar.”
Cnut shook his head and pointed to the teeth marks on my son’s neck. “When you are bitten by a wolf and do not die then you need no test. Arturus Wolf Killer is Ulfheonar. The wolves chose him.”
It made sense to me. Haaken nodded. “You are right. Welcome to our ranks!” And so my son joined the Ulfheonar and was given his new name. Over the years it was shortened to Wolf or at least in the heat of battle men called out Wolf. The fact that the dog, when present, responded too never seemed to matter.
Arturus seemed quite touched by the gesture. I smiled at him. “Of course you will need a better sword. The seax is a fine weapon for a boy but a warrior needs a blade. We will see Bjorn Bagsecgson when we return.” I turned to Beorn. “And now, my friend, let us see to you.”
Haaken held his shoulders while Snorri held his maimed hand. Arturus just stared. He had never seen an amputation from close up. “Arturus have water ready.” He went to the pool and brought a horn of water. It kept him occupied.
Cnut held a burning branch. He blew on the end to make it hotter. Beorn nodded. I took the red hot knife from the fire ignoring the heat from the bone handle. I sliced down and severed the little finger and the third finger as close to the palm as I could manage. As I drew back Cnut applied the burning brand and sealed the wound.
“Arturus, water!” As the stumps were doused I saw the relief on Beorn’s face.
Haaken clapped him about the back and said, “Well Beorn Three Fingers, you and Wolf Killer here have given me a tale to tell. While we eat tonight I will compose.”
We hacked one of the cubs into manageable pieces and roasted them over the fire. The cub meat was sweeter than the tougher, older meat of the larger wolves. We would take back the older carcasses for Windar’s Mere and Cyninges-tūn. The meat would be cooked slowly. We had enough to feed both settlements for a week. The wolves may have killed many of our people but they would save the survivors. The Norns spun complicated webs!
As we ate in that huge cave Haaken composed his saga about the fight. We all helped for, when we returned to the hall then our people would wish to hear the tale. When we were satisfied we lay down on our cloaks. We had built a large fire and we would be warm.
“We have lost many fine warriors, Dragon Heart, in this harsh wolf winter.”
“I know Haaken One Eye. We have also come closer to death this winter than I would have liked. We will need to raid and raid soon. Our people will starve else. I know that winter’s icy hold still grips the land but we must go to Úlfarrston and see how our drekar have fared.” Our boats had all been drawn out of the water and left close to the sea. The winter snows had cut us off. Even now the pass south was still treacherous but we would have to try it.
In the fire lit cave I heard Haaken chuckle. “Then let the sheep further south worry for the Ulfheonar now have another wolf and he has something to live up to.”
I could not see his face but I knew that Arturus grew as the words were said.
Chapter 2
Windar and his people had been saddened by the deaths of Dargh and the farmers of Rye Dale. They accepted the wolf meat as were
geld for the deaths and Windar was determined to rebuild. “This is our land, Lord Dragon Heart and we will defend it; even from nature itself. We need those farms for food.”
With leaders like Windar I knew that my people would survive no matter how severe the winters.
Erika had a mixture of concern and pride when she heard of Arturus and his brush with death. I smiled as I saw her examining the red puncture marks on his neck. She gave an accusing look at me before she said, “That is a sign, my son, that you need to take care. I am no longer around to watch over you as I once did.”
Arturus had grown up over the winter and he detected the criticism in his mother’s voice. He knew it was directed at me. “Father saved my life, twice!”
She was not mollified. “Perhaps had he not taken you then he would have had no need to!”
I had learned not to argue with my wife. You never won. Prince Butar had said much the same about my mother. “We will leave on the morrow with the shipwright to see how our drekar fare. We will need to raid sooner rather than later.” I risked censure from Erika when I added, “Should I leave Arturus at home in case he slips on the ice?”
Laughing she said, “No, he had better be with you in case you slip, old man!”
Ragnar Bollison was our shipwright. He was an old man now but he had overseen the construction of all of our boats. He had been training his son Bolli Ragnarson to take over. The two of them would be able to tell us if the winter had damaged the ships.
Before I left I visited with Rolf. He was one of my most trusted jarls and had been badly wounded the previous year. His wounds meant that he would never fight for me again. His wounds had made him too slow; in battle it was the quick or the dead. I had worried about him during the winter as he had brooded about his two oathsworn who had died protecting his wounded body. Aiden, my Irish healer, had been looking after him. I found them in the small hall we had attached to the warrior hall. The two of them lived within.
Rolf, still suffering from the wound his leg had suffered, tried to rise. I waved him to his bed. “We go to the ships. Rolf, could I ask you to watch over our people while I am away. Aiden can aid you.”
He smacked his injured leg. “And what use will I be? I cannot fight.”
“No, but you can use your mind and that is a powerful weapon is it not Aiden?”
“It is, my lord.” I saw that I had said the right thing for Aiden nodded. He had something of the second sight about him. I was convinced that he was some sort of Irish magician, a gladramenn. I was just grateful to have him as one of my followers.
“I want you to organise the warriors I will be leaving and train the new ones. We have lost Dargh and the men who defended Rye Dale. When I go raiding I will not have you by my side but I will sail happier if I know that you are here.” He still looked doubtful. “Do you wish me to release you from your oath?”
Had I slapped him across the face I could not have had a more extreme reaction. “No, my lord! I beg you. My life is service to you. You took me from Frankia where I had no hope and gave me honour and a purpose. I will do as you ask. Please do not think to release me.”
Aiden’s smile confirmed that I had said the right thing.
We left before dawn. I hoped that we would be able to do some work before it became too dark. Ragnar Bollison and his son would need all the light we could get. We trudged down the valley. The sun would warm the land a little later but we found it slippery. We wore pieces of leather over our boots. The leather had iron studs in the body to give us grip but it was still a treacherous trail. When we passed Backbarrow it began to get easier and we were all relieved when we saw the sea in the distance.
‘Wolf’ and the other drekar had been drawn up on the banks of the river. I left the men with Ragnar and his son while I took Arturus to meet with Pasgen, the headman of the nearby village.
Although they were not of our people the villagers had given their allegiance to me. I wondered how they had fared. This was not our first winter here and we were always surprised by the difference in the weather. Sometimes Úlfarrston had no snow at all. We were recognised as we walked up to the gates we had helped to build. Pasgen, the headman, came to speak with us as we entered.
“Lord Dragon Heart, we worried about you. This was a fierce winter. Even here we suffered with the snow.”
I nodded, “I did wonder.”
He took me into his hall. “The few ships which visited this winter told us of a terrible famine all over the Saxon kingdoms and in Hibernia.”
I wondered how Jarl Erik, Erika’s brother, had survived on Man, our former home. Many of his men had chosen me as a leader and there was little love lost between us now. “Did you have many deaths?”
“No, we were fortunate.”
“We had many. It was not just the cold, we had an invasion of wolves.”
“I am sorry.”
“If any of your people arrive looking for homes then send them north. We need settlers.”
“Of course. You will be looking to your ships I expect.”
“My men are looking at them now to see what repairs we need.”
“The river was frozen and we could not venture out to watch over them.”
“I would not have expected you to. We will leave you now for I am anxious to know what work we need to do.”
The sun had finally peered from behind the clouds as we headed up the river. Haaken and Cnut walked down to meet us. They both looked unhappy.
“Is there a problem?”
“Aye Dragon Heart, the hulls have the worm!”
The Norns were indeed mischievous. Arturus looked confused, “What is the worm?” I believe he thought it was some sort of dragon.
I smiled, “I am afraid it is a tiny creature which eats a ship from the bottom up. It means we have to build new ships.” I looked up and saw Ragnar and Bolli coming towards us. “Tell me the worst.”
He spread his arms and I could see that he was upset. The ships had been his babies. He had built them all. “The keels have gone on all of them.” I nodded. “We can use the masts and the mast-fish. I think that two of the steer boards and two of the rudders can also be reused.”
I had to make the best of it. “That is better than I could have hoped. Then we build two ships.”
He brightened a little. I think he thought I would want all four replacing. “Just two?”
“Aye for you will just need two keels. The rest can be salvaged and that may be enough.” I paused. “I would like at least one of them to carry seventy men. Can you build one that size?”
I saw the shock on the faces of Haaken and my Ulfheonar but Ragnar just stroked his beard. “If we can find an oak long enough then I will say aye.”
I rubbed my hands together. “Then let us find an oak or two.” He seemed happy and he gathered his tools. “One more question. How long will it take you?”
“If you give me twenty men I can have the first one ready in a month.”
“Good then my new drekar will sail in a month and a day!”
Bolli threw me a shocked look but Ragnar just said. “We will make it happen, Jarl Dragon Heart, just so long as you allow me to name the ship.”
This time it was my oathsworn’s turn to look surprised. The naming of a ship was normally left to the leader. “Of course but satisfy my curiosity please, why?”
“I have now outlived all of those with whom I once sailed. I have outlived my ships. I will go to the Otherworld soon and this ship will live when I am gone. I would like to leave part of me in the vessel.”
“Then you shall name it, Ragnar Bollison.”
Snorri remembered a stand of oak trees and led us to them. Most were unsuitable, they had the girth but not the height. It was Haaken One Eye who spotted the ones that would be perfect. “There I can see two that appear to be straight enough and tall enough.”
We eagerly hurried through the woods and found that my old friend was right. There were just two which were suitable. Haaken grinned
at everyone. “I may only have one eye but at least it works!”
The axes were soon set to work on the two trees. Ragnar made sure that they cut them in the correct way so that they did not break on the way down. We held our breath as the first enormous oak came crashing to earth. The side branches broke on the way down but the mighty trunk was intact. The second fell in the same manner. As the branches were cut off I left them. “I will send the men from the hall to help you.”
“Good. We will build shelters. If we are here for a month we would be dry at least.”
“Good. I will be away for a month at least. I hope to see a drekar on the water when I return.”
“And you shall. That I promise.”
“Ulfheonar, we have a job to do.”
I knew that they were all filled with curiosity as we headed north but I kept my own counsel. I would tell them when we reached my hall and not before.
After my spare warriors were sent south I sought my wife. “I will take Arturus and we will seek the treasure from the chest.”
“I thought you had forgotten that.”
“I had but Arturus reminded me.”
She nodded, “The spirits must want you to have it then. How long will it take?”
I shrugged. “Two or three days to get there and two or three to get back.”
“Then you had better hunt on the way back for the wolf meat will have disappeared by then.”
“Of course.”
I gathered the Ulfheonar around me. “We go north to the Roman Fort to find the treasure.” That delighted them all, not least Arturus. “I will take just ten and the rest will stay here to guard my family and the settlement. We have sent many men to build our drekar.”