by Unknown
We had not attacked all sixty warriors but, in the dark our attack had frightened their leader. Alain and his men would continue the illusion that I was pursuing him with my whole army.
The three of us led the captured horses and headed back to Folki and my men. When we reached the farm, I said, “Erik, now is the time to bring your family inside the walls. We need your sword arm on our walls.”
“Aye lord. I am ready!”
We did not have far to go but it was night and we had women and children with us. It took us longer than expected. The Haugr was full when we arrived. Erik and his family were the last to enter our sanctuary. Pepin of Senonche had helped my wife to organize them. We had many in our hall: that was to be expected for it was the largest building inside the Haugr. Others had taken in the smaller families. My wife greeted me warmly. “This was well done, husband. Your people are grateful for our walls.”
“Then let us hope they are up to whatever Philippe of Rouen can throw at them!”
The next day Siggi Far Sighted ran towards the walls just before noon, “Jarl, we have seen the Franks. They are heading up the coast towards us.”
“Thank Sven for his warning. Have you enough supplies on your vessels?”
“Aye jarl and we can always sail north to Bárekr if we need more. He has a good harbour there.”
A short while later one of Alain’s men, Michel of Liger, rode to my walls. He did not enter but shouted up to us, “Lord, the Captain says we chased the enemy back to their walls. We slew three more and took two horses. Alain of Nissa was wounded but he will heal.”
“I will send to the captain when I need him. Tell him to rest and be prepared to come when he receives my signal.”
We now had a gate at the north-eastern end of the Haugr. It was only wide enough for one man and there was no bridge across the ditch. If an enemy spied the disguised gate they would have to cross the ditch first. Pepin’s bridge would allow us the opportunity to leave without being seen.
Ulf Strong Swimmer was the one who saw the banners as they approached, “Jarl, the Franks, they come!”
Philippe of Rouen was taking no chances. He had horsemen spread out in a long line before the main host. He was wary of ambush. It explained why he had come the longer way along the coast rather than risking the forest where he thought my archers might hide.
“Have the men and boys man the walls.”
I did not think that we would be fighting this first day but I wanted the Franks to see that we defended my home. His cautious approach meant it took a long time for him to get close to us. He formed a long line of horsemen as his carts and wagons disgorged men and equipment. More than half of his army were on foot. I estimated there were almost a hundred and fifty men on foot and more than a hundred who were mounted. He came with tents and his men began to prepare a camp. It was more than five hundred paces from us and a hundred paces from the sea. He would not risk my ships attacking him. He and twenty riders rode closer. I recognized Charles Filjean and Hugo of Ċiriċeburh. They did not ride next to him but four warriors away. It showed their position. Had they displeased their lord and master? I saw that he had a fine chestnut coloured horse with a white blaze. It was bigger than the others. He was making a statement. He was the most important man in the army. His mail was also burnished until it shone as was his helmet. A real warrior just wanted mail and a helmet which did not rust. This leader was more concerned with the way he looked.
They came close to the stones which marked the limit of our Saami bows. They had been given to my best archers and Einar Asbjornson led them. He looked up at me and I shook my head. We would wait to let my new bows cause the most damage. The Franks came to within two hundred paces of our walls. That was a mistake for all of our bows had that sort of range. He obviously did not know that. I would not waste arrows. He wore a full byrnie and had a helmet and shield. He was flanked by two bodyguards who also had shields ready. It was a tempting target but I knew that we could wreak more damage if we released at a larger target.
His standard bearer rode forward to the bridge over our ditch. “My lord, the Leudes of Rouen makes you an offer barbarian. If you board your dragon ship now and leave this land you can have your lives. You must leave every Frank and slave but my lord will graciously allow you to depart his shores to save further bloodshed.”
Those of my warriors who understood all of his words began to howl and jeer. Olaf Head Breaker turned his back on the Frank and dropped his breeks. I said nothing and waited for my men to quieten.
The Franks said, “Well? What is your answer?”
“I think you have had our answer but tell your master this. We are here to stay. I would have lived in peace with your people but that is impossible. If you make war on us then you will have to fight until every man, woman and child of this clan is dead for so long as one of us lives then none of you will be safe.” I pointed to him. I wanted him to know that this was now personal. I shouted, “You have begun this war but Hrolf the Horseman of the clan of the horse will end it. You have been warned. Now leave for if you remain longer this close to my warriors then you will die!”
He whipped his horse’s head around and rode back to the others. Although our words had been heard by all I saw a conference. Philippe of Rouen stood in his stiraps and waved his fist at us. I laughed for it was a pathetic gesture. They turned and rode away.
We watched them as they continued to set up their camp. I stared at the burgeoning camp. The tents were soon erected and the horses tethered close to the sea. He did that for security. I would have made sure that they were closer to water but the nearest stream was close to Rurik’s hall. His men wold have to journey each day to water them. It was a mistake. There was neither ditch nor wooden palisade. That too was an error. He was relying on his sentries. There was a line of thirty men. Each was twenty paces from the next. In daylight, it looked enough. At night, it would not. Once they lit their fires to cook their food I left the walls. As I left I heard hammering.
Arne Four Toes asked, “What is that?”
Reaching the bottom of the ladder I turned and said, “They are building their war machines. I saw them unloading the parts. We have until they finish them before they will attack.”
I went to my hall to change from my mail. I sent Gilles to fetch some selected men. He returned with Rolf Arneson, Sven Siggison, Knut the Quiet, Audun Einarsson and Sigtrygg Rolfsson.
“I have sent for you because, of all my warriors, you are the ones who can move quietly and kill silently. Tonight, we go to the Frankish camp and we slit throats. When we have slit enough throats then we cut their horse lines and drive off their horses. Change from your mail. You will not need helmets or shields. We take swords, daggers and a halter.”
Audun said, “A halter?”
“Aye for when we cut their horse lines we will each use a halter to help us ride a horse. Tonight’s work will not win the battle for us but it will make their nights less easy and it will delay their attack.”
They nodded and we prepared.
Gilles and Bertrand were unhappy to be left behind. “You two are fine warriors but you are not men who can kill silently. I have watched the Ulfheonar. I have hunted with Ulf Big Nose. I have chosen the five warriors I believe can damage the enemy and return here to fight another day. I want you two by the gate. When we return, we may be pursued. I need you to be by the gate. You are horsemen both and can judge the moment to open it.”
We slipped out of the back gate. Finni and Rurik came as far as the ditch and then brought our bridge back inside. We headed inland. We ran, knowing the land well. When we had run a thousand paces we stopped and I led them towards the camp. We had blackened faces and hands. We would be hard to see but, as they had fires burning, then their night vision was not what it should have been. We moved in a single line with Rolf Arneson at the rear. I moved obliquely across the land for I was heading for the end of the line of sentries. They had made a line which only faced us. Behind the
m were only friends. They did not bother to watch there.
We moved to the last sentry. He helped me by having his back to us. He was watching the fire. I dare say he was anticipating his relief and then he could join the others and eat. I could see the next sentry. He, too, was staring at the fire. I rose and grabbed the man by putting my left arm around his throat and squeezing to prevent a cry. I plunged my dagger into his right ear and into his skull. His body went limp in my arms. Knut the Quiet rose like a wraith, took the sentry’s helmet and donned it. I lowered his body to the ground. We crawled to the next sentry. In three strokes, we slew three and had three of my men in their place.
We crawled along and each of us lay close to the next three sentries. These were closer to the Haugr and they were doing their duty and facing my walls. We rose as one and three more sentries died. I led my men back to the end of the line and, leaving the dead where they lay, the six of us headed for the horse lines. I heard the sentries here. They were not watching for us they were guarding the horses. They were talking and, from their voices, we knew there were three of them. We lay just twenty paces from them. The fires were some distance away and so their night vision would not have been affected. I tapped Knut the Quiet and pointed to me and then one of the horse guards. I did the same with the other four. We needed two of us for each guard to make sure that they died silently.
Knut and I rose as one. I put my hands around the sentry’s neck as Knut drove his dagger up between the Frank’s ribs and into his heart. We laid the three bodies down. We had time now for all that we could hear was the sound of the sea and the horses as they moved, ate and snuffled. I spied the chestnut horse with the white blaze. I strode up to it and stroked its mane. I slipped the halter around its head. The others chose their mounts. The Franks had made a double line of horses. We walked down the line, leading our horses and untying the horses from the horse lines. We were half way down when the alarm was given. They had found the bodies of the dead sentries.
“Mount!”
We had not untied all of the horses but this would have to do. We began to shout and to drive the horses who were free towards the Frankish camp. The terrified horses galloped. The ones which were still tethered, reared and pulled at the ropes. They broke free and they, too, galloped towards the camp. I laid my body down flat along the back of the chestnut and kicked him in the flanks. He was a magnificent beast and he leapt forward. Using a weapon was out of the question as we had no stiraps. We just clung on. Men fled as the stampeding horses hurtled towards them. We made it to the fires before anyone saw us. Seeing us was one thing; stopping us was a different matter. I think the fact that I had stolen the horse of the Leudes meant that his men feared hurting their leader’s mount.
One brave warrior grabbed my right leg as I galloped past. He was dragged along. I lifted my leg and kicked hard with my sealskin boot. He fell and I heard the crunch of his skull being crushed by Knut the Quiet’s horse. The last obstacle was the line of sentries. Luckily, they had spread out to search for the killers of their comrades and we passed through them. Behind us I heard the sounds of pursuit. With just five hundred paces to cover we soon reached our gate. I saw Bertrand and Gilles standing, with drawn swords, on either side. We galloped through. I felt triumphant until I turned and counted. There were only four men with me. Audun Einarsson was not there. We had lost a warrior and all the joy went. It was a hollow victory.
Chapter 18
The next morning my men tried to cheer me up. Knut the Quiet had known Audun since he had first become a warrior. “It was a good death, jarl. Men will talk of what we did for many years to come.” We were on the fighting platform above my gate and he said, “See, their camp is still in disarray. They have had men collecting horses all night.”
“Knut is right, jarl. They have not the men to build their war machines. Tonight, they will expect you to return.” Rurik spoke true but it did not give me any comfort.
“I know you are right but any loss is a grievous one. And see, they have put Audun’s head on a spear.”
“Then we will put ten of their men’s heads on spears. Audun is in Valhalla. They despoil an empty body; that is all.”
The Franks took all day to put their camp in some sort of order and that night they ringed their camp with fires and doubled their sentries. It mattered not for we were safe in our stronghold and we did not stir. The next day they began work on their war machines again. They were building three of them. It became apparent that they had been built and then taken apart. It would not be long before they were reassembled. I now had another part of my plan to put into operation. I looked at the position of our ranging stones. Their camp was just two hundred paces from the ones which were within range of the Saami bow. Ten of my archers and I had the bow. I gathered my best twenty archers and told them what I had planned.
That night the Franks lit their fires. This time there were much bigger. They intended to light the night. They had a ring of them around their camp to prevent us infiltrating again. They would prevent us coming close to them but we did not need to be close. I led Einar Asbjornson and twenty archers from the gate after dark. As we had done the last time we left without mail and shields. We wore no helmets. We slipped out of the rear door and then filtered around the outside walls. We moved through the dark silently. The fires of the enemy sentries gave us their position as clearly as if it had been day. We, in contrast, moved through the dark; unseen.
We halted at the last line of stones. We stood in two lines. The ones with the war bows stood before the ones with the Saami bow. We pulled back. It did not matter if we did not release at exactly the same time but once we began we would have to almost empty our quivers. Our second flights were released even as the first was descending into their camp. The two types of bow meant that we covered a large area of their camp. We kept releasing as screams, shouts, cries and orders filled the air. We created panic for the arrows just descended. They were invisible until the last moment. Some struck earth but that did not make them any the less terrifying.
Beorn Fast Feet said, “Jarl, their sentries, they are coming!”
“Switch targets!”
We lowered our bows to use a horizontal rather than a vertical trajectory. We were still in the dark while the sentries who raced at us were not. Every arrow found flesh. The sentries wore no mail. For the powerful Saami bow it did not matter for they could penetrate mail at the range of less than a hundred paces.
“No arrows!”
My men’s voices told me that we should soon stop the arrow storm.
“No arrows!”
“Then those without arrows back to the walls. The rest, we will fall back!”
I heard the sound of hooves in the distance. They had mounted some horses to close with the human insects who were tormenting their sleep. Six of us remained with arrows and we walked backwards. Einar’s arrow took the first Frank in the chest as he managed to loom up out of the dark. He had come at a tangent to our line of retreat. Now that they had left their fires far behind they were as hard to see as we. As we passed the hundred pace stones I saw dark shapes loom up. The Franks were coming. There were just four of us with arrows. Three horsemen hurtled towards us with their spears held before them. I had one arrow left and I pulled back as far as I could. The months since my wound had been ones where I had worked on my muscles and it paid off. I released at one Frank when he was twenty paces away. Any closer and I would have risked a spear. The arrow hit his chest with such force that he was thrown over the back of the saddle. The other three found the bodies of the remaining Franks. One, who had an arrow in his shoulder, managed to wheel his horse around and head back to the camp.
Shooing in the two horses before us we ran to the gate where Gilles and Bertrand stood. The archers who had first fled were now ready on the fighting platform with fresh arrows and, as we approached the gate, a flight of ten arrows soared over our heads and I heard cries behind as the Franks who were following were struck. The gat
es slammed shut behind us and the bridge creaked as it was raised. We had annoyed them again. I had no idea how many we had slain or wounded but I had seen at least twenty men fall. As my men congratulated one another and spoke of arrows they had released I knew that the arrow storm would not win the battle for us. We were building a wall and we needed foundations. We had laid sound foundations. The Franks had been hurt. They had lost sleep and we had twice breached their defences. The Leudes would hasten his attack. He would hurry and in such haste mistakes were more likely to be made. We would exploit those mistakes.
My wife let me sleep longer than I intended. She meant well but I was annoyed. I needed to be on my walls so that I could see my enemy and his reaction to our attack. It was late morning when I finally walked my walls.
Arne Four Toes pointed, “They have begun to move their camp further away and they are digging a ditch this time.”
“They are learning. I would expect them to put a wooden wall around it too. It matters not. We will not risk another night attack. We will let them build their camp. I will ride to meet with Alain of Auxerre. He and his men have had enough rest. It is time for us to give them a new target.”
Gilles and Bertrand had the horses ready for us and, riding my new chestnut horse which I had named Odin’s Gift, we left by the main gate. All work on the Frankish camp stopped. I heard the sound of horns as they prepared their defences for our attack. I laughed. They were afraid of the sight of three horsemen. We had made them truly nervous. As we crossed the bridge I saw that there were just eight bodies lying close by our walls. The other dead had been removed. The eight bodies would soon begin to stink and to swell. When the Franks did attack, they would find themselves having to attack over the bodies of their own dead. It would not help their spirit.
Bárekr’s farm was just six miles north of us and overlooked a small bay. It would be a better bay for our ships to use and the farm itself would have made a better stronghold but when we had first come we had used what was already in place. In time, we would make the farm a second stronghold and we would move our ships there. For the moment, it was just a fortified hall with a ditch around it. The animal pens were filled with cattle, sheep, pigs and horses. If my enemy managed to get past us, then he would be able to slaughter them and our people would starve. I had a plan to stop that happening.