Viking War

by Griff Hosker

  As we left Úlfarrston I mentioned the new armour to Aiden and Haaken. Aiden laughed, “Bjorn is the galdramenn not I. That is something I should have seen and it makes perfect sense.”

  “I have asked him to make it for the Ulfheonar. We will give Arturus’ boars the old armour.”

  Haaken looked dubious. “Will he not take that as a slight?”

  “No, I know Arturus well. He will be grateful that his men will all be armoured. I gave him advice on how to improve his shields before we left and I expect that he will take whatever the jarl can give him.” Aiden spoke confidently.

  I caught Aiden’s eye and saw inside his mind. He had spoken with Arturus. The outburst all those months ago had been on Aiden’s mind. I felt happier now knowing that my son had been given sage advice. As a father I could not have done so but Aiden was in a unique position. I was grateful for the day the young Hibernian had chosen to follow my banner.

  We headed north and made the short journey to Thorkell’s stead. I was happy to see ‘Great Serpent’ moored in the estuary. I left the crew on board and went ashore alone. I just needed to speak with Thorkell the Tall. He clasped my arm, “You look well Jarl. What brings you here?”

  I told him my news and he frowned. “Your northern borders are safe. I have taken the ‘Serpent’ over to raid the men of Dál Riata and Hibernia. We have taken animals and weapons.”

  “You did not take slaves?”

  He shook his head. “They are more trouble than they are worth. We have had too many trying to swim the estuary. They drown and no one is served. We have had some settlers. They came from the east.”

  “They are not Northumbrians are they? Or the men of the King of Norway?”

  He laughed, “You have taught me well, jarl. They were fleeing the King of Norway. The families we took had their ship destroyed in a storm. They had heard of the famous sword and Dragon Heart. They are good people and stout warriors. They managed to evade capture coming over the divide.”

  That was further confirmation of the impotence of Eanred. “I may need to send riders for aid. Have you someone who could lead your men under my banner?”

  “Sven White hair and Harald Green Eye are still with me. They are Ulfheonar.”

  “I hope it will not come to that but it is good to know I have reserves here at your stead.”

  The relief was immense as we sailed south. I had more warriors at my disposal than I had thought. The sword and my name were now drawing likeminded folk to live in my land. There was room enough for such people. It was wyrd.

  The sea can seem vast and empty; even when you are just a couple of miles off the coast, however, as we passed the southern tip of Mann I saw three long ships pull towards us. They had shields on their sides and they looked to be belligerent. Our experience with Mann had not been good since we left. “Erik, I think we will try to lose them. I am not in the mood for conversation.”

  He laughed, “Karl, Kurt, get up the stays and give us a little more sail.”

  Haaken took his place at his bench as Cnut said, “We are getting too fat and lazy Ulfheonar. Let us show these drekar of Mann what a real crew can do!”

  They began to row and soon the drekar were dropping further behind. We slowed the rate. There was little point in tiring rowers. Who knew what the wind might do? Erik looked up at the masthead. “Jarl, the wind is veering a little. It is pushing us inshore.”

  The last thing that we needed was for us to be caught with no sea room. We had a lead and I wanted to use it. “Take us further west. “

  We had passed Mann; to our south lay Anglesey. Once it had been a welcome anchorage but the Saxons now ruled it. I knew we could have wrested it from them but our land was perfect and I would not change perfection for anywhere else. If we headed west we might run into Hibernians or even the ships of Sihtric Silkbeard but I was confident that my ship was faster than any and my crew the best rowers.

  Kirk shouted from the masthead. “The three drekar are increasing their speed, Jarl Dragon Heart. They are closing with us.”

  “Shall we increase the rate, Jarl?”

  “No we will be turning south and east soon. The wind will take us away from them.” At the time I knew not why I gave that command. Later I thought about it and remembered a voice in my head. I turned to watch the three drekar as they closed. They were rowing hard. I counted twenty oars on each side of two of them and twenty five on the one at the front. I now knew where they came from. They had the three legs on their sails; that was the sign of Jarl Erik. We had been brothers and had fought together. Since he had married and his sister, my wife, had died we had become enemies. I had many enemies but I was sad that Erik was one for many of his oathsworn had fought at my side.

  Suddenly Karl shouted. “Two more drekar and they are coming from the south west. We are heading directly for them!”

  “Head south east, Erik. Cnut, let us see how fast we can go!”

  The ship was responsive and she heeled over. Her higher freeboard made the manoeuvre possible. I doubted that the drekar of Jarl Erik would be able to sail as close to the sea without swamping. I saw that the new drekar had Sihtric’s banner at their mast. He was the closest of my enemies but I could not fight five ships and hope to win. A good leader chose his battles. Now I was glad that I had not made my men tire themselves.

  “Jarl, we will run out of sea room soon.” Erik Short Toe pointed to the south. There lay Anglesey. The two leaders behind me must have been anticipating when we turned to run around the west coast of Anglesey and they would have us between them.

  “Head for the straits between the island and Thorkell’s old fort.”

  Erik threw me a surprised look. “It is narrow and we are travelling quickly. It will take great skill.”

  “Josephus believed in you and so do I.” He nodded, “Cnut we are going to risk the straits. Be ready to raise the oars on my command. You can slow the rate.”

  The five drekar now following us had spread out in a long line. Sihtric’s drekar was the closest. They were like five beaters driving an animal towards a hunter. Whichever way we turned they would pounce upon us. I smiled to myself. They would only be able to send one drekar a time down the straits after us and they would then be spread out in a long line. It all depended on how skilful a navigator Erik Short Toe was.

  The land on either side of the straits was familiar to us. The danger lay in the hidden rocks close to the island. The mainland’s mountainous side looked more intimidating but a long ship could sail closer to the mainland side than the island. Normally we would have taken the sails in a little to safely negotiate the turn.

  “Cnut, oars in.” As soon as the oars were drawn inboard we slowed enough to allow Erik to push the steering board over. Aiden and I had to help him as we fought the drekar which threatened to smash herself on the mainland. As I pushed I looked behind me and saw that our pursuers had realised their dilemma. Sihtric dropped his sail and use his oars to turn himself into the wind. He became stationary but he saved his ship. His companion also managed to slow.

  Jarl Erik’s leading ship copied us. He had some good sailors aboard his ships. I know for I had sailed with them. His last drekar tried to outwit us and sailed too close to the island. As we hurtled through the straits, above the sound of the waves and the wind I heard the screech and crunch of wood on rocks and then the screams of the warriors as they were flung into the sea.

  The mountain of Wyddfa loomed over me but, strangely, I felt safe for the ancestor I had recently discovered was buried there in the dream cave. I would be protected.

  Our pursuers were not so fortunate. We kept our oars in and relied on the current and the wind. It meant our two remaining pursuers closed with us and they risked their oars. Inevitably some of the oarsmen bit too deep with their oars and they struck the rocks which lurked like teeth beneath the waves. I saw the ships shudder as oars were broken and the rhythm of the rowers was interrupted. Once we emerged into the open sea Erik used all the pow
er of our huge sail and the rowers.

  “Cnut, put some sea room between us.”

  The rest had worked in our favour and the men pulled hard. Within a few miles the two drekar were dots in the distance and Karl shouted, “They have given up!”

  We sailed until we reached the island of Lundy, Puffin Island. This little rock sticking up in the middle of the sea teemed with puffins. They were an easy bird to capture and we ate well that night. We used the small beach to cook but we slept on board.

  “So, Jarl Dragon Heart, it seems Sihtric and Erik are now allies.”

  “Birds of a feather flock together, Haaken. It is a measure of how far Erik has fallen if he consorts with such as Sihtric.”

  “But why now, Jarl?”

  Sigtrygg had asked a question I could not answer. Had we been with the knarr and escorting goods then I would have understood but we were alone with fighting warriors on board. It was a huge risk to attack the best ship we had crewed by the finest warriors.

  Aiden gave me the answer even as it came into my head. “They want you out of the way so that they can capture our land and our treasure. Five ships would be needed to take the ‘Heart’ Jarl Dragon Heart.”

  “You are right.”

  “Should we return home then?”

  Since he had become a father Haaken worried about his family. “I think we have time to visit with the king. One ship was damaged. Besides they will probably wait for us to return and ambush close to Anglesey again. If Aiden is right, and I think he is, then they will wait until we are eliminated before they do anything.”

  “But we still have to get by them.”

  “Aye Cnut, but Aiden and I will sleep on that. I have some ideas. Besides, the decision is at least ten days away. Let us worry about the problems we might encounter getting to Hamwic.”

  In the event, we had a voyage which provided Haaken with nothing in the way of stories. Four days after leaving Lundy we docked at the port which was closest to Egbert’s capital, Wintan-ceastre. We had never been here before and I knew that we would be treated with suspicion. I spoke with the warriors who guarded the gate into the town.

  “We are here to speak with King Egbert.”

  They were partly surprised by my tone but more with my Saxon. They lowered their weapons a little. “Wait on your ship and we will send a message to him.”

  I went back to the drekar. I already had much information. Hopefully this visit would complete the picture. Rorik was coming from the south east and Erik and Sihtric from the west. I wondered if there was some plan in all this. I realised that there was not. I was the honey that was drawing in the adventurers who saw a small land with a small army but one which was rich beyond belief; or so they thought.

  King Egbert himself came to speak with us. “Come Jarl. Treat my hall as your home.”

  I shook my head. “As much as we would like to stay and enjoy your hospitality we have discovered there is danger at home.”

  “Well you and your wizard must come with me, at least and enjoy some of my ale.”

  As we went through the city of Wintan-ceastre which was the largest city I had ever seen in England the king told me of his wars and his successes.

  “We now have Lundenwic ringed with burghs. Coenwulf has been forced to fall back. The kings of Kent and Essex now accept me as their liege lord. And it is all down to you.”

  We sat at his table and he poured me a horn of ale. I barely tasted it. “We have enemies of our own who are attacking us from the east and the west.”

  “Saxons from Mercia? Northumbrians?”

  “No King Egbert, they are Vikings. They believe I am rich and wish to steal the treasure which I do not have.”

  “Then why have you come here to visit with me?” He put his huge hand on my arm, “Do not read me wrong. I am pleased to see you. You have brought my people much good fortune.”

  “I need to know if Mercia will attack me too. My land is wide open to such an attack.”

  “I do not think so but I believe I can help us both. This Coenwulf is thinking of winning back Essex to his fold. If I strike north of here then he will have to bring forces from the north to repel me. I will gain more Mercian territory and he will not have enough men to attack two of us.”

  I felt such relief that my face broke into a huge smile. “I would be grateful to you.”

  He shook his head. “It is I who should be thankful for your arrival. It was like the first stone rolling down a mountain and now we cannot be stopped. Here,” he reached into a chest and took out a golden chain with a gold boar, “this is to thank you for what you did and as a mark of our friendship. This is the mark of my house.”

  “And I take it and swear friendship to you and Wessex. Know this King Egbert, I am never foresworn. We are your friends until the end of time.”

  When we sailed north I went with a much lighter heart. An attack by the men of Wessex would avert a third enemy from attacking me. All I had to contend with was two Norse armies. This would be a Viking war.

  Chapter 12

  As we headed west, to return home, we were caught by strong winds. They were, fortunately, in our favour. We did not need to row. Haaken asked, “What do we do about the drekar? They will be waiting for us and this time they need only put one in the straits and the rest between Anglesey and Mann. We cannot avoid them. Do we fight?”

  “We could fight them. We might even defeat them but we would lose too many Ulfheonar. Aiden and I have something different in mind and this wind helps us. It has been sent by the gods.”

  “The wind from the east? That would just take us to the edge of the world.” I said nothing and he burst out, “You are mad. I would rather take on ten drekar than risk the edge of the world.”

  “Think of the story you could tell.”

  “I would need to be alive to tell such a tale.”

  I laughed, “You need not fret Haaken One Eye. I will keep the coast of Hibernia in sight the whole time. We will sail around the island and take advantage of this gift of the gods. Remember we know their northern coast well and it is not a large island.”

  “The people who live on the west coast are supposed to be savages who eat those who are wrecked on their coast.”

  “And you are a wolf, you are Ulfheonar!”

  I had the final say for I was jarl. Erik was quite excited. He would be doing something Josephus had only dreamt of. I think Haaken came around to deciding that it was worth the risk when we turned north and we could still see the coast to the east of us.

  We used a deserted beach on the south coast for the first night in Hibernia but when we sailed further north we discovered a huge inlet. In fact it was so big that I thought it was a sea. It was almost dusk on the second night and we decided to use its sheltered anchorage for the wind was blowing stronger. Aiden checked the maps and suddenly became excited. “I know where we are. There is an island in the middle of this river and it is called King’s Island. It is a holy place in my land. They say giants put stones there and my people have worshipped there since the time of the giants.”

  I became interested. “And are there any monasteries close by?”

  “There is one at Mungret.” He peered at the map. Whoever had made it had marked monasteries with a red cross. “According to the map it is half way down the river. Close to the King’s Island.” He pointed to the bank of the river. “It should be a mile or two down there.”

  Monasteries were always tempting. They were worth the risk of raiding as they contained treasure and were not normally guarded. “We will scout it out and see if it is worth the dangers we might encounter.”

  We kept to the southern side of the inlet as we edged our way east. We rowed inshore and I sent Snorri and Beorn to scout while the rest of us ate cold rations.

  Our two scouts soon returned. “Aiden is correct. We spied it two miles along the path. It sits on a piece of high ground.“

  “Is it defended?”

  “There is a wall but we saw
no warriors.”

  Beorn pointed to the river. “There are guards on the island and they can see the monastery. When it is dark, however, we may be able to approach unseen.”

  “Then we just take twenty Ulfheonar and the rest can be with the ship. If you hear a disturbance, Haaken, then bring the ‘Heart’ as quickly as you can.”

  I saw the disappointment on his face but he nodded. “I will be there if I hear anything.”

  “I know.” I took Cnut, Sigtrygg, Snorri, Beorn and six of the newer Ulfheonar. It would be a test for them.

  Night had fallen as we followed Snorri up the path. Like many of these monasteries there was a well worn path to the beach; no doubt the priests liked their shellfish. I smelled wood smoke and heard the gentle tolling of a bell somewhere. The White Christ liked his priests on their knees as often as possible. Even as we approached the small gate leading to the monastery I knew that we were taking a risk but the rewards could be great. The Holy Books had a high value and were worth many pieces of gold. I waved Snorri and Beorn to go around the other side of the large Church. I was a wooden structure but had a bell tower; that was unusual. It gave them some time to get into position and I glanced down to the river. I saw the fort and the small ships moored there. It was rightly called ‘Island of the King’ for it had a fine fort on it and looked impregnable to me. I saw the stones placed there by giants; they ringed the buildings.

  Cnut murmured, “The men are in place.”

  We ran forward and burst into the church. There were brown robed figures on their knees. As soon as they saw us they shouted and began to flee. There were three doors at the far end and they made for them. “After them!”

  My younger warriors sped down the aisle to reach them but the monks were fast. I heard screams as two of them ran into Snorri and Beorn. “Find any treasure!”