by Griff Hosker
As I went around the defences to look at them with an attacker’s eye I realised that Bjorn was right but we did not make war on women. Perhaps that was the work of the Norns. They gave me an implacable enemy I could not kill. I reached the highest part of our wall which was to the east of the hall. The trees were too close. I remembered how the Romans had cleared all trees for almost two hundred paces from their walls. Here the trees were just forty paces from the wooden defences. They were dense enough for warriors to hide and escape our arrows. If Rorik came from the east then this would be where he would arrive.
Rolf and his men had returned. Scanlan’s farmers were still out collecting the animals to bring them in for winter. I met with Aiden and the two of them in my hall.
“We need every man and boy who is neither producing weapons nor looking after animals to cut down the trees to the east. I want the forest to be a hundred paces from our walls.”
Scanlan shook his head. “That is a lot of trees.”
“And they can hide our enemies. We will use the smaller branches for firewood. The tree trunks can be stored for our ships and the other branches used to make shields.”
That surprised Rolf. “But all of our warriors have shields already.”
“Our women do not and if an enemy comes they can use them to defend themselves. They can also be used to protect the walls. It will not take long. I have Bjorn making more arrow heads. I want hundreds of arrows making this winter too.”
Scanlan shook his head, “We will begin now but it will not be swift.”
“It will be swifter if you start!” Rolf hid his smile as they left. I turned to Aiden. “Have some more barrels made too. I would have told Scanlan but he …”
“Maewe is with child again, Jarl and she is due to give birth soon.”
“Aah, he should have said. That explains much.”
“We have the staves made already but the coopers are waiting for Bjorn to make the metal bands.”
“And I have ordered arrows… The Norns are spinning well.”
“I will speak with Bjorn. I am sure he can produce both. The Hibernian weapons you brought back are poor quality but they will do to make arrows and metal bands.” He hesitated. “We could use some of the wood to make animal pens on the western shore. We have more animals that we used to.”
“You are thinking better than I am, Aiden. See to it.”
After he had gone I went to the edge of the water to look across to the other settlement. Although a larger site it was prone to flooding when the rains came or the snow melted and it was harder to defend than the western citadel. It was then that the idea came to me. We would build a drekar for the Water. I did not know why I had not thought of it earlier. I went directly to the stable and rode as quickly as I could to Úlfarrston. Bolli was my shipwright and he lived close by his ships.
When I reached the estuary I saw that he had ‘Josephus’ out of the water. Stig Haakenson was up to his waist in the chilly river. He came to join me and Bolli as I approached.
“I must take you and your men away from this ship, Bolli. I have a vital task for you.”
Stig smiled, “Bolli has done the hard part. My crew can finish this off.”
“Good. I want a threttanessa building for the Water.”
Bolli nodded and asked, “But why?”
“War is coming. If we are attacked then the Water will need to be defended. There will be no other drekar to fight and she will be able to ferry men wherever danger threatens. It will be the speediest way to get to Cyninges-tūn from here and it can connect the two settlements.”
“It is a good idea. Timber?”
“It is already being felled as we speak.” I hesitated. “If we were attacked then I would need you and your shipwrights to be the crew.”
“It is our land too and we can fight for it.”
The nights were growing longer when the new drekar took on the shape of a ship. It was a skeleton only but it was a good sign. Bolli had made a shipyard on the beach at the eastern side of the Water. It was close to my fort and to the timber. As we had been walking back Bolli had told me that he had had requests from fishermen for large fishing ships. He would build those there too. “Two shipyards; think on that. Jarl Dragon Heart, do you think my father would have been proud?”
“I know that he would.”
It had been two days since the structure of the hull had been finished and still Haaken was not back with the Ulfheonar. I began to worry; not least because all of our best warriors were twenty miles away on the other side of a ridge.
Cnut and Haaken returned looking weary but unharmed. “You were there a long time.”
“Your son had had trouble, Jarl. The heavy rains while we were away eroded the new ditch and made the entrance to the fort almost impassable.”
“It functions now?”
“It is good and, in fact, the rains showed us how to make it even better. The ditches are wider and deeper. We have made a causeway. If Arturus is attacked then he can remove sections of the causeway and be impregnable. Your son is happy, Jarl. His men guard him jealously.”
“Much as the Ulfheonar guards me.”
They both laughed, “Aye, Jarl.”
I mentioned the ache in my shoulder to Aiden who nodded as though he had expected to hear what I had told him. He said, “Do you remember when we were in Constantinopolis? They had hot baths where men were massaged and had oils rubbed on their muscles. The wrestlers and those who took part in the games they held told me that they helped them to recover from injury.”
“When did you visit these places?”
“Whilst you were in the house of healing I explored the city. I found it interesting.”
“How can we have a hot bath here?”
“We could but it would never be hot enough. We have no vessel large enough to heat the water and keep it hot but we can make a sweat room. It would serve the same function.”
“A sweat room?”
“We build a small room and put a fire in it. You would sit naked and let the heat make you sweat. Then we would massage your body.”
“We?”
“I am sure there is a slave we could train to perform such a task. It is what they do in the Eastern Empire.” We had spare slaves but I wondered about the efficacy of such an action. My galdramenn smiled, “It would also help to clean your body. If we built it by the Water then you could step from the heat into the Water and cleanse your body too.” He shrugged. “It is worth a try Jarl. If this works for you then it would also work for other warriors. If they healed quicker then it is better for us.”
As with all things Aiden applied himself well to the task. He constructed the hut first. He made it large enough for six warriors to use. He spent a long time within working out how to generate enough heat to make a body sweat. When I saw him frowning I knew that he had hit a problem. Then one day, after he had emerged from the hut he had a smile as wide as the Water upon his face.
“You have solved the problem then?”
“Aye, Jarl and it was staring me in the face the whole time.” He turned and pointed to the water and Bjorn’s smith. “Bjorn sweats more than any man despite the fact that the air blows through the open sides of his smith. It is the stones which retain their heat. Even in winter when the coals have died down the smith is still the warmest place in Cyninges-tūn. I have used the same idea. I have built a fire pit and placed many stones around it. I will try it later on.”
I left him to his experiment and joined Haaken and Cnut at the shipyard. The drekar now had strakes fitted to the frame and looked more like a longship. Bolli seemed to be enjoying the task. “I assume, Jarl, that the ship will not need to carry cargo.”
“Not much why?”
“It means that we need not waste space beneath the deck. We rarely get violent storms on the Water and we never get waves. It means we can have an even shallower draft on her and we will not need as much ballast as we normally use. She will fly.”
&nbs
p; “Excellent.”
“Have you a name for her yet Jarl?”
“If she will fly then she shall be the ‘Eagle’.”
Haaken asked, “What put that thought into your head?”
“The wooden carving we brought back from Hibernia. It is pleasing to the eye.”
Bolli nodded, “Then I will have my carver carve you an eagle at the prow.”
We spent some time watching the men work. There is something satisfying in watching men turn rough trees into things of beauty. As we watched Aiden came down with a sack. He began to gather the wood chips which had fallen around the hull. When it was full he headed back to our hall. Our curiosity aroused Cnut, Haaken and myself followed him. He entered the hut.
“What is Aiden building there, Jarl Dragon Heart?”
“He calls it a sweat room and he says it will help heal my acing shoulder.” They gave me a strange look and I said, “The galdramenn is rarely wrong in such matters.”
He came out. “You can try it later on in the day Jarl. We just need to get it hot enough and I have an idea how to make it even more pleasant.” He walked up the slope towards the gate.
Haaken said, “Let us go in and see what it looks like.”
“No Haaken, you do not like to give a half finished saga. Let Aiden reveal it when he is ready. He has done all the work. We will go to my hall. We need to plan our last voyage of the year.”
I took the map from the chest while Haaken poured us horns of ale. “The Holy Book is unfinished but it is well made. Deidra has looked at it and she says it is one of the best she has ever examined. Our allies, the men of Wessex are, like us, pagans and they would not appreciate such work. The Bro Waroc'h men are also pagans. That leaves us with the men of Northumbria or Frankia.”
Cnut jabbed a finger at the map. “It is a long voyage to Frankia and it would be fraught with danger at this time of year. Added to which we would be leaving the Water and the people without the protection of a boat’s crew.”
“Then you are suggesting we go to our enemies in Northumbria?”
He emptied his horn, “I think I am. Of course we do not need to trade it at all, yet. We have gold and iron ore enough. Why not wait until the winter is over to trade?”
Haaken thumped the table. “We are meant to go to Northumbria.”
“What?”
“We are worried about what is happing in the east. How far has Rorik travelled? If we went to Eboracum then we could kill two birds with one stone. We could spy out the land and trade the book. We might not get the price we would in Frankia but we would have a less dangerous journey. That way we will know who rules the city; Rorik or Eanred.”
“You are suggesting we go in disguise?”
“We now have some good horses. If the three of us went with Aiden then we could reach Eboracum in a couple of days. We would not be away as long as we might if we went to Frankia on a ship. We would also have a clearer picture of how the land on the other side of the divide lies.”
Cnut nodded. “Then we will see Aiden once he has finished the sweat room.”
I saw smoke rising from the new hut by the Water. Aiden stood outside and waved us towards it.“Come Jarl, it is ready to try.” He took us in. As soon as we entered a wall of heat hit us. He threw a horn of water on the rocks and they began to steam. “See, the air will now purify your body.”
I sniffed the air. “What is that smell?”
“It is just some herbs I threw on. It is time we tried it. We need to take off our clothes and sit on these logs.”
Surprisingly it did work. Not only did my aching shoulder feel better but my mind felt clearer. The four of us talked through the plan which Haaken had concocted. Aiden, who was no warrior, told us that we should not travel as warriors but merchants. “You can wear your armour but wear it beneath kyrtles and cloaks. If you have shields and helmets then we will frighten those who might have information for us. And I will take some jewellery to trade. If we try to trade the book of the White Christ first it may cause trouble.”
Rolf and Sigtrygg tried to talk us out of the journey. It was Kara who had the final word. “The jarl must make this journey. We need to know what lurks behind the great divide. If he does not go now then the snows of early winter may stop him going at all.”
“But why does the jarl need to go at all!”
“Wyrd! It is out of our hands Sigtrygg Thrandson. The Norns have plotted this course and the jarl must sail it.” He had no argument to counter Kara.
We left the next day taking two ponies to carry our supplies and the holy book. It felt strange to leave my shield behind. My helmet was with the supplies but if we were attacked I would have to fight with just my sword. The kyrtles hid our armour but made us look as big as Einar Belly Shaker. Aiden smiled, “Then it is a perfect disguise, Jarl, for no one will recognise you.”
He was right. We looked like well fed merchants. Even Arturus’ guards looked closely at us when we called at his fort on our way east. Like Sigtrygg he was unhappy about the risk we were taking.
“This way, my son we can travel the route which Rorik will take and we will have a clearer picture of the dangers we face.”
Two days after leaving Cherchebi we looked across the vale towards the Roman City of Eboracum. The Northumbrians had expanded the settlement and it now spread along the river. There were many spirals of smoke rising from the huts. As we drew closer my heart sank. Amongst the masts of the ships on the river was the unmistakable shape of a longship. The closer we went the more we saw. We counted ten drekar. Rorik had reached Eboracum. His banner fluttered from the top of the largest.
Chapter 14
“We need to enter after dark for we will be less noticeable that way.”
“Will there not be a gate and guards?”
Aiden shook his head. “No, Cnut, much of the settlement is outside the Roman walls. We find somewhere to sleep and, in the morning, we can find where they trade. That will be inside the walls.”
I nodded, “There will be a market for Rorik likes to control the trade. We just need to avoid him. Luckily most of the warriors who knew us perished when we sank his drekar last year.”
I knew it was a risk but this was too good an opportunity to miss. Norse warriors like to drink and when they drank they boasted. There was no such thing as a Norse secret. If we could get close enough then we would hear what we needed to know. Was Rorik coming and if so when?
We approached the city along the river and we did so slowly. It was dark when we drew close to the first knarr tied to the stump of a tree. Cnut pretended to examine the hoof of his horse. The sailors were Saxon and they addressed us first.
“Where have you four come from? They say the lands to the west are filled with fierce warriors who prey on fat merchants such as you.”
I pointed to the north. “The Dunum. We would have come by ship but the one we hired sprang a leak and we could not wait. Our families need the coin our trade will bring to keep us supplied during the winter.” It was a plausible story which Aiden had concocted. Ships which were not well maintained would spring leaks.
“Aye well you have come to the right place. Since the king came business is good for all.” The man who spoke was obviously the captain and he leaned forward. “If I am honest he is doing a much better job than Eanred the Northumbrian did.”
“King Eanred is dead? I had not heard but then we live in a remote valley. We get no news there.”
He laughed, “No my friend, King Eanred lives still and hides north of the Dunum. He was chased out at the end of the last month.” He laughed, “Or rather the lazy men who ran the city for him fled without even closing the gates. The new king is come from the east. He is a Viking and is the king of Frisia.”
It was confirmed then that Rorik had arrived. He had even given himself titles this time. “Good then we have come to the right place. Is there a market?”
“Aye but it will not be open until they unlock the gates to the city tomorrow. Th
ey are open from sunrise to sunset.” I nodded and began to leave, “You have to pay to sell your goods and to buy them too. The king likes to make a profit. They say he has golden armour.”
“Is there no way to avoid paying such taxes?”
He laughed, “I can see why you have grown so fat.” He nodded, “There are men who are willing to buy rare items. What do you wish to sell?”
Aiden waved his arm vaguely around the four of us, “We have a variety of goods. Some large and some small but we are keen to make a profit. And we need a place to sleep. We have travelled far.”
“There is one hut which sells ale and has beds.” He pointed down the river. “It is just outside the city walls. It has a stable. You will recognise it by the old saddle which hangs from the door. The owner is neither Saxon nor Norse and he can give you more information,” he rubbed his thumb and fingers together, “for a price.”
“What is his name?”
“Osgar.” He nodded at our looks. “I know, it is a strange name but he comes from the old people of this land. They must know something to have survived all these years.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
We continued down the river bank which showed that this path was both well used and well worn. The ships we passed all appeared to be Saxon; we deduced that from their words. The drekar were tied up close to the walls of the old Roman fort. We heard more noise as we neared the huts and buildings which had sprung up.
We saw the saddle which hung from a hook half way up the roof. It looked to be ancient and was more wood than anything else. Most of the leather had rotted away. As I was the most renowned of the four of us and Haaken, with his one eye, also had a certain notoriety, Cnut and Aiden went in to negotiate a room and stabling. They could watch for any Norse who might know us. We watched the river but it appeared that any Norse or Danes were somewhere other than the river.
After a short while Cnut came out. “There is a stable around the back.” He chuckled, “Aiden has the gift of the tongue. He wove a story there that would do the Norns credit.” The stable was just an open sided byre but there was hay and water there. We took everything of value from the animals.