by Griff Hosker
“I know and that is why I am confident that we will win.”
The winter never developed into the icy monster we had suffered two years ago but the rain rarely abated. We found new stretches of water where none had existed before the winter. We had to devise both new paths and build causeways across the most treacherous of bogs and swamps. Windar and Thorkell kept me informed both about their numbers and on their defences. I was convinced that we had done all that we could. The gods were on our side. The rains helped us.
The Norns are unpredictable. We still had another two months of winter but our animals were producing young. The sheep, in particular benefitted from the lack of snow. Many of the men who guarded my walls were given permission to go on the fells and bring down their sheep. We had almost eliminated all of the wolves but we knew that the ones who remained and the foxes would prey on the young. Rolf was confident that we could summon them back in a hurry if we needed to.
I had lived alone for some time now. Kara spent most of her evenings in the house of healing. The damp weather had infected many with the coughing sickness. Kara could cure it but she needed to be on hand all of the time. Aiden also spent a great deal of time with Kara for he too was a mighty healer. They saved lives. Scanlan and his family now lived in the western settlement. He was able to run both villages successfully. Consequently I rattled around in my huge hall with just two slaves for company. Tadgh and Aed were both eager to please me. They had been taken from the Hibernians and I treated them far better than their former masters. I had thought of sending them to the thrall hall but I found it pleasant to actually speak with someone at night.
I had a routine: once I had had eaten and Kara and Aiden had left, I would take down my sword and my newly acquired seax. I would clean and sharpen them with a whetstone. When they were sharpened and replaced then I took down the sword they had called Saxon Slayer. It did not need sharpening but I enjoyed running my fingers down the blade and feeling the faded writing upon it. It was ancient. If I closed my eyes I could almost hear it ringing in battle. I occasionally swung it through the air. It always seemed to sing and hum as it did so. Apart from Ragnar’s Spirit it was the only blade I thought was alive. What always surprised me was how my hand fitted the hilt as though it was made for it. Ragnar’s Spirit had been made specifically for me. This one had been sent to me. Wyrd. I looked in the fire as I held it and pictures of warriors fighting filled my head.
That night, just twenty days from Eostre, I watched the fire and held the old sword across my lap. I must have fallen asleep for I dreamed. The sword must have been ready to tell me a story. Or perhaps the spirits wished to contact me. I dreamed.
I saw half naked warriors. They looked to me like Hibernians but I was dressed as a Roman soldier and I was mounted on a horse. I charged at the head of a column of horsemen and we swept down on the warriors. The sword sang a song as it sliced into their unprotected bodies. Limbs and weapons flew through the air and they fled. I chased them and found myself alone galloping down a long tunnel of trees. Suddenly my horse stumbled and I flew through the air. Instead of striking the ground I fell into a deep and dark cavern. I managed to stop myself falling to the bottom. I pulled myself to my feet and sought a way out. There was another tunnel which twisted and climbed. Holding my sword before me I went into the dark empty place.
Ahead of me I saw a light and I headed towards it. The light grew and I saw that I was entering an enormous cavern. I heard Erika’s voice as she shouted my name, over and over. I stepped out and there I saw Erika. She was tied to a stake and there were warriors around her. They held weapons to her naked body. She screamed and then shouted, “Husband! Awake!”
I opened my eyes in shock. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a sword slicing down towards me. Saxon Slayer was in my hand and I instinctively whipped it up to strike the blade away. A spear lunged towards my middle. I pushed backwards and the chair tumbled over. The spear head rammed into the thick, wooden bottom of the seat. I jumped to my feet. There were four warriors advancing towards me and all were mailed. They were Norse. I saw the bodies of Tadgh and Aed lying in a widening pool of blood. The old sword in my hand would not take combat with these warriors; Bjorn had told me that. I put my left hand behind me and found, on the table, the seax I had recently won. I put Saxon Slayer down for next to the seax was Ragnar’s Spirit. I grabbed my magical sword. The four warriors advanced towards me as I held both weapons before me. I had no armour but I would sell my life dearly.
I glimpsed a wolf pendant around the neck of one warrior. I shuddered. It was one made by Aiden. In a moment of clarity I knew who had sent these assassins; they had been sent by Jarl Erik. I had given him a pendant when we had been friends. He must have given it to the assassin as payment.
“So Jarl Erik sends others to do his treacherous work. He is afraid of me still!”
The warrior with the pendant laughed. “You are wrong Jarl Dragon Heart. We begged for the chance to kill you. I am Cnut Svenson of Hrams-a. You killed my father when his drekar attacked yours. You slew him and his body lies at the bottom of the sea. He can never rest until you are slain. Jarl Erik just gave me the pendant to make sure that you and your spawn all died!”
That put steel into my spine. They were here to kill Kara too. If it were not for the coughing sickness then she would be dead already along with Aiden. The Norns were spinning their mighty webs.
The warrior to my left suddenly lunged at me with his sword. I had no shield but the single edged seax was strong and I whipped it around. I heard the ring of metal on metal and saw the surprised look on the warrior’s face as his sword bent in the middle. I sliced at him with Ragnar’s Spirit. It bit through the mail and into his left shoulder. A second warrior tried to take advantage of my blow to strike at my unguarded side. I spun around holding the seax at neck height. He had to halt his charge as the recently sharpened blade headed towards his eyes. The wounded man was before me and I put my right arm around his neck and pulled him around so that his body protected me. The blood from his half severed arm was puddling before me and he would not have long to live.
The man who called himself Cnut Svenson had lunged at me while I was spinning and he plunged his sword into the body of his dying comrade. I pushed the mailed body away and it fell upon Cnut Svenson’s blade. He could not strike me.
I had managed to evade my enemies up to now but I needed to strike while they were still disorganised. I turned and moved so that my back was to the fire. No one could come from behind me. The other two warriors raced at me while Cnut Svenson dragged his sword from beneath the dead warrior. For the briefest of times I only had two enemies. The only advantage I had was my speed. They were mailed; they would be tiring. I had to strike quickly before I was outnumbered three to one.
I swung Ragnar’s Spirit in an arc. It was longer than their blades and I swung it at eye height. It takes a brave man to advance at a sword which is aimed at his eyes. As they recoiled I stabbed at the leg of the one on my left. I had seen that his mail shirt was not a long, knee length one. The tip of the seax’s blade was like a dagger but it widened to the span of a hand. I punched as I stabbed. The blood cascaded from the wound and the warrior screamed as he fell backwards. I hoped that his scream would carry to the warrior hall for Cnut Svenson was now on his feet and advancing towards me. My trick would not work a second time; they both had long mail byrnies.
“I was told that you had not honour and were a nithing. Now I know that it is true. I will make sure that you do not go to Valhalla!”
As Cnut boasted I saw my chance. He would try to maim me and then kill me when I had no sword in my hand. It was a slim chance but a chance none the less. I had to get rid of the second warrior. I glanced at him. He was a young warrior with an open helmet and a metal byrnie. The rings had no rivets. His sword had already bent a little. His shield was well made. He approached cautiously from my right. I knew how to fell him. Someone was watching over me.
I lunged at S
ven with my seax, inviting a strike from the younger warrior. I wanted him to stab at me. Cnut brought his shield down on my seax laughing. “You try to hurt me with a needle! You are growing old, Dragon Heart!”
I ignored his words and brought Ragnar’s Spirit down hard on the young warrior’s blade which had darted towards me. By luck or perhaps my aim was guided for Ragnar’s Spirit hit the bent blade on the bend and the blade shattered. The young warrior made the mistake of staring at his broken weapon instead of punching me with his shield. I brought my sword up backhand and it tore into his face below the jaw. I hit him with the freshly sharpened blade and sliced half of his face off. I spun and stepped into the space where he had been as Cnut stabbed at where I had just stood.
The young warrior was out of the fight and it was now me against the leader of the assassins. He was warier now. He had seen me without mail and without helmet. He had anticipated his victory. He had taken it for granted. Now his three companions lay dead or dying lying in ever widening pools of blood. He must have known that he would never escape. Outside I could hear the sounds of alarm as the dead sentries on the walls were discovered. He was a brave warrior. He would avenge his father and then go to Valhalla as a hero; the warrior who had slain Dragon Heart.
He swung his sword overhand at me. That was a mistake for it caught on the beams of my hall. I stabbed forward with the deadly seax. His momentum had brought him closer to me and the sharpened edge of the seax ground against his mail and ripped into the mail rings. As I withdrew it I heard some of them fall to the floor. I stepped back as he swung his shield at me. I could move faster than normal as I was without mail. He almost overbalanced and I stabbed at his face with Ragnar’s Spirit. It sliced into his cheek. He uttered not a sound but spat out blood and teeth. He stepped towards me. He would not try an overhand blow. He had to swing horizontally. I kept the wall to my left. It restricted his swing. When he did swing he could not get as much power behind it as he would have liked and the seax easily deflected it. Just then the door burst open and he half turned. I could not waste the opportunity and I brought my sword down hard across his shield. Already off balance he lurched backwards and I ripped upwards with my seax. It tore through his mail and into his stomach. The blade widened and ripped a hole as big as my fist. He slumped to the ground. Haaken, Cnut and Sigtrygg raced in with swords drawn.
I shook my head. “It is finished.” I pointed Ragnar’s Spirit at him. “He was sent by Jarl Erik. He is a brave warrior.” I walked over to him. “Do you wish the warrior’s death?”
He seemed unable to talk. Perhaps the blade through his mouth had damaged his tongue. He nodded. “Go to Valhalla.” Sigtrygg stepped behind him and slit his throat.
Haaken looked at the four dead warriors. “I see you have not lost your touch.”
Aiden and Kara came in. Kara looked the least surprised by the scene. I nodded to her. “Your mother saved me. She came to me in a dream.”
“I too dreamed but I did not know it was of the present. When I awoke I thought it was the future and then I heard the cries.”
Cnut pointed with his sword. “There are two dead outside. The sentries did all that they could but they are all slain.”
“Perhaps we should not have let the others go to their sheep.”
“No, Sigtrygg, this was wyrd. It tells me that Erik fears me. This is the second time he has tried to kill me. Rorik will want to kill me himself and this tells me that there is no unity amongst our enemies. They have merely combined to fight me. If they defeat me then they will fall out amongst themselves. They will never have this land. It is not meant for them.” I pointed to the mail on the dead warriors. “Do the others have mail?”
“Aye, Jarl.”
“Then he has sent six of his oathsworn. That means he has six less good warriors to fight us and we have six more sets of mail. The spirits are watching over us still.”
Rolf had come in during the last part and he shook his head. “I am sorry Jarl Dragon Heart. I have failed you.”
“No Rolf, the Ulfheonar have failed the jarl. We will make sure that two of us sleep at the door to the jarl’s chamber to protect him.”
I shook my head, “Haaken, if I am meant to die in my own hall then so be it but I think I am destined for another death and besides, my wife and Ragnar protect me still.” I walked over to Saxon Slayer. “And this blade has as much magic as Ragnar’s Spirit. This should be guarded when I am not here as dearly as anything. It warned me of the assassins.”
Chapter 17
The attempt on my life had a number of effects. It angered all of my people and especially my sentries. They all swore vengeance on Jarl Erik. He had not followed the code of our people and they would not forgive easily and certainly never forget. He had broken his oath. I felt at peace. I had fought four warriors whilst not wearing armour and defeated them without suffering a wound. I had also seen the power of the past and the spirit world. An ancestor I had never even heard of until a few years ago had come from the past to save me; that made me feel special. I had been chosen for this task and I would make sure that I carried it out. I had known that this land was magical and I now knew my place in it. This was my home and this was where I would die.
Everyone had been energised by the attempt. When the other leaders heard of it they increased their own security as well as they finished their defences. Bolli finished the drekar for Windar’s Mere and ‘Hawk’ became the defender of that largest of meres.
A messenger came, a week before Eostre, from Pasgen. Siggi had sailed along the coast of Mann and seen a huge fleet gathering there. The drekar were coming. I rode to Windar while my Ulfheonar prepared for battle.
“Windar I need you to have a warband at the southern end of the Mere. I am taking the Ulfheonar to Úlfarrston. If Rorik comes to Cherchebi then I will need you here to slow down his advance.”
Windar was not as experienced in war as many of my leaders and he frowned. “How?”
“Arturus and his people can hold out for at least a week. Your new drekar can ferry replacements for you as you retreat to your fort. The hills and the Mere mean that you cannot be outflanked. By retreating down the Mere you allow me the time to reach Rorik and attack his lines of communication.”
“I could try to hold him here.”
I patted him on the back. “This Rorik is a cunning leader and he will bring many mailed warriors. You will be outnumbered. Use your spears to hold him back and your arrows and slings to whittle him down. Draw him to your walls. It is prepared is it not?”
“Aye Jarl Dragon Heart.”
“Good for we can make him hungry. Your drekar will stop him from feeding from the Mere and my warriors will destroy him. Just make sure you keep me informed of what is going on. Have your beacons manned all the time from now on!”
“It will be done as you command.”
Once back at Cyninges-tūn I told Kara, Aiden and Rolf what I intended. “I will leave half of my warriors here. We have a full crew for ‘Eagle’. I will take the Ulfheonar and the other forty warriors to Úlfarrston.”
Aiden nodded, “You are guessing that Sihtric and Erik will come soon.”
“Erik has failed to kill me twice. In addition he will not wish to have Sihtric and his warriors eating his supplies on Mann. If the fleet is there then they will be coming soon. I will send our ships to Thorkell. He can protect them. I would not have our ships destroyed.”
“You will have to send crews with them. That will mean you will have fewer warriors.”
“I know Rolf but it cannot be helped. Besides they can return by land and reinforce you here.”
“And if Rorik comes?”
“We take horses and I can reach Arturus or Windar in half a day from Úlfarrston. I would defeat my enemies one by one.”
“You are risking your son and his warriors.”
I looked at Rolf. “He is a warrior. He leads men. Should I protect him and lose Cyninges-tūn?”
Rolf shook his hea
d and Kara laughed. “My brother is stronger than you know, Rolf. Through his veins runs the blood of my mother and Dragon Heart.”
“Aiden you have a mind like a Greek Strategos. You and Kara make the decisions necessary to keep my people safe.”
He knelt. “I will, Jarl. Bjorn and all the men of the Water are sworn to defend our land. We will not fail you.”
Kara pointed across the Water. “Old Olaf will watch us. He has done little yet but he will ensure that we survive.”
Only half of the Ulfheonar had horses and so we walked down to Úlfarrston. The horses would only be needed in case of a disaster and Rorik attacked at the same time as Erik.
Erik Short Toe was not happy when he was ordered to sail north with the knarrs. “But Jarl Dragon Heart, my crew can fight.”
“They are not warriors and I need my ships safe. I have not enough men to guard them and our town. Guard them well for me Erik.” Siggi and Trygg felt the same. I told them they could return by land to fight. “The knarr will ensure our prosperity when we have defeated our enemies.”
I saw the doubt on Siggi’s face as he said, “There are many ships. Can we defeat them?”
I laughed, “Do not begin to doubt, my friend or we shall lose.”
Once they had left with Pasgen’s knarr the estuary looked empty. Pasgen put on a brave face but I could see that he, too, was worried. “We will hold them here, Jarl Dragon Heart.”
“If my plan works, my friend, then you will not need to. I intended to draw our enemies through the forests. We know the land and they do not. What I want you and your people to do is destroy their ships when the warriors follow us into the forest. They will need to sleep and you know now how to make fire arrows. When their ships are destroyed then they will lose heart.”
He brightened at that. The only warriors I had with me were my forty Ulfheonar. The others were already in the forest making camps. They would stay there until we drew on our enemies and then they would harass them all the way to the Water. After the second attempt on my life I saw that I was the one they wanted. I would give them what they wanted but they would pay with their lives.