Viking War

by Griff Hosker

  His men began to beat their shields with their spears and stamp their feet as they chanted, “Jarl Erik! Jarl Erik! Jarl Erik! Jarl Erik!” over and over. His banner was waved. I gave a wry smile to Haaken for the effect was a little wasted in the rain which was now coming down as hard as ever.

  Suddenly Snorri touched my arm and pointed to the Old Man and the scree slopes. “Jarl, look! The mountain shakes!”

  At first I thought that my eyes were deceiving me. The whole of the side of the mountain appeared to ripple. The noise of the warriors began to increase. I suspect Erik had allowed them to finish off their ale and they were drunk for they began to jump up and down and scream their chants. My eyes were drawn to the slope. Rocks began to come down in a long line. They were slow at first then there was an almighty crack which made me shiver for it reminded me of the crack when the gods had touched my sword!

  A wall of stones and rocks began to tumble down the side of the Old Man. The whole of the side of the mountain seemed to tumble towards the Water. At first Erik’s men did not see it but my warriors touched their amulets. My Ulfheonar gripped their wolves while the ones who wore the hammer of Thor touched that for good luck.

  Erik’s men now began to turn. They were lulled by the fact that the wall of stones disappeared, briefly into the dead ground. The noise of the avalanche now filled the air. It was a roaring, screaming, crashing noise. I saw the girls waiting with their mothers clutch their tunics to hide their faces from the wrath of the gods.

  I turned to Scanlan. “Old Olaf watches over us still. We will not be hurt.”

  Scanlan pointed to the warriors on the ridge who saw the wall of stone and tried to flee. Their only escape route was down the side of the steep ridge. “I am not sure, Jarl Dragon Heart.”

  The stones and the rocks began to scythe down the warriors who had tried to flee. Their escape attempt had been in vain. The falling rocks and stones looked like an enormous wave which rose above the ridge and then crashed down the steep slope. We could hear the screams of the dead and the dying as they were swallowed up by the stones. I saw some of the luckier, faster ones as they tried to outrun the rocks. Despite the fact that they were my enemies, I was almost willing them to make the safety of my ditch. One by one they were consumed as the rocks and the stones drew closer to my walls and my ditches. Finally there was just one warrior left and he had thrown away his shield, sword and helmet. That was a mistake. The rock wall slowed and gradually stopped. He was twenty paces from it when one last rogue rock bounced high in the air and with a wicked crunch crushed the skull of the last of the warriors.

  I noticed that the rain had ceased. I had been so focussed on the avalanche I had not noticed. The sound I had taken to be rain was, in fact, the sound of small pebbles and tiny stones sliding across the slate and the rocks. I looked up as the clouds lifted and a single ray of sun came from behind us in the east to show the arms and legs protruding from the new rock field before us. Olaf had spared just two warriors. The stones had surged around the rock upon which Erik and his standard bearer stood. It was now level with the rest of the land. He would not have to climb down. He would be able to walk from it.

  A silence filled the valley. All who had witnessed it were too shocked to speak. I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Your sister and Old Olaf The Toothless have spared you, Erik the Foresworn. Go now and never return!”

  There was a pause and then Erik raised his hand and disappeared from view. The standard bearer lowered the standard as he followed his jarl. The attack was over and we had won without striking a blow.

  I led my men to search the rocks for those who might live. There were none. Olaf had been vengeful. Warriors had been crushed into forms unrecognisable as men. Limbs had been torn from bodies. Cnut shook his head, “All those weapons and the armour are now buried. What a waste!”

  “It is payment to Olaf for his work, Cnut. He deserves a share in the victory for it was his. He is one of us still.”

  We spent the rest of the day collecting what we could. It was a gruesome task. When rains came in the following years it sometimes shifted the rocks to reveal the skeleton of a warrior who had come to take from us. When the ice and the snows froze and shattered stones, amulets and bracelets would appear like the last flowers of winter. The last effects of the avalanche were to change the shape of our valley and provide us with the rocks and stone, shaped by the gods themselves, to make our wooden houses and halls, stone.

  It was late at night when I boarded ‘Eagle’ to cross the Water home and the Ulfheonar returned around the northern end with the horses. I was keen to return first and speak with Aiden and Kara. What had they had to do with the events of that morning?

  They saw the approaching boat and came down to the shore to welcome me. Kara hugged me, “You have done well father.”

  “I could not have done it without the help of the spirits and Old Olaf.”

  She linked my arm as we went up the slope to the hall. “We can do nothing without the spirits.” She looked at me, “Mother persuaded them to spare her brother.”

  I had known that in my heart and I nodded, “He has been punished and I do not think we shall see him again.” I shook my head. I cannot believe we have suffered so few losses and yet we have caused so many deaths amongst our enemies.”

  Aiden spoke, “It is not over yet, Jarl.”

  I looked at Kara who nodded, “He is right father. Our enemies come from the south and the east.” She spoke so confidently that I knew she had spoken with the dead again.

  The hall seemed warm and inviting as I stepped inside. The two new slaves were younger than Tadgh and Aed but their presence reminded me how close I had come to death. They put ale and food on the table and left us. We sat before the fire and I drank a whole horn of beer. I was not hungry. I stared into the fire.

  “We are fortunate that their plan failed. It is as you said, Jarl. It was too difficult for them to coordinate their attacks. Had Erik attacked at the same time as Sihtric they would have won. It needed another night of rain for Olaf to be able to destroy them.”

  “I know and tomorrow I will go to Arturus with the Ulfheonar. Even if the beacons are not lit then I know that the danger will come from that direction.”

  Kara was not practised in the art of war and she frowned. “You will not take all of your warriors?”

  “No Kara. Magnus and Ragnar will come from the south but Rorik could come from the north east, the east or the south east. If I commit all of my warriors to the south and east then he can fall upon here and Windar’s Mere. They must both be defended. My Ulfheonar are enough to watch an enemy and to aid my son. However I will send a rider to warn the people there. They must get within the walls of Cherchebi.”

  Kara laughed, “You need not worry about that. Your galdramenn took that upon himself and they were warned today.”

  Aiden shrugged self consciously. “I sensed that there was danger. It seemed prudent.”

  “Do not apologise, Aiden, you may have saved as many lives as Old Olaf! And I will to bed.”

  “Do you not wish to eat?” Kara was so much like her mother that it frightened me sometimes.

  “I need sleep and then I will break my fast in the morning.”

  I needed no food. In fact I knew that I could not eat. My mind was filled with worries now. Had I used up all my luck? Olaf had helped us but he could not aid us in the east. There was simply too much I did not know and so much depended upon my son and his small fort. This would have been a test for anyone but I knew that there could be over six hundred warriors descending upon Cherchebi and this would be my son’s first command. If I had not been so tired I would have mounted a horse to reach him. But I needed my Ulfheonar and they needed to be fresh. I would have to trust that his mother was watching over him.

  Chapter 19

  We left early the next morning. I warned Rolf that he had to keep a good watch to the north and east. I hoped that Windar had heeded my warning too and had riders rea
dy to summon help. We had sent word to Thorkell about the battle. He would be able to judge what to do. The ’Eagle’ was a reassuring presence on the Water. She sailed faster than we rode and I watched as she headed to the south of the long stretch of Water. I glanced over to the west. The mountain now looked even more like Olaf but the shape of the land had changed forever.

  We turned east to ride through Grize’s Dale. The farmer, Grize, and all his family had perished in the wolf winter but the forest and the dale still bore his name. The clearing he had made remained although the house had long since fallen apart. In the summer this was filled with tiny flying insects and midges but, as yet, it was quite pleasant to ride through. Suddenly Beorn shouted, “The beacons are lit!”

  The enemy had come. We urged our horses up the slope. At the top we saw the line of beacons flaring their signal. Heading south I wondered if this was Rorik or the two would be kings, Magnus and Ragnar. I was confident about fighting the latter; I had beaten them before and I had always outwitted them. They both had grandiose ambitions but lacked the skills to make them a reality. Rorik was a different proposition. He had cunning and he was devious. His men, too, were an unknown quantity.

  The track we followed was not well worn but on this journey it had become a muddy morass. The heavy rains which had helped Olaf had soaked into already sodden ground. The horses sank up to their withers in the mud. We could not travel quickly. I was pleased that we had set off early.

  We reached the narrow part of Windar’s Mere. The horses meant we could swim across the narrow stretch of the mere. It would save at least an hour. The skill in swimming with horses is just to hang on to the saddle and let the horse swim. They are not swift but they get there. On the other side we dismounted to tighten girths and to adjust our armour. I had no idea what we would find or how soon we would be in action. For this last part of our journey we watched for signs of the enemy; whoever he was.

  As we passed Crost’s Waite I was happy to see neither a sign of smoke nor animals. Aiden’s timely message must have ensured that they, at least were within the walls of Cherchebi. The last few miles were across undulating ground. It looked like the rain had created new pools and patches of water. In places the track was below water. The woods looked like islands in a new land of water.

  “Snorri, take us to the north. We will approach from the higher ground. It will be easier on the horses and we will remain hidden.”

  Snorri laughed, “If I can find a way through the water. I had better use a fish than a horse.”

  My intrepid scout, along with Beorn Three Fingers found a route through the mud and the water. We found drier ground in the forests which lay to the north of Cherchebi. The ground rose and fell but, generally, it was drier and easier going. When we reached the hill above Cherchebi it was hard to recognise the fort we had helped my son to build. The river had burst its banks and completely surrounded the fort. Had we not used stone for the foundation layer then the inside would have been awash too. As it was I could not see the ditches we had dug. I knew they were there but even I could not have said exactly where they lay. I did see the bodies of some Norse warriors drifting in the floodwater. It seems that the defenders had been attacked. I saw that my son’s banner, the Wild Boar, still fluttered from the tower and the walls were still manned. I peered to the south to see where the enemy was. I could not see them.

  “Well, jarl, your son seems secure behind his walls for the moment but we cannot reach him yet either.”

  I nodded. “Snorri and Beorn, see if you can find the enemy but be careful!”

  They scurried off the way we had come. They would have to find somewhere to cross the river and the water which separated us from whoever was besieging Cherchebi.

  We dismounted to rest our weary horses. The journey had taken much longer than normal. I looked up at the sky which now had just a few clouds scudding across. Had the gods sent the rains to aid us? We now had a chance. I had not believed that we had any chance when we were fighting Sihtric. The attack by Erik and Olaf’s intervention had given us all hope. However as I could see not a single living enemy I had no idea of numbers. The defence of the fort told me that there were enemies; where were they waiting?

  Snorri and Beorn had had to travel far to the west to avoid the water and so we made camp. We lit fires. At first it seemed a ridiculous thing to do for it showed our enemies where we were but then I realised that it also told my son that help was at hand and it would be very difficult for our enemies to cross the swampy flood before us.

  It was well after dark when a muddy and sodden pair of scouts led their weary and soaked horses into the camp.

  Snorri stood next to the fire and I watched the steam rise from his leggings. ”I thought, when I left the sea that I would never have to be soaked to the skin again. I was wrong.”

  Cnut handed him a horn of ale into which he had plunged a red hot dagger. I saw the gratitude on Snorri’s face as he drank the warmed ale.

  “It is Hairy-Breeches and Bare-Legs. They have a hundred and fifty warriors with them.”

  “It could be more,” chimed in Beorn. “They were spread out over a large area. We heard them speak. No one mentioned Rorik.”

  “Do they have horses?”

  “No, but we could not discern the type of warriors. Some were mailed. We did not wish them to know we were close.”

  I knew what my scouts had done. They had approached as close as they could, counted the men around one fire and then counted the fires. It was what I would have done.

  “How did you know it was Magnus and Ragnar?”

  Beorn laughed, “They are not hard to spot. We have met them, Jarl Dragon Heart. They are there.”

  “But no Rorik?”

  “We did not see him and no-one used his name.”

  I stared into the fire. Did I stay here or return to Cyninges-tūn? My son and his people appeared to be safe and Rorik was still my most dangerous opponent. Haaken sat next to me. “You cannot fight what you cannot see, my old friend. We have to rid the land of this threat first.”

  I waved a hand at the Ulfheonar around the fire. “There are just over thirty of us; what can we do?”

  “That is the same argument for not going back. You have left plenty of Ulfheonar with Rolf and they are guarding your home. We wait until the waters recede and we attack these before us.”

  He was right, of course, but I still had a bad feeling about my decision. “If they stay here…” I nodded. “We will watch. Set a line of sentries to watch their fires.”

  Now that it was dark we could see the pin pricks of light that were their camps. It would be a game of waiting and watching.

  In the morning the sentries reported that the lights had not moved. It was a good sign. However when we looked towards Cherchebi, I saw that the waters had receded a little. There were more patches of muddy green ground to be seen. Ominously we also saw the warriors of Magnus and Ragnar as they emerged from the trees to examine the water. We could not reach my son for the river and the flood waters were still back up close to the hill upon which we stood. Snorri had told us that they had had to travel almost to Crost’s Waite to find a way across.

  We watched all morning and I could see that they were up to something. Just after noon, visible now that the sun was in the sky, they began to move. We saw the lines of warriors trudge from the trees and begin to head north. My strategy, to have my son hold this vital crossing, had failed. The enemy was heading north. They were heading for Windar’s Mere. They would cross further upstream. We did not have enough men to stop them. We would have to get back to Windar’s Mere and warn Windar of the danger.

  We had one advantage, the raiders would have to cross the river. We could gain time by heading north west. Our horses would help us to get there quicker. As we spurred our horses on Snorri said, “Jarl, why not just send a messenger to Windar? We could dispute the crossing of the river and slow the enemy down.”

  “He is right Jarl Dragon Heart. There m
ay not be many of us but we would be better fighting and then falling back than allowing them the freedom of our land.”

  They were right, of course. I sent Beorn Three Fingers to the north west and we followed the river north. Snorri knew the land well. “They will find a crossing place some five miles north of your son’s fort although that is when the river is lower than this. It is a little further north than the place where the smaller river joins it.”

  The enemy would not know that. They would keep looking for places to cross as they headed north.

  Sigtrygg said, “Do not forget, jarl, that you asked Windar to have warriors watching the trail near to the Mere. He will have warriors there to defend the approach to his stead. We may find allies to aid us soon.”

  “I hope he has a good leader there who will not waste his warriors.”

  We rode as quickly as we could and reached the ford. There we found even worse news. The ford was passable and there were the signs that a large number of men had crossed recently. Where were they?

  “Jarl, we must deal with Magnus and Ragnar’s warband before we can solve the mystery of the tracks.”

  Sigtrygg was right. We hid the horses in the tree line just above the river and we waited in the hedge which overhung the river. Snorri crossed the river and saw that we were well hidden. Magnus and Ragnar would have an unpleasant surprise when they reached the ford.

  I was surprised at the speed with which the horde reached us. We had not been there long when we saw them trudging up the other side of the river. The smaller river held them up briefly; we saw that from our hiding place. I saw that both Ragnar and Magnus led their men from the front. They would be a different prospect to Jarl Erik who allowed others to do his fighting for him. His scouts saw the tracks leading to the ford and one of them ran back to Magnus to tell him. The other four all crossed. The water came up to their armpits but they crossed quickly. These were not mailed warriors. They were lightly armed youths. As they crossed they halted and looked for the signs that the other warband had made. As they ran along the muddied ground my ten archers sent their arrows to strike them to the ground. We knew that their bodies could not be seen from the other bank because of the bend in the river and my men grabbed their bodies and hid them. I hoped that the others would assume they had gone to seek a route to Windar’s Mere.