Hoodsman: Saving Princesses

by Smith, Skye

  A large patrol of huscarls and mounted shieldmen were defending the cross. Raynar rode to them and hailed the commander. "What is happening? The army should have turned east at this cross to make for Tatecastre."

  "Plans changed," the commander answered and then asked for news of the Normans on the ridge street. They swapped news. Malcolm and his Scots could not rush south because of swollen rivers. The ford at Tatecastre was still flooded too high for the carts. "So the new plan is to stay on this street. It is on high land and passable all the way to the ford at Werreby. The army is crossing the River Wharfe there. It's about five miles to the ford so fare-thee-well."

  Raynar pulled out his scroll pipe and pulled the center-most scroll from it, his map of this region. He found this street. It crossed the Wharfe and then continued north and became Dere Street. Dere Street was the one that went on to Dun Holm. He rolled the scroll and put it away. "Just as well," he thought, "with York a burned ruin there is little reason to try to hold it. We may as well make for Northumbria and hope that Malcolm meets up with us before the Normans catch us."

  He noticed that the huscarl was sending the weak and slow men that just arrived towards Tatecastre, and he asked him why. The answer was abrupt and insincere. "They are sick and weak. Tatecastre is a shorter way to York where there is help for them."

  Raynar had ridden a mile before he realized what was really happening. The sick men were being sent to Tatecastre to make William think that the English army had headed that way. The Normans would follow the stragglers not the army. Cospatrick was using the sick men as decoys.

  'Why am I with an army again?' he asked himself. 'I swore never again, and here I am, and look what they are doing to their own men.' He wanted to scream aloud his frustration but he just kept riding.

  As soon as the bowmen were across the ford of the flooded River Wharfe, they pulled up and began planning a defense. This ford was not deep enough to slow horses much, but there was no good reason not to use the same plan as they had used so successfully at Castleford. The bowmen broke into groups and began yelling orders to build barricades to the shieldmen, axemen, and carters that were standing around picking their noses.

  Shieldmen did not take orders from bowmen, but the axemen and the carters immediately saw the sense in what was said and jumped to it.

  Raynar went to find Cospatrick and report. At the command post, scouts were arriving from all directions to report and Raynar stayed back and listened. William had taken the bait and was on the highway to Tatecastre and York. The way to Dere Street was clear. There was still no sign of the Scotts. There was no food to be scavenged north. The land had already been picked clean.

  Eventually he was noticed and asked to report. "We held the ford at Castleford for as long as we could, then we ran for it."

  "How many were you?" asked a commander.

  "Thirty five bowmen and a dozen pikemen."

  "Your losses?" asked one of Cospatrick's lords.

  "None for us. About fifty heavy cavalry and knights for them. We could only hold the ford for five hours because they found another way across and were flanking us."

  A cheer went up from the scouts, but the lords and huscarls did not join in.

  "My bowmen are preparing this ford for the same defense," said Raynar.

  "There is no need. We are not staying. We make for Dun Holm while William is fighting his way through to York," said Cospatrick.

  Raynar wanted to scream the accusation, 'Fighting, you mean slaughtering your sick men on the highway to Tatecastre, and slaughtering the axemen you left holding the ford there, and slaughtering York's defenders who have been abandoned and do not yet know it,' but he held his breath and held his words and stormed away without waiting to be dismissed. Yet again he had learned to stay away from armies and their lords.

  He rode back to the ford and told the men to stop assembling debris for the barricades. Men gathered around to hear the news and he was able to keep the emotion from his voice as he told it to them. After answering a few questions, he walked to the water's edge with two of his bowmen and told them the other side of the news. That the weak men they saved by holding the ford at Castleford had been sacrificed so that this army could escape north. They shrugged. That was war. They were going home. Anything was better than camping in the flood and mud.

  They were hailed by six other archers squelching across the muddy bank that yesterday had been under water. They were carry what looked like an enormous log towards barricade pile, and as they got closer he recognized it as a flat-bottomed river boat. He ran to the pile and told them not to throw it on, and instead take it to the water's edge. "In this flood, boats would have been worth their weight in silver. Do not wreck this one. "

  The men put it down and pointed to the pile. There were two others. "We found them high and dry more than a hundred paces from the water and hidden by brambles."

  "Pull them all to the water's edge," he ordered, and then moved to take hold of the closest. All three boats needed mending. He chose the best and flipped it and inspected the hull. The other bowmen crowded around and asked it they should be going back to their huscarls. Of course they should. He grasped each by the elbow in a warrior's grasp and bade each a whole hearted fare-thee-well.

  "My home is in the Peaks to the south, so I am going no further north," he told them. "May you all enjoy a winter spent cuddled with your women." He did not envy them. He had spent last year fighting the snows of the North and he had sworn never to spend another winter in Northumbria.

  The bowman by the boat spoke out, "You cannot get to the Peaks from here, not now. The lowland will be swampy until it freezes, and the Normans are between you and the hills."

  Raynar pointed to the boat. "I will go south by river until I am away from the Norman lines. The rivers are all swollen and wide. If I stay midstream I will stay out of trouble.” He turned to face the men. "If any of Earl Edgar’s family or men ask after me, tell them I was healthy when you last saw me, and headed home."

  Two of the men helped him salvage calking from the worst of the boats and use it to tighten the seams in the best. Other men scrounged food and arrows for him, and two went back to where they had discovered the boats and returned with poles and oars. After the caulking they flipped the boat and tested it. It floated dry enough.

  After helping him make a low tent over the boat out of filthy oilcloth from a passing cart, it was ready. He poled out into the stream and was moving down the River Wharfe immediately. He watched his latest brothers in arms wave, and then watched as they mounted their nags and head north. Raynar had two regrets. One that he never did have a shot at William. The other that he must leave Horace, who would probably be eaten during the trip to Dun Holm.

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  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  Chapter 30 - Stopping Duke Robert at Alton, July 1101

  The skirmisher scouts of the Royal Archers were waiting for them to catch up. They were on the local high ground on the highway to Alton. Henry was riding beside Anselm. Raynar kicked his horse forward past Anselm, and Henry kicked his to catch up. They listened to the scout's report on the rise before any of the other lords were within earshot.

  "The Duke's cavalry is on the other side of that forest land. The archers are in place in the forest and will wait for your signals before they show themselves or choose targets. They have trees ready to fell at each end of the forest to trap those on the road through it," said the lead skirmisher.

  "Excellent," responded Henry, "we will assemble the cavalry below us here in the meadow and wait for the Duke." He sent the scouts back towards the forest. He did not want to risk them talking with the cavalry. He wanted the presence of the archers in the woods to be kept a secret from all cavalry on both sides for as long as possible.

  Henry's cavalry strung out in a line that crossed and blocked the highway to London. Those with battle horses had them brought forward and
began to prepare them for battle. Others were walking the chosen battlefield, marking to memory the hazards. There was excitement and fear and hope on the field.

  Well behind the line, beside a small stream, a camp was being set up including a hospital. A command marquee was set up just behind the line and slightly uphill on the highway where Henry would wait, reading, creating orders, sending messages, and trying to be calm. Anselm was with him, as were the most powerful of his barons. Raynar was just an observer. He was no longer a warrior, he was an old man. He would stay safe with Anselm, the other old man, once the battle began.

  Within the hour, Robert and his most powerful barons emerged from the forest and continued along the highway until they reached Henry's marquee. Immediately behind Robert was his personal guard, all of them in crusader colors. Behind the guard were the first of the cavalry, who split into conrois and walked the ground of the battle field to select the best position for their line.

  Raynar, sitting outside, missed the politic niceties in the Marquee. He had warned Henry to cut them short because the longer they talked, the more of the duke's cavalry would get clear of the road through the forest. The meeting of the brothers lasted only minutes, before Robert stomped out of the marquee with Henry on his heels.

  Henry caught up to Robert, only to be told that he was mad to think that he, Robert, would accept terms when he led twice the number of knights as Henry did. At this point Henry took a deep breath to calm himself. He told his brother to watch the forest. He waved at his trumpeter, and the trumpeter blew his horn loudly and clearly. The first signal.

  There was a silence on the field as everyone looked up at the signal. Then at the edge of the forest there were leaves shaking, and then more shaking, and then two huge trees fell and blocked the highway just inside the forest. That half of Robert's cavalry who were already on the field were now cut off from the other half who were now blocked by the trees from leaving the forest and gaining the battlefield.

  "I assure you that the same has happened at the other end of the forest, as well. Half of your cavalry is trapped in that forest until they can move those logs!" yelled Henry so that all of Robert's guard could hear.

  Robert yelled back at him, "I came to give you terms because I have the stronger force. I will return in an hour when the trees have been cleared. "

  "The men in the forest will be all dead by then," Henry continued in a loud voice. "I have a thousand archers in the forest with orders not to let them escape." The number was a gross exaggeration, but no one would know that.

  Robert stopped and turned on his heel. "We do not fear your archers, Henry. We have infantry to clear them."

  Anselm came forward and spoke very quietly, which caused the blustering brothers to quieten so they could hear him. "Though I cannot condone such a slaughter, many of Robert's knights oathed to Henry at the coronation, and are now breaking that oath in the most foul of ways. I must warn you that from the church's point of view, Henry has some right to slaughter them."

  Raynar could see the news passing along Henry's line of cavalry. Every word of this was being carried along the line. They had planned it that way. They wanted none of the men in Henry's cavalry to cross over to Robert at this point in the battle.

  "Henry," pleaded Anselm, "Please allow me to distribute bright ribbons to those of Robert's men who are not traitors to you. Please allow me to tell your archers to spare those with ribbons, if at all possible, from what is sure to be a slaughter."

  "You have my permission," answered Henry, "make it so.” This had all been Anselm's idea. A bluff that may save countless lives and Henry's throne.

  Anselm was gone before Robert could call him back. A few moments later Anselm and his brethren were riding towards Robert's line of cavalry with sacks of ribbons. While they watched he hailed them and began addressing them in a loud voice. His brethren were passing out ribbons.

  Robert was watching the ribbons being handed out, and was amazed. "How will he know who should have a ribbon and who should not?"

  "The men know if they had oathed to me or not. It would be cowardice for them to hide behind such a ribbon," answered Henry.

  It was now obvious that Robert's men on the field knew that there were archers behind them in the forest. The Archbishop was hailing the archers to tell them of the ribbons, and archers' faces were peering out from the trees. Anselm was pleading with them to target the men without ribbons first.

  "We still do not fear your archers, Henry. Many of my men are crusaders and wear Syrian armour."

  Henry motioned to Raynar to come close. "This man is one of my tax collectors. I believe you met him in Portsmouth on the dock. There were three then, now there are but two. They were set upon by some of Mortain's knights and a taxman was stabbed in the back. The penalty for killing the King's taxman is death, in both England and France.” Henry waved to one of his guards.

  The knight who had attacked Raynar on the highway was brought forward on his horse. He was in full armour, with weapons, but he had his hands tied behind his back. He was led out into the center of the battle field on his horse, and the horse was then tethered to a stake in the ground.

  The guardsmen who had led him there then rode up and down both lines of cavalry shouting out an explanation of the man's crime. When he had finished, Martin O'Dale, the finest archer in the Peak's Forest, rode to within fifty paces of the mounted, but bound knight, and dismounted. He strung his longbow and selected two heavy arrows from his quiver.

  There was silence as everyone watched. The sun glinted off the knight's armour and helmet. Martin aimed and loosed, and aimed and loosed in quick succession. The first arrow tore through the knight's armour and into his heart. Before the man had dropped from the saddle, the second arrow tore into the heart of the horse. The horse dropped to its front knees and then collapsed completely. The knight fell to the ground hard. Martin had not even bothered to see if both arrows hit their marks. He was already remounted and trotting his horse back towards Henry.

  The silence was broken by a growing murmur from both lines until the murmur was almost a roar. Robert's cavalry had all turned in their saddles and were now watching the forest, nervously.

  Robert said nothing.

  Henry told him that his next signal would cause the death of every horse now trapped in the forest by the same type of bow that had just been demonstrated. If a second signal was required, it would cause the slaughter of the men who survived the slaughter of the horses.

  Anselm finished praying over the executed knight and returned to Henry's side. King, Duke, and Barons from both sides followed the archbishop into the marquee. The battle was over. One knight had been executed. Two were dead, crushed by the falling trees. Ten were injured by the same trees.

  The outcome was a treaty, the Treaty of Alton which was agreed on by all, signed by all, and witnessed by the church.

  Both lines of cavalry were almost joyous. The Norman civil war was over. They had survived. Their cousins in the other line had survived.

  Raynar sighed at the perversity of the fates. The Brotherhood had just saved the lives of thousands of their worst enemies. He was still lost in thought when Henry found him.

  "I am King. He is Duke. As we planned," Henry beamed.

  "And the traitors?" asked Raynar wearily.

  "They are mine. Robert will not offer them sanctuary so long as I have them tried in a Norman court, not one of our new English ones. Robert's entire army is to return to Portsmouth. His men from Normandy will sail back there within the week. Robert and any barons with holdings in England will stay for some months bound by the Bishop's Peace, so that they can visit their estates and sort out land issues and other affairs."

  What Raynar really wanted to tell Henry was that he was a fool. He had them trapped. He could have killed all of his Norman enemies today, in less than an hour, and have been done with it. Instead, those enemies would survive this day, and he would have to fight them in the future, again and again.r />
  Instead Raynar put his hand on the King's shoulder and said, "Henry, take your brother and go and celebrate this victory with Edith in Winchester. And for god's sake, send your mistress Sybilla home." He pulled his hand back and waited. "Sire, with your permission I will take Edith this news. Now."

  The King waved him on, and then turned and went back to the company of his brother and the Norman barons of both camps.

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  THE END of The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses

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  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13