CHAPTER XXVII--THEY WEND TO THE MORNING BATTLE
Now when Thiodolf came back to the camp the signs of dawn were plain inthe sky, the moon was low and sinking behind the trees, and he saw atonce that the men were stirring and getting ready for departure. Helooked gladly and blithely at the men he fell in with, and they at him,and scarce could they refrain a shout when they beheld his face and thebrightness of it. He went straight up to where the Hall-Sun was yetsitting under her namesake, with Arinbiorn standing before her amidst ofa ring of leaders of hundreds and scores: but old Sorli sat by her sideclad in all his war-gear.
When Thiodolf first came into that ring of men they looked doubtfully athim, as if they dreaded somewhat, but when they had well beheld him theirfaces cleared, and they became joyous.
He went straight up to Arinbiorn and kissed the old warrior, and said tohim, "I give thee good morrow, O leader of the Bearings! Here now iscome the War-duke! and meseems that we should get to work as speedily asmay be, for lo the dawning!"
"Hail to thine hand, War-duke!" said Arinbiorn joyously; "there is nomore to do but to take thy word concerning the order wherein we shallwend; for all men are armed and ready."
Said Thiodolf; "Lo ye, I lack war-gear and weapons! Is there a goodsword hereby, a helm, a byrny and a shield? For hard will be the battle,and we must fence ourselves all we may."
"Hard by," said Arinbiorn, "is the war-gear of Ivar of our House, who isdead in the night of his hurts gotten in yesterday's battle: thou and heare alike in stature, and with a good will doth he give them to thee, andthey are goodly things, for he comes of smithying blood. Yet is it apity of Throng-plough that he lieth on the field of the slain."
But Thiodolf smiled and said: "Nay, Ivar's blade shall serve my turn to-day; and thereafter shall it be seen to, for then will be time for manythings."
So they went to fetch him the weapons; but he said to Arinbiorn, "Hastthou numbered the host? What are the gleanings of the Roman sword?"
Said Arinbiorn: "Here have we more than three thousand three hundredwarriors of the host fit for battle: and besides this here are gatheredeighteen hundred of the Wolfings and the Bearings, and of the otherHouses, mostly from over the water, and of these nigh upon seven hundredmay bear sword or shoot shaft; neither shall ye hinder them from so doingif the battle be joined."
Then said Thiodolf: "We shall order us into three battles; the Wolfingsand the Bearings to lead the first, for this is our business; but othersof the smaller Houses this side the water to be with us; and the Elkingsand Galtings and the other Houses of the Mid-mark on the further side ofthe water to be in the second, and with them the more part of the Nether-mark; but the men of Up-mark to be in the third, and the stay-at-homes tofollow on with them: and this third battle to let the wood cover themtill they be needed, which may not be till the day of fight draws to anend, when all shall be needed: for no Roman man must be left alive oruntaken by this even, or else must we all go to the Gods together.Hearken, Arinbiorn. I am not called fore-sighted, and yet meseems I seesomewhat how this day shall go; and it is not to be hidden that I shallnot see another battle until the last of all battles is at hand. But beof good cheer, for I shall not die till the end of the fight, and oncemore I shall be a man's help unto you. Now the first of the Romans wemeet shall not be able to stand before us, for they shall be unready, andwhen their men are gotten ready and are fighting with us grimly, ye ofthe second battle shall hear the war-token, and shall fall on, and theyshall be dismayed when they see so many fresh men come into the fight;yet shall they stand stoutly; for they are valiant men, and shall not allbe taken unawares. Then, if they withstand us long enough, shall thethird battle come forth from the wood, and fall on either flank of them,and the day shall be won. But I think not that they shall withstand usso long, but that the men of Up-mark and the stay-at-homes shall have thechasing of them. Now get me my war-gear, and let the first battle getthem to the outgate of the garth."
So they brought him his arms; and meanwhile the Hall-Sun spake to one ofthe Captains, and he turned and went away a little space, and then cameback, having with him three strong warriors of the Wolfings, and hebrought them before the Hall-Sun, who said to them:
"Ye three, Steinulf, Athalulf, and Grani the Grey, I have sent for youbecause ye are men both mighty in battle and deft wood-wrights and house-smiths; ye shall follow Thiodolf closely, when he winneth into the Romangarth, yet shall ye fight wisely, so that ye be not slain, or at leastnot all; ye shall enter the Hall with Thiodolf, and when ye are therein,if need be, ye shall run down the Hall at your swiftest, and mount upinto the loft betwixt the Middle-hearth and the Women's-Chamber, andthere shall ye find good store of water in vats and tubs, and this yeshall use for quenching the fire of the Hall if the foemen fire it, as isnot unlike to be."
Then Grani spoke for the others and said he would pay all heed to herwords, and they departed to join their company.
Now was Thiodolf armed; and Arinbiorn, turning about before he went tohis place, beheld him and knit his brow, and said: "What is this,Thiodolf? Didst thou not swear to the Gods not to bear helm or shield inthe battles of this strife? yet hast thou Ivar's helm on thine head andhis shield ready beside thee: wilt thou forswear thyself? so doing shaltthou bring woe upon the House."
"Arinbiorn," said Thiodolf, "where didst thou hear tell of me that I hadmade myself the thrall of the Gods? The oath that I sware was sworn whenmine heart was not whole towards our people; and now will I break it thatI may keep what of good intent there was in it, and cast away the rest.Long is the story; but if we journey together to-night I will tell itthee. Likewise I will tell it to the Gods if they look sourly upon mewhen I see them, and all shall be well."
He smiled as he spoke, and Arinbiorn smiled on him in turn and went hisways to array the host. But when he was gone Thiodolf was alone in thatplace with the Hall-Sun, and he turned to her, and kissed her, andcaressed her fondly, and spake and said:
"So fare we, O my daughter, to the sundering of the ways; Short is my journey henceforth to the door that ends my days, And long the road that lieth as yet before thy feet. How fain were I that thy journey from day to day were sweet With peace to thee and pleasure; that a noble warrior's hand In its early days might lead thee adown the flowery land, And thy children in its noon-tide cling round about thy gown, And the wise that thy womb has carried when the sun is going down, Be thy happy fellow-farers to tell the tale of Earth, But I wot that for no such sweetness did we bring thee unto birth, But to be the soul of the Wolfings till the other days should come, And the fruit of the kindreds' harvest with thee is garnered home. Yet if for no blithe faring thy life-day is ordained, Yet peace that long endureth maybe thy soul hath gained; And thy sorrow of this even thy latest grief shall be, The grief wherewith thou singest the death-song over me."
She looked up at him and smiled, though the tears were on her face; thenshe said:
"Though to-day the grief beginneth yet the bitterness is done. Though my body wendeth barren 'neath the beams of the quickening sun, Yet remembrance still abideth, and long after the days of my life Shall I live in the tale of the morning, when they tell of the ending of strife; And the deeds of this little hand, and the thought conceived in my heart, And never again henceforward from the folk shall I fare apart. And if of the Earth, my father, thou hast tidings in thy place Thou shalt hear how they call me the Ransom and the Mother of happy days."
Then she wept outright for a brief space, and thereafter she said:
"Keep this in thine heart, O father, that I shall remember all Since thou liftedst the she-wolf's nursling in the oak-tree's leafy hall. Yea, every time I remember when hand in hand we went Amidst the shafts of the beech-trees, and down to the youngling bent The Folk-wolf in his glory when the eve of fight drew nigh; And every time I remember when we wandered joyfully Adown the sunny meadow and lived a while of life 'Midst the herbs and the beasts and t
he waters so free from fear and strife, That thy years and thy might and thy wisdom, I had no part therein; But thou wert as the twin-born brother of the maiden slim and thin, The maiden shy in the feast-hall and blithe in wood and field. Thus have we fared, my father; and e'en now when thou bearest shield, On the last of thy days of mid-earth, twixt us 'tis even so That the heart of my like-aged brother is the heart of thee that I know."
Then the bitterness of tears stayed her speech, and he spake no wordmore, but took her in his arms a while and soothed her and fondled her,and then they parted, and he went with great strides towards the outgoingof the Thing-stead.
There he found the warriors of his House and of the Bearings and thelesser Houses of Mid-mark, all duly ordered for wending through the wood.The dawn was coming on apace, but the wood was yet dark. But whereas theWolfings led, and each man of them knew the wood like his own hand, therewas no straying or disarray, and in less than a half-hour's spaceThiodolf and the first battle were come to the wood behind thehazel-trees at the back of the hall, and before them was the dawninground about the Roof of the Kindred; the eastern heavens werebrightening, and they could see all things clear without the wood.
The House of the Wolfings Page 27