Blood on the Blade

by Griff Hosker

  Even as I looked for my next Saxon, I saw a Mercian encased in mail ram his sword into my father’s shoulder. My father should never have had to fight. His shield was attached to his harness but he could neither raise nor lower it. I pushed aside the Saxon who was fighting Siggi and ran towards my father. He bravely tried to block the next blow with his sword but he did not have the strength. The Saxon sword came down and hacked through my father’s hand at the wrist. Still he did not fall but he was defenceless. I hurled myself at the Saxon lord as he raised his sword to end the combat. It was a clumsy attack but I managed to knock the Saxon to the ground. I landed on him and he spat at me and cursed me. I brought my knee up hard between his legs and he squealed in pain. I wrestled my sword arm free and drove it up and under his byrnie deep into his body. Warm fluids told me that he was finished but I made certain by ripping it out sideways. His body was still and I stood.

  Arne shouted, “Clan of the Fox! On me”

  He and my uncle stood together with Siggi. They were a metal barrier between the Saxons and my father. I joined Siggi as others obeyed the call. We had six of us and more were joining when Arne raised his sword and shouted, “Charge!” The Norns had been spinning or this might have been part of the Allfather’s plan for the Mercians who stood in the gateway had neither mail nor leader. As we ran at them, they turned and fled. My brother stopped in the gateway and then turned. Inside our stronghold there were, perhaps, ten Saxons left standing.

  “Helga, have the women bar the gate! We end this now.”

  The ten Mercians suddenly realised that they were trapped. The desertion by their comrades had left them trapped. Every blade and spear in Larswick headed to them. Three dropped their weapons to beg for mercy. With my father lying on the ground, being tended to by Gytha, there was little likelihood of that. They were butchered and the others stood back to back. They did not last long. Arne and my uncle were like men possessed and soon the only Saxons left in Larswick were the dead.

  Arne and I ran to my father. Gytha gave the slightest shake of the head. He was dying and he had no right hand. The bloody stump was testimony to his fate. His eyes opened. He smiled, “My sons you cannot know how proud I am of you. With you and my brother I know that the clan is in good hands.”

  I turned to find his sword. It lay just a pace away. I took it as Snorri held his brother’s head in his hands, “I swear I will watch over your family for you brother.” As my father closed his eyes and nodded, I undid the leather harness and threw away the shield. I prised open the fingers which had not been of any use since the fight with the Danes. I forced them around the handle.

  He opened his eyes and smiled. “Arne and Erik, you are like two sides of me. Arne, you are the warrior and Erik, you are the navigator. Erik, lead the people to a home where they will be safe. Swear that the two of you will find a land untouched by our enemies.” He closed his eyes and I thought he was dead.

  I said, “We swear!”

  Arne shouted, “Father do not leave us! We have much to tell each other before then!”

  My father opened his eyes, “And I fear that I have been given no time. Perhaps I truly am Lars the Luckless. When you sleep watch for me in your dreams for…” His eyes glazed over.

  Gytha stood above us with her eyes closed. “He is gone. Already he ascends to Valhalla where they will welcome a great warrior.”

  From the walls Finn the Scar shouted, “The Saxons are fleeing!”

  Arne stood and said, grimly, “Come brother. Let us take the horses and wreak vengeance on these Saxons.”

  My uncle said, “Your father would want you to stay here and care for the clan.”

  Arne’s voice was both cold and commanding. He sounded like my father, “When the foxes feast on their dead bones then my brother and I will return.” I ran to the stable. I did not bother with saddles. I just put halters on the two horses and led them back to Arne. I picked up a spear and slipped on the back. I would not need a shield.

  Siggi shouted, “And I will come with my brothers of the blade!” He ran for the pony.

  “Open the gates!” Arne and I dug in our heels and we galloped from the stronghold. The Saxons were not in sight. Their dead littered the ground but those who lived had fled. They had to run upstream to the ford and we knew the land better than they did. I heard hooves behind and saw that Siggi and Asbjorn had mounted two ponies and were coming after us. I knew that if I struck too hard with the spear I carried then I would fall from the horse. I would look for flesh. The Saxons were keeping to the top of the bank for the riverside was both muddy and treacherous. Gripping with my feet I rode towards the two Saxons who were the closest to me. They glanced over their shoulders. Had they been Vikings they would have turned to face me. They would have fought me knowing that if they had died with their swords in their hands they would go to Valhalla. As one turned, he slipped and tumbled down to the river. I sliced my spear across the neck of the other. The spear had been sharpened and I must have cut his throat. His body tumbled down the bank. Arne was also skewering the fleeing Saxons. We rode like avenging Valkyrie. Our spears rose and fell. The Saxons died. We only stopped when darkness came. The ford had been the undoing of many for the tide had come in and the river was deeper than when they had crossed. We saw bodies floating in the shallows. The four of us led our animals back to Larswick.

  Arne looked at me, “I do not want to leave Larswick, brother.”

  I nodded, “Nor do I but it seems that every hand is turned against us. The Danes may return.”

  Siggi said, “You both forget our most dangerous enemy, King Harald! He will not forget us and Bjorn Bjornson is Lord of Mann.”

  Arne looked at my cousin, “You think we should leave? We should go to the land of ice and fire?”

  Siggi was ever the most thoughtful of the three of us. “I think that we should be ready to leave. From what Erik said, while there might be a lack of enemies there is also a lack of trees. We need to hew lumber and that takes time. The new grass is not yet here. We have time. The wood will come to no harm as it seasons. It may be that the Norns spin and we can stay here but your father’s words tell us all what he thought and my uncle was the head of the clan. We should give his words the respect they deserve.”

  The walls were manned when we returned. My father’s body lay in our hall. Gytha and my mother had cleaned it and dressed him for burial. My uncle greeted us at the door. “They are gone?”

  Arne nodded, “Those few who survive will not return. They have a long journey home and their bodies lie like autumn leaves.”

  “The clan wish to bury your father this night.” He pointed up to the sky. “It is a wolf moon this night. It is a good omen.”

  I had seen the moon as we had ridden back. I had noticed it for it was red. It looked to be covered in blood. Wyrd.

  As we carried my father to his grave, I reflected that, had we had time, we might have buried him in ‘Jötnar’. That would have been fitting. The drekar and snekke still floated in the estuary. We laid my father in his grave with his shield, sword and helmet. He was placed on his right side with his knees towards his chest. Before he had been born that was how he had lain in his mother’s womb and now his body would return to the womb of mother earth. We put his compass with him. He was a warrior and a navigator. Every warrior helped to pile the soil on his body. We shaped it like the upturned hull of a drekar. Then we laid stones around the outside. In years to come all would see the grave of Lars, first jarl of the Clan of the Fox.

  Chapter 17

  Two days later we held a Thing. We had many things to decide. The first was the choice of jarl. Arne and I suggested Snorri. My uncle shook his head. “I am not meant to be jarl. That was my brother. He knew who would follow him. Arne, you should be jarl and if you are then I will be your foster father. I will be there to guide you as you lead the clan to the future.”

  Arne looked surprised when the whole assembly approved. He nodded his acceptance and said, “My brother,
Erik, will be the navigator. If we must leave this land then it will be he who leads us to the land of ice and fire.”

  Butar Beer Belly said, “Is there no other choice? Can we not stay here?”

  My brother waved an arm, “Outside the cemetery is filled with the warriors who have died already. We are not a large clan. When the Danes return, we might well defeat them but we will lose warriors and then there is the King of Norway.” I saw Butar nod. “We have a choice, we fight him or we bend the knee. Would you bend the knee?”

  Butar Beer Belly stood a little taller and shook his head, “And I would have my sons have a life. You are right.”

  I saw all eyes look to me. My father’s death had suddenly thrust Arne and me to the head of the clan. We had decisions to make. I was a man. I had a beard but I had expected to have more years to learn how to lead. My father had left us too early.

  Arne said, “My brother and our cousin have spoken of this. The land of ice and fire is many days hence. We need to prepare. If we are to leave then we must take as much as we can. We need timber and we need animals. We also need to watch for enemies. I hear the Norns spinning.”

  The clan, now that they had decided, threw themselves into the preparations. We had already left one home and people knew what was important and what was not. I was luckier than most. I had my chest and my world, save for my mother and brothers, lay within it. All else I would leave behind.

  My brother was right. I had ships to prepare. There were two knarr as well as the snekke and drekar. Padraig would sail the snekke with his family, Aed and Aed’s family. The knarr would be sailed by the men who had brought them: Pridbjørn and Sighwarth. I gathered the three of them and the six ship’s boys, Sven Fámrsson, Stig Folkmarsson, Eidel Eidelsson, Rek Rethersson, Halsten Haakensson and Dreng Ebbisson. “The journey will take up to half a moon. Once we leave these waters then there will be no opportunity to find spars, ropes and sails. There will be no pine tar and little wool. Your ships must carry all that they might need. Haul them from the water and see that they are weed free and their hulls are sound. My brother would sail at Sólmánuður when the days are at their longest and the weather less hostile. My six ships boys are here to help you.”

  Sighwarth was an older Viking. He stroked his grey flecked beard, “You are young for this, Erik Larsson.”

  Padraig shook his head, “Have you sailed beyond sight of land? Have you found a tiny speck of an island after days at sea?” Sighwarth shook his head. “He has for I was with him. I would follow Erik beyond the edge of the world for he is a navigator.”

  I smiled at the Irishman. “Thank you for those words but I do not know all and travelling with others is hard. Your knarr wallow and you do not have the luxury of oars. It may be that we become separated. You will need charts. I have made a copy of the journey to Føroyar but all I know of the land of ice and fire is that it lies west of Føroyar. Some say that the journey can be made in two days with a favourable wind while others say a knarr might take a week. The ocean is wide and we will need more than a little luck to find it.”

  Sighwarth smiled, “I can see that you know what you are about. I am content.” I told them of my journey to Føroyar. They were seamen but they would be travelling with women and children. They had to be prepared.

  Each night Arne and I sat with Snorri and Siggi. We spoke of what we would leave and what we would take. The knarr could carry more cargo. We would load the two of them with as much as we could. The animals would be spread out in the four ships. We would not be taking the pigs. We would take the bull and the cow as well as a ram and three ewes. We would need the bull for our new life. We would have to be careful. The rest would be slaughtered. Although I was reluctant, we decided not to take the horses and ponies. We were loath to lose them and so it was decided that Siggi and I would take them to Úlfarrston where we would trade them. It was a risk for the Land of the Wolf was no longer the most welcoming of places. I would take ‘Njörðr’ and a small crew. Siggi, Olaf and Leif, as well as Padraig and Aed would come with me. They had pine in the Land of the Wolf and we needed spare masts and spars. If we could trade then our new lives might be better.

  Arne was worried about leaving me to face the warriors of the wolf. I smiled, “Should we take all of our warriors and be ready to fight them?” He shook his head, “You are right, we would lose. Better this way. I do not believe that this trading expedition will end in disaster. Since our father died, he has come to me in my dreams. He has smiled at me. Thus far there are no words but I have been planning this voyage in my head and he has not stopped smiling. He will watch over me.”

  One advantage of ‘Njörðr’ was the fact that she could be rowed by as few as ten men. We took ten to row and the six ship’s boys. It was a short journey north. We could have travelled over land and been quicker but we had no means to bring back that which we needed. We sailed. We had no shields along the side and we did not wear our helmets. We were trading. Whale Island was where the clan had a stronghold. I would not head for there. Instead I headed for Úlfarrston. This was an older port. It was smaller than Whale Island and the people who lived there were a mixture of Norse and those who had lived in this land when the Romans had lived here. The ships which had recently joined us knew the story and they had told us. There were just three knarr tied up and there was room for us. While the ship’s boys tied us up and Padraig and Aed prepared the animals for landing I stepped ashore with Siggi. We walked towards the palisade. It was just forty paces from the quay and I saw that they had a bridge over the ditch. The gates were open and there were no sentries.

  A grey-haired man walked over to meet us. He had with him two younger men who wore sealskin boots and had good swords. I could not work out if they were his guards or his family. He held out his hand, “I am Coel ap Pasgen. I am the headman here. Welcome.”

  It was formal but he spoke our language well. “I am Erik Larsson from the Clan of the Fox. This is my cousin Siggi Deck Crusher. We have a stronghold along the Loyne. We are here to trade.” I gestured behind me. “We have horses to trade and we have coin.” We had decided that we would be unlikely to need coin in the land of ice and fire. I had with me a chest filled with coins and a list of items which we needed.

  “And what is it you wish to buy?”

  “We need pine for our masts and spars, arrows and arrow heads if you have them. We need good cooking pots which we could take to sea.”

  He smiled and looked relieved, “We have many of those here. The pine which you need for a mast we do not have. We can have two masts for you by the morrow.”

  “One for a drekar will suffice and three for knarr.”

  “Then bring your animals within the walls and we will discuss the price for that which you need.”

  I was relieved. I had been worried that the Land of the Wolf would not trade. I was wrong. I headed back to the drekar. “We can trade. Leave a deck watch. Siggi, go and ask Olaf and Leif to bring the animals and we will speak with the headman.”

  As we headed back to the palisade, I saw one of the two warriors who had been with Coel ap Pasgen. He was mounted and he rode west. I frowned. Was there some deception? Were they luring us into the walls to trap us? We had our swords and if we had to then we would fight our way out. Coel ap Pasgen was either a supreme actor or he was totally innocent for he made us more than welcome. He agreed a good price for the horses and we the pine and then took us to meet the merchants and traders who had the other items we needed.

  Siggi was suspicious, “And if the quality of the pine is not worth the price?”

  He smiled, “It will be but I will let you decide. We know timber. The shipyard of Bagsecg Bollison is just upstream and the Clan of the Wolf use our wood for their drekar.” He smiled. “They are twice the size of yours. I think you will be satisfied but if you are not then we will refund whatever you think fair. We are not bandits.”

  Siggi seemed satisfied and we spent the rest of our coin to satisfy those back at Larsw
ick. While the cargo was loaded Coel invited Siggi and myself to eat with him. Now that we had the drekar crewed I was less anxious.

  “Did you find any problems with the Mercians?”

  I drank some of the ale. It tasted different to ours. That must have been the result of the water they used, “Only as a result of us raiding them. We had two battles with the Danes.”

  His face darkened, “The Danes are the real enemy. We have to watch our borders for they raid us and try to eat into our lands.”

  “And who is the jarl now?”

  “Sámr Ship Killer, the Dragonheart’s great grandson. He will be here soon.”

  “Here?”

  He smiled, “When strangers come into the Land of the Wolf then he wishes to meet them. In the past we greeted all with warmth and we were betrayed. Now the jarl greets all. It is said he has inherited some of the powers of his aunt and cousin. He can look into a man’s eyes and know what he thinks. Some say he can smell if someone has a bad heart.” He shrugged. “I know not but he will be here before dark. Judge for yourselves. You are both welcome to stay here in my hall or, if you prefer, sleep on your drekar.”

  If we slept in the drekar then the jarl might deem it an insult but if we stayed in the hall then we risked worse. The Norns were spinning. “We will take advantage of your hospitality and stay in the hall.”

  I looked around the hall and saw that everyone looked healthy and well fed. They had good quality clothes and appeared content. Even the slaves looked happy. We had heard that the Land of the Wolf was a troubled place. What was the truth? Perhaps it was a spell woven by the witch and intended to frighten everyone away. It made sense to me. We enjoyed a pleasant conversation with the headman. He appeared to be genuinely good hearted. I detected no guile in him.

  A servant appeared and whispered in the headman’s ear. The headman smiled, “The jarl is come.”