by Hosker,Griff
I walked to the front rank and joined Jarl Siggi White Hair and Ulf Big Nose. Siggi laughed, "They hope that we will be foolish enough to march over and fight them and then be cut off by the tide."
Ulf snorted, "And that is precisely what we will do is it not?"
Siggi nodded, "We will. I see nothing there to make me afraid. Sadly, Hrolf, we will not have enough room for the horses! We will have to eat them instead."
"I prefer eating them to riding them!" Ulf did not mean that. He was a fair rider and liked horses.
"Shall we go then? It seems a shame to keep them waiting."
Ulf said, "I can lead if you like or Hrolf. I know you are not well." This was unusual for Ulf Big Nose rarely made allowances for anyone.
Siggi shook his head, "The day I let someone else lead is the day I cease to be a warrior. Thank you Ulf but I will lead." He turned and raised his sword, "Raven Wing Clan, we go to war. Keep your lines and listen for our words. No one gives orders but myself or my hersir! Knut One Eye that means you restrict your shouts to abuse to the enemy!"
"Aye Jarl!"
We began banging our shields and singing.
A song of death to all its foes
The power of the raven grows and grows
The power of the raven grows and grows
The power of the raven grows and grows
A song of death to all its foes
The power of the raven grows and grows
The power of the raven grows and grows
The power of the raven grows and grows
We kept a steady pace as we walked across the slippery, weed covered rocks. We had to slow when we passed through the water which came up to our knees. The ones on the sides found themselves up to their waists but we kept our line.
As we left the water Siggi raised his sword, "Halt!"
There were still fifty paces before we reached the beach and another fifty before we would reach the horsemen. The causeway before us was slippery with uneven rocks covered in barnacles, limpets and weed.
Siggi shouted, "Archers, see how many you can hit!"
The ten men at the rear had no mail but they had, in addition to their swords, bows. A mere ten arrows does not sound much but if it was repeated then it was enough. In the first fall of arrows two of the men without mail fell. A wall of shields came up. Of course a shield can protect a man but it cannot protect a rider and a horse. When the arrows fell amongst the horses I saw that it caused agitation and riders pointed at us. A horse was struck by three arrows and it reared before galloping off. It dragged the rider by the stirap. It did not get far for it was mortally struck. The rider lay still. A rock on a beach can be as deadly as a sword or an axe.
That proved too much for some of the horsemen. They charged. When they did so it seemed to incense the rest and all of them charged. The noble was reluctant but he had to lead. They came, not in a straight line, or with any kind of order but in an angry mass. The sand slowed them but when they reached the rocks they found that the hooves of their horses had no purchase. They slid. Even some of the fyrd slipped and fell. The noble stopped and shouted something. A horn sounded.
"Now, Raven Wing! Now!"
We did not run but we marched purposefully towards the disorganized rabble before us. I saw Gunnstein Gunnarson finish off a Frank trapped beneath his flailing horse. The Franks hurried back to the beach. As soon as we reached the sand we began to move more quickly. The Franks tried to turn to give their horses the advantage. If they could jab and stab with the spears they might be able to organize a line behind them. We gave them no chance to do so. The centre of our line was composed of the most experienced warriors. I was next to the Jarl and Rurik was next to me. We had twenty mailed warriors who had fought together so many times we could tell with whom we fought by smell. We kept marching and, as the horses turned, as one we locked shields and jabbed forward with our spears. The leader's horse was speared by Jarl Siggi. My spear took him under his right arm and Ulf's pinioned his leg to his horse. We pushed and horse and rider crashed to the sand.
All down our line it was the same story. The eight horses and riders who faced us were slain. I saw the survivors trying to rally the foot. There were still far more of them than us. We also had to clamber over the dead horses and riders.
"Forward!"
We stepped together again. That would have been the moment to charge us but they were too busy trying to organize and we managed to step over the bodies and reform.
"Archers!"
The ten archers had moved forward with us and their arrows found flesh for the Franks were slow to raise their shields. Raising his sword, for his spear was still embedded in the dead horse, Jarl Siggi led us forward. The Franks had courage. They met us beard to beard but it was boys against men. I punched my spear forward. The Frank I fought blocked it with his own shield but my strike was so hard that the edge of his shield rammed against his head and he stepped back. Before he could recover I punched with my shield and knocked him to the ground. As I stepped over him I skewered him to the beach.
A warrior hurled his spear at me as I stepped forward. I took the blow on my shield and he ran at me waving his sword. I lunged at his middle and he impaled himself upon my spear. The surviving horsemen had reformed and they charged. The six of us in the middle had cleared our lines. There were no warriors before us and the horsemen rode towards us.
"Lock shields and brace!"
The warriors behind us pushed their shields into our backs and we put our right legs behind us. With my shoulder leaning into the shield I held my spear above my shield. With a good helmet I was safe from the Frankish thrusts. At worst I could lose an eye. Knut One Eye had proved you could be a good warrior with one eye. It was worth the risk. The Franks advancing walked into the points of our swords and spears. The warrior before me killed himself. He tried to move out of the way of my spear but the press of men behind was too great. I helped by pushing hard to make his end swift. I pulled back and thrust again. My second strike was blind for I could not see an enemy. When I felt something hard I pushed even more. I heard a cry and then there was no resistance.
Sometimes a battle turns on a single moment at other times the enemy simply loses the will to fight. This was one such battle. The mailed men in our centre had destroyed their best. Two horsemen remained and they galloped north for help. When they fled the ones who were left decided they had had enough and they ran for their citadel. We were victorious!
"Raven Wing! Raven Wing! Raven Wing!" We banged our shields and we chanted. We had not had enough and were ready to fight more but none were left.
"Ulf Big Nose, signal the drekar to close with shore. Strip the dead and load it on to the drekar. Hrolf the Horseman, bring your men and we will ascend to the haugr!"
I looked around. Two of the new men had wounds but they did not look to be life threatening. Erik Green Eye had a scar along his face. "Warriors of the horse! Come with me and let us see what glory we can achieve!"
They roared. Siggi looked at me, "Warriors of the horse?"
I shrugged, "It just came out!"
We moved in an informal wedge up the slope. I remembered the warriors wending their way up, "Keep your shields above you. We know not who awaits us!"
In truth I was not worried. I could not see the Franks leaving men inside their citadel. They had thought that their horses would frighten and move us. They were wrong. Jarl Siggi walked ahead of us. He did not bother to raise his shield but he glared at the earth ramparts as though daring a Frank to try to hit him. We climbed and found the gate to the citadel open. Siggi paused and I took the opportunity to race ahead with Rurik and Arne beside me. The citadel had a large flat area. There was a tower and a warrior hall. There was nothing else. This was not a place where men lived. It was a refuge.
Suddenly four horsemen galloped towards us from behind the warrior hall. "Shields!"
I hurled my spear at the leading rider and then I drew my sword. Arne and Rurik had their spears on either si
de of me. My spear hit the leading horse in the chest. It gamely galloped for three strides and then it died. With its head tucked under it fell forward. The rider was thrown towards us. I had my sword held out and he fell on to Heart of Ice. He was dead in an instant. The other horses split and made their riders easy targets for Arne and Rurik whose spears plunged into the sides of the two riders. The last horseman was forced to rein in. There were dead horses and riders before him. A spear was hurled from behind me and hit him in the chest. The rider looked down at the spear which had pierced him. Then he looked up and fell sideways from his saddle. I looked around and saw my men congratulating Gilles on his fine throw.
"Beorn Fast Feet and Karl Swift Foot, take four men and make sure there are no surprises ahead!"
"Aye hersir."
I turned, "Gilles, Skutal and Erik, take the mail from these warriors and their weapons." I nodded to Giles, "Today you became a man, Gilles! Well done!"
The Jarl and I headed towards the warrior hall while Karl and Beorn took their men up the tower. The warrior hall was more luxurious than ours. They had chambers leading off from the main hall. There were weapons lying around. Obviously our sudden attack had taken them by surprise.
"Search beneath the floors for chests. Warriors like to hide their gold."
It was Erik Green Eye who found the hidden chest. It looked as though the warriors had all used the same chest to keep their treasure. It was not a huge chest but there was gold and silver as well as copper. We heard a cry and ran out. Karl Swift Foot stood on the top of the tower and was wiping his sword on a kyrtle. "There were men hiding here. They hide no longer." There were two bodies close by. Neither had a sword.
Jarl Siggi said, "I will leave you to clear this citadel. Bring the treasure to the beach and we will load it. We sleep on the island this night and feast on roast horse! When it is cleared then burn it."
It was easy to set fire to it. The wood was bone dry and they had a cooking fire. We used the brands and the straw from the stables to make an inferno.
We were all laden as we headed down to the beach. We had one horse which had not bolted and we used that to carry the mail and the weapons. Sadly it had hurt its leg and we would not be able to take it home. Rolf Arneson and Harald Haraldsson butchered the dead horses and we carried the meat to the beach as well.
When I arrived Jarl Siggi had one prisoner, a young boy of twelve summers. The rest of the fishermen and villagers had fled north with the horsemen and the fyrd. Ulf organized the food and Jarl Siggi said, "Question him. I would know what lies close by."
The boy was terrified and I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder, "If you answer my questions you will live. If I am happy with your answers then I will let you go. Do you understand?"
He nodded.
"What is your name?"
"Bertrand, son of Guillaume."
"Bertrand, where will the men on horses and the warriors go?"
He was terrified and I know he thought he was going to die. He was a Christian and without a priest to hear his last words he would go to hell. He talked. "They will go to Ċiriċeburh."
"Ċiriċeburh?"
"It is to the north of here and is on the coast. It has a wall." He dropped to his knees and grabbed my hand, "Do not kill me."
"I promised you that I will not. Are there any other fortified places?"
He shook his head. "We are safe here. No one bothers us."
I stroked his hair. The terror in his eyes showed he thought this was a precursor to his death. I smiled. "Go now. Find your people. We will not hurt you." I pointed to the lamed horse. "Take this horse. It will make the journey easier. The horse will die anyway. Tell your people that we are coming. They can fight and die or accept us as their masters and live. Do you understand?"
"I do and thank you for my life, master."
He leapt onto the horse and kicked it in the flanks. It lumbered forward. I did not know how far this Ċiriċeburh was but I doubted the horse would reach it.
I turned to Siggi. "North of here, on the coast is Ċiriċeburh. It has a citadel. There is nothing else between here and there."
"What did you tell the boy? He looked almost happy."
"I said that if they fought us they died but if they accepted us as their rulers they would live. Did I do wrong?"
"No Hrolf and you have shown sense that a greybeard would envy." He put his arm around my shoulder. "I told you that you are a jarl. It is just that you do not know it."
"Did we lose many men?"
"Four, although one of them clings on to life. I know not why. He has been gutted. Valhalla is a better prospect."
I did not enjoy the feast. I have never been a fan of horsemeat. Skutal went along the shore and collected thirty or so oysters which we ate. "I do not know why they do not collect these, lord. There are hundreds. I have heard that you can farm them."
Erik Green Eye was intrigued, "Farm them? How?"
"You suspend a rope from something which floats and they cling on to them. When you pull them up you take the ones that are ready and leave the rest."
I was intrigued by the idea of farming the sea. "Could you do that in our bay?"
"I could try but the waters there move too quickly. Here. They are perfect. The causeway stops the water moving too quickly."
We loaded the drekar the next morning and set sail. The priests had begun to become a little loud and angry during the night watch. They made the mistake of annoying Ketil Eriksson and he slew two. It quietened the rest but Jarl Siggi was less than happy. He put his face in Ketil's, "That is coin you have killed. Next time cuff them and keep them quiet!"
I saw the resentment on the face of Ketil and his brother Knut. This would be remembered.
We rowed north and my part in the victory was noted by the chant. Gilles and Skutal had not sung it before and I think that they were even more impressed than any.
The horseman came through darkest night
He rode towards the dawning light
With fiery steed and thrusting spear
Hrolf the Horseman brought great fear
Slaughtering all he breached their line
Of warriors slain there were nine
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
With mighty axe Black Teeth stood
Angry and filled with hot blood
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
Ice cold Hrolf with Heart of Ice
Swung his arm and made it slice
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
In two strokes the Jarl was felled
Hrolf's sword nobly held
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
We had to row until we caught a westerly and then we used the sail. The boy we had freed would not be close to this citadel. We would be arriving after dark and Siggi White Hair wanted them to wake with a drekar standing off shore. When the boy arrived with his news we hoped it would terrify them. As night fell we sailed silently along the coast. Ulf Big Nose was at the prow. Sven kept us as close to the coast as he could without risking the rocks.
Ulf joined us and said. "Anywhere along here you can anchor Sven. I smell wood smoke and I smell pigs. There is a large settlement nearby."
That was good enough for Sven and Siggi. We raised the sail and lowered the anchor. With the ship's boys to keep watch we all slept!
When I awoke it was still dark. I joined Ulf Big Nose and Sven the Helmsman at the steering board. They pointed to the land where we could see the Frankish citadel as an unnatural shadow. We were, perhaps, three quarters of a Roman mile too far east.
Ulf said, "We should wake the crew and row until we are closer. The effect will be greater."
I could see that Sven the Helmsman was vacillating. He did not want to tak
e the decision and he said, "I will wake Siggi."
Siggi agreed with Ulf and we woke the crew even as the first grey appeared in the east. We kept the sail furled and rowed silently. The grey light meant that Sven could take us closer and we stopped rowing and lowered the anchor half a mile from the shore. Most of the crew ate or drank but I stood with Siggi and Ulf to examine the place. I could not see a river and there were no boats in the shallow bay. There was, however, a small hill fort. At least, in the grey light there was something on a hill about a thousand paces inland.
"It does not look much bigger than that which we destroyed the day before yesterday."
Ulf shrugged, "It may be that a lord lives here. I do not think the Franks are lovers of the seas. Their boats are little more than knarr and they do not make ports where they can make berths and trade."
Siggi stroked his beard, "If we lived here I would make this a fine port. See there are stones there to the east and they could be used to make a breakwater. It is a larger version of your bay, Hrolf."
"It is and what do you intend Jarl?"
He waved a hand at the drekar. It was filled with monks. There were too many to sell. "We will see if we can use these monks for profit. We can sell them back to their own people. We can sail towards our island and raid other places along the way." He winced as a pain raced through his body. He was not well. When it passed he said, "Your idea was a good one Hrolf. I think we come back here. This could become our cow that we milk when we need gold." He looked down the drekar. "They have eaten. My mind is made up. Sven, take us in."
"Aye Jarl."
We headed in to shore.
Chapter 9
"Put on your war faces! We land!"
The men all cheered and donned their armour. By the time that was done and we were ready to row it was daylight. The burgh was awake. We could see the walls manned. There were huts and homes by the water and their occupants had fled to the safety of the walls.
As we rowed in Rurik asked, "We have warned them. Perhaps we should have gone in when it was dark."
"We can see now that the bay is benign but we did not know in the night. Besides, this is more terrifying for those within the walls. They see a dragon ship coming. The people who fled here from the haugr will have told them how we slew three times our numbers. Our measured, slow approach, will add to their fear. They will imagine us as more terrifying than we are. When we land they will see us as bigger and more powerful. It will put fear in the hearts of their warriors."