The Battle For A Home (Norman Genesis Book 3)

by Hosker,Griff

  I grabbed my sword and donned a kyrtle. I ran, barefoot down the shingle. I thought he meant our new drekar but he did not. He stood in the shallows waving his sword and continuing to shout his warning. I looked to the bay and there was not just one drekar, there were two. Men had boarded 'Raven's Wing' and were taking her.

  "Awake! Enemies! Raven Wing Clan, awake!"

  Warriors poured from their huts. Skutal and Sigurd were the closest and I saw the two of them sending arrows at those on 'Raven's Wing'. It was just a hundred paces from shore and tantalisingly close. When I reached the quay I could just make out Karl Swift Foot raising the sail. They were taking our drekar. I did not recognise the one steering but from his garb he was a Frisian. Skutal sent an arrow very close to him and he ducked. The tide was high but on its way out. At high tide the skeletons of the Frankish ships, sunk a year earlier, could not be seen but their masts were ready, liked deadly daggers, to strike the unwary. As the helmsman ducked he took the drekar across the masts and we all heard the sound of timbers being torn. As the sail dropped the wind caught it and there was a crack and what sounded like a wail as the yard fell on to the bow. Those trying to steal it leapt into the water and began to swim to the Frisian drekar. Those on the shore all cheered. I did not. Our ship had died. Already she was settling.

  Then I remembered Jarl Siggi. I turned and ran back to the place I had seen him shouting the warning. When I reached the place he was not there. I ran up the beach to his shelter and he lay there with his hands folded about his sword. Mary, Brigid, Ulf and Sven were with him.

  "He is dead, husband. When the ship sank he fell back and life has left him. Jarl Siggi White Hair is no more."

  I dropped to my knees and plunged my sword into the sand. I am a warrior and I have killed more men that I care to remember but that day I wept. I wept for a noble man and the true father of our clan. He had been waiting but it was for a death. He died when his drekar did. Wyrd.

  Chapter 14

  When the tide went out it left our drekar half submerged. The wrecks beneath stopped it sinking to the bottom. When the next storm came it would break up the drekar but, until then, it remained a skeleton half out of the water. Ulf was the most upset I had ever seen. He sat by his friend and stared at the wrecked drekar. We dressed Siggi in his armour and his finest clothes. He only had one set.

  Sven said, "You know we said that Siggi deserved a good burial. I think the Norns have given us one."

  Ulf heard us, "What?"

  I said, "You said he and the 'Raven's Wing' should burn them together. The Norns have given us the chance to do this. That way his grave cannot be despoiled and we will mark his grave for all time."

  Ulf stood. "He would like that! I will light the fire. It is the least I can do for my brother in arms. We will do this at high tide. The clan should say goodbye to him properly."

  We dressed in our finest armour and clothes. I did not know it but that would be the last time I would wear my old helmet. It seemed fitting. I had fought at Siggi's side in that helmet and I should wear it when I bade farewell. Six of us carried his body down the slope to the waiting fishing boat. Ulf, Arne, Rurik, Erik One Hand, Beorn Beornsson and I carried our friend. He was no weight. The coughing sickness had taken his flesh leaving bones with transparent skin. Mary and Brigid had wept as they had dressed his emaciated body. The warriors of the clan followed and their families lined the path. We walked in silence. When we reached the fishing boat we laid the bier on one while we boarded a second. Erik Green Eye and Erik Long Hair would sail us to the wreck in fishing boats.

  The dead Frankish ships had given 'Raven's Wing' support along her length so that it was almost level. We climbed aboard and then lifted our friend and laid him beneath the main mast. The only damage which was visible was the broken yard. A pool of blood showed where arrows had hurt those who stole her. We laid kindling about the bier and then soaked the Jarl's body and the mast in seal oil.

  Then Ulf sang Siggi's death song. We used it thereafter as a chant when we rowed. It inspired us.

  Siggi was the son of a warrior brave

  Mothered by a Hibernian slave

  In the Northern sun where life is short

  His back was strong and his arm was taut

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  When the Danes they came to take his home

  He bit the shield and spat white foam

  With berserk fury he killed them dead

  When their captain fell the others fled

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  After they had gone and he stood alone

  He was a rock, a mighty stone

  Alone and bloodied after the fight

  His hair had changed from black to white

  His name was made and his courage sung

  Hair of white and a body young

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  Siggi White Hair warrior true

  Then we bowed our heads and I used my flint to make a flame. It sparked and lit the brand which Ulf carried. We all lit from his and plunged them into the pyre. The flames leapt. All of us had our hair singed but we stood and each of us said farewell to our old comrade.

  Ulf turned, "Let us go lest our old ship take us too."

  We boarded the fishing boats and we rowed back to shore. The flames completely covered the drekar. It was a fitting end for a ship of war. It was right that Siggi was alone on her. The last part to burn was the raven at the prow. The black smoke spiralled up to the skies like a bird ascending on the air currents and Ulf said, "Good. He has gone to the Otherworld. He is in Valhalla; see the raven takes his spirit there."

  When the blackened skeleton sank beneath the waves, to lie beneath the waters of my bay, we headed back to my hall. Mary and the other women had left as soon as we had boarded the drekar. It was warriors who watched the drekar burn. The women had ale and food ready for us so that we could say goodbye to our old friend. We would drink! With horns filled we drank without stopping to send him on his way. Then we told stories of Siggi and how we would remember him. Unusually for a warrior the women all had stories about him. Although unmarried he had always been a kind and gentle man around women and children. It explained the tears for they would miss him.

  Ulf said, "I knew his father, Ragnvald. He was a powerful warrior and a great leader. He would have been jarl had his brother not murdered him."

  "That must have angered Siggi."

  Ulf nodded, "That was when he went berserk. It was his uncle he killed. Men said his hair went white because he went berserk but it was the death of his father and the killing of his uncle which did it. I think that was why he had no children. He told me if he had had a child he would have called him Ragnvald. I liked that name."

  "You knew his father well then?"

  He gave me a sad look, "I was Siggi's cousin. It was my father that he killed." He shrugged, "It was wyrd."

  I was shocked at this revelation but it explained much. "But you fought alongside Siggi!"

  "We had all sworn an oath to Ragnvald, even my father. Had Siggi not killed him then I would have done so. My father had no honour."

  None of us had heard the story before. We sat there just taking in the bond that existed between the two cousins. "Who became Jarl then?"

  "Thorfinn Blue Scar. He was the youngest brother. He was our uncle. That was when we swore an oath to protect his eldest son, Jarl Gunnar. Jarl Thorfinn Blue Scar gave Siggi and me the treasures of our fathers. He was a good man. He did not need to do that. He could have kept it all but he said it was blood money."

  I looked at Ulf with new eyes. The older members of the crew did too. We had shared oars with these two men and yet not known any of this.

  Erik Long Hair, who had known Siggi for a shorter time than the rest of us, asked, "What of his
weapons, treasure and slaves? If he had no family then who gets them?"

  Ulf and Sven pointed to me as Ulf said, "The weapons go to whoever needs them but the remainder of his treasure and his slaves go to Hrolf. He made that quite clear to both of us."

  Brigid concurred, "Aye he told me, when I gave him his draught, that Hrolf the Horseman was the closest he had to a son."

  Rurik said, "You are rich!"

  I said, "I would rather be destitute so long as I could have my friend back. I shall miss him. I shared an oar with him for a long time."

  Rurik nodded, "And I am no consolation am I? I tell you what, my friend; I will give you my good ear in which to speak. How say you?"

  Everyone laughed and the mood changed to one of celebration. When it became too noisy Ulf took me to the headland. Neither of us was drunk. We knew how to control our drinking. Others did not. "We will need to do something about this new threat."

  I nodded, "I had already thought on that but I would wait until the new drekar is in the water. I would like us to move to our new home before winter bites but we need to discourage Knut and his Frisians."

  "You know that I will not be coming with you?"

  "Aye."

  "It will be for you to lead our people. I am grown too solitary. You are one of the few I enjoy speaking with. Siggi was the other."

  I understood him but I did not agree with him. You could never win an argument with Ulf and I would not try. "We will miss you."

  He waved a hand to the side, "Just remember all that Siggi and I taught you. You are a fair scout and a good warrior. It remains to be seen if you can become a good leader. Siggi thought so that was why he left you his treasure. A leader needs coin."

  "I will and this night I will keep watch in case they come for more mischief."

  "I will leave now. I will slip away. I do not like fuss. I will scout out their walls in case they are up to something. I will return tomorrow with my weapons and we can plan our attack."

  "Be careful!"

  He laughed, "You sound like Siggi. I will."

  When the men had drunk too much they passed out. Erik Green Eye joined me as I sat in the tower we had built in my stockade. I peered south. "I can watch Erik."

  "I know, hersir, but I did not drink too much and my family live here. Do you think they will come?"

  "I know not their minds for they are not as we are. They are devious and they are lazy. I would come but I know not if they will. Ulf is watching out there. I take comfort from the fact that I have heard nothing. As soon as the drekar is seaworthy and our knarr is back I intend to attack our foes. They outnumber us but this is our island and we know it. And we have a secret weapon."

  "Secret weapon?"

  "Aye, horses. The Frisians will not expect that."

  No one came and dawn brought bleary eyes and thick heads. Sven soon had everyone working on the drekar. It was the best cure for too much ale. I told them all, as we worked, that when she was afloat we would begin to move to the haugr.

  Sven was still carving the prow and it was looking more like Siggi as a dragon every day. "We cannot take everyone in one journey."

  "I know. We take Bagsecg, the women and children and half of the warriors on the first trip. They can begin to make the haugr defensible. Then we take the horses and the rest on the second voyage."

  "And if Knut One Eye tries to stop us?"

  "Then I will deal with him." It was my closest friends who were working with me that day. "Ulf is staying here."

  "He will not come?"

  "No Rurik. Siggi's death took the heart from him. We will visit him but I could not persuade him to join us. His mind is made up."

  "Our world is changing."

  "It is."

  Ulf arrived in the late afternoon. He seemed surprised that anyone had been worried about him. "They were busy getting drunk last night. I could have slit the throats of both crews and none would have been the wiser!"

  Now that we were moving home Bagsecg did not bother to set up his smithy. He used his prodigious strength to help build the ship. One job he did finish, however, was to complete my helmet. Two nights after we had resumed work on the new drekar he came to me with a sheepskin. He opened it and said, "There is your new helmet and mail."

  I was eager to try it on. I slipped the mail hood on. It fitted tightly to my head. He had made it so that it covered my chin and came to just below my mouth and above my eyes. I had good vision. The new helmet fitted perfectly. He had made it in four pieces and there were iron strengtheners joining the four pieces. It came to a slight point. Swords would slide down it. The golden cross in the centre made it look different. It looked like the helmet of a lord. I found that I could see much easier to left and to right but the helmet was much lighter than my older one.

  "It is perfect."

  I reached into my leather pouch but he waved it away. "I do this for a friend."

  I pressed the golden coin into his hand." And I give you this as a friend too. Your skill is what I reward. Thank you."

  Each night we mounted a guard in my wooden tower. The view it afforded meant that we could see almost a mile away although that was less in the dark. Nipper and the horses were our best warning of danger. The dog barked and the horses whinnied when any stranger came close.

  The day we launched the ship was an important one. Did she float? We had ropes on her in case we had to pull her ashore quickly. We had rolled her down to a cradle we made at low tide and we waited for high tide. There were just Sven and myself at the steering board. Sven had built her and I would captain her. I had hoped that Ulf Big Nose would have done that but he had made his views quite clear. The tide rushed in, it always rushed. Gradually we began to rise. The deck had yet to be fitted and we had no ballast yet. The wood made for natural buoyancy. While Sven stayed at the steering board I went along the keel on my hands and knees looking for the tell tale spurt of water. I found none. I rose at the bow and waved. Sven gave a cheer and shouted, "You can pull us in now! She floats!"

  We celebrated on the beach. "What now, Sven? The mast or the prow?"

  "It is time she was named and her prow was fitted. We will do that now and tomorrow we fit the mast and yard."

  I already knew that she could take eighteen oars down each side. At the moment we did not have that number of rowers but we hoped to increase our number.

  "And the name?"

  "I have thought on this." He looked at Ulf. "I had thought to name her after Siggi but I know that it is unlucky to use a warrior's name for a drekar. There were no women in Siggi's life but, to me I saw him as a dragon. The figurehead I have made is of Siggi as a dragon. I would name her 'Dragon's Breath'."

  Naming a ship was a critical moment in a drekar's life. The name had to sing. I thought it did. Ulf nodded. Just then a gust of wind came from nowhere and, although the ship was held to the shore by ropes the bow rose and fell as though it nodded.

  Ulf Big Nose said, "That is clear then. Siggi approved the name. We have our drekar."

  We worked long into the early evening. I was too excited to eat and I had not ridden for some days. I saddled Dream Strider and went for a dusk ride. The nights were getting cooler and I kicked Dream Strider on. I rode towards Ulf's house and when I reached it reined in and walked him while he cooled a little. Nipper had kept up with us well. As we headed through the wood to the clearing Nipper growled. Ulf Big Nose was eating in my hall. It had to be an enemy. I drew my sword and edged Dream Strider forward. It was then I heard them. They were Frisians and there were two of them. I knew that from their voices for they were inside. I pointed to Nipper, "Stay!" I hissed. He sat. I went closer to listen to them.

  "If he was a friend of the jarl he should have money!"

  "There was nothing beneath the floor. He must have it with him. We'll get it when we take the village!"

  "But then we will have to share it!"

  "There will be plenty to go around. That one eyed runt told us that."

&n
bsp; I had walked Dream Strider to the side of Ulf's hut and waited. The two of them came out. They must have smelled my horse for they suddenly turned. It was too late. I brought my sword down on the head of one of them. The second tried to draw his sword and flee at the same time. I swung my sword in an arc and ripped him open from his crotch to his neck.

  Dismounting I searched them. They had swords, seaxes and two spears. I took one of the swords and hacked off the two heads. I rammed them on the butts of the spears and headed towards the stad where the others were holed up. I knew I was near from the noises they made. I headed towards the greenway to my home and I planted the two spears on either side. It was a warning.

  When I arrived back at my hall I saw anxious faces. As I stepped into the light Mary gasped when she saw blood on my kyrtle. "It is not mine. I discovered two Frisians going through your hut Ulf. They were searching for your treasure. They paid for that with their lives. But I learned that they plan an attack. It was as we suspected."

  "They would find nothing there. I brought all with me and it lies in your hall."

  "Then we should attack them now!"

  "No Arne, we need the crew of 'Kara'. There may be only four of them but we need every warrior we can get."

  "Hrolf is right. I have scouted their settlement. There are forty Frisians. We are not strong enough. We watch and we wait."

  It brought the celebrations to a sudden and sober end. "I thought that we would just be able to leave this island and find a new home. Why will they not leave us in peace?"

  "Because they want what we have. They know that Jarl Siggi had treasure. They know that I have much gold. The men who were searching Ulf's hut were looking for his treasure. And they hate me. I am the flame which draws the moths." I put my arm around her. Bagsecg had told me that when a woman bore her first child she was fragile. Mary was a Frank and not as robust as a Viking woman. "Fear not. When the knarr returns, we can begin to send our people to our new home."

  "Will that be without danger?"