by Hosker,Griff
Einar Asbjornson asked, "Did you see any enemies on your journey, lord?"
"There was nothing. It was like a wasteland. I saw little farmland save that around the destroyed citadel. I fear we will not be growing our own grain next year."
"We have plenty. But we need a granary."
"Then we build that on the high mound. I want this area to be for workshops, stables and slave quarters."
"We only have the six slaves of Jarl Siggi's left."
"We will be getting more. We spend the time before midwinter making our home stronger and then we can plan our raids and make our trades." I nodded to Harold, "You will need to choose a crew."
"But what have we to trade?"
"I know not yet but we are a resourceful people, are we not? Mary and her women can make fine clothes. We have carvers of bone. Bagsecg you now have iron. Can you make goods for trade?"
"Aye and it will be easier here. I have water closer to hand and will not need to have my boys fetching pails." He smiled, "It is like my father's forge in Cyninges-tūn!"
"Then after Samhain we will trade with Dyflin. It will be good to get news and perhaps there may be more men like Gudrun who seek an oar."
Rurik smiled, "So we still raid then?"
"We are Vikings. It is what we do."
Bertrand had been sitting by Gilles and listening. "I am a Frank. Do I get to kill my enemies?"
"What enemies are there for you?"
"Any whom I do not know! The Bretons took my family and the Franks washed their hands of us. If Vikings are the only ones who will help me then I will be a Viking."
I nodded, "You do not have to be Norse to be a Viking. The greatest Viking has no Norse blood in him at all. Jarl Dragonheart of the land of the wolf was born of a Saxon and a Celt. Gilles will help you become a warrior but one piece of advice, do not hate all Franks. You are a Frank. Your family were Franks and the people who took you in were Franks. Choose your enemies and choose your battles."
We worked from dawn until dusk and often beyond. We worked with a will. Winter was coming and soon we would have to battle rains, winds and possibly snows. We knew that, until we had our outer wall up then we were vulnerable. I was convinced that with our outer wall erected then no enemy could breach our walls. The hardest part, and the one which took the longest, was digging the ditch which ran around our outer wall. It had to be deep and lined or else the sand and the soil would fill it. In a perfect world we would have used stones alone but we had not enough and so we used the smaller branches from the trees we used to make the palisade. We used shingle and rocks from the beach to pack behind the wood. We even began to use open baskets filled with small stones. They proved the fastest means of building our outer defence. As we cleared the trees we let our animals take all the foliage and undergrowth and then burned the stumps. Once the stumps were burned our strongest men dug out the roots and the women worked the soil. We had beans and we would plant those for our first crop.
Sigurd and Skutal did not work on the walls for their task was to fish. They put in place their ropes to farm the mussels and oysters. At first we had scant pickings but the two were confident that in time we would have a good harvest. My two sea captains were keen to put to sea but they understood the need for our defences to be in place. When they were not helping us they were making the jetty stronger by dropping rocks to make a breakwater to the north.
We spent a whole two days building a dam and a sluice gate to the sea. Then we would be ready to flood the ditch. The whole of Haugr, as we now called our home, came to watch as we waited for the high tide. As it was my idea I was the one who was chosen to break the dam and lift the gate. If I did this wrong then all our work would have been wasted. I lifted the gate and was relieved that it worked. It was sturdy and, made of oak, would last as long as a drekar. Then Rurik, Arne, Erik and I began to remove the dam. The first stones were hard to shift but once they had gone then it became easier as the incoming tide rushed around our outer defences. We had a veritable river running around the lower stockade. At first I worried that it might burst the banks but we had built well and the water subsided to form a salty foamy barrier as deep as a man and five paces wide. The bridge and gatehouse were still a little bare; we had work to do there. They would need a pair of small guard towers but we could gain access to the land easily by crossing it. As the water whooshed around the people cheered. We still had towers to build and stakes to sharpen but we now had security and we celebrated.
Chapter 18
The knarr left with six men on board. We did not have a large cargo to trade but we had gold. I told Harold Fast Sailing to buy whatever he thought we needed.
"Such as?"
"We have no seal oil. It will be cheaper in Dyflin than here."
"It would be even cheaper further north."
"And you would be away longer. We need neither pots, for we can trade for those with the Franks, nor do we need slaves but if you can buy animals for breeding then that would be a useful cargo for you to bring. Any grain would be welcome. We are short of rope but we have enough timber. Ask Sven if he needs more canvas. We will need to trade for iron later in the year but for now that will suffice."
"I am afraid to waste your gold."
I smiled, "This is some of the gold that Siggi and Ulf gave to me. If it serves the clan then it is not wasted. They would want it to make us more secure here."
Happy that he knew my wishes he left.
Mary was becoming larger by the day. The women of Haugr, even the new ones, seemed to regard this new baby to be momentous. Perhaps it was because I now led the clan. We had many new babies. I was one of the few, save for the five new men, who had yet to toast the birth of a child. There were eight boys and six girls born already. My new men had been envious but, with the Franks we had rescued becoming healthier day by day, soon they were casting glances in their direction. Mary and I were delighted with this new direction. For the first time we had some privacy where we could talk. With our huge room in the largest hall we could talk at night. During the day it was the place where Mary would work with her women on the garments they made. They left each night but that meant, when we cuddled beneath our furs, we could talk.
"Your son was busy today. He kept moving."
"You know it is a boy?"
"I believe it is. The older women from Ċiriċeburh say that when its heart sounds like your horse galloping across the turf then it will be a boy. Matildhe listened yesterday and said it sounded just so. He will be a boy."
"When will he arrive?"
"He will come when he is ready. He is not ready yet. The women who know such things tell me this. I am pleased that you brought Matildhe and the others. They have helped me. The women from our island mean well but they are Norse. I know we all give birth the same way but..."
"I understand."
"When is he likely to be ready? What I want to know is how much longer do I need to worry?"
"He should be here after the midwinter feast. His head is up near my breasts."
I cuddled her. "Then our son has good taste for that is where I like to be!"
Now that we had our defences in place I took to riding abroad with my men. Bertrand was a good rider and I let him ride Gerðr. With two mares in foal and the young horses not yet ready to ride I only had one horse left and Einar Asbjornson had shown the most affinity with horses. That was more important than anything else. We did not take shields. Gilles and I were still working on a smaller version of my larger shield. Bertrand had no mail yet but we had a spare helmet and he wore that. We gave him one of Ulf's swords and a spear. He was smaller than Gilles but I could see that, if we fed him up then he would be a strong warrior.
We rode south. Bertrand only knew the land to the north and west. I needed to know what lay beyond. We were ten miles from our home when I spied a farmhouse. We had our helmets slung from our saddles and our heads and mail covered by cloaks. The farmer who came from his barn took us for Franks. Only Ein
ar did not speak their words and he remained silent.
"I do not know you. Where are you from?"
" Ċiriċeburh."
"Ah the place destroyed by those Norsemen. I hope you have better luck than they did."
I said nothing.
"What brings you out on this bone chilling day?"
"I thought to visit with the noble who rules this area."
He shook his head, "Since King Louis took the monks away and the Leudes, Baldred, was killed there is no one."
"Then who takes your taxes?"
He gave me a cunning smile, "If there is no lord to collect taxes then we pay none."
"But you have no protection."
"What protection did they have when the heathens from the north came? We are far enough from the sea that we would have warning. If the dragon ships are seen then those on the coast flee inland. The road passes through here."
"Then where is there a stronghold?"
"Valognes. They have a wall and there is a lord there. It is only six miles down the road."
"And he does not collect taxes?"
"His land stops there." He pointed to a hedgerow at the end of his field. My land was owned by the church." He suddenly frowned, "And who gave you the lands? If you are a neighbour of mine I should know where you live."
"We are not close. We have occupied Ċiriċeburh. There was no one living there."
He laughed, "Good luck then for the Vikings will come again."
"Perhaps. Farewell."
We turned and headed back up the road. I had discovered enough. We were safe from an incursion for a while but the most interesting information was that the locals thought that we had destroyed Ċiriċeburh. That told me that someone was spreading lies and warned me that men of Vannes, the Bretons, were an enemy to be feared.
Bertrand was a bright boy and it was he who brought up the lie. "You did not destroy Ċiriċeburh."
"No but we did attack it. As you are aware, the Bretons took advantage of that. We will keep a good watch to the west."
He nodded and stroked Gerðr's mane. "This is a good horse."
"I am happy with all of them but we will be using her for breeding. I intend for all my warriors to be mounted."
"All?"
"We can control a large part of this land with horses."
"Then you intend to stay."
"That is why we left our island home to come here."
Of course what I did not say was that there would come a time when King Louis or the lord of Valognes would want us off their land. I wanted that to be as far in the future as possible. When that day came we would fight for this scrap of land I had claimed.
Even though the walls were finished we did not stop working. Sven had the drekar to complete. She had sailed from our island hurriedly. During the winter we would need to give her serious trials to make sure she flew as Sven assured me she would. We worked on our two gates, adding towers. I had learned much from the tower I had built at my hall. It only needed protection on three sides and that made it much easier to ascend and descend. We built a walkway over the gate to link the two towers. The gates themselves were solidly made but the bridge in front of them had two ropes so that it could be hauled up and added an extra strength to the main gate.
The ditch around the haugr was deepened and the spoil added to the outside of the ramparts so that it would be harder for an enemy to mine beneath them. The work kept the warriors occupied and helped us to bond with the new men. As the days grew shorter so the weather grew colder. We had no snow but there were icy fogs and rain storms filled with sleet. And all the time my wife grew larger and I began to worry about her. I had brought her to a place where we could be in danger. Was I ready to make the sorts of decisions I had been making?
The knarr arrived the day after we had finished the gates. The drekar still rode at anchor and this was the first time we had tested the new jetty. The knarr rode higher in the water than I would have expected and I wondered if Harold had managed to trade. Six warriors stepped from the knarr. One had mail while the rest looked as though they knew how to fight. They strode towards the stockade. I saw that it had surprised them. I met them on the grassy area close to the bridge.
"I am Hrolf the Horseman. I am hersir."
"I am Finni Jarlson. These are my men and we are from Ljoðhús."
"Jarl Thorfinn Blue Scar?"
"He was my father."
"Then why did you not take the name Thorfinnson."
He smiled but it was a sad smile, "My mother had another husband. I only discovered my true father after he was dead and my mother close to death. She told me before she died. I took the name Jarlson. I like it."
I nodded, "As do I. And why have you come here?"
"We had a long journey from Ljoðhús after the men of Alt Clut conquered it. We had more men and we took our knarr to find new lands to the west but all we found was death in the stormy seas close to the edge of the world. Six died and we were washed up on the west coast of Hibernia. Another four died when we fought our way to Dyflin. I had intended to join Jarl Gunnar Thorfinnson for he would have been my half brother but Jarl Gunnstein told me that he had died. We have been waiting for your knarr to trade. The Jarl told us that Siggi White Hair and Ulf Big Nose were on your island. They are kin or so my mother said. But Harold Fast Sailing told me that they had died too. It seems we are here but I know not the reason."
"I do. It is the Norns who have directed you. We need warriors who can fight. We have women but warriors are few."
"We have only what you see. If Jarl Gunnstein Berserk Killer in Dyflin had not been generous to us then we would have starved."
"It is what is in your heart and minds and not what you wear. We will take more armour and we will make sure you do not go hungry. Now, who are your men?"
"I am Knut the Quiet."
"Asbjorn Sorenson."
"Sigismund of Ljoðhús."
"Karl the Singer."
"Audun Einarsson. Finni Jarlson is my big brother."
"Well you are welcome. Come to the warrior hall. We have three. I live above the one for the unmarried warriors."
As we walked Finni said, "I have never seen such a fort. I have heard of the ones the Dragonheart has on his land but they are nothing like this."
"The haugr was here before and was a fort but we took it easily. I made it this way for I thought it would be harder to take."
"If this is from your head then I am impressed. It looks almost impregnable. From what I have heard you are not a normal Viking. Harold Fast Sailing tells me that you ride horses."
"That is true but we still raid by sea. It is just that the Franks ride horses to war and if we are to defeat them then we must meet them beard to beard."
He laughed, "I like you already and yet you are so young that you barely have a beard."
I nodded, "I have taken the heads of many men who had fine beards. The beards did not seem to help them!"
"I meant no offence. I heard that you slew the Hibernian champion. Men spoke of you and Ulf Big Nose in Dyflin."
"And I took none."
It seemed that Harold had barely made it back in time. The storms which battered our coast lasted ten days. We were lucky that the island which had housed the monastery gave our drekar and knarr more protection else we would have lost them both. Our lower stockade was breached by the stormy seas. Even our new defences were not strong enough for the gods when they fought amongst themselves. As the shortest day approached we worked to repair the walls. We repacked stones behind the wood and we added more timber to the sections close to the sea. It was as we stood back, after three days of hard work, to admire our labours that we noticed the huge amount of driftwood which had landed on the beach north of the causeway. It was fresh planks, strakes and timbers. Ships at sea had been torn apart by the storms.
As we headed in I saw Mary waddling towards me with Matildhe. Although the rains had abated the wind still whistled from the north and chilled
even the most hardened of warriors.
"Why have you left the warmth of the hall? There is nothing for you ladies here."
"That is where you are wrong husband." Mary pointed towards the island. "There used to be a church there and you and your men took it down."
"To make our homes."
She ignored me. "We now have Christians who live amongst us and we would have a church. There are those, like Brigid, who came from Hibernia. They are Christians. Morag came from Cymru and she is a Christian. They need somewhere to worship. There was a cross on the church which you did not use. Bring it and build us a church here."
I shook my head, "I will fetch the cross but I will not command my men to build a church for Christians."
"Then we will build it."
Despite my best efforts I could not dissuade either of them from their course of action. Neither was in the best condition to be outside in this weather let alone working. "I tell you what I will do. There are materials still on the island. I will take the slaves and ask for men to volunteer to help me and I will build a church there."
"Why not here, inside the walls?"
"We have no room on the haugr and here your church would be surrounded by workshops." I pointed to the bread ovens and kilns which we had built well away from anything which might burn. Smoke belched from them each day for we always had bread to bake and pots to make. "You would not want to pray with that around you. You would have the smell of smoking fish too." I saw her ready to argue, "Wife, I know that Christians like to be buried by their churches. Would you want the dead to be buried inside our walls? I know that those who are not Christians would fear the ghosts of the dead and besides, if we used the shell of the church it would still be holy ground would it not?"
Matildhe nodded, "The barbarian is right, my lady. It will be more peaceful. For a barbarian he is clever."
And so I began, when the days were at their shortest and their coldest, to begin to labour on a church I would never use. As I tore my hands open on the stones I lifted I wondered if I had made the right decision to marry someone who followed the White Christ. Then I remembered the baby she carried. It made me work even harder. It was not even just the Christians who helped me. Gilles, Bertrand, Bagsecg and his sons all laboured. We made a stone church. There were still large pieces of dressed stone which had been too heavy to take to the haugr. They were the foundations of the monk's church and they gave us a good start. We used those and then we used the stones which the recent storms had provided. We had the outline of the church left by the monks and we just laboured, adding courses.