by Griff Hosker
I rolled on to my back to look at the sky. We still had some hours of daylight. I slipped down the bank to join Tuanthal and Gawan. Aedh soon joined us. “Tuanthal, how many of your men can swim?”
“Six or seven I think.”
“Good. I want them to go back along the trail and find some driftwood. I saw some trees damaged in a spring storm. I want them to float down to the ship and board her.” I saw the question forming on his lips. “Do not worry I do not send them to be slaughtered. Aedh and his archers will attract the attention of the men on the beach. Aedh, I want your archers to wound them. We will then attack when our men clamber aboard the Saxon ship.”
I looked around their faces, not for approval, but to detect any flaws. There appeared to be none for they all nodded their agreement.
The selected men went upstream and I left Gawan to watch for them as they floated down. When he saw them closing with the boat I would order our attack. We had been lucky to find them still so close but I was worried that we had seen neither Morcar nor Morgause. We went back to watch for the swimmers. I was not certain how long the ship would remain there. I supposed that the eight warriors leaving the beach would be a sign. Aedh had his men with their arrows notched already. Suddenly Gawan appeared like a wraith at my side. He pointed up stream. I saw what looked like branches drifting down the river. Had I not known there were men with them I would have been fooled into thinking it was natural.
“Ready Aedh?” He nodded. I waited a heartbeat or two to allow them to drift closer to the Saxon ship and then I said, “Now!”
They were good bowmen and four of the eight men waiting on the beach were struck in the legs by the arrows. The others stood and looked around for the danger. As Aedh and his archers loosed again I rose and led Tuanthal and his men down the bank towards the Saxons. We ran silently for I did not want to make it easy for them to see us. That was when I saw Morcar. He was at the stern and was hacking through the rope holding the anchor. He knew us too well and the arrows descending from the dark skies told him all he needed to know. He was holding Saxon Slayer! Oswald had not yet got his hands upon it. Three more of the watching Saxons on the beach were down. Two of them looked as though they were dead.
The unwounded warrior was wading through the water in a desperate attempt to reach the ship. Suddenly there was a twang as the rope parted and the ship began to drift away from the shore and out to sea. I wondered why the oars were not being used and then I heard a splash and watched as two of the swimmers we had sent were hurled back into the water, dead. They had used the crew to repel our attack. When the oars began to move I knew that our plan had failed. They might be undermanned but, with a sail they could escape. Morcar himself stood at the tiller. I was close enough to see the grin on his face. He shouted something but I could not hear it.
I turned to Tuanthal and shouted, “Kill the prisoners!” I wanted the Saxons on the boat to know their fate if they were caught.
Tuanthal had seen all but two of his men killed and he was not in a merciful mood. They all died. We watched the small ship, propelled by just four oars and under a shortened sail as it headed north west. He was going to the island of Manau. We had lost the sword.
There was little point in leaving the river. We would not reach Deva any quicker. We were exhausted. Instead we camped. We buried our dead and cast the Saxons, stripped of clothes, arms and valuables into the river. Their bodies would return to the sea.
“Brother, why did you strip the dead?”
“We will need to follow Morcar into the nest of vipers. I will need to take men who look like Saxons if we are to blend in.”
“That is dangerous. It is not only Morcar who knows you but also Oswald and Oswiu. Perhaps it should be me.”
“You are a good warrior, Gawan, but this will need something more. This will need a killer. I will choose only those warriors who can be as ruthless as me.”
Gawan looked angry. “It was my father too! I can be ruthless.”
I hated to do it but I grabbed his damaged hand and held it before his face. “This can hold a shield but if you were fighting with your bare hands then you would lose. I do not intend to lose my little brother as well as our father and his sword. Besides you need to plan how we defeat Oswald and Oswiu. Father and I did not realise the danger they represented. Now that we have hurt King Edwin they might be in a position to gain Northumbria and all our work and sacrifice will be in vain. I need your mind and not your sword to work out how to defeat Aethelfrith’s spawn.”
I could see that his quick mind had assessed what I had said and found no flaw in it. “Very well but will you not be able to kill the two brothers when you have the sword?”
“If I can I will but my priority is the sword and then to kill Morcar. I am now Warlord and I have a responsibility to Rheged. I cannot risk all, just to avenge father and kill those two. That may have to wait for another day.”
The next day everything took longer than I had planned. The river crossing was difficult and the journey south was hard; the rains came and drove into our faces. It was late evening when we reached Deva. The commander there was an old warrior called Angus. He had served with my father and only his damaged leg had stopped him from marching north with us. He broke down when I told him what had befallen the Warlord.
“I have lived too long. There is none left now who fought in Rheged. All of my brothers in arms have fallen.”
“We will fight again, Angus. We have fought a great battle and Edwin is a spent force.”
He gave me a sad smile. “It is not good to be the last soldier.”
“You aren’t. There are captains like Tuanthal and Aedh yet serving Rheged.”
He laughed, “They were young boys when I was fighting in the shield wall around Dunelm, Warlord. To me they are young boys still.”
I began to understand my father a little more. He had seen all of his comrades die, some violently and some, like his brother Raibeart, silently in their sleep. His days of fighting had been over since the battle of Wrecsam. His last fight had been against the Irish giant, Calum. But in sacrificing himself for Rheged he might have saved our land. He had fought again knowing that he would die.
“I need a message sending to The Narrows. Have we any of the messenger riders here?” We used young boys riding fast ponies to take messages from one part of the land to the other. Eventually they became scouts, horsemen or, if they were particularly gifted riders then squires and ultimately equites.
“Aye Warlord, I will send for one.”
The land between Deva and The Narrows was as safe a piece of land as you could find. The rider would be there by morning for there were no dangers along the way and it was a Roman Road. Hopefully, a ship would reach me within a day or two.
Just to be sure I sent two boys with the same message. Morcar’s lead was a long one. I needed to find him before he left Manau.
Angus provided a good feast for my brother, my captains and me. We told him of Morcar’s perfidy and where we sought him.
“But you do not know if he is there?”
“No, we saw his ship leave and head north west.”
He nodded. “That would be Manau. I think you may be right. Those who travel the seas speak of the island being conquered by Saxons. As it never seemed to concern your father we did not worry about it. I have a fisherman who knows the island well. I can send him to spy out the land for you if you wish. If I send him this night he could be back here when your ship arrives.”
An idea suddenly came into my head. “How many men can the boat hold?”
“I am not sure. Let me think.” He rubbed his beard, “With just him he could carry four men. Why? Are you thinking of sending your warriors with him?”
“Send for him please, Angus.”
Angus looked perplexed but he went to the door of the hall and shouted down the corridor. I turned to Aedh. “Pick your best two men. Make sure they can speak Saxon. You and I are going to Manau.”
Aedh
looked delighted and leapt away from the table to find his men. The reaction of Gawan and Tuanthal was exactly the opposite; they were appalled. “You cannot do this, brother. It is far too risky!”
“Listen to Gawan, Warlord. He is speaking sense. If Myrddyn were here he would say the same.”
I looked at them both. “As Warlord I have to listen to your advice but I do not need to heed it. Now listen to me. It will not be a risk. We will go in disguise. We will pretend to be Saxons and we will find the sword. I will not try to take it until you arrive with the ship and the men, Tuanthal.” They both looked dubious. “Think about this. We gain a day! All we will need to do is to hide on the island until you arrive. The fisherman can guide you to the same place he drops us.”
When Angus came back he had with him a much younger man than I expected. He had the gnarled hands and weather beaten face of one who worked at sea.“This is Aed. He and his father used to fish off Manau until the Saxons there attacked their boat and killed their father. He hates them.”
“Aed, would you take me and three of my men to the island of Manau?”
“I will and I will join you on the island if we are to kill Saxons.”
“No, I just need you to drop us, come here and then guide my ship and my men back there.”
I saw Angus smiling. It was a strange smile as, over the years, he had lost teeth in combat. “Just like your father! He was as impulsive as you are. If he had an idea then he acted on it. The land is in good hands, Warlord. If I was ten years younger I would come with you but I would just hold you up.”
“And I would take you.” I turned to the fisherman, “We will meet you by the boat.” Aedh returned with the two warriors he had selected: Geraint and Daffydd. “We need to change into Saxon attire. As soon as we are ready we will sail.”
After I was dressed as a Saxon we headed to the boat. Gawan accompanied us and said, “You will not let me come with you but I can give you this potion. It is Belladonna. It may help you. If you wish to make someone sleep, then add two or three drops to their drink. If you wish to make an enemy unconscious, you must use six drops and to kill them half of the bottle. You may find it useful. Remember you are fighting a witch as well as our cousin.”
I clasped his arm, “Thank you brother and I will return.”
He laughed, “Angus is right, you do sound like father.”
The boat looked far too small to me but it was my decision and I had to look confident. I began to climb into the boat. Aed held up his hand and said, “You are Warlord of Rheged on the land but on my boat I am king. You will need to sit where I tell you and do exactly as I say.”
Aedh began to bridle. “He is right Aedh. It is his boat and we are not sailors. Put us where you will, King Aed.”
He smiled. “You and this one are the biggest.” He pointed to Geraint. “Sit in the middle next to the mast. You will raise and lower the sail.” He pointed to Aedh. “You are the same size as me. Sit in the stern and the other one can sit in the front. You will find a piece of canvas there. Rig it on those metal hooks. You will be the driest and it will stop the boat from filling with water.”
We sat where he told us and the boat tipped, alarmingly, as we all climbed on board. Amazingly it did not capsize and Aed looked happy. The men at the side of the river pushed us off.
“Good luck Warlord!”
“Hoist the sail.” Aed pointed to me. I looked at Geraint who grinned and put a rope in my hand. He had a similar one and he began to pull. I copied him and the sail rose and then filled. There was a piece of metal on the side of the boat and I did as Geraint did and wrapped it around. “Good. Later we will need to move the sail around to catch the wind but we will wait until the wind changes for that. The Allfather is with us today for the wind blows from the south. We will fly over the whitecaps.”
I turned to look at the land but my brother and the others had disappeared into the gloom. We were on our way across the sea to Manau. I had never been there and knew nothing about it but the spirits had deemed that we go there and I was in their hands still.
While we were still in the river the boat moved steadily but it was not uncomfortable. Daffydd, at the bow had the cosiest nest for he could shelter beneath the canvas. I wondered if I should exercise my right as Warlord for such a privilege but then I remembered Aed’s words; he was king. He had placed us where he wanted us to sit. I saw the grin on his face as we left the estuary and he pushed the steering board over. The wind caught us and we seemed to jump like a warhorse over an obstacle. I gripped the mast and the side in fear.
Aed laughed. “I told you she would fly.”
Soon I had no time to worry about the speed as Aed reset the sail a number of times until he was satisfied with its tautness and our speed. My hands became red raw and I found the salt water and spray flying from the bows made me desperate for a drink. I was, however, gratified with the speed with which we flew across the water. When dawn began to break I saw a dark shape in the distance. It was a grey smudge. Aed looked serious as he said, “There it is, Manau; the island of the Saxon killers!”
We half lowered the sail so that we would be harder to see from the land. “There is one main settlement on the eastern coast. I will take you around to the headland on the southeast coast. It is only a short journey to the place of the Saxons. They do not keep watch from the high places. They may have homes and farms across the island but I think there is only one place where they have a wall and warriors. It is on the eastern side of this island. I know the place well for it was just offshore from their fort where they killed my father. I go nowhere near there now.” I could hear the bitterness in his voice. We had something in common; those on the island had been responsible for the deaths of both of our fathers.
With the lowered sail it took us some time to close with the island but it allowed me to watch the island grow larger. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise. The island appeared to look like a whale rising out of the sea! It was Gawan’s dream. The sword would be here! The spirits had not lied to us and I was meant to come.
Chapter 20
Daffydd kept a close watch on the shore. There might be no watchers but I was sure that there were shepherds and fishermen. If they saw us being landed then they might pass that news on. We were a fishing boat but once we landed then anyone who saw us would become curious. We had to be invisible. We had to become Wolf Warriors just like my father and his men had been. Wyrd!
Once we had cleared the headland then we raised the sail again and the wind took us close to the small cove. We edged into the beach which was a mixture of sand and shingle. “Bring my ship back here and we will be waiting.” As my men scrambled and splashed ashore I clasped his arm. “I will reward you when we return.”
“My reward will be the death of the Saxons and to avenge my father.”
I jumped into the icy water and watched as he skilfully turned his small boat and headed due south. When he raised the sail he would not be seen. I wondered how he would manage his sails on his own but he seemed like a more than competent sailor. He would manage and we had more important things to think about. It was now daylight and we had to get out of sight as soon as possible.
Aedh and his men quickly checked the small beach. There was a path, of sorts, leading up from the beach. The cliff was not very high and it was not rocky as they were on Mona. I nodded to Aedh who led his warriors towards the stony trail. I daresay it had been used by people collecting shellfish. I could see many discarded shells amongst the shingle and sand. I wanted us to be away from such paths as soon as we could. Aedh pushed on ahead. He would pause, briefly, every few steps and sniff the air. Then he would hurry on. It was not far up the slope but we went carefully. He waved us down as we neared the top and he slithered along on his belly. He disappeared and the three of us made our way up to join him. When we reached Aedh we could see the land rising away to the north. There was the hill which had made me think that the island looked like a whale rising fro
m the sea. It seemed to dominate the whole island. It was a few miles away. A tendril of smoke drifting from the north east showed us where the settlement was. The fact that we could see and smell the smoke meant it was not far away.
Satisfied that there was no one in sight Aedh got to his feet and sprinted towards the undergrowth some fifty paces from us. It was obvious that there were no roads to be seen. I doubted that the Romans had ever visited here. Aedh waved us forward. We were moving across earthen tracks made by the feet of man and animals. We headed north east towards the distant smoke. We found a deep valley and a stream. The stream flowed from the west. The valley clearly headed inland. Aedh turned to me. “Warlord, we will take this valley.”
I frowned. It made no sense. This valley would take us north west, away from where we wanted to go. However Aedh had been my father’s most trusted scout. “Why?”
“This gives us good cover. It you notice the stream is neither deep nor wide. It will soon rise to a place which may be higher than the settlement. It is always easier to peer down into a place and observe those within than to look from below where you can be easily seen.”
I smiled and nodded. “I am sorry for my questions Aedh. You are right.”
He shrugged, “We are used to sneaking around. It is in our blood. You are used to fighting off hordes of Saxons. Your father would have asked too”
We made our way up the narrow, rocky valley. We had to watch our footing for there was no trail here. It was dark under the canopy of trees and bushes and we all slipped into the water more than once. As soon as he could Aedh led us across the narrow stream to the other side. The only trail down here was one made by animals coming to drink. We would not meet any Saxons in this dark place. I noticed that, as we began to climb, the path became lighter.