by Griff Hosker
“Yes my lord?”
“Bring your best five archers and kill any Saxon you see appearing on the other side of the river.”
We watched, with bated breath, as the two brave young men began to swim across the river. I had already known that they could both swim and I suspected others who had volunteered could not. I scanned the opposite bank for any sign of danger but I saw none. Once they emerged from the water, they disappeared in the undergrowth. There were tense and nervous moments as we waited for them to appear on the scrubby and rocky cliff. Scean had the oldest eyes but also the most effective. “There they are!”
They looked like dark brown specks on the other side of the river. There was a heart stopping moment when Aedh slipped and slithered back down the twenty paces he had just climbed. I saw Pol turn his head and his mouth moved. I wondered what my squire was saying. Whatever it was it helped Aedh to carry on. As they neared the top I hoped that there would not be an over eager Elmet sentry. I had told them both to shout that they were from Rheged as soon as they neared the top but I also knew how a tense situation could make a man behave. There must have been a path of some kind near to the top for first Pol and then Aedh disappeared.
Everyone visibly relaxed until we heard the drumming of hooves as Tuanthal and his scouts returned. My young captain of horse sprang lithely from his mount. “My lord, they are erecting a wooden wall to hold us.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods for that. They think we are more than we are. Miach, mount your archers and annoy them. Make it hard for them to build the wall.” He laughed as he led his men away. “Garth I want a defensive camp building here. I do not want to be surprised by a sudden attack from the enemy. Tuanthal, get some rest but send scouts out to see what the land is like to the east and the south as well as trying to discern their numbers but we have achieved our objective; they are no longer attacking the men of Elmet and, if the army reaches us tomorrow then we can attack.”
Chapter 2
I had one of my men watching the summit of the rock and, at about noon, he suddenly shouted. I ran towards him and he pointed to the crest of the rocky refuge. I saw my brother’s standard being waved. My boys had made it and Raibeart still lived. Now it just depended upon the numbers of the enemy we would face for I only had five hundred men at my disposal. While my men were the best trained and armed in the land I would find it hard to dislodge a large army. I was on tenterhooks awaiting the scout’s report of the numbers.
Scean had organised cooking and some of Miach’s hunters had managed to kill some game. Scean was an old soldier and knew the value of a full stomach. Myrddyn and Brother Oswald would have done the same but our hasty departure had meant that we had not planned for this eventuality. It was late afternoon when the camp was finished. We had some hot food and the scouts returned. Tuanthal had a serious look on his face which did not bode well. “My lord, they know there is danger and they have patrols out looking for whoever killed their scouts. They stopped about half a mile away. We approached as close as we dared to their camp. There are three thousand Saxons encamped by the river and more than half are armoured in mail.”
It was, potentially, the worst news we could hear. “Any horse or archers?”
“A handful; nothing to worry us.”
Garth stroked his beard. “We will be outnumbered then but we can be more mobile.”
Scean handed me a rabbit leg, dripping with gravy. “Of course we don’t know how many men your brother has with him.”
As I gratefully ripped the meat from the bone I pondered his comment. Until either Pol or Aedh returned we would be in the dark but if the Saxons had driven them hence it seemed likely to me that they would be in a sorry state.
I was satisfied. If we had not left Rheged immediately then the Saxons would have been free to attack my brother. This way we could add our weight to his defence. It would still be a bloody day but we had a chance. “I want as many men rested as we can. Those who fought last night have the priority and I want every guard to be doubly vigilant. If we can approach their lines quietly then there is no reason to suppose that they cannot do the same.”
By dusk I was convinced that they would not attack. Our defences were, at least as solid as the Saxons and we had cleared thirty paces of scrub to give us a killing ground. I was relieved to see Pol emerge, dripping but smiling from the river. I thrust his cloak about him. “Well?”
“The men of Elmet have lost many warriors, my lord, and can field but six hundred although they still have a hundred archers. There are many women and children there and that is why Lord Raibeart said they had to halt. Their horses are not ready to use but when the buccina sounds he will lead out the men of Elmet to attack those before him.”
I clapped him about the shoulders, “Well done Pol. Now get some food inside you and get dried out.” It was as good a report as I could have hoped. We would be outnumbered but the Saxons would not expect an attack from two sides. “Miach, when the rest of the army arrives I want some quivers of arrows sending across the river for Lord Raibeart.”
The army arrived, silently, after dusk and they were led by Myrddyn. His young face beamed at me. “We brought more men that we hoped. Riderch sent fifty of his warriors to guard the castle.”
Old friends never let you down. “Good. Did you bring arrows?”
He pointed to the carts behind. “We brought four thousand.”
“Miach, get some men to build a raft and we will ferry across a thousand arrows for my brother.”
While the raft was being built I gave Myrddyn all the information we had. His mind was as sharp as any and I hoped he could see something we had not. I was disappointed when he said, “I think you have done all that you can my lord but I suspect that they will come this night.”
Myrddyn always seemed to be able to see things which other men could not. However I had had the same thought which was why I had rested so many of my men. “Make your men rest then for I feel we will need them ere long.”
It was pitch black by the time the raft was built and Miach’s four men ferried the arrows across and began the difficult climb in the dark. I had rested enough and stood with Garth and Myrddyn close to the killing ground. It was silent and, as Myrddyn said, that was unnatural. There should have been the noises of the animals and birds in the wood but all that we heard was the waterfall. It confirmed that there were Saxons in the close by and our arrows would not help us; we would have to rely on my warriors.
They came in the darkest part of the night. We had forty sentries peering into the dark but it was Myrddyn who alerted us. “They come.”
“Rouse the camp but quietly. We will hold them here until you return.” I hissed in the dark to the men around me. “Stand to! They come.” As I drew Saxon Slayer I heard the other blades as every warrior drew his weapon. Pol and Scean appeared, as though by magic and I felt much safer knowing that my two protectors were standing to protect my back. Even though we knew they were approaching it was nerve wracking; the first warning we might have would be a blade in the dark. The fence before us would not stop a wedge, merely slow it up and give us the chance to kill some of their warriors as they destroyed it.
I caught the glimpse of a white face and I picked up the javelin which was in the ground before me and hurled it. I heard a scream as it struck the face. Others threw their weapons and the Saxons screamed their war cry as they raced towards us. Numbers were hard to estimate for it was dark but it didn’t matter; we just had to kill as many as we could until the rest of my men reached us. I slashed my blade at head height and felt it jar into bone as it ripped a warrior’s face in two. Scean’s spear stabbed over my right shoulder and I heard the death scream of the axe man who had swung his weapon at my sword arm. I sensed a sword on my left and automatically raised my shield. More in hope than expectation I stabbed forwards with my sword and it slid under the arm of the warrior I had struck. Suddenly I heard a shout of, “Wolf Warriors!” from a hundred throats as the
first of my men rushed to support us. Although our wooden wall had gone it had done its job and the disorganised Saxons had no order. While we also lacked a solid line we were better trained and it began to tell. Inexorably the Saxon bodies piled up although it was hard to tell if we were winning or losing for we fought and died in darkness.
And then there were no more Saxons before us. There had been no order to retreat but they had had enough and had returned to their own camp. I glanced around to see if Pol and Scean were alive and I was relieved that they were and were uninjured. I could see some of my warriors had fallen but there was a satisfying wall of enemy bodies before us. We waited until Tuanthal’s scouts had returned and told us that the Saxons had returned to their own camp. I left some warriors to strip the dead of any weapons and armour and others to keep watch while the rest of us tried to get some sleep for the next day would see us fighting in earnest. I would not allow the enemy to dictate when we fought. Even though we were tired I knew that we had momentum on our side. We had bloodied them twice and I wanted them hurt before they regained their confidence.
Myrddyn did what he did best; he healed the wounded and saved many lives that night. The wounded men would not fight in this battle but they would fight again and we had too few warriors to waste them. We had lost twenty warriors wounded and dead but eighty Saxons were slain in the midnight battle. I gathered my captains and Myrddyn around me. They knew my strategies and they knew that they could voice an opinion. The scouts had reported that the land to the east was flatter than near to the rock and that would suit our horses.
“Tuanthal, if you take fifty warriors you can gather in that part of the valley. You will have time to get around their flanks unseen and you should be able to give them a shock. If you charge in an extended line they will see more horses than there are.”
“Will we advance in a shield wall, my lord?” Garth knew that he would lead the shield wall.
“Aye with the slingers before us and Miach, and his archers, behind. We will be vulnerable on our right flank so we need some horse and archers there to discourage a flank attack.”
“What about the other bank?”
We all looked at Myrddyn, not questioning his statement but wondering what his fertile mind had concocted. “The other bank?”
“Your men took the arrows across last night. If you sent archers across then they could give the Saxon defenders awaiting your brother another surprise. They will think they are safe on the river side and it will divide the attention of the defenders. It may also make them think that we are a larger army than we actually are.”
I looked at Miach who nodded. “Scanlan is a sound leader. He could take twenty men across. I will need to begin them now.”
“Good. See to it. Remember the signal will be the Roman horn. No one attacks before it sounds.”
Tuanthal left with his men as Miach’s men were ferried across the river on the fragile raft. Garth went to ensure that the warriors were prepared and Pol brought me my sharpened sword, gleaming in the sunlight. He now had a shield to go with his seax as well as a helmet. He was too valuable and brave to risk losing for the sake of a piece of metal and wood. As we gathered near to our wrecked wooden wall I hoped that the sudden appearance of my army would make the Saxons defend our side with all that they had; when Tuanthal, Raibeart and Scanlan attacked I hoped that the cracked confidence of the Saxons would be shattered. That was my plan but it hinged on the enemy being weak and I did not know the leader. If it was an Ida then I might win but a Wach or Aella could just tip the balance in their favour. The Saxons knew me and how I fought but, each time I fought them, it was with a different leader. I would need to use Myrddyn’s mind and magic to help me if I was emerge victorious.
We had twenty slingers and they slipped through the undergrowth ahead of us. I would not sound the horn until we had started to fight. If I made the call too early then the Saxons would have time to shift their forces. I wanted them committed to killing me. Scean had my wolf banner already unfurled as we edged cautiously through the scrub towards their lines. Unlike us, they had not cleared the brush and bush so that there would be no open area in which we would be able to fight. Given their superiority in numbers that suited us but it made it a nervous time as we crept forwards, never knowing when the conflict would begin. My slingers would be the eyes which would save us and I heard a shout and a scream as the first of them scored a hit.
The noise from the Saxon camp told me that they were aware of our attack and the increasing screams that my slingers were having success. Garth’s reassuring voice boomed out. “Lock shields and be ready!”
Although the terrain prevented a solid wall my well trained men were able to break the wall when they came against a tree or bush and then reform. We had two ranks and the second were armed with spears. When the Saxons came forwards there would always be one line which was solid and that would give my men confidence that they could withstand an attack. The archers formed a third line and they would not all loose together but choose their targets; this was dictated by the terrain. The first sign we had of the Saxons was the line of retreating slingers I quickly counted them as they retreated through our lines. They seemed to be intact and their grins showed me that they thought it a grand game.
The Saxons must have had an inkling of who commanded for they did not rush at us but came with a measured approach. An attack with the normal wedge formation was out of the question and they used a shield wall too. With one of our flanks anchored on the river they would try to outflank us and that, too, worked in our favour for it would draw their men into a long extended line and I was sure that my horse and archers could hold them.
“Raise the banner and let them see whom they fight.”
As soon as Scean raised the banner the men began to bang their shields and chant, “Wolf Warrior!” over and over.
The Saxons responded by hurling their own insults back at us but, more importantly, they began to head towards me and the banner. They kept their shields together but all were keen to be the one to kill the killer of Saxon champions and the warrior Saxon mothers used to frighten their children. Inevitably some of them showed too much of themselves and my archers began to pluck warriors from the wall. Of course there were plenty of replacements but it began to impede the subsequent lines and disrupt their flow. Suddenly they were close enough to attack and they lurched forwards. They could not use their weight advantage because of the undergrowth. I thrust Saxon Slayer forwards to pierce the eye and skull of the first warrior I saw. He inadvertently aided me by rushing at me. A spear took out the man to his left and Scean’s sword the warrior to the left.
I could hear the Saxon voices at the rear screaming for my blood and I smiled. My fame was a weapon and I used it; I know that it increased my danger and Aideen would hate to think of me placing myself in such a position but it was effective. I could now see that they were committed and I shouted, “Sound the horn!” The warrior with the horn was behind the spearmen and he was ready for the order. The wailing notes echoed against the rock and through the air. There was a slight hesitation in the Saxon attack which my men took advantage of striking at men who were distracted by the strange noise.
There was now a press of men locked in combat. My archers chose their targets and my shield wall did what it did the best, it killed. Suddenly a bloody warrior ran up to me. “My lord they have turned the flank!”
“Tell the men to fall back to the river.” This was to be expected and we would be in a better situation than the Saxons. The enemy would have to spread his men thinner and we would still be compact with our rear protected by the river. “Begin to fall back to the right. Left flank hold firm.”
The roar from the enemy showed that they thought we were beaten and they came recklessly on falling to our measured blows. They had the taste of victory in their nostrils, Disaster struck when one of their warriors had, what we termed, the death dream. He deigned a shield and hurtled at us with the mad look of a warrior
who would die and join the gods. He struck at me but the axe slid down my shield and ripped the arm from the warrior to my right. He was stabbed in the thigh with a spear but, such was the rush of battle fury that he did not even notice it and decapitated the next man in the line. Suddenly there was a gap in our shield wall and the Saxons poured through behind their madman. Pol bravely slashed at his hamstring and that did slow him up. He roared in rage and turned to destroy the flea which had dared to hurt him. I punched hard on the side of his head with my shield and heard his jaw and cheekbone crack but, more importantly it pushed him backwards. I stabbed forwards with Saxon Slayer and the sharp sword ripped through his throat and half severed his head. His eyes became blank; he dropped his axe and fell dead at Pol’s feet. We had no time for self congratulations for we had a wedge of warriors attempting to split our lines. Brave Pol slashed and sliced with his seax, Scean chopped and hacked with his sword and I punched and stabbed with Saxon Slayer. Garth had seen our dilemma and sent men from the secure river flank to bolster our lines and they fell back.
There was a brief respite as the sudden rush was slaughtered and we dressed our lines. I glanced at Pol who grinned back at me; he appeared to be without wounds. I heard Scean say quietly, “I hate those mad buggers with the death dream. They never die quickly. You have to chop off the bastard’s head!”
“Garth, how are we doing?”
“North flanks are now secure, my lord, but we lost some horses.”
It now depended upon my horsemen and my brother. We could continue to be the rock upon which they fell but unless the other two could make inroads then it would be a stalemate.
“Miach, try a few volleys in their rear ranks; let us slow them up a little.” We would waste some arrows as the trees would deflect and stop many of the flights but if only one in ten struck home then the Saxons would have to be wary.