by Griff Hosker
“Yes my lord, but they will not be looking at the sea.”
Myrddyn was right. “Good then let us go.”
It took longer to collect the flammable material than to get the coracles. They were all tied together looking like so many ducklings behind Gwynfor’s duck. Myrddyn made a fire pot. It was the safest way to carry fire on a boat and would keep the flame hidden. It contained glowing coals from the blacksmiths and they would still be hot many hours later. One in each coracle would do the job. We took no armour and only short swords and my bow. The fishing boat was too small to allow me to swing Saxon Slayer and if I fell then it would go to Hogan. All of Gwynfor’s crew wished to come but we needed as few men on board as possible and we set off with a slight breeze blowing from the west. It meant we could get there quickly but we would take longer to get home.
When I saw the gap between the islands it seemed quite wide but Gwynfor whispered that soon it would close upon us like walls of rock. He was right. I could see the glow from the burning fort and the remnants of the bridge. Gwynfor suddenly hauled down the sail. “What is the matter?”
“The bridge has partly blocked the channel we will have to edge around. Here.” Myrddyn and I were given oars. “Fend off any wood that might stop us and I will steer.”
We crawled through the debris sometimes having to go at right angles to the direction we really wished to go. All the time it was eating up the night and making it perilously close to dawn. Eventually we emerged into the open sea and we could see the fleet. We kept the sail down to lower our profile and rowed into position. I hauled the coracles up one by one. When the first one was alongside Myrddyn dropped the hot coal from the fire pot into the wood and straw and then pushed it off with his oar. We sailed a few more paces to the next ship and repeated it. The wind and the current took the little black blobs towards the silent, moored fleet. I wondered if the fire had gone out as the coracles remained ominously dark. As the last one was lit Gwynfor hoisted the sail. I could see the stern of the last Saxon ship less than thirty paces from me. “Give me the fire pot. Gwynfor sail as close to the Saxon ship as you can get.”
Both men must have had misgivings but they obeyed. Before he gave me the pot Myrddyn sprinkled something inside. “A little magic from Myrddyn,“ he said.
As we passed within ten paces I stood and hurled the pot into the air. “Now get us out of here!”
The pot landed with a clatter and then a wall of flame sprang up. There were bright reds, blues, greens and yellows. It looked like a dragon had fired the ship. Even as we headed out to sea I saw the coracles begin to burst into flames. Some of them missed the boat nearest to them but they still posed a threat to all the ships. The Saxons on the boats reacted quickly and I saw sails being hoisted as they tried to run. Their only chance was to outrun the tiny coracles which would soon burn out and sink. The boat we had fired was aflame from bow to stern and the crew could be seen jumping into the water. We were edging quickly out to sea and soon we would have to tack to turn for home. The coracles had managed to set alight at least four ships. The Saxon ships were now desperately trying to avoid the coracles and each other. As the Saxon ships which were not on fire headed out to sea we were in danger of being caught by the bigger boats.
I notched an arrow. It would be like spitting in the wind but I could pick off the steersmen on one of the ships and give us a chance. The Saxons were highlighted against the burning vessels whilst we were a tiny black boat hidden in the night. As dawn broke, however, we would soon be seen. I peered over the side and saw that another four ships were on fire. The others, all ten of them appeared to be under control although I could still see small fires burning. It was then that they saw us and three boats turned to pursue us.
“Head for Porthdafarch!” I counted on the fact that my men in the fort would be watching for us and might be able to affect a rescue. I turned to watch the Saxons. They were three hundred paces behind us but gaining. The rocks at the edge of the bay jutted out into the bay giving Gwynfor the chance to sail closer to the shore than the deeper Saxon ships but they could cut the corner. It was a chance we had to take. When they were two hundred paces from us I chanced an arrow. The nearest Saxon boat was turning slightly to gain the benefit from the wind. I loosed and the gods were with me as the arrow thudded into the chest of the man on the tiller. Suddenly the boat yawed to the right and, before they could do anything it crunched to its slow death on the deadly rocks.
We were still not safe for the two other ships were now less then two hundred paces away and gaining. They had a wall of shields around the vulnerable steersman and I would not be able to repeat my feat. It was with some relief that we rounded the headland. As we did the boat almost came to a halt as we tried to sail into the wind. Gwynfor quickly tacked and we crossed beneath the bows of the second Saxon ship. I loosed a speculative arrow and hit the man at the bow watching the rocks. The little spurt took us beyond the boat and they had to repeat the manoeuvre.
I pointed to the far side of the bay. “Head for a point over there.”
Gwynfor looked confused but obeyed. It meant that the two Saxon ships would catch us. Myrddyn saw my plan and grinned. “I think someone else can be the bait next time!”
The leading ship was less than thirty paces from our stern when the first of the missiles from my fort struck it. The initial ones were stones but soon one of the onagers was loosing fire. They both tried to turn but the precocious and unpredictable wind did not help them; it veered a point or two. Soon both ships were slowly sinking. Gwynfor had time to turn for the centre of the beach where Garth, Pol and Hogan awaited me with warriors ready to finish off the Saxon survivors.
Chapter 20
We hauled Gwynfor’s boat onto the beach and were warmly greeted by my warriors. Dawn had broken and we saw the smoke rising in the sky. The two Saxon ships in the bay had managed to turn and were wrecked on the rocks which divided the two bays. Some of the survivors would make it back to their comrades but many would have their throats slit- the penalty for failure. I headed for the gate. When I reached the top I could see that the Saxons were already beginning to withdraw out of the range of the onagers. They had edged closer under cover of the night and I suspect our early attack had thwarted their own attack. Ridwyn had done a quick count. “They still outnumber us my lord.”
“Aye but the loss of their ships may make them reconsider the cost of this expedition.”
“They may decide to gamble on winning all with one throw of the dice.”
“Then, Captain Garth, let us hope that they do not do so otherwise I have got cold and wet for nothing.”
This time they had thought their battle plans through. They had huge shields as high as a man and as wide as three men. They came behind these as they marched forwards. It was no wonder they had not seen us as we sailed between the islands. They must have spent all night building the twenty shields which they now used. Of course the three onagers punched holes in their attack but they did not kill as many men as we had previously. Our archers were forced to release their arrows blind and, again, the Saxon shields took many of the flights. First one, and then a second onager broke down and we were left with one. The Saxons reached the ditch and were able to lay the shields in the ditch as a bridge. Soon they were hacking at the wooden walls with their axes. The men on the walls killed many with their javelins, arrows and slings but still the relentless Saxons came on.
“Ridwyn, Garth, pull every warrior from the walls. Leave the slingers and archers. I want a double line shield wall here behind the gate.”
I could see daylight through the walls as the Saxons succeeded in punching holes through the wood. We had our three lines and I stood in the second with Pol and Hogan. Garth and Ridwyn were in the fore.
“As soon as they come through we will run at them and throw them back! Do not become reckless and follow them. When we have thrown them back then we retire behind our walls and their dead!”
When the section of wa
ll went, it went quickly. “The gate had held but the wall to the right had been breached and thirty men poured through. The fifty men of our front rank struck them as one line and Garth and Ridwyn carved a swathe of death through the centre. When one of the warriors in our front rank fell then another took his place. I was not needed as I was following my two captains. In a very short time we were at the breach and the men and boys on the walls decimated the survivors. They ran back to their lines and we retreated.
“Brother Oswald, get some men to shore up the gap.”
As they did so Myfanwy and the women came with water and food for the men on the walls. She personally handed me a water skin and some fresh bread. “I know that you will not have eaten.” She sniffed, “and you have had another night without sleep!”
Much to my discomfort, my men, and especially Pol and Hogan found this very funny. Their laughter, however, showed me that they were still in good spirits despite the perilous position we were in. The walls had been roughly repaired when the shout from the walls came, “They come again.”
“Time to rotate.” I stepped into the front rank with Pol and Hogan just behind me and they, in turn, were flanked by Gareth and Ridwyn. My son had the best protection of any of my warriors. They came at the same place they had destroyed. That was their first mistake. Although easier to break down we had not removed the bodies and, as they smashed through and rushed forwards, eagerly, they tripped and fell over the bodies of their own dead. The javelins on the walls made short work of those who flailed on the ground.
“Hit them!” We half ran forwards and hit them in a solid line. Saxon Slayer smashed through the helmet of the first warrior as though it had been parchment. Hogan had sharpened it well. I used a backhand stroke to sweep across the faces of the warriors before me but a spear darted out and stuck me in the thigh. The warrior who had struck the blow gleefully twisted it before Hogan’s seax slashed across his throat and he died. I could feel the blood seeping rather than gushing from the wound. I would live. My men were spurred on at the wound inflicted on their Warlord and they fought ferociously, driving the Saxons back once again. As soon as they had retreated Garth shouted, “Myrddyn!” while Ridwyn tried to organise the repairs to the walls. This time we had nothing left with which to repair them and the Bernician brought his men back to our thin shield wall..
Myrddyn used a knife to widen the breech in my breeks made by the spear. He washed it in water and then dabbed it with a sweet smelling potion. “Bite on your dagger, my lord. This needs stitching.”
“Just do it! I have had stitches before.” With Hogan gripping my hand, Myrddyn quickly stitched the wound and bandaged it.
“They come again.”
“I know it will do me no good to ask you to go to your chambers but, Hogan, keep your father from fighting again!”
The infuriating healer then went off to see to our other wounded. Garth and Ridwyn had formed the men up in a smaller formation. We had lost warriors. Helped by my son and Pol I dragged myself to my feet and with sword and shield stood beneath the Wolf Banner. The fight was even more frenetic and closely fought than before. The Saxons were throwing everything into this attack. When they were thrown back I saw that just fifty of my men remained. Both Garth and Ridwyn had new scars.
“The next time will be the last my lord. We cannot hold them any more.”
“Here they come again!”
Despite Myrddyn’s words my place was with my men and I limped forwards to stand in the thin line of warriors awaiting the attack. The Saxon line was just about to step through the breach when a cry went up from the ramparts. “Horsemen!” And we heard the sound of the Dragon Standard wailing in the distance.
The Saxons paused; this was our chance, “Charge!” We struck them in an improvised wedge but the heart was gone from them. Tuanthal’s men poured down the hill and my archers, slingers and the last onager rained death upon them as we struck them. They ran. They hurtled towards their ships in the nearby bay and Tuanthal and his men chased them all the way into the water. By the time my weary men and I reached them, the Saxon ships were edging out to sea. They would not return.
I took off my helmet and grinned up into the face of Tuanthal. “Well met, my friend.”
“I am sorry that I am late but we had three ships to deal with. They landed near the Narrows and it took us some time to persuade them to return home.”
“So it seems they tried to land in four places. They must really want me. Thank you anyway. We were about to be defeated. Did you suffer many casualties?”
“Fifteen men dead, but none of my horsemen.”
“Let us go back to the fortress. Brother Oswald can collect the booty and dispose of the bodies. I could sleep for a week.”
Garth laughed, “And Myfanwy will ensure that you do.”
“Myfanwy?”
“We have much to tell you Tuanthal.”
When we entered the gates our people and those of Caergybi had gathered to cheer us in. Their smiling faces told us how much it had meant to them. As I limped to the warrior hall Myrddyn said, “We will repair the walls and deal with the dead. What do you want to do with the prisoners? Do you still need them?”
I had forgotten my ten prisoners. “We will eat and then I will question them.”
Ridwyn shrugged, “They can tell us little now my lord.”
“They can tell us who led them and what they hoped to achieve.”
“I would have thought that was obvious. They want to capture the island.”
“They would have captured the mainland first. If they are at Deva then there is little in their way. No we will question them and then begin to rebuild.”
Food after a battle, no matter what the quality, always tastes as though it is a new food from the gods; the food Brother Osric used to call ambrosia. Certainly we all ate well and enjoyed ourselves. After the meal I took Myrddyn and my four captains to question the prisoners. All of them had wounds but Myrddyn had tended to them. One had a torc and I knew him to be a chief. I left him for last.
I pointed to one young warrior, “Him!” They dragged him to his feet and held him before me. “You know who I am?”
“The one they call Wolf Warrior.”
“Then you know my reputation. Speak the truth and you will have a warrior’s death. If not we will geld you, blind you and throw you to the fishes.”
He was brave and defiant but Garth’s knife next to his testicles brought forth tears and a torrent of information. Their leader was another Aella, unrelated to the one we had killed. They had been sent by King Aethelric to kill or capture the Wolf Warrior and bring back his people as slaves. He gave us an accurate count of the ships and the men and we knew that we had defeated the whole force. Garth put a sword in his hand and Ridwyn cut his throat. We did the same for them all but the chief. His eyes had been filled with anger and hatred and more, he had a self satisfied smirk upon his face. He knew more than his men.
“Do I now get the warrior’s death my men did?”
“No you get the same questions the brave young warrior had and the same threats. What do you know?”
He put on a bland smile. “I know many things. What do you wish to know?”
“Geld him!”
Ridwyn pulled down his breeks and Ridwyn sliced off his testicles in one clean move. He screamed in pain and anger and his face infused with rage. “What I know, Lord Lann, Warlord of Rheged and king killer is that every Saxon in the land is coming to get you and we have your brothers surrounded. Prince Pasgen is a prisoner in Civitas Carvetiorum and Saxons come from all over the land to kill the Wolf Warrior. When King Aethelric comes he will dangle your brothers’ heads before you. Is that enough?”
I was never angrier than at that moment and I did not behave well. I was too shocked to think like a leader. “Throw him from the cliffs!”
“My lord!”
“Stay out of this Brother Oswald.” My men were frozen like statues. “I will do it myself.”
Ridwyn and Garth nodded and picked up the bleeding and still defiant chief and left the room. I heard his voice as he was taken, “I will wait for you in the Otherworld and I will tell them that you have no honour! You are a nithing! We will all be waiting!”
Myrddyn, alone of all of them knew the pain I was feeling and knew why I had acted as I had. “They are both resourceful and brave. They will find a way out of the trap… or he could have been lying. And Prince Pasgen, we escaped and he might too.”
“A gelded man does not lie.” I slumped into a seat. “It is not just that Myrddyn. While they remained free then there was a chance we could go back some time but now there is no chance for there is no Rheged, just a Saxon England!”
The End
Glossary
Characters in italics are fictional
Name
Explanation
Aedh
Despatch rider and scout
Aelfere
Northallerton
Aella
King of Deira
Aelle
Monca’s son and Lann’s step brother
Aethelric
King of Deira (The land to the south of the Tees)
Aidan
Priest from Metcauld
Alavna
Maryport
Ambrosius
Headman at Brocavum
Artorius
King Arthur
Banna
Birdoswald
Belatu-Cadros
God of war
Bhru
Bernician warrior
Bladud
King Urien’s standard bearer
Blatobulgium
Birrens (Scotland)
Brocavum
Brougham
Caergybi
Holyhead
Civitas Carvetiorum
Carlisle