by Griff Hosker
"Is it the gut ache?" There was concern in the voice and I heard him slither down the gentle bank. "Is that you over there?"
He appeared in my eye line. He was heading for his dead friend. I rose like a wraith as he passed me. He must have sensed me for although I made no sound he turned. I put my left hand across his mouth and lunged with my dagger. I hit him so hard in the throat that the blade appeared out of the back of his head. I lowered him to the ground and took his weapons. Placing the bodies together I took the rope they used to secure their breeks. I headed back to the place I had hidden between the rocks. I jammed the two spears so that their points were the height of a man's stomach and then I tied one of the ropes between two small bushes which flanked the path the sentry had taken.
I hurried along the side of the camp, keeping low. I took in that the men were spread around. One man slept by the horses. Reaching the far side of the camp I used the two swords and the other rope as a second trap. As I finished tying off the rope a wild thought entered my head. The ground fell away to the north and west towards the Flat Water. The large tarn was so named because the ground around it was flat. There were farms there. If I stole back the horses then I could ride down the slope and return to my own camp by riding around the peaks. It would take me half a day but they would have to move more slowly for they would not have the horses. It would take a day for them to reach Parton and that would involve running. It was worth the risk.
I worked my way around their camp. The horses became restless as I neared them. The Saxon who slept close by them heard them. "Quiet! Cannot a man sleep!"
I paused and saw that they had hobbled the horses. I would have to free them before I could escape. I used the horses for cover and walked upright towards them. I stroked the mane of Badger, Galeschin's horse and, slipping down cut the ropes which bound him. I moved to the other horse, Strider. As I stroked him he whinnied.
The man who lay close by rose. Rubbing his eyes, he said, "I'll teach you!"
He had not seen me. He stood and raised his arm. I rammed the dagger into his open mouth. He gurgled and died. I barely managed to catch him. Strider obligingly shifted out of the way and I laid him down. I cut the last hobbles and sheathed my dagger. The Saxons had discarded the saddles and so I slipped on to the back of Badger and held Strider's reins. I began to walk out of the camp. I walked around the edge of the camp close by the two dead sentries. There was more turf that way and fewer stones. Inevitably one of the hooves dislodged one of the stones and it clattered down to the rocks below. I held my nerve and kept walking until a voice shouted, "Aelle! Stop the horses from moving."
It was the rising sun behind me which was my undoing. False dawn had crept unseen into the sky and the sudden flaring of the new day silhouetted me.
"Wake!"
I dug my heels into Badger and the two horses took off down the pass. The Saxon camp had been well chosen for it was on the highest part. It meant that the two horses could open their legs. The Saxons who were running down behind me would not catch me. I heard a cry and a shout as one of them tripped on my trap. I slowed down the horses to conserve them. The pass twisted north and around a rock. I was hidden from view. We descended rapidly and as we neared the flat ground and the first of the farms ahead I spied a path to the south. I was on the horns of a dilemma. I needed to get back to my own horse but I could not leave the farmer and his family to the Saxons.
I rode on to the farm and banged on the door. "It is the Warlord rise! There is danger!"
I heard noise within. Our famers used huts with just one door. It opened slowly. A frightened looking man with a short sword stood there. He recognised me, "Warlord!"
"There is no time for words. A warband of savage Saxons are less than a mile away. Take your family and flee south. Use this horse."
All of our farmers knew the dangers of a warband. "Quickly, do as the Warlord says!" He had a wife and three children. His son held the reins of the horse as his wife and two daughters clambered on.
"I will try to lead them away. Warn your neighbours. My equites are coming and these are heading for Parton! Raise the alarm. Make noise!" I needed the rest of those who lived around the Water to be safe. I could not warn them all.
The farmer waved as he ran after the horse, his son and his family. I wheeled Badger around and rode back up the pass. I had almost reached the trail to the south when I saw the Saxons. They were still running down the trail towards me. Drawing my sword, I galloped across the rough ground to the path. One of the Saxons, seeing that I was within a hundred paces of them tried to take a short cut. It ended badly and he tumbled down across the rocks. When he rose, I saw that one arm hung awkwardly from his side. He was hurt. The rest did not follow. They headed down the trail towards the farm. That was one family they would not get. They had escaped the savage Saxons.
The path I took was not a good one. It was narrow and I had to pick my way along it. After an hour of tortuous climbing I spied their camp. It lay more than six hundred paces from me and below me. I chose a route which would take me to my own camp. That added another hour to my journey and the sun was higher in the sky when I reached Copper and the dog. I gave the dog some venison and water to Badger. Wearily I mounted Copper, tied a halter to my saddle and, leading Badger, rode towards the Saxon camp. I counted on the fact that they would be desperate to get to their ship and would have hurried down the trail.
Warrior growled as we neared it. Someone was still there. I drew my sword. I saw the Saxon. He had his back to the rocks where I had hidden. He had run into the spears and been gutted. He was barely alive. Warrior growled as he approached. The Saxon gave me a wry grin as I dismounted. He spoke Saxon, "Do you come to have your dog eat my guts?"
"It is what you deserve for what you did to the shepherd and his family."
He laughed and was wracked with pain. "You think they were the only ones, horseman? The people paid for the deaths your horseman caused us. When Lang Seax brings all of our men then your people will truly know pain."
I had been watching him and saw his hand sneaking around his back. He must have had a dagger there, one of the wicked weapons called a seax. Even as I raised my sword and pulled it back Warrior leapt and fixed his jaws around the hand. The effort was too much for the Saxon who expired. I patted the dog's head, "Good boy. You have had some vengeance, at least." I took the Saxon's seax and stuck it in my belt.
I rode down the trail towards the farm. It was still intact but there was no sign of the farmer or his family. Riding around the Flat Water I saw no sign of the Saxons. I reached the end of the valley at noon. Some armed men appeared from the woods there. They were my people. "Warlord, we heard you were abroad." The leader pointed west. "The Saxons went that way." He held up a head by its greasy locks. It was tattooed. "We found this one with a broken arm. They had left him. It is one less savage to worry us and pays in part for what they did."
"What they did?"
He nodded, "Ten days since a larger warband came through and they killed Radgh of Asby and his family. Six children were in the family."
"This is the same warband. How far ahead of me are they?"
"No more than two miles. We were scouring the woods for more of them when you came by."
I handed them Badger's reins. "We will come for this horse when they are dead."
"You seek them alone?"
"No, I have my equites heading to cut them off at Parton!"
I contemplated leaving the dog with them but he deserved to be there at the end.
I found them four miles from Parton. My equites and archers were on the far side of them barring their escape. The survivors had found a small island of land between two small streams. They had chosen the best place they could find for their defence. It mattered not. They would all die. I reined in to the east of them. I drew Saxon Slayer and raised it. My equites, half a mile from where I sat began banging their shields with their swords. I heard the Saxons singing. It was their death song. I lowere
d my sword and Daffydd ap Miach ordered his archers to loose their arrows. There were too few Saxons to make a shield wall and one by one they died. Some took five arrows to succumb but eventually all lay dead. I rode down and crossed the stream. Warrior walked up to them and sniffed. Then he cocked his leg and gave them the final indignity.
"Take their swords and then burn them. The rest will be in Parton."
Llenlleog nodded, "We saw their ship. We did not enter the village. We remained hidden and hunted these. Geraint found them."
Leaving some archers to burn the bodies we headed west. We saw a column of smoke spiralling into the air as we drew close and we saw the Saxon ship rowing away from the shore. They had fled. What they had left was heart breaking. Every man, woman and child, had been butchered. Even the village dogs had been slain. Warrior put his tail between his legs and his ears down.
Llenlleog shook his head, "This is my fault. We should have come here before we went to catch the warband."
I shook my head. "They would have been dead already. The fire was to cover their tracks. I fear that there will be many such atrocities across the land." I told him what I had discovered.
He shook his head, "You took a mighty risk, Warlord. There was no need."
"You have fewer men to kill and if I had not recaptured the horses then they might have reached here even quicker. Besides it is done now. We learn from this and we move on. I now know that our plan for the towers is even more urgent. This Lang Seax is building up his forces. He wants Rheged."
"Then he will have to fight us to get it, Warlord."
Part 3
The Battle of Winwaed
Chapter 10
The dog stayed with us. He had no sheep to protect and so he protected Copper and me. From that day forth he came with us when we went to war. He proved to be a sentry without compare. Sleeping at my feet I was never surprised for Warrior always woke me with a growl when anyone approached.
The attacks on the isolated farms ensured that all of us worked hard to keep a good watch until the towers were built. Our quests discovered eight farms and isolated hamlets which had been destroyed by the warband. It frightened me. Gawan, Arthur and I sat in my hall one late summer evening discussing it.
"It is my fault Warlord. I am no Myrddyn."
"Brother, he was a wizard pure and simple. You are a warrior and a wizard."
Arturus said, "We should use my wife's skills." We both looked at him. "After we returned she said that she had sensed some disaster in Rheged."
Gawan asked, gently, "Perhaps that was because the news of the warband was known by then, do you not think?"
I thought he might have taken offence but he had grown into a man. Soon he would be an equite and it was reflected in his bearing. "No, father. I know her thoughts. She genuinely felt unease. Now she will tell me if she senses any disorder in the land. She is completely happy here in Rheged. She has told me that she feels as though she has come home."
The more I thought about it the more sense it made. Her father did not come from Powys. "Then I am doubly happy that you chose her as your bride."
He smiled, "And she is with child. You will be a grandfather soon, Father."
"Will that affect her powers?"
"I know not. We shall see."
"Until the towers are built then each quest will continue." We were now restricted to just seven days in Carvetitas. It was fortunate that we had King Penda's horses for we would have worn the others out. We had also ensured that no equite and squire rode alone. Galeschin's fate had been a warning to us all.
We made Arturus an equite. The ceremony was quite simple but the oath each equite took before the assembled warriors was binding. Each equite swore to protect his brothers and Rheged in equal measure. Arturus became one of the Wolf Brethren. At the same time two squires were also sworn in. Mine was Pelas ap Tuanthal. His father had died protecting me and I was honoured to have his son. Arturus had Kay's son, Ban ap Kay. I felt sorry for the two of them. They had two of the most important equites in Rheged to protect. At the end of the ceremony I gave him King Oswald's sword. Few had seen it since the battle with Oswald and Oswiu. All were impressed; none more so than Arturus.
Gwenhwyfar touched the hilt. Most women would have shied away from the weapon but Gwenhwyfar was different. She closed her eyes. "This sword has had a Christian spell put upon it. I can sense it." She opened here eyes and we all waited. "If I put a spell of the Mother upon it then it will be twice as powerful." She took the sword and scabbard from her husband and went with Gawan. They returned some time later. She handed the sword to her husband and they retired.
We all gathered around Gawan, eager to hear what had happened. He shook his head. "It was I who felt like the acolyte. It was like watching Myrddyn. She is a confident witch. Myrddyn was right, brother, she will be the saving of Rheged; for a time, at least."
We had an extra seven days without a quest for our squires needed to get to know both us and our animals. In Pelas' case he had to win the approval of Warrior. Our squires now faced greater danger. Gone were the days when they tended the horses and watched the equites fight. Now they would be as likely to fight as their masters. The seven days of training and bonding would be crucial.
At the end of the training period we rode abroad. Agramaine and Llewellyn were with Arturus and myself. Their squires would be invaluable in ensuring that Ban and Pelas did not make too many mistakes. We might forgive them but often mistakes could be fatal. Galeschin had discovered that.
Our quest took us east. We would go beyond the Eden valley and Shap. We would enter the land of Deira. King Penda had sent me a message. He intended to move north to his northern borders when summer came. That was nine moons away but he wished to know the state of the land close to the High Divide. I knew why he was worried. Deira was a small part of Northumbria. There were more Angles north of Eoforwic than south of it. Daffydd ap Miach insisted upon sending eight archers with me. Llenlleog also complained for, once again, the Warlord was putting himself at risk.
"Galeschin discovered that you do not need to be in the land of the Angles to be in danger. The Clan of the Snake could use their ships at any time and they could destroy any of the equites we sent to the coast. All of us are now in danger, Llenlleog. The days when Rheged had a ring of allies around her borders are a thing of the past."
He grudgingly accepted it. I knew why he was disturbed. He would have to stay in Carvetitas with Gawan to protect the families of my equites. I know that he had a problem with Gwenhwyfar. He found her not only beautiful as did all of my equites, he found her dangerous for she had powers he could not control.
As we headed east I sensed a change in all of my men. Normally they chatted and bantered as we headed towards our borders. When we reached our borders then they became more vigilant. The attack by the Saxons now made them look around as soon as we headed along the Stanegate. Arturus was particularly nervous. He had left a pregnant wife at home. "We ride to Hagustaldes-ham and then head south, Warlord?" I nodded, "That is Bernicia."
"I know. It is why we have archers, and Warrior. There are no strongholds close to the High Divide. Din Guardi is on the coast and Eoforwic is well to the east. I wish to see if they have reinvested Stanwyck. If they have then it will tell me that they are a direct threat to us and not the Mercians."
"Lord Lann and his brothers came from there, did they not?"
"They did. It is not far north of Eoforwic. King Penda's scouts can give the King a better picture of the land around Eoforwic. The King needs to know the state of Bernicia."
We camped at the abandoned fort of Vercovicium. There was now a tower here. One of the turrets from the Roman fort had been repaired using stones which had fallen from other parts of the wall. There was a farm close to the fort and the farmer and his family manned the tower.
Ceryn had eight children including five sons. He was pleased to see us arrive. "We watch during the day, Warlord. It means we have one pair of hands less
on the farm but if it can warn us of danger then so much the better."
"You have a pony too?"
We had given a pony or a horse to each of the men who used the towers for us. It was partly payment for their work but it would enable us to learn of danger quickly.
"We have and we have repaired the door on the turret. We keep food and water in there. If an enemy comes we can survive for a few days. If help has not arrived by then we would be dead anyway. It buys us a little time. He looked east, "We are the closest people to the Angles, Warlord. I hope that men could reach us if danger came."
"All that you need to do is to reach Banna. There are archers there. They could be here in less than half a day. Can all your sons ride?"
"Aye lord."
"And they have weapons?"
"Not all lord."
I waved over Pelas, "Fetch the knives and swords we took from the Saxons. Let Ceryn choose weapons for his sons."
As he went off Ceryn looked relieved, "Thank you Warlord."
"The men we took them from had neither mail nor helmet else we could have let you have them too."
"We can all use bows but a sword or a knife is handy."
When we left, the next day, they were in a stronger position. My archers had repaired the second gate to the milecastle so that an enemy would have to break through two gates to get into the tower. It would increase the chances of my archers reaching them. Arturus had also suggested that, as they had a stone fort, they could light a signal fire. The archers at Banna would know sooner of the danger.
Ceryn's tower was the last one. We headed down the Roman Road wearing our helmets and with spears at the ready. The archers had strung bows and arrows ready to be nocked. As noon approached we were heading down through the woods to the Tinea and the bridge at Hagustaldes-ham. There was no fort here but there was a Roman bridge and it could be defended. I sent the archers ahead to scout it out. It was late afternoon when they returned. It was with the news that the bridge was defended. It was just a mile ahead. We had three choices. I could return home. I could find another way around the defenders or I could rid myself of the problem. I had already decided what to do but saw a good opportunity to ask for the opinion of my equites and to see how far Arturus had come.