Poisonous Plots

by Griff Hosker

  We camped at the road the Romans had built to connect the two coasts. It had been there before their wall. They had called it the Stanegate. When de Vesci came from the New Castle he would come down the road. It was also the road the Scots would use if they chose to attack either Carlisle or the New Castle.

  As the tents were erected Padraig and I prepared for the raid. Once again, I did not bother with a helmet. I hung my shield from Skuld’s saddle but I did not think that I would need it. I saw that the archers had used charcoal to cover their faces. Men had oiled their mail and their horse furniture so that we would be silent.

  Darkness fell and we headed south down the narrow road which observed the ancient field boundaries. It was not a Roman road; it was not cobbled and it was not straight. Waving farewell to my son and grandson I led my men down the road to the Scottish camp. Our scouts had kept our presence hidden. I think the Scots thought that de Vernon and the Templars still guarded their rear and kept us from finding them. It explained their route through Rothbury. I stopped when we were just half a mile from their camp. Aiden and Masood awaited me there. We had brought ten horse holders who would wait with the horses. I was with Alf, Sir Morgan, his squire, Padraig and Sir James’ five archers. We marched silently towards their camp. Sir Gilles and his men rode around the camp to their horse herd. Richard and Sir Gille slipped away with Aiden to find their siege engines. Masood nodded and led Sir James towards the camp.

  I turned to Alf, “Now we walk towards their camp and we will try to make them think that the nine of us are an army. Padraig, you have the horn?”

  “I do Earl Marshal.”

  The attack would be begun by Sir Gilles. When they drove the horse herd all eyes would be upon them. The noise and the confusion would cover the attack by my other men. The archers nocked their bows. I held my sword over my shoulder and we listened. The camp was now silent. The squeals and screams had long ago ceased. Now the camp was a murmur of sentries speaking with each other and the sound of sleeping men snoring and breaking wind. The archers stood behind the four of us. We were a thin line.

  When the cry broke the stillness of the night even I was startled and I was expecting it. Our men were to the left and right of us. I said, “Now!” The five archers sent their arrows blindly into the camp. They would continue to do so until we heard the thunder of hooves. Then we would get out of the way. I shouted, “For King Henry, England and the blessed St. Cuthbert! My men all cheered. We heard cries as arrows found flesh.

  A Scottish voice shouted, “To arms! We are attacked!”

  Out of the dark four sentries rushed at us. Using two hands I ran at them. My quick hands whipped right and then left. Used two handed I had great power with my blade. One Scot was almost cut in two and the other had his skull laid open. Alf slew another and Walther made his first kill. Our archers continued to rain death. The hooves grew louder. I had mentally counted more than five hundred.

  “Padraig, sound the horn!” The Scots would be following the horses. If the captives had not been recovered and if the siege machines were undamaged then it was too late. Our attack would have failed.

  We ran to our left, off the road on which we had stood. The horses thundered up the road. I saw Sir Gilles and their men as they slapped rumps with their swords. The horses were sumpters and palfreys. They would drive them all the way to our camp. I glimpsed Sir Gille and Sir Richard’s squires as they raced by us too. My knights and young squires had survived.

  “We can start to move back. Keep the arrows falling and face the Scots.”

  The other archers were still sending their arrows from the dark. We could not see them but now that the horses had passed they could release with impunity. It slowed the pursuit. I saw flames in the distance. My knights had exceeded my expectations, they had managed to set fire to some of the machines. In the dark I heard a voice call out, “Get the fires out.”

  If I thought we were safe, I was wrong. We were not far from our horses when a knight and ten warriors burst from the dark. They all had shields and they soon spied us. I shouted, “Archers, release and then get to the horses!”

  In the dark, behind the warriors, I saw more approaching. Our archers were too valuable to waste.

  “But lord!”

  “Obey me!”

  Five arrows flew over our shoulders and five of the advancing men fell making the others close up. It allowed the four of us to hurry further towards our horses. To our left I heard shouts and what sounded like sobbing. I could do nothing about it. The Scottish knight who led them shouted, “There are only four of them and one is the Warlord! Get him and the war is over!”

  Padraig slung the horn behind him and held his shield out. I was the only one without a shield and so I slipped my dagger into my left hand. Sometimes it is better to do the unexpected, “At them!” Raising my sword above my head I ran at the knight. He did not see the dagger. He saw that I just had a sword. He pulled his arm back for a strike as he blocked my sword with his shield. A knight who raises his arm reveals his armpit. I rammed my dagger into the armpit. Hot blood flowed over my arm. I twisted and pulled. Then I pushed his body at a stunned man at arms. Before he could recover I had brought my sword into the side of his head. Alf fought like a mad man. He was a big man and he used his sword like a cudgel. When the men at arms lay dead I saw, ahead of me more warriors. We had done all that we had needed to, “Run!”

  We turned and ran. There was a cheer form behind us and the Scots hurtled after us. Above us it sounded like a flock of birds had taken flight. It was not. It was arrows. They stopped the warriors as effectively as a gate slamming shut. I saw Aelric and my son. They had all of my archers in a line.

  My son grinned, “You did not think we would stay in camp and do nothing did you? Besides, Sir James has rescued ten captives. They wish to thank the Warlord who sanctioned their rescue!”

  Chapter 16

  We rode back to my camp. The rest of my knights awaited me. Fires burned and I could smell food cooking. They had not been with us but they had not slept. They had kept vigil. We were their brothers and while we were in danger they would watch.

  James had lost half of his men at arms. He and his squire had both suffered wounds but he looked as happy as I had ever seen him. He had, indeed, rescued ten girls and young women. The youngest looked to have seen eleven summers, the eldest twenty.

  “You have shown yourself a true knight, James.”

  “Thank you, Warlord.” He pointed to the two oldest girls. “These are Ada and Connie. They were the girls taken from Forcett.”

  The two girls looked thin and their clothes were little more than rags yet their eyes burned brightly, “Thank you, lord. We prayed each night that help would come but as the months went on we began to despair. Some of the other girls who were taken died of broken hearts for they gave up. We never did and we thank you.”

  I looked at the other girls. “And where did the other girls come from?”

  One, she looked to be fifteen summers or so pointed south, “Men came to our village. It is called Lamesley. They killed the men and took the women.”

  “They were not Scots?”

  “No lord.”

  I turned to Padraig, “Fetch de Vernon and make sure he is bareheaded.”

  “Aye lord.”

  I turned back to the girls, “When this is over we will be returning south. You will be safe. You tell us where you wish us to take you. I promise that you will be cared for and you will be safe. Any hurts you have will be tended to.”

  Ada shook her head, “Lord some of the hurts cannot be seen. I know not how they can be healed.”

  I saw my knights’ faces. They set in grim lines. William of Scotland’s men had used the girls but they had been taken by others. When de Vernon appeared he sulked, “Why has my sleep been disturbed? Is this more torture?”

  The sight of him made the girls recoil. Ada stood and spat at him, “He is the creature who led the men!”

  De Vernon lo
oked perplexed, “What is the harpy going on about?”

  I turned and hit him hard across the face with the back of my hand. “What kind of man are you? Your men took these girls from their homes. They used them at their playthings and you do not even recognise them.”

  He wiped the blood from his mouth. “I did not use them. I would not touch so base a creature.”

  I shook my head, “Take him away before I save the executioner a job!” De Vernon was dragged unceremoniously back to his tent. I nodded to James and he led the girls away.

  Wulfric said, “What now, lord? Sir Richard told us that the siege engines were set on fire. Some still survive but they cannot breach the walls yet.”

  My son said, “We are still outnumbered, Wulfric. We will have to wait on the men from the New Castle and Morthpath.”

  “These are a Scottish rabble. We have fought greater numbers before and we have triumphed.”

  “And we have lost men before. We have lost men that we could not replace.” I pointed to the glow in the south that marked the fire my men had started. “When the Sheriff brings his knights and we are joined by the men of Morthpath we will bring William to battle. He can go nowhere. We block his route home.”

  As dawn broke I mounted Skuld and went with William and Wulfric and our squires. We went to view the enemy. The bodies of the Scots still lay where they had fallen. Rats scurried away and crows took flight at our approach. Wulfric surveyed them. “They are the wild men from the north, lord. None wears mail. I told you, they are a rabble.”

  We reached a high point on the road. It was the point we had occupied during the night attack. We could see their camp. They had taken over the small hamlet of Ovingham. It was a vast camp. The three blackened piles of wood that had been rams could be seen by the bridge. Edward, Wulfric’s squire had good eyes. “They still have one ram, lord. There are men guarding it.”

  I surveyed the camp and also pointed, “There, Wulfric, do you see those banners? They are their knights. The horses we took last night were sumpters. See the herd of war horses? We took their horses but not the ones they will use in battle. This is not a rabble. This William fancies himself a knight. His brother wished to be a knight. William is no maiden; he believes that he is the equal of any of us.”

  Wulfric shook his head, “What has he done? He has defeated the men of the islands. He has sent Vikings packing. He has not faced Norman knights. He will fail.”

  “It may well be true that he has not faced opposition such as we but count the banners. How many knights does he have?” I had already counted them but I wanted Wulfric to count them for himself.

  It took him some time. “There are more than three hundred banners, Warlord.”

  Samuel said, quietly, “Three hundred and sixty-two, Sir Wulfric.” I saw my son smile.

  “And we have twelve. I like a challenge Wulfric but those odds? Even with the men at arms we have they still outnumber us.”

  “Then we just wait?”

  “The raid last night means they cannot breach the walls yet. We have taken the horses of their men at arms and scouts. The herd which remains is their war horses. They will be guarded. See how they have begun to dig a ditch to stop us repeating last night’s attack.” Scots were busy making defences. The earth from the ditches was being topped with willow taken from the trees by the river. “When de Vesci arrives then we can go on the offensive. Until that time we maintain a presence here. Our one advantage is our mounted archers. We keep forty of them here. They will prevent a sally and give us warning of any danger.”

  Ranulf de Merlay from Morthpath was the first to arrive. He brought with him another fifteen knights. It more than doubled our number. He also brought sixty men at arms and crossbowmen. Our archers kept a watch. They reported that the Scots tried to find a ford across the Tyne. When they found one they sent parties of men south. It galled me that we could do nothing for those men would be raiding villages for food and captives. I wondered where the Sheriff of the New Castle was.

  William de Vesci arrived two days later. During that time the Scots had constructed a stone thrower. It showed that they were ready to begin the assault on the walls of Prudhoe. The Sheriff brought with him fifty knights and two hundred men at arms, archers and crossbowmen. I took him and William into my tent for a conference.

  “My lord, Sheriff, why did you dally? The Scots have raided the Tyne Valley. Your tardiness has cost some of your folk their lives and their homes.” My archers had reported fires along the valley.

  “I am sorry, Warlord. I sent to the Bishop of Durham for his men. He delayed and when the answer came it was that he could not leave the Palatinate undefended.”

  “The man is a traitor! I have reason to believe that he colludes with William.”

  “I did not know that, Warlord. When last we spoke I asked why King Henry did not have him replaced. Had I known he was an enemy…” He had a hurt look upon his face and he was right. I should have taken him into my confidence.

  “You are right and he is a problem I will deal with when we have dealt with the Scots. They are almost ready to assault the walls. I have no doubt that Baron Odinel will defend his walls but there are a large number of Scots there. They outnumber us in terms of knights and in those who fight on foot but we have two hundred archers. We form a battle on the morrow.” I outlined my plans to my son and the Sheriff.

  We had the problem of the ditches. I needed to make the Scots attack us. My plan was simple. I would show him our small number of knights. By keeping the archers behind the knights and my mounted men at arms he would, I hope, be tempted to show that he was the better knight and charge us. We would have one hundred and fifty knights and mounted men at arms and the other two hundred and fifty would fight dismounted a s a shield wall before the archers. The weakness in my plan was that we would be using our squires in the line of knights. We would be putting them in harm’s way but, if we were to defeat the Scots then we had little choice in the matter.

  As with all preparations for a battle they began in the middle of the night. By dawn we would be in position. During the evening some of the local fyrd had appeared and I utilised them to guard the spare horses and baggage. It meant I could free up ten more men at arms for our battle line. Our squires had spare spears and lances but they would be stuck in the ground behind our line of horsemen.

  “Padraig, we will be fifty paces in front of the main battle line.”

  The Sheriff said, “You wish to draw King William to you.”

  I nodded, “He considers himself the greatest knight in Scotland and he would prove that he was greater than any knight in England. My position before the army would taunt him.”

  As I walked to the horses I spotted a white stone the size of my fist. I picked it up and placed it in the hessian bag behind the cantle. I rode Warrior. Skuld was a good horse but the Scots had war horses and we had to use our best. Padraig rode behind me with my banner. Once we took our position he would plant it before the archers. Samuel did the same with William’s banner. When we reached the high ground overlooking the valley it was just after dawn. The Scots were just rising. As we appeared it was as though we had disturbed an ant’s nest. Horns and trumpets sounded. We heard drums beating and men ran from tents. If they had not dug ditches then we might have charged. As it was we had time to form ranks.

  I nudged Warrior ahead of the line. I could see Prudhoe’s keep and so I knew that Odinel would see us. He would know what it meant. William rode next to me. “What if they do not advance?”

  “Then we send Aelric and my mounted archers to annoy them and make their knights charge.” I pointed to my banner. “That should do it. If William wishes to prove himself a knight then what better trophy than the banner of the last Knight of the Empress and Earl Marshal of England. He will come.” I saw that the war horses in the Scottish camp were being saddled, “And they will come soon.”

  I turned and saw that, behind me we looked like a perilously thin line. The archers
were not only behind the horses and the men at arms, they were on a slight reverse slope in dead ground. They would not be seen. To our right were a hundred men at arms. Their lack of banners told King William that they were not knights. He might suspect a trap but, from his viewpoint, it was hard to see how we would spring it. I had no doubt that he had an accurate figure of the knights who were available in Northumbria. Even if we emptied every castle from the New Castle to Norham we could only muster three hundred knights. By neutralizing the Bishop of Durham, he had denied us that number again.

  William pointed at the royal standard. This was William’s only personal standard. The lion with the forked tail showed his arrogance. He did not use the banner his brother had carried. William was telling Scotland that he was a lion. Knights were gathered around the King. “It looks like they debate.”

  “William will be giving his orders. He sees himself as a Caesar.”

  “Our meeting with King Malcolm was to no avail then. The treaty was broken.”

  “But not by us. I suspect that they will blame de Vernon or the Templars. They will have them as agents of King Henry. However, it means that we can now cross the border and punish the Scots.” He nodded, “First, we need to defeat them.”

  The Scots had finished their debate. Two knights detached themselves and rode towards us with their helmets in their hands. “It seems they wish to speak. Let us meet them half way. I would not have the spy out our true numbers.”

  “Samuel!” William shouted his command.

  My grandson spurred his horse forward and we headed down the slope. The animals which had grazed there had been taken and butchered by the Scots. They would pay reparations to the Baron of Prudhoe.

  I saw that one of the knights who approached us was the Mormaer Dalkeith. The other was a younger knight I did not recognise. He had a red shield on which was a leopard. It also had a forked tail like King Williams’s lion. The young knight was flattering his king or trying to gain favour. We stopped and waited for them to reach us. I did not allow them to speak first. “It seems, Mormaer, that King Malcolm was mistaken. His Steward and his lords, you, in fact, did not manage to prevent King William from breaking the peace.”