Viking Warband

by Griff Hosker

  Olaf shouted, “Brace!” I felt the weight in my back increase and knew that they all had their right leg slightly back and were leaning into their shields. Then the Saxons struck. Four of the ten spears came for me. Haaken One Eye and Olaf had three each to contend with. I moved my shield slightly as they thrust them at me. One spear struck my shield. One glanced off the side of my helmet and the other two were forced up by the metal edge of my shield. At the same time I stabbed upwards. The Saxons were too concerned with their spear thrusts and I found a gap. Ragnar’s Spirit hit metal.

  Olaf yelled, “Push!” We had the advantage that we had the slope with us. The men at the back had nothing else to do and they pushed. The Saxons before us could not move and my sword was forced through the mail links of a poorly made byrnie and into the chest of the warrior before me. It was not the thegn. He was slightly to my left. I saw Rolf Horse Killer reach over with his long axe and hook the thegn’s shield. He pulled back and Haaken One Eye rammed his sword under the neck of the thegn. It came out of the back and spattered blood over the Saxons who had yet to come into action.

  Two men were dead in their front rank. That became four as Olaf swung his axe. It hacked through the arm of one Saxon. He pulled away and tried to stop the fountaining blood. The axe carried on and bit into the thigh of a second. Olaf was strong and the leg was completely severed. Our men were still pushing and, with four dead men our wedge drove into their second and third ranks. Rollo and Rolf could now bring their weapons to bear.

  I lunged forward. The man before me still had his shield up to protect the thegn whose body was being trampled. My sword went through his chest. I twisted and the life left his eyes. We had momentum as the weight of our men bore down on the Saxons. Rolf Horse Killer and Olaf had long Danish axes. Spears could not get past their shields and they could not penetrate our mail. They were made of soft iron and not the steel of our swords and axes. They should have stabbed at our legs. There he had no mail. Instead they jabbed and poked at shields and mail. I remembered Haraldr’s mail when Olaf had begun to split it. We were having the same effect on the Saxons. As we forced our way down the road so the sides had to try to walk on the rough ground. They stumbled and fell. They were butchered.

  The horn we had heard sound in the night sounded again and the Saxons did not just fall back. They fled. I was not stupid enough to charge after them. I had fifty odd men. There were still two hundred Saxons. I shouted, “Hold!” I was followed by Ulfheonar and they stopped the men behind. I saw that the remaining thegns had formed their men into a treble line. Spears had been planted before them.

  Olaf Leather Neck shouted, “Reform!” Then he said quietly, “We have done what you wished. It is not glorious but we should wait here. There is no point in wasting lives. They are going nowhere.”

  I was about to agree when I looked slightly to my right. I saw the masts of my drekar and I saw a giant leap from one of them. It was Haraldr Leifsson and I saw Aðils, Ragnar and Gruffyd. My men had come. The Saxons were about to be attacked in the rear. Even as I raised my sword to order the charge, I saw the gates of the stad open as Jarl Ráðulfr Ulfsson led his men from the stad to fall upon the unprotected rear of the Saxon line.

  Olaf Leather Neck laughed, “Of course, I could be wrong!”

  I raised my sword, “March!” Haaken started the chant and we marched down to end the battle of the Eden.

  The Dragonheart and Haaken Brave

  A Viking warrior and a Saxon slave

  The Dragonheart and Haaken Brave

  A Viking warrior and a Saxon slave

  The Dragonheart and Haaken Brave

  A Viking warrior and a Saxon slave

  The Dragonheart and Haaken Brave

  A Viking warrior and a Saxon slave

  The Northumbrians had nowhere to go. Their only escape was over the boggy, flooded ground. The few who tried that were slain by slingers and archers from the Stad. We came at them from three directions and although my warband was the smallest, we were the ones they feared the most for we had slain so many already. We brushed aside the planted spears and we began to reap Saxons. Few who faced us had mail. Our swords and axes found flesh with every blow. Their numbers did not help them for our shields were better and their weapons could not pierce mail. Soon the seven Ulfheonar were overtaken by warriors who were keen for glory, for honour and for treasure. By the time I met with Jarl Ráðulfr Ulfsson and Ragnar the battle was almost over. The last few warriors were being slain.

  The Jarl beamed. His face was bloody. He had carved his way through the Saxons. “You promised that you would come and you did.” He pointed to the road. “When I saw how few men you brought I was humbled that you achieved so much.”

  “I knew that my son and grandson were coming by sea. We had to hold them until they came.”

  Ragnar said, “Aðils and that giant of yours are the ones who should be thanked. We might have had to wait until high tide if it were not for them. They had scouted out the waters and brought us in. Haraldr was the first off the drekar. He has no helmet!”

  I laughed, “Bagsecg is making him one.” I pointed east. Their leader, Rædwulf, was not with them. Either he sits at home or he is further east attacking Ketil. I sent Asbjorn the Strong there but I have a feeling that this attack was a diversion to draw us here and that Rædwulf attacks with a much bigger army.”

  “Our men have had the most rest. We will march.”

  I nodded. “The Ulfheonar will come with you. Jarl Ráðulfr Ulfsson we leave you to deal with the dead and guard our ships. I will send our horses back with the men we brought. You will divide the spoils?”

  “You trust me with that honour, Jarl Dragonheart?”

  “I trusted your father. He never let me down. I look in your eyes and I see the father.” I saw Gruffyd striding over to me. “A man is judged by the actions of his children and grandchildren. Just as mine never failed me nor will you fail the memory of your father.” I turned and cupped my hands, “Ulfheonar! We march!”

  It took longer than I would have liked to give orders and to recover our men. Ragnar insisted that the Ulfheonar ride. “Of all the men who fought this day you eight deserve the honour and you have done the most.”

  As we headed along the Roman Road east I saw Lars Larsson leading the men who had fought with me south. I heard them singing as they rode. For some this would be their only battle. They would return to their farms, or, like the Larsson brothers, to their mines and they would recall the day they followed the wolf banner. They would tell their children of how they fought behind the sword which was touched by the gods and carved their way through a Saxon horde. They had been part of a Viking warband. Many years hence, when they died and were laid to rest, their families would ensure that they held the swords they had used that day. Whatever they had been, now they were warriors who had fought with the wolf.

  My seven Ulfheonar were with me at the fore. Jarl Ráðulfr Ulfsson had sent two of his men on ponies to act as scouts and to ensure that we were not ambushed. I rode with Haaken One Eye and Aðils Shape Shifter. We both wished to hear the tale of the giant and the Ulfheonar. Beorn the Scout and Cnut Cnutson rode behind; they listened. Olaf, Rolf and Rollo brought up the rear. I knew that their talk would be of their axes and the battle. The three lived for war.

  “When we sent Beorn back we saw that they had encircled the defences save by the boggy area and the river. I did not wish to risk coming back through their lines. Haraldr is a stout warrior but shape shifting is not one of his strengths.” We laughed. “We headed towards the sea and left our horses there. We heard the howling and the songs. We were not there but I could see it in my mind. When dawn came I left Haraldr with the horses while I returned to the river. I scouted it out and saw that there was a passage through it but it was not an easy one. I took off my mail and breeks and I swam the river. When I neared the Saxons I swam to the bank and spied their lines. I was close enough to hear them. They spoke of the wolves in the night and g
hosts who had appeared and disappeared at will. They talked fearfully. When I returned to Haraldr and dressed we continued, on foot towards the sea. When I spied, ‘Heart of the Dragon’ we waved and boarded.”

  “Your timing was perfect. We had defeated one Saxon column and they were about to send another.”

  Aðils concurred, “We saw the flight and Haraldr was ready to leap into the water long before we reached the shore. He is keen to be as his father was.”

  “Ulfheonar?”

  “No, Jarl Dragonheart. He knows he has not the skills but his father held your banner and defended your back.”

  Cnut Cnutson said, “And he could do that for I am no longer Ulfheonar.”

  “You would give the banner to someone else?”

  “Jarl Dragonheart I would die protecting you and the standard, you know that but when we marched with those men behind us I saw that I could lead them. They are the men of Cyninges-tūn. They follow you and the Ulfheonar but they need a leader. Karl One Leg leads them in Cyninges-tūn. My leg just slows me up. I am not as old as Karl. I could lead them when we raid or go to war. If you think I have the skills.”

  “Of course you have the skills. What think you Ulfheonar, should we have Haraldr Leifsson carry my wolf banner?”

  Haaken said, “Jarl Dragonheart, do you remember when Leif first carried your banner?” I shook my head. There had been so many battles. “It was just north of here when we fought the barbarians from the north. We were close to the Roman wall. Then he was not Ulfheonar but the Norns spun and he was there with your banner. It seems to me that this is nothing to do with us. The Norns have picked him. The gods seem to approve. This is wyrd .”

  I could see that Haaken One Eye was right and I remembered Leif and the standard. His son would be the one who guarded my back.

  Beorn the Scout said, “And I have seen that I, too, must seek another way to serve you jarl. I am slower than I was. I still have the skills as a scout but I am not an Ulfheonar. I thought that the Allfather would have taken me in battle before now. I have sons and I would see them grow. Last night, when I led those men I knew I could make the right decisions to keep them safe. When we fought this morning I was behind Olaf, Rollo and Rolf. They kept me safe. I watched them. That was what I was like when I was younger.”

  “Beorn the Scout, Haaken One Eye and myself, we are older than you.”

  Olaf must have been listening for he said, “Jarl Dragonheart from what I have heard the Norns and the gods conspired when the two of you stood on the fighting platform in Norway defending old Ragnar. They chose you and marked you. There is a bond between you. The tomb under Wyddfa, the witch’s cave in Syllingar… you will never be too old. I am happy just to stand behind the two of you but I confess I am envious of the blood that ties you together.”

  We rode in silence. The words of Beorn, Cnut and Olaf were true and they set each of us thinking. This was the end of the Ulfheonar. They would still come with me and fight at my side. Once there had been enough of us to determine the outcome of a battle. Now that was not true. I watched the sky ahead begin to darken as night fell. We would not reach Ketil before dark. The setting of the sun behind us seemed to be the setting of the sun on the wolf warriors.

  Chapter 7

  We had passed a Roman mile marker and so we knew we were just under two miles from Pennryhd when the scouts rode in on lathered ponies. “Jarl! Pennryhd is surrounded as is the old Roman fort. We saw many fires.”

  “Is there fighting?”

  “No, Jarl Dragonheart but there has been. We heard the carrion feasting.”

  I held up my hand. We would camp and rest. This was not the time to charge in recklessly. My men had fought a battle. We had little sleep. Ketil would have prepared his defences. We would plan our attack. We would have a cold camp and march to battle on the morrow. With sentries set we ate cold rations and drank from the waters of the Eamont river. I sat with my son and grandson.

  “Sámr wished to come you know.”

  I laughed, “He is a feisty cockerel. He was disappointed when you told him no?”

  “He was. Then he remembered that he would be sailing with you, soon, back to Bruggas. Then Ulla War Cry and Mordaf began to clamour to serve as ship’s boys with him.”

  Gruffyd shook his head, “Ebrel was not happy, father.”

  “If you two wish me to refuse to take them then I will. I do not mind being the villain to keep harmony in your homes. I was married to a Christian and know the problems that creates.”

  “You gave your word and you are never foresworn.”

  “I also said that both you and your wives had to be happy about it.”

  Gruffyd said, “We are both men. We will make the decisions in our own halls.” He gave a rueful smile. “At least when I upset Ebrel I will have silence.”

  Ragnar laughed, “Why is it that women think a silence in our homes hurts us? For me it is welcome!”

  Haaken and Olaf Leather Neck came over, “Jarl Dragonheart, what are your plans for the battle?”

  Gruffyd said, “We meet and beat the Saxons!”

  Shaking my head, I said, “It is not so simple. Pennryhd is on a hill. It is a small hill but it means that we have to march uphill to reach them. If their leader is with them then they may well have Saxon hearth weru, the housecarls. They wear mail. We have one hundred and forty men. We know not the enemy numbers. We need to use that which makes us superior. How many archers are in your crews?”

  Ragnar said, “We brought thirty bows.”

  “Then we use those to punch a hole in their shield wall. We make a boar’s snout.”

  “Boar’s snout?”

  Ragnar had fought alongside me more than Gruffyd. He explained to my son. “It is two wedges. What the Dragonheart intends, I think, is for the archers to weaken the centre while we attack the weaker warriors on either side of their mailed men.”

  I smiled. My grandson was more like me than his father had been. He could think and he could plan. “You are right, Ragnar. Once we penetrate their first ranks then Ketil will lead his men from the ramparts and fall upon the rear of the Northumbrians. My only fear is that those who surround the Roman fort may join them.” I shrugged. “We shall see.” We had to take one battle at a time.

  We rose early. I was up before dawn. Beorn and Aðils had been up even earlier and had scouted out the enemy lines. Despite Beorn’s protestations he was still a better scout than most men but Aðils had lost none of his skills. In fact, having lived in the remote dale, he had become even better. I was eating some two-day old bread when they arrived back.

  “This is a larger army, Jarl Dragonheart, and Rædwulf is there with them. We heard his men talking of him although we did not see him. He calls himself prince. We could not count them accurately. They were sleeping but by the number of fires I would think that there are more than two hundred of them. There are more at the old Roman fort.”

  “And the ground between here and there?”

  “There is farmland. Animals have been grazing. It rises slightly but it should not stop a well-drilled wedge.”

  “Then let us wake the young who seem to need more sleep than we old.”

  We went around the camp and woke everyone without horns. The Saxons would see us soon enough but I wished them to think that their diversion had worked. We marched in two columns. I led one and Ragnar the other. When we were within range of them we would deploy into a line with two wedges. Gruffyd and his men would follow Ragnar and Raibeart, me and the Ulfheonar. Haraldr was given the standard. He and Cnut were the middle two in the fourth rank. The men did not take much rousing. They ate on the move. We left our horses where we had camped. They would be there when we returned.

  Smoke rose in the sky from the Saxon camp. I wondered how long they had been besieging Pennryhd. I did not think they would have begun that attack before the one on the Stad on the Eden. Ketil had been prepared but he was vastly outnumbered. His archers would keep the Saxons at bay but eventuall
y their stock of arrows would diminish and there would be an attack on the ramparts. I wondered why the Roman fort was still occupied. That concerned me. Although the road was Roman, since the legions had left trees and shrubs had grown. No one had thought to keep them in check and so the view of both the road and the land around was somewhat obscured. We were within a five hundred paces of the Saxon camp when we finally saw it.

  As soon as we did we went into our formations. The two wedges were seven ranks deep and the rest of the warriors formed three lines behind the two of us. The thirty archers were in the middle. We had begun to form lines when the Saxons saw us. Their attention had been on the ramparts. There was fighting already. I saw ladders across the ditches. The scattered bodies told me that the Saxons had already begun to lose men. As those inside Pennryhd saw us so a cheer went up.

  A shout from Beorn the Scout who stood with the archers told me that we were ready. Our archers would be hidden. They would be behind three ranks of spears. They would not release until we were engaged with their warriors. We began to chant. It helped us to keep the rhythm. We used one that Haaken had devised to help us row quickly.

  Push your arms

  Row the boat

  Use your back

  The Wolf will fly

  Ulfheonar

  Are real men

  Teeth like iron

  Arms like trees

  Push your arms

  Row the boat

  Use your back

  The Wolf will fly

  Ragnar’s Spirit

  Guides us still

  Dragon Heart

  Wields it well

  Push your arms

  Row the boat

  Use your back

  The Wolf will fly

  We did not move straightaway. We marched on the spot. I raised my sword and Ragnar did the same. When I lowered it, I began to walk as did Ragnar. Ragnar’s wedge had spears. Mine did not. As we marched I saw the Saxons reacting to our move. There was a mailed warrior on a horse. He had a full-face helmet with a red plume. That told me he was no warrior. His horse was white and he wore a red cloak. This was Rædwulf. He used a sword to marshal his men into position. As I had expected he put his mailed men before him and then his priests with their crosses and boxes. I guessed they had been robbing more graves.