by Griff Hosker
“We captured the burgh and the town. We will spend the night here and then you can sail to the Isle of the Sheep.”
“That is still the plan, Jarl Dragonheart?”
“Nothing I saw has changed my mind. Einar, Benni and Erik were wounded. They will join you and the crew. I hope there is plenty of food. We have guests this night.”
It was pitch black by the time the two drekar were loaded and ready to sail. As we ate I told Sven of my plan to send my drekar down to the Isle of the Sheep. The Norseman was more than happy to accompany her. He told me of his land. It sounded like the land where Ragnar had lived. His uncle and his sons seemed to be ambitious. Sven spoke of plans to unite all of the clans into one tribe which would become a kingdom. “The Danes have one. Why not us?”
I said nothing but I knew that having a king did not guarantee loyalty. He asked about our land. Haaken took over. He loved talking. He told of how we had conquered it and how we defended it. He regaled the Norse warrior with tales of battles against foes like Eggle Skulltaker. I think Sven thought that some of the stories had to be made up. As men retired I took him to one side. “Should you ever wish to raid with warriors that you can trust then sail to Whale Island. I have warriors and crews who raid. They would gladly take you with them. Do not risk Danes. I have yet to meet one I trusted.”
“You are right and it has cost me ten oathsworn to discover that. We have treasure but that cannot replace the men we lost.”
The next morning the two ships slipped out as the sun made the sky lighter. My men would watch my ship and Sámr. It was a hard parting but I felt better as I saw the two drekar slip away. He would be safe no matter what treachery the Danes attempted. We marched down the road towards Lundenwic. All night we had watched the fires burning. I had no idea what actually remained or what treasures had been taken before the fires took hold. There were no sentries on the walls. In fact we saw no one ready to defend the walls against us. If the Wessex king had had men close then the Danes could have been butchered for, as we entered the burgh we saw them lying where they had fallen dead drunk. The burgh would need rebuilding. Many of the halls and buildings were blackened piles. We walked through to Lundenwic. That was even worse. Nothing remained.
Olaf asked, “Where are these brothers? Perhaps they burned in their own fires.”
Haaken One Eye shook his head, “Loki looks after his own. They will be alive but I fear that many of their men will be dead.”
We looked north and saw men moving. We headed there. I knew, from Atticus that there was a hall there. It was at a place called Tottenheale. Eorledman Aelric lived there when Atticus was a slave. I recognised them as the hearth weru of Hvitserk. I turned to Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson. “Take the men and scout north. See what the Danes have left. If you can find horses then so much the better. Meet us by the river.”
“Aye jarl.” He looked with disgust at four Danes who were vomiting in the ditch next to the road. “These are not warriors!”
“They are, Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson, but they are not warriors of the Clan of the Wolf. I am honoured to lead such men as you.”
The three of us approached the hall which the brothers had taken over. The hearth weru, who had bones plaited in their beard and moustache, held up a hand. “Our jarl sleeps! Come back later.”
I walked up to him, “I am the leader of this raid or did your master forget to tell you that? I am Jarl Dragonheart of the Land of the Wolf. I wield the sword which was touched by the gods and if you do not move then you will die!”
I do not know if it was my title, my voice of the threatening nature of Olaf Leather Neck behind me but it had an effect. The four of them moved aside and we entered the hall. I almost vomited when I entered. There were four young Saxon women just inside the door. Their bodies showed that they had been violated. The had been slain at the door. Their throats were slashed. Their bodies lay in a pool of blood. One looked to be no older than twelve summers. Haaken had daughters and he walked to the door, grabbed the cloak from a hearth weru and draped the bodies with it. His face was as cold and hard as I had ever seen. If a Dane spoke out of turn then there would be blood.
I heard voices from the rear of the hall. I headed for them. In the dim light of a fading fire I saw the three brothers. They had blood on their hands. I knew who had slain the girls. I hardened my heart. I had my family, my clan and my land to protect.
“Jarl Dragonheart! You should have joined us last night! Saxon girls are ripe. It is a pity we only found a few of them.”
I shook my head, “Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Saxons sent away all they wished protecting. Did you not notice that there were no rich Saxons in the town? Where were the merchants and the ladies of the thegns? They are somewhere else. The girls you had were the poor. They were here to make sure we did not suspect a trap.”
“A trap?”
“The mailed men who awaited us were not there by accident. They thought to surprise us but we had greater numbers than they expected. The empty halls were deliberate. How much treasure did we find?” Their silence gave me the answer. “And your men squat and vomit in the street while the men of Wessex prepare your downfall.”
Sigurd Snake in the Eyes looked in his empty horn as though his gaze would magic a drink. “We have ten thousand men. How can we lose?”
“You had ten thousand men. Look outside and you will see many dead warriors. They were not killed in the battle. The longer you stay here the less chance you have of victory. You asked me to lead, well I am leading now. Let us move before the sun is at its height!”
Hvitserk came over to me, “We will leave on the morrow. We will leave at dawn. You may be right but our men will be in no condition to march today.”
“Then find men who are sober and can scout. We need to know what lies twixt here and Wintan-Caestre.”
Sigurd Snake in the Eyes pointed his empty horn at me, “I am not certain we need you. What is to stop us taking your sword and slaying you?”
Olaf Leather Neck suddenly swung his axe. He brought it down on the table between Sigurd and his brothers. The blow smashed the table in two. The three brothers fell to the floor and the hearth weru rushed in. “Does that answer your question?”
The silence echoed in the hall. I said, quietly, “We will meet you at dawn, on the other side of the river at Suthriganaworc.”
“We were going to have a feast!”
“Have one but my men and I will not be there. We have plans to make. I want the King of Wessex dead!”
As we left Haaken said, “Well Olaf, we made no friends there.”
“What else could I do?” He added, seriously, “Taking their three heads might have been a start.”
We made our way back to Lundenwic. Whoever ruled this land after we had left would have to rebuild both the burgh and the town. It was desolated. The smell of burning and the dead filled our nostrils. The bodies lay where they fell. Soon pestilence and disease would take more warriors than battle. Not all of those who had raided lay drunk or were off raiding. I saw some warriors, Norse by the looks of them, loading their drekar with plunder. Unlike Sven they would not be able to leave. They were at the furthest point upstream. There were four of them. As there was no sign of Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson we stopped to speak with them.
The four captains left their men and came to speak with us. “I am Harald Iverson. It is an honour to meet such a famous warrior. This is Erik Cold Blade, Snorri Haraldsson and Fótr Firebeard.”
I could see why Fótr was so named. He had the largest and reddest beard I had ever seen.
“It is good to meet warriors who still remember why we came here.”
“Aye the pickings have been good but the slaves we might have had were butchered!”
“Not that there were many of them in any case!”
I pointed south, “Their king knew we were coming. Did you not notice that it was just the poor folk and warriors who were on the walls? When we raided here there were priests, churches filled with t
reasure and women who were worth selling at market. There were merchants and the warehouses were well filled. I am guessing you found them almost empty. How much did you get from the churches?”
Harald shook his head, “Nothing. We thought it strange.”
Erik Cold Blade smiled, “They must have taken it somewhere south of here. When we head to Wintan-Caestre we will find it.”
“You are right but the King of Wessex will be gathering an army to meet us.”
“Good, for an open battle suits me! Besides we have so many men that we will outnumber the Saxons.”
Haaken was an observant man. “I have seen many dead warriors. I know that we slew many Saxons but almost as many of our men died either in the fighting or in the fires.”
Harald took that information in, “But we have you, Jarl Dragonheart. You have never tasted defeat.”
“And I have never led Danes. My battles have been fought alongside warriors such as you four. Men from Norway, Dyflin or the Islands. If they follow commands and do as I say then we have a chance.”
We turned as we heard the sound of horses. Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson led my men. They rode ten horses. They were riding double except for Haraldr Leifsson who jogged happily alongside them. “Well done, Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson. What saw you to the north?”
“There are bands of Danes who are raiding the houses and farms north of here. They did not appear to have collected much worth stealing. These horses we took from six farms. The farmers and their families lay dead but the horses had been left.”
“We need more but it is a start.” I turned to the four captains. “I am taking my men across the river. The three brothers seem to think we can just walk across Wessex and fight a battle at Wintan-Caestre. I do not think it will be as easy as that. I intend to scout out the land. When the battle comes I would be honoured if you would fight with my warband.”
They nodded their agreement. I had five crews on whom I could depend. Fótr said, “And there are others here from the isles and the fjords. We will speak with them. True warriors should stick together.”
Ráðgeir said, “We took food and found one farm where the Danes had not discovered the ale barrel. We filled skins with it. We have supplies for two days.”
“It is four days to Wintan-Caestre. We will have to scavenge as we go.”
As we headed towards the middle of the longphort Haaken said, “If there are but ten more crews who are reliable then we might succeed. Perhaps the Norns have a different plan to the one we think.”
I touched my wolf. “This is the Norns, Haaken One Eye. Assume the worst and you will not be disappointed.”
Someone had laid planks and pieces of wood across eight drekar to make a bridge to the south. Suthriganaworc was almost as big as Lundenwic and had a large church. I could see now that it too had been burned down. One thing was certain, the Saxons would remember this raid. We led the horses across the makeshift bridge. If this was the main way across the river then it would take a long time for the whole of the army to cross. Even if the brothers made it by dawn it would take all day for the horde of warriors to cross. From what Ráðgeir had said there were still hundreds of men north of Lundenwic. The Mercians who lived there would not take kindly to Viking warbands wandering at will.
I was glad when we led the horses off the bridge and on to dry land once more. A Danish chief and his hearth weru wandered over to me. Like the brothers he had bones hung in his hair, “I am Guthrum Saxon Slayer. Hvitserk Ragnarsson put me in charge of this side of the river!”
His voice challenged me. I felt Olaf bristle behind me. I decided to ignore the challenge for the moment. “Good, for if I am to lead this army to victory over the Saxons at Wintan-Caestre I will need warriors like you who have scouted out the land.” He frowned. “You have sent out scouts have you not Guthrum Saxon Slayer?” His face showed that he had not even contemplated it. “We leave tomorrow. What if there is a Saxon army awaiting us?”
He laughed, “There are none! The few we found we butchered. If there are any left in this land then we will swat them like summer flies.” His men began banging their shields with their swords. I began to see just how clever the Saxon king had been. Lundenwic had been Mercian longer than it had belonged to Wessex. He had sacrificed it and made us bleed so that he could gather his best men and meet us on ground of his choosing. The longer our journey across Wessex the more men we would lose to disease, hunger and desertion. The land could not support ten thousand men. The sooner we scouted, the better.
“Then we will scout out the land. Hvitserk and his brothers will lead the army across the bridge tomorrow. Unless you wish it to fall into the river I would make the bridge more secure.” I shrugged, “I do not command you, Guthrum Saxon Slayer. Do what you will, for the lack of a solid bridge does not bother me. I have crossed. As you say, you have been put in charge of this river bank.” I smiled and led my men down the road south.
We led the horses. Ideally, we would need to find more of them. What we did do was to load them with our shields and spears. I carried my Saami bow. A couple of miles down the road we reached Pecheham and saw that it had just been abandoned. Guthrum had not advanced as far south as this. The huts, halls and houses we had passed had either been torn open or burned. I saw a hall. We went inside and searched but everything of value had been taken. The road led west and we followed it. We could see some of the goods dropped as the Saxons had fled for safety. Where was safe? A comb lay discarded. I saw pieces of food along with small bundles of clothes lying where they had fallen. Fear of us had stopped them from being retrieved. They had left in a hurry. Perhaps the King of Wessex had not expected us to land on two banks at once.
Brixges Stane had also been abandoned. There was a water trough close to the hall and we let the horses drink while we searched the hall and the other buildings. “Erik Red Beard, take some men and look in the woods to the south. There may be escaped animals there. We need food for the journey.”
“Aye jarl.”
This time we had a little more success. Galmr discovered a small chest which had been forgotten. In it was a chain of office and some rings. It was the first real treasure we had found. Leif Gunnarsson ran in. “Jarl, there are Saxons scouts. Six of them and they are coming through the woods. They are on horses. Haraldr is leading our men to get behind them.”
I grabbed my Saami bow. “I want a prisoner and I want those horses. Most importantly, none escape. I want the Saxons blind.”
Unlike the Danes the men I led were all hunters. They were used to the woods. We entered the woods on the opposite side to the road. We followed Leif. Haraldr, Erik Red Beard and my other men were ahead of us. All we had to do was to cut off their escape route. Leif led us deeper into the woods and then he stopped. We all did. Leif came from the land above the Water, Grize’s Dale. He made his living as a hunter and he had good ears. They stopped us stumbling upon the Saxons.
I heard a horse whinny. Perhaps it smelled our horses. One of the Saxons said, “Brixges Stane is untouched. The Vikings have not come this far yet.”
“Eorledman Æthelstan said they had not ventured far south at all. They were too busy drinking to seek us out. The King should bring the army now and destroy them. They are frightening when they are sober but drunk they are as weak as a new born!”
“Peace Aelric. The King knows what he is doing.”
It was Galmr who stepped on the twig. He was a big man and perhaps he was uncomfortable and shifted his weight. Whatever the reason the twig snapped and the Saxons alerted. I nocked an arrow and ran towards the sound of the voices. I saw a horse and a rider. I did not wish to risk hitting the horse and I sent an arrow, at forty paces, into the Saxon’s shoulder. The Norns were weaving. Instead of wounding him, it carried on up and into his throat. He fell dead. My men obeyed my orders and the Saxons were surrounded. As they tried to escape two were struck by arrows. Olaf swung his axe and hacked through the leg of a Saxon and the last two were knocked from their horses.
Olaf’s Saxon lay bleeding to death. Olaf Leather Neck reached him and began to question him. The Saxon spat curses at him and then died.
I reached the two who had fallen from their horses. Haraldr had used the flat of his sword to knock one from his horse while the other had run into a tree. One was dead and the other lay at an awkward angle. I saw the bones sticking out from his leg. He stared up at me. “I cannot feel my legs.”
“One is broken and I fear that you have broken your back. Would you have a warrior’s death?”
“And how do I get that? Do I betray my king? No Viking. I will die slowly and go to God knowing that I have not helped you heathens.” He forced a smile. “You are all destined to die. The land is rising and the people will come for you. You are all doomed and you will all die.”
I nodded and, taking out my seax, I plunged it into his throat. “You are a brave man. Go to your God.”
We had more horses now. We also managed to catch and kill four fowl which had escaped the clutches of the Saxons when they had fled. They would augment our rations. We headed back to Suthriganaworc. Guthrum Saxon Slayer had heeded my advice and the bridge across the river was a better structure. Already more men were coming across. Had my words sunk into Hvitserk too? Rather than heading to the river which was already overcrowded we found a deserted and unburned house at the edge of the settlement. It had food and there was a place where they had lit a fire. The smell by the river was becoming more unbearable as each moment passed. The stinking dead bodies and the human waste deposited by the Danes made it positively unhealthy. Already I had seen Danes with the first signs of the disease Atticus had called dysentery. We just called it ‘the shits’. I had seen men die from it.
Galmr found a large pot. My men stripped the birds and gutted them. Ráðgeir chopped them up and put them in the pot. Haraldr went out to forage some wild greens. While searching the hurriedly abandoned house Haaken found treasure; it was a broken pot of dried beans.