by Griff Hosker
Haaken and his men were busy fighting off the Saxons who came from the west. Although, as Olaf had shown, a man could step across it, he could not do so while our warriors slashed and stabbed at them. I heard Haaken shout, “Push their bodies from the ditch!”
The men trying to get at Snorri had the remains of the barricade to negotiate and that ensured that they could not make a shield wall. The braver ones ran at Snorri and his men. Man for man they could not compete with us. A horn sounded and the Saxons stopped. They were going to do something. A horn always meant something. I said to the wedge, “Be ready to move in an instant.”
They all murmured, “Aye jarl.”
The Saxons were just waiting. They knew we had no arrows. For some reason they had not bothered with slingers and they just stood. Then I saw men appearing. They did not run, they just stood behind the men who already faced us. Then a third row appeared. I could only see the ones to the south clearly but a glance left and right told me that they were preparing for a final assault.
“They will be coming. When they do Snorri, you and you men fall back to allow my wedge to hit them!”
“Yes jarl.”
I began to bang my shield and to step in time with it. My wedge emulated me. I said, “We are going to charge and hit the centre of their line. We are weakest here. No one goes beyond me! When I say ‘fall back’ then do so!”
Perhaps the Saxons thought it made no difference that they had signalled their intent so clearly. They had sent more men but there were still just seventy-five or so before us. The bulk of their men had to be engaged with the brothers. We were an annoyance. They were a threat. I stared at the thegn at the rear of the Saxons. He was on a horse. That made him one of the commanders. I watched him counting his men to make certain that they were in the right formation. When he seemed satisfied I saw him turn to speak to the man with the horn.
“Snorri, ready?”
“Aye jarl.”
I shouted, “Move just as the horn sounds.” As soon as Snorri and his men moved I saw that there were eighty paces to the wrecked barricade. The front rank had formed there. Even before they began to move I shouted, “Now!” The Saxon line was moving but they were travelling slower than we were. I had no doubt that Haaken and Olaf faced the same threat but they still had the ditch before them. Snorri had nothing. I held Ragnar’s Spirit over the top of my shield. There were one or two mailed men before us but only one or two. We hit them just as the third rank cleared the wrecked barricade. I ignored the spears which were jabbed at us. We had three good shields and they shattered the spears. My men had shields with metal studs. They were not just simple willow boards. They were a weapon and we used them well!
As a spear scraped off my helmet I punched with my sword. Sometimes the Allfather takes a hand. He guided mine and my sword entered the eye hole of the full-face helmet and was only stopped by the helmet at the back. The man was dead and the weight of the men behind carried the dead body, like a battering ram, into the two ranks behind. The warriors behind me were using their swords too and our wedge forced itself into the heart of the Saxons. When Bolli splits logs for the strakes of a ship he uses wedges, which look too small for the task but they always do the job. We were like a small wedge. We were eleven men hitting seventy-five but our point and tip had all of our power behind it. The Saxons had locked shields and the whole three lines were dragged back. As they were Snorri and his men laid about them and the flanks were attacked.
I was through their lines and the thegn on the horse stood obligingly close. I did not have the death wish but I did gamble. “Hold here!” He was ten steps from me and I hopped and sprang over the wrecked barricades. His eyes seemed to be on Haaken and his men. The Saxon with the horn shouted a warning but by then it was too late. I brought my sword across the horse’s neck. Blood spurted. Its front legs collapsed and the thegn landed, awkwardly at my feet. I raised my sword and brought it down on the back of his neck. His helmet fell from his skull. I reached down and lifted it up by the hair. Swinging it, I hurled it at the Saxon with the horn. He shouted and tried to get out of the way. That was the last straw for the Saxons we had attacked. They fled. When they left the ones attacking the other three sides joined them. I reached down and took the chain of office from the headless corpse. The man I had slain had to be an Eorledman. They were the rank below the King. I had hurt them. I stood there as the Saxons ran past me. They gave me a wide berth. As I turned all of my men began banging their shields and shouting, “Dragonheart! Dragonheart!” I climbed onto the horse’s carcass to get a better view of Aclea. To my dismay the fighting was further away. The Danes were about to lose and when they did then we would face the full force of King Æthelwulf. I looked at the sky, night was less than a couple of hours away. It was time to tell my men of my plan.
Chapter 15
I spoke to my Ulfheonar and the remaining three Norse leaders. The rest of the men were standing to and watching the Saxons. “I want the men well fed. Eat all that we have. When it is dark I want the Saxon dead propping at the two barricades and along the woods. Make it look as though they are still alive. I want them to think their own dead are our men watching. Then we gather all the spare kindling we can find and we will burn our dead. They died well and I would not have their bodies despoiled by Saxons. In death they will be fighting for us still.”
“How so, Jarl Dragonheart?”
“While the fire burns, Fótr Firebeard, we will head east through the Saxon lines. The men I led the other night will clear a passage.”
“But our ships are north of here!”
“They will be watching there. The best way to escape them is to head east and then turn north east. When you reach the river then you head west. They will not expect you from that direction.”
“You say you as though you will not be with us.”
I shook my head, “My drekar waits at the Isle of the Sheep. We will wait there three days for you. If you cannot get a ship then head there and we will take you with us.”
Harald Iverson nodded, “We came for treasure and now the only treasure we take is our lives.”
Haaken shook his head, “Not so. There is the mail, swords and helmets your men took. All of us took coin from the dead and there are three hundred laden drekar in Lundenwic. Some will have been retaken and others will have fled but there will still be ships there. Do not be precious about your own ship. Take whichever ship you can.”
“Aye.”
Some of the Saxons had had food with them. We also had a dead horse to butcher. We lit a fire and roasted it in small pieces so that they would cook quickly. It all added to the illusion that we planned to stay and fight another day. The funeral pyre was built close to the food fire. As soon as it was dark dead Saxons, including the headless Eorledman, were propped by the ditches and barricades. Broken spears and shields were arranged to make them look, in the dark as though we had sentries. Four of my men slipped out after eating and slit the throats of the nearest Saxon sentries. There would be more but the alarm would not be given while we were still close to the road.
Before we set fire to the pyre we killed our dead warrior’s swords. We put them in the crook of a tree and bent them. No Saxon would use them. I had the men move into the woods to the east of the road. When all was quiet I set the fire alight with Snorri, Harald and Fótr. Before it had taken hold the four of us, with shields on our back and helmets hung from our swords, moved into the woods. My knife men would be moving ahead of us. The Saxons who watched the flickering flames would die silently. I was at the rear. Every so often I would turn and listen. When I did turn I saw the flames leaping higher into the sky. The Saxons would be watching too. The wood crackled and burning wood floated, like stars into the night sky. It was fitting for it was like the warriors were flying to Valhalla. I saw my men’s handiwork as we kept heading east. We used the stars ahead and the fire behind to stay on course. When the Saxons discovered our ruse, they would pursue us but not before the Danes
had been killed.
As we headed through the forest which seemed to stretch for miles I reflected that I had done the Norn’s bidding. I had led the Danes and they had died. I still had no idea why they were being punished or if this was just part of some grander plan. For me it meant that my land and my clan would not be cursed.
When we left the forest, we might be in trouble but, from the marks Atticus had put on the map he had given me, there were not many areas of high ground between us and the Temese nor were there any Roman Roads. We had one night to disappear and then the Saxons would search for us. Eighty-four of us entered those woods. When dawn broke we were close to the edge. I decided that we ought to rest before we moved on. Tired men made mistakes. It was we were waiting that we discovered there were only eighty of us. Four men had become separated in the night. If they were just lost then we would not be hurt but if they had been captured it could change everything. The plan to head east was known to all. I spent an anxious hour with Haaken and Haraldr staring into the woods. Suddenly we heard the sound of men approaching. We sheltered behind trees and waited. When we heard Norse, we stepped out. However, it was not just our four lost sheep we found, they had with them five Danes.
“Where did these come from?”
One Dane, with a bandaged arm spoke for them, “Jarl Dragonheart, we were at Aclea. We were part of Guthrum Saxon Slayer’s warband. He is dead. All of our oar brothers are dead. Halfdan Ragnarsson fled south with four hundred of his men and we were left behind. We lay amongst the dead until the Saxons had passed. We tried to go north but the men of Wessex have horsemen out hunting for us. We heard the sound of swords clashing, horses screaming and men dying. There are just five of us left.”
“Are the rest of the Danes dead?”
“Hvitserk Ragnarsson is dead. Sigurd Snake in the Eyes is still in Aclea. The last of the army are gathered with him. There cannot be more than five hundred. with him.” He shook his head. “Three days since I would not have believed that so many could have fallen! We fought hard. There is a ring of dead Saxons around the village. They cannot get close to them but they are doomed.”
“How so?”
“We ran out of food yesterday and when we came through the forest we saw men gathering wood. They are going to burn them. That is why we headed north and east. Your men found us two miles back.”
I waved them to the others. “Now Haaken, here is a puzzle. Where has Halfdan gone? There is nothing for him south but it might work to our advantage. If the Saxons follow him and try to burn out Aclea we might have a chance.”
“Perhaps but you know the Sister’s webs are complicated. There will be twists and turns before we see the Land of the Wolf once more.”
We left the forest. We now had eighty-nine men. We were a formidable force but we had to remain hidden. We needed to put as much distance between us and King Æthelwulf. Sigurd would not surrender. It was Halfdan Ragnarsson who interested me. I knew he was clever. Was he doing as we were doing? Was he going in one direction to later change it and to throw off his pursuers?
I led for I had the maps. We followed the tiny threads of red which were Atticus’ roads. They looked like the threads of a spider’s webs. Was that a sign? Now that the sun was up it was easier to check our direction. I headed north and east. We were heading for the valley of the Darent. Atticus had put the blue line there. I could not read the name but he had, patiently, explained the names of the different places he had written. We would have water and be sheltered from prying eyes. The rest could follow it to the Temese but my warriors would leave it at Seouenaca. Atticus had said there was a chapel there. There was also a hall. He knew that for he had journeyed there with his master to buy horses. It was another reason I had devised this plan. The last thirty or forty miles would be easier if we had horses. Seouenaca was still a day away.
By late afternoon, when the sun was dipping in the west, we left the forests behind. We slipped out into the open countryside. We were in country dotted with farms. The farms had fields with growing crops in them. There were a few animals dotted about. Then we would be in copses and thickets again. We passed through a particularly lush thicket of hawthorn, rowan and ash. I was at the front and I smelled the village. It was a mixture of wood smoke, animals and dung spread on fields. I could not see anything for the undergrowth hid it but I trusted my senses. I waved my hand for my men to take cover. “Galmr, come with me.”
Dropping our shields and drawing our swords we ran through the barley, keeping as low as we could. I heard the noise of people chatting. It was a village. There were two choices. Take the village or retrace our steps and try to find a way around it. If we chose the latter then we were inviting disaster. We had spent half a night and half a long day putting distance between us and the men of Wessex. The last thing we needed to do was to go back towards them. They would be hunting for Danes and spreading their net ever wider. We bellied up through the barley. It was not a flat field. I lifted my head and saw that the village was on a slightly higher piece of ground. There were six huts. It looked to be a collection of farms.
We slid back down. “Go and fetch the men. Haaken can bring half through the field. I want Olaf Leather Neck to go along the road and try to approach from the far side. I do not want any to escape.”
He disappeared through the barley. I marked his progress by the swaying cereal as he passed through it. To any in the village who happened to see it, it would have appeared like the wind. I crept a little closer to the edge of the barley. I could not see any younger men. I spied women, children and a couple of white beards. I wondered if the men had been called to follow their thegn. That would make sense and would make our task easier. I heard the rustling of barley as Haaken and half of my men approached.
I spoke to Haaken, “I do not think there are any men. If we can stop any escaping this might be a perfect place to lie up for the night. There will be food and shelter.”
“We will have to guard the women and children… or kill them.”
I shook my head, “That is not my way and you know it. If any escape then it is the will of the Norns. We will give Olaf a little while longer. He is not getting any younger.”
There was a sudden shout in the distance. I stood and raised my sword. “We want prisoners!”
Forty men rising in a long line from the field of barley came as a real shock to the villagers. They screamed. Children ran to mothers. Old men grabbed wood axes and stood protectively in front of the women and children. Those on the far side ran. I saw Olaf and the rest of my men appear. It stopped the flight. The shoulders of the women dropped in resignation and they held their children a little tighter to them.
I shouted, in Saxon, “Drop your weapons and you will live. I swear that you will not be harmed.”
One of the six old men shouted back, “And why should we believe you, Viking?”
Haaken said, “Because we could cut you down and not even notice old man! Do as the Jarl Dragonheart says. He does not lie!”
The old man looked around. Seeing eighty men he realised the futility of resistance. “Do as the heathen says!”
“Fótr, find a building which can be guarded and put the old men in it. Find another for the children.”
He nodded, “And the women?”
“There will be no need to watch them. If the children are guarded they will not do anything to risk their lives. They can prepare food, under supervision, of course.” I sheathed my sword and followed the old men who were shepherded by Fótr’s men. I knew if I asked direct questions I would not be given truthful answers. I decided to be devious. “Old man, your fyrd fought well against us but they were still defeated.”
The one who had spoken looked at me. He was shocked, “How could a small band such as this defeat so many men? When they passed through here it took a day for them all to do so. I have never seen as many men before.”
“We are part of the warband. Did you not know that Vikings fight in small warbands? We just joined
together.”
“Then where are the rest?”
I shrugged, “I know not. Cantwareburh is not far away is it?”
He said nothing but scowled, “God will punish you if you touch our churches!”
“We have taken many already. I think he does not care.”
“Blasphemy!”
Fótr’s man said, “Here Jarl Dragonheart. This has just one door.”
“Then guard it well. You will be relieved.”
As we headed back to the others Fótr asked, “What was that about Cantwareburh?”
“Nothing. When we leave they will run to tell others of the Viking warband and they will look to Cantwareburh. They will try to be clever and catch us there. You will be safe and heading north. The land around Cantwareburh is boggy and marshy. It will take them a long time to search it.”
“How do you know such things?”
“I have men in my land who are curious and they gather knowledge like I gather white hairs. They make me maps. We just try to outwit the enemy if we have not the numbers to defeat him.”
Snorri shook his head as we headed back to the others, “I thought we had enough men this time. Did you not think so too?”
“I thought we had enough men but they were not the right men. As soon as the brothers allowed their men to rampage we were lost but I believe that this venture was doomed from the start. You cannot recruit three hundred and fifty ships and not expect your foe to know what you plan. We should have marched to meet the army of Wessex. If we had defeated that then we could have raided Lundenwic, Cantwareburh and even Wintan-Caestre without fear of opposition.”
As we neared the camp an older woman, I could see streaks of white flecked in her golden hair, stood defiantly with her hands on her hips. “Where are our children and our fathers?”