by Griff Hosker
“They are being guarded. I promised the old one that they would not be harmed and I will keep my word.”
She nodded and then said, “Eorledman Edgard and the King will come for you. You are many miles from the sea and you are on foot. You will all die.”
A thought struck me. I took out the seal I had taken from the dead Saxon. “Is this the seal of Eorledman Edgard?”
She could not hide her horror. Her hand went to her mouth and she gasped, “He was a good man! Where is he? Where are our men of the hundred?”
“He is dead and so I imagine that, in your religion, he is in heaven. As for your men?” I shrugged, “Some were killed but not all. No one is coming to hunt us. Prepare food for us and tomorrow we will be gone and you can tell the tale of how the barbarians came and you survived.”
I nodded to Beigaldi Bergilsson, “Go and watch the women. Make sure they do not taint the food. Tell them the same food we eat will be fed to their children.”
The campaign thus far had taken its toll of me. I felt weary and yet we still had a long way to go. The ale we found had been prepared, I guessed, for a victory feast. There was plenty of it. We would all have enough in our ale skins to keep us going when we left. There was also enough for us to drink to the dead. The food was hot and that, in itself, was like a feast. There was plenty of it. Again, they had supplies in ready to celebrate. I was an old soldier and knew that you thanked the Allfather for such bounty. You knew not when another one might come along.
Harald, Fótr and Snorri joined me and my Ulfheonar as we sat around the fire. “We part tomorrow, Jarl Dragonheart?”
“Some time tomorrow, Harald. Seouenaca is to the north of us. I know not who long it will take us but you will need to go north. I would offer you all an oar on ‘Red Snake’ but she is a threttanessa.”
“We have decided to heed your advice. There seems little point in trying to extract our ships. They were in the middle of the fleet. We will take whichever ships we can from the ones which remain.”
Haaken said, quietly, “From what those Danes said, resistance at Aclea was over yesterday. The Saxons will be hunting. You may find them waiting for you at the Temese.”
I saw the three heads droop. “You forget, Haaken One Eye, that others will have escaped. We know that Halfdan and his warband are loose in the land. There will be others. I do not think there will be a band as big as ours. The Saxons need to hunt and then to kill. None of us liked fighting alongside the Danes but even I admit that they are warriors. They will not submit without a fight. What I do say, is that you must move quickly. Do not tarry. Looking at the map it is not a long way from Seouenaca to the river. Once you reach the river you are in the hands of the Allfather.”
Haaken said, quietly, “And the Norns.”
We all clutched our amulets. He was right. They were not yet finished with us.
We left before dawn. The old men and women still looked at us fearfully as though we might go back on our promise. I led the men east. That was to maintain the illusion that we were heading for Cantwareburh. I had Haraldr hide a mile from the village to discourage any who sought to follow us. His long legs made short work of the run and he caught up with us to tell us that none had followed. We turned north. I kept us to the folds and hollows upon which the ancients had built their trackways. We followed, after a few miles, the stream which seemed to be heading north. When we reached the river, I knew that Seouenaca would not be far away. Every warrior had taken food from the village. We had our ale skins and we had our weapons. We were still a dangerous foe. Once we reached Seouenaca we would divide and then the danger would begin.
Galmr was the scout who found the tiny village. “Jarl Dragonheart, it is over the next ridge.”
I nodded, “Then, my shield brothers, this is where we part. We will wait. You have three days from now. If we do not see you again then it has been an honour to fight alongside you. If you survive then visit the Land of the Wolf. If we do not live through this then you can tell our families the tale of the end of the Dragonheart and his Viking warband.”
Snorri said, “You will survive.” He clasped my arm, “Farewell.”
There were many such goodbyes for when you have fought alongside other warriors there is a bond which lasts a lifetime and beyond, to Valhalla. The Danes we had found chose to follow Snorri and the others. That made sense. There were Danish ships and crews at the river. It meant that I led just sixteen men to Seouenaca. If we could I would avoid the people. Now that there were just seventeen of us we could not afford a pitched battle.
The land through which we were travelling had fields cleared amongst hedges and woods. It was rolling land. I could see why they bred horses, cattle and sheep. It would be easier than ploughing. We followed the greenways which wound north and east. Atticus’ maps had served their purpose. We were now two days from the Isle of the Sheep. We had just crossed a small beck when Haraldr, who had sharp ears, picked up the noise of the horses. We spread out in a line and left the trail to move through the scrubby undergrowth. I waved the men down and we bellied up to the field which lay before us. There were animals grazing. Six horses shared the field with four cattle and a small flock of sheep. There had to be a shepherd.
I waved Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson over and pointed to the field. I made the sign to scout and then drew my finger across my throat. He nodded and slipped along the edge of the field. We could not afford to have the alarm raised. Six horses were not enough. Ráðgeir could have been an Ulfheonar. He lived by hunting and to stalk a shepherd was easy. As there were horses and cows the shepherd did not have a dog. Had he had one he might have been alerted. He died silently and we slipped into the field. In the war gear we all carried we had lengths of rope and we fashioned them into halters. The top of the farm could be seen, smoke spiralling from the roof but we were in dead ground and hidden. We led the horses down the slope and rejoined the greenway.
Once we were out of sight I had six of my men mounted, “Ride in threes and see if you can find more horses. Another six would do. Some of us can ride double.”
Haaken said, “And see if you can find a giant one for Haraldr!”
“We will continue on this trackway. It heads in the right direction. It would be better if you could avoid being detected.”
The six rode off and Ráðgeir and Galmr acted as scouts with Haraldr bringing up the rear.
“Where next, Jarl Dragonheart? You seem to have a plan in your head but we are not aware of it. You do not mean us just to head north and east, do you?”
“No, we have to avoid Hrofecester. That lies at the mouth of the Medway. Atticus told me that the Romans had a fort there and the men of Cent refortified it. That means we must cross the river soon. Bridges will have people close by them. We need a ford and that means crossing upstream somewhere.” Atticus and Aiden had done their best but the finer details we needed were not on the map. We would have to waste time searching out a ford.
My six men appeared to be away a long time. The ground over which we travelled was sloping down towards the river. It did not appear to be a steep valley. That meant there would be many loops in the river. The fact that the fyrd had been called to give battle made our task easier. There were few men working the fields. Old men and boys could be seen in the distance. Walking in the greenway meant we were hidden from view. We saw them through the gaps but they would not notice us; I hoped. It was after noon when we heard hooves and we slipped into the undergrowth. It was easier now that there were fewer of us. It was Karl Olafsson with the other horsemen. They had with them eight horses. Three men would have to ride double. We would be easier to spot and to track but we now had the ability to travel further and quicker.
“Did you have any trouble?”
“No, Jarl Dragonheart. These eight were penned in two different fields. They had gates. We were not seen.”
Once mounted we made much better progress. When we reached the road, which led due east I took it as a good sign and we followed it for a mile o
r so. It descended steadily. I saw smoke in the distance and the light shining on the river. Where there were houses there would either be a bridge or a ford. There would also be people. When I saw a track leaving the road I joined it. The track headed south but it then began to turn east. It was heading down to the river. Once again, I saw smoke but this time it was a single hut. I decided to risk it. The track twisted and turned and ended up at the river. There was a hut but I saw no one. We would have made noise as we approached. If anyone was in the hut they would hide. Horsemen would not be welcomed. The river was just forty paces wide. It was hard to tell the depth.
“Haraldr. Let us see how deep this is. Begin to walk across.”
Haaken laughed, “I do not think you thought you would be a walking measuring stick eh Haraldr?”
Alarmingly the water was deep at the bank. It came up to his waist. He began to wade across. The water came up to his chest. He was half way across and it had got no deeper. He was almost at the other side when he disappeared from view. A hand came up and grabbed a handful of grass on the other bank. A spluttering Haraldr raised his head and waved. He pulled himself up.
“We have our answer. Let us ford.”
Once on the other side we ate and we drank from our ale skins. Haraldr dried himself as best he could. “Jarl Dragonheart, I will run rather than ride for a while. It will dry me off.” I cocked my head to one side. “I will not slow you up. The Allfather gave me long legs for a purpose. I can run.
Olaf said, “I am sure I spied a movement at the hut.”
I nodded, “The smoke told me someone was in there but there is no horse and it will take time to get to the settlement with the bridge. We will have disappeared by then. We head due east to make them think we go to Cantwareburh and after dark head due north. I wish us to reach those fishing boats the shepherds use.”
As we headed north and east the land became even more sparsely populated. It was boggy and filled with twisting little streams and tarns. At one point Haraldr sank to his waist in a particularly deep pool. We were grateful for the horses. As darkness fell I estimated that we were not far from the sea. We could smell it. The horses were struggling and it seemed foolish to blunder around in the dark. We did not want to risk losing one more of our number. We were all acutely aware that we had lost fewer men than any other warband. I was proud of that and I wanted to take all sixteen men to join the others on the drekar.
We could have risked a fire but that would have meant finding dry wood. Besides we had nothing left to cook. We were on the dried food we saved for such emergencies. The last of our ale made it palatable. We hobbled the horses and almost collapsed into a weary stupor. Haaken and I were awake longer than the others. He knew I had things on my mind.
“You are worried about Sámr are you not, Dragonheart?”
“I am. We have both seen how events can turn out differently. I did not think the Danes would lose as many men as they did.”
“Where did they go wrong?”
“They did not listen to me nor to their own common sense. They believed that sheer weight of numbers would win the day for them and they were wrong. We had enough men to have controlled the Temese. Knowing that the Saxons were ready for us could have been used to our advantage.”
“How?”
“The farms we raided had no men. They were away fighting us. If we had not given them the chance to fight us they would have drifted back to their farms and their army would have been smaller. The sons of Ragnarsson did not exercise enough control over their men. I can see a day when another Viking army will come and the next time they will conquer this land!” I was silent and stared north east as though my eyes could penetrate the dark and see the Island.
“But you still worry about Sámr.”
“I still worry.”
“The dream showed him a man. You have done all that you could. He will be there.”
“I hope so and I hope that we are not being tricked!”
We awoke to a grey day. We woke to rain filled clouds scudding from the north east. That was always a bone chilling cold wind. It found gaps in cloaks and mail. I was just glad that we did not have far to travel. The rain did not help the journey and Haraldr was travelling as fast as we were. It took us half a day to cover the ten miles to the estuary of the Temese and the Medway. The river was just a mile away as we climbed to the top of an island of dry ground. Before we even saw it, we saw the burning drekar. There were twenty or thirty of them and they were between the Isle of Grain and the Isle of the Sheep. I knew they were Danes but the sight of those beautiful ships filled me with sadness. That sadness was replaced by fear almost instantly. Who had burned the ships? What about ‘Red Snake’ ? I could see that they had been set alight in the estuary and the wind had blown them to the southern shore. When the tide went out they would be blackened skeletons.
I shouted, “Dismount. We lead the horses. I do not wish to be seen.”
I put my shield around my back and hung my helmet from my sword. I needed to be able to see and to hear. The grey murk made visibility difficult. Had the ships not been on fire we would have struggled to see them. They looked to be close inshore. The wind must have blown them there. We probably did not need the horses but I kept them anyway. I gave the halter to Haraldr and I drew my sword. I led. I spied the fishing village with the boats. It was about two miles away. In the murk and the drizzle, it was hard to be accurate estimating such distances. Once I had located it we dropped down into the lower ground. I did not want to be seen. There was urgency in my footsteps now. I had thought that evasion was all that was needed and now I saw that we had taken too long. My ship and great grandson were in danger. A little less sleep and we might have already been on the island. Old Ragnar’s voice came into the head, ‘Do not dwell on the past you cannot change it. The future is not yet written. Do something about that! ’
I almost made the mistake of rushing and moving too quickly. I was about to climb a drier piece of land when I heard voices. I held up my hand to halt the others and bellied up. I saw that there were twenty Saxons. They were armed and standing close to the sea. The boats were being readied. They were going to the island! In the distance I saw the banners of more men. They were hard to make out but I estimated that they were a mile away. The twenty men had been sent to secure the boats. They were going to the Isle of the Sheep.
I returned to my men. “There are Saxon warriors. More are coming. I want ten of you to take the horses. The rest of us will make our way to the shore. When I give the howl of the wolf then make the horses stampede towards the village. Follow up. We have to strike quickly and decisively. We must take the fishing boats before the others reach the village.”
Any other warriors would have had a dozen questions. These were the best of my men and they just nodded. I swung my shield around and headed for the water. I did not look who followed me. They were all good. The sound of the water breaking on the shore to our left would mask the jingle of armour and leather. I hurried. As soon as I saw that the boats were less than forty paces from me I howled. I did not wait for the horses I ran. The sound of the horses from my right sounded like Odin’s thunder. The Saxon warriors were confused. They had heard a howl, from the sea, and then they heard horses. Was this witchcraft?
The first Saxon was looking at the horses as I tore my sword across his middle. I punched a second in the face with my shield and Haraldr ended his life. Speed was all that mattered. I rammed my sword into one side of a Saxon and it came out of the other. I saw the horses trample three warriors and four of the fishermen who had been standing nearby. The horses just panicked and galloped hard to get away from my men. Olaf Leather Neck swung his axe and a head flew. Haraldr had become a skilled swordsman. He knew how to use his height and reach. None could get near him. Even as my men rushed after the horses the Saxon warriors lay dead or dying.
Folki Siggison shouted, “Jarl, the banners! They are getting closer!”
There were ten fishing boats. We
needed four. “Olaf wreck six of the fishing boats. The rest of you get aboard and get to the island.”
Galmr said, “What is the hurry, Jarl Dragonheart, the Saxons are dead?”
I pointed east. The Saxon banners were coming. I saw them moving quickly along the beach from the east. “But they are not!”
Olaf Leather Neck needed no second urging and he began to hack and smash into the bottom of the boats. Haaken had grabbed the ale skins from the dead Saxons and my other men had taken random items. It was in our nature. The first three boats had left and the Saxons were just four hundred paces from us when Olaf had finished and the three of us and Haraldr climbed aboard the last boat. We hoisted the sail. The wind was from the north east but it would take us away from the Saxons. We would be able to land on the western side of the Isle of the Sheep. It was not a big island. The other three boats were ahead of us. I let Haaken steer and I stared at the burned drekar. Most were on the beaches. They were like black skeletons. Three of them had not made the shore. They now blocked the channel to the Medway. Their masts poked forlornly above the water. As Haaken turned us to steerboard to make a landfall I wondered how so many ships could have been destroyed. Once ashore we dragged the fishing boats high above the high-water mark. None of us said a word but we knew that if our drekar was not there then we would have to sail home in the fishing boats. That would be a voyage that was the stuff of legends.
We took all that we had collected and we headed towards the inlet in the north. The murk had brought evening on sooner. It was not nightfall but we would have an interminable east coast dusk. I My drekar would be well hidden. She would have her mast on the mast fish and my crew would have disguised her. I hoped she was there but I had been expecting to see her almost as soon as we landed. That was not to be.
Haraldr had sharp eyes, “Jarl Dragonheart. There are two Saxon ships heading for the inlet.”
I now knew what had burned the Danes. The Saxons had ships in the estuary and they were heading for ‘Red Snake’ . Bizarrely that gave me hope for it meant she was still there. The fact that they were heading to shore also told me that we were close.