by Griff Hosker
“Drop what you carry! We need to get to our drekar or be doomed!”
I was carrying nothing. I donned my helmet and slung my shield. I drew my sword and I ran. If I died protecting my great grandson I would be able to face my son in the Otherworld. I would have died saving his grandson. I knew we would not make it in time. The ships were just two hundred paces from shore and we were still three hundred paces from them. Then hope filled my heart. The drekar was not at the mouth of the stream. I saw her shape and she was eighty or so paces from the sea. There was a chance, a slim one but I would take any chance!
Chapter 16
I heard my men on the ship as they began to hurl curses at the Saxons. They all had bows and there were using them. My men all knew the value of arrows descending upon a ship. Men could not row and hold a shield. The more arrows you sent the more men you hit and the fewer you would have to fight. I heard a roar from the leading Saxon ship as it ground ashore. They had eighty paces to run. We were sixty paces from them. They had not seen us and we would hit them in the flank. The second ship might cause us a problem but I would worry about that later. First, we had to break up the attack by the forty Saxons.
Their shields were on their left arms. We would be hitting their sword arms. Our shields would protect us and theirs would not. These are little things but they save lives. The Norns were spinning. My men were spread out in a long line. Some were ahead of me but that did not matter. I hit a warrior in the middle of the line. I swung my sword from my right and I timed it perfectly. He wore no mail and my sword bit into his chest. I knocked his body away with my shield and lunged at the next Saxon. My sword went through his shoulder and into his side. I tore it out and it made the mortal wound worse. We had broken into the centre of the Saxons and I shouted, “Back to back shield wall!”
If we could hold off the second boat load of Saxons then my crew had the chance to bring their arrows to bear and there was a chance we might survive. It was a slim chance but a warrior took any chance the gods gave him. Haraldr was on one side of me and Olaf on the other. I could not see Haaken. It felt strange to be fighting without my oldest friend at my side. We fought the Saxons while we jostled into two lines. We had had surprise on our side. Arrows from our drekar slew others too. Men began to run back to the Saxons from the second ship.
We had barely locked our shields when the second boat load hit us. They did not do so together and they wore no mail. I blocked the spear thrust and brought my sword from on high. The Saxon tried to block it with his shield but it was a simple willow board and a small one at that. My sword slashed it to kindling and ripped through his arm. I backhanded the man next to him. He blocked my sword with his own but Haraldr rammed his through the middle of the Saxon. Arrows, from our drekar, flew over my head and I knew that my men had read my thoughts. Or perhaps I had trained them well.
There had been eighty Saxons. Half that number lay dead or dying. The prospect of facing our arrows and our wall of steel proved too much and they turned and ran back to their ships. We saw the first one leave the beach and head west. We had taken them by surprise but they had numbers on their side. They could sail to the fishing village and pick up another forty men. They had been the ones who had almost caught us. It was not over yet but we had survived. If nothing else I could speak with Sámr again.
“Finish off the wounded. Strip the bodies. Haraldr, take some men and fetch what we dropped. We may need it.”
Leaving my men to do as I had bid I hurried to the drekar. To my relief I saw Sámr. He peered over the side and grinned at me. My other men had all survived too. We were now in a better position to defend ourselves. Sámr had grown and he had become a warrior but the boy in him ran to me and threw his arms around me, “Great Grandfather, we thought you lost!”
Sweyn Alfsson nodded, “He is right Jarl Dragonheart.” He pointed to the west. “Those ships which were burned were attacked by the Saxons. The Saxons lost two ships but all the crews of the Danish drekar were slaughtered. Forty ships escaped and followed us down the river but that was days since. What happened?”
I put my arm around Sámr, “That is a long tale. It is best told around a fire with food. Have you any food?”
Sámr nodded, “We chased away the shepherds two days ago. We had taken the sheep from close by us and Sweyn decided to use the larger flock for food.”
I did not openly criticise for we could not change the past but that had been a mistake. The shepherds had returned to the mainland and they had summoned help. Had we arrived back just a few hours later then my ship would have been burned too.
I smiled, “Good, then let us eat mutton.”
Night had fallen completely. I could not see the Saxons attempting to attack us at night. We would have a night to rest and to decide what to do. We ate and I let Haaken tell the story. I knew that he would be composing the chant for the drekar. The bloody battles would become heroic contests. It was good for the dead would be remembered that way. When he had finished Sámr and the crew asked about the ones who had not returned. We told them. We had not lost many but they would be in Valhalla.
Olaf Leather Neck said, “And we must stay here until the end of tomorrow for the Dragonheart promised those that fought with us that we would do so.” There was the hint of criticism for making such a promise but having given it I could not go back and renege on it.
“It will take tomorrow to prepare the ship for sea. We have to get her back into the estuary and step her mast. We need food preparing for the voyage home.”
Haaken said, “And you think that the Saxons will just let us do that?”
“Haaken One Eye, we do one job at a time. If they come, then we fight them. If we defeat them then we carry on with our preparations and if not…”
“If not does not bear thinking about for this story would not be told. We will make sure that we do defeat them!”
That night we slept aboard the drekar. The island was a damp, boggy place. The drekar was drier. The deck also reminded me of home.
When we rose, the drizzle had gone but it was still a grey day. The wind still came from the north and east. We would struggle to use the sail when we left. After we had eaten we began the task of moving the drekar. My crew had done well to move her. It would not take us as long to put her back into the sea. The tiny stream beneath her keel would enable us to pull her. We took away the disguise. Now there was no need. The men of Wessex and Cent knew where we were. We stripped down to our kyrtles and used ropes to haul it down the little stream to the estuary. Once she floated we tied her off and washed the mud from ourselves. Stepping the mast was not hard but the yard and the sail took time. My men were warriors and not lithe ship’s boys who could scamper like squirrels up the masts and the rigging. Sámr had to do most of it. Haraldr proved to be of great use. Sámr was able to stand on his shoulders and rig the fore and back stays. It saved time but, even so, we were not finished when, just after noon, Sámr shouted from the masthead. “Four Saxon ships to the west!”
I looked west but could not see them. They would have to row and that would take time. We had not yet rigged all of the stays. That had to be done before we could sail. We would have to fight the Saxons on the land. I would not be able to break my word, even if I chose to.
“Arm yourselves. Sámr keep rigging the ship. When they come then use your bow. Snorri and Leif, you help Sámr and use your bows too.” I began to prepare for battle. I donned my mail. I had not oiled it since the last battle near Aclea. It was still covered in Saxon blood. I had sharpened my sword before I had slept. I looked at my helmet. It had been a good thing that Bagsecg had made a new one for me. It now looked old for it was battered, dented and scratched. I could not even remember most of the blows. When I looked over at my men I saw that they too bore the marks of battle. It was only Haraldr’s helmet which looked untouched. That was because few weapons could reach his head but his leather vest was cut and slashed. If he reached home then he could lay it to rest with honour
for it had served him well.
By the time I was ready I could make out the Saxon ships as they beat up the river towards us. There were four of them. The Saxons were getting better at ship building but they were not dragon ships. They did not have our lines nor our speed. They looked to have a crew of about thirty in each. They would outnumber us but we could choose the ground on which we fought. The land close to the drekar was marshy and boggy. If we fought there we would die. Just thirty paces further south was a small piece of dry ground. It was where we had camped and cooked. The fire had dried out the ground a little more. Before it was a patch of water and bog. It also had a large pool which, although it did not look deep, looked to be muddy and would slow down an attacker. It was hard to see where the stream began and the pool ended. To get to the drekar the Saxons would either have to travel further south or come across the boggy ground. There would be twenty-three of us who would be contesting the ground.
“To the fire. We make a three-deep shield wall. Seven is a good number. Sámr fly my standard from the masthead. Let them know that they fight the Wolf of the North!”
The cheer from my men told me that they did not think that we were beaten yet! As we arrayed ourselves in our usual formation, Haaken and Olaf flanking me and Haraldr towering behind me, I stared at the approaching ships. They knew the coast for they were not landing at the boggy part close to our ship. They were heading for the beach where we had left the fishing ships. They would have almost eight hundred paces to reach us. If they were well led then they would wait until all four crews had landed. We would struggle to overcome such a large number. However, we were not dead yet and the day was young.
Haaken said, “The Norns, it seems, have not yet finished with us. Do they want every Viking dead?”
“You know better than any Haaken that it does not do to try to fathom the plots of the sisters. We are warriors. We have helmets and mail. Our swords are sharp and these are Saxons we fight. You know that if they have come by ship they will not wear mail.”
The first ship had landed and I saw the thirty men disembark. The next ship was some forty paces from shore and the other two were further astern. The leader of the thirty raised his sword and they came towards us. They saw a handful of men on a small lump of earth. Our third rank was almost hidden for they were on the back side of the hummock. The Saxons must had seen just fourteen of us. Haraldr’s bulk also hid those behind him. They could not come at us in a line. The ground was too boggy for that. The men had to watch their feet as they ran towards us. Ráðgeir laughed as two Saxons sank into a pool which was deeper than they had expected. Already they were weakening their chances of success. Those who were fleet of foot would reach us first. They would be the youngest. They would be the most reckless.
“Lock shields!” The Saxons might be fools but we were not. A wall of shields would be our defence; our swords, peering over the top of them, our attack. Eight of them had outstripped the rest. One was their leader and I saw that he was young. He had on a leather jerkin studded with metal plates. He had an open helmet and he, alone out of his men, faced us with a sword. The others used spears.
“Death to the pagans! For St Edmund and Essex!”
Even as I blocked his blow on my shield I was running his words through my head. The King of Wessex had raised the fyrd from the land south of Temese. The reason there were ships was that this was the army of Essex. They came from north of the river and they were allies of Wessex. I rammed my sword at the young Saxon’s head. His shield came up and my blade slid along his cheek. It opened a bloody wound. It was not life threatening but I could see, from his eyes that it had startled him. My men despatched the spearmen next to him as I took another blow on my shield. The young Saxon was strong and my arm shivered.
Olaf growled, “Finish him Jarl Dragonheart!”
I feinted with my sword. He brought his shield up to protect his head. I rammed my knee between his legs. As he doubled over I plunged my sword into the back of his neck. I kicked his body to the ground. Four more of the Saxons had proved to be over eager and Olaf Leather Neck’s axe took the head of one. Ráðgeir Ráðgeirson’s sword a second while Galmr and Sweyn took the other two. The survivors were young and they were reckless but they were not fools. They knew that they would die if they attacked. They decided to wait for the others. That wait cost four of them their lives as Sámr and the men on the drekar sent their arrows into stationary targets. Shields came up and they cowered. They wore no mail and our archers aimed at legs. The four who were unwounded fled. The wounded ones crawled and limped away. Two were hit in the back as they did so. We had eliminated a quarter of our enemies and not suffered a wound. The next fight would be harder. I saw the thegn or eorledman who led them. He was a veteran warrior. He would attack us in a more organized way.
He halted his men beyond bow range and waited for them all to arrive. He waved his sword and half of them headed to our left. They were going to try to outflank us. They would have to negotiate the pool. Obviously the thegn did not know of the obstacle. He organised the other half, fifty men into a line ten men wide and five men deep.
Olaf Leather Neck laughed, “I will bare my arse in Windar’s Mere if he can keep that formation all the way here!”
Haaken said, “If you do that the sun will disappear! Keep your breeks on!”
The thegn had his men march towards us. They had shields above their heads and before them. Sámr and the archers on the drekar just aimed for their legs. The arrows and the uneven ground made gaps appear in the line. As soon as there was a gap then the shield wall ceased to function. It only worked if the shields of all protected all. The men we had already slain were another obstacle. The dead were not as deep as at Aclea but they still had to be negotiated. The result was that the ten wide line was no longer ten warriors wide. They would not lap around our flanks.
“Charge!” When they were twenty paces from us they ran. Two warriors slipped and tripped. The thegn also fell. As the rest of the front rank tried to climb the small hill I slashed my sword in an arc. I sliced through the nose of one and smashed into the side of the helmet of a second. Haaken rammed his sword up under the shield of a third. Olaf’s axe smashed the shield and arm of a fourth. This time, however, the weight of men from the rear was brought to bear. Those in our second rank brought over axes and swords to batter the shields which were intended to protect those fighting us. I punched with the boss of my shield and with the hilt of my sword. They were too close for us to swing. Men began to die.
I shouted, “Third rank, push!”
As the weight of the nine men in the rear pushed we began to move the shields down the slight slope. Slick with blood and bodies they began to lose their footing. As they fell to the ground we sank swords into backs and necks.
The thegn shouted, “Fall back!”
Some of the young warriors were so eager to obey that they turned and, in doing so, presented their backs to my archers and to those of my men with a long reach. Seven men fell before the shields were reorganised. I saw that they had lost twenty-one of their number. I looked to my left. The other half were now wading through the pool. We had a dilemma. They would reach us and I needed to have men ready to fight them.
“Haraldr, have half of the men turn to face the second warband. The rest of you we fight in a single line.”
“Aye Jarl Dragonheart.”
Haraldr and his nine men would have to hold off those on our flank. That left ten of us and our archers to deal with the twenty odd men who remained. The thegn saw that we were weakened by our formation change and he organised a second shield wall. Lack of numbers meant that this one was just three lines deep. The front rank matched ours. It was ten men wide. Man for man we were better than they were. We had a chance of winning. Even as I allowed that thought to flit across my mind I heard the Norns spinning and Sámr shouted, “Jarl Dragonheart! Another two Saxon ships approach and I can see three more vessels behind them.”
Haaken began to s
ing. He sang the song of my battle with the Saxon champion, Sigeberht.
The Dragonheart looked old and grey.
He fought a champion that cold wet day.
A mountain of a man without a hair
Like a giant Norse snow bear
Knocked to the ground by Viking skill
The Saxon stood and struck a blow to kill
Saxon champion, taking heads
Ragnar’s Spirit fighting back
Saxon champion, taking heads
Ragnar’s Spirit fighting back
Knocked to the ground by Viking skill
The Saxon stood and struck a blow to kill
Saxon champion, taking heads
Ragnar’s Spirit fighting back
Saxon champion, taking heads
Ragnar’s Spirit fighting back
Old and grey and cunning yet,
The Dragonheart his sword did wet
With Ragnar’s Spirit sharp and bright
He sliced it down through shining light
Through mail and vest it ripped and tore
Saxon Champion, champion no more.
As he sank to the bloody ground
Dragonheart’s blade whirled around
Sigeberht’s head flew through the air
Dragonheart triumphant there
Saxon champion, taking heads
Ragnar’s Spirit fighting back
Saxon champion, taking heads
Ragnar’s Spirit fighting back
As we banged our shields in time with the chant I saw the Saxons slowing. Their thegn began berating them. He shouted, “They sing their death song! They know they are going to die! You are not afraid of eleven barbarians, are you? We are the men of Lothuwistoft! Our brothers will join us soon!”
The arrows of my archers began to pick holes in the advancing Saxons. They were running out of arrows, I knew that. Soon they might have to join us and fight with sword and seax! This time we had no extra weight behind us. This would be down to us. I slipped my seax into my left hand. Their spears were fewer in number this time and I knew that the Saxon swords would be shorter than mine. Olaf struck the first blow. He stepped forward and with no one behind him was able to swing his axe one handed. It smashed through the helmet of the leading Saxon as though it was made of wood and not metal. It sliced into the skull. It split his head in two. The men behind visibly recoiled. It was like the bursting of a dam for all of us stepped forward and brought our swords and axes down on the Saxons while they were still trying to get close to us. One managed to ram a spear at my side. It broke some mail links but then my sword smashed his helmet. I did not break the metal but my blow broke his head. He fell dead.