by Griff Hosker
“Perhaps the king may see me as a suitor. Then we would be allies and we could fight for him.”
“You know that is not our way. We do not fight for kings. Go, become a better warrior. None of us know what the future holds.”
He could see I was right and the two of them left a week later. Ebrel and Bronnen were both saddened by the departure. They had both enjoyed the company of the two warriors. I did not appear to intimidate them as much and one day, after my son had departed and I was walking around Cyninges-tūn, the two of them approached me.
“May we speak with you, lord?”
“Of course, and you have mastered our words well.”
“Your son and Einar taught us. Why have they been sent away, lord? Is it because of us? We would not have them punished because we are here.”
“They are not being punished. They are warriors and they need to begin training. We are Vikings and they will go raiding soon.”
“Could we not be kept closer to them?”
“You do not like Kara’s hall?”
“No, lord. She is kind as are all who dwell there.”
Bronnen suddenly burst out, “But we would like to be with Gruffyd and Einar!”
“Sister!” Ebrel shook her head, “Forgive her, lord.”
“What, for speaking what is in your heart too, Ebrel? Listen to me. You were growing close. I could see that but it would be doomed for your father will seek a suitor for you. I gave my word I would keep you safe and I shall. Your fate is out of my hands.”
They both looked saddened by the news, “You have daughters do you not, lord?”
“Three, Kara and Erika are married and Myfanwy is a child.”
“And you chose their husbands?”
“Of course not! They picked men they liked.”
“And that is what we want. I do not want to be married off to a fat Saxon lord because it will save my father’s land.”
“Listen to me. I shall tell you what I told my son and Einar. None of us know what the future holds. Live each day as though it is the first day of your life. You are young women and you may change. We believe that there are three sisters who weave webs around our lives. Our threads were connected. Who knows what they plan? I promise that you will be safe here but put my son and Einar from your thoughts. It is for the best.” A sudden breeze from across the Water made me look up. The spirits were listening.
The girls left with much to think on and I felt sorry for them. However, I had little time to think on the matter for six days later a rider galloped in from the north.
He threw himself from the saddle, “Jarl, it is the men of Strathclyde. King Dumnagual and his son. They are leading an army across the river to attack the stad on the Eden. They may even be there now.”
“Go and have some food.” I turned to Karl One Leg, “Sound the horn. I need the men rallying.”
“Aye, Jarl.” He shouted to the sentry who was on the fighting platform and the large bull’s horn sang out across the valley. It would bring my men running.
War was coming. The thread I had forgotten about, the chest from Àird Rosain had come back to haunt me.
Chapter 11
I waved over one of the boys who we used as slingers. “Ride to Whale Island, tell my grandson, Raibeart and Erik Ironshirt that they must take their drekar and sail to the stad on the Eden. The men of Strathclyde are attacking. I want them there as soon as they can. Tell them we march today.”
“Aye jarl.”
I waved a second over, “Ride to Windar’s Mere and Ketil’s stad. Tell the two jarls that the Stad on the Eden is under attack and I need them to march there.” The two boys leapt on their horses and galloped off.
Aiden and Kara ran from their hall. I told them the news. “I will take my men now. If we march hard then we can be there by dark. I pray that Ulf can hold on.”
“He is a doughty warrior.”
“I know and he has a good garrison. I have sent ships to reach them but they cannot be there before the morrow.”
I turned as I heard hooves. The call had brought the Ulfheonar who lived with the sound of the horn. “We march north and go to the aid of Ulf.”
I would have used horses but we did not have enough for all of my men. I mounted my Ulfheonar scouts and the ten best riders from Cyninges-tūn. “Beorn, take these men and ride to the stad. If you can get inside then tell Ulf that we are on our way. If not then harass the enemy and keep us informed.”
“Aye jarl.”
Ulf’s rider left his lathered horse and took one of our spares. They all galloped off. It took another hour for all of my men to assemble. I led fifty men north. Only the Ulfheonar were mailed and armed as I would have wished. My men all had helmets, shields and spears. Some even had a byrnie but more than half just had a leather byrnie studded with metal. It would have to do. I could have taken a horse but I was Jarl Dragonheart and I endured the same hardships as the men I led. We had forty-five miles to travel. Most war bands would take almost two days to cover that. We would do it in one. It was our land and we knew it well. I had my shield on my back and my helmet hung, along with my ale skin, from my spear which I carried over my shoulder
The Ulfheonar were with me at the front. Our scouts had long since disappeared. “Why do you think they waited so long to attack us? It has been a year, jarl.”
“I think that they were building up their army. We killed their cattle raiders and we stole their jewels. We have insulted them. We have beaten them more times than enough. They would ensure that they had the men to defeat us. However, I am wondering if the success of Thorghest in his quest for Dyflin has not driven some of the Irish to Strathclyde. They are kin. That would explain why they chose this moment. If they have mercenaries available then you use then quickly for they are an expense.”
Haaken shook his head, “The Norns! One event touches another.”
“I may be wrong in which case we will have a small army to face and we will win. If there are Irish mercenaries there then it will be hard; especially if my grandson and our ships are held up by the weather.”
Olaf Leather Neck snorted, “Then they row! If we can march forty miles in one day then they can work the oars!” Olaf saw everything as right or wrong. There was no half way. He was a hard taskmaster!
We stopped at the Grassy Mere. It was mainly to allow those who were not Ulfheonar to adjust their shields and weapons. They were not used to marching. Our second stop was at Mungrize’s Dale. There we drank some ale and made water. I looked at the afternoon sky. It would be dark before we reached the Stad on the Eden. I saw some of the newer warriors as they rubbed grease on their shoulders. Unused to carrying shields and spears so far mean that their shoulders were already red raw. If Ragnar did not reach us then things might go badly for us. We had too many inexperienced men. My home had suffered the casualties at Carhampton. We were paying the price now.
I chewed on some dried venison as we slogged up the dale. This would be the last incline before we descended to the Eden. I knew that the less experienced men would be suffering. All of my men were tough but the Ulfheonar had been hardened by years of war. Unlike my ordinary warriors, the Ulfheonar trained every day. We wore our mail almost every day too. Olaf often joked that without his mail he felt naked.
We had just begun the descent towards the river and darkness had just fallen when we heard the sound of hooves. We pulled our spears around and donned our helmets. The spears of the Ulfheonar protected their jarl. It was Sven Long Legs, “Jarl, the men of Strathclyde have surrounded the stad. They have built a camp and they have ships blocking the river. They have Irish with them. It is a large army, jarl. Beorn counted almost a thousand spears. We could not get through to Ulf.”
That was a very large army. The most that we could bring to battle with them would be less than three hundred and that would mean that all my jarls had heeded my call and would be able to reach us in time. “Where are the scouts?”
“Beorn has them close to
the enemy camp. They are in a dell not far from the track. He and Aðils Shape Shifter were about to go into the camp as I left.”
I nodded. “Ride east and see if you can find Ketil or Asbjorn. Tell them where we are.”
As he galloped off I turned to the men behind me, “We are getting close to the enemy. When we get there the Ulfheonar and I will go into their camp and sow the seeds of discord. Finni Folkisson will command while we are away.”
“Aye jarl.”
“And from now on we move in silence. Use signals. I want no voices. The men of Strathclyde will think we are many miles south of here! We have made a journey worthy of a Haaken One Eye saga!” I turned to the Ulfheonar. “First we will get as close to their main camp as we can get. Then we see if they are close to Ulf’s walls too. I would let Ulf know that help is at hand.”
Knowing that the stad was surrounded helped us. If the enemy had a camp there would be fires and that we could use to our advantage. The Ulfheonar were the deadliest of killers. My two scouts would be sneaking around the camp and slitting the throats of sentries. It would not weaken their numbers greatly but it would make them worried. They would not sleep well for they would fear the knife in the night. A tired warrior makes mistakes!
The road passed through trees and then we could not only smell the smoke from their fires, we saw the glow from them. We moved slowly and cautiously. When I smelled horses, I stopped. Karl Ulfsson stepped out and waved us towards him. It was our scouts. They were in a dell behind some trees. I took off my shield and laid down my spear. The Ulfheonar did the same. Nodding to Finni I led my men towards the camp of our enemy.
I kept Ragnar’s Spirit sheathed. This was knife work. I took out Wolf’s Blood. I stepped over the first body a hundred paces from the camp. He had his breeks around his ankles. One of my scouts must have slain him while he squatted. His comrades would be wondering if he had a rough stomach. There were just five paces between the seven of us. I sensed a shadow moving to my right. Cnut Cnutson rose like a wraith for he had been hunkered down and I saw him pull back the head of the sentry. There was a soft hiss as his dagger sliced across his throat.
The glow from the fires was a good indicator of the position of the warriors. We stopped when we saw the first men who were cooking on one of the fires. I waved my men back. We silently slid back to the camp by the dell. I made the signal for the men to follow me. I knew that they would have sentries at the gate. The Stad on the Eden had just two gates. I guessed they would have warriors watching there in case Ulf’s men tried to flee. As we neared the walls I saw that the fires were not as big as those at the main camp. I saw three of them. There was one at each gate and a second between them. We moved closer. I was tempted to try to rush them and then gain entry to the walls but that would leave my other warriors stuck outside.
I waved for my men to spread out. As we closed, using the shadows, bushes and rocks for cover, I tried to estimate how many men there were. It was hard but I guessed that there had to be at least fifteen. These warriors would be mailed. They were closer to each other. I saw two talking quietly. They were lit by the fire and I could see that their backs were to us and they were watching the walls. The rest were either squatting or sitting by the fire. With our wolf cloaks and black mail were as close to invisible as one could get and we were silent. We had all learned to control our breathing.
Haaken had drawn close to me. We moved towards the two standing warriors. They were slightly shorter than we were. Haaken and I had been fighting next to one another since we were little more than boys. I did not need to look at him. My hand came up and I pulled back the warrior’s head while slicing Wolf’s Blood across his unguarded throat. The blood spurted over my hands. As I laid him down, gently I saw that Haaken had done the same.
Suddenly, from the main camp, came a cry. Either Beorn and Aðils had been discovered or one of the bodies found. Whatever the reason the men around the fire stood. They looked directly at Haaken and I. We must have looked like apparitions to them for they froze and in that moment of time we struck. I slashed my dagger across the throat of one while I head butted a second. The rest of my Ulfheonar struck at the same time. This time the warriors did not all die quietly. We would have to be quick. I drew my sword and transferred Wolf’s Blood to my left hand. A sword was thrust at me and I flicked it away with my dagger and swept my sword into the side of the warrior’s neck.
“Fall back!”
The simple act of turning made us disappear and, as we did so, we began howling. It served two purposes. It told Ulf that we had arrived and it told the enemy that the wolves were amongst them. They were reluctant to follow killers into the dark. That was the domain of the wolf. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the men had all gathered at the middle fire and were a circle of spears. I suppose we could have turned and risked running through over the bridge and into the stad but we had done what I intended.
When we reached the camp Beorn and Aðils Shape Shifter were there. “Well done! They will get little more sleep this night. One man in two sleeps. The other watches.”
It was fortunate that we did keep watch for, not long before dawn I was awoken by Einar Hammer Arm. He signalled for danger. The enemy were searching for us. I drew my sword and shook awake Haaken and Olaf. They had shared the first watch with me. I followed Einar. There were men moving towards us. They were shadows in the dark. Only our guards had been wearing helmets and we had no shields with us but it mattered not. I raised my sword and, drawing Wolf’s Blood, I ran at the shadows. We were on them before they even knew it.
If you can make the first strike you will often be successful; especially at night. Holding my dagger out for protection from unseen blows I swept Ragnar’s Spirit at chest height. Sparks flew as it scraped across the metal rim of a shield and then as it tore through the mail of the warrior before me. I lunged with Wolf’s Blood and found his throat. I pushed him from me and ran into the midst of the warriors. I stabbed and slashed with sword and dagger. As a warrior fell I brought my knee up into his face. Just as suddenly as it had begun it ended and the survivors of the patrol ran back to their camp. This time they used a horn. We held our position and watched the shadows run into the lightening sky. Dawn was almost here. Then we would be in danger for they would see how perilously few of us there were.
After stripping the dead and carrying back our wounded we returned to our dell. There would be no more sleep. The hour or so I had had would have to suffice.
Aðils Shape Shifter had the sharpest of eyes and the sharpest of ears. It was he who spotted the metal snake heading down the track from Mungrize’s Dale. It was Ketil and Asbjorn. Between them they would only have eighty or so warriors but the hearth-weru of both jarls were almost the equal of my Ulfheonar. Things were not as black as they had been. Beorn was watching the enemy camp and, as the two warbands neared us he ran in. “Jarl Dragonheart they are arraying their battle lines.”
I had a decision to make. We would try to fight them here, by the dell or we could move towards the stad. I looked at the state of the men who marched in. They were tired. Better that we head to the stad.
“Ketil, Asbjorn, take your men and mine to the stad. There are thirty or so men guarding the gates. Destroy them and we will slow down the enemy.”
Ketil looked at me, “There are nine of you!”
I nodded, “It should be enough, don’t you think?”
It was not bravado that made me speak thus. We had nine horses and could move away quicker than the enemy could close with us. I wished to intimidate King Dumnagual. I turned, “Sven Longlegs, keep a horse for you and nine for us. Hold them here.”
“Aye Jarl Dragonheart.”
We donned our helmets and hefted our spears. We marched towards the enemy camp. They had camped in a hollow by the river. That way one side was protected by the water. They were arraying their ranks as we approached. Seeing the nine of us standing there four riders broke away from their ranks and hurtled towards us. I
did not think for one moment that they would charge us. They did not have stiraps! If they were trying to intimidate us then they were in for a rude shock. They were good riders and they managed to stop just ten paces from us. I kept my eye on the men behind. They were almost ready to begin marching towards us. They were a hundred paces away. We would have time to move.
They had a short helmet with a short piece of metal which appeared to cover the top half of the nose. Their byrnies were the shortest I had ever seen and their shields were the small ones I remembered. If these were the best of their warriors then we had little to fear.
The leader spoke. He had a white cross painted on his shield and he was of an age with Ragnar, “I am Artgal, Prince of Strathclyde, and I am here to tell you barbarian, that I will have your head in the walls of Alt Clut! Then we will conquer your land and reclaim the jewels that you stole!”
I smiled, “And that will be a good trick for we have returned them whence they came. They were not yours. They belonged to King Urien! You are barely off the nipple, stripling, send me a real warrior that I may fight him!”
The warrior next to him suddenly dug his heels into his horse’s flanks and galloped at me. I moved to my right and easily took his spear on my shield. I rammed my spear up into his thigh and thence into his middle. The horse carried on and the rider was impaled. The spear was torn from my hands by the fall. Two others rode at me intent on revenge. Rolf Horse Killer stepped forward and swung his axe at the head of the nearest horse. Olaf Leather Neck did the same with the second horse. The two riders were pitched from the dying animals. As they lay there Olaf and Rolf swung their axes and took the heads of the two riders. They reached down and, picking them up by the hair threw them towards the men of Strathclyde.
The riderless horse galloped towards the west. I drew my sword and began to move towards Artgal, “And now, we will see how a young prince does against a Viking!”