by Griff Hosker
Snorri saw the worried look on the faces of the new men and he said, "Do not worry. They will soon give up. It is hard to attack invisible wolves and that is what we will be. As soon as we are seen, we run!"
We all took off our helmets and smeared our faces and eyes with the red juice we used. We also put some on our hands. With our black cloaks, helmets and armour we were almost impossible to see at night.
"Haaken and Bjorn the Scout, you two stay with Olvir, Vemund, Rolf and Ulf. You will have the first ambush." I put my shield around my back and took out my seax. "You will not need your shield. It will get in the way but if you have it under your cloak it will protect you when they follow. It has saved my life before now. "
Once again we approached on our knees. I had Siggi and Snorri to my side. We crept up on the two guards who had been speaking earlier. I nodded to Snorri and we rose like wraiths behind them. I saw the eyes of one widen as he saw me and then Snorri's seax slid across his throat just as I despatched mine. We gently lowered their bodies to the ground. I took the seax from the dead guard's belt. They would be the weapons of choice this night.
We crept back out and I met up with the others who would follow me. I led them around to the other side of the camp. We passed between the tarn and the stream. It meant we had to cross the water but we made not a sound as we passed through it. I waved them to the side of me and then led them, silently, through the undergrowth towards the sleeping Danes. They were sleeping, conveniently, in pairs. I knelt down and slid both of my weapons across the throats of the first two sleeping warriors. It would become more dangerous as we drew closer to the fire. The warriors closest to the fire would be the better warriors, with mail. The light would also illuminate us. The ones I had slain had no mail.
I glanced to my right and saw Sigtrygg killing another sleeping pair. I began to think that we would kill them all without being seen. I found one man facing the fire and huddled up with his knees in his chest. I brought my seax down on his neck and was sprayed with his dying blood. Just then Harald Long Legs failed to kill instantly and his victim gave a dying cry.
I stood and howled like a wolf. I threw my borrowed seax at another sleeping man and drew my sword. The others began to howl as the Danes awoke and searched for weapons. I swung Ragnar's Spirit into the belly of a warrior who had just picked up his axe. I kicked his dying body into the fire and it threw sparks and burning brands towards the Danes who slept close by. I slashed at a warrior who began to rise with my seax and then I was in the woods. I kept running. I knew where Haaken and his party would be and we needed the Danes to follow us.
I heard a cry from behind me. I turned and saw Magnus on the ground. He had been stabbed in the leg by a Dane. "Siggi, get Magnus to safety!"
I had no idea where Siggi was but he was Magnus' friend and he would be close. I ran towards the advancing Danes. My move surprised them. I plunged Ragnar's Spirit into the chest of a startled Dane as I ripped my seax across the throat of a second. "I am Dragon Heart! I am the Wolf who comes in the night! Fear me you spawn of Egbert!" I howled as I lunged forward and swung both weapons before me. I then turned and ran. My cloak and my armour made me invisible. I felt something strike me in the back but I did not stop. I had a shield and armour behind me. It would take a lucky blow indeed to cause me harm.
I saw Magnus being helped by Siggi and Snorri. Suddenly arrows rained down behind me as Haaken sprung his trap. I kept on running until I reached the second ambush point. I saw that Magnus had been too badly wounded to continue. His leg had been gashed above the knee. I tore a piece of cloth from his kyrtle and bound it tightly around his leg. "Get him to Wolf Killer and tell him that the Danes are here." Siggi shook his head. "I am Jarl and I command you. Obey me. We will survive. Now go." He nodded and left.
Sigtrygg said, "You will need your cloak repairing." He handed me the throwing axe which had been embedded in my shield.
"I will return this to our friends then."
"Take Harald with you on that side of the trail. Snorri with me,."
I heard the noise of battle and then Haaken ran past us. I raised the throwing axe above my head. I saw a warrior appear out of the gloom ahead of us and I hurled the axe and then quickly grabbed my sword. The warrior fell dead with the axe in his skull. The warrior behind stopped and looked. It was a mistake for Harald's arrow threw him back. Snorri and Sigtrygg blindly loosed two arrows in the air and then put their bows over their shoulders. I heard shouts as at least one of the arrows found their mark.
A Danish voice shouted, "Halt! Back to the camp. This is a trap!"
I knew that this could be a trap for us. The Danes might be trying to make us overconfident and hope that we went back. I waved at the other three and we moved, through the trees towards the Danes. I did so confidently. Even if this was a trap they would just see shadows moving towards them. I had seen their white face in the dark. We had nothing white to show where we were. Snorri and I came across two Danes tending to a wounded warrior. We stepped close to them and they only turned at the last moment. Ragnar's Spirit tore across the neck of one of them. Snorri stabbed down and the two Danes fell across their dying fellow.
I heard a scream from the far side of the trail and then a Danish voice shouted, "They are truly the spirits of wolves. We cannot fight what we cannot see!"
This time there was no steady withdrawal. They ran as fast as they could towards their camp. We were hard pressed to catch them. The first thing they did when they reached their camp was to set a ring of torches around it. I saw their leader; I guessed it was Thord. He was a huge Dane and he held his shield with a red skull upon it close to him. He shouted, "You are Ulfheonar! You can only hunt at night. During the day you become mortal men again. When dawn comes we will seek you out and I will tear your living hearts from your bodies and let the carrion feast on your flesh! You will change into wolves no more!"
His men began to bang on their shields. I cupped my hands and began to howl. Snorri, next to me did the same. I heard two more howls from my right and then another six from close behind me. The Danes stopped banging their shields and peered fearfully into the dark. We could approach no closer but the torches they held made it hard for them to see far into the darkness. As we were just twenty paces from them the howls must have seemed to come from spirits. One or two Danes tried to back off but Thord pushed them back with the flat of his sword.
I began to move back. I heard Haaken and his men howl again. I saw Sigtrygg and Harald as they, too, headed for Haaken. We found them close to where we had sprung the first ambush. I waved them back down the trail. We had done all that we could have hoped. We found the dead Danes littering the trail. Each one was searched. We then chopped off their heads and put each one on the top of one of the many broken spears. We then rammed each one in the middle of the green way. There were eight such bodies. They would mark our retreat and they would put fear in the hearts of the Danes.
As soon as we reached our last ambush point Snorri took us off the trail and through the woods. As dawn began to break, in the east, we were nearing our own camp. We walked for fifty paces through the stream before using some rocks to reach our camp. It would take a sharp pair of eyes to follow our trail. "Haaken, you and your men take the first watch. Wake me in a couple of hours when the sun has warmed the air."
I laid my helmet and shield down; rammed Ragnar's Spirit into the ground and, as my head touched the turf, I fell asleep.
"Jarl. It is your watch." I looked up at Haaken's face. "What happened to Siggi and Magnus?"
"Magnus was wounded. I sent him and Siggi to Wolf Killer."
He nodded and yawned. "They will seek us today."
"I know. It means they cannot attack Elfridaby tonight."
"And we cannot attack them in the same way either. They will be expecting it."
"I know that too. Tonight we use arrows to rain death upon their camp and then we do as we did in the north. We use the wolf to strike fear into their hearts."
<
br /> "How long can we keep this up?"
I smiled, "We are sleeping now are we not? They will be watching and hunting for us. They will be awake all night again and tomorrow we will sleep once more. Tired men make mistakes and on the third night, unless they have left for home we will kill their sentries again and do as we did this night."
He nodded, "I think that tonight we killed one in five of them. If we can get their numbers down to half they will go home."
I took out the gold which we had taken from the dead Danes. "I want as few of them as possible to return home and I want Egbert's gold as were geld."
He yawned again and lay down, "This will be a good story for the winter fires."
I woke Harald and we ate some of the venison and washed it down with freshly drawn water. We clambered up into the lower branches of a sycamore tree. The leaves hid us from view and yet afforded a good sight of the approach from the Danish camp.
I looked at Harald, he looked like one of the branches of the tree with his long legs and equally long arms. "How did you find the attack last night?" He hesitated. "Come Harald, you are now Ulfheonar. Speak the truth to your jarl."
"I was both afraid and excited. There were so many of them. I am sorry that one made a sound. I should have killed him silently."
"Do not worry. You will learn and it was bound to happen. No ill came of it."
"Magnus took an axe in the leg."
"That could not be helped. To have emerged with just one wounded warrior is to be wondered at."
"How was it that they did not hurt us more?"
I pointed to the Ulfheonar sleeping below us. "Look at them. Even in sleep they are fearsome. Look at my face. All you see is the red. At night all that you would see would be blackness. If they had met us in daylight, in an open field, then we would all be dead. Many of them would die too for we are hard to defeat but we would all be in Valhalla now. We choose our battles. This is not over and it will not be glorious but we will whittle them down, little by little until, when we do face them, we will win."
I was about to descend and wake Sigtrygg when I saw them. They were about half a mile away and I saw their helmets as they came through the woods searching for our tracks. I broke a small branch from the tree and threw it at Snorri. It hit him and he was awake in an instant. He looked up. I pointed to the north east. He nodded and began to wake the others. Harald and I had to remain as still as we could. I watched as they drew closer. They had good trackers and they found where we had entered the stream. The party split up. Half went upstream and the other half downstream. I was confident they would not find where we had left the water for we had stepped on rocks. Our prints would have long dried.
After an hour of fruitless searching they returned to the stream. I saw a heated discussion and then they turned to retrace their steps. I looked at my men and, pointing to the north I drew my finger across my throat. Haaken nodded and they hurried after the Danes.
Harald and I climbed down the tree. I picked up my bow. I had not used it the day before but I would use it now. Harald copied me. His long limbs came in handy when using a bow. He could not send one as far as Ulf Long Arrow but he had power in his pull.
After hurrying through the dark our journey in the daylight seemed almost too easy. We could hear the Danes as they grumbled and complained on the trail. Even when not speaking they were making more noise than us for they brushed against bushes and their weapons clattered. In contrast we were silent. I caught up with my men and I waved Haaken to the right. I led Sigtrygg, Snorri and Harald to the left. We trailed them until we were not far from their own camp. Unlike us they did not use someone at the back to keep watch. It was careless and they were about to pay; with their lives.
I waited until they began to ascend the rise which led to their camp. I knew that they had not brought all of their warriors. There were just thirty before us. We would only have a short time to inflict as much damage and then vanish into the woods once more. I pulled back my bow and aimed for the warrior at the rear of the column. I knew that those who were better archers than I would aim at the ones closer to the front. I released and the arrow smacked through his leather byrnie and into his back. He fell face forward. The two men ahead of him who turned were rewarded by a blossoming arrow in the face. Ulf, Harald and Snorri's arrows found flesh at the front of the column.
The Danes dropped down and held their shields before them. I whistled and we drew back into the trees. We moved, slowly at first, to disguise the direction we would take. Then I hurried until we met Haaken. I pointed to the north. We would not return directly to our camp we would head for the far side of theirs. I heard shouts as Thord organised his men and they hurried down the greenway. We slipped away from their blundering charge. They followed the trail they had already followed, back to our camp. Snorri and Bjorn the Scout went to the fore and found a trail which led around the tarn and the stream. We walked for an hour and then found ourselves at the northern, unguarded side of their camp.
We cautiously approached. Peering from the trees we saw that there were just five men left in camp. None was Thord. We drew our bows and the five died. Two made a shout before they fell which I worried might draw others. None came. We raced into the camp. "Mount their heads and take their gold. Put anything which will burn, including their food on the fire."
It was a grislier task to mount their heads in daylight but I wanted these Danes terrorising. Although we found much which would burn its initial effect was to make smoke.
"It is time to leave. Snorri, find us another way back to our camp."
We left the way we had come but turned towards the west. We would make a long loop back to our own hideaway. I saw the thick plume of smoke as it spiralled skyward. I heard the blundering Danes as they hurtled towards their camp. I could imagine the anger of Thord. This was not going as he had planned.
It was after noon when we approached our camp. Snorri held up his hand. His face told me that he sensed danger. I drew my sword and we approached in a half circle. When I saw Siggi's face appear before me I smiled. Sheathing my sword I stepped through the trees and found that he was not alone. Wolf Killer and fifteen of his warriors awaited us. I took off my helmet when I saw them. We now had reinforcements. We could end this sooner rather than later.
My son grinned and held out his arm. "I am sorry that I doubted you. After all these years you would have thought I would have known better. I am stubborn!"
"How is Magnus?"
"My wife cares for him. Have you hurt the Danes?"
"We have killed many of them and we have put fear into their hearts. With your warriors we can end this tonight. They have not slept and they have suffered many losses. We have just returned from their camp." I pointed to the distant smoke. "We left them a reminder of our visit. If your men keep watch we will get a little sleep. Their camp is but an hour away. We will leave before dark." I grasped his arm. "It is good to have you by my side once more."
"Aye father. My wife tells me I have a stiff neck."
"You have a good wife there, my son. She reminds me of our mother. You do well to listen to her."
I took off my shield again and my armour. I found it easier to sleep without it and I felt more secure now that my son and his men had arrived. I managed to snatch a short sleep and felt refreshed when I awoke. I saw Wolf Killer speaking with Haaken and Sigtrygg. There was a guilty silence when I approached them. They had been talking about me. It was understandable. Wolf Killer had been Ulfheonar and had been as close to Haaken as any.
"You have devised a plan then?"
Haaken laughed at the surprised expression on the faces of the other two. "I told you there can be no secrets from the Dragon Heart."
My son smiled, "I should have realised that you would know what we were about. We think to advance from this side and, after killing their sentries swarm over them in their camp."
I nodded, sagely, "A good plan save in one respect." I could see the question on their lips.
"What about the ones who will flee? We have attacked them twice and so far they have not seen one body. They know not that Magnus was wounded. As far as they are concerned we are wraiths; we are the spirits of wolves. The next time we attack many will flee. I want none to return to the east. I want Egbert to wonder if his gold was taken and he was duped. I want those other Danes who live in Jorvik and envy us to fear us so that they will never come again. I want this to become a legend of horror which will grow in the telling. The fifty Danes led by Thord who came to kill the Dragon Heart and vanished from the face of the earth."
"How do we ensure that?"
"We surround the camp. You place your warriors on the far side, the east. When we enter the camp they will see the Ulfheonar. Some will fight and some will run. When they run they will run into you and your men. Slaughter them."
There was a brief silence and then my son's face split into a grin. "I am still learning. I think of the battle and you think of the war."
"You should play chess with Aiden. It will sharpen your thinking." I shaded my eyes so that I could look at the sky. "We had best leave soon. You and your men will need time to get into position. Harald Long Legs, guide them around the camp."
"Aye Jarl."
My son and his men left first. We followed Snorri as we headed along the familiar greenway towards the Danish camp. As we travelled the sun dipped lower in the sky and made the shadows longer. The camp was to the east of us and we were highlighted against the setting sun. Had anyone else been scouting I fear we would have walked into the ambush which the Danes had prepared. As it was he suddenly stopped and sniffed. The moment he did we all had our weapons out. We knew that his instincts were like those of a hunting dog. His movement must have made the Dane who was waiting close by nervous for he launched himself at Snorri, swinging his axe sideways. Snorri threw up his shield and punched his sword through the warrior.