Hosker, G [Wolf Brethren 05] Saxon Slayer

by Griff Hosker

  When my shadow touched the rock I shouted again. “Well, what is your answer?”

  A warrior with a heavily bandaged hand came to the walls. It was Beli ap Llewellyn whom I had fought and defeated. He still ruled. He put his good hand on the wooden wall and shouted. “If that is all you have brought then we have nothing to fear. Do your worst and we will still be here when King Iago arrives next month.”

  I stored that valuable piece of information in my head and said to Daffydd ap Miach, “I want you to pin that warrior’s good hand to the wall. Can you do it?”

  “I can try.”

  “Even if you get close it will have the desired effect. Do it now.”

  He had the arrow ready and he raised the bow and released the arrow. The men on the walls seemed mesmerised as it rose, reached the top of its arc and then plunged down. It struck the wounded warrior in the middle of his hand and I saw that he was pinned there. “His next arrow can take your head Beli. I spared your life once…”

  Suddenly the gate opened. I heard Beli screaming at his men but they had seen enough.”Hogan, check to see if there are any other men hiding. I will take the warriors and archers within.” I turned to my men. “Forward!”

  We marched into the wooden fort. It was in a poor state of repair. I do not think it would have withstood an attack by Cloten’s men, poorly armed as they were. Inside the fort, the warriors stood forlornly around their leader who stared belligerently at me. “Drop your weapons.” They looked to their leader. “Miach!” The sight and sound of twenty bows being readied had the effect I wished and the weapons were dropped. I turned to Prince Cadfan. “Your highness.”

  He stepped forwards and his squire, Dai, proudly held his banner above his head. “I am Cadfan ap Iago and the rightful heir of Gwynedd. Which of you here will join me and fight against the Saxons and not our brothers?”

  They looked at each other. Then one of the older men said, “I remember your mother, she was a good queen, not like the one we have now. I will join you.”

  He walked over, knelt before Cadfan and then stepped behind Dai. Soon there was a veritable flood until six men only remained with the wounded Beli. He was helped to his feet by his men and he snarled, “What now whelp? Will we be executed?”

  Cadfan showed he was a true prince and he smiled. “No, you are free to go. Return to my father and tell him that I have begun to reclaim my birthright.”

  They looked at each other. Beli shook his head, “And risk being shot in the back by the wolf’s arrows? Do you think we are stupid?”

  “Miach!”

  The bows were lowered and they all stepped aside. “You have my word, Beli, and unlike your king, I am a man who does not break oaths.” Even Beli knew that I would not say such a thing and then dishonour myself. They trudged wearily out of the fort. One or two looked wistfully behind them as though they really wanted to stay.

  Once they had gone I turned to the prince. “I will leave you ten of my warriors to help you to organise your men. Will that be enough?”

  Cadfan looked at the men who were before him. “I think so. If I am to lead men like this I need to trust them.”

  “Good. You are right to do so. I would begin to improve the defences. We ought to build a wall from the sea to the fort as we have further up the coast. It will make your land more secure.” I swept my hand across me, “Your first land, your highness. I do not think it will be the last. We will call here when we have met with King Arthlwys. I will loan you some of Aedh’s scouts and the warrior in charge is Adair. He is a good man. Tuanthal and his men can also stay here. He is an experienced captain.”

  Hogan and Aedh were waiting for me along with Garth. “There is no one in sight. We saw those seven heading up the valley.”

  “Garth, leave Adair and ten men to help the prince. Tuanthal, you and your ten equites can stay here. I don’t see the point in tiring all of our heavy cavalry out. You can patrol between here and the Narrows. Hogan and Pol should be more than enough with their twenty men. Aedh, leave him a couple of scouts.” I pointed up the valley. “I would like to know what lies there.” I turned to Lann. “Ride to the beach and tell the captain to find us a campsite close to the shore. It should be ten miles south of here on the other side of the headland.”

  Hogan looked at me, “Are we not staying here?”

  “If it was your first command would you like others watching what you were doing?”

  “You are right.”

  As we rode south Myrddyn nudged his mount close to mine. “I have an ill feeling Warlord.”

  Warnings from the wizard were not to be taken lightly. “Are we in danger?”

  “There is always danger but I fear that there is some malevolent force in the valley to the south.” He looked at me apologetically, “This close to Wyddfa I am always more affected by the spirits. It is hard to control. When I sleep tonight I may dream and have a better idea of what the danger is. I am sorry that I cannot be more specific.”

  “Do not worry, my friend. The fact that you have mentioned it means that we will all be more alert.”

  We did not follow the coast road but headed for the small settlement of Pwllheli. When we had come north we had avoided passing through it. As we travelled through it a few of the inhabitants nervously peered from behind the doors of their huts. We smiled but said nothing. A few miles further along the road, we saw a fire burning on the beach and the welcome sight of ‘The Wolf’ lying off shore. The smell of roasting fish made us hurry the last part of the journey and we ate well; secure in the knowledge that none of Iago’s men were within sight of us. I went to sleep fearfully for if Myrddyn dreamt then that normally meant that I did too.

  When I awoke refreshed I wondered if Myrddyn had been wrong. One look at his face told me that he had dreamed and it was not a happy dream. Hogan stood with me as I asked the wizard of the portents.

  He shook his head. “There is danger and evil but, not I think, to us. We need to hurry lord, time is of the essence.”

  I sent ‘The Wolf’ to find the estuary called the Mawddach. It had been the largest river we had crossed north of King Arthlwys’ kingdom. I guessed that we could camp there. Then I sent Aedh and his scouts out. I gave them Myrddyn’s warnings and the serious looks on their faces showed that they trusted my wizard.

  “Hogan, you had better keep your men close to us on this part of the journey. We are now between our own settlements and those of King Arthlwys. I do not think there are enemies near but Myrddyn’s dreams cannot be ignored.”

  Chapter 7

  We kept the same formation the next day as we followed the coast line around to the Mawddach estuary. Aedh and his scouts hurtled towards us when we were less than five miles from the mouth of the river. Aedh himself reported. “There is a warband of about two hundred warriors. They are up the valley some way. There does not appear to be a settlement now but there are stone buildings close by and it looks like mine workings. They have three men tied to trees and it looks as though they are torturing them.”

  “Was one of the men a greybeard?”

  Aedh looked in amazement at me. “Aye, are you a wizard now too?”

  “No but the mine struck a chord. It is Tomas and he is one of King Arthlwys’ men.”

  Myrddyn nodded, “If there are stone buildings then it is likely that it will be Roman.”

  I looked at my men. We had thirty equites, forty warriors and twenty archers. We would be outnumbered. “What is the ground around their camp like?”

  “They have no walls but it is rocky, uneven and they are close to a forest.” Aedh had scouted for me long enough to read my mind; he gave the answer to my next question. Our best warriors, our equites would not be of any use. That left me with sixty men to attack two hundred; we had had worse odds.

  “Aedh and Hogan, take your men to the east of their camp. When they flee then you can hold them.”

  Hogan looked at me askance. “You would attack two hundred men with sixty?”


  “Sixty of my men? Aye, every day and I would not worry about the outcome. Now go. Aedh send a rider to the ship and tell the captain what we are about. Ask him can he sail as far up the Mawddach as he can without risking the ship; it may help.”

  As my men left us I turned to Garth and Miach. “They are good men who are being held and I would like to keep them alive. Miach, ensure that no man comes near them.”

  “Aye my lord, my son and I will deal with them.”

  “Garth, we will use a wedge. I know we will be outnumbered so let us use the power of our men and the strength of our armour. You will lead and I will be behind you with Lann behind me.”

  Garth was happy that he was leading. I had not taken the arrow head as I wanted to be able to direct the men once we struck. I knew that Garth would be a rock before me and he would not break. We headed in the direction Aedh had indicated. Miach’s archers acted as scouts. The valley sides were steep and rocky. We had to travel along them in a column of four. I was not worried. My men could change formation easily and quickly. My worry was that the men who held Tomas and the others would kill them before we had chance to intervene.

  The archer scouts returned. “Captain Miach says that the prisoners are still being held. They have no guards out and no sentries. They feel safe.”

  “Good. How far ahead are they?”

  “Less than half a mile.”

  “Thank you, rejoin your captain.” As the scout returned to Miach, I summoned Garth. “We will move into wedge formation. I know that the men in the rear ranks will need to adjust but I am confident that they can.”

  Garth grinned, “Aye my lord.”

  “Come then, let us be about this.” I tightened my helmet and hefted my shield on my left arm. With Saxon Slayer in my hand I was ready for combat.

  It was not even a trail we followed, it was just a beaten track and we could not move swiftly. As soon as I saw the rear of my archers I knew that we were close. “Ready Garth?”

  “Yes Warlord.”

  “As soon as we hit the clearing then we get into wedge and keep going. Miach will take care of the prisoners; we just kill as many of the enemy as we can.” We were only eight ranks deep and the enemy would quickly surround us. We had to strike and strike hard, without mercy.

  The enemy had found a clearing which was close to the cliff side where the mine workings were. The old Roman buildings were close to the river and the prisoners were close to the cliff. “Aim at a point between the buildings and the cliff.”

  “Aye my lord.”

  My men did not need cheers to fight and we ran silently. Miach needed no orders to loose his arrows; he would judge his moment well. We were less than thirty paces from them when they heard us. The men who turned round looked in horror as the wall of iron clad warriors approached. As Garth killed the first warrior, Miach loosed his first arrows. Every man within ten paces of the prisoners died. The leader, a warrior with a full face helmet, ordered his men into shield wall. It might have been effective had they all had armour and had they been trained but they had not. The shields were not locked and there were gaps when we struck them. Garth killed their leader with his first blow. I sliced down at the man below me who had been knocked to the ground. Saxon Slayer killed him instantly. Miach and his men poured arrow after arrow into their rear ranks. They were brave men but they could not organise. As soon as the first man held up his hands and cried, “Mercy!” I knew that we had won.

  Even as Garth killed the next man I shouted. “Surrender or die! I will spare your lives.”

  One or two of the braver ones continued to fight but the majority dropped their weapons to the ground. “Garth, take some men and secure the prisoners. The rest of you surround them.”

  I looked behind me and saw that we had lost but one man. That was one loss too many but it was better than we could have expected. Hogan and Pol rode in with their equites and I saw the looks on the faces of the prisoners. They realised they had made the right decision. “Four of them tried to run. They are dead.”

  I lifted my helmet. ”Watch the prisoners, son. I will speak with them shortly.” Garth brought over Tomas and his two companions. “How are you my friend?”

  He managed a brave smile. “Better for having seen you.” He spat at the body of the leader. “That bastard should have suffered. He tortured two of my boys. He wanted us to tell him where the gold and the copper were.”

  “You found it then?”

  “Aye, your wizard was right. They happened upon us while we were working. I think they were heading for the Mawddach to cause mischief.”

  “Then the king does not know of your find?”

  “No. We have not had time to send him a message. They are both rich veins my lord. The ones who were killed were the miners but they told me they had never seen such quantities.”

  “We will bury them with honour.” I looked for Myrddyn. “See to their wounds and then go with Aedh and take them to ‘The Wolf’. They can return to their king by boat. It will be more comfortable and quicker.”

  Myrddyn bowed. “Aye my lord.”

  I turned to the men who were all on their knees and looking sorry for themselves. I banged my shield with my sword to get their attention. “You know who I am, I am Lord Lann, Warlord of Rheged and you know that I am a man of my word.” I glared at them and they bowed their heads. “You have invaded Ceredigion and you have killed brave men who were not warriors. I should kill you all.” I allowed that thought to permeate into their minds. “However you have a choice. Prince Cadfan ap Iago is now at Nefyn. He is raising an army to fight his father. You can, if you wish, join him. If you decide not to do that then I will take you to King Arthlwys for punishment. The third way is to stay here but your heads will be separated from your bodies if you choose that.” I give you the chance now to make your decision. Stand behind my son and his equites if you would serve your prince. Stand behind my banner if you would be punished by the king and stay where you are if you seek death.”

  Only two chose death and none chose punishment. I nodded to Garth, “Give them their swords and a warrior’s death.” We all watched as the men gratefully took their weapons and then held them tightly as their heads were severed. “Hogan, escort these volunteers to the prince and stay with him until they are ready to join his army.”

  “Yes Warlord.”

  “Garth, make camp and we will continue our journey tomorrow.”

  When Myrddyn returned to us he had the smug self satisfied smile of a wizard who has shown his power once more. I nodded to him. “I am just pleased that your dream did not cost me more warriors,”

  The smile left his face. “My power is something that is controlled by the spirits and not by me.”

  “Good, for I would hate to think that you were playing with men’s lives Myrddyn.” I looked into his eyes and he gave a slight nod.

  “You are right Warlord. Sometimes I forget that the dreams are about men and they can die. I will work on that.”

  “Good. And ‘The Wolf’? She has left?”

  “Yes, Warlord. She will drop off the miners and return to try to pick us up.”

  “It is only another day to his stronghold. I suspect we will meet the ship closer to the king.”

  And so it proved. With just warriors walking and only two scouts we made remarkably quick time. It helped that we had had an easy victory for men march easier in that frame of mind. The songs they sang were of our victory and they were eager for their next fight. They had never been beaten and yet they were never over confident. I suspect Garth and Ridwyn had much to do with that.

  When we reached his stronghold the king was waiting to greet us. He was ecstatic that we had rescued his men. Tomas meant much to him. “Our alliance has proved a success already. Had Tomas died then we would not have known about the copper and the gold. Iago would be richer for it.”

  “You will need to build a fort to protect the workers. When his warriors fail to return he will investigate. Prince Cadfan
has begun to fortify north of the Mawddach but he has a handful of untried warriors only. We need to put some iron along the Mawddach and the Dyfi.”

  The king had looked worried. “Is Cadfan like his father? I would not like a younger version of Iago close to my new finds.”

  “He is not like his father but remember I am still Dux Britannica. I will ensure that the lands under my charge are peaceful.” I showed him some of the first coins that we had minted. “I have a mind to use these throughout your kingdoms and my land. How do you feel about that?”

  He smiled, ”I like it and I like that you have not used your own image. I know that you will not try to take power. I think Cloten will go along with it. It means that we can share our coins and no-one is the ruler.” He looked at me and nodded. “You are a wise man, Warlord.”

  Two days later we escorted Tomas, his miners and the forty men who would build and man the new fort on the Mawddach, to the mine. Tomas enjoyed the journey for he was grateful to me for his rescue. His men were also in good humour. As Tomas told me, they no longer felt vulnerable. There was a protector close at hand. The only one who seemed slightly put out was Lann Aelle. “I thought we would have had more battles to fight. This seems…”

  “Easy?”

  “Aye, my lord.”

  “This is but the start. Iago will want this gold and he will want to best his son. There will be war but it will not be this year. We have hurt him too much. He has lost two warbands and he will need to regain his strength but he will come again. By then we should have our defences in place and,“ I nudged him playfully in the ribs, “you will be bigger and stronger. You will be able to protect your old uncle.”

  We stayed for a few days to enable Myrddyn to advise Tomas on the mine and for Garth and my men to show the men of Ceredigion how to use the resources close to hand to make a stronger fort.