by Griff Hosker
Myrddyn shouted, “Now, the bridge!”
Miach’s flaming arrow hit the pot of Greek Fire concealed beneath the bridge. A wall of flame shot into the air. The bridge was tinder dry and began to burn fiercely. The men on the ram tried to slow down the huge log as it threatened to deviate from its course. I could see their intention. They were gambling on the fact that it would fly across the bridge and strike the gate.
“Now the other pots!”
Miach and his men loosed four arrows in quick succession. The four pots hidden by the side of the track, next to the ram, all ignited at once. It was like an explosion and the men pulling it were either killed or knocked over by the force. The fiendish flames took hold of the ram and it began to burn. It was such a large ram that it would take a day to destroy but it was on fire and, more importantly, it was travelling at a slight angle to the bridge. Myrddyn had placed rocks there to accentuate any deviation and the ram’s front wheel tipped off the bridge. It was heavy and the sheer weight of it took it onto its side in the ditch. The bridge and the ram were on fire, effectively preventing anyone from using the front gate.
I heard the sound of voices calling the warriors back to the rise. This attack was over. Just then Lann came running over. “My lord, we need you and Myrddyn, your son has been wounded.”
My heart sank but I was Warlord and I was needed here directing the defence. “Myrddyn, see to my son.”
I steeled myself to look out on the battlefield. Trying to work out my enemy’s next move helped me to take the thought of Hogan dying from my mind. I saw that Iago had formed his shield wall facing us again but it was at the top of the rise. Why was that? He was too far away to launch a quick attack. The inferno in the middle meant he would find it difficult to attack. The only benefit was that it shielded his rear from our eyes.
“Miach put your men on the north and south walls. Lann get the slingers and position them behind the north and south walls. Garth, take charge of the south wall.” I turned to the king. I think he is going to send his men and attack where we are weakest, the north and south walls. If you keep a few warriors here in case I am wrong I will take charge of the north wall.”
By the time I reached it Hogan had been taken away and Miach rubbed his beard. “It seems you are getting the second sight of Myrddyn my lord. They are here.”
I could see that they had attacked strongly before and there were many casualties. Had I not brought reinforcements things might have gone badly for them. The attack was in strength. They still might prevail but, as I drew Saxon Slayer, I was determined they would not. “Slingers on my command loose and keep loosing until you have no ammunition left!” I turned and saw their eager faces and their slings at the ready. “Loose!”
The stones and pebbles crashed down like hail and cracked against the armour and shields. I did not expect many casualties but I wanted their shields up. Out at sea ‘The Wolf’ was edging closer in and the two bolt throwers at the front were ready. I dropped my sword and there was the sound of rushing wind as two bolts hurtled towards the eager Gwynedd warriors. Their shields might have given them some protection but they were being held aloft protecting their heads and the two bolts took out twenty warriors. In the confusion Miach and his archers chose the leaders and picked them off one by one. The third and fourth bolts caused a panic. Some ran towards the walls and some ran away.
“Ready at the wall!”
There were still more than enough of them to scale the walls and we were perilously short of mailed warriors. I swung Saxon Slayer at the first hands that grasped the top of the walls. I sliced through them both and heard the warrior’s screams followed by the thud as he hit the ground.”Don’t let them reach the top!”
Miach showed me his empty quiver. “We are out of arrows my lord but look! They fall back.”
A messenger came from the king. “His majesty says they have retreated from the front of the fort.”
Was he up to something? “Take charge and watch them, Miach. I will investigate.”
When I reached the gate I could see that it was true. Iago had gone. He had been so close and yet he had fled. Miach shouted from the north wall. “It is Prince Pasgen, the equites are here!”
So that was it. Iago had been warned by his scouts that relief was at hand. We had survived again. Although many brave men had died for Iago he had not lost and he had more men under his command. He had shown guile and nearly beaten us. King Arthlwys put his hand on my shoulder. “Well done, Warlord. You have prevailed, now go to your son and I will take charge of my own castle eh?”
Lann was at the foot of the stairs with his slingers and he was praising them. He saw me and the question on my face. “Come with me Warlord and I will take your to your son.”
Part of the warrior hall had been turned into a safe place for the wounded. Wives were tending their husbands. I saw Myrddyn and two young women and headed for them. He saw me coming and came towards me. “He lives Warlord. He was struck a blow on the head and he is unconscious but he will live. His heart beats strongly and I felt no breaks in his skull. He has broken his left wrist but the Allfather was watching over him and I was able to set it while he was in the dream world. He will still be able to hold a shield.” He looked at me. “You need rest too.”
“I must go to Hogan.”
“No, my lord. He is in safe hands. That is Morag, the king’s eldest daughter and her servant. They are better medicine for him believe me. They will stay with him until he wakes and I think he will appreciate their pretty faces rather than yours or mine eh? Come my friend, we need rest too. We are no longer young men.”
Myrddyn rarely called me friend and yet that was what he was. When he did so I listened and I did suddenly feel tired. It would take Prince Pasgen some time to make his way into the fort and the rest of the captains had plenty of work to do. I nodded, “Very well, wizard, work your magic.”
I went to the rooms I was using and, amazingly, fell asleep as soon as I lay down. Myrddyn woke me and I could see from the candle in his hand that it was night time. “Warlord, Prince Pasgen is here and the king awaits you.”
“You should have woken me!”
He smiled, “You were tired and there was nothing to do.” He saw the question on my lips and said, “Hogan awoke, took some water, spoke with Morag and then went back to sleep.”
The hall seemed bright after the dimly lit chamber. As I walked in they all banged the table and chanted, “Warlord!” over and over. I held up my hand for silence.
Myrddyn whispered, “They see this as a great victory. King Iago fled.”
I snorted, “He retreated, and he did not flee.”
“Do not disparage their efforts Warlord. They believe they have done well and they have.”
I sighed. He was right, as usual. “Very well. I shall smile and pretend that it was a victory.”
The king had left a space for me next to him. “Sit here, Warlord, Prince Pasgen can sit on your other side. He has much to say to you.”
We sat and a hurriedly prepared feast was brought in. I suspected that they had quickly cooked all the meat and fish which was about to go off but I feigned enjoyment. “So Warlord I know that we have much to learn from you. I would have you advise us so that if King Iago dares to try this again we will not need your help.”
Although I knew it would be some time before the men of Ceredigion could take on King Iago I was pleased that the king had seen that all was not well. “You have much stone around the coast. Use it to make your lower levels of stone. Build towers and have at least two ditches with a drawbridge over. The bolt throwers we use would give you an advantage but you would need skilled men to operate them. It is probably better if you provide mail for your warriors and keep your men well trained.”
“That is quite a list but you have given my people the appetite for it.” He smiled, “I was pestered by the young slingers, all of whom wish to be warriors like your squire. He has made quite an impact.”
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�He is a good nephew and a better warrior.”
“And your son is well looked after.” He gave me a thoughtful look, “Morag is quite taken with him. They are both of an age.” He added knowingly.
I had not thought of that. Could it be so simple? Wyrd.
“Warlord?”
Prince Pasgen had barely touched his food. “Yes Prince Pasgen, forgive my inattention. You did well today.”
“No, I did badly! We were spotted by the scouts they had on the road and we wasted time putting on armour. Had we engaged them then Iago would not have been able to flee.”
“And you would have had to change into armour to reap any benefit from that.” I shook my head. “It is my fault. I knew there was a problem with heavily armoured men. I should have encouraged you all to use more scouts and lightly armoured men to support you. I saw, when I campaigned with Hogan that the equite is a shock weapon but is easily tired. I think we need to keep the numbers of equites to what they are now but add lighter horsemen who can find and engage the enemy until the equites can destroy them.”
He looked relieved. “I thought that I had failed you again.”
“No Prince Pasgen. We need to evolve. The enemy are learning from us and use horsemen. We need to do the same and adapt. Prince Cadfan is the model we shall use. He has many lightly armed men in the mountains and scouts. They are cheap to arm and cheap to train and maintain. We are moving into a new world Pasgen. The world of Rome is gone and we move into the world of the Saxon. If we want to survive we must be quicker at change than the others.”
I was restless that night; part of it was the sleep I had had after the battle and part of it was what I had said to the king and the prince. Could we win? A year ago I had been confident that, with the Emperor’s help we could turn back the tide. I now saw that I had been dreaming. Rome was using me and there would be no help coming from that quarter. Whatever we did would be by our own devices. I went to the gatehouse and climbed to the ramparts. The guards nodded and smiled as I climbed and then gave me the space I needed. I looked to the pile of Gwynedd corpses, still burning on the pyre we had built. The pyre for the fallen of Ceredigion would be lit on the morrow when the proper rituals had been observed. I sensed a presence and I looked around; there was Myrddyn.
“Restless, Warlord?”
“I am trying to work out how we can defeat all these enemies. Will we be forever burning our own dead outside our forts?”
Myrddyn closed his eyes, almost as though he was in a trance. He was facing Cader Idris. “I think Warlord,” he said after a long silence, “that you have hit upon the strategy almost by accident. Or perhaps it is the Allfather and wyrd at work.”
“Explain yourself. Perhaps I am still tired but I do not understand.”
“Mona has not been touched by an enemy for over a year now. Even Prince Pasgen’s fort has been untouched. Your forts at Nefyn and Ruthin are the future. You control the ways into the land and keep the enemy at bay. If we had a fort close to the monastery then the Dee estuary could be controlled. You have come up with a brilliant strategy. Use small groups of warriors in well planned forts and stop the deprivations of our enemies.”
“But how do we defeat them?”
“You think that because the field is not littered with Iago’s dead we did not win. “I looked at the bodies as they were burned. These were his best warriors. We know that you cannot replace the best quickly. We make our enemies bleed on our defences and then we use our small but deadly army to defeat them on the field of battle and increase our land, little by little.”
“So I will not see the victory.”
“Oh I am sorry; I did not know that you were doing this for yourself. I thought that you were carrying out an oath made to King Urien to be Warlord.”
It hit me then and he was right. This was not about me, this was about my land. My son Hogan, or his son, might be the one to achieve victory. My task was to make his task easier. “Thank you old friend. I can see now. The world is clearer.”
“And tomorrow we can see Hogan who will be awake. I have a feeling that his life has changed too.”
“Morag?”
“Morag.” Wyrd!
When we found Hogan he was walking, somewhat gingerly, on the arm of the princess of Ceredigion. It was the first time I had seen her face and she was beautiful. The king was wrong, she was younger than Hogan but that was as it should be. I did not need anyone to tell me that they were both smitten; they only had eyes for each other. I had to cough to get their attention.
“Father, sorry. This is Morag and she has been looking after me.”
“Thank you Morag. You are most kind, I am indebted to you. Myrddyn said the wrist should heal well.”
“But he cannot leave yet. He must recover!”
“I think, Princess Morag, that Hogan has a home on Mona where he can be looked after just as well as here.”
I could see the distress on their faces. Hogan suddenly blurted, “But I could advise the king on his defences and his army while I recover. That would free you up to return to Mona.”
I was impressed by his quick thinking. “Well,” I said slowly, “I will have to speak with the king about this. Perhaps he wants the Warlord and not the Warlord’s son.”
“Oh no, I am sure that my father would rather have Hogan than…” she suddenly realised what she had said and she fled the room.
I could not contain my laughter. Hogan looked cross. “That was cruel father. Can I stay?”
“Just so long as you are honest with me and tell me the real reason.”
He looked me straight in the eye. “I intend to marry Morag and I will woo her and ask her father for her hand.”
“In which case, you may stay. I prefer honesty, especially from my son. I forgive you for you were in the east longer than I was and it has affected you more. But no more deceptions between us; the truth.”
He clasped my arm with his good arm, “The truth!”
“And please consult Myfanwy about the wedding day or I shall never hear the end of it.”
He laughed. “You have my word.”
Now that I had my plan I needed to have more of my warriors on the frontier. Prince Pasgen, his horses and his armour were sent home first. We would march to the mines and check on the safety of Tomas and his miners. The king had wanted to go but we both knew he needed to bring his defences up to the standard we wanted. As I pointed out to him our ships could pick us up after dropping off Prince Pasgen. It would save time for all concerned.
I summoned Lann Aelle. “Lann I would like you to stay here until Hogan is fit to travel. He will need a squire and there is none better than you.”
I could see that he was torn. The praise made him swell with pride but he did not want to be left behind. “Could not someone else do that my lord? He will not need arming while he is here.”
“There is another task I would ask you to complete for me. Train up the slingers and find someone amongst them who can lead them.”
This time I thought that he would burst from his armour. “Me? You wish me to appoint a leader?”
“The king is happy to go on along with whoever you select. He was impressed with the way you conducted yourself during the siege.”
He nodded, “I will do it Warlord and I will make them the best slingers in the land.”
“Good.”
Saying goodbye to Hogan was easier. He was smitten. “I am leaving Lann Aelle to train the slingers and to assist you.” He nodded as though he had not been listening. “Do not overstay your injury.” I spoke harshly to jar him from his reverie. He suddenly stared at me. “Ask for Morag’s hand by all means. Arrange the marriage but we need you if my plans and those of Myrddyn are to be put into place.”
He smiled and grasped my hand. “I understand and as soon as I am able I will return.”
“Good. I will send ‘The Dragon’ back to wait for you. I would be unhappy if she was here for more than a few days.”
He grinned
. He had understood the implication. “That is all the time that I will need.”
As we tramped along the coast to the Mawddach, Myrddyn looked at me ruefully. “We could have retained a couple of Pasgen’s horses. It is many years since I walked this far.”
“Is this the wizard who walked from Mona to Rheged, alone to be with the Wolf Warrior? You are getting old and soft Myrddyn. It will do you good.” Privately I agreed with my wizard. We were getting too old for all this walking but the warriors were listening and I knew that they approved my words. One of Garth’s men carried the furled Wolf Banner. We had not needed it at the siege and I still wished it a secret that I was here. I could not give anyone a reason but in my heart I wished it so.
We had scouts out on the flanks just in case Iago had not gone all the way home. It was not a quick journey but it did allow Myrddyn and me to talk with Garth about out plans for the future. By the time we reached the Mawddach I was happier about what we intended. Once we crossed the river I began to see the work that Tomas and his miners had done. They had cut a road up to the mines but they had made it twist and turn. It gave them many opportunities to attack someone coming up the road. I could see a tower quite high up the hillside and there were men on guard. They waved as they recognised us. I left Garth with most of the men and took Myrddyn and eight warriors with me up the steep slope. It was a gruelling walk. I could see that at every turn there was a small wall of rocks. When we reached the mine, which was below the tower it was obvious that Tomas and his men had spent as much time constructing the defences as they had mining. There were walls and gates as well as traps.
Tomas strode out to meet us. He waved an expansive hand at the fort. “Well Warlord, what do you think?”
“I think it is quite impressive. You have done well.”
“Coming from you I take that as a compliment. We had finished it none too soon for King Iago sent some scouts along to investigate.” He grinned. “One escaped but the rest died.”
That explained much. “Did the king not come close then?”