by Griff Hosker
“Good questions. We will provide all your food and a penny a week for the first six months. After that, if you have satisfied the baron then it will be two pennies a week. We will provide shields, armour and any other weapons you might need. Can you ride?”
Edward smiled, “We can stay on a horse but we do not fight on horses.”
“That is fair enough. As you can see I am not like my lord here, I am a Housecarl and I like my feet on the ground when I fight. What say you?”
Edward looked to the others who all nodded and said, “We are your men.”
“Good, then finish your ale and we will return for you when we have completed our purchases.”
We found my father and Ralph still at the animal pens. Osric had joined him. They looked as we approached. Wulfstan nodded and held up four fingers; my father smiled and continued looking at the animals.
Osric sidled over. “We have bought some cows and some cattle but your father is now looking at the bulls. He has found that there are some horses to be had further south. We will leave that for another day. The animals are expensive. The Scottish raids along the borders have pushed the prices of horses too high.” He shook his head. “Had we more men then we could go cattle raiding.”
“Men are more valuable than cattle. It is not worth the effort. We would have a two day journey north and then have to try to get them back. This is a better way. We are warriors and not cattle thieves.”
“You are right, my friend.”
There were three bulls for sale. My father was outbid on the first. He did not seem concerned. As the next two were paraded I knew which one I would choose. Of the two one had much longer horns and had an aggressive demeanour. That would be a bull to sire fine young. Surprisingly my father did not bid for that one but the other, more docile looking beast which had barely any horns at all. He paid the least for it. As we were going back to collect the rest of our party I asked him why.
“If I was to leave the bull wandering our land then I would get the aggressive one but we will keep our bull within our walls. We do not need aggression. We need a compliant animal which will sire animals. We are seeking animals which have weight and meat. He was the biggest bull. He will do.
When we had collected our herders, slaves, men at arms and our horses we returned to the animal pens and, with our bull led by Osric, we drove our animals north. It would be a good test of Ethelred’s new ferry.
I rode with Wulfstan and the new men at arms. These would be fighting with us and we needed to discover their backgrounds.
“We all fought in the Welsh Marches with our Lord, Geoffrey of Hereford. We were betrayed by his brother and the four of us were the only ones to escape the ambush. We have fled as far from Wales as we could.”
I could not resist asking, “Why?”
“His brother is marcher lord and has great power. We were witnesses to his treachery.”
Even Wulfstan was intrigued, “But why should the lord of the Welsh Marches have his brother ambushed and killed. Surely that would weaken him?”
Edward laughed wryly. “Our lord had a pretty young wife whom his brother coveted. In addition he had suborned many of the men of the household. My brother was the sergeant at arms and neither he nor we could be seduced by gold. When our lord and my brother were dead those who had remained true fled. There were six of us but two succumbed to their wounds.”
“A sad story.”
Edward nodded and put his arm around his nephew. “Aye, but my brother died well and with honour. That is all a warrior can ask.”
I looked north towards our home and thought about his words. Treachery appeared as common here as in the east. For some reason I had thought it to be different. And what of the king to whom we had pledged allegiance? He had no more male heirs and his daughter was a young girl married to the Holy Roman Emperor. Had my father made a mistake in coming here?
Behind me I heard Edward questioning Wulfstan. “We were offered work in the north by some Norman knights who were seeking men at arms.”
“You chose not to go with them?”
I heard a wry laugh, “The pay was not as good but there was a promise of plunder. It did not sound like dependable work. If our lord had not been betrayed then we would still be in the Welsh Marches.” There was a pause, “How many men at arms are we?”
“We have eleven more at the castle and two of my fellows are in York on the Baron’s business.”
“And we would be the garrison for Norton?”
“My lord?” I turned, “Would you join us? Needs must you should answer the sergeant’s questions.” I reined Scout back and rode next to Wulfstan. “You will be serving this knight, Sir Alfraed. He is building a castle some five miles from Norton; at Stockton.”
“Stockton?”
“Aye Stockton. It is on the river.” I looked at the man. “I am having a stone tower built. By this time next year it will be finished.”
Wulfstan saw the doubt creep into Edward’s cheeks. “Do not let his youth deceive you. This knight has killed many knights including one who was trying to kill King Henry. I serve him happily.”
I felt proud when I heard those words from a warrior as fine as Wulfstan.
Edward knuckled his forehead, “I am sorry for any disrespect sir. Had I not seen you in armour I would have taken you for a priest.”
I laughed, “Well that is a first. There were many matrons in Constantinople who wished that I been a priest! We are small in number, Edward, but my mason, William, is building a solid stone castle and the river will help to defend us. We will enjoy success there, I promise you.”
It was late afternoon when we reached the river. Ethelred did not seem bothered when he saw the animals.”I will carry your lordship and the female slaves first. I can bring the animals across in two journeys.” He rubbed his hands. “I am grateful to Alf for suggesting this. I will soon be a rich man.”
As we boarded my father smiled, “And I look forward to the taxes you shall pay!”
As he pulled us across he said, “You have to earn the money to pay the taxes. I am happy enough, my lord.”
It took some time to cross and it was dark by the time all the animals had been transported. “I will travel back with Wulfstan, Osric and Ralph. You can spend the night in your half built castle, my son.”
I was more than happy about that. “I will guard our animals with my life and bring them in the morning.”
“Good. We will have pens built by then.”
Sarah, the ale wife, did a healthy business that night. Edward and his men had coin for ale and I paid her for some food for us. The slaves and herders looked surprised at my generosity. They had expected water only.
There were no houses built yet but there was some shelter against one of the external walls. I wandered around my walls with Harold. In my mind I was imagining it finished. Edward joined us.
“What do you think?”
“It is good, my lord. The river will provide defence however…”
I frowned. Was my new man criticising me already? “Speak.”
“The gate looks a little wide to me; in my experience the narrower the gate the better.”
“But what if we have to bring wagons or carts inside?”
He gave me a patient look, “This is a tower, my lord. If you have stables on the ground floor then that is all you need; protection for your horses. Everything else can be carried inside by your slaves. If this was my castle I would have the gate way big enough just for a horse to be led through.”
I went to the gate entrance. There was no wooden barrier yet and I could see what he meant. If you only had a narrow entrance then only one man at a time could come through. “You are right. I will see William in the morning. Any other suggestions?”
“I assume you will be building a curtain wall and a moat too?”
“Aye.”
“Then this will be a hard castle to take.”
The next day I left our four new men to help William co
ntinue his building. William liked the suggestions about the narrower door and I left the masons and my men at arms toiling away. We had been away but a couple of days and yet Norton looked small and inconsequential. It looked as though a strong breeze would demolish the walls. I bit my tongue. It would not do to upset the others.
Now that we were back we were able to send some of Branton’s men to help build the castle. As my father and Garth were busy with the allocation of animals and slaves I took Aiden and Harold. It was spring and a good time to hunt. We took both bows and boar spears. We did not know what we would encounter.
The boggy bottoms were still too wet to cross and so we headed up the track towards Wulfestun. There was but one farm here, Thomas Two Toes, his sons and his hardy wife eked out a parlous existence close to the forest. They seemed to survive. I called at their hut on the way north.
Thomas gave a slight bow. “Good morning my lord. Going hunting?”
“Yes Thomas. Yesterday we were at market and I need the hunt. Have you seen any hawks this spring?”
“No, my lord, my sons are watching out for you as you asked.” I nodded my thanks. “A word of warning sir, there is a family of wild pigs come to live not far from here and the sow has had young ‘uns. They are protective and dangerous. The boars are nasty buggers!” He hesitated, “I wasn’t certain if you would know coming from foreign parts.”
I laughed, “I knew but I thank you for your advice. And we now have cows and cattle at Norton. My father is keen to let farmers graze them in return for a share in the bounty.”
Thomas grinned, “That’ll be good news for the wife sir. She is keen to be making cheese and butter. Sheep’s milk butter is not as fine as that made from cow’s milk.”
I nodded, “I shall tell him you are interested.” Before I put spurs to Scout I asked, “Any sign of any visitors?”
“No, my lord and the ground is still wet enough to show the tracks. I will send young Tom if we see aught.”
I knew that there were a couple of ponds in the forest and they attracted game. As we entered the thick forest I checked on the wind. It came from the north and worked in our favour. We would smell the animals before they smelled us. I had Aiden to the fore; this was not because he was a slave but because he was most at home with animals. He loved training dogs and horses. He rarely washed and smelled more like a horse than a horse. That said he could detect an animal with his nose. He would be as good as any dog.
We went slowly. We were in no hurry and I wanted to go back carrying a dead animal. I wanted to prove to my new men that I was a skilled hunter. I was young in those days. If we rushed we might scare them and they would be gone forever. Suddenly Aiden slipped silently from his rouncy. He dropped to the ground and picked something up which he rubbed between his fingers and then sniffed. He came close to me and said quietly. “Deer were here less than an hour ago. There were five of them.”
He led his mount and I strung my bow as Scout followed his rouncy. I knew that Harold would do the same. I could guarantee that if we saw any animals then Harold would make a kill; he was that good. When it was strung I chose the straightest arrow I had and nocked it. I would be ready.
After a short while Aiden held up his hand and, after examining the ground, waved us to the path. I dismounted and tied Scout’s reins, loosely, to a branch. Our quarry was close. Aiden had no bow; he was a slave after all but I had given him a dagger. He drew that as he led us off the path and through the trees. We had to watch where we put our feet for we did not wish to startle the animals. I caught the pungent smell of a deer and knew that they were close. I realised that we had been descending for some time. We were heading for water.
Aiden’s hand came up and he slowly squatted. There, some fifty paces away, was a small herd of deer. They were not large but I saw that there were at least seven young. They made the best eating; they would be tender and succulent. I did not need to tell Harold when to release he would choose his own target but he would wait until I had released my arrow. I took aim at the largest of the young and pulled the bow back. They had no idea we were there. I released my hunting arrow and it flew straight and true. It struck the young animal just behind the ear. As the herd started to scatter Harold’s arrow flew past my ear and took the young hind which had leapt over the dying one I had hit.
We moved forward quickly. By the time we reached the water the herd had vanished as though they had never been there. Aiden set to work to gut the animals. The sooner he did that the better. He had a sack in which he put the guts. Some would be discarded but some would be used by Faren. Even the bowels could be used. If they were emptied and washed they could be used to make bait traps for foxes and rats. We wasted nothing.
Harold helped Aiden. This was familiar work for him. We had brought our spears with us and we used these to carry the two dead deer to our horses. I followed the two of them back to where we had tied Scout and the others with an arrow nocked in my bow in case we saw anything else worth hunting. I was feeling pleased with myself. It almost led to disaster. The wind was now carrying our scent and masking the scent of the animals before us. It hid the smell of the huge wild boar which hurtled towards us.
“Down!” Aiden and Harold dived to the side and I released my arrow and then dropped the bow. I hit the tusker in the chest from no more than twenty paces but it did not even slow it down. It was lucky that I had such fast hands. I drew my sword and spun as it tried to rip my stomach open with its wickedly sharp tusks. As it was one of its tusks ripped open my leggings. I brought my blade around and felt it slice across the pig’s rump. It would neither slow it down nor hurt it. It turned remarkably quickly and its feet scrabbled for purchase on the leafy, muddy ground. That gave me the chance to plant my feet apart. This time it would go for the kill and I had to treat it as though it was another knight.
Its tiny red eyes seemed to glow as it launched itself at me. I swung from right to left as hard as I could. I had gained much strength over the winter but, even so, this was a powerful boar. The blade of my sword bit into the side of the boar’s head; blood spattered from the screaming animal’s jaw. Its shoulder struck me and, even though I had a wide stance it knocked me to the ground. I was now in the gravest danger for the enraged beast turned to come back and finish me off. I barely had time to turn and brace myself on one knee. It vaulted towards me and I jabbed by sword forward. The boar seemed to eat the sword. It disappeared down its yawning gullet. Only the hilt was left. I was forced to drop it and use my hands to grab the two tusks which were coming directly for my eyes. By holding his tusks I stopped his teeth from closing on me as did the hilt of my sword but I was now trapped by the huge boar which crashed on top of me. I heard something in my side crack. I could barely breathe. Then I saw Aiden and his dagger ripped across the boar’s throat as Harold thrust his sword through the ear and skull of the boar. I was showered in warm pig’s blood.
My two companions pushed the dead boar from me and Harold looked terrified as he asked, “My lord! Are you hurt?”
I laughed and then winced as my cracked ribs sent spasms of pain through my body. “No Harold, but I thank you both for God smiled on us today.”
Aiden’s eyes widened. “That is a huge boar, my lord!”
“Aye and there will be at least one angry sow nearby. We have pushed our luck enough. Bring the horses here and we will take our bounty back to Norton.”
We slung the boar on Aiden’s rouncy and the two deer across the necks of our horses. Aiden led his mount. When we reached Thomas Two Toes’ farm they came out. “Good lord! What has happened, my lord?”
I looked down at my tunic. It was almost black with the boar’s blood. “It is the boar’s.” I shouted to Aiden. Aiden had taken the heart, kidneys and the liver from the boar. He handed them to Thomas. “Thank you for the warning. Here is a present from the forest.”
Thomas grinned, “We will eat well tonight. Thank you, my lord.”
We were spied from some way off and my fa
ther was waiting. He looked concerned but his voice did not betray his inner fears. “Good hunting, my son?”
When we had dismounted and told him our tale he did something unusual, he crossed himself. Then he embraced me. “What is it father?”
“Your namesake, Aelfraed did much the same thing save he had a boar spear. You have done something I never expected, you have outshone Aelfraed!”
Chapter 15
I went up in the estimation of all of the warriors. To face a wild boar with just a sword was seen as a mark of a great warrior. I was not sure. I felt I had just been lucky. It made me glad to be alive and I threw myself into the building of the castle. However I had to do one thing, as soon as the blood had been cleaned from my clothes and Faren had tended to my ribs.
“Father I wish to free Aiden.”
“Why?”
“If he and Harold had not been so prompt then I might be dead.” He nodded and said nothing, “Besides he seems more than a slave. I do not think he will leave us.”
“You would pay him.” He pointed to my purse and repeated, emphasising the ‘you’, “You would pay him?”
“Aye I would. He would be my freeman.”
His face broke and he threw his arms around me. “You are becoming a man my son and I am proud of you. Your mother will be looking down from heaven and she will be smiling too. Let us go and do it now.”
My father told Aiden, in front of the men at arms that he was free and then he stepped back. I stepped forward smiling at the shock on Aiden’s face. “And I would have you as my freeman to look after my animals. What say you?”
In answer he dropped to his knees, took my hand and kissed it. Tears were coursing down his cheeks. Wulfstan said quietly, “I would take that as a yes.”
I gave him a rouncy to use and one of the short swords we had captured the previous year. I asked him to keep an eye out for some dogs. There were many strays; they were all that were left of their owners who had died. They tended to gather around the farms and settlements to beg for food. I was convinced that Aiden could train them. The experience with the boar had shown me that we needed animals to smell out danger.