by Griff Hosker
"How many men can you supply?"
"We have twenty good warriors." He looked apologetic. "I am afraid our land is so rich that many have forgotten what it means to have to fight."
"Do not apologise, Windar. Each man chooses his own route. You provide much of our crops and our fish. We give you iron. We are all part of the whole. Will your son lead your warriors?"
"Aye, my middle son, Ketil Windarsson, is keen for adventure. He would try to be an Ulfheonar."
"Then this might be a good opportunity. Have you ponies?"
"A few."
"Then they will have to do. We will leave before dawn."
Ketil came to see me as Windar hosted a feast for us. "I am honoured to be serving you Jarl Dragon Heart. I have told my father that I do not wish to be a farmer. I want to be a warrior."
"Good. The men you lead, do they have mail?"
He looked downcast. "We have swords, spears and shields. Some of us have helmets."
I smiled, "Then let us hope that the Danes have brought good ones. When we kill them your men will look like warriors." He beamed. I held up a warning finger, "However you must know that I expect you to follow every order that I give you. Do not deviate from them at all."
He frowned, "We do not just attack?"
I pointed to Haaken One Eye, "Haaken and I have been fighting battles since we were even younger than you. We have survived because we are not wild. That is how the Hibernians fight. We follow a plan."
He brightened, "And you have a plan?"
"I will have one when Snorri and Bjorn the Scout find them. Until then my mind is open."
As we did not have enough ponies and horses for us all we used our ponies to carry our mail. Snorri and Bjorn rode ahead to find them. They headed for Hjáp. The stone circle was a good vantage point to see those moving in the West Moors. It was also somewhere we could use if we had to find sanctuary.
When we reached the stone circle we saw the arrow of stones which Snorri had left. It pointed to the north east. There was a fertile valley there and an old Roman Fort. It made sense that the Danes would strip that valley of its people for they could just travel down the old Roman Road. The Angles who had lived there called the fort and huts nearby Brougham. We had driven them back to Northumbria and the village was largely deserted. Perhaps that was where the Danes were.
The wind was whistling from the east and our faces burned with the cold icy blast. It made the going hard but it also meant that the Danes would not hear our approach. The land was helping us. I knew the way the Danes worked. They would stay in the area until every man woman and child had been captured. The ones who were no use to them would be slain. If they did not have enough then they would continue their raid until they had enough. The hill farms had many animals and the men would not offer much opposition to mail clad Danes. I would make my plans when Snorri found them and gave me their numbers. I had but forty one men. Only my thirteen Ulfheonar were equipped to face a Danish warband. I smiled to myself; the followers of the White Christ thought that the number thirteen was unlucky. To us it was a number. Three and nine were lucky and seven almost guaranteed success.
Bjorn waited for us where the moors met the valley. He rose, like a wraith from a hidden dell. I smiled at the reaction of the men from Windar's Mere. "They are in the old Roman Castle by the village of Brougham. There are fifty of them. Twenty wear mail. Snorri is there counting the captives. They are all experienced warriors." That meant they had battle rings on their swords and amulets on their arms.
"Have they fortified the walls?"
"No, they have just built a temporary gate and they use the walls to shelter."
I nodded, satisfied. "Then tonight we let them know we are here!"
While we waited for the return of Snorri we ate and drank before we applied the juice of the beetle to our faces. The warriors from Windar's Mere had not seen this ritual before and they were curious. It must have looked strange and, perhaps, unnecessary. However when we donned our helmets and they saw the effect they all nodded.
Ketil said, "That is a terrifying sight, Jarl and in the dark…"
"In the dark we become invisible. And the word you use is a good one. We seek to inspire terror in our enemies. We make up for lack of numbers by frightening our foes."
He looked disappointed. "Will we not be attacking tonight?"
I shook my head, "It will be Ulfheonar only. Fear not, Ketil, son of Windar, you will fight but that will be when we have weakened their resolve." I waved over Eystein. "I want you to take our warriors and get around the far side of the fort. You will have to go to the north to avoid the road close to the castle. I want you to wait a Roman mile from the fort. If warriors try to flee east with captives then stop them."
He nodded, "And animals?"
"Let animals go. I want the captives recovering first. I will send a messenger to you if my instructions change."
"Thank you for this opportunity to redeem myself. I will not let you down."
"I know."
I watched him choose his men and they left silently into the darkness. A short while later Snorri rode in. "They have settled down for the night. They have six sentries around the fort. Two of the towers remain in use and they have men in those and on the gate. There are about forty captives. There are mainly women and children. I saw no old ones."
That was ominous. It suggested the Danes had rid themselves of the useless baggage.
"Good. I have sent Eystein to block the road east. Tonight we enter their camp and we cause death." I turned to Ketil and my men. "Half of you sleep. Tomorrow we will be busy. Set sentries. We will be back by dawn."
We followed Snorri and we went in single file. From now on it would be hand signals which we would use. We needed no words. We had done this before. If we could slay ten or so then we would have parity of numbers and, more importantly we would have the edge for we would make them look in the shadows for danger and they would become tired and nervous waiting.
The river bubbled below the fort and we could see the glow from their fires within the walls and smell the wood smoke. There was an occasional squeal and a scream in the dark as the Danes pleasured themselves with the captives. Snorri and Bjorn made sure that there were no new guards watching the river. When it was safe we forded the river and the sound of water on stones hid any splash we might have made. Once on the other side Snorri pointed at the gate. I waved my men into a line. The two towers they were using were on the far side of the fort; the southern side. I could see the two men above the gatehouse. Bjorn and Snorri knocked an arrow each as we approached to within twenty paces. Our cloaks and black armour hid us. Had the sentries happened to look down they would have seen shadows only. There was no white flesh to give us away. We were as black as night; as black as the wolf skins we wore. Bjorn and Snorri separated. They would release their arrows from the side. We wanted the sentries to fall outside the fort and not crash within.
The rest of us went into the shadows of the wall, close to the hastily barred gate. The Danes had erected a barrier to slow down an attacker. We could easily climb it and enter the fort. Getting out might be harder. In places the stones of the wall had been stolen so that they were only as high as a man's waist. I waved four warriors to my left and four to my right to take advantage of the robbed out walls.
I heard the slightest of sounds as the two arrows winged their way to their targets. The noise from within the walls hid the noise the two bodies made as they fell next to us. The ground absorbed the sound. I signalled for the two scouts to take the heads of the sentries while I led the rest within the walls. I climbed to the top of the logs which had been bound together to make the gate and slipped over the top. I could see that there were still some Danes wandering, slightly unsteadily, around the camp. The captives looked to be held in a pen, guarded by two warriors.
We moved silently across the old Roman parade ground. We split up. Haaken was behind me. We worked in pairs. Snorri and Bjorn would be us
ing their bows from within the fort to strike the four sentries in the tower. With luck they would kill the two sentries guarding the captives but that was not guaranteed. Suddenly a Dane stepped out of a door to my right. I think it must have been a barracks at some time in the past. He just saw a huge shadow. I saw his face, reflected in the fires behind me, frown, as he tried to work out if he was dreaming or not. The head of the wolf draped over my helmet and my red eyes stared at him. I ripped Ragnar's Spirit across his throat. Haaken pulled his falling corpse towards him and he lowered it silently to the ground.
I heard a sleepy voice from within say, "Sven! What are you doing?"
I nodded to Haaken and we stepped inside the door. There were three men lying asleep and one sitting up. We stood on either side of the door, in the shadows. Once again surprise was on our side. The man's mouth opened but before he could speak Haaken had plunged his sword into his throat. The Dane's blood splattered across his sleeping companions. Outside I heard a shout as the alarm was given. Either the splashing blood or the sound from outside woke up the three men. I stabbed at one with my seax, tearing through his throat and I plunged my sword into the chest of a second. Haaken disposed of his man and we left.
When we emerged I could see Danes milling around and looking for danger. Haaken and I did not try to escape. We ran from the hut towards a huddle of warriors. They just saw two men they took to be their own coming from a hut and in the time it took them to realise that we were wolf warriors we were upon them. Neither of us had bothered with a shield. We both used a sword and a seax.
We hurled ourselves at the warriors who made the mistake of hesitating. I knew that Danes even slept in their mail and so I slashed to the left and right at neck height. I felt my seax scrape along mail but Ragnar's Spirit found flesh. There was a blow to my back which propelled me forward. I spun around and held my weapons before me. A huge Dane ran into them. He was so big that I could not miss him and my sword ripped into his knee. He would have knocked me over had I not rolled out of the way. He fell to the side and I took his head in one blow.
I saw Haaken also take the head of a Dane as he said, "It is time Jarl!"
I nodded and howled like a wolf. Haaken did the same and the cry was taken up all around the camp. We turned and ran towards the low wall which we had seen earlier. We were able to leap over it. Our black cloaks and mail made us invisible. Once we had leapt the wall and moved away from it I stopped and turned. I watched my men as they cleared the low obstacle. I saw one figure silhouetted against the glow from the Danish camps. He seemed to tumble. He fell and, rolling down the slope towards us, did not get up. "Haaken!"
I ran to him and turned him over. It was Vemund Haroldson. Haaken came and he took one arm while I took the other. We dragged him down the slope and into the river. Snorri and Bjorn stood there with bows at the ready. "Watch our backs." We hurried back to our camp. There was no point in stopping. There was not enough light to see what his injuries were. Sigtrygg and Ulf joined us and they helped to carry Vemund. I was ready to drop when we reached the camp. Ketil had a small fire going and we lowered his body to the ground. As we turned him over we could see that he was dead. His stomach had been torn open. Someone had managed to rip through his mail and then eviscerate him. He had probably been dead when he had tumbled from the wall.
When the others returned we discovered that Vemund had been our only loss and Sigtrygg guessed that we had slain or wounded almost eighteen. Even so the loss of Vemund was grievous. He was one of the newer warriors. We took his wolf amulet from his neck and laid his sword down his body with his hands folded about the hilt. We each went to get a rock to place around him. When the men from Windar's mere saw what we did then they joined us and soon we had a cairn built. The last thing we did was to cut turf and lay it on top of the stones. With luck his body would lie undisturbed but his spirit was in Valhalla and he was telling Cnut of our adventures.
I was tired as were my Ulfheonar but I could not rest yet. "Ketil, have you a warrior whom you can trust to scout the Danes?"
"Aye, Jarl. Erik Ulfsson is a fine hunter."
"Good. Tell him to follow the river and he will spy the old fort. He can watch from across the river. I do not want him seen. If the Danes move from the fort then he should return here and you can wake me."
"I will tell him."
"We will sleep for a short time."
As I rolled into my cloak I reflected that Aiden's Roman time piece would have been useful here. I could have asked them to let us sleep for two turns. The reflections did not last long and I was asleep before I knew it.
I dreamed.
I was in the fort at Brougham but it had wooden walls and Saxons were attacking us. Someone who looked like Wolf Killer as a child was with me and my hall was burning. The child had a short seax in his hand. I felt the heat as the flames took hold. Three warriors stood in the doorway preventing us from leaving. I leapt towards them with the child behind me. I only held a sword. I lunged at one and pierced his chest. I punched a second away. The third raised his sword and the child stabbed him in the foot. I finished him and, grabbing the child leapt through the door. As the flames roared behind me I found myself falling. The door was not on ground level. We tumbled through the air.
"Jarl!" I opened my eyes and saw Haaken. He looked concerned. "You were dreaming?"
"Aye."
"You shouted."
I smiled, "This is where I miss Aiden. He would explain it. I can find no reason for the dream." I shaded my eyes, "How long did we sleep?"
"It is not long since we returned."
"I am awake now."
We went to the stream nearby and washed the sleep from our faces and refreshed ourselves. It was a fast moving stream and we drank deeply from it. Ketil approached as we walked back to the others. My Ulfheonar all lay sound asleep. Yet if touched they would be instantly awake. It was a skill. "Would you like food, Jarl?"
"Not yet."
Just then Erik Ulfsson raced into the camp. "They are leaving the fort, Jarl. They have taken the animals and captives and they are marching along the road."
"Then we must strike quickly! Ulfheonar awake!" We did not bother with saddles for our ponies and horses. As I mounted I shouted to Ketil, "The ones without mounts should go to the Roman Fort and await us there. We have no time to lose." There were just a handful of warriors with Eystein and they were trying to halt a warband.
We clattered down the road. My only hope was that the Danes were on foot and they would have animals and captives to slow them down. I had grabbed a spear as I had mounted. We might need such weapons this day. The road rose steadily and I saw that the warband had not reached the crest. The captives were at the rear of the mass of warriors. I saw the warband stop suddenly. They had seen Eystein and my warriors. A detachment of Danes shooed the animals and the captives to one side of the road. The heavier armed warriors would soon shift my handful of men who were trying to halt them. I saw the Danes forming into a wedge to sweep my seven men from before them. I saw that there were over twenty warriors forming the boar's head favoured by Danes. It gave us a chance.
The sound of our hooves along the road alerted the Danes with the captives and they shouted a warning to their leader. I turned, "Ketil, take your men and secure the captives and animals. Ulfheonar; we take the Danes!"
Some of my men began to howl. It was not as effective as at night but it told the Danes who we were. Each stride took us closer and they hesitated. I could see a discussion taking place. Then they lurched forward. I wanted Eystein to run. He and his men would be destroyed if they stood. I knew that they would not run for they would not want to let me down. They would die oathsworn. Then I saw my line of warriors move backwards along the road. Eystein had formed his own wedge and was performing that most difficult of manoeuvres, the backward march. He was aided by small numbers but it was only a delaying tactic. Once the Danes ran at him then he would lose.
We passed the captives and ignored them
. At one hundred paces from the Danes I reined in and leapt from the back of the pony. We had no time to form ranks. This would be every man for himself. I would not watch my men die. As I ran I roared my name and my challenge, "I am Jarl Dragon Heart and I wield the sword which was touched by the Gods. I am the destroyer of Danes and I will wreak my wrath upon you!"
The rear ranks turned. I heard a roar from behind me and knew that my Ulfheonar were close to me. We would not strike them as a body but they would feel our weapons for we could run at them at speed. I saw that the three in the middle had no armour. They had been at the rear of the wedge. I did not break stride but I pulled back my spear and then punched forward with my long weapon. The man brought his shield around but all it did was to direct and guide the head of the spear into the stomach of the man next to him. It went through him, struck his spine and then jabbed into the back of the man before him. The effect was to make the next row turn. There were now just ten Danes facing Eystein. He had a chance.
I let go of my spear and, punching at the warrior before me with my shield, drew Ragnar's Spirit. A sword swept at me from my right and clattered into my helmet making me see stars. I swung blindly with my sword and felt it bite into flesh. I looked and saw that it had cut through to the bone the arm of a Dane. Until we reached Eystein I had no time to finish off wounded warriors.
My men were now around and behind me. I felt Sigtrygg tuck into my right and Haaken to the left. Haaken grinned at the Danes before us. "You should have run while you had the chance! You now face the wolf warriors of Cyninges-tūn. Prepare to go to Valhalla!"
The warrior before Haaken was young and I saw fear in his face. He tried to swing his axe overhand at Haaken. They were too close to each other and it caught on the man behind. Haaken stabbed downwards into the unprotected thigh of the Dane. The tip of his blade must have torn through his knee for he dropped to the ground and Haaken pulled his blade up to sever the warrior's throat. I blocked a second axe on my shield and brought my sword down on the helmet of the Dane who had tried to end my life. His helmet was not as strong as mine and it cracked as my sword struck it. The blade continued down and ripped into the mail at his shoulder. It was not well made and I saw his padded byrnie below. I punched at his hand with my shield and he recoiled. I jabbed forward with my sword and aimed for the tear in his mail. The tunic gave way and, as I ripped backwards with my sword, I was rewarded with a fountain of blood as I found his shoulder.