by Griff Hosker
"Find any animals and treasure. Drive them to the drekar!"
I watched as the villagers and animals were driven towards the sea. There were six women, two men and ten children. The two sheep and the cow would be butchered before we boarded. It would make their transportation easier. The fact that we were on the beach made life much simpler and we soon had them aboard. There were few of them and they were overwhelmed by us. The rising tide lifted us off the sand and we headed east. The men were bound as were the older boys. Erik and his crew could watch them. The carcasses of the animals had been roughly chopped to make their storage easier and they were being packed into the two barrels we had brought. Deck space was tight and it would only get worse. As we headed up the narrow river I wondered if I should have brought a knarr too.
Prestune was a larger place than Lytham and I knew not if it had had its defences improved in the last few years. It had been some time since we had raided. The Northumbrians had not defended it well but now that the King of Mercia ruled who knew? We were on the very fringes of Mercia here and I knew that we would have to go further south some time to irritate Coenwulf who would be far to the south in his fort of Tamworth now that winter was approaching.
Cnut waved his arm to the north and Erik put the steering board over. The river was notoriously narrow here and the last thing we needed was to be grounded. Once again Haaken and I were the first ashore. This time we could not see the burgh. Snorri ghosted next to me and I waved him forward. We marched in a column four men wide along the river bank. Most of the trees appeared to have been cleared for firewood and, as we soon discovered, palisades.
We had not gone far when Snorri came towards us. He spoke quietly to me. "They have a wall now. The ditch is poorly made and there appear to be no traps. They have some fishing boats in the river but no one watches. They have but three sentries on the walls."
I raised my sword and led the column forward. Sigtrygg would be to the north of the town waiting. I trusted him. He would be there for he had told me so. There were houses outside the walls which complicated matters. We would have to divide our forces and take those within the huts at the same time as we attacked the gate.
We were just three hundred paces from the huts and the walls when I stopped. I turned to Asbjorn and Eystein, "Take ten men and see that no one escapes the huts. Wait for us to attack the gate."
They nodded. They selected their men and I waved the rest forward. Snorri already has his bow ready. There was open ground for fifty paces around the fort. I led my men silently across it. One of Snorri's arrows flew over my head and plucked a surprised sentry from the wall. His companion hesitated and then shouted the alarm. He too fell dead a moment later. By then we were at the gate.
Haaken and I turned and put our backs to the wall. We held my shield between us. First Ulf Olafsson and then Rolf Tryggson used the shield to throw themselves up on to the walls. I hefted my shield on to my back and we went to the gate. A short time later it opened. Inside there was confusion. I could hear shouts, questions and the one word which soon filled the air and made everyone within panic, "Vikings!"
There were more men here and they had some warriors. A Saxon with an axe appeared out of nowhere. Siggi's spear struck him so hard it went through him and came out at the back. Then those in the burgh were fleeing. They were heading north. I guessed that there was another gate there. One or two of those who fled tried to slow us down by facing us. It was like trying to stop an avalanche with your hand! They were swept aside. The sky was lightening now and I saw the gate ahead. Even as I watched it was thrown open and the survivors flooded north. There was a collective wail as they ran into the wall of spears that was Sigtrygg and his men. He was there as he had promised and he was waiting. By the time the sun finally appeared they had all surrendered and awaited their fate.
I clasped Sigtrygg by the hand. "You have done well I wondered if you would make it in time."
He waved a hand north. "This, Jarl, is the extent of Mercia. North is a wasteland. No one lives there." He shook his head. "My family died and yet the Saxons did not use the land."
"Then we will! When we have finished our work for the King of Dyfed we will settle this land again. It is good land."
He brightened a little. "Aye, Jarl it is and this time we can defend it better."
They were poor pickings but we did find some treasures. There was a finely illustrated book of the White Christ in the church. We also found two silver candlesticks. We drove the survivors to the drekar. We soon had a fire going, using the wood from one of the fishing boats we found and we cooked some of the animals we had just captured.
Haaken was disappointed. "That was hardly worth a verse let alone a saga."
I nodded, "We change our plans. Sigtrygg says there is nothing north of here. We head south for the Maeresea and the Dee. I had planned to go there at the end of this month but let us do it now. Erik, take the captives back home. You can have twenty men to row. We will march back to Lytham and await you there. Bring Karl and his new knarr. I should have brought it this time."
None disputed my words. All were disappointed. We had hoped to become rich and to gain glory and we had had neither. This was not Mercia; this was the frontier and the Saxons we had taken were poor. We lay on the bank and slept as Erik took the drekar west. We woke at noon and began the march back to the coast. We reached the village and discovered that there were fish drying on racks by the river. We had missed them in the dark. We ate them and rested while we waited for the return of Erik.
As the afternoon became evening I worried but Snorri said, "Do not forget, Jarl, you said to bring Karl. He is a novice and Erik will be sailing slower than he might otherwise have done."
Snorri was proved correct and we saw the wolf sail appear soon after. We were rested and we boarded as soon as the drekar closed with the shore. Erik shook his head, "Sorry Jarl, I did not wish to lose Karl."
"He will be fine." I waved to the young man who was on his small knarr. He waved back but I could see concern and worry etched on his face. He would not like to let down either his mentor or his jarl.
We backed out to sea and then headed down the coast. There were few rocks and we made good time as we headed for a river we knew well, the Maeresea. It was where I had captured Scanlan all those years ago. It was close to where I had fought Ragnar Hairy Breeches. Now it was Mercian and King Coenwulf kept a tight grip on his kingdom. Our raid would wake him up. As we had sailed south I had realised that I had been too cautious with my raid on Prestune. It was too far away from Tamworth and the Mercian king to worry him. Caestir was different. It was on the border with Gwynedd. It guarded his land from the wild Welshmen of Wyddfa. It was his granary. He would take notice this time. We sailed down the river in the dark. For the first part it was wide but Erik, aware that Karl was following him, soon headed over to the bank. One advantage we had having brought the knarr was that there were more men available to guard the ships whilst we were raiding.
Our attacks in the north whilst giving us poor pickings had given us food and we had yet to broach our dried food. We ate well and slept until dawn. Caestir was just a day's march away. I hoped that we could reach the town without alerting the countryside but it mattered little. We were close enough to our ships to be able to race back if we met an overwhelming force. We landed and Snorri and Bjorn disappeared into the undergrowth to ensure that we were safe.
"Erik, do not endanger yourself. If trouble comes then head for the safety of the river. We will survive."
"I will, Jarl, but I will be close when you do return, never fear."
We headed south. This was a woodland area, which teemed with game. There were few farms and few people until the plains around Caestir. We would make our way there. Snorri and Bjorn were in familiar country. We had raided here before and the burnt out circles showed where once people had lived but no more. By late afternoon we were close to Caestir. There were Roman roads in the area of the old legionary fortress. They
were not well maintained but they afforded us quick access in many directions.
We waited in a small clearing and prepared for our first foray into this Mercian land. Sigtrygg had been quiet since we had raided his former home. "You have something on your mind, Sigtrygg Thrandson?"
He nodded. He was honest and knew me well. "Aye, Jarl. I have had my father in my thoughts. He speaks to me, much as your mother speaks with you." I understood such thoughts. "My father settled that land and he thought it a fine place to farm. It should be farmed now. There should be our people living there. My father drove the Saxons hence."
"When we return to Cyninges-tūn we will ask if there are those who wish to travel south. Some of Pasgen's people may wish to go. It is not far from their land."
He was silent. He held his helmet in his hand. "I would go, Jarl."
"You would leave the Ulfheonar?"
"If you would let me then yes." He pointed to Eystein and Asbjorn standing nearby. "You have fine young warriors now to replace us older ones and it is time."
"I understand Sigtrygg and you have my permission. I make you Jarl of that land. It will make our southern borders safer."
He looked relieved, "I worried that I might have offended you."
"I will miss you for you are my shield but this is how our lives change. The Norns weave. They showed you the empty land and put the thought in your head. It is all good. Wolf Killer will be close to you and that is part of the Norns' plans."
Snorri and Bjorn returned, "There are huts outside the walls of Caestir. They have guards on the walls and warriors within but most of the people and the animals lie outside the stone walls."
"Have they improved the walls since we were last here?"
Bjorn the Scout shook his head, "No Jarl. The gate looks the same as when we last broke in. It is merely repaired." He laughed, "And from a distance it looks like they have made a poor job of it."
"Then we go this night and let King Coenwulf know that we are abroad."
Following Snorri we ran over fields which had grown wheat but which were now stubble. We moved silently like a black shadow moving over the ground. We smelled the huts before we saw them. The smells of their cooking fires drifted over to us. I waved Haaken to the right and Sigtrygg to the left as we drew closer to the homes. They would lead my Ulfheonar and I would lead the rest of my warriors. We passed the animal pens. We were so quiet that the animals merely shuffled away from the periphery as we passed them. The huts suddenly loomed up out of the dark. There were no sentries watching for us and we entered the huddle of huts. Behind me pairs of men disappeared into the huts as I moved forward. The silence of the night was ended by a scream as the first of the villagers woke. I kept going, heading for the old Roman fort. Once it had been a mighty edifice but successive attacks by Saxons, Welsh and ourselves meant that it was now just a shell. Its stone structure made it appear strong but that was an illusion. Guards appeared on the walls and shouted the alarm.
I held up my shield as I saw something flying from the walls towards me. It was a spear. I turned the shield as the head hit and it bounced to the side. I ran to the gate. Bjorn had been correct, it was poorly repaired. I turned and, keeping my shield above my head, shouted, "Fetch axes."
There were the sounds of fighting and shouts from the village and from the southern gate which Haaken and Sigtrygg were now assaulting. Three warriors appeared at my side. They all had axes.
"Leif, protect them with your shield. Sven and Lars, break it down with your axes!" I stood to protect the right side of the pair while Leif held his shield above their left. Stones and arrows rained down upon us but we were so close to the gate that we were protected by the fort itself. The two men with axes worked purposefully and aimed their blows at the gap between the two doors. They soon made a hole in the two doors and began to hack at the bar. The bar broke and I pushed the gate with my shield. It creaked, cracked and then opened; half a dozen warriors ran at us. I lifted my sword and charged them. They had not expected a single warrior to do so.
They wore no mail and they held spears and small shields. If they thought their spears would keep me at bay they were wrong. I took the first spear on my shield and then stabbed upwards with Ragnar's Spirit. The warrior was struggling to hold his shield up for he was slightly off balance. My sword ripped through him and I turned to drop his body from my blade. A spear was punched at my head. I moved my head to one side but the spear glanced off the cheek plates of my helmet. I slashed sideways. The edge of my blade sliced into the unprotected side of the man. A sword swung at my back as I finished him off. Although it did not penetrate the armour it was a well struck blow and it hurt. I swung my shield around and caught the warrior on the side of the head. He fell at my feet and I pierced his neck with my sword.
My three warriors with axes had finished off the others and I looked around for more enemies. Ahead of me I saw Sigtrygg and Haaken as they drove the last of the defenders towards us. We were soon engaged in a violent fight with the surrounded Saxons. We were hard pressed and when the two horses burst out of the stables to the left of us we were taken by surprise. The two riders raced out of the open gate. King Coenwulf would soon know that the wolves were in his sheep pens.
With the last of the warriors disposed of we moved through the fort taking whatever we could. The weapons, although poor, could be melted down and each Saxon warrior had some treasure with him, no matter how small.
"Siggi, see if you can find a cart. Asbjorn go with Eystein and secure the captives." I looked to the east. The sky was already becoming lighter. Snorri and Bjorn scout the surrounding areas. See if there are more treasures for us to find."
Haaken took off his helmet and approached me. I took off mine and shook my head free from the aventail. He pointed to the gate. "They did a piss poor job of repairing the fort."
"I know." I smiled, "Let us make it even harder for them eh? Let us fire this fort. It will leave a message for Coenwulf."
"Do we raid more?"
I shook my head, "We were only asked to attract Coenwulf's attention. The raid on Prestune might not have done so but this will. It will take time to take so many captives back to our drekar and I have no doubt that Coenwulf will send Eorls here to deal with us. If the two men ride hard then they can reach Tamworth by the end of the day. We have three days to strip this land of anything worth having."
"You will stay another two days then?"
"It serves the King of Dyfed and it serves us. We take the captives to the slave markets of Dyflin and, in the spring, we will have much gold to spend." I pointed north. "The wheat fields we passed have just been harvested. We will find the grain and take that back too."
Haaken nodded, "I will organise the rest of the Ulfheonar to lead small parties of warriors and hunt out the wheat."
I went out to see the captives. There were many of them. "When Siggi returns with carts have the captives fill them with the treasure. As soon as the carts are full then the captives can pull them back to our ships. Haaken is looking for their wheat."
Asbjorn nodded, "It is always as easy as this raiding the Saxons? Even the men of Galicia put up more of a fight."
"Sometimes they fight well if they are well led." I waved my arm to the east. "I think they were poorly led. The two who escaped must have been their leaders."
I went to the river to wash the blood from my hands. As I returned through the village I saw that the huts were newly built. The ones who had lived here had only recently been evicted. If I had been the eorl given the task of defending the Dee I would have made a stronger fortification. By the time I reached the fort again Asbjorn and Eystein had a line of captives loading the three carts Siggi had found.
Haaken waved. He and Olaf Leather Neck were returning."There is a granary close to the river on the sea side."
"Have the captives pull one of the carts and they can pack it at the granary."
"There is more than one cart will hold."
"Then rearrange th
e goods in the other two. We only found three carts."
This was indeed a rich haul. It seems we had come at the perfect time. The proximity of the granary to the river meant they were using that to transport the grain. Our people would eat well this winter while Mercia would have to tighten its belt.
Snorri and Bjorn arrived in late afternoon. By then the carts had been loaded but there were still many sacks of grain in the granary."We found many farms but all fields which have already been harvested."
"Any carts or animals?"
"A couple."
"Then take the Ulfheonar and capture them. I will remain here with the rest of my warriors."
As my wolf clad warriors departed I gathered the warriors around me. "While we wait I want this fort and the huts destroying. We will burn everything." I pointed to six warriors. "You come with me and we will begin fires. The rest watch the captives."
We returned to the fort and I went through the buildings to make sure that nothing had been missed. I found two good cooking pots which I sent back to the carts. There were still glowing embers in the cooking fire. "Build up the fire and make torches. Leif Arneson, you come with me." I picked up a pot of seal oil which they had used for cooking. We had more than enough of that at home. In fact this had probably been traded by our Norse cousins from the islands.
I took the young warrior with me. It was his first raid and he had acquitted himself well. When we reached the north gate I began to pile up the remains of the wooden gate. I placed it beneath the gatehouse. "Go and find anything which will burn." I looked up and saw that the Romans had used wood when they had built the frame of the gate. The fire beneath would burn whatever remained of the wood as well as weakening the cement and the stones. I hoped to make the gate collapse so that it could not be repaired. We soon had a mound of wood which almost reached the top of the gate. I poured half of the seal oil on the wood.