by Griff Hosker
I was not hungry, I was ready for war. After the battle I would eat as much as any man but I knew that at that moment I needed sleep. I slept fitfully. Dreams came and disappeared rapidly. I could remember nothing. In many ways that was reassuring. The spirit world had nothing to tell me. I was woken by Rolf who spoke quietly.
“Jarl, there are hunters heading this way.”
I was awake in an instant. I saw that all of my men had hidden themselves. There was neither track nor trail in the woods where we hid. There were no animal tracks and so, in theory, the hunters should not come anywhere near us. I drew my sword just in case.
I saw that my archers had arrows notched. Beorn and Snorri were nowhere to be seen. They would be stalking the hunters. I heard the voice of one of the men from Harald One-Eye’s village, “Are you sure you saw a deer here Karl? I can’t see any tracks?”
I heard the answer shouted, as though from some distance, “I am sure I saw movements. It looked like a deer.”
“Well there are no tracks and this is too close to the walls anyway. We’ll head down to the river. You normally find a few down there.”
I looked at Rolf and nodded. They would have to pass by us to reach the river. There was no trail but Karl’s mistake had meant that they would travel through our hiding place. The three sisters were playing with us once more. We could not take a chance and I drew my finger across my throat. The hunters would die.
They moved noisily through the undergrowth as they converged on their leader. We could not see anyone yet, the undergrowth hid all. We had to prevent them making a noise and ensure that none escaped to warn Harald. That was where Beorn and Snorri came in. They would be behind the last hunter.
I was next to Haaken and Cnut. Rolf had left to hide with the bulk of the men. I had not had time to don my helmet and I saw that the others were without helmets too. As these were hunters approaching us it was unlikely that they would have either shields or armour. They would, however, be armed and ready to loose their arrows and their spears in an instant.
It was Haaken who killed their leader. He suddenly appeared before us with a bow in his hand. Haaken’s sword sliced towards him. It smashed the bow in two and then Haaken ripped it across the hunter’s stomach. He fell to the ground clutching at his entrails which were spilling out like bloody eels. There was a warrior close behind the dying leader and he thrust his spear at Haaken. Even as Haaken’s sword deflected the spear head I thrust forward with Ragnar’s Spirit. I stabbed upwards and the man died silently as the tip entered his heart. I heard a flurry of noise and a few groans and then all was silent.
Snorri appeared. “They are all dead. There were seven of them.”
“Rolf , take their arms and have their bodies thrown into the river. Beorn, find us somewhere else to hide.”
Haaken smiled, “Thank you, Dragon Heart; that was a timely blow.”
I smiled back at him. We were old friends and our harsh words were now forgotten. “You are welcome.” I nodded to the bodies as they were carried down the slope. “They will be missed but not until evening.” I noticed the blood on the trail and on the leaves of the bushes. Any scout worth his salt would know that someone or something had been hurt here. I just hoped they would believe it was an animal and that the hunters had pursued it.
I shaded my eyes and looked up through the canopy of leaves. It looked to be about noon. The hunters would not be missed until late afternoon or even early evening. I would have to change our plans.
Beorn returned. “There is a good place on the other side of the settlement. There is a rocky knoll which overlooks the other gate. There are fewer trees and bushes but we can hide.”
Rolf rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “That will put the settlement between us and our ships. I like it not.”
In truth neither did I. As the other men returned I made my mind up. “Rolf, you take the men with Beorn to this new hiding place. I will take the Ulfheonar to the other gate. Instead of waiting until dark we will attack later this afternoon. You will have seven of our warriors dress as the hunters and head towards the north gate. We will attack the southern gate at the same time.”
Cnut shook his head, “I can see a number of things wrong with that, Dragon Heart. How will we know when to attack and what is to stop them killing the men dressed as hunters before they make the gate?”
He was right of course. “Then we must make them think that the hunters are in danger. Rolf, you and the other warriors will chase the men who are dressed as the hunters. Make noise and we will hear it. Our approach will be silent. Attack when they bring the animals in from the pastures.” The village would have shepherds and cowherds with the cows, goats and sheep. They would make sure that they were safely within the walls before dark. It was as good a signal as any.
“Suppose they bar the northern gate?”
“Then we will fight our way there and open it.”
Rolf’s mouth dropped open a little. “But there are so few of you and we know not how many warriors he has within.”
“True Rolf but we know his walls are weak. If he bars the gate then use your axes to break through the walls and we will distract him from within.”
“I like it not.”
I smiled as I donned my helmet. “You do not need to like it. You just have to follow my orders. If we fail then take my body back to the Lady Erika.”
Cnut growled, “We will not fail. It is a snake we seek and we just need to be careful but by nightfall he will be ours.”
Rolf nodded, “Beorn, when you have taken them to the new hiding place find us by the southern gate.”
We headed down the slope to the river. We clambered back over the rocks until we were below the bluffs which rose to the gate. Surefooted Snorri led the way. He halted frequently to sniff the air. He was like a human hound. He was seeking our enemies. Satisfied that there were none he moved forward until he reached the place he had chosen from which to watch the gate. He waved us to the ground. We were close to the place we had first landed, hours ago now. There was a scruffy stand of elderberry bushes mixed with hawthorns. It gave a screen through which we could peer.
There were just eight of us and we would be easier to hide than the whole band of warriors. The spot Snorri had found was a good one. We spread out and lay beneath the tangle of thorns and berries, our armour and helmets preventing injury. I could see the gate just eighty paces from us. We were not directly in line with the gate. It meant that the guard’s attention would be to their front and we would only be a blur in the corner of their eyes. When we moved we would be like the shadows of clouds flitting across the ground. We would not shout a war cry or try to intimidate our enemies. We would wait until we were sword to sword for that. They would know who we were by our wolf cloaks, black helmets and the red eyed wolves painted on our shields.
Suddenly Beorn the Silent was by our side. He lay next to me and whispered, “They are in place. They are only a hundred paces from the gate. I think that the decoys should be able to make the gate before it is shut. The rest will be up to us.”
“You have done well. Now we wait for the animals to be brought back.”
Of course there would be no animals on the river side. It was too steep to risk valuable animals such as cows. We would have to be on our toes and judge our move. We had to be moving before we heard the cries of danger from the northern wall.
Chapter 3
It was the sound of a cow moaning which alerted us. It lowed and mooed as it was driven back towards the wooden walls. It wanted milking. They were coming! We all slipped from beneath the hedge which had protected us and moved towards the open ground to our right. With Snorri and Beorn leading the way we moved towards the walls. We did so slowly. Each of us paused at a different time so that only two would move at any one time. A larger number of movements attracted attention. We were inconspicuous.
Suddenly we heard a loud shout from the walls. I glanced up and saw the two guards looking towards the north gate. I
ran towards the walls. The rest of the Ulfheonar quickly followed me. We were pressed against the wooden walls before we were seen. Had they had guards on the walls above us then we would have been seen but there were none there.
I led the way and headed towards the gate. We reached it just in time. Two guards had descended from the walls and were closing them. Their hands were holding the gates and Haaken and I killed the two men before they even knew we were there. All attention appeared to be on the northern gate. We pushed the bodies to one side and my men opened the gates. We could see warriors rushing from huts while hurriedly donning helmets and armour. The warrior hall and Harald One-Eye’s hall were at the northern end of the village and we raced, like an armoured arrow, through the huts. We left any women and children alone but as we spied a warrior he was cut down. Three had died before the inevitable happened and I heard the shouts, “It is the wolves from the sea!”
“It is Dragon Heart!”
Whatever was going on at the north gate those within would now know we were amongst them. The space before us emptied as those who were there fled from our bloody blades.
As much as I hated Harald One-Eye, I knew him to be a good warrior. Prince Butar had told me that. He was cunning and he had a strong sense of self preservation. He had shown that when he callously abandoned his oathsworn at Hrams-a. Now, however, he had nowhere to run. Now he was like a wounded wild boar backed up against a wall. Now he would be at his most dangerous.
I stopped. The Ulfheonar stopped too. I tightened the grip on my shield and slipped a seax into my left hand. I turned to Haaken and Cnut who were on my right. “Now we end what was started across the icy seas. Now we avenge Prince Butar!”
With a roar of, “Ulfheonar!” we raced towards the hall of Harald. He was there with a shield wall of warriors before him. He looked to have twenty warriors. I knew that there would be others but they would be fighting Rolf and his men. The nine of us would have to take these on until help came.
We formed an improvised wedge with me at the fore. I saw that Harald stood on the steps of his hall with two of his warriors. The other eighteen or so were spread out with shields locked before him. That was his first mistake. I would have had a double wall of warriors. I hurled myself and my shield at the warrior in the middle. He stabbed at me with his spear but I angled my shield and the tip slid and scraped along the metal studs of my shield. The force of my blow and the weight of me and my armour thrust him to the ground. I stabbed him in the throat as he lay wriggling beneath my feet.
I pointed my sword at Harald. “Harald One-Eye! Face me as a man and save the lives of your men!”
Suddenly everyone stopped at my words. It was as though the gods had frozen all movement. I had issued a challenge. Our rules meant that Harald should take up the challenge and fight me. He was however cunning and he had not lived this long without knowing when to fight and when to back off; he laughed. “I should fear a boy and eight men in animal skins? Others may fear you, thrall, but I do not. Thorir and Finni, kill him!”
As his two largest warriors stepped forwards the clamour of battle resumed. Both men were armoured from head to toe. Both had helmets with nasals. One wielded a sword while the other had a skeggox. They grinned as they descended.
“Now I will have the sword touched by the gods.” The warrior with the axe whirled it as he spoke and swept it towards my head.
I knew that he expected me to use my shield to defend myself and then his sword wielding companion would strike at me. “First you need to kill me!” I spun around away from the blow and the second warrior. The axe hit fresh air and I continued the swing with Ragnar’s Spirit. He was above me and had his shield protecting his left side. His mail shirt went down to his knees and Ragnar’s Spirit sliced through the flesh and the bone below that to sever his left leg. Knocking his companion over, he crashed to the ground. I raised my sword and with one mighty blow severed his head.
The one with the sword scrambled to his feet but the sight of his dead companion and his blood which had showered his face had unsettled him. All that he saw was my black wolf helmet and my red painted eyes peering from within. I lowered my voice and growled. “And now you will die. You will taste Ragnar’s Spirit!”
He was brave although he had already lost the bout in his head. He swung at my shield and I deflected it. I swung overhand and he put his shield up to protect himself. When I struck the wood I felt my arm shiver and saw a huge crack appear in the shield. It was not as well made as mine. He took a step back towards the hall and I swung again. I hit the same place and the shield split in two. The edge of my sword continued down and bit through his mail and into his arm. He tried to retreat again and I saw fear in his eyes. As I stabbed forward to end his life I heard Snorri shout, “My lord! Watch out!”
Harald One-Eye had suddenly launched an attack at me. Had Snorri not shouted I would have died there and then but his warning allowed me to spin. The sword sliced down as I staggered backwards, its tip severed four or five mail links in my mail shirt and then was stopped by my leather byrnie. I managed to keep my feet.
I saw Haaken begin to move to attack One-Eye. “No, Haaken. I will scotch the snake.”
Harald One-Eye laughed, “I should have thrown you overboard when I first saw you. I should have known that the witch that was your mother was a volva. I could see it in her eyes. I will remedy that now!”
“You have shown that you have no honour One-Eye. You had the chance to face me like a man but instead you tried a treacherous attack when I was fighting men who were brave. You will not die with a sword in your hand.” There was conviction in my voice and I saw fear flicker across his face.
I stepped down so that we were fighting on the flattened area before his hall. Rolf and his warriors had joined with the Ulfheonar and a battle raged around us.
Harald came at me cautiously. His shield was, as mine, covered in leather and metal. It would not shatter as his oathsworn’s had. His sword was a Frankish blade and it would neither bend nor break. We were evenly matched and this would be decided by my skill and the gods. I was sure that the gods were on my side and I knew that I was a skilled warrior. I just needed patience.
When I had first met Harald, all those years ago he had seemed to be a giant. Now, as we circled each other I saw that I was as tall but, more importantly, I was broader. I had more strength in my arms. I feinted at his shield. He raised it and I changed the angle of my attack so that I struck his sword. He had not been expecting that. I had put my entire strength into the blow and drove him back a little. I smiled as I feinted again. This time he anticipated the sword but the blade did not strike. Instead I punched with my shield and the metal boss struck his right arm. It would have stung and, I hoped, numbed it.
He took two steps back and shook his head to clear it although I not gone near to his head. He was working out how to defeat me. He went on to the offensive as I had hoped. He brought his sword over his head as he took two steps forward. He sliced down at my helmet. He hoped to split my head open. Had I been tired or slow I would not have been able to bring up my shield. I was neither and the blade cracked against the metal of my shield. The red eyes of my wolf on the shield were pieces of iron painted with beetles’ blood. When his sword struck them sparks flew and fear filled his face.
“Are you a gladramenn?”
I laughed as I swung my sword at his head. “No, just a better warrior than you.”
His shield came up but it was a little slower than it should have been and the edge of my sword caught the top of his helmet. It would have made his ears ring.
I did not give him time to recover and I swung my body around to attack his sword side. The swing took him by surprise and he was slow to lower his sword and meet the blow. Ragnar’s Spirit sliced through his mail and into his leg. His whole right side lowered to compensate and I spun around the other way and brought my blade across his back. The whole force of my body was behind it. I heard something crack and then the blade bi
t through the mail, his byrnie and into his back. His sword dropped to the ground and he fell at my feet.
He lay unmoving. I think I had broken his back. He looked up at me with hate in his eyes. “Go on then give me my sword and finish me off!”
In answer I walked to his sword and picked it up. It was a fine sword and had been the best one in the village in which I had become a warrior. “No, Harald One-Eye. You will not go to Valhalla. Nor will I kill this sword. I have another purpose for it. And I will not end your suffering. You have hurt me and my family for the last time.” I turned to those around me. All fighting had stopped and they were watching me. “No one ends this man’s suffering. I will kill anyone who does so. Hel will come for him and drag him to Niflheim where he will be tortured until the end of time.”
“I curse…” They were all the words he managed for Haaken walked up to him, grabbed his tongue and sliced it from his mouth.
“You will curse no one.”
I turned to those warriors of Harald’s band who still lived. “You who fought against me; I know that you defended your jarl, treacherous though he was. You can now be given a warrior’s death or swear allegiance to me. It is your choice. If you swear allegiance then drop your weapons.”
There were twenty warriors remaining and they all dropped their swords. I held Ragnar’s Spirit by the blade. “Swear on the spirit of Ragnar that you will defend this land for Dragon Heart.”
They chorused, “We swear!”
“As for the rest of you I will not enslave you. You are all free to stay here.” I saw the relief on the faces of the women as they gripped their children tightly. “The only one who has to die is the witch who changed Harald One-Eye. Where is his wife? The Saxon princess?”