by Griff Hosker
They all looked to the hall. I waved Haaken forward. He knew who she was. She had been the one who had lied about my mother and Prince Butar to have us driven from our homes and I would never forgive her. A few moments later Haaken brought out her body. “She killed herself, with poison.”
I heard the gasp of horror from all of the women of the village. I nodded, “Then it is over. The past is another country. The witch is dead and the evil that was Harald One-Eye is ended. Today we begin again.”
Rolf and his men had suffered casualties. There were ten warriors who travelled to Valhalla but it was a small price to pay. The arms and treasures of the dead enemies were divided amongst our remaining warriors while Harald’s treasure was given to me. We sent the treasure back with ‘Bear’. She was to return with more warriors to replace the dead. I left Rolf and his men to sleep in the camp while I took the Ulfheonar to my son and ‘Wolf’ where we would sleep. I wanted nothing more to do with the settlement of Harald One-Eye. It was now mine but I would not visit it again.
When Aiden and Arturus heard, from Haaken of the battle, they were both disappointed to have missed it. I smiled. I understood their feelings. I took out Harald’s sword. “I had a mind to give this to you Arturus but then I realised that you will inherit Ragnar’s Spirit when I die.”
Arturus’ face went from disappointment to elation in the blink of an eye. “You would not have the sword killed when you die?”
“No for this sword is the guardian of our people. I give the sword to you Aiden. You have done me great services already and when you have finished with the sword of Rheged you will have done more than I can repay. Take this sword for the love I bear you.”
He was grateful beyond words. His eyes began to fill and he dropped to his knees as he took the blade. When I looked at my son I saw the nod of approval. My boy was growing into a man.
We had just eaten when Rolf came down to report to us. “Harald One-Eye is dead.”
I nodded. “Have his men strip his body and then throw it into the sea.”
“That is how it should be.” Rolf nodded his approval. “His men seem to be happy that he is gone. He was not a good jarl.”
“Is there one who can command?”
“Audun Thin-Hair seems to be a good warrior and well liked. He killed two of our men before we took him.”
“Then tell him he commands for me. This will be Audun’ston. If he displeases me I will find another.” I remembered Audun and he was a dull boy, when I knew him, but he was dependable. He would stand in a shield wall and never falter. He would make a good leader for my first settlement in Northumbria.
I sent Snorri back with ‘Bear’. He was a sound sailor and a good captain. We spent three days tending to the wounds our warriors have suffered, hunting and exploring up the river. It was good land. Harald One-Eye’s presence had driven the Saxons further east and I knew that Audun’ston would prosper. In time more people could settle here. Perhaps one day, when he had consolidated his power then Eanred might try to retake the land but I doubted it. We would only grow stronger.
Snorri arrived back earlier than I had expected. He came with ‘Serpent’ in close company. His face told me of bad news. My heart sank to my boots. Had something happened to my wife or my family?
He leapt ashore as soon as the boat touched the sandy shore. “Jarl, disaster has befallen Anglesey. The Welsh under Cynan have retaken the island. The people there all chose to follow him as their king. Our warriors were slain.”
I nodded, “I understand. Raibeart and the others were closely related to the Welsh. What of Thorkell and the men of Wyddfa?”
He shook his head, “They are no longer there. It is now a Welsh domain once more.”
I led Snorri and the others to our camp. This needed questions, debate and thought. Rolf and the Ulfheonar sat close by me as Snorri told his tale.
“Alf had taken ‘Serpent’ to Anglesey and he was attacked from the fort there. He sailed to the straits and Wyddfa but he saw that it too was in Welsh hands. As he sailed back to Man he came across a Hibernian trader who told him that Cynan had sent emissaries to the island without the knowledge of the warriors there. They arranged for the Welsh to gain access to the fort and slaughter the garrison. Of Thorkell he knew nothing save that the Welsh ruled.”
My dream of a land ruled by us close to Wyddfa and the cave of my ancestors was gone. I saw Arturus looking up at me with questions in his eyes. Haaken, Rolf and Cnut also waited for me to speak. I closed my eyes. I need the spirits to speak with me. I had felt closer to my past in the cave and in the land of the Welsh than at any other time. Should we return and fight for it? If I took every warrior who had sworn allegiance to me then I would have, possibly, two hundred warriors. My island home would be defenceless. Could we retake those impressive forts? I doubted it. And what was there for me in the cave and in that land? I had taken the gold and the blue stones I had coveted. I had discovered the sword and my ancestors had been buried beneath Wyddfa’s rocks. It was clear to me that the spirits had led me there for a purpose and that purpose had now been served.
I opened my eyes. “We need to sail south and see what became of Thorkell. I owe him and his men that much. If he can be rescued then we shall do it and if he needs to be buried we will give him a funeral worthy of a fine warrior.”
Cnut, who knew me as well as any man, said, “Will you try to retake what the Welsh have stolen?” There was no judgement in his words. He was an honest man and the question needed an honest answer.
“No. The land we held briefly is now lost to us. I am not a gambler. I could risk all to regain it and lose all. If I did regain it then it would take men’s blood to keep it. I will not do that.”
“You do not need the land, Jarl Dragon Heart, for you have all that was precious within it.”
I looked around at Aiden. It was as though he was reading my mind. Those had been my thoughts too. “You are right Aiden. We have the sword and the treasures. The only other things of value are my men and we will seek them.”
The question came from Rolf. “Where will they be?”
“I will throw that back to you Rolf. If you were Thorkell and you lost your home where would you go?”
He stroked his beard, “Not south. That would just trap me. The mountain blocks the route east and the sea, west. I would have to go north.”
“Aye and head for Caerlleon.”
Haaken nodded, “And that is where Ragnar Hairy-Breeches is.”
I smiled, “Wyrd.”
Chapter 4
The three ships headed down the coast toward the Maeresea and the Dee. I did not wish to risk the Dee. The river had many sandbanks and I did not know if Ragnar would be friendly. He was a man who sought power. I knew that he wished to be a king. I would use that to my advantage. He would need my support to become king. My warriors might be few in number but all knew that they had never been beaten so long as I led them.
We landed close to the village where Scanlan and his family had lived before we took them. The village had long been abandoned but the huts and walls could be repaired and would give us a base. We left just the boys and Alf to watch the three ships. Aiden and Arturus were visibly disappointed to be left behind but there were no arguments this time. Arturus had learned his lesson.
After we had repaired the village I left for the Dee with the Ulfheonar and thirty of Rolf’s best warriors. The rest I left with Rolf to scour the river bound peninsula for slaves and booty.
“I am curious, Dragon Heart, why we did not bring all of our men?” Cnut queried as we marched south.
“I do not come to fight Ragnar. Not yet anyway. I want to know what happened to Thorkell. If there is no word of him then we will cross into Wales and look for him.”
“Thorkell is no fool. According to Alf the heads of the garrison adorned the walls of St.Cybi. There were none at Wyddfa’s fort.”
“There is a puzzle here. Thorkell would not have given up without a fight.”
Thorkell and the others had chosen to settle where they had because they loved the land and thought that they would be able to defend it. If they could not then there was no point in dying for it. None had families. That would have come when they had tamed the land. Obviously that would not happen now.
The old Roman fort had formed the centre of the town which grew up by the river. A sprawl of huts and smoking buildings tumbled from the old stone walls. There was no wooden wall; they needed none. If enemies came then they could flee to the safety of the fort.
We marched with shields at our backs and helmets by our side. We were here in peace but I saw a flurry of activity as we marched down the cobbled road built by Roman soldiers hundreds of years earlier. Many of those in the huts were taking no chances and they fled to the fort.
I wondered if the gates would slam shut in our face when we reached them. If they did then that would be a message from Ragnar. The gates remained open although I noticed that the guards there were wary and fingered their weapons as we approached.
A warrior in mail came forward. “I am Thorir Leather Neck. I command the jarl’s guards.” He was a big man and he pointedly stood in the middle of the gate with two of his men just behind him. He spoke as though I should have known his name. I did not.
“I am Dragon Heart and I would speak with your jarl.”
If this Thorir thought he could intimidate me then he was mistaken. I would speak with Ragnar or no-one. Thorir stared at me. I inclined my head slightly and he nodded and stood aside, “You are welcome, Jarl Dragon Heart.” His tone and his expression belied his words.
Ragnar had grown even bigger since the last time I had seen him. He was, indeed, a bear of a man but he had the cunning of a fox. He strode up to me and threw his arms around me to embrace me. “Good to see you Dragon Heart and your famous Ulfheonar.” They all nodded and gave a slight bow. It barely acknowledged his title. “Thorir, take the jarl’s men to the warrior hall and give them food and ale.”
Haaken, Cnut and the others looked to me. I gave a slight nod and they followed Thorir. Ragnar frowned as he led me to his table. “Your warriors looked as though they did not trust me, Dragon Heart.”
I shrugged, “They remember being betrayed by Jarl Harold the False and they are very protective of me. They meant no offence.”
He grunted. I wondered if he would make something of it but then he smiled and poured me a horn of ale. “I never thanked you properly for telling me of this fort. Once we drove the Saxons from it we have a base which cannot be taken.” The smile on his face was not matched with the look in his eyes.
I drank the ale and commented, “This is good ale.”
“Aye, I have some fine ale wives who brew it for us.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I hear the Welsh have taken back their forts.”
His eyes were constantly assessing me as he spoke. “I had heard that.” I shrugged. “We have other places and it is not worth going to war over.” I had to take the bull by the horns for he knew more than he was saying. I could dance around him all day and not find out that which I needed. “Have you heard of any of my men passing through your land?”
His impassive face gave nothing away. “Your warriors? No. None of our people have come through.” He smiled, “Saxons and the Welsh fear us now and they avoid us.”
I nodded. That made sense. Thorkell and the survivors would have had to come north using the secret ways. There had never been many warriors in the fort. No more than twenty. It might only be a handful who survived the war. “Then I must, with your permission, Jarl Ragnar, take my men south to seek my warriors.”
There was the pause of a heartbeat. I wondered if he might refuse. It would not stop me but it might cause problems. He smiled, “Of course but you will stay the night with my warriors? We will hold a feast in your honour. The men would like to see the sword touched by the gods.”
I shook my head, ”We will have a feast when we have found our men. Time is passing and they may need our help. If we leave now then we can cover another fifteen miles before dark.”
“Of course, besides the only way north is across the bridge which my men hold.”
I ignored the veiled threat in his words. He would not risk war with me yet. He would hold this favour on account. At some time in the future he would try to reclaim my help. I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
We were cheerfully waved off and we smiled our thanks. Once we were in Saxon territory I walked with Haaken, Cnut and Rolf. Snorri and Beorn scouted far ahead. We would not be ambushed.
“What did you learn?”
“That Ragnar Hairy-Breeches is ambitious. He sees himself as king of this land.”
“Northumbria?”
“Aye. Eanred has proved to be a little weaker than his predecessor and Ragnar thinks to exploit that. Coenwulf the King of Mercia is a more dangerous enemy. I suspect that is why the Welsh have expanded west. With the grain from Anglesey they are in a better position to resist the Saxon advances. It is said that their king seeks to claim land which is west of the dyke.” The dyke was Offa’s Dyke and had been built to mark the edge of Mercia and the start of Wales. It seems there were many ambitious men around.
We had enjoyed the fruits of Anglesey for a couple of years or so. We would now have to resort to raiding to get what we wanted.
“I thought Ragnar seemed over confident.” I told them of the jarl’s words and my interpretation of them. I think we were right to come east. Who knows what would have happened had Ragnar been given a free rein.
Snorri and Beorn found a dell where we could camp. There was a nearby knoll and we placed two men there as sentries. The hunters brought back some deer and we ate well that night. It was as we lay around our fire looking up at the stars that we heard, in the distance the sound of shouting and metal on metal. Beorn had the best ears. He climbed to the top of the knoll and listened. When he returned he said, grimly, “It is some miles away but there are warriors fighting.”
From his look he thought it was Thorkell and his men. “You think it is our warriors?” He nodded. “Could we find them in the dark?”
“If they continue fighting then, yes we could find them.”
“Rolf, I will take twenty of your men and the Ulfheonar. We will try to reach this combat.”
“But Jarl, we can come with you.”
“I need you fresh for tomorrow. Come at first light. We will leave signs for you.” I was being sensible and planning to extricate all of us from this land. Others had hunted and I had been resting. I would be tired the next day but if we could save just a few of my men it would be worth it. I owed it to them as much as they owed loyalty to me.
Snorri and Beorn set off to lead us and Sven White Hair brought up the rear. He would mark the trees. We had our own signs and Rolf would catch up to us sooner rather than later.
We trotted behind our two scouts who chose an obstacle free route. Every mile or so the two of them would halt, and we would wait and listen in silence. We thought that the sounds of combat had ended but then we heard it again; much closer this time. It spurred us on. The next time we stopped the sounds were so close that we could hear the voices of those fighting. I swung my hand in a circle and the band spread out. Drawing my sword and swinging my shield around, we advanced.
Suddenly we came upon three of my warriors. Ulf Gunnersson was lying on the ground; he was wounded in the leg. The other two, Eystein Carlson and Thord the Grim were standing over him and trying to defend against eight warriors who were jabbing at them with spears.
We wasted no time. I leapt towards them. The first Welshman half turned as he heard my feet. Eystein shouted, “Dragon Heart!” and another two turned. I pushed the spear head away with my shield and skewered the first with my sword. Haaken and Cnut finished off the other two. Two more lay dead and the last couple tried to run.
“Snorri. Beorn! Stop them!” My two hunters leapt off i
nto the dark to pursue the two Welshmen. I took off my helmet and turned to speak with my warriors.
Haaken dropped to his knees and began to bind Ulf’s leg. I could see that the other two had taken slight wounds. There was blood everywhere. I gave Eystein my water skin as Cnut and Einar dressed the two men’s wounds.
“Tell me what is important. I will get the detail later.”
He swallowed some of the stale water and nodded. “Jarl Thorkell and the rest of the men are holed up a few miles deeper into the forest. There is an old stone circle and palisade. We were surrounded by a large warband. Five of us were charged with escaping and bringing help. We heard that our people were at Caerlleon.”
“Aye, Ragnar Hairy-Breeches. Good. You three stay here.” I pointed to two of Rolf’s men. You two stay with them until Rolf comes.”
“But, my lord, we can fight.”
I smiled, “You have no need to prove it to me. Now obey me for we shall need your strength before too long.” Snorri and Beorn returned. They both nodded. The last of the Welshmen were dead. “Thorkell is holed up not far ahead. There are Welshmen trying to kill him.”
“We will find them.”
The two of them turned around and disappeared into the forest. I donned my helmet, slung my shield and sheathed my sword. We ran once more. The Welsh we had killed had not worn armour. They had had spears, short swords and small shields. That was how my handful of warriors had defeated them. The trail to Thorkell was well signed. We followed the corpses of the Welsh. We also found the bodies of Lars and Olaf. Both had sacrificed themselves for their comrades. There were bodies surrounding them. They would be in Valhalla now.
We saw the first hint of dawn in the eastern skies over the mountains and Beorn signalled for silence. He put his head close to mine and whispered. “They are up ahead. There are over a hundred of them. They have some horses but most are like the ones we slew.”
I had a dilemma. I really needed Rolf and his men. I had twenty five warriors and we would be outnumbered four to one. If we delayed then the enemy might be reinforced too.