by Griff Hosker
“That seems a little harsh, Scanlan.”
“You bring grain for them and you bring iron. They could not survive without either. The slaves you bring help them with the work. You are entitled to a greater share than you take. They are happy to pay.”
“What do you suggest?”
“A tenth of what they produce seems fair.”
What if they do not produce much of anything?”
He shrugged and smiled, “Then it is a tenth of not much of anything.”
I could not find fault with his argument. “Then tell the people. If any disagree then ask them to speak with me and if there are difficulties and they do not wish to speak of it then you must tell me.”
“I will my lord.” He hesitated. “They would pay much more for the peace that you bring. You are being generous.”
I took Arturus with me as I rode around our land. I called it our land for, unlike Man, all of the people who lived in it had sworn allegiance to me. I headed for Windar’s Mere. There were now two sets of huts. One, the original one, close to the old Roman fort at the northern end of the Mere and the second on the eastern side occupying a flat piece of land. It almost mirrored that at Cyninges-tūn. In addition I could see the smoke from the fires of huts further away. It looked as though they felt confident in our security.
Rolf was away hunting in the forests. I spoke with Windar and explained to him of Scanlan’s tax. He chuckled when I told him. “There are many jarls who take it all anyway. You do not take much and you are generous to your men. I do not think there will be complaints.” He sighed as looked down the flat waters of the mere. “This is a beautiful spot. Were it not for the flies on the western side of the mere it would be perfection. But I suppose the flies are there to remind us of the perfection of the rest of the land.”
“We have yet to winter here.”
“True and that in itself will be an adventure.”
He was a phlegmatic warrior. Nothing ever seemed to upset him. He looked for the good in all things. I think that was what made him a better leader than Rolf. Rolf was a war leader but for peace, you needed a Windar. They were a good combination and seemed to marry well with each other.
As we headed north to see Dargh and the frontier Arturus asked me question after question. Not only was his body growing but also his mind. “Aiden says you will hunt for iron. Will I be coming with you?”
“No, for I will be taking a small number of men and they must be the best that we have. One day you will be the best but your body and skills will need to improve.”
There was a time when such an answer would have infuriated him but his presence on my raids had shown him what I meant.
“Then when you are away I will work hard. When will you go?”
“When we reach home I shall choose the warriors and we will leave.”
He questioned me about the detail of the journey and, to be honest, his questions helped me to refine my plan. It had been many years since I had been taken from the Dunum and I only had a vague recollection of the area. It mattered not. All we had to do was to find where they worked their iron and then take what we needed. I also knew that we would leave none behind alive. We would need to be well away from the river before the chase began.
By the time we reached the bubbling river and the small wooden fort I knew what we had to do. To call the building Dargh had erected a fort was a little like building a funeral ship and calling it a drekar. It was only forty paces square with just one gate, facing south. There were no towers but it was on a small knoll which afforded a view to the water in Rye Dale. Inside was a small warrior hall to hold the fifteen or so men who lived there. He and his men were busy digging a ditch in front of the fort as we approached.
He stopped working and walked over. He was dirty and sweating heavily. He pointed to the ditch. “We have learned from the past, Jarl Dragon Heart. If the enemy cannot get to the walls then we are safer. With a deep ditch all the way around then we will have more protection.”
I pointed to the dirt and sweat. “It is hard work then?”
“Aye my lord. We chose this place because of the hill but the problem is that the rock is close to the surface. Still it means that we can use some of the rock we take to make our walls stronger.”
I pointed to where some of his warriors were working close to the tree line and the low ridge that ran along the side of the valley. “What are they doing?”
He gestured proudly at a low lying piece of ground to the north east of the fort and the knoll. The land there is lower. They are diverting the stream than runs from the fellside and we will make that a swampy area. It will protect that side of the fort.”
Arturus said, “Won’t the stream go back to its original course eventually?”
Dargh looked impressed, “He is a clever boy, jarl. Aye young Arturus it will but by then there will be a wet barrier there and the stone which lies close to the surface will stop it running away.”
“You have thought things through well. I am pleased. And what of the farmers in Rye Dale?”
“Oh they are both good families and we get on well with them. If trouble comes they know they can reach here quickly. I have told them of our defences and they have a good and safe route to reach us.” He pointed to the stream to the west. “We have put stepping stones across the river. They are below the surface. Unless you know where to find them you will not be able to cross safely.”
I was intrigued, “We are heading west so show me and we will cross them.”
We reached the river bank. It was wide and bubbling. I could not see them. “You will find it easier to lead your horses across. I will lead Arturus’ horse and show you.” He grinned up at my son. “Hold on tightly or you will end up with a ducking!”
I thought he would step up to his waist in the icy stream but then I saw the large flat stones beneath his feet. There was a path beneath the white sparkling water. I led my horse and we soon found ourselves across on the other bank. I had wet feet but that was all.
I clasped his arm. “You have done well Dargh.”
He looked embarrassed. “I may not go on raids with you my lord but my men and I serve you as best we can.”
Riding west I reflected that I needed to reward the men such as Dargh. The best reward I could give would be women so that they could have their own families and farms. That would be the task I would set myself after I had gathered the iron.
We crossed back over a fellside without a single hut or home. We had room aplenty to grow but it was not on these bare fell sides. It was perfect for sheep but I imagined that in winter, it would be a little bleak. Perhaps it was my thoughts of winter or the gods toying with me but a sudden storm blew up from the north and drove us home, sodden and miserable. It made up my mind for me. We would leave for the Dunum the day after next.
Chapter 18
We had no maps but we had the sun; it was as good a guide as any. I led my thirty warriors and five horses east on a morning with the chill air of a change in the weather. We marched without armour. The mail was unnecessary. With Snorri, Beorn and Erik Short Toe as scouts we would have ample warning of danger.
We had passed another long mere soon after Windar’s Mere. I saw some of the men looking at it with interest. It was very narrow and nestled in the shelter of the huge mountain rising high above the valley. I knew that when we returned some of the warriors with me would wish to settle there. The valley beyond was even more attractive rolling eastwards towards the high hills of the middle of the land.
We had not seen any people living there which puzzled me. It looked to be good land for farming. As it was still early autumn we had no chance to judge the weather properly; perhaps a winter would explain things.
We found a Roman Road which ran like an arrow to the east. It was risky to travel on it but as we had seen few signs of human occupation and we decided to use it to save time. Some twenty miles after leaving Windar’s Mere we saw the first occupation in this land. There was
a huddle of huts on a small hill. There looked to be the remains of an old Roman fort close by. It did not look to be occupied but the people who lived nearby could take shelter there. We avoided contact with the people. There would be time enough later. I was not worried that they would warn Eanred that Vikings were in his land; we travelled without helmets and bare headed. We did not look like Vikings.
We spied one more village, which we avoided, before we began the ascent over the rising hills before us. The winds whipped around us and we drew our cloaks tighter. It was still autumn and yet it was bleak beyond words. There was a beauty about the bleakness but the fells just rolled away to the north and south and seemed to have no end. It was no wonder that the Saxons had not wanted this land. Three days after leaving Windar’s Mere we began to descend and I saw the green and verdant valley that was the Dunum. We spied many villages, none of them large but all of them Saxon. I knew that we had thirty miles or so to go from the mile markers on the Roman Road and so we donned helmets and armour. We were now in enemy territory.
I was heading for the northern bank of the Dunum, a few miles from the mouth. I remembered the smith from my village travelling there to barter for the iron ore he used to make the tools we used. It meant crossing the Dunum and we found a Roman bridge. There was, however, a Saxon village hard by. I did not want to alert them to our presence and so we waited until dark. The village might be a problem when we returned but we would deal with that when we had to. Rather than risk the noise of the horses’ hooves on the cobbled bridge five of my younger warriors who had no armour swam the horses across. The river was gently flowing at this point but we made them enter the water well above the bridge and the village. When they mounted the bank and walked downstream then we risked the crossing. We did so in groups of twos and threes. Snorri, Beorn and Erik made the last group. Save for a bark from a village dog we were undetected and our first major obstacle had been surmounted.
We camped in a small wooded dell close to the river but a few miles from the village. Our scouts had a short sleep and then rose mid-morning to scout out the next twenty miles. We used the opportunity to rest. The horses grazed and we put a few guards around the wood in case any unwelcome visitors arrived. We were not worried. Here was the heartland of Northumbria. The Saxons had occupied old Roman forts to the north and the south which they used to protect their land and here, far from the estuary, their people were safe. I knew that we were the first to come from the west. We had seen no-one. They would not be expecting us. I also knew that once we had raided then we would not be able to repeat the feat.
As soon as we had crossed the mountainous divide then the weather had changed. There was a chill wind blowing from the east and we were all grateful for our cloaks. There was little rain but we all felt chilled to the bone. We huddled in the dell while we waited for our scouts.
“If there is copper in our mountains then why not iron ore too?”
“I know not, Haaken. Perhaps the gods do not want to make it easy for us. Aiden tells me that there is a kind of thin rock on the old man which might make good roofing material.” We all knew that while turf was good, easy to cut and kept you warm if you had a really bad rainstorm then it would come through. Aiden had told me that the thin rock was light enough to put on a roof and waterproof. We were going to try it on the smithy roof. Bjorn had decided that he wanted one for the winter and the heat of the forge would kill a turf roof. He and Aiden would make one while we were hunting iron.
“The gods do like to play with us do they not, Dragon Heart?”
“It is to test if we are worthy to go to Valhalla.”
“Does not dying with a sword do that?”
“I have thought about this, Haaken. I do not think that some of those who died with a sword would be welcome in Valhalla. Harald One-Eye? Would the gods want to drink with a treacherous snake like him? Perhaps he and Loki are somewhere else.”
“Interesting. We shall find out one day.”
“True and I hope that my good deeds stand me in good stead.”
It was late afternoon when the three scouts returned. They were hungry but happy. “We have found a settlement by the river. They have many smithies there and there were ships tied up to a jetty further downstream.”
I nodded, “That would seem a likely place. Is there a palisade?”
“Aye.”
“And how far from the river is it?”
“The huts and the wooden wall are on a small hill some three hundred paces from the river.”
“And how long to reach it?”
“If we leave now then we could be there by the middle of the night.”
“Then rest for a few hours and we will get there at dawn.”
I remembered when I had been young enough to manage on a few hours of sleep a night. These were young men and they enjoyed the excitement of what they did. When they grew older and married we would see a change.
We had to tread carefully as we headed east. “There were small villages close to the river. They would not have enough warriors to worry us but we had to avoid detection. Our three scouts rode three of the horses to make the journey easier and they made sure that we skirted every place where dogs might alert the village to our presence.
We reached the stockade a few hours before dawn. There was a wood a few hundred paces from the walls and we tied the horses there. We could smell the smoke from the forges, even though they were not working. I hoped that there would be iron enough to have made the trip worthwhile and the number of forges Snorri had counted, four, looked promising.
We spent some time preparing for war. We had learned our appearance was worth another ten warriors. We would appear as red eyed wolves. The Ulfheonar always led the attack. We were the fiercest warriors and the most frightening in appearance. More importantly we were the best protected.
Beorn had told us there were two gates; one on the northern side and one close to the river. Haaken led half my warriors to the river gate while I took Cnut and the rest to the northern gate. We left the cover of the woods and moved silently across the darkened land before the walls. We had not seen any guards but we assumed they must have some. The warriors who were not Ulfheonar waited in the woods until we reached the walls. It is strange but we had learned how to move as shadows along the ground. No matter how many times we approached in this way, we were never seen. It gave rise to the rumour that we were shape shifters. We were happy to let them believe that but we were just well practised in the art of concealment.
Once we were close to the gate we hoisted Snorri and Beorn over the walls. One of these days the Saxons would realise that they needed higher walls to keep us out. They disappeared from view and we made our way to the gate. We heard nothing until the wooden bar holding the gate in place scraped a little as Snorri and Beorn lifted it.
We stepped inside and I saw the bodies of two sentries with their throats cut. I hoped that the others had been as successful at the second gate. We would soon find out. There was no warrior hall. It seemed that these people were the ones who worked the iron. We waited by the gate until the rest of our men had joined us. I waved Thorkell to take three men and find the iron. The rest were waved to the huts. There were only four huts within the walls. The rest was taken up with the smithies and the storage pits for the iron.
I nodded and my warriors entered each hut. The only noise I heard was a stifled groan and then my warriors emerged. Anything of value, mainly metal was brought from within. Haaken came up to me. “We have cleared our huts.” All that would remain in the huts come morning would be the corpses of the dead.
We found Thorkell and his men. He pointed to the baskets containing the iron ore. There were four of them. “We found some completed weapons and farm implements.”
Haaken looked over to the ships. “I am guessing that they all contain iron goods they have made. It is low tide and they will be waiting for the high tide.”
It was tempting to go to the three ships tied up to the jetty
and relieve them of their iron but I deemed it too much of a risk. We only had four horses. Two of them could carry the ore while the rest would carry the weapons. “Einar, fetch the horses. Find something to carry the weapons. When we have loaded the horses we will head west. We can rest in the dell we used yesterday.”
The mistake would be to try to move too far. Exhausted men and animals could be caught. Dawn was breaking when we had loaded everything. “Get them moving. Snorri and Beorn, when we have gone, bar the gates again and prop the sentries against the wall.” They ran off to obey my orders as we marched from the northern gate and headed west. I hoped that the three ships would be too busy to visit the iron smiths. I knew that they would be discovered; there must be a village close by for we had found no women within its walls. I just wanted to delay discovery for as long as possible. It would be a long morning until we reached our dell.
The sun had just dipped past its zenith when we were safely hidden in the dell. Haaken, Cnut and I stood guard, despite the protestations of the others. I knew that, tired as I was I would not sleep. It would need the sight of the land to the west to put my mind at ease. We were forty miles the wrong side of safety for sleep.
The hills looked tantalisingly close but we knew it was an illusion. It would take us a day to reach the other side and that day would leave us exposed. The Saxons would discover their loss before we had even left the security of the dell. I was hoping that by marching through the night we could avoid detection. Once on the other side we could ambush any pursuers.
By late afternoon we decided that our men had had enough rest to push on. The horses had grazed and we had water from a small stream. The trees had given us shelter from the biting wind and I felt more confident. I was now beyond sleep. My body would complain and when I did sleep it would be for a day but I knew that I could reach home without sleep if I had to.
I thanked the Romans every step of the way as we headed west. Their roads and bridges saved us time and prevented us from being ambushed. We clattered over their old bridge. I cared not if we woke the farmers. By the time they had reached the coast with news of our presence we would be almost home. Besides that our trail would be clear to see. You cannot hide five loaded horses and a heavily armed war band of Vikings. We had our start and we would keep it. Leaving the bridge we planted the horses’ hooves on the cobbled stones of the ancient roadway. We plodded on through the night. It grew icily cold as we climbed but our efforts kept us warm. It was after moonrise when we began the descent. The wind was not quite as cold on the western side. I had decided to push on until the horses could go no further. If we did that then we might make the last part of the journey in one day.