by Griff Hosker
We dragged the wolf from Erik and helped him to his feet. I pulled out the spear. “You remain here, Erik and skin your wolf. We will return when we have found the rest.” I nodded to him. “That was well done!”
The other five looked enviously at the young warrior who was one step closer to becoming an Ulfheonar. We left him as he took out his knife to remove the precious wolf skin before it began to harden. He would take out the guts and leave them for the carrion. The meat would be welcome.
The trail of the wolf pack headed, ominously towards Lang’s Dale. There was a little more urgency now for the pack would not be slowed down by their wounded. As we turned into the dale we beheld a horrific sight; the wolves had halted to tear apart their victims. I saw the look of horror on the faces of the young warriors. The bones which remained were a grisly reminder of how fragile life was in this beautiful land. Snorri and Beorn scouted the trail ahead. “There are four wolves left with this pack.”
“Any cubs?”
“No Jarl Dragon Heart.”
That meant that they would still be in their den and there would be that most dangerous of animals, the she-wolf. Catching the wolves we followed would not end this problem. We needed to destroy them completely or they would grow stronger and return. We trudged on as the first chink of light peered over the eastern skyline. We hurried, eager to catch them before they reached their den. It was either a brave or a foolish hunter who went willingly into the den of a she-wolf and her cubs.
We were nearing Lang’s huts when we heard the screams and the sound of snarling. We just ran heedless of the danger. Lang and his family were being attacked. We crested the rise and looked down at the huts. Lang was trying to hold off the wolves with a spear. I could see his wife who was kneeling over a still form in the snow whilst his daughter was cowering behind Lang.
Beorn and Snorri each notched an arrow and let them fly. One struck a wolf which turned yelping. The other missed but the wolves were distracted and I saw Lang’s wife dragging the body towards the hut. Tostig Olafson suddenly ran forwards so quickly that I thought he had wings. I ran to catch him and I heard my two scouts curse their annoyance.
Tostig drew back his arm as a mighty he wolf leapt at him. He buried the spear into the wolf’s chest but it fixed his teeth around his left hand. I heard the screams of pain. I hurled my spear and it thudded into the wolf’s side but it continued to shake its jaws around the savaged hand. I drew my sword and, praying that Ragnar guided my hand I sliced down the back of the wolf’s neck. I stopped the blade before it completely severed the head but the wolf was dead. I stabbed my sword into the snow and prised apart the jaws.
The hand was badly mangled. I tore a piece of material from Tostig’s kyrtle and wrapped it around the wound. “Keep that pressed against the wound.” I turned and saw Harald and Karl stabbing another wolf with their spears. The rest of the pack had fled. I watched which direction they took and ran over to Lang and his family.
He was kneeling over his son. “How is he?”
Lang’s wife looked up, her face showing relief. “The wolf knocked him out when he leapt at him but the bite is not serious. My husband stopped him.”
I looked at Lang who had a bite mark on his leg. It was bleeding still. “Let me look at that.”
He shook his head, “No, I can do that. Get after those three before they escape.” I nodded. He grabbed my arm, ”Thank you Jarl Dragon Heart, I owe you four lives.”
I shook my head, “You are a friend. Look after my wounded warrior eh?”
“I will.”
I turned as Karl finally finished off the wolf. “Harald come with us. You may yet achieve your own wolf.”
We ran after the last three wolves. It might be dawn but the sky was not lightening. The heavy black clouds were snow filled. Beorn shouted, “They are tiring. One has an arrow and one was wounded by Lang.”
We could now see them up ahead as they raced for home. One was easily outstripping the other two who laboured up the dale to the rocky peaks. We knew that the den must be close. Harald was running with Beorn and Snorri now. “Do not be as foolish as Tostig!”
He waved his hand in acknowledgement but I knew he would disregard my advice. He was young and had come close to killing his first wolf. One of the wolves darted up to a clump of snow covered rocks. Harald ran after it. I saw that Snorri and Beorn still followed the other two. I waved at Olaf and Kurt. “Keep with Snorri and Beorn.”
I watched as Harald stopped short of the wolf. It was the one struck with the arrow and blood was seeping into the snow staining it bright red. Harald stuck his sword into the ground before him and drew back his spear. He was beyond the leaping distance of the wolf but well within spear range. Tostig’s wound had served as a warning. He hurled the spear and it struck the beast in the chest. It gamely tried to run forward. Harald gave it no opportunity and he hacked off its head.
“That was well done Harald. We will find you later.”
The snow was now falling and it was a blizzard. I could barely see Harald as I descended to catch the others. When I found them then it was all over. Kurt was already skinning the dead wolf while Olaf looked disconsolately at the other dead wolf. Snorri grinned. “Beorn and I finished this one. Olaf was just a little too slow.”
I nodded in an absent minded fashion. My mind was elsewhere. “And the trail to the den?” I had to shout because of the noise of the storm.
Beorn shook his head. “You can see nothing.”
I nodded, “Let us get back to Lang’s and some warmth.”
We used the spears to carry the carcasses back to Lang’s. We found Harald and trudged through the snow. I had lost the feeling in my hands. When we reached the haven of Lang’s hut we were almost blue with the cold. Leaving the dead beasts outside, we entered the warm home.
Lang’s wife gave us some broth to warm us through. I took one sip and said, “How is the boy?”
“He is fine but your warrior is not.”
I went over to Tostig. His hand was mangled. He would never use his left hand again. Beorn took one look and said. “The hand needs to come off Jarl Dragon Heart.”
“I know.” Tostig nodded and gritted his teeth. “Get a brand from the fire. Wrap my cloak around his shoulders and bring him outside.”
Tostig knew what I would do. “Jarl, would you use Ragnar’s Spirit. It will make the loss easier to bear.”
I nodded, “And you can still be a warrior. It is just your left hand. Haaken is Ulfheonar with only one eye. You could be one with one hand.”
That seemed to make him happy. We took him outside and he held his hand out. The blizzard raged around us, its noise would mask any sounds which might be made. The others held him. He had the resolve but who knew how he would react. Snorri held the torch and he nodded. I lifted the sword high and brought it down as hard as I could just above the wrist. Tostig made not a sound and the mangled hand dropped to the snow. Snorri quickly applied the burning torch to the wound and Tostig mercifully passed out. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. We plunged the seared stump into the snow where it hissed and steamed. When we withdrew it we saw that there was no blood. He would live.
We quickly took him inside again. We waited until the colour began to return to Tostig’s cheeks. He still looked anxious. “Tell me true, Jarl Dragon Heart, if I prove myself a warrior can I become Ulfheonar?”
“You can and as that is your shield arm the only weapon you will not be able to use is a bow. That is not important.”
Snorri smiled, “Besides, Tostig Wolf Hand, you have proved you are a wolf warrior today when your brother tried to eat you!”
We all laughed, including Tostig and that is how he gained his name. He did, indeed, become one of the Ulfheonar.
While he recovered a little I asked Lang what had happened. “My children went out to collect some kindling. The wolves attacked and my son did all he could to fight them off. We heard the noise and went outside. Then you came.”
&nb
sp; “You are more than welcome to stay with us in our hall.”
“Thank you but we will stay here. I will just be more careful.”
“I think that we have destroyed the pack.”
“I hope so.”
We did not find Erik where we had left him when we trudged back through the raging storm. I was not worried. There was no sign of the wolf just a pile of offal which would soon be devoured by the rats and foxes. Even as we passed the crows and magpies were gathering in the nearby trees ready to feast. We reached Finni’s Hall in early afternoon. We were told that Erik had already left for the eastern hall. The mothers of the dead girls looked tearful as we walked through their village. Their eyes asked the questions that my voice could not answer. Their children had been dead when they had been devoured but that did not mean that they did not suffer. I sought the one whose husband had died.
“Your husband was a brave man who died protecting his family. You are a young woman still, let not your grieving stop you from finding another warrior. It is what he would have wished.”
Before I had joined the Norse I had not known the power of a suggestion from a jarl. She nodded and said, “I will obey in all things Jarl Dragon Heart.” What I had meant as a kind suggestion she had taken as a command to be obeyed.
Erik’s arrival had prompted the others in our village to gather and wait for our arrival. The flurries of snow which had accompanied us all the way home had hidden us from view and they knew not what we brought. When Tostig’s mother saw his maimed hand her hand went to her mouth but she was the wife of a warrior and the mother of a warrior. She went to him and led him off. Our rough ministering would be replaced by more tender hands.
Snorri shouted, “We will skin your wolf for you Tostig Wolf Hand and we will all eat well tonight.”
When a wolf was slain the meat was cooked and served to the warriors so that they might become better warriors. I know that many of them ate the heart of the beast.
Erika and my family watched from the door of the hall. Erik had told them of the children and I could see that Erika had wept. “Thank you for the wooden walls my husband or else that could have been our children.”
“I will make sure that all of our children are safe. When the snow abates I will go with my hunters and end this wolf pack once and for all.”
Chapter 22
We had another four days to wait until we could go on the hunt. This time there was just Olaf from the ones who aspired to be part of the Ulfheonar. For the remainder of the pack I took all of the Ulfheonar. We would root out this wolf pack and be free from worry for the remainder of the winter. The sight of Tostig with his maimed hand had dampened the enthusiasm of Arturus to go on the hunt.
The ones who had killed their wolves were busy making their cloaks. Tostig Wolf Hand had his mother to help him. All of them begged Aiden to make them a suitable clasp from finely worked copper and iron. He had been tempted to do it for free until I intervened.
“You are a craftsman and should be paid. Besides these warriors will earn more treasure with a well made cloak. It is an investment for them.” And so he charged them. He began to acquire coin of his own.
The snow abated and we left one icy morning a day or two before Yule. We were in the times of the shortest days and we would be lucky to reach their lair and return. We now knew that we would be more than welcome at Lang’s Dale; if we did not return that day my wife would not worry.
The frost had hardened the snow. We did not sink in but it was slippery and the spears we carried became staffs to help us keep our footing. As we passed Lang’s farm we asked if they had been troubled by the wolves again.
“They have been howling but we have seen nothing.” Lang pointed to the snow around the hut. “There are no prints of wolves.”
We began to ascend the dale. We would begin our search close to the place where we had killed the last two. The depressions in the snow showed where we had discarded the dead wolves’ entrails and they had been devoured by birds, foxes and rats. We saw no signs of wolves. We spread out in a long line and began to ascend the valley sides. It was steep and it was slippery. The snow hid the rocks lurking beneath the snow to trip the unwary. Even though we saw the sun reach its zenith we did not hurry. An accident could be fatal. I had young Olaf on one side of me and Haaken on the other. Cnut flanked Olaf on the far side. Olaf was keen to come to grips with the wolves but we knew how dangerous they were. He needed protection.
Suddenly there was a growl and then a she wolf leapt away along the side of the valley with two large cubs behind her. Snorri and Beorn led the Ulfheonar who were on the right after them. I had marked where they had emerged from the rocks and I readied my spear. I was concentrating so hard on the rocks that I failed to notice that Olaf had lowered his spear. I later realised that he thought the wolves had all gone. He wandered up the slope as though he expected to find an empty den.
The large male leapt from the den and fixed his huge jaws around the young warrior’s throat. It shook him savagely from side to side. I heard the neck snap and I was then showered by blood. Throwing the dead body to one side it leapt at Cnut. Cnut was ready and he plunged his spear into the wolf. The wolf was not ready to stop protecting his pack and his teeth fastened on Cnut’s arm. I stabbed forward and my spear went in behind the ear of the huge male. I knew it would die but before I could celebrate I was hurled to the ground as the she wolf leapt on me. We rolled down the valley side. Her yellow teeth were seeking a soft spot to make the kill. My spear was still in the male wolf and my fingers sought the eyes of this killer. As we rolled down I ignored the bumps from the hidden rocks and I pushed my fingers into the eye sockets. Her teeth found my arm and they began to bite. I would soon be Dragon Heart the Wolf Arm unless I could do something. I saw her neck and I sank my teeth into her neck. The pain from my arm was excruciating but I kept biting through the stinking fur.
The teeth stooped biting and, as the dead wolf was lifted from my body I saw the concerned face of Haaken and Einar. The blood on the end of their spears showed the cause of the wolf’s death. Haaken examined my upper arm. “You are lucky. Another few moments and she would have worked through the leather of your byrnie.”
He and Einar pulled me to my feet. “Olaf?”
Einar shook his head. “He is dead.”
It was a sad procession which trudged down Lang’s Dale. We had the dead wolf pack, including the six cubs we had killed but we also hauled Olaf’s body. Another mother would mourn in the village. We left four of the dead cubs with Lang. He could use the skins and cub meat was particularly tender. “Call it a gift for Yule.”
“Thank you, Jarl Dragon Heart, my family and I will sleep easier now knowing that the threat has gone.”
As we neared home and darkness fell I felt the ache from my arm and the pain in my body from the fall down the hillside. I would be battered and bruised for a few days but at least we had eliminated one threat. If I could do the same with the human one then I would, indeed, be happy.
Erika fussed over me and ensured that I rested. It was a good time to rest for the snow kept us trapped within our settlement. The brief window of days free from snow had only lasted long enough for us to kill the wolf pack. Even Cyninges-tūn Water froze. We all hunkered down to sit out the winter festival but we had food enough and now we had even more tales and songs to keep us entertained.
I wondered how they fared at Windar’s Mere. Úlfarrston would be subject to less of the snow as they were on the coast and I knew that the crews of our ships would be sheltering. Alf’s two ships, I hoped, would be tied up at Pasgen’s jetty and he would be enjoying the hospitality of the village. Lang’s prophecy had proved to be true. The snow lasted for another month. It did not fall as heavily but we were still trapped within its white walls. Old Man Olaf was keeping us prisoners.
It was Snorri and the Ulfheonar, bored within the confines of the halls, who first made contact with others. Ten days after the last snows had fallen there was
the steady drip of melting ice from the trees. They set off to try to reach Windar’s Mere. I still thought it was a risk but they were keen to get out.
They returned four days later. Rolf and Windar had suffered the same privations as we had. The difference was that they had not had the trauma of a wolf attack. I knew that we would learn from that. Finni would be a better leader as a result but it was sad that we had lost three children, two fine young warriors and another had lost his hand to learn that lesson.
The snow and ice were now melting rapidly and Haaken suggested a journey to Úlfarrston. “With the melting snow then we may be able to bring the ships up to Windar’s Mere. They will all need work.”
I was not convinced until Erika pointed out that Alf would have some of the trade goods that we would need. It was not just food which had been consumed in the winter. There were other things which we needed. Pots broke as did beakers and we had little clay to make our own. That decided me. We left one late winter’s morning to head down to Úlfarrston. I took the Ulfheonar and those who had hunted the wolves. We would initiate them in the spring but this would be a good test of their skills.
The trail was almost impossible to find. Nothing had moved down Cyninges-tūn Water since the snows had started. Snorri and Beorn had to use their memory and their skills to help us negotiate the tricky track. The further south we went the easier it became. By the time we reached Pasgen’s river the snow was not as deep and we could see signs that the melt was well on its way. The high mountains and valleys stopped the sun doing its work but here, in the south, it shone undiminished. We looked in amazement at Úlfarrston for it was free from snow. ‘Serpent’ and ‘Butar’ bobbed in the river and we could see the masts of our drekar around the bend in the river. It was like entering a different world.