by Griff Hosker
It was the traps in the forest my men had laid which alerted us. The sudden noise in the dark of night shattered the silence. The first one made me turn. Then there were others and a shout as one of the Danes found the spikes my men had cunningly hidden. I had stressed that we should not make a noise and show that we knew they were coming. I donned my helmet but I left my shield where it lay. I would not need that just yet. I reached down and took my bow. I strung it. I would soon need a new string but this one would suffice for the work we had to do.
I nocked an arrow and then watched the woods. I was pleased with Edward's men. They had held their silence. I suspect my own men had impressed upon them the need to obey all of my orders. I was not certain that they would have had the same effect had King Egbert been within the fort. Eorl Edward seemed a little out of his depth. I liked him and he was an honest man but he was a very inexperienced leader.
Aiden ghosted next to me and whispered close to my ear. "All the men are in place and the pig fat is bubbling well."
"Good then go to the hall and wait. They will need your healing skills. I fear they and we will need one soon." We had discovered that they had no healer within the fort. Aiden would have to fulfil that function. He had many herbs and potions. Kara was better but there were few others who could heal as well as he.
It was Snorri who released the first arrow. It plunged into the shoulder of the mailed warrior who silently emerged from the woods. Suddenly the eaves were filled with the Danes. I released three arrows and then put down my bow. It was hard to see the effect as they were shadowy figures who were our targets. There were others who could loose arrows. I needed to gauge the strength and the direction of the attack. I was looking for Guthrum. I had never seen him but I knew that he would have the best armour and he would be well protected. He would also be surrounded by his oathsworn; large mailed Danes with war axes. When he was not one of the first to move, under the shelter of a shield wall, towards our ditch then I knew that he was not reckless. That made me suspicious. Had the two hundred men we had seen been his only warriors? The ones who moved forward were not the oathsworn. Guthrum was doing as I did, he was waiting and watching.
"Eorl Edward, I will take a walk around the ramparts."
We were lucky having the river so close to the southern wall for it meant we only needed men on three sides. The river protected one side. I wondered why the Dane had not used his ships. That way he could have attacked all four sides at once. He was cautious but he lacked imagination. I was learning much about this Dane and I had never even seen him yet. The west wall was ominously quiet. Lundenwic lay in that direction and the buildings could be used for cover. Sigtrygg was in command on that wall.
"Sigtrygg I have the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. Look for a trick on this side."
Sigtrygg was a clever warrior. He could have led his own war band had he chosen but he was immensely loyal to me for I had saved his people from the King of Northumbria. "I too am suspicious. I have men watching the river."
I had forgotten that there were other ships tied up to the wharfs and jetties. Ours had been moved but they had not. Their crews had merely taken shelter with us. They had left their boats there and that could spell danger for us. "I should have thought of that. Well done."
The east wall had some sign of a Danish presence but the land to the south of Stybbanhype was marshy. They would only use that if they were desperate. By the time I returned to the north wall the shield wall had moved closer. The protection afforded by the shields had saved many lives but it had slowed them up. My men were now only loosing when they caught a sight of flesh.
Edward looked less nervous now. "There are many of them but we have hit at least ten."
"There will be few dead amongst those but we are weakening them. Once they reach the ditch then tell your men to be ready to rain death upon them. They cannot maintain their shields when dropping into the ditch and the traps and the mud will surprise them. Have the pig fat brought up ready to use."
I could see that Guthrum had committed half of his men to this first attack. It would probe for weaknesses. Now that they had closed a little I was able to see that these were not his oathsworn. He had better warriors available when we were softened up. These were the ones he could afford to waste. I slung my shield and drew my sword. "Watch for their archers!"
As soon as they were within fifty paces of the wall his archers rose from behind the shield wall. Our archers had the advantage that they were ready and the first four archers fell to our arrows. Eventually they managed to loose a few arrows. I heard a shout as we took our first casualty. One of the Wessex men clutched his arm. A greater danger were the slingers. They could shelter beneath the shields while releasing their stones and we suddenly found their missiles falling on us. For a man with a helmet it was an annoyance but some of the men of Wessex had no such helmets and some were stunned by the stones. I fear that if my men had not stood with them then it might have gone ill.
The first Danish warriors reached the ditch and this was the crucial time for both sets of warriors. The Danes were cautious. They almost lowered themselves into the ditch. They could not see what was in the bottom and the stakes had been disguised by mud. Even though they took care some of the first to descend were slain. Their bodies, some of them still writhing, protected the warriors behind. Some were half way across when the first warrior stepped on to a stake. He screamed and involuntarily threw his arms open. An arrow plunged into his chest and at such a close range it penetrated the mail.
The Danes were now struggling up the bank towards the wall. "Have the pig fat ready!"
We had assigned Leofric's disparaged tanners and the like to bring the vessels of hot, smoking fat. I saw that Cwoenthryth was one of the first. I should have known it. She was used to hefting barrels around, dealing with hot liquids and, more importantly handling drunken warriors. There was little about a battle which would discomfort Cwoenthryth. She smiled. "Jarl may I be the one to throw it? It is hard to listen to others fighting for you."
"Of course." I held my shield above her. She edged to the stone and then threw the jar of boiling fat to the bottom of the wall. There was a scream of pain which rippled down the wall as the hot fat splashed and spread.
She giggled, "I shall get more, Jarl!"
The warrior the vessel had struck began to scream as the liquid found his flesh. I watched in fascinated horror as he squirmed and writhed in the ditch until he managed, somehow, to impale himself on a spike in the bottom. There was almost a look of peace upon his face.
I began to think we might win as more vessels were hurled at the Danes who sheltered beneath their shields. Suddenly a warrior ran to me. "Jarl, Sigtrygg says they are attacking from the river. He needs help."
I knew that he would not ask for help unless matters were desperate. "Haaken continue fighting. I will take some of these men." I saw his hand raised in acknowledgement. "Have fire arrows prepared!" His waved hand told me that he had understood.
I tapped warriors as I moved along the ramparts. I chose equally from the men of Wessex and my men. "You come with me!"
By the time I reached Sigtrygg I saw that the Danes were trying to climb the wall. There would be a time for explanations later although I did see boats tied up close to the walls.
A warrior of Wessex was thrown from the wall as a Dane leapt over the top. I was the closest to him and I had the warriors I had brought behind me. My sword was on the wall side. I held the shield tightly to me and I ran at the Dane. He had the freedom to swing his sword at me. It smacked into my shield as I hit him hard. He was not expecting that move. The blow had made him a little unstable so that when I swung my sword around he tumbled backwards and landed on the floor below. There was a gaggle of women and boys there. They fell upon him and beat him to death with their hands and their knives.
I saw that Sigtrygg was hard pressed. As I ran to him I shouted, "Fill in the gaps and stop them getting into the fort. If they gain th
e gates then we are dead!"
I rammed my sword through the back of the warrior who triumphantly raised his axe above his head to finish off Sigtrygg. Bjorn Carved Teeth contemptuously barged another warrior out of the way as he led the reinforcements towards the eastern end of the south wall. A Dane turned, his shield before him and his sword poised to hack into me. I swung Ragnar's Spirit sideways and the edge slid up the shield to knock off his helmet. The press of men was so close that there was barely room to move and I head butted him. I must have knocked him unconscious for he tumbled over the wall to land on his fellow below. He too was hacked to death by the angry women.
I felt a blow on my back. I rammed the pommel of my sword backward and heard an intake of breath. I swung to my right and found myself face to face with a huge Dane wielding an axe. He had a slung shield. As I came around I brought my sword across his body. It sliced through the mail links but his stout leather byrnie prevented any more damage. There was barely enough room for him to swing his axe and the blow which struck my shield was weak. He was however a big man. Even worse was the fact that more Danes had made the walls and Sigtrygg and I were fighting back to back. Guthrum's men knew that we were Ulfheonar and the leaders on this wall. Our deaths would mean they had the wall and thereby the fort. They were almost fighting each other to get at us.
I pushed again with my shield so that the Dane could not use his axe and, as he stepped backwards, I hooked my right leg behind his left. The movement of his arm over his head with the axe was fatal. He fell backwards to the ground. This time there was no need for the women to finish him off. We all heard the crack as his back broke.
The respite was momentary. The space occupied by the huge Dane was now taken by two smaller warriors with swords. Suddenly there was a whoosh from my left and an arrow transfixed one of the Danes. As this companion looked to see the danger I stabbed him with my sword. I now had two bodies before me and I looked to the left. Erik had brought the ships over to the northern bank of the river and he, his ships boys and the guards I had left were sending arrows towards the Danes who were ascending the walls. At the same time there was a roar of flame from the north wall as Haaken ignited the pig fat which had been thrown. There was a collective scream as shields soaked in pig fat ignited.
A young half naked Dane ran towards me and, using his dead companions as steps, he launched himself at me. I swung my sword which deflected his seax and then hacked into his neck. His bleeding body fell to join his companions below. The Danes began to flee. We had held them. I turned to Sigtrygg. He had a bad cut along his lower arm and I saw him wincing as he moved.
"I will get you to Aiden."
He nodded as I took his weight. "I knew they were up to something. They used the boats from the jetty and sailed to the unguarded river. There were not as many stakes there. Had Erik not brought the drekar things would have gone ill." He smiled, "I owe you my life again, Jarl."
"As you have done before for me. It is why we are Ulfheonar." Just then we passed the body of Bjorn Carved Teeth. He too had helped save Sigtrygg and now he lay with a half severed head. The sword in his hand told me that he was in Valhalla. It had been a good death.
After I had taken Sigtrygg to Aiden I went back to the north wall. We had paid a price for their clever attack and we would have empty benches when we returned home. I peered into the ditch. Some of the bodies were still smoking whilst others were blackened, charred, corpses. Haaken had not escaped unscathed. He sported a dented helmet and a hand which had been sliced by a seax. He shrugged, "I was lucky."
I looked into the forest where the Danes were dragging their wounded. They had left behind many fine warriors.
Haaken laughed, "And you were lucky too, Jarl Dragon Heart." He tapped my shoulder. I looked and saw the effect of the Danish axe. "A blow has almost cut through your fine Greek armour. The spirits watched over you again."
"And I am grateful."
A slow, rhythmic banging of shields began as the men of Cyninges-tūn began chanting, "Dragon Heart" over and over. It was taken up by the men of Wessex and only ended when I raised my sword and yelled, "Odin!"
Wyrd!
Chapter 7
My men went over the battlefield despatching those who were dying and binding those whom we could enslave. There were not many of the latter. My warriors took the arms, armour and treasure of the vanquished. We had paid a high price. Arturus, in particular, was upset by the loss of five of his young warriors. I left my men to continue their grisly task and sought Eorl Edward. He had survived but his helmet and armour showed that he had done his part. Leofric had a bad wound to his leg for he had worn a short byrnie. Aiden later told me that he would limp for the rest of his life.
"Well, Eorl Edward, we drove them off and the people of Lundenwic did not suffer."
We were walking through their village on the way to my hall. "Aye but they will need to rebuild and repair some of them."
"Daub and wattle are easier to replace than lives. They will be stronger."
My drekar were tied up when we arrived. "Well done Erik, that was smartly done."
"It was young Karl who spotted the boats and he alerted us."
"You will all be rewarded and share in our success." I had wanted Edward alone to talk about our next move. I was not certain of the loyalty of all of the inhabitants. Those who had fled might just be the ones we knew about and there could have been others. "He may be back. We did not kill enough of his men to discourage them. He has more and he can send to Denmark too. There are many landless warriors who will fight for gold."
"I am not certain we could withstand another such attack. They came perilously close to succeeding."
"We learn from their actions and prevent them using our own boats against us. I sent mine to Suthriganaworc."
It was a criticism and Edward acknowledged it. "Perhaps this task is too great for me."
"No, you are a good leader and your father will be proud."
"Hopefully he will return soon."
"In the meantime if you have horses I will take some of my men and follow them."
"I am sorry we have but four."
"Then four will have to do."
I took Snorri, Bjorn the Scout and Cnut with me. Arturus was disappointed when I told him he would be staying.
"I need you here for your warriors. They had a hard fight and will need to recover."
"What you really mean is that I will need time to recover."
I shrugged, "I think that your mind will be on the dead for a day or two and besides I am taking scouts with me. That is the reason for their selection."
The four horses were larger than the ponies we used at home but not by much. We deigned armour. We had no intention of fighting. That also made it much easier on the horses. We found the first dead Dane not far from the fort. He had fallen behind and just died of his wounds. He had been speared in the stomach. That sort of wound was always fatal but rarely immediate. We took his treasures and weapons from him; he had no armour. There was a ditch nearby and we laid him in it and covered him with dead wood. It would not keep the scavengers away but it afforded the dead Dane a little dignity. We found another five before we left the forest. All had laid down with their swords in their hands.
Snorri had shaken his head as we had laid the last one in a ditch by the road along which we travelled. "His brothers in arms could not have thought much of him if they left him."
"None of them were the oathsworn of Guthrum. Many of these would have been hired warriors. Some would have come alone and many of the others might have lost their companions in the fight. We are lucky, Snorri, we fight for each other and we leave no man unburied and no warrior behind."
Once we had found our last body I sent Snorri and Bjorn the Scout ahead. Cnut and I followed more slowly. Our two scouts did not need to be encumbered by our presence. They would move faster and more silently without us. We were now able to speak. "What do you intend next, Jarl Dragon Heart?"
"Y
ou do not think we should stay here for a while?"
"I do not like fighting for Saxons. We could go home now for Wiglaf and the other glory hunters know where we are."
"I know your reasons are good but it does not feel right."
"The spirits?"
"Aye and the Norns. When it is right then we will return home but let us wait at least one more moon. We can still make it home for midsummer."
"Or we could raid. We have only found a few slaves."
I laughed, "Cnut, the treasure seeker. Perhaps we will." I rubbed my chin. "I have thought of raiding the east coast, north of the Dunum. We shall see."
Snorri and Bjorn the Scout returned an hour after they had left us. They pointed to the north. "They have made a camp. I think they are awaiting reinforcements."
"I thought that they had given up too easily. You have done well. How many remain?"
"There are at least forty with mail and sixty or seventy others. We saw that some had gone hunting. We had best return to Lundenwic. They might see us and I fear they have no love for Ulfheonar!"
Eorl Edward could not hide his disappointment when I told him that it was not over. "I had thought we had bloodied their noses."
"We did but not enough. We will have to hope that your father returns. What of the fyrd? Could they be called to arms?"
"Perhaps. I will send my men out to find more warriors but it is the season for sowing and working their fields." I said nothing. That was their problem and not mine. "Could you not raid Here Wic again?"
"There would be little point. They will not have started rebuilding and the men who were there will be on their way to join Guthrum. And the traps in the woods will not work a second time. At least they will not come at night next time. It will be dawn so that they can see the ditches and they will bring faggots and bundles to help them across. The Danes are quick learners."