by Griff Hosker
We reached the island in the early afternoon. I saw smoke from a turf covered house. There were Norse people on the isle. We headed in for the beach which lay on the other side of the headland. It was well hidden from the settlement. It was a small beach and we disembarked where the water was chest height. "Erik I am taking all of the warriors with me. Siggi and Trygg have crew and they will come aboard. Stand off shore and out of sight to their forts. Come for us tomorrow when the tides and weather are right. By then we should have accomplished what we came for. If not then you can pick us up and we shall sail for Duboglassio."
"We will manage, jarl." His face wrinkled up, "Save Aiden, Jarl, he is a good man and a friend. I would not lose him."
"Nor will we."
Fifty warriors stepped ashore. The moment we landed Snorri and Bjorn the Scout leapt off like greyhounds. I turned to Sven Gold Beard, the leader of Arturus' warriors. "Your warriors will form the second line behind us. I fear that when the alarm is given there will be warriors coming from all over the island. You will have to protect our backs."
He smiled, "It will be an honour, Jarl Dragon Heart."
As we climbed I saw the old wooden tower rising in the distance. Although below the top of the mountain it was a good vantage point. We had had a fort there when Prince Butar had ruled but it had since fallen into disrepair. The only part which remained was the tower. We moved in the lee of the slope so that we were shielded from view by the trees and shrubs which dotted the hillside. We each wore our wolf cloaks which made us harder to see. Sunlight does not reflect from an animal skin.
We were less than three miles from Hrams-a when Snorri and Bjorn the Scout materialised from the ferns. "It is as you feared Jarl. They have a cross built close to the tower. I did not see Aiden but there is a drekar close by the beach and its crew are waiting."
"They must be guarding Aiden well away from Duboglassio."
Haaken was not so certain. "The cross may be there to execute him if we do not come."
"Then why erect it here? And besides there is Kara's vision. When have you ever known her to be wrong?"
"Never!"
"Tell me Bjorn the Scout, was there still a patch of dead ground where the hall stood?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"In the dream Kara saw my mother dying. She was not here then. It was the spirit of my mother which summoned us." I took out my sword. "Now we become Ulfheonar. Arturus' men will guard our backs. We find Aiden, kill these warriors and sail home."
"You will not punish this Erik Redbeard?"
"There will be a time for this but not yet. We do not have enough warriors yet. Snorri and Bjorn the Scout, take scouts and eliminate any sentries. We will follow." As they trotted off I said, "Sigtrygg, take five warriors and occupy the tower. You can keep watch there for any other warriors."
I led the rest of my Ulfheonar; there were not many of us, and we trotted through the ferns towards the old stad of Hrams-a. The ridge hid it from our view. Had these warriors had any sense then they would have had sentries there. When we neared the top of the ridge we flattened ourselves and peered through the ferns. I could not see my men but I knew that they would already have disposed of the sentries above the beach. I saw the huddle of warriors and spied the smoke from their fire. The port still had its jetty and they were on the beach to one side. Their backs were to us.
I waved my men forward and we slithered and crept towards the shore. We came upon Snorri and the others just at the edge of the ferns and the bushes. "Have you seen Aiden yet?"
Grim faced he said, "Aye Jarl Dragon Heart. If you look at the fire. They are roasting his feet."
Snorri had sharp eyes and he was right. I could see my Galdramenn being poked by the warriors. They were laughing and jeering at his pain. We could wait no longer. I jabbed my spear into the ground raised my sword and then ran towards the drekar and the fire. Bjorn the Scout and Snorri did not run. They strung their bows.
As the warriors realised they were being attacked they grabbed their weapons and turned to face us. One of the men closest to the fire raised his sword to end Aiden's life. An arrow took him in the chest. I ran as though I had wings on my feet. I was the first to reach the flimsy shield wall. My shield bowled over two of them as my sword ripped into the side of another. One of Bjorn the Scout's arrows hit the second warrior who attempted to kill Aiden. My Ulfheonar were showing no mercy to the men of Mann and when Arturus' men flooded over the ridge all fight went from the enemy and they fled to the drekar which had its sail lowered and was already beginning to move away from the jetty.
I left my men to finish off the warriors who were attempting to flee and I pulled Aiden away from the fire. The bottoms of his feet were scorched from the flames. I wondered if he would ever walk again. "It hurts, jarl but they will heal. Just do not expect me to walk too far this night." Even though he must have been in excruciating pain he was still my Galdramenn.
I cut the bonds which bound his hands and handed him a skin of water. "I will return in a moment," I ran to the jetty. Only a handful of warriors had made the safety of the ship and even as they sailed towards Duboglassio arrows were still pitching men from the ship. It mattered not. Erik Redbeard would know that his plan had failed. He would be upon us in a matter of hours and our ships would not be here until the next day.
We would worry about that later. We had time now to see to Aiden and then to plan. "Sven Gold Beard, strip the bodies of any weapons, armour and treasure then give their bodies to the sea. Tostig. Take the Ulfheonar and join Sigtrygg. Build a beacon fire. When Redbeard attacks then we will light it and try to attract the attention of Erik Short Toe. You should find some old timbers from the fort. They should burn."
Haaken and Cnut joined me with Aiden. Haaken said, "I am sorry you were captured, Aiden. It was our fault."
"No Haaken, it was wyrd. The Norns planned this." He looked at me. "These warriors are from Orkneyjar."
"I know."
"They have as Redbeard's right hand men, the oathsworn of Sven Knife Tongue."
"You are certain?"
He gave a grim laugh and pulled open his tunic to show where they had carved a crude dragon on his chest using a knife. "Oh yes and they took great pleasure in reminding me that I was at their mercy. This whole plan is their idea. Their leader is Torgil the Cunning. Redbeard is just a brute of a warrior who rules with an iron fist. He does not know it but they are using him."
"Then this was a trap?"
"Aye. I have tried to communicate with the spirits but I did not know if it worked."
"It did, Kara saw this and that is why we did not go to Duboglassio. How would the plan have worked? "
"You would have seen one small drekar in the harbour. The other three were on the other side of the headland to the south west of Duboglassio; close to where Olaf and Rolf ruled. They have watchers on the two headlands and they would have lit fires to summon the drekar. These warriors would have taken me to the hillside and nailed me to the cross. Redbeard seemed amused by the thought of killing a Hibernian that way. For some reason he thinks that all Hibernians are Christians. I think Torgil planted that idea. Torgil certainly chose this site. He said it was fitting that the place where you lived and your mother burned to death should be the place their whelp, as he called me, should perish. He also liked the idea that it was the closest place to Cyninges-tūn. It would be the last place I saw before I died and he hoped it would be seen from our land as a reminder of his cunning. If I were Redbeard I would fear Torgil more than us. Torgil is using him."
"And how many men does Erik Redbeard have?"
"He had a hundred and thirty but you have killed many here. He has perhaps a hundred left but there are more spread around the island."
"Do not worry Aiden, Erik Short Toe brings our ship back tomorrow."
"Then we need to survive the night."
"And something tells me that we were meant to be there, at the tower."
All three of them nodded
and murmured, "Wyrd!"
Chapter 17
Haaken and Cnut carried Aiden up the hill. I collected our spears and joined them. My warriors were tough men but they all felt the pain Aiden was enduring. He was as much a warrior as they were. Tostig had just finished building the fire. It was quite high as there had been some large timbers for him to use. I pointed to the cross, "Tear that down and throw that on the fire too."
I gathered them around me. "Erik Redbeard will be coming here soon with his warriors. They will come to finish us off. We will be outnumbered by two to one and we have no means of escape until tomorrow." I pointed to the tower, which now looked a little unstable. Cnut and I once stood sentry here on top of this tower and then Odin sent his lightning bolt to make my sword the most powerful weapon in the world." Even the Ulfheonar could not resist looking up at the tower, now framed by thickening clouds and a darkening sky. "We were meant to come here. The Norns sent us to face Bjarki and his wolf warriors and now they send us back here to see how we fare against the men of Orkneyjar. They are testing to see if we are worthy warriors. Many of you have fought on this isle and on this mountain before." I pointed to the Garlic River. "Bjorn the Scout earned the right to be Ulfheonar there in that very valley when even the great Sweyn could not find him. Redbeard has made a mistake if he thinks he can best us here. This was our land and we can show the men of Orkneyjar that when it comes to fighting, they are children and we are the warriors!"
They all gave a cheer and began banging their shields. It told the island that the Ulfheonar had returned.
"Rest now. They cannot be here in less than two hours. Have food and try to sleep. We form a circle at the top of this hill. Arturus' warriors and Ulfheonar standing side by side. We let them come to us. Use the hill, your bows, your spears and finally your swords to drive them hence."
As the men heeded my words we made Aiden as comfortable as we could. He was in pain but he told us that the healing would begin when he returned to Kara's house of women. "Cnut, come with me."
Tostig pointed up at the skies. "It will rain tonight, Jarl. We will never light the wood if it is wet. I saw some oil in the old settlement. I will pour that on top and then cover it with the cloaks of the dead warriors."
"Good thinking Tostig."
He shrugged, "I have no desire to be on this island any longer than I need to be. I wish to be back in Wolf's Lair with a fine fire burning!"
I led Cnut to the tower and we climbed. Even though it was now old and rickety I knew that we would not fall. I still had Ragnar's Spirit strapped to my side. By the time we reached the top darkness had fallen but I could see, a way off in the distance, lights as the men of Orkneyjar trekked from Duboglassio. They were many miles away yet. They would have to ascend the mountain and then drop down before climbing again. It would sap energy from legs and make their arms weary from carrying weapons.
"We will not be able to see them approach."
"The lights they carry, Jarl, will help us."
"Then if Redbeard is a fool for we will know where he is but if, as Aiden says, Torgil the Cunning does the planning then when they reach the mountain they will douse their lights. I will send Bjorn the Scout and Snorri up here with fire arrows and flints. When the lights are doused they can watch and loose fire arrows to light the night."
Cnut pointed to the skies. "I fear, Jarl, that tonight it will rain and there will be a storm."
I laughed and patted him around the shoulders, "Then that is perfect. Remember the last storm here?"
We descended both laughing at the circle we had just made. It had started here and it would end here. I sat next to Aiden and pulled my other cloak around my shoulder. My wolf cloak was warm but the drizzle had begun and I knew that soon I would be soaked to the skin. I smiled, "Something amuses you Jarl?"
"Aye Aiden, the thought of those warriors trekking through this. It will become harder. Do you remember when we lived here?"
"I do. If there were clouds on the horizon then it would soon rain and if there were none then it had just been raining!"
"How are the feet?"
"They will recover."
"And did you discover anything new in the libraries of Miklagård?"
"I did and they should be in my chest on the drekar."
"It was taken to Wolf's Lair."
"My trials had driven it from my mind but I now know the secret of the Roman Cement. I know how the Romans were able to build such high buildings. In short I can make our lives and our world much better."
"Good."
"And your mission?"
"Wiglaf is dead!" I told him of our adventures concluding with the hill fort and returning with the three girls.
"I think you are right Jarl. The Norns did send them." He pulled the cloak I had given him tighter around his shoulders for the rain was now drumming down upon us. "Why do you think that the Weird Sisters take such an interest in us or, more specifically, you, Jarl?"
"I know not but the caves beneath Wyddfa showed me a thread which travels back through time. Perhaps the sisters weave that web to make the future stronger. I think they just use me to their own ends. We are mortals and we have to live this life we are given. It may be we find all when we die and that is why the sprits are there." I pointed to the tower. "When the fighting begins then you take shelter there."
He nodded, "I will take a weapon. I cannot move but they shall not take me without a fight."
The intensity of the rain was increasing and the wind began to swirl. The tower began to creak alarmingly. "Come, we will build a shelter there now. Haaken, Cnut."
We helped Aiden to the shelter of the old tower and used some of the timbers Tostig had not needed to prop up a cloak. It made a drier sheltered place for Aiden. The tower protected us from the worst of the wind.
Sigtrygg descended from the tower. "The lights went out Jarl. It may have been the rain." He chuckled, "I do not envy Snorri and Bjorn the Scout their eyrie tonight." He huddled closer to the old wooden walls of the tower. "It moves at the top! I confess I was hanging on."
I nodded, "It always did so, even when new. It will stand a little longer." I cupped my hand. It was hard to make myself heard above the wind and the torrential rain which was lashing down relentlessly. "Snorri, Bjorn the Scout, up into the tower." As they went I shouted, "Stand to! They are closing."
I went to the southern side of the hill. It was the direction many of them would use. If they had any sense then they would send some men along the Garlic Valley and others around our western flank. I had many of Arturus' men and some Ulfheonar there. However neither route was easy. The Garlic Valley was steep and slippery whilst the western approach was over a rock filled scree. In this rain their footing would be uncertain.
We stood quite close to the tower. The ground fell away before us. When they reached us they would be tired from their march and I hoped that the last few steps would afford us an advantage. The spears we brought would reach over the shields and a falling man was like a tumbling rock. He would begin an avalanche of bodies.
Bjorn the Scout came slithering down the rickety ladder from the wooden tower. "We cannot light arrows, jarl. They are close. We caught sight of them less than five hundred paces away."
"Use your arrows anyway and then get down here."
As he scurried back up there was a distant rumble of thunder out to the west and then a short while later a flash in the western sky. It was a momentary flash but Haaken shouted, "I see them."
Our archers prepared their bows. I dropped my cloak and pulled the wolf's head over my helmet. They would see Dragon Heart and his wolf warriors when they ascended and they would feel the fury of my sword. There was another rumble. I counted in my head and when I reached fifteen there was another flash and I saw the men from the north less than a hundred paces away coming up the slope.
"Release!"
The archers loosed their arrows. I heard shouts but we could see nothing. We would have to wait either for another f
lash or to spy them when they closed. Snorri and Bjorn the Scout joined me. "We can do little up there. Besides I am not certain that Odin would touch my sword. He is more likely to rid the world of me!"
"Take your places then."
"There is one thing though, Jarl. There are only seventy or eighty of them. We were able to get a rough estimate from the flashes."
I frowned. Had the rest fallen by the wayside? "Tell the men to the north to keep watch. Aiden maybe right and this Torgil may be a more cunning opponent than we have met before."
We saw them before the next rumble. I pulled my shield tight to my body and held my spear with its head pointed down. Even in the dark and with the rain falling I could see them as the rain glinted off the metal of their helmets. They were less than ten paces away and I could see them struggling for their footing. Inevitably it was the young ones who wore no or little armour who were the first to reach us. One giant, with a helmet, a shield and a spear pointed his weapon at me as he launched himself the last few paces towards me. He lunged with his spear. It slid off the slick surface of the shield and I stabbed down over the rim of his shield. The blade went through his eye which was staring at me. As it struck bone I twisted and pulled. His body tumbled backwards and rolled down the hill scything down others who were struggling to climb.
It gave me a respite. There was another rumble and, again I counted to fifteen. In the flash I saw Redbeard. He had his mail adorned oathsworn in a wedge and they were thirty paces from me. Unlike the young giant I had just slain these were coming more slowly and cautiously. Around me some of the warriors on the flanks were pressing my warriors and they were being forced back.
I looked around me. Sigtrygg, Haaken and Cnut were there along with some of Arturus' men. "Form a shield wall around me! Redbeard is coming for me. If we can defeat him and his oathsworn the rest will fall."