by Griff Hosker
I was determined to keep a clear head but I fear I was the only one. Ulf drank as though tomorrow would never come. In truth I did not blame him. He had had to walk to the feast using the broken shaft of a spear and the beer would numb the pain in his knee. The healers had done their best but the blade had scored his bone. Even when it healed it would ache. The others who drank as much as Ulf, had no excuse save that they had fought in a great battle. The food was plentiful if not particularly well cooked. That was to be understood. I ate because I was hungry and the food stopped the beer going directly to my head.
Before he became too drunk Jarl Gunnstein Berserk Killer stood. "When Jarl Gunnar Thorfinnson asked for my daughter Hallgerd to be his wife I knew him to be a good man and a fine Jarl. After today I know that he and his crew are more than that, they are heroes all!"
This was the cause for even more applause.
He leaned over to me, "And I have to tell these two champions that I have another daughter, Hlif, who I would be more than happy to give as a bride to such men as you."
Ulf was already incoherent and so I answered, "That is a fine offer, Jarl but until I have my own drekar I cannot be the husband your daughter deserves."
I saw Siggi nodding. I had said the right thing. "A good answer but I feel it will not be long before Hrolf the Horseman leads his own band of warriors. Jarl Dragonheart told me that you had something about you and today I saw it."
I saw the briefest of frowns flicker across the face of Jarl Gunnar Thorfinnson. Then he smiled broadly and shouted, "And he will make a good leader too!"
"In that case I can only offer you gold!" he waved his hand and Thorgeir walked over. He carried two golden objects in his hands. "These are two of the torcs from the dead Hibernians. Their chiefs wear them and they are ancient. I give them to you with the promise that when you visit my city you will both be exempt from taxes and shall stay in my hall."
I stood, "I thank the Jarl for both of us. It was an honour to fight alongside you and your brave warriors. I was among heroes this day!"
Once again it was the right thing to say. Everyone banged the table again. I sat and prayed that the speeches were over.
They were. I was close enough to the two Jarls to hear their conversation. "After the battle I sent my scouts to find out what they could. The enemy is in complete disarray. They have fled to the west. Then our allies said that they left their wounded to be slain by their scouts They are many miles away now! It was a complete victory. The alliance is broken asunder. We captured a couple of Munster warriors. Before they died they told us that the King of Munster is angry at being left on the field. He did not lose many men but he feels let down. In a month or so I will send emissaries. If I can ally with him too then the High King will never dream of trying to attack me again."
"I am pleased that we could help."
"You could have your own land here too, you know? These savages do not know how to fight. We lost less than forty men today and there are almost a hundred and fifty of theirs slain not counting the wounded and those who will never fight again. Had we had better allies or horsemen then we could have ended the threat permanently."
"I may take you up on your offer but we still have much to do on my island. Neustria is weak and we can raid there at will. The land of the Saxons also offers much opportunity for profit. From what I have seen of this island there is little coin to be made here."
Although he leaned in to speak privately I still heard his words for he was drunk and speaking loudly. "You do not take money, you let people trade in your town and protect them. You make your money from the taxes. You tax the ships which moor, you tax those who buy and you tax those who sell. They are willing to pay, believe me. It is a simpler way to make money than risking life and limb. That was fine when I was a young warrior, now I like my comfort."
The discussion was ended when the entertainment, in the shape of acrobats, arrived. I had much to think on as I watched the successful warriors drink themselves into a stupor.
Chapter 16
I had to stay until the end. Ulf was to sleep on the drekar but he would not leave the feast while the Jarl was in the hall. So it was that we were amongst the last to leave. Siggi was able to stand and so the two of us carried Ulf back. He was heavy and it took some time. We were the last ones to head back to the drekar. Our berth was at the far end of the quay and we had to negotiate many warriors who had just fallen asleep wherever they fell. They lay in the streets, under tables. They were everywhere. Ulf was a hardened drinker and he was not unconscious. He might not be able to walk but he could talk or ramble, at least. He mumbled to us as we walked, "We showed them half naked wild men? Eh Hrolf? We showed them."
He was not waiting for a reply. I glanced at him and his eyes had closed. Siggi chuckled, "He is right, Hrolf. Perhaps we should stay here. There would be no danger from men like that." He hiccupped. It seemed to take him by surprise. Despite the fact that he sounded as though he was making sense he was still drunk for he giggled. The huts and buildings were close together as this part of the town was close to the river. It was a popular place to live. At the end of one narrow alley way leading to the river a group of warriors was drunkenly fighting. I heard no metal on metal, just the sound of fists striking flesh. It would not do to get involved and besides I was tired.
"Let us slip down here."
We turned down a narrow passageway behind a large storehouse. No one had decide to sleep here and we found the going easier. I knew we were close to our drekar and just had to turn right at the end of the storehouse and walk alongside it to reach our drekar which lay at the end of the warehouse. Had Ulf Big Nose not been drunk I have no doubt that he would have smelled them but he did not. Just before we turned I caught their smell. It was the same smell as the concoction they used to spike their hair. There were Hibernians nearby.
"Siggi! Danger!"
Drunk or not Siggi trusted me and my judgement. His hand went to his seax, "Then let us get back to the drekar and be away!"
As we turned to move towards the river I saw them. There were four of them. They stood twenty paces away at the end of the warehouse. They were waiting. It was an ambush. Ulf chose that moment to let out the loudest belch I have ever heard. They turned and, seeing us, just raced towards us with weapons drawn. We dropped Ulf and, drawing our seaxes stepped over him to defend his defenceless body. Siggi roared, "Raven Wing! Raven Wing!"
I prayed that there was a deck watch who would hear us. We were outnumbered two to one and we had been drinking. I doubted that the four wild men who hurtled towards us had. They were armed with short swords and daggers And I saw that they had had cloaks to disguise them. That gave me hope. The passage was narrow and they would not be able to swing as freely with a cloak about their shoulders. I was faster than Siggi and as we closed I decided to use one of their tricks. I dived and rolled at the leading warrior. He did not see my move until the last moment but, even so he almost caught my head as he swung his sword. I hit him with my outstretched hand and seax. It drove deep within his guts. I kept hold as I landed and I twisted. He gave a scream which sounded like the death throe of a wild animal. Warm blood cascaded over me. My shoulder crashed into the shin of a second man who could not swing for fear of hitting his companion.
I sprang to my feet and reached up to grab the sword hand of this second warrior. I heard a noise from the end of the storehouse. Someone had heard our cries and there was the sound of noise from the drekar. Even if it was just the ship's boys then we might have a chance. The warrior whose sword I held stabbed at me with his dagger. Instinctively, in the dark I fended it off with my seax. The blades rang together. I stamped down on his foot. I knew they did not wear boots. At the same time I pushed his sword hand against the warehouse and twisted my seax. The edge found his leg and I sawed back and forth. I felt his blood begin to pour. He pulled his left arm back and stabbed at me again. I was slower this time and I felt his dagger slide across my back. I felt blood drip.
I must have cut something vital in his leg for he went limp in my arms. I whipped around. One warrior lay trying to hold his guts in but the fourth had raised his hand and was about to decapitate an unconscious Siggi whose body lay draped over Ulf. I pulled my arm back and drove the seax up through his ribs. As his back arced I grabbed his sword hand. I pushed up into his body diagonally. When my fingers touched the jagged edge of his ribs he stopped moving. I had pierced his heart.
Sven the Helmsman and Harold Fast Sailing appeared armed with a half dozen ship's boys. "What happened Hrolf?"
"Treachery! We were ambushed. Siggi is hurt. We must get help."
We carried the two of them back to the drekar. Some of those less drunk than the others were staring at us as though they were dreaming. I saw the Eriksson brothers, "There are four dead and wounded Hibernians. Fetch them aboard we need to find out where they came from."
They hesitated and Sven snapped, "Do it!" They both nodded and left. "Fetch light. Karl Swift Foot stand guard at the end of the gangplank."
Ulf looked no different save that, having been laid down, he had fallen asleep but Siggi had been wounded. There was blood on his head and his white hair was stained red but it was his side where we saw the serious wound. He had been stabbed. We stripped him and saw that he had a deep wound to his side. It bled. If we did nothing he would die. Hold him still!" Sven grabbed the torch which Sigurd, the ship's boy, had brought and he held it to the wound. Siggi, although unconscious jerked and thrashed in our arms. There was the smell of burning hair and flesh. Smoke rose but when he pulled the torch away we could see that the bleeding had stopped. Harold poured water over the wound to cool it. "Cover him in furs. Sigurd, watch him."
As Sven the Helmsman turned with the torch Harold Fast Sailing shouted, "Hrolf, you are wounded too!"
I had forgotten the wound I had suffered. They pulled my kyrtle from me. Oddly the thought which came into my head was not the wound but the cut. Mary would not be happy that her good work had been ruined. "Hold the sheerstrake while I examine it." I grabbed the sheerstrake with both hands and peered into the black water of the river.
I felt his hand, amazingly gentle, as he ran it over the wound. He said nothing but I suddenly felt heat and then had the most vicious pain I had ever felt. I dropped to my knees as he seared my side too. When Harold threw water upon the seared wound it felt like a blessed relief.
They helped me to my feet. Rurik had risen and the sights, sounds and smells had helped to sober him. "You were lucky there, Hrolf. It will just be a fine scar you have to show to your grandchildren. You will live and that is good."
The four dead Hibernians had been brought aboard. Each clan had different symbols and markings. I noticed that these four all had long hair and it was not tied back. They had it spiked and it was in the style of Connor mac Murchad, the man I had killed in single combat.
"These look to be those we fought today but how did they get into the town unseen? The Jarl said his scouts had said our enemies were all fled. And there were sentries on the gates. There is treachery afoot."
"We will have to keep watch this night for I fear the feast has dulled the senses of all those within these walls. Tomorrow we must unravel the knot!"
I donned an old kyrtle and wrapped myself in a cloak. The pain from the cauterized wound would not let me sleep and so I sat with Sven and Harold and we kept watch. Dawn seemed to take an age to arrive. I had time to think. The four had been waiting for Ulf and me. The place they had chosen to wait meant that they could watch as we came back down the quayside. They were looking for us specifically. Had we not deviated because of the fight then they would have had us before we could draw our weapons. It was only the fact that I had smelled them first which had allowed us to avoid death. Had these dead men been oathsworn? Had they come of their own accord or had someone ordered them? I did not know these people nor how they thought. The Franks and the Bretons would not have done this. They would have had vengeance but used different methods. This was a quick and deadly response to a combat initiated by the dead brothers. I did not understand it.
Ulf woke first. He sat up and rubbed his head. "That was a drink and no mistake." He turned and looked at Siggi lying next to him. He laughed, "That is the first time the old goat has had more to drink than me."
I held my hand to help him up. "He was wounded, Ulf. We were ambushed last night by these four." I pointed to the bodies which lay by the mast.
He became alert. "The two of you slew four killers?"
Sven nodded, "Aye and Hrolf suffered a serious wound too."
Ulf clasped my arm, "Does Jarl Gunnar know of this?"
"No. We have yet to speak with him."
He shook his head, "I should have been like you, Hrolf, and drunk less. I thought we were safe here."
We donned our mail for there had to be retribution for this treacherous attack. My back felt tender even with the padded kyrtle between the mail and my new wound. We were about to leave when Gunnstein Gunnarson, who had stayed close by the Jarl, ran up. "There has been murder. The guards at the north gate have been slain."
Sven the Helmsman pointed to the cloak covered bodies, "And we have killed their killers."
"I had best return to the hall. They will wish to know this."
As men came back and heard the story they armed. Siggi was almost a father to us all. He was the eldest of the warriors and the fact that he had come so close to death made them angry. He stirred not long after Gunnstein had left us. His groan made us turn.
"I thought to wake in Valhalla. What happened?"
They looked at me. "You were knocked out and the last Hibernian was going to slay you. I killed him."
"I owe you a life, Hrolf."
"No Siggi for I owe you far more and it was Sven who sealed the wound." I pointed to the cloaks, "These four murdered the guards at the gates. That is how they gained entry."
He nodded, "I feared treachery. This is just incompetence from the guards but they have paid with their lives."
Jarl Gunnstein appeared along with Jarl Gunnar and their hearth-weru. The Jarl of Dyflin uncovered the bodies. He scowled, "They are the kin of Connor mac Murchad. I recognise the clan markings."
We looked at our Jarl. It was for him to question his father in law. He asked, "But the scouts said that the enemy had fled west. How did they come from the north?"
He looked bleakly at Jarl Gunnar, "They did not do their job. I should have sent my scouts. I apologise. The fault is mine. I have lost men and yours have been wounded when you were my guests. I will make amends. We will hunt this clan and destroy them." He nodded to me and Ulf, "When I return I shall bring you their heads."
Ulf Big Nose shook his head, "No Jarl Gunnstein Berserk Killer. We will come with you. The blood of one of ours was shed and we will take revenge."
"But you are both wounded."
"Aye and we are warriors of the Raven Wing Clan. We do our own killing!"
While we prepared to go hunting those who had sent the killers the two Jarls went back to the hall to speak with Mal mac Rochride. He was the prince ally who had sent the scouts out.
Ulf spat over the side, "Prince! Any jumped up warrior who fancies a title calls himself a chief. It means nothing."
I was worried about Ulf and his leg. "I know we cannot keep you from this hunt but you cannot walk."
"Who are you to tell me so?"
"I am the warrior who has scouted with you, Ulf Big Nose, and remembers your words about moving swiftly. The Jarl's wife with child before her can move faster than you." I paused, gauging his reaction, "and you know it." He nodded. "Take the pony. The Norns sent them for a purpose did they not?"
"Aye you are right!" he shook his head, "I preferred it when you were an ignorant young warrior. Your head is becoming too wise and you show much courage facing up to an old man like me!"
"You taught me well."
We were ready by the time Rolf Arneson came to fetch us. "The Jarl ques
tioned our ally. When he sent for his men he discovered that two of them were in the pay of Conchobar mac Donnachada. After they had been tortured and told all the Jarl gave them the blood eagle. I do not think that Mal mac Rochride had ever seen it before. He was a chastened man. We go to their village, Áth Truim. It is twenty miles from here." He looked at Ulf, questioningly.
"I ride one of Hrolf's ponies. I will not hold you up."
He nodded, "The men you killed are of the Cenél Lóegairi clan. It is one of their strongholds."
Ulf looked up at the sky. "We had best leave unless we wish to fight at night."
"They wait for us at the north gate. Many men had left for their homes this morning. It will not be a large band we take. The Jarl does not wish to take his allies and he leaves a garrison to guard the town. We will have to make do with the men we take."
Ulf's long legs almost reached the ground but I could see, when he mounted, that he would find this much easier than walking. What I was not sure of was his ability to fight. No one had suggested that I stay with Siggi and the drekar. Perhaps they saw my face. I would not leave the treacherous attack unpunished . Nor would I allow others to fight and, perhaps, die for me.
The two Jarls led. They too rode ponies and were followed by their hearth-weru. Ulf and I had brought our bows. We knew that the Cenél Lóegairi clan had a palisade but Mal mac Rochride assured us that it was not large enough to stop us. We were sceptical. So far we were less than impressed with our allies. I had had two wounds and both were in my back. The one in my left shoulder had healed well. Would the one on my right side heal either as quickly or as well?
We marched in silence, without songs. We marched with firm resolve to avenge ourselves. We marched all through the morning. We halted briefly at a stream to take on water and for some warriors to empty their stomachs. We had lost warriors in the battle and Siggi had come close to death. There was grim determination amongst the twenty five of us who marched. The rest, the wounded and the drekar crew, would guard the drekar and watch for further treachery. I had managed to sharpen my sword. It had been almost blunt after the battle. My shield needed repairs but that would have to wait. My helmet and mail had not suffered as much as some others but we had no spears. The heads from the shattered spears would have to be taken home and Bagsecg would repair and refit them to new shafts.