by Griff Hosker
Ulf kicked his horse on and rode a little ahead of us. My uncle called to me. “Aelfraed come here.”I rode Raven, my horse, next to him. He handed me the reins of the pack horse which Ulf had given to him. “Here watch the spare." My face must have shown my disappointment for he smiled and added. “We need Ridley’s bow and if we meet trouble then we will need my weapons and Ulf’s to defend us. Your time will come.” He turned to Ridley. “You watch our rear; from here onwards we will always be close to danger.”
The track seemed to turn to from day to night as we trotted beneath its leafy canopy. The branches looked to be threatening and suddenly sinister as they moved above us in the gentle breeze. There was a total silence, broken only by the clip clop of the hooves on the forest floor. I almost jumped when Raven snorted and I heard Ridley stifle a giggle behind me. It was with some relief that I saw a clearing and Ulf and my uncle dismounting. “We will camp here. There is water nearby and it is not as gloomy as the other parts though which we have passed.”
My uncle might have thought it a pleasant spot but I still found it overpoweringly dark and malevolent. We dismounted and led the horses to the stream to drink. As they were drinking we took off their saddles and used them to mark the boundaries of the camp.
Ulf’s voice barked, “You two go into the forest and find some dead, dry wood for the fire.”
The last place I wanted to go was into the forest although I was shamed onto doing so by Ridley’s cheerful whistling as he wandered off into the undergrowth. I was torn between performing my task and watching for whatever was in the forest which might hurt me. My uncle said that I was a thinker and perhaps I over thought things for my imagination provided ghosts, ghouls and phantoms not to mention aelfes and hobs. I steeled myself to look for wood and soon found my arms laden with a bundle.
By the time I returned to the camp it looked half organised with Ulf chipping away with his flint to light the kindling and uncle hobbling the horses. Ridley had reached the camp before me and was handing his timber to Ulf. I almost breathed a sigh of relief that I had reached the camp safely. Once the fire was going the forest seemed less intimidating and I felt foolish for worrying about nothing.
“Cut up some of the dried meat and put it into the pan, we might as well have some hot food. Ridley, go into the forest again and see if you can find any herbs and roots.”
“I could take my bow in case I see a rabbit.”
Ridley was keen to show Ulf his prowess and surprisingly Aethelward grinned as he said, “Make sure you get the herbs first!”
While I used my knife to cut the tough dried meat into manageable chunks I watched, intrigued as Ulf and my uncle took lengths of thin cord and crouched close to the trails. When they had finished whatever they were doing and they seemed satisfied they returned to the camp where they lay down, their heads resting on their saddles. The meat was now in the water and I took some of the precious salt we had with us and put some in with the meat. I suddenly spied a bush next to the stream and I went to recover some of the elderberries which had escaped the attention of the birds. It would add to the flavour.
As I stirred I ventured the question which had been in my mind for the past few moments. “What were you doing with the cord uncle?”
“Good. I wondered how long it would take you to ask. Remember always ask better to feel foolish than dead. They are alarms to warn us of any predator, human or animal which ventures close to our camp this night.”
I looked around fearfully. I had thought of supernatural terrors not human ones. “There are men in the woods?”
“There may be and if there are then they will be living outside the law and so be dangerous. The Welsh are not the only enemies we will face.”
Ridley’s cheerful whistling made us turn to see him enter the camp. He was beaming from ear to ear with a rabbit in one hand and a bunch of herbs in the other. “Supper!”
Ulf laughed. “You have done well and your boast was not an idle one. Skin it and Aelfraed can joint it. We eat well tonight. Now if we only had some ale then we would have a fine feast.”
That night as we lay around the embers of the fire I felt companionship such as I had never felt before. There was a comfortable silence which punctuated the tales Ulf and Aethelward told of battles past and comrades they had known. The deaths were not seen as sad events but momentous and worthy of praise. I could see that death in battle would not be unwelcome to Ulf and Aethelward who had outlived most of their friends and comrades. We also learned more of Harold and his half brother Tostig. Although both were renowned warriors it was obvious that Harold was seen by both men as the exemplary and iconic leader. Tostig seemed too concerned with himself and how he could profit from any given situation. I allowed myself a half smile realising that I had chosen the worthier of the brothers and that would be reflected in the honour which I would gain. Ridley sat up and paid particularly close attention when the two men spoke of the Housecarls and their mighty shield wall.
In one of the silences his small voice ventured a question. “Do you have to be noble born to be a housecarl?”
Ulf’s laugh seemed to echo through the forest. “Gods no! There would be but Aethelward left if that were the case. The only rule is that you are a mighty warrior who can stand with his comrades even when all else have fled and give your life for your liege lord.” He looked curiously, almost paternally at Ridley. “Why lad, would you be a housecarl?” In answer he lowered his head shyly and nodded. “Well you could do worse and you have the size already. When we have the chance I will see what your arm is like. Now I feel it is time for rest for tomorrow we will need our wits about us. Tomorrow we meet the Welsh.”
In the event we needed our wits a little earlier. I was woken by a hiss from the side of my head, it was my uncle. “Wake Ridley, we have company. Get your weapons but move slowly.”
I thanked the spirits of my ancestors that I had the wit to think calmly. I slid my sword from its scabbard and then rolled to the side to speak with Ridley. I touched his shoulder. “Be calm. There are enemies close. Get a weapon and then be ready.”
I peered, from my prone position to see if I could discern anything but all I saw was the darkness. Then, as my eyes adjusted to the dark I saw the leaves move unnaturally and when I stared I could see that there was a lightness which appeared to be a man. There were outlaw approaching. I was afraid but also excited. The tales we had heard around the fire had convinced me that Ulf and Aethelward could deal with any problem which arose. The hardest part was not moving as I saw the armed men approach. I trusted in my uncle and Ulf, they would know the moment to move, and I just prayed that I would not let them down.
When the word came I was ready but it still took me by surprise. With a roar and an unnervingly quick turn of speed Aethelward shouted, “Now! And leapt at the first shocked outlaw. His sword took him in the throat. I was on my feet looking for the shape I had seen coming from the forest. The man was a huge bear with a helmet, shield and war axe. As I raced towards him I wondered if my first fight might be my last. I tried to remember all that I had been taught and one idea stuck in my mind; use my speed of blade for I could see that he was a lumbering brute who would not be able to move as swiftly as me. I feinted to his right and as he moved his shield to block me I rolled to his left and hacked at his unprotected legs. I felt the blade jar into his shins and then sensed his axe as it sliced above my head. A hand span lower and I would have had no head. It was a harsh lesson. I rolled forwards and back slashed my blade at his unprotected back. Again the blade struck flesh and his blood spurted down the edge of my sword. He roared with pain and swung his axe at me. Had I had a shield I would have deflected the blow but I only had my sword and I fell backwards over the body of the man my uncle had slain. He thought he had me and lumbered forwards but I had no intention of lying there to be meekly split and I rolled towards the woods. I was on my feet in an instant to face him once again. He hissed at me in some barbaric language but I focussed on his
weaknesses; I could see that he had to favour his left side because of the wound to his leg and his back. I swung my sword at his right, aiming for the hand which held the axe. He was tiring and the parry was weak. Again I feinted to the right and as he moved the shield to cover my attack I saw a gap and stabbed forwards. To my everlasting amazement he did not block the blow and the sword found the weakened link in the rusty mail and slowly sank in through his layers of fat. He looked down in surprise and then roared; he opened his arms and grabbed me to pull me in towards him. I had not expected that move and the breath from his stinking mouth filled my face. I was terrified. I suddenly remembered that I had a dagger and I reached around to my belt to try to reach it as his arms tightened around me in a bear hug which threatened to kill me. I extricated the dagger and squeezing it up through his grip stabbed upwards into his throat and into his skull. Suddenly I saw life leave his eyes as his arms dropped to the side and he slowly slid to the floor, he was dead, I had killed my first man.
Chapter 3
I spun around to look for another attack and saw, instead, that the other five had been despatched by my three comrades. It looked as though the fat warrior I had killed had been the better armed of the bandits for the others lacked helms and armour but they lay dead nonetheless. Ulf grinned at me. “I worried, young Aelfraed that he had taken to you and wished you for his bed. Had I known you were fighting him I would have stepped in to help.”
Aethelward saw the shock on my face and came over, his arm around my shoulder. “You did well nephew for he knew how to fight and next time you will not make the same mistakes.”
Mistakes? I had thought that I had fought him well. “Are there others?”
“We will find out. You two strip any armour from the bodies and see what they have that we might use. We will search the forests.”
Dawn was just breaking when the two warriors returned. It had been a grisly task removing armour and valuables from the dead. It had taken two of us to strip the mail armour from my opponent. The bodies yielded a few coins, the fat one had a purse with a gold piece and two silver ones while the others had a couple of swords and daggers between them. We had laid the bodies in a line, more to stop us falling over them rather than from any sense of honouring the dead for they had tried to kill us in our sleep and were not worthy of any respect. The horse they brought with them looked to be bigger than ours and I deduced that their leader had been its rider.
“Well Ridley you may have done well from this attack for I venture the horse will suit you and unless I miss my guess the armour and helmet will fit you better than Aelfraed.”
Ridley looked at me for approval. I had no desire to wear the rusty armour but it would have been good had the helmet fitted me. I would have to continue to wear my leather one. “You may have them Ridley but the armour will need work for it is rusty and has links missing.”
“For which you should be grateful nephew for if he had looked after it your blade would not have penetrated.” He picked up the axe. “This is cared for and is a good weapon. You were lucky that he did not catch you with it for the edge is like a razor.”
He handed me the axe which seemed well balanced and I hefted it in my hand. Ulf nodded. “When the opportunity presents itself I will show you how to use it.”
“Ulf is one of the best axe men you will ever meet. Now we must ride for we need to reach our destination by nightfall. I would not risk another night in these bandit filled forests.”
The monastery was a huge complex of buildings nestled on a hillside in the Clwyd valley. My uncle halted us in the woods on the southern side of the valley. As we peered down at the cluster of buildings I was amazed. I had only seen Jorvik which was a bigger place but this was in the middle of nowhere. Ulf grunted. “There are a thousand men down there.”
“All monks?”
“Most are monks but they have others who work the land. There is much profit in the Church.”
I knew that many warriors, despite the pressure from the King, still favoured the old dark religions which did not have priests but allowed a man to choose his own god. I suspected that Ulf was once such a warrior.
“Now keep in mind we need them to remember us. Aelfraed and I will go down to meet with the abbot while you two keep watch here.”
Laying aside most of our weapons and keeping just a sword the two of us rode along the ridge to join the track way which led first to the monastery and thence to the coast. I was smiling as I did so, not because I was not afraid, I was but Ridley had been petrified to be at the foot of the mountain which contained the red Welsh dragon. I suspected that Ulf would tease him mercilessly.
The land around the monastery of Elvae was well cultivated and terraced, using every part of the hillside to maximise their crops. It was not yet dark and we could see hooded monks toiling in the fields. A few looked up as we passed but, seeing but a man and a boy they returned to their work. We were not a threat. The ash staffs we held were there to mark us as pilgrims but I was not convinced that it would fool anyone. We found ourselves on a wide road way which was obviously the main entrance. We could see the gates in the palisade were still open but there was a gaggle of monks gathered there, obviously to greet us. We both dismounted when we were thirty paces away and approached on foot. I stood slightly behind my uncle so that I could emulate and copy his actions. He bowed his head and I followed.
“I am Aethelward of Medelai and this is my nephew Aelfraed.”
“I am Brother Aidan. What brings you to our monastery?”
There appeared to be no suspicion in his voice but his eyes darted from our faces to our weapons and back. My uncle spread his hands. “We are here to seek the shrine of St Asaph for I would have my nephew to be graced by the Saint’s beneficence.”
The monk seemed to see the ash staffs for the first time and looked to me. “And your nephew why would he need the Saint’s grace? You are a wounded warrior I can see that but the boy looks hale and hearty.”
The monk’s sharp eyes had missed nothing but Aethelward had been prepared for such questions. “I suffered my wound fighting the Norsemen when I defended the land of Bede against the invader.” By invoking the name of that venerable man of the church Aethelward was trying to get the sympathy of the monk. “Had I visited a shrine before I fought then perhaps I would have been protected, I would like my nephew to be protected before he fights the Danes.”
It seemed that Brother Aidan saw me for the first time. “You would fight the Danes? You would fight the enemies of the church?”
His eyes seemed to burn into me to discern if there was a lie within. I felt grateful that I would not need to lie for I would happily fight the Danes although I was not totally committed to the Christian ideal. “I would.”
“Then perhaps you should meet with the King and serve him.”
My uncle’s voice appeared innocent but I knew the weight of his words. “He is at his court?” The court of the King was but a few miles away from St Asaph at Rhuddlan as Gwynedd was the heart of his kingdom.
“No. He is with his army in the south. Perhaps if you travel that way you may meet him.”
“I should like that Brother Aidan for I have never met a King before.”
The monk smiled and nodded at the passion of my simple assertion. He touched my head with his hands. “I will give you my blessing and then I will direct you to the shrine.” I was not prepared for the feeling which washed over me as the old man placed his bony hands upon my head. It seemed that I was warmed and I felt a glow spread through my body. I suddenly felt calmer and more at ease but I knew not why. “May the grace of God protect you in your fight against the Northmen.”
I impulsively kissed the back of his hands as he withdrew them and mumbled a, “Thank you.”
Again he smiled and pointed down towards the river. “If you go towards the river you will see the shrine.”
“How will we know?”
Again Brother Aidan smiled, “If you know the story of St
Asaph then you will know.”
As we walked back to our horses my uncle murmured, “That was well done Aelfraed but I think Brother Aidan is still testing us.”
I had no idea who St Asaph was. I just knew that he had been a saint who had been with Saint Mungo but I had no idea of his story. I assumed, and hoped, that my uncle would. As we walked along the well worn track we saw a glow from a building at the end. My uncle just said, “Of course” and continued walking.
We reached a small wooden building and before it was a stone circle containing a fire. Next to the fire were lumps of charcoal and coal and above it a beautifully carved wooden cross. Aethelward knelt and I copied him. He placed a lump of coal on the fire as I did. “Tonight we will sleep here.” I did not argue with him but I did wonder why.
We fed and tethered our horses and then made our camp. Night had fallen as we chewed on the dried meat. A light appeared down the path. I began to fear that it was something ethereal until I saw that it was two younger monks. They had in their hands pots. “Brother Aidan cannot invite you into the monastery for it is a closed order but he sent you food. Here is some freshly brewed ale, some of our honey, bread and cheese.” He looked up at the cross. “May St Asaph watch over you. If you leave the pots here were will remove them in the morning and, “he leaned in confidentially, “the saint smiles on those who protect his fire.”
After we had eaten I asked uncle what he had meant. “Saint Asaph famously brought hot coals to Saint Mungo and carried them in his apron. That is why they keep the fire burning as a reminder of the Saint and his deed. We brought the ash staff as that is the sign of the saint much as the cockle shell is the sign of St.James.”
I did not care for the reason as the bread, honey and cheese were delicious and a welcome change from the diet of dried meats we had endured. The beer was not small beer it was a potent brew and soon I was asleep. I slept better that night than any other night on the road. I know that Ulf would have said it was the ale but I believe that we were being protected. That night I dreamed of warriors and dragons. I suddenly found myself facing a mighty warrior and behind him was the prow of a dragon ship. I was being beaten back and my sword was struggling to defend me, I fell and saw the mighty axe descending to my head. All that I had to stop it was my sword which suddenly changed to an ash staff and then the warrior disappeared and I awoke sweating and breathing heavily. What did my dream portend? I had not had as many bad dreams since the arrival of my uncle. Perhaps it was the mixture of powerful ale and cheese.