by Griff Hosker
“And you know different?”
“When I spied in their camps on the Dunum I noticed that most of them did not use tents as we do. They made shelters from wood and branches.” He pointed to the bright blue sky of late summer. “They need no shelter. If you send your scouts a day’s march east you may find where they camp for they will use the same place but I would guess that their home is beyond the hills. I think it would be closer to Stanwyck.”
It was although an icicle had pierced my heart. Stanwyck had been my home and was the place my family and the rest of the village had been slaughtered.
I shook myself to remove the memory and smiled at Myrddyn. “Once again you have proved that you can see farther than any other man. Aedh send your men out and find this camp.”
I looked around the village. It could not cope with over three hundred horses. “Tuanthal, we will camp at the old fort.” I smiled, “It means the men will not have far to travel to work!”
His scowl told me what he and the horsemen thought of building a fort. I could have asked the villagers to do the work but they would not have known what to do. They could watch us build this and then Pasgen could train them in the building of others.
Hogan Lann approached, “We cannot eat the villager’s food, father. If we did then they would not have enough for themselves and they would not survive the winter.”
“I know. Send twenty riders under a good captain to the coast. There is a small port we used called Alavna. Tell them to camp there and build a fire. Daffydd will find them. He has supplies.”
He looked at me in surprise. “Daffydd is sailing here?” I nodded. “You planned this before we started?”
“You did not think I had all those meetings with my ship captains because I like the sound of my own voice did you? I anticipated that we would need food and he has supplies for us. In the mean time why don’t you and Pol take some men and go hunting. As I recall it is good deer and boar country around here.” I pointed to the lake, “And I am guessing that there will be fish within the waters there.”
“I have much to learn before I am Warlord.”
“When I was your age I would not have thought that far ahead. You train your body, my son, so begin to train your mind.”
“Myrddyn, Lann Aelle let us explore the land around here. I would familiarise myself with it.”
We headed north. The mountains rose steeply to our right and there was a gentle ridge to our left. I remembered, as we rode, that this was the place with the two small lakes and the cave in the hills. We halted when I saw the small knoll and the wrecked remains of a tower. We dismounted and walked towards it.
“This is where the Saxons retreated and we attacked them. I do not remember a tower.”
Myrddyn examined the remains. “That is because we were busy fighting and this tower is older than that. This is an old Roman signal tower.” He stood and looked north and south. “It would be a good place to build one again.” He pointed to the flat area between the knoll and the tree line. “Pasgen could have men stationed here. It would give early warning of an attack and would be a good place to control this valley.”
As we mounted and continued to ride north I asked Lann Aelle, “Did your father not consider building a tower there or defending it?”
“It was a long time ago, Warlord, but as I recall we felt we had no need to defend there for the north was protected by King Urien and then King Ywain. Lord Raibeart also had a fort to the north. It was the south we feared.”
That made sense. Prince Pasgen had much to do and I wondered if he would be up to the task. When he had tried to wrest his land from his treacherous brother and the Saxons he had been ineffective. Would he have changed? Would the years spent in my service have made him a better leader?
“Prince Pasgen has learned much from his time with you, Warlord. He now knows the strength of walls as well as the power of armour.”
I hated it when he did that. “Do you have to read my mind the whole time?”
He laughed. “Like you I was thinking of the lord who will have to rule this land once we have conquered it and I knew that you would be thinking the same.”
We rode as far as the round hills to the north. We found many isolated settlements and they hid in their round houses when we entered. They were fearful until I spoke and the sound of their own language reassured them. The response was always the same; wonder and joy. The first village, which nestled by the stream which bubbled into the grassy lake was typical. The headman came out and looked at our weapons and helmets. “So it is true. The Warlord has returned with Myrddyn the wizard.”
“Aye we have returned and we will give you aid to fight the Saxons.”
One old man came out of his hut limping. He had one arm. “It is good to see you, Lord Lann. I fought for your brother, Lord Aelle and lost this fighting the last time.” He shook his head sadly, “Had you stayed then we would not have had to bury so many bairns who died of hunger.”
The headman snapped, “Do not reproach the Warlord old one. He has returned has he not?”
“No the old man does right. I should have stayed but perhaps then the result would have been the same. I do not know. I know that we are now stronger.” I pointed to Lann Aelle, “And this is Lann Aelle the son of Lord Aelle. Now he is a powerful warrior whom the Saxons fear. Perhaps our time away was well spent.”
The other villages and their people had similar responses. We saw those who had been warriors and not fled with us and they told the same tale. The Saxons came like scavengers to take that which the villagers had garnered. The ones who died of the hunger which followed the raids were the old and the young. It was a sad tale. We did discover that many of the old soldiers had hidden their weapons and were eager to recover them and fight the Saxons once more. We would not have to find as many arms as I had expected. I was also pleased that there appeared to be many more men who could fight, once they were trained.
We returned in the afternoon. We were hungry. We had been offered food but I would not take from a people who were so close to starvation. “Lann Aelle, you have been quiet. What is on your mind?”
“The people all hold my father in high esteem. They still respect him and yet he deserted them.”
Myrddyn wagged an admonishing finger at the young warrior. “No, he did not. He gave all the people the chance to leave and these chose to stay. You cannot blame your father and you cannot blame the people. They made the decisions which were right for them and they have lived by those decisions.”
He looked relieved, “Good for, when this land is made safe again I would, with the Warlord’s permission, stay here. I would defend my father’s people.”
I looked at my nephew with new eyes. He had grown. “You would be my lord here?”
“I know that Prince Pasgen will rule for you but he will need lieutenants and I would be one.”
“That is good. We will talk with the prince.” This was wyrd. I had not planned this and yet it was a perfect solution. If Prince Pasgen ruled the north from Carvetiorum and Lann Aelle held the south then the land would be as safe as it could be. I wondered again about my mother’s spirit. I knew that I would need to visit the waters at Carvetiorum where I had first heard my mother’s voice. Her dreams were like a powerful drug; they became addictive. The more you knew the more you wanted to know. I had a thirst for knowledge.
Prince Pasgen and his men had worked hard in the time we had been away. There were shelters for us and the ditch had been cleared. Pol had had trees cut down for the walls ready to erect them the next day. We ate well for the hunters had been lucky and skilful. We even had more than enough to share with the villagers. As we ate Kay came to me, apologetically. “I am sorry about my brother. He is hard working but no one could ever accuse him of being clever. I fear it is why the Saxons have put upon them so much. Had I been here I would have ensured we could defend our homes.”
“And that is why you left with Prince Pasgen for you bow your neck to no man
. We need men like your brother just as we need warriors like you. Tell me this, will your brother stand in a shield wall?”
“Aye and the others too. So long as someone tells him what to do he will do it but do not ask him to think for himself. Animals and farming are what he knows.”
Prince Pasgen would have his work cut out to make these farmers into warriors. I began to work out a system which would help Pasgen. I summoned Myrddyn. “Do you have Osric’s maps still?”
“Yes Warlord. I’ll fetch them.”
He returned with the pieces of parchment painstakingly created by King Urien’s priest, Brother Osric. I began to peer at them. The names of the places were in Latin and bore little resemblance to the names used by the villagers we had met.
“What do you look for Warlord?”
“I am trying to work out where we went today. I need a picture, in my mind, of the settlements.”
“Ah, in that case…” he pointed to one red dot on the map. “We are here. This is the village by the grassy lake…” he went through all of the villages we had visited. “And here is Carvetiorum.”
“Excellent.”
“You have me intrigued Warlord. I know you well enough to realise that these are not idle questions and yet I cannot fathom your purpose.”
I smiled. “So you do not read my mind the whole time. That is reassuring. I am trying to work out a system to enable Prince Pasgen to defend his land when we finally make it secure.”
“Ah. You are working out how to utilise the farmers as warriors.”
“Exactly. Now if we take the villages close to here as typical then they could all send, say ten men from each village to be trained here by Prince Pasgen. If they needed to be called to war then those would be the ten who would go. Each one would have a natural leader.”
“And those ten could train others. Interesting.”
“I counted before, when we first came here, and there are eighteen men and boys. There would be more than enough to provide warriors to defend this place.”
“The village by the lake had twenty men and boys. I would calculate that the villages and farms around here could provide Prince Pasgen with seventy men. It would be a workable system. He would need to communicate with them.”
“Let us reinstate the boy riders we used. There are still hill ponies and that is how Aedh began.”
“It is and that reminds me Warlord. Where is our scout? I expected him some time ago. Even though the days are long it is now turning to night.”
Hogan, Lann Aelle and Pol joined us. Hogan looked to the eastern sky which was now growing ever darker. “Are you worried about Aedh too, Warlord?”
“Yes, this tardiness is not like him.”
“Shall we take the rest of the scouts to look for him?”
“No, we wait for morning. We have too few men to risk losing any.”
We stood in silence, each of peering east. “I will make sure we have sentries well positioned this night.”
Hogan Lann had learned caution and I was pleased. If Aedh had been captured or killed then it was possible that his men may have been tortured to tell what they knew about us. Our only advantage lay in the fact that the Saxons did not know our numbers or where we were. If Aedh and his men were captured then we could end up being trapped and ambushed by the Saxons. I would not underestimate them.
I retired to my hard bed but I could not sleep. Partly that was discomfort. I was no longer used to campaigning. But mainly I worried about Aedh. He had served me since he was a boy as a dispatch rider and then as a captain of scouts. He too had been, briefly, my squire and I would wish no harm to come to him. I was aware that I was now in unknown territory. I might know the land but I had no idea, any longer where my enemies were. Back at Wyddfa I knew every track, trail and pass a Saxon might use to launch an attack on us. Here? I was in the dark.
I was not asleep when Aedh and his scouts returned. I was on my feet almost as soon as I heard him ride into the camp. I was wide awake in an instant and I counted his scouts. They were all there. Aedh dismounted and, even in the glow from the fire, looked tired. “Trouble?”
He grinned and still looked like the despatch rider of all those years ago. “No, Warlord. It was my fault. We found their camp really quickly.” He pointed to the east. “It’s just twenty miles or so that way.” Hogan, who had also woken at the noise, gave him a beaker of ale. “Thanks. I decided to push on and see if I could find where their forts are. I crossed the Dunum and found some Saxon settlements.” He paused. “They have fortified Dunelm.”
That was a major blow. Dunelm was a steep rock on an island in the middle of a powerful river. I could not take it with my horsemen. It would take a Roman Army complete with artillery and many foot soldiers to capture that. I knew for we had defended it against a mighty Saxon army. I would have to rethink our strategy.
“Thank you Aedh, as usual you have done all that I asked and more. Now you and your men get some sleep.” Hogan Lann and Myrddyn joined me.
Myrddyn gave me one of his enigmatic smiles. “Instead of having the beaker half empty make it half full Warlord.”
“What?”
“Instead of worrying about Dunelm being fortified, rejoice for we have found their camp and that means that we have the initiative. We can catch them before they have even begun to raid our people and, best of all, they will have no idea. They will go to their usual camp in high spirits knowing that they are but a day’s march from the chickens they intend to pluck. The wolves will feast upon them.”
“But Dunelm?”
“It is many miles hence and they cannot reach us quickly. If you wish to reduce it there may be a way but if your avowed intent was to recover Rheged then why should Dunelm worry you?”
“I don’t know.” I did. I wanted to rid the land of every Saxon. Until we had reached Rheged I had thought we would be fighting battle after battle just to get here and now I saw that they had not even colonised my land. I had begun to dream that I could drive them back into the sea.
“Yes you do. Remember when we were in Constantinopolis?” I nodded. “In the library I read a book about a Greek idea called Hubris. It is where the pride of someone makes them lose touch with reality. The reality is, Warlord, that at the moment you can neither take Dunelm nor rid this island of the Saxons. The sooner you come to realise that then the easier all our lives will become.”
Hogan Lann had become silent and the guards looked fearfully at Myrddyn who had dared to berate the Warlord. He was right of course and he knew it. “One day wizard you will go too far.”
He laughed and I felt Hogan Lann relax. “Not as long as I speak the truth.”
I went to bed and found that I could sleep much easier. It had been the fact that Aedh was missing which had made me restless. Myrddyn was right. We now knew what to do and we would strike the first blow. I was not sure it would be the only blow we would need to take but only time would tell.
I rode with Aedh, his scouts, Myrddyn and Hogan Lann to see for myself the Saxon camp. I recognised the lake as one we had fought down all those years ago. It was a long lake in a very narrow valley. It was not far from our camp. The problem we had was that it did not suit horses. Hogan Lann summed it up as soon as he saw it. “We will have to hit them before they reach this valley. Once in the valley we will have to attack on foot and that does not suit us.”
Aedh took us along the valley. When we emerged at the head we saw the round moors rising to the north and west. The land flattened and widened quite considerably and we could see a long way towards the hard spine of the country. Myrddyn pointed to the ridge which ran to the north of the road. “The archers could wait there and your horsemen could sweep along their flank when they retaliated.”
Hogan Lann nodded. “We will need to keep a watch here. We will be able to see a warband approaching from a long distance. Aedh, you rode this road to Dunelm. How long will it take them to reach here?”
“We took one day but we almost killed o
ur horses. I would say two or three days. They know the area they are using and so will probably get here towards late afternoon.”
I could see it now. “They will be tired and they will see what they expect to see; the land that they know so well. They will not expect to be attacked. But I think you need your advance scouts over to the east; where the high peaks are. The Saxons will be easy to see because of the size of the warband and we will need to be in position before they reach here.”
“Then Warlord we need another camp, up there where we can wait.”
I could see his mind at work already. “See into the future wizard and tell me when they will come.”
“Not in the next seven days.”
Hogan could not resist the question. “How do you know?”
“Many of the sheep are still on the fells. They will want as many in the villages as possible. It is a month before the weather turns but it will take them at least ten days to visit all the villages and collect all their tribute and the journey back will take at least six days with the animals.”
I did not ask the question because I knew he would have worked it all out. We had a week to finish our defences.
The men who had been to the coast returned three days later with a string of hill ponies. “Brother Oswald thought we might need them and Captain Daffydd said he would return in one month with more supplies.”
Hogan Lann laughed, “Brother Oswald has a mind which is so organised.”
“Aye my lord and he sent a dozen Saxon swords which had not been melted down and made into armour yet.”
I was pleased, that meant we could begin to arm the people of the village. I summoned Prince Pasgen and explained to him my ideas for a force of ten men in each village. “It is like the Roman system and will enable you to use the men effectively.”
As usual he affected a frown which was a sure sign he was trying to work out what it all meant. I sighed and began to make it clearer. “When we leave Prince Pasgen, I assume that you will remain and rule your father’s land.”