by Griff Hosker
That was the signal for the whole settlement to rush out and greet us. Myrddyn gave me a wry smile and a little shake of the head. He knew that he was as much responsible for the legend that was the Wolf Warrior as I was. We had created a monster. The one arm man came to my side. “Do you remember me, my lord? My name is Aidan. I served you at Castle Perilous.”
I took his good hand. “Of course I do and I remember the spear which took your arm. I am glad to see that you live still.”
“It has been hard, my lord. The Saxons come each year and take what little we have saved. There are too few of us to stand and fight and we have no weapons.” He looked fearfully to the east as though expecting the imminent arrival of a warband. “They are due soon. We dread this time of year.”
“They will not be coming this year, Aidan. We have slaughtered them and we will be bringing weapons for you to use. Prince Pasgen is coming back to this land.”
I had thought that would have pleased Aidan but he came closer to me. “His brother King Ywain invited the Saxons to our land. The people will fight for you, Warlord. They know you will not let them down.”
It was like a dagger to my heart. I had let them down and I had deserted them. I resolved to do better this time. “Prince Pasgen is not his brother and he has been with me and my warriors fighting the Saxons since he left Rheged. This time we will defeat them.” I could see the other villagers speaking with men they recognised amongst my retinue. “Aidan, who is the head man here?”
“That would be me.”
“Good. We are beginning to raise an army of Rheged to defend the land from the Saxons. We are raising companies of ten men under a leader and we need men who can train them. I know you have but one good arm yet I know that you have the head and the ability to train men. Will you be my leader of a hundred for this land?”
His face lit up. “I would deem it an honour Warlord. And I will learn to fight with my left hand.”
“You need not Aidan for it is you as a leader that I need. We will talk more. If you will visit with me in the morning and let me know your thoughts on the men you will train.”
Myrddyn and Tuanthal had been listening to me. Prince Pasgen had been busy acknowledging the crowds who gathered around him and his magnificently attired equites.
“I fear we have much work to do with Prince Pasgen Warlord.”
I knew that Myrddyn was right. “We will make sure that he is as well trained as the people he will lead before we return home.”
We dragged the reluctant prince into the fortress. The doors were just open. It was as though the garrison had walked out one day and never returned. The ditch had not been cleaned and required work but it was not beyond repair. It was both sad and exciting to ride into the building once more. This was where I had learned to be a warrior and I glanced over at the Praetorium building where Brother Osric had toiled away. It was normally the first place I visited.
“Captain Tuanthal, put the horses in the stable and allocate the men to their barracks. Find men who can cook. We will be in the king’s quarters.”
I could not help myself and I strode towards Brother Osric’s cell. I just had to inspect it. As soon as I entered I felt the presence of that tiny man. I could almost see him there. The room was empty but it was as though a shadow remained. I could see that animals had been ferreting in there and birds had nested but no one had disturbed it and that was as it should be. I closed the door as I left.
The rest of the king’s residence showed the same traces of animals although all the other rooms had had anything of value or use taken. If Prince Pasgen was going to live there then he would have to begin afresh. None of us spoke as we examined every room. We all had our own thoughts as we each remembered the past.
“It is sad to see it thus, Warlord.”
I turned at the sound of Tuanthal’s voice. I was about to speak when Myrddyn said, “Visiting the past is always difficult but at least we can have a new start.” He looked at me and then nodded towards Prince Pasgen. This had been his home. His mother and father were buried just beyond its walls.
“Prince Pasgen, would you live here again?”
He seemed wrapped up in his memories and I was about to repeat the question when he said, “Until I re-entered this room I did not think so but now I know. I shall bring my wife and my daughter here. She can furnish this home and make it a palace once more.”
That pleased me. The house of King Urien would live again. “Good and I have spoken with the headman, Aidan. Tomorrow he will meet with us and give us his assessment of how many men the town can provide.” I swept a hand around the great hall in which we stood. “This will need guards who are not your equites and you will need an income.”
I could see from his face that he had not thought how he would pay for his new home. Myrddyn obviously had for he said, “This year the people of Rheged will need to enjoy the fruits of their labour but next year you must tax them for the defence of the realm. Until then,“ he grinned, “I think that the Saxons should pay.”
We spent the next five days visiting the surrounding area and creating the defenders of Rheged. I am not a vain man but had I been then the flattery and praise I received might have gone to my head. It did not and that was partly due to Myrddyn’s sharp tongue which brought me down to earth each time I forgot myself. We left Prince Pasgen to organise his land. “Bring your horsemen to Castle Perilous in five days time. We march to Northumbria. I will send the weapons for your men.”
Already Aidan had organised sentries and guards for the fortress. It would be easier once winter arrived and there was less for the men to do around their farms. He had begun to train them and by mid winter they would be able to defend the walls of the castle. It would take time but Rheged would have an army once more.
The fort at Wide Water was completed by the time we returned. Kay had his ten men who took it in turns to guard the new stronghold. He smiled at me and looked ten years younger when I reached his walls. “My brother and his people are happier now, Warlord. Even if we leave them again they feel that they have somewhere they can defend and be safe.”
The comment, although innocent enough, was like a barb. The people had been abandoned. Would I have to abandon them again? I thought of my family safely sheltered beneath Wyddfa and I wanted to go back. I probably would abandon them again and I hated myself for that. I had sworn an oath and the Wolf Warrior was in danger of breaking that oath. I did not sleep well that night.
We left the next day for Castle Perilous. I was a truly grumpy old man as we rode along the similar road to my old home. Only Myrddyn understood my humour. The younger ones, Lann Aelle, Pol and Hogan Lann all kept their distance. I think that Tuanthal and Aedh as well as Daffydd saw me differently; I was Warlord and not as other men.
The fort was a blackened scar on the landscape. The fire which I had started to cover our escape had raged through the wooden walls and buildings. The stones which had been white were black with soot. It was where Hogan’s mother and his sister were buried and, when he saw the remains, he too, became more morose. I wanted to see if we could build a fort there again. As I trudged the ruins I knew I could not. There were too many memories. We would have to build another site. We had already passed a suitable site close to the ford at the river. We had seen a small village there called Penrhyd. There was a hill overlooking the ford and it still defended the road to our heartland. It would make a good place for a fort.
We made a camp by the river and waited for Prince Pasgen. Aedh and his scouts were sent east to find our next target. Soon it would be autumn but we needed to both hurt the Saxons and provide the means to make Prince Pasgen’s army a force to be reckoned with. His people needed more food and weapons.
We headed east as soon as Prince Pasgen arrived. The road we followed was still the ancient Roman one. Having destroyed the warband I was not worried about meeting any Saxon warriors. The road would bring us, if we followed it to its end, to the old Roman road of Dere Stree
t which transfixed Northumbria. The Dunum was the lifeblood of the southern half of Northumbria. It would be a good place to begin.
Aedh found us on the high pass of Stanmore. Even though it was still late summer the winds blew from the cold east and chilled us to the bone. Those of my warriors who had their own wolf cloak were grateful for its warmth as the east wind whistled. “There are more villages than when we were here last, Warlord. They have begun to build forts too. The villages close to the Dunum plain look to be the better targets. They have many sheep and cattle.”
“Then that is where we will go.”
Hogan Lann had been quiet for some time. “You are silent my son. What troubles you?”
“This raiding of the Saxon villagers does not sit well with me.”
“Nor with me and I will tell you this, I would not harm any of the people but we need to provide for our own. The villages we will raid have benefited from the Saxon depredations in Rheged which is why there are more of them. We are redressing the balance.”
He still looked doubtful.”What if they fight?”
I laughed and pointed to the column of men who followed us. “If you were a Saxon and saw this mighty host what would you do? Fight or run?”
He smiled, “Run as fast as I could.”
“We will take their animals and any crops they have gathered. We will not burn their homes and we will not take their lives. They will have a hard winter but the Dunum is a fertile river; they will survive.”
Myrddyn’s voice came from behind us. “And that will sting the Saxons into action and they will send warriors west. We can defeat them on our ground for we will have time to prepare. It is a necessary evil Hogan Lann. When you are Warlord then you too will have these difficult decisions to make.”
Myrddyn was right and I had a duty to begin the training of the warrior who would take over when I ceased to be Warlord. He needed to be as ruthless as I had become or Rheged would wither and die.
As soon as we dropped down the other side of the pass we noticed the change in the climate. It became warmer once more. We also saw flocks of sheep gathered on the hillsides. The cattle were in the pastures lower down. Here there were many isolated farms and we began our work.
“Lann Aelle, we will use the squires to gather the sheep and the cattle. Detail twenty to take these sheep and cattle back to Wide Water.”
“They will not like it Warlord. They want to fight.”
I could have snapped a reply but Lann Aelle was my nephew and he was speaking the truth. “Hopefully we will not have to fight at all, Lann Aelle. Tell them that.”
Our numbers dwindled as we headed east. When we found animals the people fled and we sent the captured animals back to Rheged. By the time we reached Gainford the squires had all left us. We would use the horsemen of Tuanthal for the next sweep. Aedh pointed east as we gathered by the river. “This is a good base. There is a deserted village to the south of the ford which we can use and then carry on to the coast.”
Aedh was not only a good scout, he also had a sound military mind. With the squires gone we needed somewhere to store the spare horses and the armour of the equites. “Good. Prince Pasgen, take your equites north of the ford and gather what you can. Hogan Lann, head to the coast and Tuanthal we will head south. Daffydd guard the camp.” I smiled, “I grew up around here and there is fine hunting to be had in the woods.”
The land to the south of the river was familiar to me. I had grown up there. We rode towards Stanwyck. The remains of my village lay like the bones of a long dead animal. It had been picked over like a carcass by carrion. The Saxons had not occupied the site and it felt like a graveyard as we rode through its banks and ditches. I kicked Mona on and we descended towards the fertile plain which bordered the next hills. The villages and villagers soon hid when they heard the thunder of our approach and we managed to collect twenty cattle which we drove back to Gainford. We were the first to return.
Aedh and his scouts were divided between Prince Pasgen and Hogan Lann’s equites. The lighter, more nimble horses of the scouts would give them the speed the equites lacked. Hogan Lann and his men had a flock of sheep to show for their troubles but I could see that his equites were less than happy about being shepherds. We wondered where Prince Pasgen had got to when two of Aedh’s scouts galloped in.
“My Lord, Prince Pasgen and his men have been ambushed by a Saxon warband.”
Chapter 5
“We were heading back with twenty sheep and a few goats. The horses of the equites were being led. We were close to the old deserted Roman fort when the warband fell upon us. They outnumbered us and the prince have taken refuge in the fort. He is surrounded. We were ahead and we rode here.”
“Hogan Lann, have your men don their armour. Daffydd, leave half of your men here to guard the animals and bring the rest. Tuanthal, we will ride now. Follow as soon as you can, my son.”
Prince Pasgen’s men had not been armoured and were vulnerable to an attack from Saxons. I cursed myself for my arrogance. I had assumed too much. It had been so easy I thought there were no Saxon warriors. I had been wrong. The fort I knew well and it was less than three miles away along the river. As we rode I questioned the scouts again. “How many Saxons were there?”
“There looked to be over a hundred my lord but they attacked from the woods and it was hard to count.”
I could not blame the scouts. They had managed to bring us the news of the disastrous attack. “Have your swords ready. With the Prince’s men and ours we should outnumber them. Daffydd, dismount your men when we are close.”
“Aye my lord.” There were only twenty archers with us but they could prove to be the difference.
We could hear the clash of arms as we approached the fort on the river. The Saxons were pressing the walls. There was no gate and I could see Prince Pasgen and some of his men fighting valiantly.
“Rheged!” Tuanthal’s men roared our war cry as we crashed into their rear ranks. I hacked at the head of a Saxon who turned at our approach. Mona cleverly side stepped a second Saxon who swung his sword at her head. I kicked at him as I passed. I threw myself from my horse and swung my shield around. Two warriors headed directly for me. I did not wait for them to close and I ran at them. I punched at one with my shield while I hacked at the second with my sword. Saxon Slayer is a powerful blade and the force of it shattered the shield of the warrior. He looked in surprise as the two halves fell at his feet. I brought the sword around in a sideways slice and laid him open. The man I had punched with my shield stabbed at me and I felt his sword slide along my side. I had deigned to wear armour and I felt the blood begin to trickle down my leg. When he saw the blood on his blade his face showed that he anticipated victory. It was premature. As he raised his sword for the killing blow I brought Saxon Slayer over arm to cleave his helmet and skull in two.
I looked around for there were no enemies before me. Behind me I could see Tuanthal’s horsemen fighting desperately to reach the walls. Then I heard the Roman horn and my son and his equites thundered in. There were only fifty of them but they had lance and armour. They washed over the Saxons like a wave on the beach. The Saxons fled. Hogan Lann and Pol pursued them north as they ran.
Myrddyn ran to me. “Warlord you are wounded.”
“It is nothing.” I put my hand down to my side and it came away covered in blood.
“I think it is.” He cut away the cloth and there was a gash as long as a man’s hand. He gave me a wad of cloth. “Here hold this to the wound.” One of Aedh’s scouts was nearby and Myrddyn grabbed him. “Help the Warlord while I get my pack.” Myrddyn kept his potions and medicines with him at all time.
The scout looked in horror at the blood. He helped me to keep a tight pressure on the cloth. I began to feel a little light headed and I swayed. “Warlord, lie down before you fall.”
I took the scout’s advice and he helped me to sit on the ground. When Myrddyn returned he poured water on the wound and then took out some cat gu
t. He began to sew the wound. He did not use neat stitches. I could see that he was just trying to stop the bleeding. I was just about to ask him how Prince Pasgen was when it all went black.
I opened my eyes and saw Hogan Lann looking down on me with concern on his face. I could smell burning. “What happened?”
Myrddyn’s voice came from behind me. “You passed out. The wound is too big for stitches. We will have to use fire. Hogan Lann, Pol, hold his arms.” I saw that Myrddyn had Saxon Slayer in the fire he had started. He smiled at me. “I believe we will use the magic of your sword to heal you. This will hurt Warlord but it will save your life.” I watched as he brought the glowing weapon towards me. I could feel the heat as it passed close to me and then I smelled the burning of the flesh. The pain was excruciating and, had I not had my son and Pol holding me I would have wrenched myself free. I heard Myrddyn sigh. “There it is done and the bleeding has stopped. Lie there for a while. I have others who are wounded.”
I looked up at my son and saw the worry on his face. He shook his head sadly. “I think we should have brought armour father. The Prince has lost ten equites and you nearly died.”
“I know my son. We can return west now. We have enough for the winter and we have bloodied the Saxon’s nose. Did you lose any men?”
“No Warlord. We had armour But Captain Tuanthal lost eight more men and he has others who are wounded.”
“The Prince?”
“He lives. Now lie back. We will wake you when we are ready to leave.”
Later as we rode the two miles back to our camp I reflected that we had been lucky. Had the prince been further from our camp then he would have died along with all his men. We had, in addition gained weapons and armour from the eighty Saxons we had slain. I knew that they would pursue us but the Saxons did not use horses and I hoped we could reach Wide Water with our animals before they did so.
I slept fitfully for the wound, although sealed, still hurt. Myrddyn gave me a draught of something which numbed the pain but I feared the ride home. Hogan Lann was there when I rose. “Warlord, until you are healed I will command.”