by Griff Hosker
Pol and Gawan had concealed them with branches and twigs. As soon as they stepped onto the sharpened stakes all their discipline went. They screamed in pain and their cohesion went. My archers could not release their arrows fast enough to hit all of them. Once enough had died the traps were hidden by the bodies of the fallen and they locked their shields once more. I looked to the warbands. They were now all committed. Their attention was on the burgh and on me.
“Llewellyn, sound the buccina!”
As soon as the strident note of the Roman horn sounded the Northumbrians in the ditch paused. They looked for danger. They saw just the archers and the slingers who were now close enough to hit helmets. A lead ball at thirty paces can render a warrior unconscious and my boy slingers were keen to impress the Warlord. When there was no change in what they could see they began to attack the wooden walls with their axes and swords. The wailing of the dragon banner was the first warning that not all was well. As Pol and Gawan’s equites hit the lightly armed fyrd, a human wail went up. The unarmoured men were slaughtered. The cries of the dying made the armoured men look around and more died as Daffydd’s arrows struck them. The circle of horsemen closed with the rear ranks of the shield wall, for the fyrd were either dead or fled.
Many were too slow to react and were speared by the deadly lances. I saw that King Edwin was trying to get reinforcements into the fray but it would be too late. The shield wall broke assaulted as it was from two different directions, and they ran. I saw some of the younger equites chasing after the fleeing Northumbrians. “Sound the buccina!” As it sounded most turned and returned to the walls; slaying the wounded as they did so. Two equites, caught up in the moment, chased after the Northumbrians and they were butchered by Edwin’s reinforcements. We had done better than I had hoped but I hated the waste of two young equites. We opened the gate and my men entered. We had bought another day. We also had good news, for an hour after my men had returned Lann Aelle and his scouts returned. “The men of Mercia are two days behind me.”
“That is good news. We need to buy two more days then.”
That evening as we stood on the gate and saw the fires which ringed the edge of the forest to the north, Lann Aelle said, “That will not work a second time.”
“No. But I wonder if the Allfather will work some magic for us?” I looked at Gawan. He was as enigmatic as Myrddyn at times. “This Edwin is a Christian now. He will want his people burying. Perhaps we negotiate a truce tomorrow so that he can collect his dead.”
Pol laughed, “Would he be so foolish when his main army is as close as it is?”
“It is only the risk for the rider who goes to negotiate the truce. I believe they will honour it. After all they are Christians now.” I could hear the sarcasm in his voice.
“I agree with my brother. Even if they do not agree to the truce then the negotiations can eat up some time and bring Penda and Cadwallon ever closer.”
“Then we choose someone with a silver tongue.”
I laughed, “We choose no one; for the speaker is chosen already. It is me.”
“Why you?”
“There will be no fighting tomorrow and they will be more likely to send for the king if the Warlord comes to negotiate.”
Gawan nodded, “You are relying on your reputation.”
“I am and that is why I will just take Llewellyn and Pelas with me. I want to show them that we are not afraid.”
Pol and Lann Aelle spent the rest of the evening trying to persuade me not to go. Gawan came to my aid. “Neither Myrddyn nor I had dreamt his death yet.”
Pol snorted, “Did you dream the wound the other day, Dreamer?” Gawan shook his head, “We cannot afford to fight the Northumbrians without the Warlord. Even if we have Penda and Cadwallon with us it is your brother that the warriors on both sides will look to. Today they hurled themselves at the wall to get to grips with him. Young boys in Northumbria dream of becoming the hero who slays the Warlord. It was your father and now it is your brother. The warrior matters little it is the title and the reputation which draws them.”
I put my hand on Pol’s arm. “And you have argued wonderfully for me to be the one. Thank you, old friend. And now I am tired. We will leave at dawn. Lann Aelle, inform your son and Llewellyn that I need them.”
Kay waved as the last of the water carriers returned. We had every container we could muster filled with water. We were prepared.
I regretted my decision as I began to don my armour. Raising my arms for the leather byrnie was painful enough but when I lowered them after the mail shirt was lowered was agony. It would take a few days for me to be able to fight. It did, however, gleam as did my helmet. Pelas had polished them well. He must have been up all night for Star gleamed as we left the burgh.
My men were stood to on the walls and we rode slowly across the field of battle. The bodies still lay where they had fallen. The smell was already beginning to fill the air and I could see where rats had begun to gnaw at them. “Remember Pelas, keep your hands from your weapons.”
“Aye, Warlord.” I heard the doubt in his voice. We halted half way between the burgh and the Northumbrian camp. I opened my palms and put my hands to the side in the sign for peace.
I saw a warband forming up and then five warriors detached themselves and rode their ponies towards us. They were heavily mailed warriors and I saw many battle rings adorning their bare arms.
They dismounted as did I. It was not easy but I gritted my teeth. I could afford to show no weakness.
“I am Eadfrith of Caer Daun. I command here.”
“And I am the Warlord of Rheged.”
Eadfrith took off his helmet and I did the same. These were the rituals of negotiation. It showed peaceful intent on both sides and I could almost feel the relief from the burgh behind me.
Eadfrith was younger than I was with a blond beard and a scar running down one cheek. He had done well to command at such an early age. He smiled, “You are here to surrender?”
I laughed, “Why should we? Your king was kind enough to lay in such supplies that we may never choose to leave such a lovely spot.”
Anger briefly flitted across his face and then he smiled again. “When the rest of our army arrives we will have your surrounded and you will have to surrender.”
“You have such little faith in the walls which your men built. How sad.”
This time he allowed his irritation to show. He had already revealed his lack of experience by giving me too much information. “We shall see, Welshman! What is it that you do want?”
I spread my arm around the battlefield. “Your men fought and died bravely. Now that you follow the White Christ we thought you might like to bury them.”
A frown crossed his face. “Why would you do that?”
I shook my head, “Such suspicion. Leave them there then for the beasts of the night to devour and despoil. My holy men thought that your priests might like to bury them and send them to their new god. My men died well with swords in their hands and they are already in the Otherworld but you are Christians are you not?”
I could see from the faces of them all that they were not all committed Christians. King Edwin might have been converted but some of his men still adhered to the old ways.
“Very well then.”
“We will have a truce until noon.”
Eadfrith shook his head, “That is not enough time to collect the dead and to bury them.”
I shrugged as though it did not matter, “Until nightfall then.”
“Until nightfall.”
He nodded and we remounted. It took me all my time to do so. He grinned as he looked up at me on my magnificent mount, “And the next time I see you, horse lover, my sword will bring you down to my level and I will wear that fine armour.”
“Many men have promised that Eadfrith of Caer Daun and yet I still wear it.” I wheeled Star’s head around and we rode back to the fort.
When we were out of earshot Pelas asked, “Warlord, why
did you say the truce would be until noon? Surely we needed as much time as possible.”
“And that is why. If I suggested night fall then he would have been suspicious. I made him suggest that which I desired.”
Llewellyn chuckled, “And that is why he is the Warlord, young squire. He uses his mind as well as his sword.”
“There will be a truce until nightfall. Have Aed and the other scouts collect our dead. Have them listen to the Northumbrians. Do not let on that they speak Saxon and I want other Saxon speakers on this wall to listen to the Northumbrians as they collect the bodies. We can gain valuable intelligence.” Pol nodded and ran off to find the men. As I stepped down I said, quietly to Gawan, “My wound feels damp.”
He nodded, “I will look at it. I feared this.”
In the hall Pelas and Llewellyn helped me to take off my armour. The wound looked angry but there was not as much blood as I had feared. My brother sniffed it and seemed satisfied. He took a clean cloth and dipped it in a mixture of vinegar and herbs. He wiped at the wound which stung but I knew it would help the healing process. He took out his balms and salves. “It is healing but you need to rest more. No more armour for a day or two.”
I laughed and regretted it for it hurt. “Tell the Northumbrians that, brother. I have, at least, bought us a day. I will try to avoid becoming involved in the fighting.”
Pelas said, “Fighting? Surely you have bought us a day and a night, Warlord.”
“No, Pelas. They will come tonight. They will take their dead away and then this Eadfrith will try to capture the burgh before King Edwin gets here. He is young and I think he is keen to impress. As soon as it is dark I want the ditch sowing with lillia. Llewellyn, you can go now and have the ditch to the south sown for tonight they will surround us. We will have a ring of fire by morning.”
“How do you know?”
Pelas was inquisitive and that was good but I did not have the time to explain every decision I made. “Eadfrith told me when he asked for a truce until nightfall. He also said that King Edwin would surround us. It was a slip of the tongue. They will come and we will be ready.”
Chapter 21
As the last Saxon left the field I ordered the squires and the boy slingers to collect every piece of horse manure they could and throw it into the ditches. Some was already dry but even the fresh would soon dry. It would make the interior of the burgh slightly sweeter smelling but, more importantly it would disguise the lillia and make any slight wounds potentially mortal.
“Daffydd, as soon as it is dark, tell the squires and the boys to throw down kindling and faggots into the ditches. Not too many but enough for you to start a fire. Have spare faggots ready to keep the fire going. I will give the command when you are to release fire arrows. Have your best archers around the walls to make sure they take hold. ” It took skill to use a fire arrow effectively. There were only five or six of my men who could do so easily although I would have as many as possible sent into the ditch.
“Aye Warlord.”
“Bors, have any pig fat and oil poured down the sides of the ditch. I want it slippery and I want it to burn.”
“Aye Warlord.”
Of course the pig fat and the oil would also burn. I risked it igniting the walls of the burgh but the fort was made of new wood and would not burn as easily as an older fort.
I went to the hall with my warriors and ate well. Pol looked at me as we ate and said, “You will not fight tonight!”
“If they break through then I will have no choice will I?”
“Then we will make sure that they will not break through.”
“They will come at us from all sides. I will stand at the north gate with Pelas and Llenlleog. Lann Aelle, take the south gate. Pol and Gawan I think they will attack the hardest at the east and the west for there are no gates there. You each take one. I want the men evenly spread around: an equite, a slinger, a squire, an archer and so on. I would that we all had equal protection. Daffydd, you take charge of the fire arrows. When they have suffered wounds in the ditch we fire it and we feed the fire. The dung in the bottom will help to keep the fire going.”
I caught Pelas looking south. “Fear not, squire, King Penda will come. He has already won the support of the Saxon kings to the south. He will want to defeat King Edwin for that will make him high king of the Saxons in this land.”
“And then we will have to defeat him.”
I smiled at Gawan. “You are right brother but that is in the future. Wyrd puts one obstacle in the way at a time. Who knows what might happen between now and then? We did not expect the help from the Hibernians but that helped us.” I pointed to Llenlleog. “We did not know we had kin across the sea but we do now.” I shrugged, “Who knows, at some time in the future our kin may come across the waters and conquer the Saxons, eh Llenlleog?”
He grinned, “Aye my lord. For I now see that this is a land worth fighting for. We have a toe hold in Frankia but we are like you, a hardy and resilient people. Do not rule it out, Pelas!”
I donned my armour despite the pain. I would not fight but I could not risk an accidental wound because I was not wearing armour. I knew, from Pol, that the warriors felt better when they saw me amongst them. I smiled and spoke to each one as I passed. I had learned the names of each of the slingers too. I had known many of their fathers. My own father had taught me the value of knowing the warriors with whom I fought. The number of my warriors was small and everyone was as valuable to me as any other.
We stood silently awaiting the enemy. I did not wear my helmet. Although well made, it did dampen sounds a little and I needed sharp ears that night. I scanned the forest. It blended into the land but there was a darker shadow there. I began to wonder if I had mis-read Eadfrith for all we heard was the sounds of the night. My warriors knew better than to talk and to move. By standing silently we made it hard for an approaching warrior to spot us.
I became aware that there was total silence. The animals of the night were still. The Northumbrians were coming. I slowly picked up my bow and took out an arrow. I was not certain if my wound would allow me to pull the string but it felt better having a weapon in my hand. I saw moving shadows making their way from the forest. I did not need to speak for my men would have spotted them too. The boy slingers had especially good eyes. Every equite had either a bow or a javelin. They were all ready. This was the hard part as we waited for them to come. We had to remain still to create the illusion that we were not ready. This was where I missed Myrddyn for he would have had some magic up his sleeve. I had not had time to speak with Gawan but I hoped he had something too. If I had but one pot of Greek fire it would make all the difference.
I saw that the shadows had stopped some twenty paces from the ditch. They had learned from their earlier attack and would not come forward blindly this time. It mattered not. I turned to see if Llewellyn had the buccina to hand and I saw that he had. I could make out the Northumbrians now. They were slithering like serpents towards the ditch. That was clever. They would feel the stakes. Of course it would not be pleasant for them as they would have the horse dung to go through first. Eventually they would need to stand and when they slipped they would be impaled anyway.
The Northumbrians disappeared into the bottom of the ditch; it was all shadow. I saw one of them. He had not blackened his helmet and I saw a reflection. He began to pull himself up the side of the ditch. He had a sword in his hand and that was his undoing. His foot slipped on the slippery bank and his one free hand was not enough to save him. He fell backwards knocking over a companion and, more importantly, impaling his foot on a dung covered stake. He screamed. We were all ready and arrows, lead shot and javelins were accurately hurled at the men we had watched for some time. Llewellyn sounded the buccina. It seemed to be answered by Saxon horns and we saw more shadows running from the forest to join the attack.
The initial attack had been thwarted but now more Northumbrians ran to join their beleaguered comrades. The ones in the dit
ch had shields above their heads for protection but they could not ascend the slippery sides nor the wooden walls. They would wait for their comrades. The technique had been mastered by us. They would use two men to hold a shield and make a platform for a warrior to use. They would either scale the walls or fight the defenders from the top of the shield. It worked. Our forts had higher walls but the Northumbrian’s burgh had walls which could be scaled.
We were causing fewer casualties. My men were waiting for a certain target rather than wasting precious missiles. It emboldened the Northumbrians; perhaps they thought we were running out of arrows and stone. I was waiting until the ditch was filled. My eyes were so accustomed to the dark by this time that I could make out faces. When I saw the ditch filled with faces I yelled, “Now, Daffydd!”
There were only four or five fire arrows along each wall and they were not aimed at men. They plunged into the faggots and the brush. The faggots began to burn. There were not many of them and the Northumbrians ignored them. They had light now to see the walls and the defenders. They began to hurl spears at their tormentors. Daffydd and his archers began to spread out their fire arrows and more of the faggots flamed. Suddenly some of the pig fat ignited and then the oil. There were spurts of flames and some of the warriors lying wounded in the ditch found themselves on fire and unable to move. The dried dung burned and began to send ripples of flames along the ditch. Now the Saxons could not ignore the flames and they tried to throw the faggots from the ditch towards the walls. To do so they had to use two hands and more warriors fell to stones and arrows. They were brave. I saw a leader exhorting his men to attack once more. Llenlleog’s arrow silenced him.