The Duke and the King

by Griff Hosker

  “Charge!”

  I gave the order knowing that I led young warriors with quick reactions. My enemies did not expect an old man to move as quickly as I did. My long legs might have been ancient but they could still eat up the ground and they did. Even as the Neustrians tried to form another shield wall my sword swept across the thighs of the men before me. I killed none with the blow but three men had wounds which would result in their deaths. Leif, Robert and the rest of my young warriors tore into the men I had wounded and I shouldered the wounded men aside as I raced to face Robert of Neustria. The two of us found ourselves in a space vacated by men who had raced to fight my hearth weru and littered with the dead slain by my archers. His father had been my enemy and while I had never fought the man, we had been enemies for many years. He had killed my men and he did not fear me. He hefted his shield and stepped towards me. I did the unexpected. Raising my sword, I pivoted to swing around. My sword swung at shoulder height. The blade gathered momentum as I swung. If he had had quicker reactions, he could have tried to stab me in the back as I swung but my movement was unexpected. As it came around, I struck his shield. Few men could have withstood such a blow. The shield cracked, as did his arm and he tumbled backwards. He fell over the body of Harold Mighty Fist.

  There are times for sword skills which impress other warriors and there are times for killing. This was a time for killing. As he lay, I swung my sword. The blade came down towards his prostrate body. He managed to bring his shattered shield across to protect himself. The blade smashed the already damaged shield in two. He cried out as the sword broke his arm and some of his ribs. He did not want to die and, as I raised my sword to end it, he rolled and tried to rise. His left arm hung uselessly by his side and I saw blood trickling from his mouth. His sword was still in his hand. I began my swing.

  Raising his sword, he said, “You may have killed me, barbarian, but you have lost the war!”

  My swing was begun and I took his head. Long Sword hacked through mail, flesh, muscle, ligament and bone. It severed the leather strap on his helmet and his helmet flew from his head. I reached down and picked up the head by the hair. I held it aloft and shouted, “Clan of the Horse!” There was a moment when all fighting stopped. The Neustrians and Franks who remained stared in horror at the head of their King. They had lost. The King was dead. The remaining warriors fled towards the north and east. We had won!

  The words were hardly out of my mouth when Bagsecg led my horsemen towards me. I turned so that all could see that we had won. When I faced north, I saw that Robert of Neustria had not lied. Below me, I saw that the standards of Count Fulbert and King Charles were gone. The army was fleeing north. He was right. We had lost the battle. The enemy held the ground to the north and they outnumbered us. My victory was in vain, Harold Mighty Fist need not have died! There would be time for debate later. We were many miles from our home. I had to keep as many of our men alive as I could.

  “Robert, have the horn sound fall back!”

  Even as the notes echoed out, I knew that we could not take Harold Mighty Fist and the rest of the dead home. Their bodies would be despoiled and their weapons taken. It could not be helped. They were in the Otherworld now and I hoped they would understand.

  Bagsecg, his sword bloody, galloped up to me. I saw his two brothers lived too. He shook his head, “They knew what we intended, lord. As we chased their men from the field, we saw that there were another three thousand men hidden behind the hill. They attacked the King.”

  “Did he fall?”

  “I know not. We disengaged and came to your aid.”

  He had made the correct decision. The King had lost but we had a chance to survive. I could still think and plan, “We head to Compiègne. We are too far from home to make the journey in one march. We rest and I can plan a way to get us home. I would have you cover our retreat. Have your brother Erik secure the town of Compiègne for us. They will not know the result of the battle yet.” He nodded. “Do not waste your lives. If we reach Compiègne then you have done all that you could.”

  He grinned, “Do not worry, lord, I have just seen the mightiest warrior of this age fight as though he was a stripling boy. We can still do as you bid.” He turned, “Horsemen of the Duke. Reform!”

  The hill would help us. We could head down and away from the victorious armies of our enemies. The victors would still be stripping the bodies of valuables and celebrating the victory. Those who had fought with King Robert would be running until it was dark. Bagsecg and his men could sweep down and discourage pursuit. As I turned to watch my men begin to stream down the hill, I spied Bjorn and Sámr. They came towards me. Both walked although I saw that their swords were notched; their shields and mail were covered in blood.

  “We head for Compiègne. It is a hard march but Bagsecg can watch our back.”

  “They died for nothing.” Bjorn was looking at the bodies of Harold and his sons.

  “They did not. They died with honour. This is not ended. I am no longer bound by an oath. King Charles is king no longer. We are unfettered. We can raid and begin to eat our way into the lands of the Franks. We can encourage more Vikings to come and help us raid. The Norns were spinning, Bjorn. We have not yet finished doing that which my grandfather began. Now let us march with order. We are Normans and not a rabble of Franks!”

  We had twenty miles to go. For any other warriors who had just fought as we had then it would be almost impossible but we were different. With the wounded in the centre and our archers guarding our flanks we marched. We slung our shields upon our backs and we sheathed our swords. Those we had left on the battlefield would take some time to organize. We had to put as much daylight between us as we could.

  Sámr Oakheart marched next to me, “I noticed that the wood of Compiègne is just twelve miles away. We could leave our archers there to discourage the enemy.”

  “If we reach the woods without being attacked then we will be safe. Our biggest advantage is that they are leaderless. The Duke of Burgundy was on the hill with Robert of Neustria. He is the heir. He fled. It is the men of Soissons I fear. Their Count knows this land. He was not on the hill. If he has horsemen then they might follow and attack us.”

  We walked in silence for a few miles. All of us were desperately thirsty and hungry. A battle dries the mouth. Retreat saps energy. Sámr said, “It was a great victory.”

  I shook my head, “If this was a victory then we would be on top of the hill stripping the dead of their mail and drinking their wine. We left the field with honour but it was not a victory. Look at our men.”

  He looked around and saw men with heads hung. He smiled, “Then let us raise their heads!” He began to sing.

  Ragnvald Ragnvaldson was cursed from his birth

  Through his dark life he was a curse to the earth

  A brother nearly drowned and father stabbed

  The fortunes of the clan ever ebbed

  The Norns they wove and Hrólfr lived

  From the dark waters he survived.

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson he became

  A giant of a man with a mighty name

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with the Longsword

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with his Longsword

  When the brothers met by Rouen’s walls

  Warriors emptied from warrior halls

  Then Ragnvald Ragnvaldson became the snake

  Letting others’ shields the chances take

  Arne the Breton Slayer used a knife in the back

  Longsword he beat that treacherous attack

  When the snake it tired and dropped its guard

  Then Longsword struck swift and hard

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with the Longsword

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with his Longsword

  And with that sword he took the hand

  That killed his father and his land

  With no sword the snake was doomed

  To rot with Hel in darkness entombed

&n
bsp; When the head was struck and the brother died

  The battle ended and the clan all cried

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with the Longsword

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with his Longsword

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with the Longsword

  Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson with his Longsword

  Sámr was right to sing for every head was raised and smiles appeared. The words fed them. They were like a refreshing horn of ale on a hot day! It made us as one, once more. The battle of Soissons would become a song we would sing in the future but for now, we would sing of the day my brother died and we began to become Normans.

  It was dark when we reached Compiègne. I saw that some of those in the town had tried to prevent my horsemen from holding it. They now lay dead. Erik Leifsson said, “I am sorry lord, some escaped west. We did not have enough men to hold both gates.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder, “You did what I asked. Now we hold here!”

  In fact, more than half of the town had fled. The lords and merchants had taken the few horses they had and left. The ones who remained were the ones who could not flee. Bagsecg and his men arrived. Their horses and they were weary. We set guards on the gates and we ate. It was a sombre feast. Four hundred and more of my men had perished. I could not remember a day since Paris when we had lost so many men. Yet I survived. My work was not yet done. What else remained for me to do?

  I rose early and I went to find Bagsecg. We went to the stables. The horses had had grain and water. “Are there any which can be ridden this day?”

  “How far?”

  “Come, let us find Sámr.” I led him from the stable to the walls. Sámr was on duty and we peered into the lightening sky to the east. “We were lucky, yesterday. Today we cannot rely on luck. They will organize and they will follow us. I am counting on the fact that they will need food. We have it here already. We can recover but, eventually, we will need to march home and they will attack us on the road. They see a wounded beast and they will be like carrion. They will pick us off until it is a skeleton which crawls into Rouen.” Their faces told me that it was true. “What I propose is to send a couple of riders. We left half of our men at home. We have half of that half march towards us. We do not follow the road we took here. They will be expecting us and the men who fled will have barred Bieuvais. We head to the Seine which is just thirty miles from Bjorn’s land. I would have drekar meet us at the river and the rest of Bjorn’s men.”

  Sámr said, “Will Bjorn be happy about risking his family?”

  “I hope so. Bagsecg, choose your best horses and men. It will take them a day to reach our nearest fief. There they will be able to take horses. We wait here for three days. I want us and our horses rested.”

  “You risk us becoming besieged.” He was not complaining. He was stating a fact.

  I nodded, “I am gambling but I believe that the Norns have spun. Had they wanted me dead I would lie on that hill with Harold Mighty Fist.”

  Bagsecg nodded, “I will send Erik and Gilles. They are the best, save me, and they know horses.” He gave me a wan smile. And if the Duke is wrong and we do die here, at least the blood of my grandfather will not be lost.”

  The two of them headed out before dawn. They took four men with them and two spare horses. They were well armed and Erik was confident they could steal or take more horses and reach the river quicker than we expected. We prepared for war. It was a gamble but I had seen nothing on the battlefield which frightened me. We had better horsemen, better mail and better weapons. My army also had something else which marked them as different, Robert Duke of Normandy!

  Chapter 13

  The enemy did not reach us until the late afternoon. I think they expected us to be long gone. They approached the gates bareheaded. It was the sign they wished to speak. I recognised the leader. It was Count Rudolf of Burgundy. “King Charles has been deposed. He is on his way to his prison already. I am the newly elected King of Western Franks. I demand that you open the gates and surrender.”

  If he had been elected then it was only by those who had fought alongside him. There were many other lords who would have a say in the matter and they might choose Rudolf or they might choose another. This was a bluff to make us surrender. I had no intention of doing so. I waited and then, putting my hands on my hips, began to laugh, “Why? We defeated your father in law yesterday. His head and body lie on the battlefield. We were weary after hewing so many heads and decided to stay here. We have good walls and we have plenty of food.”

  “You owe me allegiance for I am your liege lord.”

  “Have you been crowned? I think not. Have I said I will bow the knee to a Burgundian pup? No. I swore an oath to King Charles. I kept that oath. If you wish me to open the gates bring King Charles here and I will open them to the King. I will not open them to you.”

  “We outnumber you!”

  “Yesterday you outnumbered us and we still won! This time you do not fight Magyars! You fight Normans. Now is there more or can I go and eat? I am hungry!”

  I did not wait for a response, I strode away. King Charles had given me the title of Duke of Normandy. Rudolf and the others knew it but they would never accord me the title. Robert and Leif followed me, “Lord,” asked Robert, “what will they do?”

  “I know not but it makes no difference to us what they do. They can attack us; they can besiege us or they can leave. We have to wait until our ships reach the Seine. We eat, we rest and we recover. When the time is right, we fight our way out if we have to. Do not forget, Robert, that they fought a battle too. We lost many men but they lost all of their horses, many of their best warriors and they lost their leader. Rudolf says he is King of the West but I planted a seed of doubt in his mind. He has not been anointed.” I pointed to the church we were passing, “He could have been anointed here if there was an archbishop, the holy oil and if we were not sitting here. He will have to go to Paris. He has been elected by those he fought alongside. What about those who did not fight? What about those in Paris? Is there another who could steal the crown from under his nose? We stick to my plan.” I smiled, “Do you now regret following my banner?”

  They both laughed and shook their heads.

  We not only ate and rested, but we also looted. The lords who had fled had been too concerned with their lives. They had taken most of their treasure but left enough for all of my men to profit. My men slaughtered all of the animals which remained within the walls and we salted them. They would feed us on the road. We would have no time to forage. The enemy thought we were beaten. They did not attack and kept but a loose watch around the walls. There were no siege lines. When, a day after our meeting, the standard of Burgundy left I knew that Rudolf had headed south to Paris. He would be crowned and secure the throne.

  After three days I felt confident enough to suggest that we leave. I gathered my leaders. We would march together but in warbands. If we were attacked, and I fully expected at least one attack, then we would be able to defend ourselves more easily. Bagsecg and his men, now on grain fed and rested horses, would be our screen. They would give us a warning of an attack. We had forty-eight miles to go and I planned on doing that in one march. We would take rests but we would not camp and we would not sleep. Even if my fleet did not reach us, I would be happier fighting with a river at my back. Each warband would carry its own food and drink. We would be self-sufficient. Sámr would lead the army, or what remained of it. Bjorn the Brave would be the rearguard. Bagsecg divided his horsemen into four and they boxed us in. We left an hour before dawn. We gave no warning.

  Sámr’s men slipped out in the dark and their knives ended the lives of the watchers to the west. The attack yielded us six horses which we gratefully took. Bagsecg’s men, a quarter of them, left first and they walked their horses down the road. The last to leave would be the rest of the horsemen. I had contemplated firing the town but realised that would just alert the enemy and yield us nothing.

  By the
time dawn broke, we were five miles down the road. I had the largest warband. There were sixty men with me, fifteen of them were hearth weru. My horsemen were now with Bagsecg. At noon one of Bagsecg’s men rode up to report that the rearguard had ambushed the pursuing men of Soissons. They knew we had escaped them and now they would hunt us. Our horsemen walked as much as they rode. We had to conserve the horses for the long journey home. As I walked Blue, I began to feel light headed. I put it down to the excitement of escape. The Norns were spinning.

  It was in the evening when the illness which would plague me for my remaining time in this world, struck. I felt dizzy and I thought it was lack of food. I called a halt. I put my hand on my water bottle. My fingers would not grip. I felt the same as I had when I had sunk beneath the waves off the coast of Cent. It was as though my body was no longer mine. As I bent, I felt a flash in my head. It was as though the side of my head was burning and I could hear nothing. I tried to grip my fingers but they would not obey me. I raised my head which felt as though it belonged to another. I saw faces looking at me. I did not know any of them. Had I been taken to another world? What was happening? I tried to speak but no words would form. Had aelfes taken me? Had I slipped into the spirit world? They spoke to me but I heard no words. I closed my eyes. I was Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson! I was the Duke of Normandy. In my head, I could hear my voice. “Grandfather, help me! I know not what this is. How can I fight it?” When I opened them, I saw that my men had returned. I saw Sámr Oakheart, Bjorn the Brave, Robert, Leif, all of them. I smiled. It was in relief.

  Sámr and Bjorn ran to my side. “Robert get your lord some ale. Lord, sit.”

  “I am fine Sámr. I was just a little dizzy.”

  Bjorn shook his head, “You could not hear our words. The side of your face looked like it had slipped. You frightened us. We have marched too far. We will camp here for the night.”

  Robert had brought ale. I drank half of the skin. I saw a piece of bread in Leif’s hand. I gestured for it. I ate. As soon as the bread went down my throat I felt better. I heard Bagsecg say, “I will send to our men and have them meet us this side of the river!”