by Griff Hosker
"I thought the boys might be blooded, Ulf Olafsson."
He nodded, "Aye for we are a warband this day."
We formed up and the front six were Ulfheonar. Sven and Einar were in the fourth rank at the end of the left and right. They had proved that they were reliable. Ulf gambled that our weight of mail and our skill would win the day.
The men of Strathclyde formed a shield wall. I saw that it was just one rank deep and that the shields were all of different sizes. They could not lock them. We could not run as we might if this was a wedge of veteran warriors. We would approach at the walk. We did not have spears at the front. My Ulfheonar preferred their swords except for Rolf Horse Killer who wielded his axe. He was behind me on the right and his shield was slung behind his back. The men from the village would have a shock when he swung that deadly Danish weapon.
I saw the mailed leader in the centre of their line as he shouted orders and they tightened their line as stones flew over our heads. Ulf shouted, "Right boys, let's see if you can do better!"
Stones clattered off my mail. I would have bruises but no more. Ulf's boys, in contrast, were hitting farmers and warriors without mail. I saw one struck on the hand and he dropped his spear. Even though he picked it up again he was wounded. And then we hit. Ulf had aimed our wedge directly at the one who had shouted the orders. I concentrated on the man to his left and I swung my sword over as his spear struck my shield. I was aware of a movement behind me as Rolf swung his axe and the man to the left of the mailed warrior I fought was hacked across the middle by a double handed axe swung with all the force of an Ulfheonar. It ripped him in two and he fell, leaving a hole in the line. Rolf stepped next to me.
My sword had been stopped by my enemy's shield but the blood from the man next to him has spattered his face and I could see that he was shaken. We were too close for him to use his spear. If Rolf had not stepped next to me then I would have been able to swing my sword but I could not and so I stepped forward and head butted the man. He reeled back and, as I moved into the gap I was able to bring my sword over and the blade caught him on the helmet and face. Ragnar's Spirit sliced through both and into his skull. I saw that the leader of the men of the village had been slain by Ulf and his shield wall was in disarray. Rolf swung the axe with the freedom of a warrior who knows the enemy has no mail. The boys with the slings continued to rain them on the enemy. Sven and Einar fought with wild abandon and, in the centre, the Ulfheonar carved our way through the heart of the enemy line.
The survivors broke. It was then the men from Ulf's Stad wreaked revenge on their former tormentors. Without mail they hurtled after the survivors and they found unguarded backs. The boys with slings grabbed knives from the dead and hurried after to slit throats and despatch the wounded. That day they went from boys to warriors. Their lives would never be the same again.
The Ulfheonar had borne the brunt of the fighting and we stopped and took off our helmets. Ulf was grinning. "That went better than I thought."
I nodded and turned to Rolf, "A fine stroke with the axe."
"Thank you, Jarl Dragonheart."
"Next time do not break the wedge. You stopped my swing and if the enemy had been better then you might have fallen. A wedge is only as strong as each individual part."
"I am sorry Jarl. I felt the joy of battle in my hands."
Haaken said, "That is but a step away from a berserker! The Jarl himself is not immune from such reckless acts but a good warrior controls his blood."
We moved into the village. The women and children had fled and this time they had managed to drive some of the animals with them. But it was a larger village and we were able to collect more that Ulf and his people could use.
Arne and the others were euphoric when they returned. All were blood spattered but, apart from minor cuts, unharmed. "We could conquer the whole of this valley if we chose."
I was about to speak when Ulf snapped, "Fool! You have six Ulfheonar who destroyed the enemy! You would have lasted two strokes against those two mailed warriors. They had fought before. When the Jarl and my brothers return to Cyninges-tūn it will be we who have to fight! Now gather the weapons and the mail. We have made a start and I am pleased but it is only a start. When each of you wears mail and knows how to fight then we might think of conquering this valley!"
Arne nodded, "Aye Jarl. You are right. Come let us do as our Jarl says!"
I turned to Haaken and said quietly, "Ulf was a good choice."
"He was and he led well." Both of us had picked up on Arne's words, 'our Jarl'. He was now their leader
As we rode home I said, "We will not need to ride tomorrow Ulf. We will stay another three days and then return home. What think you?"
"I think you are right. The farmers have work in the fields and I need to organise my defences. I had yet to look at my walls."
"And you have potential in those boys. They were the difference today. Their shower of stones discomfited the enemy."
Haaken said, "And I am ready for a rest. I would try out the baths in the fort. I wish to see if they are good as the Jarl's steam hut."
"We have baths?"
I nodded, "I think they need work but we will look tomorrow and see."
Once again we feasted well on Strathclyde animals. Arne and the others seemed almost reluctant to return to their farms but Ulf was insistent. He wanted the opportunity to explore his new stronghold. I took the Ulfheonar down to the baths. There was some damage and Erik looked disappointed, "I thought that the Romans built to last. This looks ruined." I could see what he meant. Half of the roof had fallen in.
I shook my head. I had seen these in Miklagård and had an idea how they worked. "There are three things we must repair. First the water supply." I pointed to a broken pipe. Water was coming from a pond but it could not use the channel it was intended for. The ground was wet and muddy. "Erik, you take Rolf and Rollo, find another pipe and repair it." He nodded. He now had something to do. "Haaken and I will see if the furnace can be mended. If that is broken beyond repair then we have baths but they will be cold ones! When that is done we will look at the roof."
The roof was the least of our worries. We went down to the furnace. It was below the baths and it looked to be intact. "This is good, Jarl. I cannot see anything wrong with this!"
I took a long stick and poked it down the flue which led to the hot room. I found an obstruction. "There is the problem. Something has fallen down. We must repair it."
We scrabbled around and found what we needed and after much strenuous work cleared the detritus of centuries. When we went into the so called hot room we found a couple of broken stones. We went to the paved area outside and took a couple of suitable ones. It was soon finished. By noon Erik had repaired the water supply and the furnace was mended. "We will let the water fill up and light the fire."
"What about the roof, Jarl?"
"Is it raining Erik?"
"No, Jarl."
"Then we repair that tomorrow. I would like a reward this night for our hard work."
It was late afternoon when the water was hot enough and we enjoyed a pleasant couple of hours in the baths. The hard work had been worth it. The baths leaked a little but I told the others that I would have Aiden read and discover how to repair it. Ulf was happy. "I am the only jarl with a bath house."
It was such small luxuries which appealed to my men.
The next day, refreshed, we began the equipping and training of Arne and the others. All the boys from the neighbouring farms turned up. The ones we had taken with us to raid had told them of the glory of war. Ulf would have a larger warband. Success bred confidence and that bred even more success.
Anya was happy too. Every woman likes a clean home and the Roman quarters were easier to keep clean. Sometimes we made choices and decisions and they were perfect. This had been one such decision. Perhaps I should not have been surprised for it had been Aiden who had planted the seed in my mind.
Before we could take the w
arband to practice a shield wall, men and their families from the outlying farms began to pour towards us.
"Raiders from the north Jarl!" We rang the bell which would summon all the workers into the stronghold.
This would be a test of the defences and of the men who manned the walls. As the last refugee entered the fort we slammed shut the gates. I stood on the gate house and peered north. There was a warband of fifty or more warriors. Eight were in mail and they arrayed themselves beyond bow range. Had we had more men I would have met them beard to beard but there was little point in risking all. We had to defeat them and that meant using the Roman defences.
Ulf looked at me and I could see that he was worried. "It seems our raids north have brought us trouble."
"It would have happened anyway. Better now while we have six Ulfheonar here." I patted the wall. "We have taken places with walls but never such walls as this I think. How would you attack these walls, Ulf?"
"If I did not have ladders I would attack the gate. I would use axe men to break through the timbers."
I pointed, "And unless they use all of their mailed men then our archers and even your boys with slings can hurt them. What we do need is rocks. I would have your men fetch rocks. We can rain them down on the mailed warriors."
Haaken said, "Then the problems will begin for they will leave here and raid your lands. We must be ready to fight them beyond the walls when they have bled enough. These barbarians are brave to the point of madness."
He nodded, "I will get my archers and slingers ready!"
I went down to the quarters I was using to don my mail and prepare for war. It had been some time since I had fought from a wall. Normally it was we who would be doing the attacking. By the time I had reached the walls again the men of Strathclyde were preparing to advance to the walls. They were not fools and they had assembled a shield wall two shields high. My Ulfheonar joined me on the walls. I saw Sven and Einar waiting for orders.
"Sven go to the east tower. The men there will need a leader. Einar do the same on the west."
They hurried off, eager to be doing something. Erik laughed, "They will be safe enough there. This is where they will attack."
I nodded, "But this way they will see mailed warriors at the two towers and assume that we have more men than we actually do."
The enemy came towards us. The leader had committed half of his men to this first attack. He had divided his mailed men between his two groups.
Ulf led some of those who were not warriors to deposit rocks and stones on the wall above the gate. He looked down the length of the two walls. There were not enough of the enemy to attack more than one wall. We had plenty of men and boys. The men of the north would not be able to simply walk into the fort. The shield wall was now within range. Ulf shouted, "Archers, slingers, release!"
There was a whirring and a series of twangs followed by cracks as arrows and stone struck the shields. While they remained tightly locked the shields would provide protection but once they reached the gates they would have to lay down their shields and use two hands to wield their axes. Some of the shields now had the added weight of arrows. I wished that we had javelins. They would have weighed down the shields even more. The stones cracked against the shields. Behind them the men must have wondered if their shields would hold. Ulf was a strong warrior and, as the shield wall stepped on to the bridge over the ditch he picked up a rock and hurled it down. It struck the middle of the shields and the weight must have stunned the bearer for a hole appeared and stones and arrows hit flesh as archers and slingers saw targets. Two men fell into the ditch before the shields became a protective cover once more.
My Ulfheonar each picked up a stone and they threw it down. I chose one and I managed to throw it and strike the leading shield and the warrior beneath. One of the boys managed to hit the warrior on the side of his helmet and he fell to the ground. An archer pinned his leg to the bridge. They were brave but they were now doomed to failure. As men hefted their axes and attempted to hack the gate, stones and arrows struck them. They began to pull back. In the time it took them to rejoin the other half they lost a further two warriors. Ten lay wounded or dead. They would be an obstacle for the next attack.
The next attack did not materialize. The leader, mounted on his horse, took off his helmet and approached the gates with his hands out, palms uppermost. They wish to talk. Ulf looked at me, "This is your fort, Ulf Olafsson. It is for you to speak."
He took off his helmet. His eyes, red with cochineal made him look even more frightening. He sheathed his sword and leaned against the wall. The northerner halted at the bridge. I saw his eyes glance down at the dead and the dying. He spoke our language, badly, but better than Ulf could speak his.
"We have come to punish you for attacking our people."
Ulf nodded, "And now that we are punished you can go back home!"
The man frowned, "You are not yet punished!"
"You have attacked my walls. Let us call that punishment."
"You must pay us for the men you killed and the animals you took!"
Ulf laughed, "Are all your people as stupid as you? We have taken back merely that which your people stole from us. I am here to tell you that if you raid again then we will make war on you and make your land a place of bones."
It was the barbarians turn to laugh. "With such a small number of men? I think not!"
I took off my helmet. I had enough of their language to speak to him, "No, friend, Jarl Ulf will have the support of Jarl Dragonheart, the Wolf Warrior and we will feast on the flesh of your animals!"
I could see that he expected neither to be addressed in his own tongue nor for it to be me who did so. He pointed to Ulf, "Let you and I settle this! We will fight man to man here!"
Ulf said, "And when I win, what then?"
"My men will return home and there will be peace. The gods will decide this."
"Very well."
As he turned I said, "You do not need to do this."
Ulf smiled, "You and I know that I do Jarl."
I nodded, "Make sure you win."
He tightened his wolf skin about his shoulders. He was Ulfheonar. He would win. It mattered not how strong the other warrior was. Ulf would keep fighting until life left him. Others stopped long before death!
The barbarian took off his cloak. I saw that his mail was just a chest and back protector. His arms were bare and it did not reach past his knees. His shield was slightly smaller than Ulf's. All of this was important. I could not tell who had made his sword. Bjorn had made Ulf's and his would be true and strong. Ulf would wear his cloak. He had killed the wolf he wore and eaten of its heart. It gave him the protection of the wolf and would not impede him when he fought.
Erik, Rolf and Rollo accompanied him to watch for any treachery. I did not think that there would be. The warriors from north of the border were, generally, honourable. There was little preamble. Any words which needed to be said had been spoken already. Ulf was marginally shorter than the chief and that would give his opponent a slight advantage but Ulf was fighting for more than the chief from Strathclyde, he was fighting for his own land.
The chief swung his sword and Ulf blocked it with his shield. When Ulf tried a swashing blow at the chief he countered it with his own shield. I saw the disparity in size of shield. Ulf's, like mine, was so big that it virtually just rested upon his arm and shoulder, held there by a long leather strap as well as the grip. The barbarian's was much smaller and he had to expend energy raising it. The blow from Ulf also had more direction and the bigger man reeled a little.
Each man fights his own way. I always liked to move quickly and go on the offensive. Ulf was different and he like to weigh up the strengths and weakness of his enemy. The first blows exchanged they warily circled each other. One false move could result in death. This time, when the chief struck, Ulf blocked with his sword. There were two reasons for that. He wished to test the blade of his enemy and it left his shield free to be used offens
ively.
As the blades rang together it was Ulf's which sounded clearer. Sparks flew from them. Ulf had the quickest reactions and he swung at the chief's head. The chief was forced to block with his sword. The barbarian was forced back a little by the force of the blow and Ulf punched hard with the boss of his shield. He hit the chief's face and his nose erupted in a mess of blood and bone. The men on the walls cheered; first blood. The chief stepped back and wiped his face with the back of his bare arm. He looked at the blood as though he could not believe it.
Ulf swung again and the blow was blocked but I thought I detected a slight bend in Ulf's opponent's weapon. As he raised it to strike it did not look as straight as it had. Bjorn Bagsecgson always made swords with a point so that we could stab. Most of our enemies just used the edge of the blade. Ulf lunged. It was clean and it was swift. It was not a blow that the chief was expecting. That, allied to his small shield meant that the strike found flesh and we all saw blood spurt from the man's arm. His shield, which hung from it, dropped a little.
He was a brave warrior and he went on the offensive. Ulf had been expecting that and he took the flurry of blows first on his sword and then on his shield. The chief weakened with each strike as blood seeped from his arm and his nose. Ulf trained every day and he would not tire in single combat. I saw Ulf steady himself as he prepared to go in for the kill. He feinted with his shield and, as the chief raised his shield to counter, Ulf swung sideways at the warrior's left side. It was a good blow and the blade was sharp enough to break some of the mail links. It also caught the warrior off balance and he lurched to the side. Ulf then used a manoeuvre many of my warriors used. He spun away and then around the man. To the chief it was as though he had disappeared. Ulf Olafsson brought his shield and boss into the back of the barbarian. Disorientated the chief overbalanced and fell to the ground. As he tried to rise Ulf brought his sword down on the back of his neck and decapitated him. He stuck his sword in the ground, reached down and lifted the head to turn and face the warband.
Two of the oathsworn of the chief, who were mounted galloped towards Ulf. My three Ulfheonar raced to form a shield wall in front of the triumphant Ulf. As the two horses swerved to avoid the human wall Rollo and Rolf swung their weapons. Rolf's axe cut the body of one of the warriors in two while Rollo's strike took the second warrior's leg at the thigh.
