by Griff Hosker
Eric Short Toe ran the length of the ship from his position as bow look out. “If I am able, I aim to board the ships. You will have to steer. First I want you and Aiden to lower the sail. I know that it will be hard but I believe you can do it. Then have Aiden bring me my helmet.”
He stood proudly, “We will not let you down, Dragon Heart.”
The two ships had seen us and were hurrying towards us. I had given Olaf and his people a reprieve, albeit brief. Now I had to try to defeat them. They had kept their sails up which was a mistake. It would impair their sight and make them less manoeuvrable.
I shouted to my men, “I intend to make them think they can surround us however I intend taking us down the side of the ship to our left. When I give the order I want the rowers on the left to stop rowing. I will lay us alongside and we will board them.”
They cheered and, as the noise carried across the waves, I wondered what the Irish would make of it. I gradually pushed the rudder over. I did it slowly but I was aiming my ship at the boat on the right. I could see that they were rowing as hard as they could. Scanlan and Snorri’s arrows were falling short but as soon as I closed they would have good targets. Eric and Aiden stood next to me. Aiden held my helmet.
“Left bank, stop rowing!” The oars on the right propelled us hard left and it seemed that the Irish ship would plough into us. “Right bank, up oars. Left bank row for your lives.”
As the oars came up I pushed the rudder hard over. The left oars bit into the water and we began to arrow towards the side of the Irish ship. I could see that they would not hit us and they had no idea where we were. Their sail hid us from view.
“Stop rowing and get your weapons. Egill, Gudrun, ropes!”
Our hull ground down the side of the pirate and the oars of the pirate ship were shattered. I heard screams from the pirates, many of whom would have had their arms broken by the impact. I glanced beyond the first ship and saw the second one desperately trying to turn into the wind. It would take them some time. I donned my helmet. “Eric, hold us close!”
Egill and Gudrun had thrown the two ropes with hooks attached. One bit into the wooden rail at the stern while the other tore through a pirate’s arm, before digging into the wooden side. Ignoring the danger of the two hulls which were grinding next to each other, I leapt over into the pirate ship. I crashed down onto some of the injured rowers. I heard a sickening crack as one of the pirates had his leg shattered by my jump. I swung Ragnar’s Spirit in an arc and two pirates felt its blade rip into their unprotected chests. My men had no mail with them but their leather tunics would give them some protection from the Irish weapons. I raced to the stern. I saw an arrow pitch the steersman over the side and another warrior fell clutching the arrow in his neck. There was no control over their ship now. The captain had a long curved sword and I made my way directly for him. He made the mistake of swinging at my head too early. I ducked and stabbed him in the top of the leg. He screamed and threw his head back. I pushed him over the side and into the water. The arterial blood spurted in a dramatic arc as he fell.
I looked down the length of the ship and saw my men ruthlessly butchering all who were before them. These were pirates and not oathsworn warriors. Many of them leapt over board and the rest were despatched.
“Haaken take Snorri and two others secure this ship. The rest of you back aboard ‘Wolf’!” I could see that the second ship had managed to turn. She was heading for our unprotected stern.
I reached Eric and grabbed the tiller. It needed critical control to do what I intended. My crew were well trained. As soon as they reached their benches they took their oars and awaited my orders. The second pirate ship had still to lover its sail which was flapping against the wind. It was slowing them and not helping them. Cnut ordered his rowers to push us off.
“Left bank, back water!”
The ship began to turn. It seemed to take forever but the second pirate ship had slowed. Even so it threatened to strike us amidships. “Right bank, row”. As soon as Cnut’s men began to row the ship seemed to spin in the water. ‘Wolf’ was a lively and responsive ship. “Left bank row!”
The ship leapt forwards. I had to time this well or my men would be swimming to land. As we closed I judged the time correctly. “Left bank, ship oars.” As they all obeyed I pushed the tiller over and, as with the first ship, we ground down the side of the ship and the oars were shattered. The captain must have anticipated the manoeuvre for there were fewer screams and I saw that some of the men had withdrawn their oars. I wondered how it would go this time when Scanlan’s arrow plunged into the throat of the captain. The steersman jerked the rudder to the right in panic. The right side of the ship still had oars and the ship moved at an angle to us. As it did so the wind caught the sail and the pirate ship began to move west.
“Lower oars!”
I was about to order a pursuit when I saw that they were not turning. They were fleeing. The death of their captain and the capture of their other ship had put a damper on their enthusiasm. It would take time to raise the sail and by then they would have gone.
“Well done men. Let us go and see our prize!”
They cheered as they rowed. We had captured our first ship. We split our crew and rowed both ships towards Olaf’s town. He stood there toothlessly grinning as we tied the ships up. He put his once powerful arms around me, “Old Ragnar would have been proud of you today. That was clever sailing. You did well.”
“I think Ragnar must have been with me today or they were poor captains.”
“A little bit of both I would say. Come, let us clear out your prize and see what she has for us.”
Sadly, the first things we found were the belongings of the fishermen. Of them there was no sign and we could only imagine their fate. It made the task of throwing the dead pirates into the harbour more palatable. The crabs and the prawns would feast well. The pirates had a box containing many coins and their bodies yielded swords and daggers. The goods were an unexpected bonus. I had done what I had intended. I had driven away the pirates. Olaf’s sentries who continued to watch the fleeing pirate had reported the ship continuing to sail west. I did not think they would try the same thing any time soon. They had lost a ship and two captains. When Prince Butar and Eric returned I could look them in the eye and tell them I had done my duty and protected the Island of Man.
Chapter 19
We had suffered only minor wounds in the attack. It was as I had thought; the pirates had not been trained as well as my men. The shattering of their oars and the speed of our attack had meant they could not respond quickly enough. Of course, Scanlan’s arrows had helped and I decided to get him a good helmet from Bjorn. The captain of the ship had one which could be adapted. We also had another ship and that was always useful.
Erica was just delighted to see me returned unharmed. She never showed that she was upset when I left but I could see the relief in her eyes each time I returned.
We named the new ship ‘Hawk’. She was more like a bear and was a little lumbering but we had one of those and it did not do to take a name away from a ship. We had no captain yet but, until Eric and the prince returned from Frankia, then we did not need one. Events were turning out well for us and we were certain that the gods smiled on us. As the nights grew a little longer and we began to gather the harvest in we began to plan our celebrations for harvest time. When our ships returned we would make the feast one to remember.
Sometimes the Norns like to play tricks with you. They are like Loki and smile at you while preparing a disaster. That was what happened to us. The sentries on the tower signalled a ship approaching. It was Jarl Eric. His ship was, like mine a fast vessel and we assumed that ‘Ran’ would be close behind. When ‘Man’ docked I could tell from Jarl Eric’s face that disaster had struck us.
He came directly towards me and his face told me the tale without words. When he spoke I felt my heart sink to my boots. “We were ambushed on the way back when we were heavily laden with goods. It was Tadgh
and Jarl Harald. They had four ships and they launched themselves from a hidden bay. Prince Butar’s ship stood no chance and she was sunk. We saw some survivors; they were captured on the beach. One of them was Prince Butar.” He dropped to his knee. “I am sorry brother; I have lost your father.”
My mind was filled with so many thoughts that it was hard to think straight. I forced myself to breathe slowly. “Did you see him killed?”
Jarl Eric looked surprised at the question, “No. He was led away with the others.”
I nodded. I understood Tadgh. He was baiting a trap for me and he was using my stepfather. He knew that I would go. “He is alive and we must go and rescue him.”
Erica’s hand went to her mouth. “This is Tadgh! He is doing this to get to you. You cannot trust him!”
I held her hand, “I know, my love, but this is Prince Butar and I owe him everything. I have to go.”
She threw her arms around me. “I know but it does not stop the sickening feeling in my heart when I think of that viper!”
I whispered in her ear, “I must plan but I will make sure you and our people are protected.”
She nodded, her heart too filled with emotion to risk speaking. She led Arturus and Eurwen away. Both of them had the confused look of a child who has wandered into an adult conversation which they do not understand.
I led Eric to the warrior hall. I did not need to speak with any of the warriors; they just followed me. Once inside I sat at the seat normally occupied by Prince Butar. I was his heir and, until he returned, I would have to make the decisions.
“As you all now know Tadgh has captured our prince and is setting a trap to capture me.” I smiled, “I am not in a mood to satisfy him but I will rescue Prince Butar.” The men all cheered and banged the table. I held up my hand. “However I am not leaving Hrams-a undefended.” I turned to Haaken, “You have followed me always and you and Cnut are the warriors I trust the most in the entire world. I want you to command here while the rest of us go to Frankia.”
Haaken, who was normally affable and easy going, jumped up. “Leave Rolf here; he is a good leader. I am Ulfheonar.”
“And that is why I must leave you. And remember Rolf knows Frankia better than any man on this island. I need his knowledge there.” My eyes pleaded with my oldest friend. “Do not make this harder than it is. If I do not return I know that you will care for my family better than any man alive.”
I saw the acceptance in his eyes and he bowed his head. “I will obey you, my friend.”
“We sail tonight with just two ships. Haaken, you will need to tell the others of the events for we are in danger until we can affect a rescue. This island is now under siege until we return.”
As I left the hall Scanlan and Snorri ran to me. “My lord are…”
“Yes I need you both. You have shown me that you are skilled archers and brave to boot. I will need your skills before too long.”
My parting from Erica was tearful. Her brother and her husband were sailing into a trap and she did not know if she would ever see either of us again. I know that I was lucky in my choice of wife. She would care for our family and our people whilst we were away. We boarded ‘Wolf’. Cnut made sure we had plenty of supplies and Scanlan made sure that we plenty of arrows. We had extra crew so that we could double bank the oars. I wanted as swift a voyage as possible. The thought of the tortures which Tadgh might be inflicting on Prince Butar made my heart go cold. We sailed on the night tide and Ran was with us for the wind blew hard from the north. Perhaps the fact that her namesake had been sunk made her favour us for the wind blew us all the way around the island the Romans had called Britannia in the fastest voyage I had ever experienced. It was like trying to hang on to a maddened, stampeding horse. Disaster loomed large with every rock but somehow we survived and, each morning we could see ‘Man’ in close attendance. Jarl Eric would not let me down.
The ride became a little calmer once we crossed the open water to Frankia. Jarl Eric had told me that Tadgh had used a river further south than the mouth of the Rinaz. We had always sailed close to the coast of Frankia as it avoided the lands of the Saxons. There were some inhospitable islands off the coast and we usually steered well clear of them. A storm had forced the two ships to sail between the islands and Frankia and that was when Tadgh had struck. On the voyage south I had been planning my response to the kidnapping. I would use the islands as a base. I was not so stupid as to sail into Tadgh’s lair and expect to survive. I would use the skill of the wolf. I would use the Ulfheonar to scout out the enemy’s dispositions. Ran had helped us by giving us such a speedy voyage south. I did not think that Tadgh would expect me to make such a swift passage south. I would now use the time we had been given to our advantage.
We approached the islands from the west and I kept the islands between us and the mainland. There were six or seven islands and I chose a small uninhabited one as our base. I beached my ship and jumped ashore. We soon discovered water and Cnut and two of the Ulfheonar confirmed that it was uninhabited. Once Jarl Eric had joined me I gathered the men around me.
“You will drop me and ten of the Ulfheonar, tomorrow morning, before dawn, as close as you can to Tadgh’s lair. You will return the following morning at the same time to pick us up. We will attack then and so you will need to bring both boats. I intend to find out how the land lies. We will be as prepared as possible to enable us to avoid this trap which Tadgh is setting for us. Meanwhile I want you to build four rafts and find as much brushwood and material which will burn as you can.”
Jarl Eric looked confused, “Why?”
“Let us say I have an idea to upset Tadgh’s plans.”
Cnut slapped me on the back. “Dragon Heart you have a mind like a bear trap.”
We wore no byrnies as we slipped ashore on the, apparently, deserted part of the coast. Jarl Eric had told me that they had seen a hill fort when they stood out to sea. He assumed it was Tadgh’s. Rolf had told us that there was a hill fort close to an estuary but he had thought it unoccupied. He had seen it when he had been wrecked on this graveyard of ships. The dark and the cliff masked the fort; it was invisible to us. We had to trust that we would find it. We had made our plans before we left the ship. There would be no words once we landed. We were all acutely aware of how far sound would travel at night. Cnut took his four warriors to approach the fort from the far side. We were not here to fight; we were here to spy out the lie of the land and to see what traps the treacherous Tadgh had prepared.
The wolf cloaks soon hid Cnut and his men from sight and we ascended the gentle, grassy slope. We did not know how far we would have to travel but we had all night to do so. We went carefully and slowly. Egill found the first trap; it was just off the main trail and was a piece of thin rope attached to a stick and a pile of rocks. Had we caught it then there would have been the sound of rocks falling down the slope. There had to be a guard nearby. We spotted him soon after. He was huddled close to a rock and was peering out to sea. We skirted him and headed north. Tadgh had more traps in the form of pits covered by bracken and grass. We found many of these as we ascended the slope. Our slow and methodical approach was paying off.
The wind must have changed direction for I suddenly had a whiff of wood smoke and man. We halted and moved even more slowly. Suddenly we saw the walls of the fort. It looked to be an ancient one which had been refurbished. I could see a tower and a wall of timbers. As I watched I saw a guard patrolling. Then we heard a moan. We slid along the ground like shadows of small clouds and reached a sheltered dell towards the sound we had heard. I crawled on hands and knees to peer over the end of the depression. As I looked over the lip I saw Prince Butar and ten of his men. They were tied to low crosses with their knees on the ground. The moan I had heard was from Tostig who looked to have a head wound. I felt Ragnar begin to move next to me and I restrained him and shook my head. I moved north again away from the prisoners. I had seen enough there. The prisoners were bait. I could see that their
position was uncomfortable but would not kill them. They would be able to stay there for many days and not die. It was not kindness on Tadgh’s part; he needed them to draw us in.
I took us on a long loop around the fort keeping well out of sight but always observing the ditch and the walls. It was well built and the slope was deceptively steep. When we reached the far side I saw a second gate and towers. There were just two sentries above the gate. Now that we knew they had men on the hillside we watched for them and were able to avoid them.
The hill dropped on the far side and we followed the incline down. There looked to be a natural dry valley which gave the fort protection from the land side too. We followed it towards the sea. Suddenly we heard a movement ahead and we froze. I could smell human rather than animal and I slid my seax from my boot and moved forwards slowly. I saw the shape of a man before me. There was something familiar about the shape of the body. I hissed, “Ulfheonar,” and Sweyn turned around. We had found the others. I signalled for them to follow us and we headed towards the sea. I saw the masts of the drekar at the same time that I heard the gentle bumping of wood on wood. We found a copse of trees which was quite close to the shore and we hid ourselves in the dense foliage. In another four weeks it would be bare. Tadgh now had three ships but they were moored so that, from the sea, it would only look like one ship. He was laying a trap and it was for me. I had seen enough. The sun was lightening the sky in the east and we needed to be far away. I led my Ulfheonar north and we travelled in a straight line well away from the fort. We walked until the sun was up.
We needed a place to hide up during the day. I was looking for a wood when we stumbled upon a clutch of huts in a small clearing. There was no sign of life and no smoke to suggest fires. We moved cautiously into the ring of eight huts. We could see the bones and the remains of the villagers. The animals had done their worst and all flesh had been gnawed from the bones. There appeared to be children as well as adults there. I saw the hand of Tadgh in all this. We found a hut which was habitable in that it had no bones within it. I set Bjorn to watch from the edge of the village and then we shared the information we had gathered.
