by Griff Hosker
They were both beyond me and I chose my moment well. I leapt out and swung my wooden sword as hard as I could at Saelac’s head. He slumped to the ground. Then Tadgh swung his cudgel at me. It was a clumsy blow and I easily evaded it. I suddenly realised that I was now almost the same size as Tadgh who had towered over me when we lived in the land of the Angles. I also felt much stronger.
“Typical Crow! Attacking from behind!”
“Typical Tadgh needing help to attack someone they despise.”
He swung his cudgel again and this time I parried with the wooden sword. I saw his arm jar and I punched as hard as I could with my left hand. The blood erupted from his nose. He became enraged and swung wildly at my head. I ducked and swung my sword up between his legs. He went down clutching his groin and let out a wail which sounded like a pig being castrated. I grabbed his cudgel and threw it away. I took a piece the piece of rope I used to hold in my jerkin and tied their wooden collars together. I took my bow and notched an arrow. Tadgh tried to rise and I pushed him to the ground. “You move when I say and not before. Let us wait until Saelac awakens eh?”
After a few minutes Saelac’s eyes open and he looked at me. Terror filled them as they widened. “Now you can both rise but do it slowly. I am quite good with this. Now walk before me.” They walked awkwardly down the slippery path. I laughed out loud when Tadgh fell bringing Saelac down with him. I made no effort to help them to rise. By the time we reached the house they were tired. I found another piece of rope and I tethered them to a tree. I quickly recovered the sword and then led them by the rope back to the village.
The guard at the gate looked surprised to see a thrall leading two others but he nodded as we entered. I went directly to Olaf the Toothless. He stood looking at us from the steps of Harald One Eye’s hall. “What have we here Dragon Heart?”
“I had been sent on an errand by my master and these two followed me wishing me harm.” I smiled, “I have returned them.”
He glowered at them. “Why did you leave the village?”
As I had expected they had no excuse and they looked guiltily at each other. “I will have to return to my master. He is expecting his sword.”
Olaf nodded and gave me the slightest of winks. “I will see that they are suitably punished.”
When I reached Butar’s Hall with the sword my mother was standing by the door. “What happened?”
“Tadgh decided I should be quietly killed.”
Her mouth dropped open, “But how…”
“I am not the frightened little hare I was.” I gestured towards Ragnar who had been listening, “my master has put some iron in my backbone. They will not find me so easy to frighten in the future.”
Ragnar chuckled, “Come with me. I think you deserve this.”
I placed the sword on his bed and he led me into Butar’s sleeping room. He opened a chest at the foot of the bed. I could see that within it were arms and helmets. He took out a long knife or it could have been a short sword. “This is what the Saxons call a seax. It is not as good as a sword but I think that you may have need of it.” He gave me the knife and then rummaged around for the sheath. He handed me that too.
“Will Lord Butar not object?”
“These are not his; they belong to me and my other son, Butar’s brother, Karl. He was killed in a raid by the men of Stavanger. Take it.”
I glanced at my mother, “You might as well my son. Those boys will not give up just because you have bloodied their nose. Learn how to use it.”
Ragnar chuckled, “It is like your wooden sword but you will not need the strength of the wolf this time.”
I looked at the blade and felt the bone handle; it seemed made for my hand. The blade was as long as my two hands and the point was sharp as I discovered when I carelessly slipped the blade into the sheath. I held the sheath too high and the razor sharp edge nicked my finger. I sucked the blood and Ragnar nodded. “Now you are one. It has drunk your blood and knows you. Always trust it.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “It needs a name but let the blade tell you what that is.”
I felt confused. How could a piece of metal talk? But as I discovered, it could. Olaf was as good as his word and the two boys were punished. I heard the lash of the whip on their naked backs. I left the hall to see what the noise was. The two mothers wept and the other four boys glared at me as I stood there. Someone else would try to hurt me. I would have to be even more careful.
I went to Ragnar. “Master, how do I make arrows? We only have six left and if I am to go hunting when the snow melts then I will need more.”
“It is good that you wish to learn for this is a skill you will need. Go into the forest and cut thirty of the straightest pieces of wood you can find. They should be as long as your leg. Bring them back here and then collect as many goose and duck feathers as you can.”
His task sounded easy but it was not and it took me all day to find the thirty straight pieces of wood. I just had time to find a small bag full of goose feathers before darkness descended. I wanted to begin directly but mother intervened. “The two of you eat first then you can make your arrows but I want no mess in here!”
Even Ragnar quailed before mother and her tongue. She was gentle most of the time but when she wanted her way, she got it. Making arrows was not hard but it was time consuming. I stripped the bark and then made the shaft as smooth as possible. The fixing of the flights was hard and demanded a steady hand and eye. I could see why Ragnar could not make them. After three night’s work I had made my un-tipped arrows. “What about the barbs?”
“Metal is best but it is expensive. There is some flint close to our home. Go there and fetch a lump and I will teach you how to nap.”
I discovered that you did not need eyes to nap, that is chip pieces, of flint. It was all touch and a firmness of action. After a few disasters I found that I could manage to manufacture many flint arrow heads. “They are plentiful and if they break then no matter. The narrow ones are best for accuracy but the broader ones cause the worst wounds. When I am well and Butar returns we will try them out.”
Events occurred which meant that we tried them out sooner rather than later.
Chapter 4
The worst job I had to do for Ragnar was to empty his night pot. His bladder required emptying three times a night. The bowl would be full after the third occasion and he would wake me to get rid of the contents. In his home this was not a problem, I would open the door and hurl the contents into the forest but in the village I had to climb the palisade and empty the pot outside. This particular night I had just found that perfect spot in which to sleep and his voice roused me.
“Yes master?”
“Time to water the woods,” he chuckled.
I wrapped my new cloak about my shoulders and slipped my feet into my boots and took the warm steaming liquid out of the hall. Once outside the blast of cold air hit me like a slap in the face. I headed towards the stairs leading to the palisade. I recognised the young guard, it was Haaken. He was quite friendly towards me and he had asked me many questions about the wolf I had killed. Like many of the young men he envied me.
“The old man’s piss?”
“Aye.”
“He is so old you know that if you bottled this you could sell it as an elixir of life.”
I laughed, “You are more than welcome to this and more believe me.”
He sniffed the pungent smelling liquid. “No, I will let you dispose of it. Do me a favour and throw it on the far wall. I am on duty until dawn.”
“I will do so.” With most of the warriors gone it was down to the young boys and old men to act as guards. I knew that it was yet another reason they wished themselves a-Viking. I walked to the deserted side of the palisade. With just three guards at night one side would remain without a sentry. I headed to the side with the steepest walls. It was the safe section of the wall. There were steep rocks below it and only a determined attacker would risk death to scale it. I held the two handles
and hurled the steaming water as far from the walls as I could get. I was about to return to the warmth of the hall when I stopped. After the liquid striking the leaves and bushes I was sure I had heard another noise. I waited. The night seemed as silent as the grave and I was convinced that I had imagined it until I heard the crack of a twig. I peered out into the dark but could see nothing and then I glanced to the fiord. I caught the sight of the tip of a mast. There was a dragon ship there.
I moved swiftly to Haaken. “I heard a noise and there is a dragon ship in the fiord.”
Haaken was bright and he was decisive. “Go and wake Olaf the Toothless.”
I scurried down the steps and went into the almost deserted warrior hall. Almost before I had reached him Olaf was awake and was glaring at me. “What?”
“I heard a noise outside the walls and I saw the mast of a dragon ship.”
“If you are making this up I will lay open your back.”
I put my hands between my legs and said, “I swear.”
He nodded, “Awake and to arms.” He looked at me. “Go and get your bow, wolf killer.”
I took the bowl back to the hall and Ragnar said, “You were some time…”
“There is a dragon ship in the fiord.”
“Take your bow. I will wake your mother. Make sure you have your blade.”
I grabbed my bow and other weapons and ran back to the wall. Olaf was there with Haaken. He whispered, “You have good ears. It will be the men from Stavanger. They are cowardly bastards; they wait until our warriors are gone before they attack. You two stay here and kill anything that moves. The gate is where they will attack.”
When he left it felt lonely on that wall with just the two of us. Every shadow seemed to move. Suddenly I sensed a movement behind me and I whirled, an arrow already notched. It was Ragnar with his sword. “Master what are you doing here? You should be in the hall.”
“What and be killed in my bed? If I am to die tonight then let it be with my sword in my hand. I will watch your back.”
Haaken said quietly, “Watch with what?”
He didn’t realise how sharp the old man’s ears were and he received a blow to the back of his head. “I can see well enough to hit you Haaken Haakenson.” He stopped and cocked an ear to the outside wall. “They are coming. They will stand close to the wall. Lean over carefully and watch.”
I leaned over and saw something glint in the moonlight. It was a helmet. I jerked my head back. “They are below us.”
“Think of them as deer, thrall and you will do well.”
Haaken and I leaned over. I drew back the bow and the arrow plunged down to strike the warrior in the neck. Haaken’s arrow hit another in the arm. Realising they had been seen the raiders raced to the wall and began to climb. They used their shields to hoist each other up. Haaken killed one standing on the shield. I sent an arrow into the leg of one of the men holding the shield and the three of them collapsed into a heap. I could hear the sounds of combat on the other side of the village and knew that the three of us would get no help from that quarter. I loosed arrow after arrow until I reached in and they were all gone. Haaken said, “I emptied mine some time ago. It will be knife work.”
I took out my seax and Ragnar placed himself between us. “Protect each other’s backs. They will have to kill you before they can move into the village.” The raiders had moved further down the walls. They had climbed an empty section and now three of them came towards me.
“Master, there are three of them.”
“They can only come at you one at a time. I am behind you.” I heard the sword slip from the scabbard. “What weapon does the first one have?”
The warrior who came at me had a helmet, a shield and a spear. “A spear.”
“Then his shield is next to the wall. You can grab his spear head and stab with your blade.”
The old man sounded confident but then he could not see this huge warrior who raced at me. I suspect he saw only a stripling and thought to knock me from the wall but I was standing before my master and I would let no harm come to him whilst I lived. I was not sure that I would be able to do as Ragnar wished but when the blade came at me it seemed to move in slow motion. I moved to my right and, grabbing the shaft stabbed upwards with the seax. He caught sight of the seax and tried to bring his shield over to protect himself. He merely succeeded in losing his balance and, as I let go of the spear he fell to his death on the rock strewn slope.
The next warrior had a sword, “A sword, Master!”
“When he strikes use both your hands with your seax.”
This time I was sure that I would die. The sword came down and I put the seax up, catching the hilt. I saw the look of triumph on his face. My seax would only slow the blade and not stop it. The look of triumph changed to one of horror as Ragnar’s sword ripped into his stomach. The sword fell from his lifeless hand and he lay dead at my feet. I pick up the sword and transferred the seax to my left hand.
Ragnar shouted, “Haaken can you move forwards?”
“If I have to.”
“Then do so. Thrall, step back. Make him rush at you.”
The third warrior also had a spear and a shield. I was just glad none had mail or all three of us would be dead already. He did indeed run at us and failed to see his dead companion. He tripped at my feet. I hesitated for a moment until Ragnar shouted, “Kill him!” I stabbed down, striking his neck I was concentrating so hard that the sword went through his neck and pinned his body to the walkway.
I heard a cry from behind me and I withdrew my blade. I could see Haaken fighting two men. One, nearer him, had a sword and the other had a spear. Ragnar stabbed forwards, blindly and caught the swordsman on the leg I dived between Haaken’s legs and stabbed upwards with my seax. The blade went between his legs and into his body he tore himself from the blade and crashed, screaming, to the ground below. Haaken slumped to the wooden walkway and I stood, using the spear to aid me. I suddenly found myself face to face with a giant of a man. He grabbed and turned me. I felt his left hand come behind me and I knew that he would kill me. I put my left leg on the wall and pushed. We both flew through the air with his arm wrapped around my body. We struck the ground so hard that I was winded. Amazingly I still held the seax and the sword. I tried to stand but my hand was trapped. When I managed to extract my hand and my seax, it came away bloody. The warrior was dead.
I ran back to the wall. Ragnar was slumped close to Haaken. If the old man was dead it would be my fault. I turned him over and he breathed still. “I am just tired Dragon Heart. See to Haaken. He is wounded.” I saw that the spear had removed one of Haaken’s eyes but the wound which was causing a problem was his arm which was bleeding heavily. I grabbed the hem of the tunic of the dead raider and tied it around the arm. The blood stopped. I suddenly remembered the battle and I stood. There were no longer any sounds of fighting just the wailing of women. The raiders had gone.
My mother rushed to us. “I am well, mother, but see to Haaken.” I helped Ragnar to his feet. “Come master. Now is the time for your bed.” I took his sword and sheathed it. “Well master you were wrong you know.”
“What?”
“You said you would never need the sword again and yet you have killed a warrior this night. You are a warrior still.”
He chuckled, “As are you Dragon Heart; taking on a warrior armed only with a seax.”
“But you told me to!”
“I know but I thought we would both die and it would make a wonderful saga. One armed Ragnar and the Dragon Heart fighting the men of Stavanger.”
He was still chuckling when I put him to bed. “Make sure you clean the sword before you put it away. Blood comes away easier when it is wet and make sure you get the scabbard for that sword before someone steals it.”
As I passed Olaf he smiled his toothless smile. “If you had not earned the name Dragon Heart before tonight you have now. You did well. Butar will be proud that the village still stands and it is thanks t
o you and the old man’s piss.”
I saw Tadgh and the other thralls hauling away the bodies of the raiders, now stripped of weapons and arms. They glared at me with my sword and seax in my hand. I cared not. I had been a warrior, at least for a short time.
Haaken was conscious when I returned. My mother looked at me with pride in her eyes. “You saved his life, my son. He would have bled to death.”
“I am in your debt Dragon Heart.”
“I am sorry about your eye.”
He tried to shrug but I could see that it pained him. “Tonight I saw an old man who was almost blind fighting like a hero so as long as I have one eye I will think myself lucky.”
I found the scabbard and sheathed the sword. I took the helmet from the dead warrior to look at his face. I heard Haaken’s voice. “Keep the helmet thrall for I believe you will be a warrior one day. Dragon Heart will not be a slave forever.” And so I took the helmet.
Mother and I helped Haaken down to the warrior hall where his wounds could be tended to and then Mother took my sword and helmet. “You had better help Olaf. I fear we have lost warriors this night.”
As I l looked around I could see that at least five men from the village lay dead. I knew we had killed more of the raiders but that did not help our dead. Olaf wandered over to me. “Go with Grefelle here and show him the ones you killed with the arrow.” He grabbed Tadgh, “Thrall, go with him and help to pitch the bodies into the fiord.”
Tadgh’s face was a mask of fury. Grefelle was one of the older warriors. He was closer to Ragnar’s age than Butar’s. As we walked through the gate he said, “Did I hear that Ragnar killed a warrior?”
“Aye master, with his sword.”
He laughed. “At his age that is quite remarkable. And I thought I was doing well. And you Dragon Heart, not content with a wolf you kill three warriors with your own hands.”
We found the eight men we had killed. We had hit others but they had left with their wounds. We could see their blood trails in the first light of dawn. We took their weapons and made a pile of them. “You two take the bodies one by one to that rock and pitch them into the water.”
