Lord Edward's Archer

by Griff Hosker

  “Aye, Captain. I will not let you down.”

  I thought the hooves of his horse sounded loud, but I knew that they were not. Then I heard a cry from the north. They had discovered the body of the messenger. Perhaps we should have dropped it in the river.

  “Move back into the woods. They may come here.”

  Jack of Lincoln laughed. It was not a pleasant laugh. “Then if they do they will never leave. A forest at night is where we do our best work, Captain.”

  “I believe you. If they come here, then we lead them away from the horses.”

  Roger Peterson said, “And kill them?”

  “Of course we kill them.”

  I had an arrow nocked, as did the others. I knew that we could not be seen, but we would be able to see our foes for they would be on the road. I heard hooves clattering over the bridge. “We stop them following Dick! If you have to then kill the horses.”

  I did not know how many horses they had, but if Hugh of Rhuddlan was leading them, then the men at arms would know how to ride. The hooves drew closer. I could not see them yet, but I estimated it to be no more than six riders. I pulled back. The road was just thirty paces from me, and I had a clear line between the trees. I saw the first horse and waited a heartbeat. Then I released as the rider passed between the two trees. He was not wearing mail, but it would have made no difference. My arrow went through his neck and knocked him from his horse. The horse galloped off. I heard the thwack of arrows as another three hit their mark.

  I heard Hugh of Rhuddlan’s voice. He shouted, in Welsh, “Back!” Then he shouted something I did not understand.

  David the Welshman exclaimed, “He is calling out the guard!”

  “We have stopped the pursuit. Let us fall back and wait for them to come closer.”

  Jack of Lincoln said, “Captain, this is knife work.”

  I slung my bow. He was right. We could only see two or three paces before us in the dark woods. We could hide and use the trees for cover. They would have no idea how many of us were hiding in the woods. We would come as a shock to them. We heard their feet as they clattered over the bridge.

  When they came this time, they came on foot and in numbers. They did not have one point of entry but many. I saw that they had brought shields. That was a mistake. We would not be sending arrows at them. I stood behind a mighty oak. It was wider than me. I had my hood covering my head, and its shadow left my face in darkness. I had a dagger in my left hand and my sword in my right. I saw the Welshman. He had a metal coif instead of a helmet, a leather jerkin, a short sword and shield. He was walking carefully and not making a sound. That made no difference, for I had seen him.

  I slid around the side of the tree as he walked on the other side. I stepped out behind him. I brought my dagger up under his left arm. His head turned at the last moment, and I put my sword hand across his mouth. I struck something vital and hot blood gushed over my hand. I lowered his body to the ground. A movement behind me made me turn. There was a man at arms four paces from me. He ran at me. A voice shouted something in Welsh. He pulled his shield up. I used my dagger to pull the shield forward and rammed my sword into his throat. He tried, as I did, to swing his sword in an arc. That is a mistake in a wood. He died with his sword embedded in the oak.

  I turned and parted from the two bodies. I headed deeper into the woods. I could hear more shouts and cries now. The shouts were in Welsh and my men were silent. I moved quickly into the forest. I heard another scream and then a gurgled shout. Hugh of Rhuddlan’s voice boomed out, “Back to the castle!” There was another cry, and then I heard the sound of flight as the survivors crashed through the woods.

  I turned and slowly made my way back to the place I had killed the two men. I took their swords, mail hoods and purses. When I reached the road I risked peering out. I saw two men being helped towards the bridge. They were beaten. Would they return in the morning? That bridge would have to be crossed. We had done our job, and if we had to, then we could evade them. I made my way through the woods. I found Rafe Oak Arms, one of my new recruits, stripping a body of weapons and valuables. He was laughing. “Something amuses you?”

  “Aye, Captain. When I did this in Sherwood, I was breaking the law. Here, the heir to the throne is paying me. It is a strange world.”

  As we headed back to camp we picked up others, and all were in high spirits. The mood changed when we reached the camp. Jack of Lincoln was kneeling over the corpse of Peder. We had lost someone.

  “Is anyone else hurt?”

  Jack looked around and shook his head. “The big old bastard did this. The one who was shouting the orders.”

  “Hugh of Rhuddlan.”

  “You know him?”

  “Knew him. He was my sergeant at arms. Peder stood no chance.”

  Jack nodded. “Then this has become personal. Peder was my brother’s son. I am now the last of my family.”

  We set guards and then we buried Peder. A woodland grave was all an outlaw would have expected. He was buried by those who had come from Sherwood. My senior archers stood a watch while we dug the hole, buried the young warrior and then piled stones on the body to stop foxes digging it up. I could not sleep, and so I took a long watch, along with Jack of Lincoln. It was just after dawn when we heard the hooves, but this time they were coming from Chester.

  “Sounds like one horse, Captain.”

  I nodded. I stood and stretched. This would be a long day. I knew that later I would regret my long watch. Jack and I had spoken during the night watch. If Peder had been an older archer, one who had lived a little, then it might not be so bad. He had seen sixteen summers. He had not had time to begin to live.

  Dick, on a fresh horse, galloped into the camp. “The prince is following me, Captain. That letter, it told the men in the castle that the Welsh king is coming. He will be here within the week! The prince was delighted.” He showed us the gold coin he held in his hand. “This is my reward! Wait until I show Peder!” He, Peder and Ronan had been close.

  “Peder was killed last night, Dick.”

  The young archer went from ecstasy to agony in a heartbeat. It brought home just how parlous our lives were.

  Chapter 12

  Now that the enemy knew we were close, there was no point in hiding. We lit a fire and put the salted horsemeat on to cook. I took eight of my archers and we rode to the bridge. I peered ahead to the crossroads, just beyond the huddle of huts which constituted the hamlet. The ground close to the crossroads was perfect as a camp. It effectively cut off the castle, and it was flat. The fields had walls. The walls would help to divide up the camp. I had learned, in Gascony, that was important. The horses had to be kept separate and the knights preferred to be away from the common soldiers. The three roads would allow that.

  I had restrung my bow and carried it with me. Leaving our horses at the south end of the bridge, we crossed to the north. As soon as we did, we heard the alarm in the castle. A horn sounded and men ran to the walls. To my surprise, those who lived in the huts, house and farms of the village suddenly ran towards the castle. I saw them clutching that which they thought was valuable. There was just a handful of us, but they had taken us for the advance guard of an army.

  I turned. “Stephen Green Feathers, take Will Yew Tree and Matty Straw Hair; fetch your horses and ride to the crossroads. Stop any who try to leave.”

  “Aye, Captain. Come on you pair. We will see how fast you can ride.”

  I knew that those in the castle would send for help, but it took time to saddle a horse. They had lost some the previous night. A couple had run off, and at least two had been struck. I nocked an arrow. My three men galloped over the bridge and, lying low in the saddle, galloped through the village towards the crossroads, half a mile away. The castle was three hundred paces from the village and the road. Even so, the men behind the walls had crossbows, which they used to try to hit my riders. It was a forlorn hope though. Crossbows were powerful, and if an enemy was approaching in numb
ers, they could be deadly. But at extreme range and against a moving target, they were wasting bolts and making it more likely that their crossbows would fail when they needed them.

  The three riders passed the castle when I heard the gates open. Was this an attempt to move us from the bridge or to seek help? When the riders turned to head north to Ruthin, I had my answer.

  Hugh, son of Hugh, another of the former outlaws, stood with me. “Will they get by our men?”

  “Will and Matty are your fellows. What do you think?”

  He grinned. “Then they are doomed Welshmen, Captain.”

  I turned to the others. “Peter of Wakefield, take Ronan and Tom. Search the houses. They may have left items we can use. I saw no animals with them. See if they have left fowl there. We can augment our rations eh?”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  The crossroads was beyond our sight but not our hearing. I heard the neighs and cries as the three riders were intercepted. A short while later, one Welsh rider and one horse returned to the castle. They had learned that the English had archers too.

  Hugh frowned. “Where are the Welsh archers, Captain? If they are as good as you have told us, then why did they not send arrows at our men?”

  I had not thought of that. I nodded. “You are right, Hugh. That is a puzzle.”

  Shortly, Peter of Wakefield and my men returned. They each had a brace of hens with them. “Peter, take these men back to the camp. The others can stand a shift and you can eat.”

  “What about you, Captain?”

  “I will eat when the prince arrives. He will expect me to tell him the situation. Now go!”

  Thus it was that I was alone on the bridge when I heard the clatter of hooves and the jingle of mail behind me. Captain William led the men at arms towards me. He reined in.

  “Guarding the bridge on your own, Captain Gerald?”

  I pointed to the distant crossroads. “Some of my men hold the crossroads. That is the best place to camp. The village is emptied. They have left their homes. None has escaped with news of our arrival.”

  “Good. The prince is pleased with your actions. He follows. He sent us ahead, for he feared for your safety. I told him that you would be safe.”

  I shook my head. “We lost one archer.”

  “We are warriors and that is the risk we take.”

  He led his men across the bridge. I walked back to retrieve my horse. As I mounted, I saw the banners of the army as it approached. Prince Edward was surrounded by those knights who would, over the next years, become his trusted companions: Sir Roger Mortimer, John de Warenne, William de Valence and Sir Ranulf. As they reined in I saw Sir Ranulf glaring at me. He had been told of my presence and was not happy.

  Prince Edward, in contrast, was delighted to see me. “The news you sent has given us the chance to end this quickly. How goes it Gerald War Bow?”

  “The crossroads will be the best place to camp, lord. My men and Captain William hold it. The village is empty. They fled to the castle. No one rode for help. My men are camped in the woods and watch the castle.”

  “Then you have done well.”

  I watched the army as it passed. At first I was happy. I counted over a hundred knights and then fifty men at arms. Then I saw that the men who marched were just the ordinary men of Cheshire. They had no mail and few had helmets. Worse, I only counted twenty bows. Where were the archers? When the baggage train arrived, I saw that it was escorted by men on horses. I recognised them. They were the archers led by Captain Jack. He reined in and waved the baggage train forward. I saw my old comrade, Alan of Denbigh. He stared at me as though I was a ghost.

  Captain Jack dismounted. “I heard that the prince had a fine captain of archers. I wondered who it could be for I had never heard of a Gerald War Bow. Now I see, and his lordship’s ire becomes apparent. You slew your lord.”

  He said it simply and there was no point in denying it. His lord knew, and that meant soon it would be common knowledge. I had braced myself for the storm that would follow. The knights who served with the prince would not be happy, for a commoner killing a knight was unheard of. Certainly, a commoner killing a knight and living was something which had never yet happened.

  I nodded. “He had my father killed for no good reason. The law would have done nothing. I did. The prince knows, and when I have made pilgrimage, I will be forgiven.”

  He looked at me, scrutinising my features. “I have known many bad lords who deserved to die, and certainly Henry of Denbigh was a poor excuse for a man, but I should warn you…” he smiled, “Gerald War Bow, there are men who will seek your death.”

  I pointed to the castle. “Hugh of Rhuddlan now serves the Welsh.”

  His eyes narrowed. “It is worse than that. He allowed the Welsh to take Denbigh without a fight. He opened the gate and let them in. The men you knew were killed by the Welsh. There are just three men left from the garrison: you, Hugh of Rhuddlan and Alan of Denbigh. I fear the castle was cursed.” He looked to the north-west and then turned back to me. He held out his arm. “You are a good archer and you are a captain. We have the only archers in this army. We must, perforce, be friends.”

  I took his arm. “I was never anything else.”

  As I rode back to my men I wondered if the lack of archers might come to hurt us. We had fewer than thirty-five good archers, and I had seen perhaps twenty or thirty bowmen. I had no doubt that we could take their castles, but how would we drive the Welsh king back beyond the Conway?

  I met my men in the woods. I circled my hand above my head. “Back to the camp. The army is here. We are now needed. Dick, go to the crossroads and fetch our men. This camp will do us. If the prince needs us close by, then we will move.”

  I sat by the fire while John of Nottingham ladled some of the horse stew into clay bowls. I looked up at him questioningly. He nodded towards Peter of Wakefield. “When they searched the houses he found them. They will break before long, but until they do then we will enjoy eating from them.” He handed me some day-old bread. “And he found bread too. We eat like kings!”

  I was hungry and the stew was hot. Tom handed me a beaker of ale. “God smiles on us, we found ale, Captain.”

  Stephen Green Feathers smiled. “The rest of the army will not be happy that we have plundered before them.”

  “They had a night in a castle. They would have been well supplied. We took the risks; we take the reward.”

  Geoffrey, the new squire, came for us in the middle of the afternoon. “The prince would like you camped by him, Captain.” He hesitated. “He is not happy that you tarried here.”

  I gave him what I hoped was an innocent look. “We were awaiting orders, my lord.”

  When we crossed the bridge, we saw the siege works. The levy was already labouring. Men were cutting down trees. The prince had to strike quickly and take Mold before the Welsh arrived with their army. He did not want to be trapped between a relieving army and a castle.

  Captain William waved to me as we approached the prince’s standard. “We have saved a piece of ground for you yonder. Sir John wishes to speak with us when you can.”

  “That means now.”

  He laughed, “Aye, you are learning. We wait on our betters, but they demand instant obedience.”

  I dismounted and handed my reins to Tom. I also gave him my bow staves and arrows. “Put them somewhere safe.”

  The tents were already erected, and Sir John and his squire were there with a map. “Well done, Captain. This is a perfect camp and chosen with a good eye.” I nodded. “We begin our attack this afternoon. We need fire arrows. Captain Jack and his men are preparing theirs. This afternoon we rain arrows on their walls and this night we turn them to fire. Our men at arms will storm the walls.” I glanced at Captain William who shrugged. Sir John saw my look and sighed. “Captain Gerald, we need to save our knights for the time we meet the Welsh in the field. It will be our knights who win this land back.”

  I knew he was wrong, but
I could not argue with him, “You are right, my lord. Sorry!”

  “As soon as the castle is reduced, then you and your archers will scout out Ruthin and give us notice of the advance of the Welsh.”

  I looked at the map. Had I not known the area, then it would all have been squiggles and colours. I recognised, however, the blue line that must have been the Clwyd. The red little squares with the flags had to be the castles. I pointed to a line of brown. “Lord, this is high, rough ground. It is perfect ambush country. I know it, for I have hunted Welsh brigands there before. Their archers can rain death upon the road.”

  He looked at the map. “It does not look high to me.”

  “It may not be high, lord, but it is covered in trees, bushes and rocks. We were unable to use our horses there. We had to go afoot and winkle them out one by one.”

  “I will tell the prince, but I do not think it will be a problem. Once we have met the Welsh, shield to shield, then they will sue for peace, and we can return south and deal with a more serious problem.” He looked up from the map and smiled. “Fire arrows then, and you, Captain William, had better prepare ladders.”

  We both bowed and left. I looked at Captain William, “A night attack?”

  “It might work.” He did not sound convinced. “And fire arrows? Do they work?”

  “They are a waste of a good arrow. We cannot send them far, and to be certain that they work, we need to send many into the castle. They will, however, distract the defenders. I was in a garrison at Denbigh, and we were always fearful of fire.”

  “Then I pray that you and your archers make our attack unnecessary.”

  I did not think that would happen, but I set the men to making fire arrows. We chose the arrows that were not our best. It galled me that we would have to leave the valuable arrowheads on them. They had to stick in the timber in order to burn. I had each man choose twenty such arrows. We mainly used the ones which we had not made or we had captured. We gathered cloth taken from the huts and oil and soaked the cloth in it. The oil-soaked cloth was wrapped around the end of each arrow. Then each bundle of arrows was left in a pot of oil. That way the oil would seep into the wood. We needed something which would burn for as long as possible. The walls were stone, but the buildings each had a roof which was not, and there were many wooden buildings within.