by Griff Hosker
Aiden pointed ahead. “The land drops to the river there.”
I gave a long whistle and the scouts reappeared. “There is no-one ahead my lord. The edge of the forest is a mile distant beyond these trees.” Aiden looked bemused. I smiled. We normally travelled on Roman roads with their mile markers and my men could estimate distances well.
“We will halt at the edge of the forest and approach on foot.” I did not ask Aiden how far it would be from the edge of the forest to Wachanglen; his estimate would be of little use.
When we reached the edge of the forest I could see that the land had been cleared and there were a few sheep and goats there. Beyond them was another wooded area and beyond that I could see tendrils of smoke rising; it was Wachanglen. I left half of the men at the edge of the forest and I led the rest with our horses through the cleared area to the woods. Once there I left ten men with the horses and we took the other five with us. Raibeart and I had our bows strung and our arrows ready. My men had their javelins and spears prepared. Aiden just had a sword and shield. It was a small thing but I would need to speak with the king about arming his men more effectively. I had learned that you needed to be prepared for any eventuality.
I knew we were approaching the edge when it began to lighten and we heard the sound of activity. They obviously had a blacksmith for I could hear the clang of the hammer on metal. The sound of children playing also showed that they were not expecting trouble. We almost felt our way to the edge of the trees. My men were good at this and used the cover of the trees to mask our approach although I doubted that they were looking for an enemy. Aiden also showed his skill as a hunter and we soon found ourselves looking across the river to the village.
It was a large village and I could see a river gate with two bored looking guards who were fishing. Through the gates I could see many villagers moving about. There were a few guards on the walls but they did not appear to be concerned and, like the guards at the gate, were not alert. A column of men with a line of pack horses hove into view at the northern gate. They were warriors. We watched until the sun moved the shadows of the walls and I signalled for us to withdraw. Once back at the horses I asked them what they had seen. By pooling our information I discovered that they had a small herd of ponies and we had counted a hundred warriors, including the ones who had brought the pack animals.
“We can now return to the king.”
Aiden started. “But we have not counted every warrior!”
“And we could not do that without alerting them to our presence. From the number of women and children we counted there could be over a thousand men in that settlement. But we could only see a hundred. We assume they have double that number of warriors available and make our plans accordingly.” I left him to ponder that as we headed north again. Raibeart and I compared ideas.
“We need to attack in the late morning when the workers are away from the town.” I nodded. An early morning raid, while it would have the element of surprise would leave us with a greater number of warriors to fight. I wanted to make a quick strike and cause more casualties amongst the Saxons than on our meagre supply of warriors. “What about the women and the children?”
I knew what he meant. Neither of us wished harm to come to those who were not warriors, our mother and sisters had been ruthlessly slaughtered, but neither could we allow them to remain. “They will become slaves. Some may do as Freja did and join us.” Freja had been a slave whom we had rescued and she was now married to my young stepbrother Aelle. It was a harsh world in which we lived but this was a fight to the death between two cultures and we wanted ours to be the victor.
King Gwalliog had prepared a feast for us when we returned. All of his bodyguards were there as were his mounted warriors. Raibeart and I were seated next to him and I drank sparingly for I needed to explain my plan to him. I was arrogant still in those days. It never occurred to me that the king might have his own ideas. The fact that he had asked King Urien for help showed me that we had more skill than he. King Urien was diplomatic; I was not!
“We will use my horsemen to guard the road from the north and yours to guard the one from the east. Raibeart and his archers can attack the men on the walls close to the river while your men use the ford to attack the gate. My men will attack the northern gate. Even if there are two hundred warriors within the walls we will outnumber them four to one and our bows will outrange them. “
“But scaling the walls…”
“Do not worry. Raibeart will clear the walls and they can then be scaled. The gates are twice the height of a man but the walls are only as high as a warrior.”
One of his lieutenants, Aidan, asked, “Will we need ladders?”
“No for your men have the means to scale the walls with them.”
He looked puzzled and Raibeart smiled as he explained. “Two men hold a shield. A third man climbs upon it and then he is raised to the top of the walls.” He saw the doubt in the warrior’s eyes. “We have done this before and it works.”
Garth and the leaders of the Elmet warband spent the next day rehearsing getting into wedge and shield wall formations. The fact that all of the warriors who would be making the assault were mailed meant that this would be a safer undertaking than had they been armed as the Saxons were.
We left well before dawn to allow ourselves the time to get into position and, as dawn broke, we were at the edge of the forest with the open ground before us. We waited until the sun warmed the ground to allow the shepherds and herdsmen to take their charges to the pastures. Raibeart and his archers quickly raced across the open ground to secure the woods on the far side. I left King Gwalliog with Aidan and his men. Aidan knew the plan and I trusted him. The king too had understood the need to coordinate our attacks. I led my column to the east. We would have to swim the river but Aidan had assured us that it was shallow enough for it to be a safe task. I used my thirty horsemen to scout the giver and make sure that there were no surprises. As we formed up on the far side I was concerned about the lack of people working in the pastures. So far we had seen none, despite the fact that it was approaching mid morning. Perhaps they were using the pastures to the east and the south. I still had a nagging worry at the back of my mind as we headed east.
I sent Tuanthal to the eastern gate while I led my band of men behind the pathetically thin line of slingers to the northern gate. There was enough cover for us to approach to within half a mile of the palisaded stronghold. I had to assume that the other parts of this puzzle were in position and I lead my men forwards. We marched in a four wide column for speed. I was confident that we could change to wedge formation in the blink of an eye. We moved swiftly across the open ground at a steady trot. The slingers were a good hundred paces before us and they would be the ones to initiate the contact. I heard the whirr and whizz of their missiles and the screams and cracks which told me that they had struck their targets. The gates swung closed as those inside Wachanglen realised their danger. I hoped that they would be over confident in their stockade and not realise the danger they were in.
“Wedge!” I ran a little faster to facilitate the change in formation and soon felt the comfortable presence of Garth on my right. I had drawn Saxon Slayer as soon as I had ordered the formation and it felt satisfying to hold the mystical blade once more. I saw at least two of my slingers fall to arrows and lead balls and I shouted, “Slingers! Retire!” They all disengaged and ran behind the wedge. They would still be able to use their weapons but would be afforded the protection of the shields. As we approached the gate I suddenly decided to change my plan as I saw that the gate was not reinforced; I could see through the gaps. “Men of Rheged, we are not going over the walls we are going through the gate!” I heard the roar and felt the excitement of combat course through my body. I moved my shield around to my front and lowered my head. Stones began to ping and crack off helmets and shields but they caused minor discomfort rather than serious wounds. My two hundred warriors in their mail struck the gate like a b
attering ram. I felt my arm jar and I went dizzy and then I heard a crack as the gate gave way and we poured through the wrecked gate.
A Saxon rushed at me with a two handed axe and he roared defiance as he swung it at my head. Even though my arm was still a little numb I held it forwards. His blade was sharp but it caught on the metal rim of my shield and Saxon Slayer slid up under his armpit to appear, as though by magic next to his right ear. He slumped to a bloody death. I looked ahead and saw that the Saxons were rushing to their broken gate. “Shield wall!” We formed three lines, each one seventy men wide with the boy slingers hurling death above our heads. I knew now that we would win for no army could stand against my seasoned two hundred warriors. I hoped that Raibeart and King Gwalliog were having the same easy time of it. The Saxons appeared to be waiting for something but I didn’t know what.
One of my men growled. “They are scared, my lord. Let us end this.”
I thought that he was right and I ordered the line forward. “Attack.” We moved towards the enemy with a measured pace. We did not need momentum, we had skill.
Just before we struck their line I heard am urgent voice behind me. “My lord! It is an ambush! There are five hundred Saxon warriors coming towards you.”
I turned and saw Tuathal and the remnants of my equites behind the slingers. “What of my brother?”
“They are still attacking the gate!”
“Ride and support them.”
“My lord?”
I grinned, “We are going to join him! Wedge!” I turned to Garth. “There is no point going back to fight five hundred men. We might as well join Raibeart.”
He too had the mad look of battle I recognised so well. I could hear the men moving into position and I lurched forwards screaming, “Rheged!” at the top of my voice. The cry was taken up and we hit the shocked Saxon line like a hot knife through winter butter. I smashed one man in the face with my shield as I stabbed a second. The line did not break, it disintegrated. I could see, through the gaps which appeared, that Gwalliog’s men were on the ramparts. As we neared the gate I shouted, “Get the gate open. The last two ranks about face. The rest of you kill anything that moves!”
Those Saxons who still stood were quickly despatched as the gates were opened and I saw the smiling face of King Gwalliog. The smile left his face as I shouted, “It is a trap. They have more men behind us. Back over the river.”
The old king just nodded and shouted, “Men of Elmet form a shield wall across the river!”
“Garth, get the slingers to safety. I will bring the rest over.” He was going to argue but I just shouted, “Now! We have no time for a debate.”
I turned and joined the fifty warriors who formed my rear ranks. I shoved myself into the front ranks. “Come on lads. Make way for me!” I heard them cheer. They were neither beaten nor cowed. “Now let us walk backwards. Lord Raibeart will be giving them a welcome once we get through those gates.”
The Saxons had formed a shield wall and were less than fifty paces away. I knew that they had to be tired as they took some time to form a wedge. My men were fit and had only run for a couple of hundred paces. We still had a chance even though they outnumbered us ten to one. The narrow gates would slow them down. I tried to visualise the river and the walls. If we could make the river then we might still escape.
The leader of the wedge had a long spear and a helmet like mine. If he thought the extra reach of the spear would aid him he was wrong. As he thrust the blade forwards, aiming for the eye hole of my helmet I turned his spear and then chopped down on it with Saxon Slayer. As the heft broke in two I heard the clang as the warrior to my right fended off an axe. Before the spearman could recover I punched him in the face with my shield and, as he raised his to protect himself, stabbed him through the thigh. He crumpled to the ground. I could see that the ramparts were close and I shouted above the din and clamour of combat. “Left and right, through the gates. Shield wall!” My well trained men punched with their shields and disengaged leaving ten of us filling the gate and backing out slowly. A second hero swung at me with his axe and he aimed at Saxon Slayer. Although I punched it away it continued its arc and knocked the warrior to my right to the ground. A spear stabbed him in the throat and I was suddenly without any protection on my right hand side.
I brought Saxon Slayer up to slice savagely through the unprotected throat of the axe man and then whirled around to knock the two swords which came at me from my left with my shield. Although I had gained space I saw an exultant spearman stabbing down at me with his weapon eagerly anticipating a victory over the Wolf Warrior. I would have died there and then but a feathered shaft appeared in his throat and his joy died with him; I knew, without being told, that it was Raibeart who had loosed the life saving arrow. I heard Garth yell, “Across the river my lord, we are all.”
Shouting, “Back!” I led the remaining four warriors through the icy river. Arrow after arrow hurled back those brave warriors who tried to kill the killer of champions and claim the Saxon Slayer. Soon they were forced to form a shield wall and watch impotently as we were dragged from the river, the whole army cheering as though we had won.
I felt Raibeart’s arms around my shoulder. “That was too close for comfort brother.”
“Thank you for your arrows. I would be dead were it not for you and your archers.”
King Gwalliog’s voice came from behind Raibeart. “And we would have suffered a slaughter had you and your men not made the charge and sacrifice you did.”
I looked up at Tuathal; he seemed far away on the top of his horse. “You and the king’s horses, cover our retreat. Keep them from pursuing us.” I suddenly realised that I had given the orders to the King of Elmet’s men and I looked at him. He smiled and nodded.
I tried to turn to leave the field with my men but my leg would not work. I had felt no pain but my leg did not move. As I crumpled to the ground I heard Raibeart yell, “Lord Lann is wounded. Fetch a healer!”
Chapter 2
I had not noticed that I had been struck; we had been too busy fighting our foes for that but the wound was deep. A blade had sliced down the back of my calf and the blood flowed freely. The priest bound it to allow us to journey home where it could be dealt with more effectively. As we trotted, in my case, painfully home I discussed with the King and Raibeart what had occurred.
“I think brother that we were spotted the other day when we scouted. I wondered why there were sheep in that open pasture but no shepherds. That also explains why we saw no one outside the settlement this morning.”
I had to ask the painful question; made even more painful by the waves of pulsing agony with each footfall of my mount. “What is the butcher’s bill?”
I saw the look exchanged between the king and his son in law. The king sighed, “The men of Elmet and your archers lost few men but fifty of your warriors perished and ten of your horsemen.”
It was a heavy loss for those warriors could not be easily replaced. “And ten of the boys, my brother.” That cut me to the quick for the boys, my young slingers, had died before their time. Their reckless bravery had cost them and Rheged dear for they would have been the future warriors. “But we killed many more of their warriors. We might have yielded the field but we left it sown with over a hundred and fifty dead Saxons. There were many others who were wounded. Their walls are wrecked. We have won my brother and they will not forget this day.”
We rode in silence. I suspect the others thought it was my wound which silenced me but it was not. I had been bested and I did not like it. Despite my brother’s words, to me it felt like a loss as we had left the field with neither victory nor booty. The next time we fought them I would make sure that we were not surprised and we would hurt them. Raibeart made my remaining horsemen take me to hurry me back swiftly to Loidis for my whitening face worried him. In the event it was a good thing he did so for my wound was bleeding more than we had thought and I fainted as we entered the Elmet stronghold. When I came to
the first sight I had was of Raibeart’s concerned face looming over me.
“You had me worried there; we thought we had lost you. The holy men have stitched it up but you will not be moving for a few days.”
I struggled to raise myself but felt drained of all energy. “I will…”
King Gwalliog’s voice boomed out. “You will be staying in that bed Lord Lann until I am satisfied that you are healed. The Saxons have been given a bloody nose and they will be on the alert for a while wondering if we will return.”
Raibeart nodded. “We captured a couple of prisoners and they were terrified that the Wolf Warrior was coming to get them.” My face must have displayed my thoughts for Raibeart smiled, “Aye brother. Saxon mothers frighten their naughty children warning them that the Wolf Warrior will come in the night and take them if they are naughty. That is why they fought so hard to get at you and also why the warriors inside fell back when your wedge broke through. Wach has sworn to have your head on his walls.”
I slumped back on to the bed. All I wanted was to sleep but I still had my duty to perform. “Raibeart we need to find where their other settlements are. Have our scouts find them. We will keep them guessing where we will attack next.”
“It is already planned. Garth and I will be leading the patrols on the morrow. Now rest and then you can tell us of the plan which is hatching in your fertile mind.” My brother knew me well. I had already begun to devise a strategy which would defeat these men from the sea.
I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next two days. I suspected the priests had put some drug in my water but after three days I felt better and I was allowed to sit up. King Gwalliog and my brother joined me when they had returned from their patrols.
“You have a better colour Lord Lann. The priests tell me that you can walk soon.”
“I will walk tomorrow.” I was not as confident as I had sounded.
