Viking Blood

by Griff Hosker

  “I have fought with Jarl Gunnstein. He was a clever warrior. Why did he not retreat into the walls of Dyflin?”

  “That was where the treachery came in. The two crews who had arrived before entered by the west gate and fell upon the rear of the Jarl and his hearth weru at the river gate.”

  “And your drekar? What did Faðir the Fair do?”

  “He told us to arm. We were about to join in the fight when women and children fled from the town. Faðir the Fair told us to take them aboard. We took on so many that we began to take on water. It was then that we saw the end of the jarl’s hearth weru. They fell and he was captured. Our jarl decided to set sail.” He shook his head. “We should have stayed to fight! It would have been a better end for those who died later.”

  I nodded, “Was your jarl oathsworn?”

  Erik shook his head. “We had arrived six months before. Our jarl left the isle of Beinn na bhFadhla for life was harsh. Jarl Gunnstein welcomed us and allowed us to raid the west of Hibernia. Our journey to Frankia was to take a message to Jarl Hrolf the Horseman.”

  “Then your jarl did nothing wrong in trying to escape. I take it you tried to flee?”

  “We cast off and set sail. We had so many refugees aboard that it was hard to row. As we passed the last of the enemy ships its captain tried to follow us. He succeeded in ramming us but Faðir the Fair was a good sailor. He managed to escape and we used the same wind that Tadgh ap Coel used. The strakes were sprung and Faðir the Fair tried to make for your land, Jarl. We knew of you. Our jarl had met you once when you visited Jarl Gunnstein. He admired you. We called here before heading for Dyflin. He spoke with you briefly but you had something on your mind.”

  I nodded although in truth I could not put a name to a face. It made me both sad and angry. I had not visited since I was in my dark place and seeking Wighlek and Vibeke. He must have visited after the Skulltakers had attacked us. Had my head not been so dark I might have spoken with the young jarl. Perhaps he might have stayed in my land and he and his people would be alive. Then I realised that would not have happened. This was the work of the Norns.

  “Carry on, although I fear I know the end of this tale.”

  “When we neared the sea between Hibernia and your land the seas became rougher and our brave drekar could take no more punishment. Despite our efforts we could not keep her afloat. We discarded our armour and took to the wreckage when the ship broke up. We were lucky. The ones you see here were with us five and we managed to lash some of the wreckage together. The others…? Ran took them. There were more of us but after a night in the water many drifted off and we saw them not again.”

  I saw that the tale had affected my son and grandson. Anger filled their faces. Ragnar said, “We cannot allow this treachery to go unpunished, grandfather!”

  “No, we cannot, nor can we rush across the sea and attack blindly. This enemy is clever. Do we have a name for this treacherous dog?”

  “Erik shook his head. “The two captains of the drekar were Halfi Broken Nose and Hallfr Hallrson. They were brothers.”

  “Now Erik Ironshirt. I can tell that you lead these survivors and that you speak for them. What would you?”

  “We are Viking, jarl.” He nodded to Coen, “We are grateful to your people for saving us but we would rather live with those who have the same blood.”

  Coen nodded, “We are friends with Jarl Dragonheart and I understand.”

  “Good then tomorrow, if the women and children are able, we will travel to Cyninges-tūn. I will return with my men when we have prepared and we will sail to the land of Jarl Gunnstein Berserk Killer.”

  Erik said, “You will make war?”

  I smiled, “First we will see the situation. I will not rush into this. Before we can do anything I will find out whom we fight. There may be others who have survived. Do not fear, Erik Ironshirt. Your jarl and shipmates as well as our friends in Dyflin will have vengeance. It will be in cold and not hot blood.”

  That night we talked to the five men about the raiders. I realised that this was a large band. From what they said I worked out that they had landed with over two hundred and fifty men. I had no doubt that Dyflin’s defenders would have slain many of the attackers but it was still a large force. The attack had been clever. The small number who had first landed had allayed Jarl Gunnstein’s fears and the fact that two days had elapsed was devious. I wondered who had spoken up for the two drekar captains. Whoever it was must have been trusted by Jarl Gunnstein berserk Killer for he was no fool. My old friend had made one mistake but it had cost him his land. It was a lesson I took to heart.

  Erik said, “Thorghest here was a Hersir. His two brothers were in the jarl’s hearth weru. He has sworn vengeance.”

  He nodded and Arne the Grim said, “We all swore that oath as we clung to the wreckage. I have never broken an oath in my life and this one will not be the first.”

  The five of them had fire in their eyes. It was the fire of hate. They would be useful warriors. They were warriors I could trust.

  Ragnar and Gruffyd led the survivors north. I took a pony and went to sea Erik Short Toe and Bolli. “We need drekar as soon as possible.” I told them why.

  Bolli said, “The two we are repairing will not be ready until the end of the month.”

  “Then we will have to take but two. This is urgent. We now have an enemy on our doorstep. We have an enemy who has ships and is ruthless.” I spread my arm around the shipyard. “Here you would feel their wrath before anyone else.”

  “We are working hard, Jarl.”

  “I know but that will be little comfort if this new enemy comes and slays all those who work here.”

  “You take the threat that seriously, jarl?”

  “Jarl Gunnstein Berserk Killer had many warriors and a strong wall. He was defeated. I am never arrogant enough to believe that we are immune to danger because I bear a sword touched by the gods.”

  I made good time on my horse and caught up with the refugees. Ragnar and Gruffyd had given their mounts to two women. I dismounted and made the eldest woman mount. I say eldest but she had seen barely thirty summers. All of those who had survived were relatively young. The sea was harsh.

  Erik Ironshirt pointed to my Water. “I had heard this land was beautiful, Jarl Dragonheart, and now I see it is true. Surely our enemies could not take this from you?”

  “We must be vigilant. We must fight. We have often been attacked and this land is watered with Viking blood from my men who have defended it. We too have suffered treachery.”

  “We would fight alongside you, Jarl Dragonheart but as you can see, we have nothing.”

  Ragnar laughed, “You need not worry about that. There are shields, swords, helmets and even byrnies aplenty in our hall.” He hesitated, “But here we expect warriors to swear an oath to the Jarl.”

  “We would do that for had we not been picked up then we would not have a life to lead. The Allfather has given us a second chance and landed us at your hall. I now see why we survived. It was to tell you of the treachery and to fight on. We will swear and if you fight this Viking then put us in the first rank!”

  “My father always puts his Ulfheonar in the front rank but fear not, Erik Ironshirt, you will have the chance to fight.”

  As we neared my home the curious came to greet us. Cnut Cnutson had been fishing and he wandered over, “More captives, Jarl?”

  “No Cnut. Dyflin has fallen to a new foe. These are the only survivors.”

  Cnut had fought alongside the men of Dyflin. “How could that be? They were hardy warriors and it was a well-made stad.”

  “Treachery. I would have you summon the Ulfheonar.”

  “Aye lord.” He picked up his fishing pole and headed for his horse.

  “Ragnar, Gruffyd, when we reach home then I would have you ride to Asbjorn. We need his men. Tomorrow you can go to Ketil and Ulf. Eventually we will need every warrior in the land to fight this foe.”

  We took the wome
n and the children to Kara. She gave me a rueful smile. “If you keep finding mouths for us to feed, father, then I will need a bigger hall.”

  “I am sorry Kara.”

  She put her hand on mine, “Do not be sorry. Your heart may be the Dragonheart but it is a kind one. You are the hope of the Viking world. I will care for them and we will speak later.”

  “You dreamed this?”

  “I do not know exactly what happened but let us say that in this house we are not surprised.” She led her charges within. I noticed that Astrid and Elfrida were there to help her. I was happy that I had strong women in my land. It meant that when we fought and were far from home we had strength behind our wooden walls.

  I turned to the five warriors. “Yonder is the warrior hall. You will find chests in there with spare arms, helmets and mail. Help yourselves. Rest. I will send Karl One leg to you. He commands my hall. He will assign you a drekar and a place in the shield wall.”

  Karl was training new warriors by the Water. I knew that Cnut would find him and summon him to us. I went to my hall. I needed to speak with Brigid. She was the wife of the jarl. She and Kara would need to organize the women.

  After I had told her she nodded, “Do not worry, husband. We will make a home for whoever you rescue.”

  I cocked an eye at her, “Are you getting the second sight? How did you know that I would try to rescue any? I had not decided myself until I reached my walls.”

  “I know you. You try not to be but you cannot help being a Christian. You will go to Dyflin and see if any were taken by these new raiders.” She put her hand on mine. “I pray you be careful.”

  “Always.”

  My Ulfheonar came little by little. Some lived far away. It was nightfall by the time they all arrived. Brigid had straw beds prepared for those who would not be able to travel home. Aiden joined us. I told them of the events in Dyflin.

  Haaken said, “I may only have one eye, Jarl Dragonheart, but it seems to me that those two threttanessa which we saw at Hrams-a were the very ones which first went to Dyflin.”

  It struck me between the eyes. I was a fool. Of course it was. The words of my vision came to me, ‘Remember the midsummer. Remember watching the sunset and holding hands.’ It had been on that very beach that we had first pledged our troth on midsummer’s eve.

  Aiden said, “And therein lies danger too. Since we scoured the island of Jarl Erik and the others it has not been a threat. This Viking may have ideas there too.”

  That had not yet occurred to me and now that it had been spoken I could see that it was obvious.

  Olaf leather Neck emptied his horn. “So, Jarl Dragonheart, we sail to Dyflin and show him that this is our sea and Berserk Killer was our ally?”

  I laughed, “Would that it was that simple Olaf. We only have two drekar ready. We could take eighty men at most. There are almost two hundred and fifty, at least, in Dyflin. We could fight them but I am guessing we would lose.” I waved a hand around the hall, “The Land of the Wolf is too valuable a prize to gamble away.”

  “Then we plan to do nothing, Jarl?”

  “No Leif the Banner. First we find our enemy. Tomorrow we sail to land north of Dyflin. There is a beach there we have used before. Aiden, Aðils Shape Shifter and I will land. We will scout out our enemy. I wish to find where the captives are held and how many enemy we face. We take just the Ulfheonar. I will send Raibeart in ‘Odin’s Breath’ and he will lie off Dyflin in case they launch an attack before we are ready. I have sent my son and grandson to bring Asbjorn, Ketil and Ulf. Our danger lies in Úlfarrston. When we know the nature of our foe we will be better placed to devise a means to defeat him.”

  “Must it be you? Cannot Beorn the Scout go?”

  “No Haaken. Aiden can pass for an Hibernian. We will pose as a healer, his ancient servant and a young acolyte. Without sword and mail and in ragged clothes they will see my grey hairs and think me harmless. Aðils is the youngest looking of the Ulfheonar and besides he is the best at scouting.”

  Haaken nodded, “I would like to be there to see it.”

  “Haaken, your white hair and one eye mark you out as clearly as if you had your name painted upon your shield. If you were with us then no disguise would work.”

  He nodded, “True, my fame has spread far and wide.”

  I shook my head. Haaken was not a modest man. “We will find the captives. If it is possible we will rescue them.”

  “Alone?”

  “No. The warriors in this room will help me.”

  “We have not enough here to row the ‘Heart of the Dragon’ .”

  “I know, Cnut. We use men from the settlement. The Ulfheonar can wait hidden, close by.”

  My men argued late into the night trying to persuade me to take more men to scout but I was adamant. The fewer the better.

  The next morning we left for our raid. We sailed with Raibeart for part of the way and then, while he went to patrol the bay, we headed for the lonely beach just a mile or two from Dyflin. We landed after dark. Leaving a crew of just twenty men to row the drekar I slipped ashore with Aiden and the Ulfheonar. We landed just south of the nearest estuary to the north of Dyflin. It was quiet and the only house which overlooked the beach was derelict. We had been here before and the locals believed the house was haunted by a dead warrior. As we had not killed him we feared him not. It was the living who were more of a threat.

  I hoped that I was unrecognisable. I wore no mail nor did I carry a sword. I had two seax and carried a staff. I wore a kyrtle and an old brown cloak. Aiden was better dressed than I was. He was playing the master. He had a leather satchel and in it he had the potions a healer would carry. Aðils did not have much of a beard and what he had he had shaved off to make him look even younger. He had a seax and a hunting bow.

  We left the Ulfheonar in a small wood just two thousand paces from the north gate. We waited until the greenway was quiet and then joined the road. I could speak a little of the local language and we had taught Aðils a few key words on the way over. Aðils and I carried blankets and bags. They were an effective disguise. As two servants we would not be expected to speak as much as our master. People rarely looked at servants. If we kept our heads down then we could be invisible. It would be the Norse who had attacked Dyflin who would be speaking to us and we guessed they would not have learned the language yet. Our disguise would hold unless we were unlucky or unless Aiden was recognised.

  As we headed towards the wooden walls I saw, in the harbour, the masts of many drekar. Raibeart was alone with my second ship a few miles off shore. All that he would be able to do, if the enemy decided to attack us, would be to give the briefest of warnings to Úlfarrston and Cyninges-tūn. Our mission was vital. We were almost at the gate when we spied the captives. We saw the many women and children who had been captured. They were in Gunnstein Berserk Killer’s slave pens and there were ten men watching them. That meant some of the women and children had already been taken. I resisted the urge to move faster. I had to play an old man. We could only help those who had survived.

  We were helped by the fact that the guards at the gate had found a woman and her daughter to torment and we slipped through without being seen. Of course, when it came to leaving it might not be so easy but we would cross that bridge when we came to it. We did not speak to each other. There was no need. Aiden took the lead and I trusted my galdramenn. He headed boldly for the port.

  The streets were filled with drunken warriors. That allayed some of my fears. If they were drunk then they could not attack my home. We reached the centre and discovered where the warriors were being held. They had built a pen and the forty or so warriors who had survived were there. It was close to what had been the jarl’s hall and the warrior hall. They had been stripped of their mail. Most bore wounds. Even as we watched I saw a group of drunken Vikings wander over and first spit and then make water on the captives. I recognised one of the prisoners. It was Leif the Red. He was not hearth weru. He had served
as part of the town watch for he had had his calf muscle cut in a fight and could not move quickly. Had he been whole I do not think he would have been taken alive.

  Aiden passed them as though they were not important. He headed for an ale house. It was noisy and it was lively. He played the part of a master well, “You two wait here and don’t get into trouble!” He gave me his leather satchel.

  I doubted than any, save the Hibernian man who was serving ale, would have understood his words but it was important for the story. We dropped our loads and leaned against the wall. We stood like a pair of horses left outside and we kept our heads down. We were ignored and it allowed us to hear snatches of conversation. I did not react to any of them but I listened to every word. I soon learned that the leader was a Jarl called Harald the Great and that he was from Norway. It gradually emerged that he had spent some time in the northern islands. There he had subdued the local jarls and taken over their lands. He had attracted other like-minded Vikings and carefully planned his attack on Dyflin. He had attracted the worst of warriors. Every jarl who had a band of cut throats had joined him as he attempted to carve out his own kingdom. Aiden seemed to be inside for an age. When he emerged he was in the company of two warriors. Neither wore mail and a glance at their swords showed them to be poor warriors. There were traces of rust upon them.

  “Come with us!”

  We picked up the bags and blankets and followed. Aiden had found a warrior who needed healing. He had been stabbed and they could not staunch the bleeding. We were taken to the warrior who was lying close to the pen where the prisoners were kept. He was a Hersir. He had a seal around his neck. When I looked at his wound I could see why they had not used fire. His arm had been laid open from the shoulder to the wrist. He looked pale.