by Hosker,Griff
I waved Sigurd over. "Take the warrior's mail and weapons. You can have the helmet and the sword. Wear the mail until we return to my home and I will let Gilles have that."
"And the cross?"
"You keep that. Sell it for there are many who would pay coin for it."
He shook his head, "I will melt it down and make myself a token. My wife has the second sight. She can put a spell on it. I wear one made of copper. Silver will give me more protection when we face the wrath of Ran."
I nodded. I did not realise that his wife had powers. It showed me that I had not paid enough attention to my people. Jarl Dragonheart knew everything about all those who lived within his lands. I looked in at myself too much. I would never achieve my dream of a home on the mainland if I did not understand those that I led. "Then find the spare horses. We will take them with us." Three horses grazed by the side of the greenway. If I had the chance I would take them home with us. They were smaller than my horses but they were horses and they were what I needed.
Arne Four Toes said, "You are too generous, Hrolf. Why did you not keep the mail and sword for yourself?"
I cocked my head to one side, "I have a sword made by Beorn Bagsecgson. I have a full mail byrnie and a helmet which is superior to that of the Saxon. Why should I keep it?"
"You would be richer."
"And I am richer now. Sigurd is bondi. He protects my land. If I find more weapons and helmets then I will give them to Skutal. There is more to being rich, Arne Four Toes, than having pots of coins buried in a hall."
Rurik One Ear laughed, "And that is why you are Hersir and we are not!"
Fed and watered we headed north at noon. It was not far to Wintan-Ceastre. We had raided here once before. They had rebuilt Hamwic but the churches which lay between the two settlements were still empty shells. The animals had been taken from the fields and it was like walking through an empty land. It was not good for our war band as Jarl Gunnstein and his men became angrier as we marched. They needed to vent their anger as did the others who had lost warriors.
Jarl Harald Fine Hair and his men led for they were eager to gain the glory we had. They kept a fast pace. Even so it was late afternoon when we saw the wooden walls of Wintan-Ceastre rising ahead of us. This was a bigger nut to crack. The last time we had come we threatened only and they had paid us gold to leave. Then we had had hostages and now we had none for they had learned their lesson and the land around was empty. Jarl Gunnstein sent the surviving men from Orkneyjar to the north gate. Jarl Harald Fine Hair had a full crew but the other drekar now barely mustered one crew. The dead and the wounded had come from that drekar and Jarl Gunnstein's.
Thorgeir waved Siggi, Harald Fine Hair, Ulf Big Nose and me over. He said, "Jarl Gunnstein is wondering how we take this place. The three of you raided here with Jarl Gunnar. What can you tell us?"
Ulf pointed to the walls, "They are made of wood but they are built on stone. They are higher than the ones at Hamwic and we would need ladders. The ditch has traps and water. It is twelve paces wide and has two bridges across it. It is as deep as a man sat on another's shoulders. If you tried to descend you would be slaughtered. They have wells within the burgh for water." He waved a hand around the warriors who remained, "Is this enough to assault the walls? I do not think so."
Thorgeir smiled, "Is the champion of the Raven Wing Clan afraid?"
"Am I afraid of losing my life for no good reason? Aye. We could lose half of our men climbing across the ditch and up the walls."
Jarl Gunnstein said, "What would you suggest?"
Siggi White Hair asked, "What is it that you wish? We have had vengeance on the men of Hamwic."
"Not the man who planned this; not the Eorledman."
"Then you need to have more men. We have the crews of just under four drekar. There are just over one hundred who could fight. We would lose perhaps thirty or forty getting over the walls. We might well win but we would have barely enough men to sail home."
"They must pay!"
Thorgeir said, "Why not do what they did the last time and pay with their gold for the lives of our men?"
"We have no hostages!"
I said, "But, Jarl, if you make them fear for their lives then they might be willing. Egbert is far from here and cannot come to their aid. If they believed we could destroy them then they might be more willing to pay."
Jarl Gunnstein nodded, "But I cannot see how we would be able to manage that."
"There is a way. We use their own weapon against them."
"Own weapon?"
"Fire! We have seal oil on the drekar and there will be pots. We fill the pots with the seal oil and, after dark, we throw them at the gate. If our archers send fire arrows then the gate will burn."
"But they have water and they will douse the flames."
"They may but if our archers continue to loose arrows at them then they might not. If their gate is gone it still leaves the ditch but they would be more willing to talk." I shrugged, "It is worth the delay. Besides if the gate was burned we might be able to make a bridge and we could attack as you would like."
"Then try." He pointed to the horses. "Take those."
I grinned, "I intended to, Jarl Gunnstein. I am Hrolf the Horseman! Sigurd, Rurik, come with me." I mounted the one I had identified as the stallion. He would be the hardest to ride. There were no stiraps; however, I had ridden for years without them. We galloped back down the road. It did not take long. The captives had been gathered together and were looking fearful. The warriors who looked after them had been injured in the attack and would not be kind to them.
"I need pots from the settlement and seal oil to fill them."
Sven the Helmsman and Harald Fast Sailing were more organised than the others. They found what I needed. They found pots with stoppers in them and they tied rope around their necks. We had enough oil and pots for ten of them.
Sven asked, "What do you need them for?"
"We are going to burn Wintan-Ceastre."
"Good for some of the warriors who have been burned need a healer such as Dragonheart's! They are keen for vengeance!"
"Have one of your ship's boys fetch my bow!"
"Erik, you heard the hersir! Run!"
A sudden thought struck me. "Are there any captives who behave as Mary did?"
"What?"
"Mary was the daughter of a noble. She was dressed better and kept apart from the others. Are there any girls or women like that?"
"No, but there are a pair of boys. They are almost youths. They have leather boots. Their cloaks are rough though."
I wandered over to the captives and saw the two he meant. They had hair which had been combed and their boots were well made. I lifted the rough cloaks they wore and saw, beneath, tunics which fitted and had delicate needlework. These were the children of nobles. I went to a woman and asked, "How many children does Ecgfrith have?" She was gripping her daughter close to her and I half drew my sword. It was a threat only; I would not harm a woman and child.
Gripping her child tighter she said, "Two! Sons!" Although she tried not to she could not help her eyes flicking towards the two boys with the boots.
I slid my sword back and walked over to them. I yanked them both to their feet by the back of their tunics. "You two are coming with me." I pushed one towards Rurik. "Put him on the horse before you. Sigurd, you do the same. Keep them safe. They may bring us great wealth."
The boys struggled until my two men gripped them so tightly that they could hardly breathe. They were persuasive warriors. Erik ran up to me with my Saami bow and quiver of arrows. I had a feeling that I might need it.
It was the middle of the night when we arrived back at the siege. It was exactly half way between dusk and dawn. Jarl Gunnstein looked at the two boys. "Who are these?"
"I think that they are Ecgfrith's sons. We will find out after we have burned their gates, Jarl. Then it will be daylight and he will be able to see them."
"If this works then I w
ill give you a share of my treasure too!"
All the archers gathered together and Thorgeir selected the men who would throw the pots. We needed the gate and the wall on either side soaking. Half of the archers would use fire arrows. They were not as accurate but as the Saxons did not have many archers we could afford to approach closely. I was with the archers who would clear the walls.
When all was ready a line of warriors with shields walked before us. They stopped five paces from the ditch. I joined the other archers behind them. I pulled back the bow. I saw a helmet glinting in the moonlight. I loosed. The warrior disappeared as he pitched backwards. The other archers joined me and soon there were no heads to be seen. The Saxons took cover. The archers with the fire loosed theirs as Thorgeir shouted, "Now!"
The shields parted and the men ran to the edge of the ditch where they whirled around before releasing their pots. I saw a warrior with a spear rise and my arrow hit his arm. The spear clattered down and he took shelter. The fire arrows were burning on the wall. As the seal oil hit the wall and spattered the flames suddenly took hold and began to lick up the walls. As more arrows hit the oil the fire spread. We heard the alarm in the town.
Now was the time of the archer. When the archers with the fire arrows had finished with their arrows they used ordinary ones. The Saxons had two choices, open the door and try to quench the flames from outside or pour water from above. They chose the latter. Those that tried died. There were a limited number of places they could use and we archers had every part of the gate covered. We stopped when it was obvious that they would let the fire burn. I guessed that they were using their water to damp the walls which were not on fire in the hope that it would not spread. They were, largely, successful. It spread, perhaps a man's body on either side of the wall we had fired. As dawn began to break the fire began to die.
The town was surrounded. Had we been those under siege then we would have sortied for we were fewer in number than they were. The difference was that we were Vikings and they were Saxons. They were the sheep and we were the wolf.
As the light grew we could see that they were prepared for our attack. The Saxons formed a shield wall behind the ruins of their gate. We now saw their strength for there was a line of twenty warriors who faced us and all wore a byrnie made of iron. Their shields prevented us from seeing those behind. None of us were worried by their numbers. We had never met a Saxon warband we had not been able to defeat.
Jarl Gunnstein said, "Jarl Siggi go and tell them we will speak with them. Jarl Erik Haraldsson, bring the two captives but keep them hidden from view. I would surprise this Ecgfrith."
Siggi said, "Come, Hrolf in case my Saxon is not up to it."
I took my bow with an arrow ready in case of treachery. We both removed our helmets. They distorted sound and we needed to know exactly what was said and, perhaps, offered. Our shields were around our back. It was a sign we came to talk.
Siggi shouted, "We come to speak with Eorledman Ecgfrith."
The ones in the front rank turned and passed the message on. I recognised the Eorledman as he stepped forward. He had been one of those who had fled on horses the other night. I wondered how he had come to leave his sons. Perhaps they had been on horses with men who had been slain. The Eorledman had fine mail. His helmet also had a boar on the top. He was older than I was. I had expected that from the age of his sons.
He stood and shouted, "I am Eorledman Ecgfrith and I am charged with protecting this burgh in the absence of the king. Why should I speak with barbarians?"
Jarl Gunnstein had come behind us and Siggi translated for him. "Tell him because I have destroyed his gate and can walk in any time I like."
The Eorledman laughed, "You have not enough men and the ones you send would bleed as they tried to scale the ditch. We can rebuild a new gate. Can you make the dead come to life?"
Jarl Gunnstein smiled, "Tell him, perhaps." As Siggi translated he shouted, "Jarl, fetch the boys."
As soon as he saw them the Eorledman's face fell. He recognised them. Then his mask was replaced. All pride and arrogance had gone and I saw him pale with fear. "And what do you think I will do now?"
Siggi looked at Jarl Gunnstein who said, "Say this very clearly. If he wishes to have these two returned alive then he will give me five chests of coins to pay for the drekar's crew he has destroyed."
As Siggi translated I saw the Saxon lose his temper. He shook his fist and spittle flew from his mouth as he answered. "You will get nothing from me! You are pagans and you will burn in hell! We will join with King Louis to wipe you from the face of the earth."
"Is that your final answer?"
"It is!"
Jarl Gunnstein took his seax and, grabbing the youngest of the two boys, slit his throat. The Eorledman and his son both shouted, "No!" at the same time. The Saxon shield wall began shouting. They were angry and ready to fight us now.
"Tell him if they wish to come and fight us, we are going nowhere. We will happily wait for them."
When the Eorledman heard the words he turned and looked at his men. They were eager and they were ready. His face was filled with resignation when he turned back to us. He did not have the confidence in his own men to trust in a victory.
"If I agree how do I know that my son will be returned to me?"
"You have my word. I am Jarl Gunnstein Berserk Killer and I am never foresworn."
When Siggi translated his words the Eorledman nodded. "I agree. I will fetch the chests now."
I felt sad that the young Saxon had been slain. We lived in a cruel world. The Jarl had made an enemy of his son as well as Ecgfrith. I thought it sad that the Eorledman did not have the confidence in his men to fight us. His son would be alive and, who knows, he might have won. We would have taken the offer in a heartbeat. Now that I had a wife I knew that I would have children. I would ensure that nothing like this could ever happen to my son.
The other Saxon boy was shaking. I went to him. "You will not be harmed. Your father has paid the ransom."
He looked up at me. He was visibly shaken. "Why did the barbarian chief kill my brother?"
"He told your father what he would if your father did not agree to our terms. A man must keep his word. If he does not then the world loses meaning."
"Would he have killed me too?"
I looked him in the eyes and nodded, "He would not even have thought about it."
"But then he would have nothing."
"He would. He would have had vengeance for his daughter whom your father slew and his grandson who now lies in the sea. Remember this. Everything a man does in this life has consequences. It is like a stone thrown into a pond. The ripples keep going long after the stone has sunk to the bottom."
He seemed to see me for the first time. "Would you have killed my brother?"
I shook my head, "No for I would not have made the threat. I would have found another way to relieve your father of his gold." He nodded as though he could understand that. "What is your name?"
"Oslac."
"Oslac, son of Ecgfrith, today you have had your life spared. Now begins your life for you were dead and the Jarl chose to end the life of your brother. Do not waste that life for you now live the life you have and that your brother will never have."
"You are wise."
"No, I am just practical. I was a slave once and my life was saved by another Viking. One day Hrolf, son of Gerloc, will do something with his life. You, young Oslac, should do the same."
We stayed in Wessex for three more days after we had secured the treasure. Each day we raided small churches and isolated farms. We collected many animals. On one raid the rest had left the church we had found laden with candlesticks, candles, fine cloth and well made goblets. I was walking around the church to see if anything had been missed. I was about to leave when a voice from somewhere, I think deep inside me reminded me of Aiden, Jarl Dragonheart's galdramenn. He always searched beneath their altars. Sometimes there were precious objects there. I kicked
away the wooden altar and dropped to my knees. Sweeping away the dust I saw that there was a wider gap between the stones. I ran my seax around it. I levered up one end and found that I could lift it for it was only as wide as my two hands. I lifted the stone and saw that, beneath it, was a small chest. It was the size of one of my hands and I was disappointed. It could not hold much. It took it out although it was hard to do so. The box was well made. I opened it and saw that, lying within was the largest golden cross I had ever seen. It was as long as the box and as wide. The box looked to have been made for it. All the work had gone into the size for it was plain. Beneath it lay some bones. They would be the relics of a saint or one of their holy men. It would be worth money.
I stood and was about to leave when the voice came to my head again. I would give the cross to Mary. She was the only follower of the White Christ on our island. She would appreciate it. I took it out of the box and slipped it into my leather pouch. I felt guilty but Aiden had told me, as had Jarl Dragonheart, that the voices we hear in our heads are the spirits and we should obey them. I did not know it but the Norns were spinning once more. The taking of the golden cross was wyrd.
As a reward for my service I was given a small chest of coins and Jarl Gunnstein allowed me to take the three horses back with me. Sven was not happy but I promised that I would make sure they were calm on the journey back. We were overloaded. We had our share of the treasure as well as slaves and some of Jarl Gunnstein's crew. They were keen to join our clan and as they were not oathsworn there was no bad blood. We had lost no warriors and gained four. Our numbers were growing. Jarl Harald Fine Hair also promised to tell others who sought a home away from the far north of Raven Wing Island.
As we left the blackened shell that was Hamwic I hoped that this raid would not come back to haunt us. I suspected that Jar Gunnstein would feel the wrath of our enemies but I hoped that our small island would be ignored.... I was wrong.
