by Hosker,Griff
They had seen me ride in but not the result."What did you do hersir?"
"I let them know we were here and gave them a warning that they needed to keep guards on their walls."
The mob of men ran out towards us. As I had expected it was the ones without armour who ran towards us first. They were faster. "Follow me. We turn to our left and stab as many of them as we can. I will lead and Rurik, bring up the rear. You have Night Star. He is the fastest. Do not get caught by them. Now ride."
We cantered towards them. I held my spear overarm so that they would think I intended to throw it again. They kept running. Why did they need to fear but six men? I saw that one warrior was outrunning the rest. I timed my turn so that he was ten paces in front of me. I jerked Dream Strider's head around and raised my arm. I feinted a throw and kept riding. He raised his shield quickly. When nothing hit his shield he lowered it to see where I was. I was next to him and I plunged my spear deep into his neck. I pulled it out again and shifted it to an underarm grip. The second warrior held his shield close to his head and chest. My spear tore into his thigh. I pulled Dream Strider's reins and headed back the way I had come. I glanced over my shoulder. My men had only managed to hit three warriors but they had made them stop. When I reached the spot where we had charged I reined in and waited. I wanted Dream Strider to catch his breath.
Erik Green Eye was grinning when he reined in. "I can see you are a true horseman. Two strikes with your spear and two dead men. We barely wounded three of them."
I shook my head, "One was just struck in the leg."
"Look hersir. He lies dead in a pool of blood. You struck something vital."
They had become wary. I saw Knut One Eye limp over to a warrior with a huge black beard and a skull rammed on a spike on his helmet. I guessed it was Guthrum the Skull. He pointed at me. The warrior nodded and shouted something. The Frisians began to form ranks. I wished I had brought my bow. I could have hit Knut One Eye and ended his treacherous life. The Frisian jarl put a line of warriors without mail in his front rank but then put a row of his better warriors behind them. He was inviting us to charge again but when we did so a second time the lightly armed men would have shelter behind the others. He would not catch us that way.
"We wait. It will give the horses the chance to rest and we are in no hurry. Talk to your horses and get to know them."
The Frisians began taunting us. My men were too clever to respond and it did not hurt us. I saw Knut and Ketil join the Frisian and speak with him. He nodded and spoke again. Suddenly ten men on each side detached themselves and ran to try to outflank us. I noticed none of them had armour.
"Hersir?"
"Wait. When I ride follow me. We will go left." The enemy were using a good plan but there were not enough men for it to succeed. We were mounted and it would take more than ten men to make me worry. The Frisian line moved forward as the two flanking warriors began to pass us. They thought they had us trapped.
"Now, Dream Strider!" I galloped directly at the third man in the line to my left. He was fifty paces from me. They had a gap between them and could not form a shield wall. He made the mistake of running. I stabbed him in the back with my spear and then wheeled to my left to bring my spear into the neck of the second Frisian. The one who was leading threw himself to the floor. He must have been told that a horse will not step on a man. Normally that is true but when a horse is moving quickly it cannot help himself. Dream Strider's hoof crushed his skull and I led my men towards the dead ground a mile away.
Glancing over my shoulder I saw that they had done better this time. Four others had been hit and the last three had run back towards the shelter of the main band. The ones on the far side had formed a shield wall in case we charged them. We did not.
"Keep going!" I rode for half a mile and stopped again half a mile from the ambush. I could not see Ulf and knew that we would be invisible too. The enemy had to run hard to keep after us. That suited me for they would be tired. They had seen what happened to individuals and were presenting a solid wall of shields. I let them get to within a hundred paces before I put the next part into operation.
I shouted, "Guthrum the Skull, you have been deceived by Knut One Eye and his half witted brother. This island has nothing for you. There are many places to raid and yet you choose to take on a small clan. Are you afraid to fight someone stronger?"
He shook his head like a dog trying to dry itself, "I am not afraid of you. I have never met a horseman I could not beat." He held his two handed war axe above his head. "Come close enough to Thor's Maiden and you will find that a horse is no protection."
"Then step forward and we will see!"
"Hersir!"
"Do not worry, Arne Four Toes, I do not have the death wish and I will see my son born."
Guthrum the Skull pushed his way forward and stepped clear of his men. He kept walking towards me. As I had expected he had his shield around his back because he needed both hands for his axe. I had fought men with such an axe before. They were deadly but if you had quick hands and reactions then you could defeat them. The difference was, I was now doing this on horseback. My mount needed to be as quick as I was. "Be ready my Dream Strider. Today we show the world how a Viking can ride a gift of the gods!"
I kicked him in the ribs and he leapt forward. I wanted him moving as fast as possible. I wanted to be a blur. I wanted this Guthrum the Skull to strike at thin air. He began to swing his axe in a double loop. He was not yet ready to strike but he needed to build up the speed of his axe. He expected me to go to his left so that I could use my spear. When I was five paces from him I jerked to the left and then to the right. He swung at where I should have been. Standing in my stiraps I stabbed down across the left hand side of my horse's head as I passed the Frisian chief. He had mail but it was a boar spear I used and I was strong. It came away red and I saw that I had hit him in the shoulder. I wheeled around him as his men raced to get the man who had wounded their leader.
"Ride!"
Their leader wounded they were like a pack of wild dogs and all order was gone. They ran as a mob. There were no lines and no shield wall. They wanted to get to grips with us as soon as they could and end this. Erik was the fourth in the line. "Erik, go left!" We peeled left and right as I saw the small band of warriors waiting behind a line of embedded stakes. Ulf had built himself a citadel! We rode away from the ground before the shield wall. I knew it would be laden with traps. We reined in behind the archers. Rather than deterring the Frisians the small shield wall seemed to spur them on. The archers began to rain death on them as soon as they crested the brow. Those without armour fell quickly.
The ones with mail and better shields managed to escape death and they lumbered and barged past their less armoured brothers. They built up speed and, as they reached the steeper ground began to run even quicker. It was hard to keep their feet and suddenly those at the front slipped on wet grass. Unable to keep their balance three fell, bringing down others. Our archers found flesh then. The ones following slowed down and approached a little more cautiously. They just gave our archers more time to hit them. Once they reached the flatter ground they formed a shield wall. They had twenty mailed men in a solid double line and they stepped forward. The ground was a muddy morass which had been soaked by Ulf and the others. Stepping forward from the protection of the stakes Ulf and six warriors stabbed with their spears at men struggling to keep their feet. Then they retreated back to the protection of the stakes.
"Forward!" I led my horsemen towards the Frisians. They thought we were going to attack at the same time as Ulf. They hurriedly echeloned their line to face us.
Just then I saw Guthrum the Skull, supported by Ketil Eriksson, stand at the top of the brow of the hill. He shouted, "Back!" as his standard bearer blew his horn. The survivors tried to extricate themselves from the mud but my archers continued to hit them.
I raised my spear and said, "Viking horsemen, forward!"
We followed the retreating
Vikings. We speared as many as we could. The more we killed today the less would be there to fight us the next day. None of the Frisians asked for mercy. They gripped their swords and tried to defend themselves as the six of us worked our way up the hill. Half way up I shouted, "Stop!" The last thing we needed was for us to walk into a trap. We returned down the hill to join Ulf and the others. We had slain over twenty men. We were still outnumbered but it was a victory. Raven Wing Clan had reason to celebrate.
We sang as we headed home to my stockade.
The horseman came through darkest night
He rode towards the dawning light
With fiery steed and thrusting spear
Hrolf the Horseman brought great fear
Slaughtering all he breached their line
Of warriors slain there were nine
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
With mighty axe Black Teeth stood
Angry and filled with hot blood
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
Ice cold Hrolf with Heart of Ice
Swung his arm and made it slice
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
In two strokes the Jarl was felled
Hrolf's sword nobly held
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
Chapter 16
It was cold fare we ate. Mary and Brigid had left us two barrels of ale, cured ham, pickled fish and cheese. We ate. Ulf laughed as my riders complained of their wounds- the saddles had chafed them!
"If that is the only wound you have after such a battle then think yourselves well off. I remember when Siggi and I were young, sometimes there were but five men left after the battles we fought."
Erik Green Eye said, "Yet you must have been good for you have no wounds which show."
"We were lucky I think and Siggi and I fought as a pair when we were young. He guarded my back and I guarded his."
I washed down the salty ham with the dark beer, "And then you became scout and Siggi watched the jarl. Why were you not hearth-weru?"
"We wished to be but Jarl Gunnar wanted to choose men who were not family. He said that he knew his family would watch out for him so why did they need to be hearth-weru? If we had been hearth-weru then we would have perished with him and his family. We had a part to play here. It is wyrd. The Norns make nothing simple. Siggi had to be here to warn us of the attack by the Frisians and me...? I can still wield a sword and use my mind."
"And now what?"
"And now we watch. Each man pairs up with another. One sleeps while the other watches. They will try to get the horses. I will watch with Hrolf." He stretched, "And I will exercise the authority of age and sleep first. Wake me when you tire, Hrolf the Horseman."
"Aye Ulf."
The men paired up and I saw those on watch look to me. "Two in the tower; the rest on the walls. I will watch the horses. Do not doubt yourself. If you hear or see anything then call out. There are too few of us for doubts."
I had taken my helmet off and I left it by the fire. It rested on my shield. This was the time for Heart of Ice. I walked to Dream Strider. Nipper raised his head and, seeing that it was me, went back to sleep. I stroked Dream Strider's mane. "Today you were as the steed of a god. I was proud of you. Tomorrow, or the day after, we leave this home and I will be sad. I enjoyed those days when you and I lived alone and we rode where we chose. Things change. You are a father and I am to be a father soon. With that change come responsibilities. You will sire a herd of horses which are ridden to war by Vikings. We will be the first to do so. The witch, on Syllingar, told me it would happen. We have to leave but I know not what the land of the Franks holds for me. We will face it together."
He nuzzled my head and his huge, rough tongue, licked my hair. We were like Siggi and Ulf. We watched each other's backs. I stepped away from the stable to allow him to sleep and I stood just down from the walls of my palisade where I could watch the stables. I rested my back on the single copper beech we had left. Its twisted trunk rendered it useless for timber but its branches and leaves gave shade in summer. Mary liked the colour of the leaves in winter. With my sword in my hand I leaned against it and I listened.
I smelled them before I saw them. I smelled the ale soaked clothes and the sweat. I picked up a stone and tossed it at Rurik's head thirty paces away on the walls. It hit his good ear and he turned. I pointed into the dark and he nodded. He disappeared. He would rouse the others.
I held my sword slightly behind me as I peered into the dark. If I did not move then I would be invisible. The convoluted branches and trunk of the beech hid me. I heard a curse. It sounded close. I looked closer and saw four figures creeping forward. They were forty paces from me and were shadows. Ulf had been right. They were coming for the horses. Ulf appeared next to me. He was the only one of those in the stockade who could move so silently. I pointed and he nodded. I drew my seax.
They would have to pass us to get to the stables and so we waited. It seemed impossible that they would miss us but, as the four approached I saw that they were watching the walls. I recognised three of them. It was Karl Swift Foot, Knut and Ketil Eriksson. Ulf was to my right. Ketil led. His maimed foot gave him a distinctive limp. The fourth warrior was slightly behind Karl Swift Foot. I would have to kill him first.
Ulf did not wait for me. We knew each other well. He swung his sword into the middle of Ketil's stomach. I slashed at the throat of the fourth man as I stabbed at Karl Swift Foot. Karl had always been a good warrior with fast hands and he deflected the blade down. It bit into flesh but it was his leg and not his neck. Ketil's cry shattered the silence of the night. If there were others then they would be behind these four. We had to kill them quickly. We were close together and Karl punched at me with the hilt of his sword. Even though my seax came up he sent me backwards. I had no helmet to protect me. He turned and ran. I followed.
He was Karl Swift Foot and he could run faster than me but he was hampered by his leg and his shield. I heard no more noise and I guessed these four were the only ones who would be coming. I brought my sword over as I neared him. We were on the greenway and it was open. My sword caught him on his back. The mail held but the blow hurt him. He whipped his sword around inane arc. Had I not had quick reactions he might have gutted me. My seax sparked against the sword. The flash briefly lit us. I swung my sword at neck height and his shield blocked it. My seax darted in beneath his sword. The oblique tip was perfect for finding a way through mail. It tore the links and cut through the kyrtle beneath. He grunted. I twisted and pushed even harder. He brought his sword over to punch me again but I was ready and my sword met his. We were face to face.
"You turned against your own people!" I pushed even harder and my left hand came up against his mail. I twisted and turned the blade inside him.
"I married Ketil's people. You were my enemy."
I could feel his sword arm weakening. "We fought in a shield wall. You forgot your oath." I pulled my sword hand back and punched at his hand. His sword flew from it and I turned my seax inside his body and tore it out. He screamed. It was like the cry of a vixen in the night. I heard birds take flight. He fell backwards.
I kicked away his shield. He was not yet dead but he was close. "Sword! Give me my sword!"
Sheathing my own I picked his up. I held it by the blade. "First, what did you intend?"
"Kill your horses. Gudrun Skull Taker said that Knut and Ketil had not fought. They should destroy the animals."
"I thought Knut was Jarl."
Karl laughed and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "So did he."
"And what do the Frisians intend?"
"Today they come for you. You will not get to use your horses. They have long spears and another drekar arrived. They have replaced t
he ones you slew. Sword!"
I handed him his sword.
"I am sorry we parted as enemies. You were a good ..." He died.
I turned and ran. His cry might have brought Frisians. When I neared the stables I was met by the grisly sight of three skulls sitting on spears. Ulf was there. I nodded, "He is dead. They come this morning. We will move the horses down to Sigurd's hut before dawn. They have more men. We will need to hold them at the walls until the ships return."
Ulf nodded, "Wyrd."
We were all awake and having had the enemy so close none would go back to sleep. We led my horses down to the wooden quay. Laying their saddles there we tied them to the roof of Sigurd and Skutal's huts. I would try to save them before the end but if not...
When I returned to my hall I saw that Ulf had found the last of my seal oil and he and my men were soaking the walls of my stockade and hall with it. He poured it on the outbuildings which had housed my pigs, fowl and even the stables. They were all full of hay and dung. They would burn. He said, "We fight until we can hold them no longer. You built a good wall here, Hrolf the Horseman. I am impressed. You built just one gate. We leave by the gate and fire the walls. We fight our way to the beach. There are two fishing boats there. If any survive then they will hold six each. Twelve of us might survive."
Rurik nodded, "Who wants to live forever? We will have a great tale to tell in Valhalla and Siggi White Hair will approve."
Ulf nodded, "I feel him close by."
We placed our bows on the fighting platform along with the throwing spears. Erik and Einar took the rest half way down the slope to use when we fell back. When all was ready we stood our watch on the walls.
