Brothers in Blood (Norman Genesis Book 7)

by Hosker, Griff

  They greeted me warmly. Folki was now a greybeard and he had a greater girth now. He almost picked me up when he saw me. “When I saw you ride away I feared you were not leading us!”

  “I was taking Rollo to my father. He wanted to raid.”

  Finni said, “Why not bring him? My son Erik sailed when he had seen but six summers.”

  I nodded, “You are not married to a Frank and a Christian! My wife worries about my sons. I think it is because she lost a child.”

  They looked at each other and clutched their amulets. They would not speak of it but all thought that the gods had punished me for allowing a man to be at the birth of Ragnvald. I had made certain that there were no men present at the birth of Rollo.

  “So Jarl Ragnvald, we raid Sarnia first and then Saint Maclou?”

  “Aye, Einar. With the way the winds are that will be the easiest way to do so. I doubt that the Franks on Sarnia will be expecting us. It is some years since my father raided Angia. They may think we have forgotten them.”

  Folki shook his head, “Not so, Jarl Ragnvald. When we raided further south last year we saw, as we passed Angia, that they had put wooden palisades around their homes.”

  Einar laughed, “I have yet to see a wooden palisade that can withstand a blow from my axe!” The conversation was filled with past battles and raids against enemies we had subdued and defeated. We had been lucky. Few had tasted defeat. Victory was infectious.

  We began to load our crews in the late afternoon. Ragnvald was excited and the sulkiness of the previous night was gone. He and the other ship’s boys chattered like magpies as they scurried about the drekar. It would be an easier voyage north for them as the mast would be stepped. We would be almost invisible. Mathilde came to the quay with our two daughters. One, Brigid, was still suckling. Mathilde smiled, “Take care my husband. I never worry about you when you are on the back of a horse but a ship is a different matter. You sail with our son. Bring him home.”

  I kissed Agnathia, then Brigid the baby and finally Mathilde, “We will both return and the voyage will help our son to grow. He will soon cease to be a child and he needs to act more like a man.”

  She shook her head. She did not understand the Viking way.

  As the sun began to set we pushed off and headed due west. My drekar led and my men sang as they rowed. They sang the song of my father. We believed it brought us good fortune. Every single warrior knew how much they owed him. The ship’s boys, although not rowing sang as they went about their tasks. I was pleased that Ragnvald joined in. He would be leading the ship’s boys when they became men.

  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 he nobly held

  Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade

  Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed

  We stopped singing when we turned to head north and east towards the shadow that was Sarnia. Sounds carried across the empty ocean. I still had some of my father’s old crew with me but most of the men I led were mine. They had taken an oath to me. I had four warriors who would lead my men with me. It was not my father’s way but I had found that it was easier to have a fifth of the crew following one man. I trusted Snorri Snorrison , Harold Strong Arm, Haaken the Bold and Leif Sorenson. They thought as I did. My tactic worked just as well when we fought on land. We had more manoeuvrability.

  It was Ragnvald who came racing down the centre of the drekar to tell me that he had sighted the island. I was pleased that he had remembered his orders. He had not shouted. “Jarl, I have seen the bay.” He pointed four points off the steerboard side of the bow.

  “Good now go and prepare to leap into the water when we are close!”

  “Aye jarl!”

  He was keen to make up for his lie and impress me. Once we were in the shallows then he and the other ship’s boys would take ropes and tie us to a rock, a tree, or anything which was handy, while the warriors leapt ashore. I had done it. I had not enjoyed it but it had helped make me a better sailor. I was pleased that Ragnvald was throwing himself into life as a ship’s boy. It would make him a better warrior.

  We slowed down our oars so that we crept inshore. The ship’s boys stood by the figurehead. When they waved it would be time to back the oars and prevent us from tearing the keel from our drekar. Although we were landing at a sandy beach we knew that there were rocks. I saw Arne wave and he and Ragnvald disappeared over the side even as I shouted, “Back oars!”

  I heard the splash as they landed and then there was the sound of the keel on the sand. We had been lucky. When high tide came we would be refloated but the grounding made it easier for the ship’s boys. Rolf usually manned the tiller and commanded the boys when we were ashore but he was in the Haugr with Rollo. It was Leif Left Hand who would command. He had lost the use of his right hand in a raid. He still wished to be part of the crew and he had learned to fight left handed. He could still steer with one hand and a stump.

  I donned my helmet and grabbed my shield from the side of the ship. I did not use a spear. The helmet was the one I used on horseback. It had a simple nasal and was comfortable. I walked to the prow and jumped into the water. I saw that Ragnvald and Arne had driven in a stake and tied the drekar to it. “Well done Ragnvald, Arne; that was well done!” They both grinned.

  I slid the shield around my back. I did not like the shields we used when we raided from the sea. I preferred the smaller oval one I used when on horseback. With luck we would not need to use our shields. Some of my men still used cochineal and other colours for their eyes and faces. I know that my father had never done so but he had told me that Dragonheart used to do that. The other three drekar slid up on to the beach. I waved away Beorn Tryggsson who led four scouts. It was not to find our prey it was so that we were not surprised by them.

  By the time we were all ashore the sun was rising above our homeland. I raised my sword and we headed east into the rising sun. We had scouted the land before we raided. You could see much from the sea. I knew that there was a wooded valley which seemed to divide the island into two. Finni took his men to the north to gather animals and take cereal and slaves. Folki went south leaving Einar Bear Killer and my band to head to the main settlement in the west. They had a stronghold on an island just opposite the port. It was there to stop our raids. With a hundred warriors we would surprise them by attacking from the landward side. I sent small groups of men to silence any farmers on our way to the woods. Once we had reached its cover then I would not worry about being seen. By then we would have just a couple of miles to go and we could run that far if we had to.

  Our scouts met us at the eastern end of the woods.

  “Jarl we have found the port. There are many farms to the north and the south of this track.”

  “Did any see you?”

  “There was one man with a horse heading along the road. He is dead. We tethered his horse.”

  “Then we can collect that on our way back. Horses are always useful.”

  He shook his head, “It is a pack horse at best, jarl!”

  I could see tendrils of smoke rising in the bright sky ahead. That was the port. We knew that they had a low palisade around their port and a shallow ditch. It woul
d not be an obstacle. “Einar, take your men to the north of the port. I will lead mine to the south.”

  “Aye jarl.” He led his men off at a lope.

  I turned to my men. I pointed with my sword, “You know what to do.”

  “Aye jarl.”

  My four warriors raised their right arms and began to run to the south of the port with their nine men. The ten I led had the hardest and most dangerous job. We would run and take the gate. We would be seen and it would be barred. I wanted every warrior within the stronghold drawn to me for that meant my other ninety would have no opposition when they scaled the wall. We swung our shields around and we ran chanting as we did so. The chanting kept the rhythm and stopped us running too quickly.

  Clan of the Horseman

  Warriors strong

  Clan of the Horseman

  Our reach is long

  Clan of the Horseman

  Fight as one

  Clan of the Horseman

  Death will come

  When we were just half a mile from the gates we were seen. I was surprised it was not before and then I realised they kept no watch in the gate. It was for the night time only. I saw men running to close the gate. A bell tolled urgently. I knew there were forty men to the south of me but I could not see them. They were using the cover of the fields, trees and farms as they advanced. Any who tried to alert the defenders would pay with their lives. I saw heads appear above the wall. It did not have a fighting platform, it was too low. It had a step.

  When we were fifty paces from the walls arrows came at us. I was at the front and I was flanked by Siggi Einarsson and Sven Big Chest. Our shields came up and we peered over the top. It would take a lucky arrow to hit us. The Franks did not use a plunging trajectory. They sent their arrows flat. Two thudded into my shield. It was big and it was heavy but I was grateful for its size for it stopped the arrows easily.

  I held up my sword and we stopped. I began banging my shield and chanting. My men joined in.

  Clan of the Horseman

  Warriors strong

  Clan of the Horseman

  Our reach is long

  Clan of the Horseman

  Fight as one

  Clan of the Horseman

  Death will come

  When we reached the last line we all stepped forward on out right leg and began to run at the gate. I felt a shield in the middle of my back. We did not slow down when we reached the bridge over the ditch. We kept running. I lowered my head and put my weight behind my shield. Eleven mailed Vikings with massive shields are like a human battering ram. We struck the gate. Although it did not burst asunder it creaked and cracked. One of the planks they had used fell. I could see the locking bar. Sven Big Chest shouted, “Watch behind!” He swung his axe one handed and brought it down to shatter the already weakened bar. A spear darted through the gap aimed at Sven. I brought my sword down and chopped it in two.

  “Clan of the Horse!” We charged the gate and this time the two halves swung open. The Franks who met us outnumbered us but none had mail. They must have thought that we were mad to attack with just eleven men but soon they would feel the full force of our attack when the rest poured over the walls. Once inside I swung my sword in a wide arc and shouted, “Shield wall!”

  Ulf Broad Chest stepped next to Sven and the next four put their shields over our heads. The last three placed their shields in their backs. We stepped forward on our right legs with our swords and axes held above the shields. The Franks hurled themselves at us. Swords, spears, axes and hatchets chopped, slashed and smashed into our shields. Had they been calmer they might have hacked at our legs. They were not covered by mail. The pressure from the Franks meant that we stopped. I was face to face with two of them. I slid my sword forward. The press was so great that the Franks could not get out of the way. My sword slid into the cheek of one of them. I angled it up and pushed. He screamed and tried to throw himself backwards. An axe came overhead and struck Guthrum’s shield.

  Then I heard a shout from my right, “Clan of the Horse!”

  At almost the same time I heard Einar Bear Killer shout, “Clan of the Bear!”

  Our distraction had worked. We were surrounded by the Franks who were, in turn, surrounded by my men. The man I had wounded had dropped to his knees and was whimpering as he tried to hold the cheek in place. Behind him the Franks had tried to turn. They were stopped by the men who had scaled the walls.

  “Break wall!”

  My men pushed and hacked at the Franks who remained. I slid my sword across the wounded Frank’s throat. He had a warrior’s death. I saw the Franks fleeing before us. The boats in the harbour were already being filled as women, children, old and young boarded them to sail the short way across the harbour to the stronghold. Their warriors tried to hold us up. They delayed us but it was at a great cost. I watched the last, overcrowded boat push off and leave the now empty quay. Thirty Franks lay dead. Others had thrown off helmets and discarded swords as they swam to their stronghold.

  My men needed no orders. Bodies were searched. Any weapon, helmet or mail that was useful was taken. Einar led his men to the church. That would be where the real treasure was. Snorri Snorrison and Harold Strong Arm took their men to search the houses. I led the last ones to the halls and warehouses by the quay. As we did I saw the boats reach the stronghold. They feared being enslaved by Vikings. They had avoided that but lost all else. Haaken the Bold took his men to find carts and wagons. We found their winter barley. It had been harvested and stored in sacks. There were a few sacks of wheat. Leif Sorenson found a barrel of wine. It looked to have arrived only recently.

  Once the wagons were loaded and Einar and his men had joined Snorri and Harold I shouted, “Quickly, back across the island.” We headed back to our drekar. I was the last to leave. I wanted to see how much we had collected. It was one of the largest hauls I could remember. We would not be able to repeat it. They would build a higher wall. They would watch the western beach. That did not matter. There would be other places we could raid.

  After we had passed through the wood I saw more of my men coming across the fields. They drove animals and captives. They carried sacks. They, too had been successful.

  The ships’ boys were already loading the first of the sacks and the treasure. That would be placed below the deck. The animals and captives would be kept at the prow and it would be the ships’ boys job to guard them. They had raised the masts of the drekar. The crews would not have to row.

  It was late afternoon as we pushed off. The animals complained and the women keened. The wind filled our sails and we headed south to my hall. This time Ragnvald had to work harder. He and the other ship’s boys were kept busy the whole way home. We had lost warriors. That was inevitable. The men who had fought with me in the shield wall had wounds but none would stop them on the next raid. The ship was full of talk of what we had achieved and what we were going to do. A Viking never looked back with regret; he always looked forward with anticipation.

  Harold Strong Arm spoke with me as we neared our home. “The island is now ruled by the Bretons, jarl. Many of the people who live there are Franks. Their lords are Breton. The Duke of Brittany has taken the island.”

  “I did not hear of a war.”

  He shook his head. One of the captives told me. The King of the Franks gave Angia and Sarnia to the Duke to prevent war.”

  “Will it?”

  Harold laughed, “The Duke is ambitious. The King of the Franks is weak. There will be war.”

  I nodded, “And we will profit.”

  It was dark when we docked. I had left orders for lights to be kept burning at both ends of the quay to make landing easier. There were pens ready for the animals and the captives and my wife had ensured that there was plenty of food for the two hundred warriors who had returned successfully. I saw her watching for Ragnvald to make sure that he was not hurt. She was relieved when he and Arne strode off the drekar together, arm in arm. They were laughing and both flus
hed with the excitement of their first raid.

  Chapter 2

  We rose early and cleaned the ships. Animals and captives had both fouled themselves. The whole crew helped to clean it. Our chests were landed and then the decks swilled with sea water. When it was clean the chests were replaced. Our voyage to Saint Maclou would not take long. It was less than fifty miles and with the wind from our quarter we could make the voyage in a few hours. We had also scouted out the town and the monastery. We knew of a good place to land. It was a beach to the east of the town. The Bretons who lived there had begun to build a stone wall and a stone stronghold. It was incomplete and now would be a good time to raid. There was a lord there. He was a Breton. They had once been the ones who had raided the land where we lived. My wife’s family had lived in fear of them. This would be the first time we would raid them. It would be a message to them.

  As our men cleaned the drekar I sat with the other jarls. Finni was eager to be on the raid. “My men are keen, jarl, to do as you did and fight warriors. Slaughtering farmers and herding animals is not warrior work.”

  Folki counselled caution, “When my brother, Fótr and I first fought the Franks we did not heed the advice of Jarl Hrolf. These Bretons have walls. They have mail and they have good swords. They can also use bows. The walls may not yet be complete but they will not fall over when we charge them. We will have to fight to gain access.”

  “And that is why we sail at dusk. I intend to scale those walls in dark of night. Einar Bear Killer you and your men can take the monastery. Three crews should be enough to capture the port. There will be ships in the harbour and this time we will not give them the chance to flee. I will send some of my men to capture them.” We spent some time going over the details and the signals we would use. While we talked most of the crew took the opportunity, once the ships were cleaned to lie in the sun and catch up with their sleep. Ragnvald and Arne were too excited. When the other captains left they both came to me as I checked the new withies we had fitted. Sometimes, after the first voyage, they needed tightening.