by Griff Hosker
The colour left his face and he looked around to the four warriors for support. Their faces remained impassive.
“And I am Myrddyn the Wizard, priest and I do not forget. Remember that I have the power of the darkness and the spirits behind me. Fear me too.” Myrddyn seemed to grow in stature as he threatened the priest.
The priest crossed himself. All his arrogance had evaporated and he spilled out his words quickly the sooner to escape. “Prince Oswald holds your nephew and he will remain unharmed. You will pay a ransom of five hundred gold pieces and your sword, Saxon Slayer. If not Prince Oswald will send him back piece by piece.”
The priest was less than five paces from me and I whipped out Saxon Slayer and held it to his throat before he could move. The four warriors’ hands went to their weapons and I heard Tuanthal hiss, “I have seven arrows aimed at you four. Think carefully about your next move.” The swords slid back into their scabbards.
I noticed a puddle beneath the priest’s feet. “Here is Saxon Slayer, priest. Tell Oswald that you saw it. Now as to the ransom, I do not carry that amount with me. I will have to send back to my home for it.”
His voice almost broke as he gabbled the last part of his message. “You have ten days.” He pointed south. “You are to bring the ransom to the southern end of the Lough. If you bring men then your nephew will die.”
I removed the sword. “Next time ask them to send a man who actually has a backbone.”
The priest fled so fast that the four guards struggled to keep up with him.
The king said, as we returned to the fort. “Will you give up your sword? How will you send for the gold you have no ship.”
I laughed, “I have no intention of paying a ransom. Even if the brothers had some honour it would only lead to more kidnapping. You do not give in to this kind of threat.”
“Beside,” said Myrddyn. “They will kill Morcar and the Warlord when he pays the ransom.” Tuanthal nodded his agreement.
“Then why did you agree?”
“To buy time until your men can discover where he is held.”
“They said he will be at the southern end of the Lough.”
“He will be far from there. That is where the exchange will take place. That is why I have sent for my scouts. No offence, King Fiachnae mac Báetáin, but my scouts are the best trackers in Britannia. They will find him and then I will wreak my revenge on these Saxons.”
Chapter 6
It took the king’s scouts four days to discover that Morcar was being held in the land of Airgialla and its king Mael Odhar Macha was giving the Saxons protection. Fiachnae mac Báetáin had obviously felt guilty about Morcar’s abduction. Certainly he and his brother had had sharp words about his failure to protect his guests and his brother had left the ring fort. It caused bad feeling between the brothers. Perhaps that had also been part of Oswald’s plan to cause dissension between my new allies. The outcome was that the king sent his best scouts and they brought good information.
From the scouts’ report there appeared to be thirty Saxons with the sons of Aethelfrith. The Irish had around sixty warriors with their king. The hill fort was not as good a site as the one we were in and relied mainly on twisting ditches, mounds and swamp to protect it. As far as the scouts could ascertain Morcar was being treated well and seemed to be moving freely around the fort albeit with a guard.
King Fiachnae mac Báetáin was not happy about taking on this rival king. “He is not a threat himself and his army are like the rats who scavenge in the ditches but he has powerful connections. I dare not attack him for fear of reprisals.”
“I would not ask you to undertake such action. Your warriors will be needed for the attack in the east; the attack against Edwin. My men and I will deal with this.”
It was six days before our ships returned. They were both riding low in the water as they approached. Myrddyn and Tuanthal watched with me. I saw Aedh on the deck and also Pol and Lann Aelle. Hogan Lann had sent me warriors who could aid me. I had been happy to do this with just my scouts but Pol and Lann Aelle were reassuringly experienced.
Forty warriors and horses disembarked. I saw that they had brought Nightstar for me. That was good. I would need a reliable mount and Nightstar was just such a horse. I greeted my nephew and Pol as Aedh ensured that the horses were all safely ashore.
“Have we any news Uncle?” Lann Aelle and Pol were more like sons to me than a nephew and a former scout.
“We know where they hold him. They wanted a ransom which is due in four days time.”
Pol nodded, “Of course we will not pay the ransom.”
“Of course not.” I looked up as the horsemen began to adjust saddles. They would be ready to move in an instant. “You brought more than scouts.”
“Aye we brought equites but without armour. We could have brought five times this number for all wished to come.”
“We will not need more. There are only ninety warriors and sixty of those are the Hibernians.” I lowered my voice. “I have discovered that their swords are of poor quality. They bend and break when struck by our weapons. They appear to have no archers.”
Aedh had joined us and heard the last comment. “The eighteen scouts I brought are all fine archers.”
I looked up in surprise, “You have left few scouts with Hogan Lann then?”
He laughed. The campaign was almost over and he said he did not need us. He would have come too.”
I spread my arm. “This is more than enough.” I noticed that there were two spare horses. “Let us ride and we will pick up Myrddyn.”
Lann Aelle chuckled, “He will not be happy about being on the back of a horse for four or five days.”
Pol shook his head, “Do not let him hear you, Lann Aelle, or I may be taking a small toad home with me.”
The king stood with Myrddyn at the gate. “You would go with just these few warriors?”
Myrddyn slowly mounted the horse which Aedh held for him. “They have a wizard with them so they need fear not.” He flashed a look at Pol. And I can turn people into more than toads.”
I could see the twinkle in his eye but Pol and Lann Aelle took him seriously. They gripped their amulets as though their lives depended upon it.
“We will return when we have rescued Morcar.”
“I will wait with my army at the Lough. It marks the edge of the land of Dál nAraidi.”
“It is good of you.”
We had been told where the hill fort was and Aedh himself led ten scouts out to find it. I was not afraid of being seen. We rode better horses than any I had seen up to now and Aedh would warn us of any warriors we might encounter. As we rode Lann Aelle told me what had happened in the campaign.
“The Saxons did not appear to have their heart in defending the land north of the Maeresea. We lost remarkably few men.”
“And King Edwin?”
“There was no sign of him. We heard that King Raedwald was laid low by a fever and did not supply any men to help the husband of his daughter.”
“And we heard that he finally conquered Elmet.”
Pol’s news was not a surprise but it was a reminder of what we had had. My brother Raibeart had been married to the daughter of the last king. They had been driven out and had joined me in Gwynedd but I knew that some of the people lived there still. It made my alliance with Fiachnae mac Báetáin even more vital. We had a chance to halt the Saxons and I would not let Aethelfrith’s sons get in the way.
It was rolling country through which we rode. There appeared to be few villages. The people dotted the landscape in their farms. The only cattle we saw were grazed close to the hill forts and I had witnessed how they were all brought in each night. Cattle theft was a way of life here. As we rode south I wondered how to use that to our advantage.
The Lough which marked the southern boundary of the land of the Dál nAraidi was a huge piece of water. It was even bigger than Wide Water in Rheged. You could have sailed warships on it. We skirted the water
on its western side. The meeting place due south and I had no doubt that Oswald and Oswiu would have people watching ahead of the ransom delivery.
It was late afternoon when Aedh and his scouts galloped up. “I have found it. I left two of my men watching it.”
He lithely leapt from his horse. He still looked like the young boy who had grown up close to my first fortress home in Rheged even though there was just him and Tuanthal left from those who had left Rheged with me all those years ago. He took out his sword and found a smooth piece of earth. He sketched as he spoke.
“The fort is fifteen miles or so away. A couple of hours riding at most. It is easy country.” He grinned, “After Wyddfa anything is easy.” He put a cross in the soil. “The fort is here and we are here.”
“Did you see their cattle?”
He looked at me curiously and said, “Yes, here.” He put a circle halfway between us and the fort.
“So we have to pass the cattle to get to the fort?”
“Aye. They are easy to avoid for they only have six or seven boys herding them and a couple of pony riders.”
My plan was already formulating in my mind. “Now, tell me, have you seen Morcar?”
“Yes. He has two guards. He actually came out of the front gate with them, walked around the fort and then went back inside.”
Myrddyn suddenly spoke, “Why do you think that was? Did he pass water or anything like that?”
“No, he just walked with his two guards. It was as though it was a stroll.”
Myrddyn never asked irrelevant questions. I tried to read his mind as he read mine. “What is on your mind?”
“He is bait. Those brothers are clever and they want you to see him. They will expect us to take him whilst he is walking around.”
“We will get closer and investigate this. We still have a couple of days before they move him.”
As we rode Pol and Lann Aelle rode next to me. “You have a plan, Warlord?”
I nodded, “It is still forming but I think it might work.” I was acutely aware that Myrddyn was listening and I knew that he would comment if I said something of which he did not approve.
“The cattle are the key. We use Aedh and some of his scouts to get rid of the pony guards and drive the cattle south west. The boys will return to the fort and this king will not want to lose his property. I am guessing that he will take most of his men and follow Aedh. While they are away we slip in and rescue Morcar.”
“Do not forget Warlord that there will still be plenty of Saxons within the hill fort and we would have to assault it.”
“There is no wall, just ditches and mounds. They can make it difficult for us but not impossible. When we are close I will have a better idea of how to rescue my brother’s son.”
Aedh took us by a circuitous route so that we avoided the cattle and we found ourselves in a twisting river valley. The hill fort rose above us some thousand paces or so away. The scouts who had been left behind reported what they had seen.
“After Morcar had returned to the fort we saw some warriors, Saxon and Hibernian, come from those woods over there.” He pointed to a small copse of spindly trees some hundred paces below the ramparts.
It became clear that the warriors in the woods were there to ambush us if we tried to rescue Morcar. Someone had a cunning mind. This had been planned well.
Myrddyn smiled, “Then we now have the solution to the problem. We will have men waiting in the woods earlier than those warriors and they can eliminate them as they arrive. When Morcar and his guards emerge the last place they will expect an attack from is that direction.”
I could see from everyone’s expression that they approved. As I looked at the faces I saw that I could not have handpicked a better set of warriors: Tuanthal, Aedh, Pol and Lann Aelle all led warriors at home and Aedh and Pol had chosen the best of the scouts and equites we had left. They had brought the very best warriors we had. If we failed then no one could succeed.
“Aedh, take ten of your scouts and get to the cattle grounds early. Kill the warriors on the ponies and drive off the boys. Make them think that they are lucky to escape. Drive the cattle towards the south west. I would think a couple of hours hard driving should do it. That will exhaust them and then you come due east and find us.”
“And us?”
“We will find somewhere south of the woods to hide the horses and then we will spend the night in the small stand of trees. When the warriors come, we will kill them.”
Lann Aelle gave me a sceptical look. I sighed and began to explain. “They will have done this every day for four or five days. Tomorrow will probably be the last day. They will arrive expecting the wood to be empty. They will assume that the day will be as the others were; filled with no activity and a slow walk back to the fort.” I turned to the scouts who had watched. “How many men will there be?”
“There looked to be ten Saxons and ten of the Hibernians.”
Tuanthal nodded, “That would make sense. Oswald and Oswiu would want the majority of their men to be in the fort. Twenty would be enough to protect Morcar if attacked and give the others the chance to fall upon us. Besides, that copse would struggle to hold a much larger number of warriors.”
We had decided. We ate while we waited for night to fall and then we led our horses along a route which kept well away from the hill fort. Aedh and his scouts remained where they were. They would leave in the early hours of the morning for their diversion.
We left five men with the horses. Although we had Myrddyn and he was no warrior, we would still outnumber the warriors who came into the small stand of trees. Aedh’s best scouts who remained were at the very edge of the trees and they would be so well hidden that even I would not be able to find them. Their job would be to make sure none of those who entered escaped. This would be knife work. The ones who would die had to die without a sound.
I lay with my back against a tree. Myrddyn lay on the other side. “Is there no magic you can use to aid us?”
“This plan is our magic. We are like the travelling magician who visits a village and mesmerises his audience. They will see what they expect to see. Even when we attack them they will not believe it is happening.” He chuckled in the dark. “Do not worry Lord Lann. I have a sharpened knife too.”
He could be quite surprising at times. I had thought he would let the warriors do the fighting. He had, of course, briefly fought for me before we discovered his skills lay in other directions. But he had not fought with a blade for many years. It is one thing to kill at a distance but to smell a man and then rip a knife across his throat requires discipline.
One advantage of being Warlord is that you do not stand a sentry duty and I had a peaceful night’s sleep. The sleep, however, was punctuated with strange dreams. Morcar was running away and I was trying to save him. I found I could not move and when I looked around I saw my mother holding on to my cloak to stop me moving. When I awoke I tried to make sense of it. The only explanation I came up with was that she did not want me to get hurt saving my nephew. Perhaps I was meant to let others take the risks.
It was before dawn when I was shaken awake. We swallowed a mouthful of water and ate some dried meat. Then we waited.
The two scouts closest to the fort gave a low whistle. The warriors were coming. Dawn was breaking to the east and there was light enough to see the gate. We had all had enough time to hide ourselves beneath bushes, branches and anything else which would aid us. All of us had smeared our faces and hands with mud. We had even committed the sacrilege of dirtying our blades so that they not reflect light. We would not be seen. It was brighter outside the copse than within and the twenty warriors who trudged towards us would be coming from the light into the pitch dark. Those few moments of adjustment to the different light would be all that we would need. They would also still be sleepy; they would not expect death to be lurking beneath the branches of the trees. I drew my dagger in preparation.
I heard them talking as they walked towar
ds us. They had no need for silence. “I am glad this is the last day we will have to squat in this midge infested swamp.”
“Ah stop moaning, Aelle, you are worse than Egbert. This will be the last time. Just do what you normally do and sleep.”
“I would if it wasn’t for the insects. I have no idea what they eat when we aren’t here but they enjoy my blood!”
And then I saw them. They just had swords and axes with them. They had no shields and their weapons were in their belts. They would have to try to draw them. That would make life much easier for us. We had decided that Lann Aelle, Tuanthal and Pol would be the first ones to strike. They were hidden towards the end of the trees which was nearest to the hill fort. I saw one Hibernian approaching my place of hiding. Before he reached me I heard a scuffle and he looked up. I swept my good leg around and he crashed to the ground. I pinned his head with my left hand and slashed across his throat with my dagger. His life gurgled away. All around me warriors were falling so quickly that none had the chance to make a sound. Two of them made a break for the fort but they were wrestled to the ground and killed by Lann Aelle and Pol. One of them managed a shout and we froze.
From the walls came the shout, in Saxon, “What is happening?”
Myrddyn had the quickest reactions. He shouted in Saxon, laughing as he did so, “It was just Aelle, he tripped up. He is clumsier than Egbert.”
The voice, seemingly reassured, drifted back. “Well, keep it down. The scouts found horse tracks yesterday.”
It showed how close we were to the ramparts that we could have a conversation and I saw why they had chosen the spot. We all moved closer to the edge of the trees. They would not see anything wrong with warriors in the trees now. They would assume that they were their own men.
“Is anyone hurt?”
One of Lann Aelle’s warriors said, “They are animals. One of them bit me.”
Lann Aelle laughed, “You were killing him at the time.”
“Quiet. Now we wait.”
We knew that they would not bring Morcar out for some time. They would wait until it was later in the morning. It was hard to wait within spitting distance of the walls. I began to worry that someone could come out at any time but no one did. The sun rose higher and I was expecting Morcar and the guards to come out every time the guards on the walls walked in the direction of our hiding place. One of the scouts threw a stone to attract my attention and pointed. In the distance I could see some of the cattle boys running towards the fort. Just at that moment Morcar and his two guards came out of the gate and walked towards my hidden warriors. Their backs were to the gate and they did not see the boys. They began their walk around the walls. The scouts we had sent had said that they walked half way around and then came back. They never lost sight of the copse for obvious reasons. The men in the woods were their protectors.
