Varangian

by Griff Hosker

  “After them!” We burst through the edge of the trees and there I could swing unimpeded. A few brave souls tried to charge me but, as I swung the axe around my head and struck three of them, the rest fled. Suddenly I caught sight of Ulf. He was racing to attack Ridley from behind. “Ridley, down!”

  My old friend just dropped to his knees and the blow intended for his back struck his opponent in the chest. I swung my axe at Ulf who tried to bring his sword round to deflect it but it was caught in the dead barbarian’s rib cage. By the time it met the axe head the blade was sliding down the sword and slicing into Ulf’s arm. I saw the blood spurt and terror appeared in his eyes. He started to turn to run but I raised Death Bringer, and, true to its name, it sliced down the length of Ulf’s back, splitting him in two. When I looked up there were no living barbarians left. I quickly looked up and down the portage way and saw that, although some of my men were wounded, they were all standing. Ridley began banging his shield and the others took it up, “Aelfraed! Aelfraed!”

  “Eric, go down to the ship and tell the Jarl that the portage way is secured; the rest of you, well done. Salvage any weapons and armour which may be useful and then keep watch for their return.”

  Stig wandered up to Ulf who was lying in two ugly pieces. “Now that would have been a nice piece of armour if some dozy bugger hadn’t sliced him in two.”

  “I am sorry Stig, next time I will just take the head.”

  “Much better my lord, and a lot less messy.”

  The Jarl decided not to use us to pull the boat as long as the barbarians were still around. His sailors carried the bales, carefully avoiding the gruesome bodies which lined the portage way. I sent Stig, Olaf, Pig and the Hammer to guard the bales along with Eric whilst the rest of us watched the woods. I did not think they would return for there were too many bodies in the woods; it was uneconomic and I suspect we had taken their leaders for three of them had many battle bracelets and torcs. However it did not pay to be complacent and a little extra watching was no hardship. As they started to pull the ship up we joined in to help them. Our extra strength gave impetus over the last steep section. As they lowered the boat down the other side we stood guard at the top of the ridge until Eric came to tell us The Maiden was afloat again. It was dark by the time we made our weary way down to the river once more and the Jarl had decided to make a camp there and cook up some hot food. Eric had managed to shoot a young deer on his way up to us and we ate our first hot meal in weeks. We washed it down with a barrel of ale the Jarl had been saving and it was a happy group who sat around the campfire sharing stories of the day and its battle; battle is probably a little grand for the skirmish that it was and my dead comrades from Fulford and Stamford would have laughed at us but we felt as though we had won a battle for the odds were against us and none of us had died. Probably the most pleasing part was that Ulf, the traitor, renegade and oath breaker had been killed.

  Harald summed it up, “Those who break oaths die, and it is as simple as that. A man cannot lie to himself and if you take an oath and do not mean it you are lying. I served with Ulf and thought he was a friend now I know that I was deceived. My lord I am your oathsworn until you release me.” The others echoed his sentiment and they raised their drinking horns. I noticed the Jarl raising his too. That was a good night.

  Chapter 5

  The next couple of weeks were not as tough as the previous ones as we rowed downstream towards the Dnieper. We had only been sailing for a day when I was summoned to the tiller. “You did well back there Aelfraed. I did not think that you would succeed but I cam coming to believe your promises now.” I gave him a sharp look. ”I meant no offence but I have often heard warriors make promises about their prowess and what they can do and then they fail. You seemed so sure of yourself that I did not believe you.”

  I smiled for I had not been upset. “I was taught well Jarl Gunnersson and told that a man had to live up to his words. That is all I try to do.”

  He waved at the men who were happily chatting and laughing. “You have achieved something rare Aelfraed, you have bonded your men behind you and in all my voyages with warriors and this is the first time I have seen that.”

  “It has always been my way; when you fight alongside a man, you must respect him and more importantly trust him.”

  “Good, you have done so but we now have a new problem. After we pass the town of Boatyard we have to pass a number of rapids. There we will be close to the Pechengs. Travelling south is not as bad as north as we will be pulling the boat downhill. We will not unload it for the furs are not heavy but your men will have to be to the west in a screen to warn us of attack.”

  “How many rapids are there?”

  “Seven and they stretch for over fifty miles. I am telling you this because that is where we will be most likely to be attacked.”

  “How long before we get there?”

  He looked up at the sky. “At this speed, it will take about three days.”

  “Good then that gives me time to prepare my men."

  I went to the bow, which was largely empty for the river was wide and the rowing easy. “Ridley, gather the men around.”

  They squatted around me in a half circle. “We did well the other day and our next challenge will be the rapids. “

  Olaf spat over the side. “They are a real bastard and that is where the horsemen will attack.”

  I nodded. “And it will take us days to get through them so we will need to be prepared. Make sure you all have a shield which has as much iron on it as you can manage. Repair any mail you have and those of you who have bows check them. This will be a different portage and we will be able to walk close to the boat as it is dragged across the land. We will be forming a thin screen between the ship and any potential attacker to warn the ship of their approach. If you can hit the horses that will be just as effective as hitting the man for, as Ridley and I learned a horseman without his horse is like a one legged man in an arse kicking contest!” They all laughed and I paused for the Jarl had left unsaid what I now had to say. “If you fall then it is unlikely that we will able to come for you. We are not going to be in a shield wall but a long line a hundred paces in length. I tell you this because I do not want you to lie out there, wounded thinking someone will come for you. No one will be going back for wounded warriors. Even if I fall the rest will carry on.”

  There was a silence until Stig said, “You really need to work on how to motivate your men my lord!”

  Everyone burst out laughing and I could see that they understood; they were warriors. I looked at Eric, unlike the rest, for him this was new and I would need to speak with him. Ragnar had blossomed and bloomed as the voyage had gone on. It was as though his wounds and injuries were forgotten and he was a warrior once more. None of my men treated him differently and I treated him not, as he was intended to be, a servant but as a fellow warrior. He would be able to watch over the young prince.

  “Eric.”

  “Yes, my lord?”

  “You do not need to be with us as the skirmish line. You can stay with the boat.”

  He looked downcast, “Have I displeased you, my lord?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Did I not swear the blood oath?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I will stand with my bow and fight with my oath brothers.” I looked at him and saw that he had changed. He was still the gentle poet and singer but he now had steel and a backbone. He had come through battle and survived; that is powerful for a man learns that the worst thing to fear is fear itself.

  “Your father would be proud of you.”

  He smiled at the compliment. “The question is Thegn Aelfraed, are you proud of me?”

  I grasped his shoulders. “Of course I am! Without you we would not have got as far as we have.”

  “Then I am happy.” He grinned. “I wonder what my brothers would make of me now.”

  “What indeed!” I secretly thought that they would not have fare
d as well as this resourceful young man.

  We slipped past the Boatyard at night so that none could see us. Gunnar had been worried that they might have had a chain across the river but they did not which made him think that they had been involved in some way in Ulf’s plot, and perhaps did not expect any ships to reach this far south. Certainly we all breathed a sigh of relief as dawn broke and we were clear of the last town which could halt us. Now it was just the rapids and the horsemen of the Pechengs who could stand in our way. Miklagård was almost within touching distance.

  We pulled to the west bank of the river and I could see the logs awaiting our use. When I took my men west I saw the spray and spouting water of the rapids which looked like a boiling cauldron. I could see why they need to carry the boat and I felt sorry for any boat coming upstream for it would be a hard slog. The crew of The Maiden had the slope on their side and would be an easier journey. We formed a line a hundred paces long. I was at the northern end and Ridley anchored the southern end. Eric, Ragnar and Snorri were the middle three and the rest split between us. Ridley had his bow and I carried Boar Splitter. If there were horsemen then I would deter them. The first two rapids were trouble free and it was when we were feeling comfortable and relatively safe, on the third day that the dreaded Pechengs struck.

  They appeared half way through the portage. They were small wiry riders on small ponies. They galloped hard and low and I hoped my men remembered to go for the horses. To my horror I saw that they aimed for the middle of the line, Eric! I began to jog south and noticed Ridley heading north but the Pecheng line would reach our middle before we did. I saw Eric’s bow send his first arrow and felt relief as the other four men armed with bows did the same. I was relieved to see Ragnar and Snorri cover Eric with their shields so that he could continue to fire. Their shields were soon peppered with arrows but I saw at least six ponies and riders had fallen. Stig and Olaf reached the small group, followed by Hammer, Harald and Pig. The archers were protected by the shields of the others and there was just Ridley and myself who were not protected. Wyrd determined that they would direct their attacks at Ridley and avoid me. I watched him continue to shoot even though I saw arrows strike him. “Back to the ship!” I continued to run towards Ridley who I saw had taken an arrow to his right arm and was now protecting himself with his shield. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware of the rest edging back and then I saw the horseman veer towards me. I did not slow my pace but I held Boar Splitter before me and kept my eye on the warrior who was pulling back his bow. I sensed, rather than saw when he loosed and whipped my shield before my face. The arrowhead actually pierced the wood but by then I was close enough to stab Boar Splitter into the side of the horse’s neck. It reared suddenly and plunged to the ground. I withdrew the spear and, leaping the horse stabbed the surprised warrior in the neck. Ridley was fighting off two warriors who were trying to capture him. His weakened right hand held his sword but they were attacking from two sides. They must have assumed that I would have been killed by the horsemen for they ignored me. It cost one his life as I rammed the head of Boar Splitter through his bare back. Ridley grinned as he sliced his sword through the other’s neck.

  “Can you walk?”

  “Don’t be daft, it is my arm not my leg. ‘I can run never mind walk.”

  Putting our shields on our backs we ran as hard as we could through the darkening dusk towards the others whom we saw clambering aboard the refloated ship. I felt the arrows thudding into my shield and pinging from my helmet but none struck me and we were dragged aboard. I fell laughing to the deck and looked up at the face of Jarl Gunnersson. “We survived that one then.”

  The silence that greeted me told me that all was not well. I rose to my feet and looked around at my men. There was no Ragnar. “Where is Ragnar?”

  Eric looked tearful. “He must have fallen but we heard no shout.” It struck me that he could not shout; his wound still haunted him.

  I looked out and saw, to the west, the departing Pechengs and to the north the bodies which littered the rocks. “I will meet you at the next rapids.”

  The Jarl stepped forwards. “That is madness. You told your men you would not go back for them.”

  “No I said they should not go back for anyone. Ragnar is my man. I will go.”

  “And I will come.” My men all spoke at once.

  I bellowed my answer. “No! Ridley is to command until I return. I command you all to stay and I will return; I am not destined to die a lonely death in the land of the Rus.” I looked at their crestfallen faces and pointed to the skies. “The Norns are spinning again.” I clambered over and dropped to the water. It was now dark and I struggled to make the bank. Once ashore I was amazed to see that the ship was now invisible and I was alone in the land of the Pechengs.

  I was not worried about the Pechengs finding me; I suspected that they would be back at their camp licking their wounds; I was worried that I would not find Ragnar for he could not cry out. I soon came across the first Pecheng body and then knew that I was in the right area. There was no moon but the bodies could be seen as softer shapes than the rocks around them. I found myself counting Pechengs. When I reached double figures I felt incredibly proud of my men. I was also beginning to fear that I would not find Ragnar or if I did then he would be dead. I suddenly caught sight of a movement and I held my spear before me and approached the shape. When Ragnar’s face looked up me with the resigned look of one who thinks he is about to die I was so relieved I almost shouted. I quickly went to him. “Where are you wounded?” He pointed at his leg. He had taken an arrow to his knee and I could see the bones of his shin peering up at me. The arrow had missed the kneecap but broken the leg. “I will be gone briefly.”

  I went back to the last group of Pechengs I had seen. One of them had had a spear. I found it and took it back. I snapped it in two and, taking some leather cords from the dead Pecheng who lay beside Ragnar I straightened the leg and tied the two halves of the spear. It must have hurt but he showed no signs of it. The arrow had come through the leg and I could see the head. I snapped off the feathered end and gave him my dagger. “Bite on this!” I dried as much blood off the arrow head as I could and then I pulled for all I was worth. It slipped out with a sickly plop and Ragnar fell back, mercifully unconscious. While he was out I tied a bandage tightly around the top of the leg to stop the bleeding and then hoisted him upon my back. I hauled him across my shoulders so that he rested against my shield and axe. I then held Boar Splitter beneath him and across my shoulders to take the strain on my arms. It meant he would not fall off and I could concentrate on walking. He was a big man but the rowing had given me a strength I had not had before and I gritted my teeth as I headed south. Even though it was dark I could hear the river and I headed in that direction.

  After a thousand paces I thought I could not go on but I knew I had to. I played a game with myself. I would walk a hundred paces and then stop. After a hundred paces I did not feel so bad and I repeated it. A silly game I know but it helped me to get along. Then I found myself talking to Aethelward and Nanna. ‘You never thought I would travel to this forsaken land did you? You never saw me fighting barbarians who wear human teeth around their necks. I thank you both for watching over me.’ Then I began to think of my wife Gytha and wonder how my son Harold was growing. I realised that it was highly likely I would never see him again. As I looked up at the moon rising over the desolate land I suddenly thought that, perhaps, I would never even see Ridley again.

  The ground soon became uneven and that helped me because I had to concentrate so much on placing my feet in the correct place that I had no chance to think about the pain in my back and the weight on my shoulders. By the time the land had levelled out I could see the first thin line of the false dawn. I wondered if I ought to lie Ragnar down and have a rest but I knew that if I did so I would never be able to lift him again and I trudged on. What I should have done was to see if his wound was bleeding, or that he was still alive but I
did none of those things and I kept going. At one point I was so tired that I closed my eyes and it felt blissful. I quickly opened them again but I was sorely tempted to shut them again, just for a moment. When I did so it was almost a disaster as my toe struck a rock and I stumbled; how I retained my balance I do not know but I did and I stood breathing heavily peering ahead to see if I could see the mast of The Maiden. Sometimes the captain had struck the mast, when he felt we would not need it as it hid us from our enemies and we had used it since before the portage. I now prayed that Gunnar would step it, if only to let me know how close I was to the ship and safety. Of course that was grossly unfair because the mast would be like a beacon for the Pechengs to tell them where we were.

  The sun had now, finally shown itself above the distant horizon and its first rays peeped out, lighting the land before me. The land was flat for I was not near the next set of rapids and that meant I was still some distance from safety and the ship. I shook myself. I was insane! How could I think that Ragnar and I would survive? The ship was miles away and we were surrounded by hostile Pechengs. I would have thrown away Boar Splitter if it were not for the fact that I thought that throwing it away would be throwing away my life and I was not ready to do that; not yet. The noise from the river began to grow and I wondered why. I glanced to my left and it still flowed serenely on; I was well away from the edge and I wondered why it was so loud and then the thought drifted into my befuddled head. I was close to the rapids. I peered ahead through the mist and the spray and then I saw them, they had their mouths open, as though they were talking but, to me, they were silent. It was Eric and the others of my Red Horse Men. I sank to my knees and closed my eyes, thanking those who had protected me and seen me through my ordeal and then there was blackness.