by Griff Hosker
Klakke frowned and said, “There will be no bloodletting in the camp! I have ordered it so!”
“Good, then we will set up our camp.”
As we headed back to the beach Haaken chuckled, “I like the way you used the Ulfheonar to threaten him.”
“Men fear us, Haaken One Eye and rightly so. The jarls we saw, in the main, are blowhards. They are all show.”
Gruffyd asked, “All show?”
Haaken answered, “Did you not notice that they were all adorned with trophies from their victories? I saw a scalp from one; what looked like a nose from another. They all wore jewels and silver about them. Look at your father what does he wear?”
“He has the wolf cloak and the dragon and wolf around his neck.”
“Do you see the wolf and the dragon?”
“No.”
“That is what a real warrior does. He keeps hidden that which is precious and that which shows what he has done. Each battle and each fight is new. A good warrior treats it as such. You say ‘today I will show you what a warrior I am’ . You do not say ‘see what a warrior I was’ .” Gruffyd nodded. “Watch your father and not these cockerels in the farmyard. They crow, your father does not.”
I smiled, “No Haaken One Eye, I leave the crowing to you.”
Chapter 8
We did not bring all of our warriors ashore. I left four warriors on each drekar. I still did not trust the Danes. I did not want my ships damaging in an act of petty vengeance from one of Ulf the Slighter’s men. I was happy with the site we had been given. The trees afforded some protection from the wind and the rain. The woods also meant we could hunt game and augment our supplies. Klakke had not provided any. The first thing I did, while we cleared the ground, was to send Beorn and Aðils to scout out the palace. It was fifteen miles south and east of us. The woods meant they could slip away unnoticed. I did not trust the Dane to find out what we needed to know. Each of my crews kept together in the camp. It was the best way. They were shield brothers and would fight together. Men who locked shields with others lay close while they slept.
As the food we had brought was being cooked I sat with my jarls. Haaken represented the Ulfheonar. “Regardless of what Klakke wishes us to do we fight together. We will not be split up. We have to fight with the Danes but that does not mean I trust them.” They nodded in agreement. “The men without mail will not be risked. I want them behind our shield wall with bows. Beorn and Aðils will direct them. The boys we brought with slings will also be with them. I know not Klakke’s plan yet but one thing is sure, Egbert will not put his men behind the walls of his palace. It does not favour him.”
Erik Ironshirt asked, “But surely it would be better for him if he hid behind his walls and let us bleed on them.”
“He outnumbers us and Saxons do not use the bow. I dearly hope he will do as you say, Erik Ironshirt. Klakke has enough men to surround the palace and we can send arrows and fire into it. I believe that we will win. Besides I do not think he will let us burn his palace. He will meet us in the open where he can outnumber and out flank us. We have no horses. When we raided Hamwic he sent horsemen to catch us. Horsemen can ride around our flanks and attack in the rear. I would fight in the centre.”
Ketil asked, “And if the Danes are defeated? What then?”
“We will have paid the weregeld and done all that was asked of us. We will fall back in good order but…” I stared into the eyes of each of them, “regardless of what Klakke intends or why we have been drawn into this, I see this as a chance to end the threat of Egbert. We all know that he has paid killers to hurt us.” I nodded to Ragnar, “My son and grandson were slain by the murderers sent by Egbert. If we can then we will end the feud here in Wessex.”
I saw, in their faces, the determination and the resolve. They would not run and they would obey every order I gave.
“One thing more, I will use my banner to signal. Einar Fair Face will carry it. Erik tell him.”
He nodded, “Your son will not be happy. They are shield brothers.”
“And Einar has almost cost me my son, twice. The young lad may well become a great warrior but not yet. Perhaps by having him with my banner and close to me he may learn to be one and my son can fight without worrying about his young friend.”
As we had expected Gruffyd was not happy. “So, my son, who should carry my standard? You? I would be happy for that. You did well doing so when fighting Eggle Skulltaker.”
I saw the dilemma he faced. If he agreed then Einar would be in the shield wall without Gruffyd’s protection. “But he is my shield brother!”
“Choose another. You are a warrior now. Act like one.”
Defeated he left. Einar, in contrast was honoured and he returned with Gruffyd. “My son will tell you your duties. You will have to learn to hold the standard as well as your shield. You will have to defend my standard with your sword. There will be many who try to take the wolf! And you will need to know all of the signals we send. Gruffyd, tell my new standard bearer what he must do. I see my scouts returning.”
My jarls had also seen the two scouts as they approached our camp. Klakke might not bother with scouts but we did. It was how we had survived for so long.
“Well?”
Beorn pointed, “They have more than two thousand spears and more were arriving as we left. He has men in his palace on the palisade. His camp is fortified.”
“Could we raid?”
Beorn smiled, “He has defended against night time attacks. I would take it as a compliment, Jarl Dragonheart. He must know you are here for he has a ditch and stakes. They have placed wild brambles there too. The Ulfheonar could get through but none other.”
Ragnar shook his head, “We would gain nothing by that. This is a Danish raid. We help them. We should not risk our best warriors, Jarl Dragonheart.”
“And I have no intention of doing so.”
The next morning, as soon as the dawn had broken, I was summoned, along with my jarls, to meet with Klakke. The last of the ships had arrived. The camp seethed with warriors. I saw that mail was the exception rather than the rule here. These men were here to make their fortune. That could be a double-edged sword. They might well fight fiercely but, also, they could flee if things went against them. I saw their jarls as we neared Klakke. Their mail was not the best. There were six of them and they had short byrnies. Their helmets were simple ones too. I had no doubt that their drekar would be threttanessa and that they would have keels covered in weeds. It explained why they had arrived late. Their ships were slow.
When we were all gathered, Klakke stood on a log so that all could see him. He wore burnished mail and his standard bearer held his helmet which was also burnished. Mine did not shine. That was deliberate. Bagsecg had used more charcoal in the finish to give it a blackened appearance. It kept me hidden in the dark. Klakke was telling all of us that he was the leader. I saw that around his helmet, which looked new, was a band of lighter coloured metal. It was probably a copper and tin alloy. The metal rivets which held it to the helmet made it look like a crown. It was cleverly done. The lighter metal shone as though it was gold. I knew it would not be.
“Now that we are gathered, I will tell you my plan. We attack this afternoon!” I could see that some of the jarls were surprised by that. I was not. Klakke had to move as soon as possible. “My scouts have told me that King Egbert does not have his full army yet. We strike now while they are still gathering their forces. Magnus Axe Hand, you and the jarls who have just arrived will attack the palace. Once King Egbert comes to the aid of his palace the rest of us will attack King Egbert’s forces!”
I could see why the poorly armed jarls were being sent to the palace. They were spear fodder. There were a large number of them and they would make King Egbert have to go to the aid of his palace.
“And what will our formation be?”
All eyes swivelled to me. My accent marked me as Norse and I was the only one with a question. Klakke frowned. I did n
ot know if it was because he did not approve of the question or if he had not thought of that. He was a quick thinker. He made it sound as though he had had an answer all along.
“We will use the boar’s snout. I will have my men at the fore of one wedge and you, Jarl Dragonheart will have the other. I will be the left and you the right.”
I was being given the harder side to attack. We would be attacking with the palace to our right. If Magnus Axe Hand did not succeed then we could be flanked. Klakke and his men would have their shields guarding their left. Our right would be exposed. “And who will be behind me and my men? I have not fought with these warriors before. A man likes to know that his back will be covered.”
“How many spears do you bring Jarl Dragonheart?”
“One hundred and twenty-five.”
“Then Ostman Mortenson and Dargh Long Stride will make up your numbers. Kolbjorn the Beast will form the rear with the rest of the warriors. We have talked enough. It will take until noon to march there. Magnus Axe Hand your men will form the leading warband.”
“But we have only just disembarked!”
“You promised me that your spears would be here yesterday! It is your fault that you are late! Would you be foresworn?”
Magnus Axe Hand shook his head and led his jarls back to his men.
I headed back to our camp. Leaving the camp unguarded made me glad that we had brought nothing ashore and that I had left guards aboard our drekar. As we prepared to move I said, “Beorn, make sure you and our archers are to the right of us and just behind us. When we attack, Egbert will send all the warriors that he can get to reach me.”
Haaken said, “It is why Klakke puts you on the right.”
“Aye. Their camp means that if Magnus Axe Hand fails in his attack then those in the palace can attack us. Klakke will be able to flee the field if it goes awry.” I turned to Einar Fair Face, “You will be between Rollo and Rolf, behind Olaf and Haaken. You will be safe but listen for my calls. Let us march and show these Danes that they are fighting with real warriors!”
As we marched we used the Ulfheonar song to keep the rhythm.
Ulfheonar, warriors strong
Ulfheonar, warriors brave
Ulfheonar, fierce as the wolf
Ulfheonar, hides in plain sight
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Ulfheonar, warriors strong
Ulfheonar, warriors brave
Ulfheonar, fierce as the wolf
Ulfheonar, hides in plain sight
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
The Ulfheonar did not mind and the rest felt privileged to be included with my elite warriors. We marched so quickly that we soon caught up with the stragglers from Magnus Axe Hand and his men. They kept looking nervously over their shoulder at the mail snake which seemed to be snapping at their heels. As Olaf, Haaken, Rolf and Rollo were at the fore I could understand their nervousness. All of us had red cochineal on our eyes. We all had black mail and wolf cloaks. I had never seen a Danish Ulfheonar. I suspect we were new to them. They began to hurry and, soon, were running.
Rolf Horse Killer said, “If we have that effect on our allies then think what we will do to the Saxons.”
Haaken laughed, “This will be the first time the Saxons have seen us in daylight! They might not be afraid at all.”
“When my axe falls on them they will be!”
Olaf feared no man and when fighting in a shield wall he was terrifying. He used the bottom blade to pull the shields towards him and then he would punch the top of the blade into their face. It always worked for there was no way of stopping him, short of killing him and Olaf Leather Neck was a hard man to kill!
Perhaps it was our pace or perhaps the distance was not as far but whatever the reason we reached the palace before noon. Magnus Axe Hand formed his men into a shield wall, three men deep. He had five boat crews and there were almost two hundred men with him. Less than a third were mailed and he wisely put them in the front rank. Ostman Mortenson and Dargh Long Stride had yet to catch up with us and so we leisurely began to form our snout while watching Magnus Axe Hand. I looked to my left. I heard horns and saw standards being waved as King Egbert prepared his men to meet us. Klakke’s plan was a good one. Had we not attacked his palace then he might have sat behind his ditch and stakes and let us bleed on to them. This way he had to leave his camp and fight us. I wondered if King Egbert would actually bring us to battle. He was slightly older than me. There were few warriors our age. I was happy to fight alongside my men, but would he?
I could see that Magnus Axe Hand was a warrior. He stood in the middle of the front rank. He raised his sword. The palisade around the palace was not high but a man could not scale it. They would have to use their shields to do so and, while they did, the Saxons would hurl rocks, stones and javelins at them. I doubted that the ditch around the walls would have traps in the bottom. The Saxons rarely used them but it would add to the difficulties of scaling the wall. Had they had time then the Danes could have made a bridge. The three lines moved forward. The Saxons had bows but they were hunting bows with the wrong arrow head. The large Danish shields almost shook them off. Their angle meant that the bow men could not aim their arrows at the legs and feet of the Saxons. They were wasting arrows. I saw smoke rising from within the palace and I frowned. That was not a good sign.
I saw, to my left, Klakke forming his wedge. He was in the front rank and his gleaming mail and helmet would draw missiles like flies. When I looked back I saw that Magnus had halted his men by the ditch. His third rank had his archers and they began to loose at the men on the walls. Some had war bows and some had the arrows which would penetrate mail. As the ones on the fighting platform took cover so Magnus led his first rank into the ditch. His second rank protected his archers and they managed to make the wall with just a handful of casualties. Then I heard a horn from the main camp. Egbert’s men were coming.
“Lock shields!” I had nothing to do but Haaken’s shield came over my head. It was angled to give him some protection too. Einar’s shield also covered both Olaf and Haaken as well as me. Olaf Leather Neck held his axe along with his shield and his spear rested on my left shoulder. Haaken’s rested on my right. I was one of the few who had a decent view of the battle. I saw that some of Magnus’ men had reached the top of the wall and then I heard a wail and saw some men fleeing. They had heated either water or pig fat. One side of the gate had Danish corpses. Boiling water or fat was a bad death. There was neither honour nor glory in it. I saw that Magnus and his oathsworn had reached the palisade. A horn sounded and the second rank moved forward.
Klakke Blue Cheek had a powerful voice. He roared, “Forward!”
Ulfheonar, warriors strong
Ulfheonar, warriors brave
Ulfheonar, fierce as the wolf
Ulfheonar, hides in plain sight
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Ulfheonar, warriors strong
Ulfheonar, warriors brave
Ulfheonar, fierce as the wolf
Ulfheonar, hides in plain sight
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Ulfheonar, Dragon Heart's wolves
Ulfheonar, serving the sword
Our chant helped us to move smoothly. I did not concern myself with the two jarls and their men who followed us. They would either be in step and survive, or be out of step and risk death. Ahead of us, King Egbert had formed his men into three lines. They would both outnumber and outflank us. We put those thoughts from our mind. If a Viking thought he might lo
se he would never fight. We always expected to fight against the odds and to win. Some slingers raced from the Saxon ranks. They were intent on damaging us and disrupting our advance. Beorn and our archers slew them. They were boys. They had neither mail nor armour. They relied on speed but my archers outranged them and their bodies littered the ground before the Saxons. I glanced to my left and saw that Klakke had not used archers to protect his line and there were dead and wounded Danes.
Ahead of us the three Saxon lines were given the order to lock shields. The second rank angled their shields over the heads of the front rank and the third rank completed it. The front rank dropped slightly so that one knee was on the ground and their shields protected their legs too. It was futile. Our two boar’s snouts would strike at two points in their line. Three spears would punch at a single spot. The weight of over two hundred warriors would be pushed against my back and we would break through.
They had more slingers behind their third rank and stones rattled like hail on our shields. We had been keeping pace with Klakke but, when we were just twenty paces from the Saxons I yelled, “Clan of the Wolf!” It was the signal to run or to move at a faster pace than we had. I had spied the spot we would hit.
It was the tiniest of gaps between two shields. As I punched forward I felt two spears strike my shield and a third strike my mail. I felt my spear strike something and I pushed. We were still moving and the Saxons were struggling to keep their line. Haaken and Olaf had fought together before and their spears hit the same place. They must have struck someone for I heard a cry. A spear came over from the third rank and struck my helmet. So long as it missed the eye hole then I was safe. Olaf had let go of his spear. He hooked the lower edge of his axe over the top of the Saxon shield and he pulled. He was a powerful man. The shield came down and Rollo’s spear found the man’s face. He punched so hard that the spear emerged out of the back of the Saxon’s skull showering the men behind with bone, blood and brains.
