by Griff Hosker
"Attack!" There was little point in waiting for them to come at us and we charged them. I saw two shadows beneath the trees and I lunged at them. A spear came at my head and I took the blow on my shield. The other warrior had a sword and he slashed it at me. It was aimed at my neck; normally that was the weak part of any armour. I blocked it with Ragnar's Spirit and Bjorn's fine workmanship showed. The Dane's sword buckled a little and I saw the look of surprise on his face. I took advantage by head butting him. The Dane with the spear pulled it back to stab at me again and I brought my own sword around in a wide sweep. As I knocked his spear up my sword went beneath his spear and ripped into his side. The man I had head butted struggled to his feet. I swung backhanded at him and he tried to block my strike. His sword shattered in two. I brought my shield around and punched him in the head. He crumpled to the ground and I stabbed him in the neck. The spearman was trying to hold in his guts. He was losing the battle.
I saw Siggi fighting two Danes. He was doing well but, even as I ran towards them I saw them separate to attack from two sides. I chose the one who was attacking Siggi's right and I charged into him, striking simultaneously with my shield and my sword. He tumbled to the ground and hit it so hard that he was winded. I swung my sword and he blocked it with his shield. I brought the edge of my own shield down on his throat. He gurgled his life away with a broken windpipe.
Siggi slew his opponent and nodded his thanks. I could see no more Danes but I heard, to the east, the sound of men fighting and dying. I waved to Siggi and we ran back to the trail. The Danes' bodies lay in ungainly heaps. Had they successfully sprung their trap things might have been different but this was the third time they had fought us and none were confident any longer.
I saw, however, that we had not had it all our own way. Olvir's body lay surrounded by the Danes he had killed but he was in Valhalla now. We gradually caught up with the rest of the Ulfheonar. Ulf was despatching one as we ran up to him. He wiped his sword on the dead man's kyrtle. "They have fled to their camp, Jarl!"
"Ulfheonar! On me!" The rest of the my men arrived I saw from the blood on their swords and armour that they had fought hard. We needed to end it soon. "Wedge!"
There were just nine of us and that was a small wedge but I had no idea how many of the enemy remained. We marched along the trail towards their camp. The sun had not set but there were many shadows. That could only help us. The survivors were in a shield wall. There looked to be eighteen or more who were left. Their leader lived yet and he stood in the middle of his men. There was only one way we could win against a shield wall and that was to charge and use the weight of our mail as well as the superiority of our training.
"Charge!
I had Haaken and Sigtrygg behind me and they would keep the pace I set. It was not a run, it was more of a fast walk but the clearing helped us for our footing was firm. I saw the Danes brace themselves for our impact. Thord brought his axe over his head. He timed the blow well. I kept my eye on it as it sliced down towards me. He had aimed it at my right side, the side away from my shield. I did two things at once. I brought my shield across my body to take the blow and I stabbed forward into the tiny gap between Thord's shield and the next Dane. The axe cracked into my shield so hard that I felt as though my arm would break. The shield held and the axe head caught on my boss. I felt my sword strike metal and I pushed harder. There was resistance and then it slid into something soft. I twisted and pushed again. My hand came up against mail links and so I pulled the sword free. Thord was hurt. I saw blood from his mouth. Haaken stabbed at the warrior next to him and he cried out as the sword slid up and over his shield. It tore up through his throat and into his skull. The two of them fell and were joined by a third when Sigtrygg killed him.
We were inside the shield wall and my wedge split into nine killers who tore into the Danes like a whirlwind. Most of the warriors who remained did not have long mail shirts and were easily taken. It was too much for half of the men and six of them fled east. I blocked another axe which came from nowhere. It made me stagger a little. The Dane thought he had me. I used my own motion to continue to move away from the blow and the Dane found himself overbalancing. I dropped to one knee and thrust upwards. My sword want under his byrnie and slid up into his ribs. I must have found his heart for his body went limp and, as my hand and sword were bathed in blood, he fell to the floor. I heard shouts from the east as the last of the Danes ran into the blades of my son and his men.
I turned and saw that Rolf had been wounded as had Vemund. They would, however, unlike Olvir, fight another day.
"Collect the weapons and their coins. Ulf, fetch Olvir's body we will bury him at Elfridaby."
"Aye Jarl."
By the time my son reached us we were ready to leave. He nodded at me, "You were right, father. They are all dead. We have all that we need."
"Did you lose any?"
He nodded, "Oleg."
"Then bring him with us and we will bury our two dead at your hall. They will be buried with honour."
Chapter 16
We reached Cyninges-tūn three days after we buried our two heroes. Our three wounded warriors needed time to recover sufficiently to make the journey home. I was bone weary. I needed to bathe in the Water and cleanse the smell of blood from my body. I would use the sweat hut and clean myself from head to toe, inside and out. I saw the worried looks on the faces of Aiden and Kara as we trudged through the gate. A shout went up as my people saw their jarl return and the door to my hall opened and I smiled when I saw Erik standing there. He was on the road to recovery.
"I can see, father, that you have lost a warrior and others are wounded. Did you find the Danes?"
"We did and they died." I took out one of the coins we had taken. "King Egbert paid well for the return of his wife!" I looked around the huts and the halls. "You had no further attacks?"
"No, Jarl. Pasgen has sent regular messengers to us. Siggi and Trygg have both returned safely and they brought news of the outside world."
Kara said, "We will have a feast this night to celebrate your return and they can speak with you then."
"They have not returned to sea then?"
"No, that is part of their news but we will let them tell you all. It is better to hear news directly from the bearer. Words do not get twisted then."
"You have changed, daughter. Your journey to darkness and back has brought with it wisdom."
She laughed, "I will send a slave to heat the sweat hut. Your face tells me that you will need it."
I walked over to Erik who leaned against the door. "It is good to see you standing, albeit gingerly."
"You daughter is a fine healer. She says I can return to my ship soon."
I shook my head, "There is little point. When Bolli has repaired it then you can go. "
"But I want to see how the repairs progress."
I spoke quietly, "Erik I need you fit for as soon as my drekar is repaired then I intend to sail back to Ynys Cybi. I have not finished with those men of Gwynedd yet. Become fully healed and then we can sail."
"Bolli thinks it may take another month to make her seaworthy again."
"It matters not when it is ready. If we have to sail in the depths of winter we will do so. The theft of my daughter caused a rift between my children. It was like throwing a stone into a tarn. The ripples go further out. I will have my vengeance." I smiled, "You should know how powerful a Viking's wrath is."
He laughed, "And yet you are not Norse."
"No but I am Viking! Come with me to my sweat hut. It will heal you quicker and we can sail across the Water. It will be good to talk with you."
He nodded, "I have heard of the powers of the hut. It will be good to experience it. Josephus told me of baths like that in Miklagård."
"You think of him often?"
"Just as you think of your wife and Ragnar." He tapped his chest, "He is in here," and then his head, "and here. He is part of me."
Sigtrygg and Haaken joined u
s as we sailed across the Water. We spent the rest of the day in the sweat hut. The four of us talked of the voyages we had taken and the people we had met. We remembered our dead friends and companions. We smiled at the stories we each told. All of us had been close to death lately and talking of those who were dead was comforting. The one person we did not mention was Cnut for his death was too recent and the wound too raw. I knew we all thought about him but we would not speak until the mid winter feast when we celebrated the old year and looked forward to the new one. Then would be the time to honour our friend.
The Ulfheonar were all invited to the feast as well as many of the warriors who had fought shoulder to shoulder with us against the Saxons. With no imminent danger they could all indulge themselves and we enjoyed the new brew of beer which Kara and her women had produced. It was a fine dark beer with a creamy white head. I would have drunk more but I knew that Siggi and Trygg had things to say to me and I needed a clear head. Haaken managed to stay sober until he had told four or five tales and sung some songs. He had a fine voice. Two of the stories were funny ones but he finished with the story of Aiden's capture and the blood and fire of my reborn sword. It was after that when he almost drowned in ale.
Siggi and Trygg joined Aiden and me as the young warriors engaged in arm wrestling and games of bones. "Kara intimated that the news you brought was serious."
"Aye, Jarl. Wessex has captured much of On Corn Walum. Egbert now has forts on the southern coast of On Corn Walum. His ships look for the Norse. He was sworn to crucify every Viking he finds."
I nodded. "That is serious. It means we might have difficulty in trading with our partners."
They nodded. Trade was how we prospered. Our iron brought in gold. Our weapons made us attractive to other traders. Without trade we would die.
"We could sail around the lands to the north."
Siggi laughed, "We lived up there, Aiden, the seas are even more dangerous than those around Scillonia."
"What do you suggest then, Siggi?"
"We could trade with Hibernia or Mercia. Gwynedd perhaps?"
I laughed, "Hibernia has nothing that we need and the other two hate us as much as Wessex."
"It is a pity there are not more lands to the west."
"I have heard that there are Aiden. There are rumours of fine lands with no people in them many days beyond the western seas."
"That cannot be true. The ships would sail over the edge of the world."
"That may not be true, Jarl Dragon Heart. When I was in Miklagård I read how in the ancient times they believed that the world ended at the Pillars of Hercules. Then some Phoenicians sailed through them and they discovered this land.."
Aiden was well read. If this were true then, perhaps, we could sail west. That would be an adventure. Siggi and Trygg still looked dubious and this did not give them an answer to their problem. I thought of a solution. It was an idea I had had for some time. "We could sail with you. My drekar can handle any Saxon ship."
As soon as the words came out of my mouth I saw that they had been hoping for such an answer. "That would solve the problem, Jarl."
"However we would need to make the most use out of such a voyage. We still have the Saxon ships we captured. If we took three ships and filled them with trade goods then we would only need two such voyages a year. One to Frankia and one to Miklagård."
"And the rest of the year?"
" Orkneyjar?" They both nodded. "And we would need extra crew for your knarr. They would need to be fighting men."
"There are many young men who want the adventure of travel and are not yet seamen. That would not be a problem." Trygg smiled, "I feared our days of trading were over."
"No, my friend, there is always a solution. The difficulty is finding it. You will need to build a hall by the river to store the trade goods until we are ready to sail. The metal, the wood and the weapons will not be a problem but the goods such as hides and skins may be trickier."
Aiden smiled, "I will read in the Roman books. They normally have a solution to most of the problems we find."
"And you had better tell those who use our boats for trade of the new arrangement."
We all downed our horns of ale. "And when will the first voyage be?"
"When I have punished Gwynedd and we have enough goods to fill three knarr!" The news was not a surprise to me and meant that my return to Ynys Cybi was meant to be. It was wyrd.
It took twenty four days to complete the repairs on my drekar and it also took twenty one days to find the crew who would sail with my Ulfheonar. I had many volunteers but Haaken, Sigtrygg and I wanted reliable warriors and not the glory hunters. We wanted strong warriors who could row for long periods without tiring. I was happy with the twenty five we chose. We also took extra ship's boys. Erik was keen to train a replacement for himself. His brief encounter with his own mortality had changed him and his view of life.
I went with Erik to view 'The Heart of the Dragon' as soon as Kara said he was strong enough to travel. I left my Ulfheonar working with the new warriors. I knew that many would aspire to be wolf warriors as we were but that did not happen overnight. The keen eyes of Haaken and Sigtrygg would find the potential.
When we neared the drekar Erik swept a hand around the trees. "I will have a hall built by the river, Jarl. I will not allow disaster to befall my drekar again."
"That is good for you need to put down roots. With Siggi and Trygg away less in the future they, too, may build close by the river. You should take a wife."
He laughed, "I am at sea more than I am at home."
"That is not true. Haaken is married. Many of the Ulfheonar are married. You need children. They are our future."
He nodded and after a short silence broached what was on his mind. "Are you and Wolf Killer reconciled?"
Erik had served with me long enough for the intrusion. "We are not estranged as we once were but I fear he will not return to Cyninges-tūn." I shrugged, "It is good that he lives where he does. He is right about the land. It is gentler than here and will produce better crops. The only danger is from the East."
"The Danes."
I nodded, "They are expanding. They are replacing the Saxons of Northumbria and filling the valleys with their own people. We have dealt them a harsh blow but there will always be younger warriors who will risk the wrath of our people. We are better prepared."
We had reached the forest and were getting closer to the sea. We could smell it in the air, brought on the southerly breeze. "Jarl Dragon Heart why do you risk so much to return to Ynys Cybi?"
"I could say that I wish to weaken Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog who fights with his brother, Cynan, for the kingdom of Gwynedd but deep down I know that the reason is revenge."
"You will risk the lives of others to do so? You will risk your ship?"
I looked at my young captain. He had changed. Before he was hurt he would not have questioned my actions but he had had a brush with death. He had stared into the black chasm and it had made him look at himself. It was a good thing. I did not mind the questions. I had asked myself many such questions since I had made my decision.
"It is my ship, bought with my gold. They are my men, oathsworn to me and wearing armour I paid for."
"I am sorry, Jarl. I have been impertinent. Forgive me."
"There is nothing to forgive. You are becoming a man. Men give their opinions. That is good. Soon you will take a wife and when you have children you too will change. Both of my children were hurt and the men of Gwynedd bear some of the responsibility but I was not lying when I said we would weaken Gwynedd. My action will have an effect and a weaker Gwynedd will invite attacks from the Irish and the Mercians. If they attack Gwynedd then they will leave us alone."
"And On Corn Walum?"
"Trygg told me that Mark of Tintagel was killed by King Egbert. Wyrd, is it not? My enemy killed my enemy for me."
We heard the hammering and banging and knew we were close to the shipyard. We followed the trail
and came upon Bolli and his four workers. He wiped his brow and approached us. I could see the new strakes which he had finished. "It is lucky they were Saxons who did this. They holed her too high. Had it been Norse who damaged her we would be working for another two months."
"How is she now?"
"We will soon be able to float her. The new wood needs time to swell before we risk a sea trial."
"Erik here will supervise from now on. He has more ship's boys and they will need to become familiar with the drekar and how she handles. They are on their way here now." I smiled, "More hands for you to employ." I noticed that the prow was standing to one side and there were shavings on the ground. "You are repairing the prow too?"
"That was also damaged." He pointed to the interior of the drekar. "I have added two more trenails. It will make her stronger and give an extra couple of benches."
"Will that slow her down?"
"It should not."
"And we need a spare mast and spar."
"This is all adding to the cost, Jarl."
"Do not worry Bolli, you will get your gold. The Danes who tried to kill my son are paying, not me!"
I left the two of them to discuss other improvements Erik desired. They were tiny modifications but Erik knew his drekar like the back of his hand and he would get as much speed from her as he could.
I passed Siggi and Trygg; they had their knarr out of the water and they were cleaning their hulls. Until we were ready to escort them they would have little to do. I knew that both men had coin enough. They had bought some cattle and they employed men to run farms for them close to the river. Their families lived here. It made sense for it was closer to the sea. I waved and they acknowledged me.
