The Land of the Northmen

by Griff Hosker

  Chapter 11

  When he returned from Dorestad, Siggi Far Sighted brought news. Most was good and the bad news was to be expected. He gave us the bad first. “The Frank are preparing for war. They are hiring not only the men of Flanders to fight for them but any sword for hire. They promise land and titles. They are buying swords and weapons. They are paying high prices. We heard, in the alehouses, that they were buying up every nag they could find. They have also been asking about our numbers. They now know of Jarl Sigtrygg and Jarl Thorbolt. They are worried that we are drawing more Norsemen to their land and they intend to stop it.”

  “Good. I am pleased that I predicted this. What is the good news?”

  “I met a captain from An Orient. He was older than I was but he was chatty enough. When he found out where our home port was he became angry and I asked him why. He said that we were allies of their most hated enemies, the Franks. I told him that we were not and that you would be willing to form an alliance with them. After that it became easier to talk. I promised that if a Breton ship came to the Haugr she would be safe. He did not believe me until I said that we had a church and a priest and that Father Michael would stand surety for their safe conduct.”

  I nodded and said nothing. I was thinking.

  “Did I do wrong, jarl? It was my first time negotiating and I am not certain that I got it right. Perhaps Sven would have been better.”

  I smiled, “You did perfectly. You have done nothing wrong it is just that I was thinking. I would have you stay close to the quay so that if he comes you can greet him. I am guessing that whoever the Count sends will be expendable. He will see, first, if we can keep our word.” I put my arm around his shoulders. “You are learning. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. We learn through our mistakes. It is an arrogant man who thinks that everything he does will succeed.”

  I spent the rest of the day wandering my home. I spoke to the warriors who lived close by and those who lived and worked in my walls like Erik One Arm and Bagsecg. Finally, I went to the new tower we had built. It faced north. We did not keep sentries there all the time and it was empty. I wandered the newly finished stone which ran around the top of the fighting platform. It looked white compared with the old one but it would weather. Time changed everything. I looked to the north and west. I could not quite see Ċiriċeburh but that did not matter. I began to plan our defence. I looked to Bárekr’s Haven and then walked around to view the smoke from the new hall of Sigtrygg Left -Handed. A plan began to form in my head. I had often planned while riding Dream Strider. This new tower seemed to fuel my thoughts equally well. It was when I looked in the harbour to the drekar that the last piece of the puzzle slipped into place. I knew how we would defend our land.

  I rode alone, the next day, and headed south. I called in at Gilles’ home. Alain of Auxerre was there too, for they were schooling new horses. I had told them, over the winter, of the danger from the Franks. They both knew that our riders would need plenty of remounts to be able to defend our land. I told them my plans.

  Gilles was, like me of Norse blood. “Do you think, Jarl Hrolf, that the Norns sent the ship from Miklagård with the plague to break the peace?”

  “The Weird Sisters do not toy just with us. We know that the Emperor had begun to trade again. Perhaps the Weird Sisters wished to stop them doing so. If his ship does not return, he may stop trade. Who knows? What I do believe is that if William of Ċiriċeburh was still alive then the peace would not be broken. Not here in the north, at least. It may be a test; I know not.”

  “You met a Norn, did you not?”

  “I did, Gilles, or a witch at any rate. Aiden thought that she was a Norn. Her prophecy was that I would rule here. It may be that the peace did not suit their plans. That is the past. Bertrand’s scouts have told me they plan war. We will prepare.”

  By the time I left, they knew exactly what I needed them to do. My last visit was to Rurik. I hid my smile as I saw him. The rugged warrior was gone. Since I had last seen him he had put on even more weight. I doubted that he would even fit into his byrnie now. His sons, Erik and Rollo, were now six and seven. I thought it a shame that they had not seen their father in his fighting prime.

  Rurik was delighted to see me, “You will stay with us, Jarl Hrolf?”

  “Of course. We have much to speak on.” He had Frankish merchants in his town and so I did not speak of my plan while we ate. It was too public. The old lord who had lived there when this was Valauna had had a pleasant room facing the sunset. We retired there with a flagon of wine so that we could talk. Rurik drank more than I did but he could hold both wine and ale. I told him what we had learned and of the possible alliance with the Bretons.

  “And you have a plan?”

  “What do you think?”

  He laughed, “When you first came to the clan, a mere stripling, I wondered what the jarl saw in you. But even then I did see, in your young eyes, a plan. You knew where you wanted to be. Me? I was happy being a warrior. I looked no further than the next raid. It took Raven Wing Island and then the Haugr for me to see what I might become. Now I am a lord. I have a loving wife and fine sons. Merchants listen to me and farmers seek my advice. You have a plan and I know that no matter how strange it will sound, it will succeed. You have my attention.”

  “The Franks will attack my farms in the north. They will raid and then hide behind the walls of Ċiriċeburh. I have no doubt that they will use their ships to supply the stronghold when we attack. At the same time, they will attack you. They will hope to draw me to Ċiriċeburh and leave you to your fate. I will oblige.” Rurik did not look surprised. He just nodded. “I will let them think that I have swallowed their bait. You must prepare for a siege. Seed your ditches and lay in food. Clear the ground for another forty paces around your walls. Use your archers to keep the enemy at a distance. They have sent for more horses. They hope for us to bleed on the walls of Ċiriċeburh.

  They think that they will take you quickly. They think they know our numbers. They do not.”

  Rurik sipped his wine, “Since we took this stronghold I have improved it. The ditch is deeper and the walls stronger. We have a good well and I have laid in plenty of food.” He laughed. If I stopped eating, then we could feed the garrison for a month! Do not worry we can hold out. How long would you wish us to hold on for?”

  “Three weeks at most. I am going to take Alain and his men along with Gilles and Bertrand. They are horsemen and are no use behind walls. I will send you ten of the crew of the drekar. The rest can guard the Haugr. We will wait for his men to attack our farms and when they try we will stop them.”

  “And their ships?”

  “My two jarls wish to raid. They can wait and take the Franks as they approach the port. This way we deny them their ships and we take their supplies. Once we have reduced Ċiriċeburh I will bring my horsemen down to you and we will drive the Franks hence.”

  “And when this is over?”

  “Then we ally with the Count of Vannes and we make Ċiriċeburh our port. We will conquer everything between your town and the sea.”

  He laughed, “I knew you had a plan but I did not see how grand it was.” He suddenly looked serious. “We are old friends, tell me, when I am gone to the Otherworld; what of my sons?”

  “What would you have for them?”

  “I would have them become warriors. If I were to speak true, I would wish them to be lords. I started life as a farmer’s son with one ear. I would have them start higher up the ladder.”

  “We do not have kings, Rurik. They will need to prove themselves so that other men will follow them.”

  “Then have them train as your horsemen. You are right. This is the land of the horse. The days of the raider from the sea are numbered.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You know it yourself, Hrolf, the skeleton and the black squirrel were a sign. The plague ship was another. If you look into your heart, then you will know that it is true.”

&nb
sp; His words made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. He was right. My son had said as much. He did not wish to raid. When my jarls had asked me to raid then I had put them off. The peace had bought us time. Now I had to use that time well.

  When I returned to Gilles’ gyrus and stad he and Alain were waiting for me. Their men were saddling their horses for they had seen my approach. They had their own horse and each led a second. We would first return to the Haugr and I would then send them to join Bertrand on the borders. Arne and my other warriors looked on as the thirty-five horsemen rode in. Ragnvald had been practising with his men and he galloped over. “What does this mean, father?”

  “It means that you should tell your men that you will be following Gilles and Alain. You will be going to war and obeying their orders.” He just turned and galloped off.

  I waved Arne over. “Have all the warriors meet me in the warrior hall.”

  While they gathered, I went to speak with my wife. She had known of my plans but I needed her to understand the reasons. “Our son, must he go too?”

  “Would it be right for those whose fathers are farmers to protect our land while our son, old enough to be a warrior, sits in this hall? Would your father have thought that right?”

  “No, but he is young.”

  “He has seen more than twelve summers. I went to war with Dragonheart when I was younger. Besides I use his eyes and ears. He will be a scout. He is clever and a good horseman. There will come a time when he may face a warrior’s death. I do not believe it is now.”

  “And you, husband, do not be reckless. Your clan need you. This land you have carved out for your people is a good land but this is just the start. It cannot grow without you.”

  I told them what I had planned. They nodded. These were warriors. They obeyed orders. The fact that they were looking forward to fighting Franks was the part that made it even more pleasurable. “Arne I want all the men without families to march to Valognes. They can reinforce the garrison there. The married men will defend these walls.”

  “How do you know this is imminent, jarl?”

  “They have been scouting and they are gathering mercenaries. From what Siggi Far Sighted told me this has been going on since before the plague ship. No matter what ha happened Geoffrey of Thiberville was going to be the new lord.”

  “And you, jarl?”

  “I must set my two drekar to ambush the Franks and then I join my horsemen. We will show these vaunted warriors of Charlemagne that we have learned from them. They will see something they have not seen before: my mounted horsemen.”

  I went outside and mounted Dream of Freya. My mounted warriors were all gathered. I took out my sword and raised it. “Ride to Bertrand. You know what to do. I will join you by the farm of Erik Green Eye in two days’ time.”

  They all raised their swords and, banging them against their shield began chanting, “Clan of the Horse!”

  As they rode north I felt pride swelling inside me. There had been a time when there had been but two riders in the clan. Now there was a column. By the time I had mounted and was heading towards my two jarls, the unmarried men were marching south. We were spread thin but I trusted that the mettle within would match the metal without.

  My two jarls lived close enough for me to find Jarl Thorbolt and take him to Jarl Sigtrygg. “War has started?”

  “Not yet but you may have your wish to raid.” I told them my news and of my plans. “I would have you as the wolves of the sea. Place your drekar off the coast at Bárekr’s Haven. If the Franks mean war, then they will turn and head south. If they do, I wish you to attack and capture them. Should they continue north, then either they are bluffing or there will be no attack. If they flee then it is war and you can attack any Frank that you find. Do not raid their land yet. Just keep Ċiriċeburh cut off.”

  “And you, jarl?”

  “I go now to join my men. We will be the first warning of an attack.”

  “You should not ride alone. You should have hearth weru with you.”

  “Perhaps but if I cannot ride alone in my own land then I do not deserve to be jarl. May the Allfather be with you.”

  As I mounted my horse, the next morning, and rode towards Erik Green Eye’s farm I wondered if I had made the right decision? Suppose the real attack would come in the south? Perhaps I should pre-empt the attack and attack myself. No one would blame me. Then I knew that I would blame me. I had given my word and I would keep it. However, it would a long time before I gave my word again to one who was not of our people. It was as I approached the road to Erik Green Eye’s farm that I realised I was set on a course to do just that. I had arranged for meeting with the Count of Vannes. So far, he had not come but when he did would I give him my word? I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it.

  Erik Green Eye had built more than a farm. He had built a stronghold. His door lay on the upper floor and could only be reached by ladder. His wife complained about the inconvenience of clambering up a ladder but she knew it kept them safe. He had a ditch around it and a bridge. His palisade would keep enemies out and his animals within. He had a stout gate and a second ditch. Erik was rich. He had slaves and he had hired men. I afforded him the title of hersir but he was really a jarl. He had been with us since Raven Wing Island and was as true a friend as one could get. His farm was my northern bastion.

  My horsemen had been busy. They had built a second palisaded enclosure for their horses. When I arrived, I saw that Bertrand and Gilles were there speaking with Erik. I reined in and handed my horse to Karl Anyasson who led my mount away.

  “Alain is on patrol?”

  “He and your son rode out this morning. I will be there this afternoon and Bertrand has the night watch. We alternate.”

  “Have the Franks shown any sign of attacking?”

  “No, Jarl Hrolf, but they have been reinforcing their port. We estimate there could be a hundred horsemen at least. They have others within the walls. What they do not have are women and children. If you wanted proof of an attack it is there. We could attack and no one could say we were not justified.”

  “True. Tell me, have they been sending scouts out?”

  He shook his head. “No and they have not seen us. We are stealthy. We do not approach the walls mounted. It is strange.”

  Erik Green Eye said, “We saw their scouts when first they came and we have watched for them but they are not to be seen. Either they are very good or there are none.”

  “I scouted with Ulf Big Nose. I have trained my scouts. If you say there are no scouts, then there are none and that tells me that they are going to attack as I thought. They want to lull us. They will attack when they think we least expect it.”

  “And when will that be, jarl, are you galdramenn?”

  “Possibly. You know that we celebrate the feast of Eostre in Harpa. It is always on the same day.”

  “Aye.”

  “Sometimes, often in fact, it coincides with the feast of the White Christ when he died on a cross.”

  “How does that help us?”

  “This year they celebrate that in Einmánuður. My wife told me. It is later than our feast. They will expect us to be drunk and feasting at Eostre. They will attack then.”

  “And we wait for them?”

  “We do. I am guessing that they will try to use our trick of attacking at dawn or possibly late on the night of the festival. Erik, I want you to hold a feast here for Eostre. Invite all the farmers from close by.”

  “But then we are putting all our eggs together. The fox will not have to travel far to gather them.”

  “Think, Erik, they will all be safe within your walls. You and the other farmers can defend the walls while my horsemen destroy them.”

  “We are bait.”

  “No, you will be safer here than if all of the families were on their own farms. They have had no scouts out yet but closer to Harpa they will come. By then I want all of these horses moving further east. Erik, you will make all t
he preparations for a huge feast. I will send cattle for you to slaughter. We will make their ambush into a trap; for them!”

  “How do you know they will attack Erik’s farm, jarl?”

  “I do not, Bertrand. They may not. It might be one of the other farms. Now do you see why I want all in Erik’s farm? It is the strongest. We cannot guard all of them against a surprise attack but by putting them all here we can defend them. We may lose other farms. They can be rebuilt.”

  It was seven days until Eostre. I joined my men as they patrolled the woods and greenways between our farms and Ċiriċeburh. I went with Gilles, in dark of night, to get close to their walls. They had moved the new settlement so that it was closer to the sea than the other one had been. It meant that they did not have as far to go to load their ships. The blackened, open area before the new walls was the only sign of where the old town had been. I had to admire their efficiency. It was as though the old town had never been. They had used the burned wood to fill the ditches and then covered it with earth. I could not see what they had done with the stones.

  We crept over the black earth to get closer to the walls. There we heard their guards as they spoke of Viking slaughter. They did not name Eostre, just the feast of the pagans. We discovered a great deal but as we had eight farms in a line along the border we would not know where they would attack until they did so. Our camp was now further west. We were still within a mile of Erik Green Eye and his farm but the sound of our horses would not alert the enemy. I hoped they would be blind to our presence and, more importantly, to our numbers. With the lighter armed warriors, such as Ragnvald and Bertrand’s men, we could field fifty warriors. Thirty were mailed. The lighter armed ones would harass the enemy with throwing spears. Their horse would outnumber ours. They had more experience than we did but we would have, I hoped, surprise on our side.