Viking Raid

by Griff Hosker

  "Then it was known as Brigantium in Roman times."

  Erik nodded, "That makes sense. Josephus told me of a lair of pirates and thieves called Faro Bregancio. That too was close to a peninsula. Could it be the same?"

  It was time for me to speak. "That would make sense but the name matters not. It is the location and what we do about it that is important."

  Coen Ap Pasgen looked upset, "Trygg is lost! We can do nothing! Our trading will have to stop."

  It was then I realised that no matter how much we worked with our friends from Úlfarrston they were not of our people and did not understand our ways. Everyone else stared at him. Siggi said, "I grew up with Trygg and I for one will find him."

  "Fear not, Siggi. When a man, any man, swears that he will follow me then there is a bond between us. It says that I am responsible for my oathsworn. They fight for me and I fight for them. Trygg is not lost until we decide he is lost."

  Everyone, Elfrida and Coen excepted, began banging the table. Even Kara joined in. Ragnar looked fearful. I smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "These are your people, Ragnar, do not fear them." He went closer to his mother but he looked less fearful. "We go to this lair of pirates and we will find Trygg, his crew and his knarr. We will bring them home." They nodded. "Wolf Killer do you wish to stay here with your family?"

  He shook his head, "I let Trygg down. I took us too close in to the coast. I will make amends for my mistake."

  "We will stay with Kara, my husband."

  "I come too, Jarl." Siggi jutted his jaw out defying me to refuse him permission.

  "We do not need a knarr to slow us down."

  "I will come as one of your crew. There were many boats in the harbour and we will need every warrior we can lay our hands on."

  "Very well." I looked around. "We have little time to make plans. Aiden and I will do that as we head south. Wolf Killer, say your goodbyes. Siggi, Coen and Erik prepare the two drekar for sea. Haaken go and tell the Ulfheonar we have a blood feud."

  When they had all gone Aiden asked, "How many warriors from Cyninges-tūn will we take?"

  "All who wish to come." I turned to Kara, "You and Scanlan must work with Bjorn to watch this stad. Send to Windar and tell him where we have gone. He will tell Ketil. Have boys go to the Rye Dale, Grassy Mere and Thorkell Stad. All must prepare for war."

  "We will be safe."

  I was reassured by Kara's words. The presence of Elfrida in her hall had brought her back to her full powers. It meant there was no danger at present.

  In the time it took to kiss my daughter and daughter in law, and hug my grandson we were ready to march to Úlfarrston. We would be marching in the dark but we knew that the two drekar would be ready to put to sea by the time we reached them. We almost ran down the trail and the greenway. My shoulder had nearly healed and the march did not cause much pain at all. Of course when I fought that would be a different story. We had ponies with us but that was to carry weapons. We took extra bows, arrows and spears. We were going to war. These people who lived in their protected lair would discover the dangers of poking the wolf. The men of On Corn Walum and Ynys Mon had found that out and their blackened homes were testament to their folly.

  We said nothing as we headed south. I was busy planning what we might do. When I had glanced at the map I had seen that this Faro Bregancio occupied a high piece of ground protected on three sides by water. It would not be easy to take without incurring high casualties. Aiden's mind would have to find a way.

  The drekar were at the mouth of the river. It was low tide and we had to ferry men and supplies out. Luckily it was just our arms that needed to be carried. I spoke with Pasgen and his son. "I am taking most of my warriors with me. I must call upon you and your men to watch the west and south for me."

  Pasgen nodded, "We will do so. You have come to our aid more times than I can count." He looked at his son and shook his head. "Trygg and his men may already be dead."

  "I know," I said, firmly, "When you prick one of us then we all bleed and we all seek revenge. It is the way of our people. As you know we can live a peaceful life but if we are angered then you had better be able to run where we cannot catch you for we are relentless. We will trade again, Coen Ap Pasgen, and we will sail to Italy once more. We will make the seaways safe; for us at least."

  I intended to sail to Bourde without a stop. Siggi and his men had split themselves between the two drekar. They were close to Trygg's crew and it would enable us to have crew sailing all day and all night. If the winds dropped then we would row. We were fully crewed. We only had the Ulfheonar and six of Wolf Killer's men who had mail but we would be facing pirates. At least that was what we believed.

  Aiden and I did not go directly to sleep as most of the men did. We sat at the stern on my chest and discussed what we knew. "Your son said that it was a wooden fort. He said they only had, from what he could see, one ditch."

  "But he also said that there were steep cliffs on three sides. A frontal assault is always costly."

  "Then when we put in at Bourde we should ask the Duke for pig fat. Snorri and Bjorn are good archers. We could use fire to gain entry."

  "And we still have some seal oil on board." We always kept seal oil on board the drekar. It had many uses and stored well. I stood and stretched. I rubbed my shoulder; it helped the ache. "It is a plan and it is a better chance than I had thought when we left home." I swept my hand around the drekar. "I will not waste men's lives needlessly."

  "You know that Trygg may be dead." Aiden was only voicing what I believed in my heart but it sounded like a death knell when he said it. He was a Galdramenn.

  I nodded, "As you might have been dead, and Wolf Killer and Kara, and Elfrida yet I went to find you anyway. Even when all hope appeared gone I still tried." I shrugged. "I cannot bear the thought of someone I care about being a prisoner and wondering if help will come. I will go to Trygg and if I am too late then so be it but I will know that I tried and Trygg will watch from the Otherworld and know that I did all that I could. It is why we will travel without stopping. I want us to fly o'er the seas. Each hour of delay increases the chances of his death."

  When we reached Wight we did not follow the coast as we normally did. It was early morning when we reached the Saxon isle and we headed south and east. We would be out of sight of land. There was no alternative. The wind was with us and we rowed. We took a chance. If we did not reach the coast by nightfall we would have to heave to for we had no way of working out our position at night. I joined the rowers despite the protestations of my men. They worried about my wound. The exercise actually helped my shoulder. At first painful the constant motion made it diminish eventually. When Cnut Cnutson shouted from the masthead, "Land to the east." We all cheered. The hard work had paid off. We had saved days by sailing across the uncharted stretch of water.

  When we reached Bourde our water barrels were almost empty. We had planned on stopping at Bourde in any case but our lack of water and beer forced us there. It was good that we had an ally and a friendly port else we might have fallen foul of the Franks.

  As we rowed down the river I saw that the Duke was building two stone towers at the end of the wharf. He himself was there, half naked and toiling with his men. They stopped when we drew next to them.

  "It is good to see you, Jarl Dragon Heart and so unexpected. It is not long since your son was here."

  "And he is with me again. That is his drekar following us." I nodded to the towers. "A good idea."

  "I do listen and the advice of you and Aiden was sound. What brings you here? You are not here to trade?"

  "No. After my ships left you they were attacked at Faro Bregancio."

  His face darkened. "Then your ships were lucky to escape. The men of Galicia often raid overland to my southern borders. I have to keep as many to watch those brigands as watch out for the Emperor. They are a cunning and devious race."

  "One of my ships did not escape. They captured a knarr and its crew."r />
  "Then they are dead."

  Perhaps it was the blunt way he spoke it which affected me, I know not but I felt a heavy weight in my heart. "None the less we go to Faro Bregancio. What can you tell me?"

  "King Alfonso of the Asturias is trying to claim the land of Galicia. There is no war as yet. He is a clever king and he is trying negotiations first. He is lucky that there is no King in Galicia. The people there do not have one leader they can follow. Instead there are many counts who wish to become the overall leader. There is a Count of Faro Bregancio, Silo. He is ambitious and the position of the fort makes it almost impregnable." He lowered his voice so that my men would not hear. "I know your men are brave but they would be slaughtered if they attacked."

  "And yet we will. Thank you for the information. It helps. Do they have archers?"

  "Not really. They use slingers and spearmen." He grinned, "You and your men could defeat them if you fought outside the walls but I cannot see how you will get inside."

  "And I have yet to work that out but I will find a way."

  "I believe you will."

  "I need water, ale and food. We will pay."

  "You will not! You are my friend and you fight my enemies. I have not enough men to aid you but I can supply you."

  "And we need pig fat if you have it."

  "You can have all that we possess but tell me why?"

  "Pig fat burns and the fort is made of wood. It burns too!"

  Enough of the local sailors and fishermen had been to the port to be able to give detailed information to Aiden, Erik and Karl, Wolf Killer's captain. The limited charts we had were improved. We would not run aground. It would take us a day to sail along the coast and so we left the next morning. It allowed us a night ashore where the Duke fed us well. My men did not drink as much as normal. They understood the dangers in fighting when still affected by beer and wine. The Ulfheonar set a good example. The Duke insisted that we call in on our way north. "If you are not here within a week then I will take on the debt of honour and I will punish these brigands!"

  It was not an idle promise but I knew that if we failed then so would he. "Thank you and we will be back!"

  While we had been in Bourde we had taken the precaution of sharpening all of our weapons. We had left home so quickly that none of us were certain if they were as sharp as they should be. We wore our mail from the moment we left Bourde. This was despite the dangers of wearing mail at sea. When we reached there we might not have time to don armour. Aiden helped me with mine. He worried and fretted about the bones in my shoulder. I shook my head. "Kara says they will have knit by now, Aiden. She has fed me a diet which will speed up the process. You know that she would not say I was healed if I was not."

  He reluctantly agreed. The new metal plates over the shoulders did not add much to the weight and, more importantly, they did not restrict my movement. I put on the red cochineal. We were going to terrorise these people. They have seen a Viking but I guarantee they had never seen wolf warriors. If they thought Trygg and his sailors were typical of our people then they were in for a shock. Aiden helped Snorri and Bjorn to make fire arrows. He had read how to make them so that they would burn better and yet be more accurate. We would try that out now. They made ten arrows. The range would have to be close but all of us were confident that the bowmen could hit the target. The question would be could we get the pig fat close.

  "We need a Roman Ongar really."

  Sigtrygg snorted impatiently, "As we have not got one nor the time and materials to build one you might as well wish for a secret door into the fort!"

  "I am just saying that we need something which can throw the pig fat a long way. We will struggle to get the fat close without losing many men."

  He was right and I had yet to put my mind to that particular dilemma. The fort was on a small peninsula which was attached to a larger one. The only thing in our favour was that the fort did not overlook the harbour. We intended to sail into the harbour at night. If we could do so silently then, by dawn, we could have cut off both peninsulas from help. We still hoped that Trygg and his crew would be alive and his knarr would be there. We doubted that Trygg and his crew would be in a position to sail their own ship back. That would be the task of Siggi and his men. When darkness fell we were just eight miles away. We had spied the headland and the entrance to the harbour. Erik had the sail lowered. And we began to row in gently. We wanted no noise from the oars and so we moved slowly. We had most of the night to get into the harbour. A drekar with its sail furled is hard to see and we had used the mast fish to make us even smaller.

  Karl was clinging precariously to the dragon prow and was watching the entrance. Aiden stood hard by with his charts and Cnut Cnutson waited half way down the drekar to repeat any commands. 'Josephus' followed as closely as possible. Erik's skill showed in the calm way he moved the steering board. He made the subtlest of movements as Cnut waved his arm first one way and then the other. I stood with Erik and I peered at the fort. I could see the glow of torches burning by the ramparts. They gave me an idea of the size. One fact which we did not possess was the size of the garrison. We had assumed numbers based upon the boats which had surrounded our ships. They might not have been the garrison. I hoped not.

  As we passed the darkened harbour I saw ship after ship tied up. Few of them were as big as Trygg's knarr and none were as big as our drekar. And then we saw Trygg's knarr. It was still there. We ghosted towards the wooden jetty. Erik signalled for the men to retract their oars and I joined Karl at the stern while Cnut went to the prow. Erik was a master seaman and we barely bumped into the jetty. I leapt ashore with Karl and had my sword at the ready. Karl tied us securely to the wooden post. I knew that Cnut would do the same at the prow. My men had stored their oars and were now grabbing shields and pouring ashore.

  When Siggi joined me I pointed to Trygg's knarr and he nodded. He led his crew to retake the knarr. Snorri and Bjorn needed no instructions to race towards the neck of the peninsula. We did not expect guards or sentries but any that there were would be despatched by the two redoubtable scouts. As soon as my son landed his men we ran after our scouts. Aiden had his assigned warriors to carry the skins of pig fat. We had left just six men to guard the drekar. I hoped it would be enough. I was gambling once more.

  When we reached Snorri we saw that there were sentries at the narrow neck of land. It was just two hundred and fifty paces across. I waved Eystein over. I saw that he was wearing the mail he had taken from the Danish Jarl. "I want you and the men from Cyninges-tūn to hold this neck of land. Can you do it?" I was aware I was leaving him with but twenty four warriors but it was a third of our force.

  He nodded. "If not you will find this land covered in our corpses and those of our enemies."

  I led the men up the hill towards the distant fort. There were houses in between us and it. I signalled to Wolf Killer's men as we advanced. They had had their orders. Every male was to be slain and the women and children taken back to the drekar. They would be bound by Siggi and his men and placed aboard the knarr. The men of Faro Bregancio would rue the day they took my oathsworn.

  The screams and cries alerted the fort as I knew they would. We had no need for silence once the first men were killed. I hoped that the fear of the sudden attack might terrorise the garrison and work in our favour. I made my way up through the huddle of huts with the Ulfheonar. Behind us I heard Wolf Killer's men emptying them. When we reached the second narrow neck of land we stopped. There, ahead of us were the heads of Trygg and his crew. Their eyes had been gouged out and their manhoods protruded from their mouths. I hissed, "Take them down. There will be no prisoners!"

  My warriors went forward and removed the offending skulls. They wrapped them in sacks. Haaken said, "We will recover them when we have destroyed this nest of vipers."

  Aiden and his pig fat carriers arrived as the heads were removed. He said, "We have done the same before now, Jarl."

  I turned and spat out, "If you thin
k that then you serve the wrong lord! When we fight we kill. We only do this to those who invade our land. This is a punishment for an enemy and not a merchant. Trygg was a trader! It is not the same!"

  Aiden recoiled, "I am sorry, Jarl, you are right."

  I was angry and I would apologise to Aiden later. Now I needed my anger. We were about to take on great odds; we would have to fight like demons. I saw the gatehouse and the ramparts fill with warriors. We had timed it well for dawn was some hours away. The dark would hide our numbers and add to the fear of the defenders.

  Wolf Killer joined me with ten of his warriors. "We have cleared the houses. My men have taken the captives to Siggi."

  I nodded, "We found Trygg and the others. They had been despoiled and beheaded. There will be no mercy for any we find. Send a few of your men to burn the huts. I want to send a message to this Count Silo and it will give Snorri and Bjorn the fire they need for their arrows."

  He turned and sent four of his men back down the hill. I almost laughed. We were going to try to take a fort with less than twenty warriors. It would either make a great saga or a great joke. Which would it be? It took time to fire the buildings. Soon the hill beneath us would be an impassable inferno. It would stop any reinforcements reaching us for a while but it would also cut off Eystein and his men. Wolf Killer's warriors barely made it back from the drekar before the hill became impassable. Eystein would have to face, alone, any other warriors who lived close by.

  "Let us draw closer and see whom we face."

  We were not reckless and we hefted our shields around as we advanced in a thin line. In the dark we would be almost invisible but I would take no chances with the few men I had with me. When we were just a hundred paces from the ditch I halted. I could see warriors on the walls. I turned to Wolf Killer and Snorri. "Snorri, take Wolf Killer's archers and stand behind us. I want the ramparts clearing. Sven, go back to Eystein and see if he needs help. You should just have enough time before the flames take hold."

  "Aye Jarl."