The Red And Savage Tongue (Historical Fiction Action Adventure Book, set in Dark Age post Roman Britain)

by Atkinson, F J

  As dusk neared, they grew weary, having had few rest stops that day. Even during these infrequent stops, they had been required to prepare food for the men, which fortunately for Simon had been to Egbert’s liking.

  Egbert had remained near the front of the riders all day, and his continuous barrage of orders had filled the forest air with its grating persistence. He had not spoken to Martha or Simon, but as evening fell, he stole a furtive look at Withred, who continued to ride at the front. Satisfied that the tall warrior was distracted, he galloped back down the line to Martha and Simon.

  He looked down at Martha; his shaggy beard splitting to reveal a rotten-toothed leer. ‘You look tired wife. I drive you too hard, I fear.’

  Martha looked away, refusing to acknowledge him—grateful that she could not understand his guttural tone.

  Reaching down, he grabbed a handful of her hair, forcing her to turn towards his baleful gaze. His tone became low and menacing. ‘I don’t allow my women such insolence. When I speak, you will listen, so listen to me now. I can see the day has tired you, just as it has tired me, so I hope you’ll not be too disappointed to spend the night alone. But do not pine for me; the night’s rest will restore my strength for some fucking amongst the leaves in the morning.’

  He laughed coarsely, placing his hand on his genitalia to aid in his translation. With a tug that left Martha’s hair in his hands, he released her and then knocked her to the ground with a fleshy swipe of his hand. He looked at Simon, who seethed as he helped Martha to her feet. ‘You’ll prepare food as soon as we stop, corpse. Maybe I’ll allow you a little longer tethered to my beautiful wife … who knows, maybe your cooking will allow you to live another day.’

  Martha wept at the pain inflicted upon her by Egbert, and Simon took her bound hands in his as Egbert rode back to the front of the group. ‘I don’t know much of what he just said, but I feel he may have been making excuses for being prevented from lying with you. Tomorrow may bring hope – try to survive, please.’

  That night Martha found to her relief that Simon had guessed right, but her sleep was feverish and broken as she laid in apprehension of Egbert’s attention. Her fears proved groundless and the next morning, far from implementing his promise of the day before, Egbert seemed edgy and eager for an early start.

  He walked over to Martha and kicked her softly in the back. ‘Up! Up! You and the old one prepare to refresh the men and ready the mounts.’ He pointed towards the ponies in emphasis.

  It was mid-morning when they came upon Dominic’s permanent camp. Simon could see at once by its spruce nature and compacted earthen floor, that this was no long-abandoned site. Two huge empty frames, used to hang dry, salted meat, were propped against the south facing outcrop, which overlooked the clearing. Whoever lived here ate well, as the charred rib cage of a boar, left near a ring of cooking stones in the centre of the clearing, testified.

  A one-storey, stone hut had been recently repaired, and a wooden lean-to erected to its side. The good condition of the buildings, indicating recent use, caused the war party to act with extreme caution. Three men approached the rough wooden door, which was ajar, and as one of the men kicked it fully open, the two other men ran in, war axes raised and ready.

  They emerged a minute later and one of them, a tall Gedriht named Wlensing, shouted, ‘It’s clear! Whichever hermit skulks here must have fled when he heard our approach. A cellar lies below and looks to have provisions stored within it. It seems that we’ve found a store for Osric’s weapons cache.’

  Egbert strode to the hut’s entrance and looked inside. ‘This hermit lives in relative comfort.’ He pulled the animal skins back from the bed. ‘I haven’t slept in such a bed for many months now. It seems we’ve found the abode of the wildman who killed Cerdic and our other brothers. We need to be extra nimble on our toes from now on.’

  Withred walked over and looked into the hut. ‘Yes, fat belly. We must post guards while we’re here.’ He strode into the hut and fell back on the soft bed, winking at Egbert. ‘Meanwhile I’ll bow to your recommendation and test the bed myself tonight. Besides, your bulk would merely destroy it.’ Withred reclined, his arms behind his head, smiling happily at the glowering Egbert.

  Egbert’s face twitched with suppressed indignation, aware that the men were in earshot. ‘Phaa!’ He spat. “Have the bed if you must. The bracken is a perfect nest for a lanky shit like you, so maybe you can lay us some tasty eggs for breakfast.’

  Withred laughed. ‘What? … A fat, lumbering walrus on a diet of eggs, whatever is the world coming to?’

  Egbert cut short the ripple of laughter from the men when he turned towards them, his face dark. He pushed three of them to the edge of the clearing. ‘Let’s see how a night on watch duty suits you, you laughing bastards.’ He grabbed Simon, shoved him into the hut, and then pointed to the cellar entrance. ‘Find us food corpse. If it’s not the best feast I’ve ever eaten I’ll burn you alive and use your fat as candle wax!’

  CHAPTER NINE

  Dominic and Murdoc watched as the war party entered the camp. They had arrived the night before and slipped quietly into cover when hearing the noisy approach of the riders.

  Concealed behind a moss-covered boulder, well away from the edge of the clearing, they were ready to fade deeper into the forest if the sentries got too close.

  ‘I know that man,’ whispered Murdoc coldly. ‘The fat one who gives the orders.’

  Dominic looked at the man, then at Murdoc, and was concerned at the change that had come over him. He clutched his spear tightly, so that his knuckles stood out like ivory balls, whilst his jaws clenched under the taut skin of his cheeks.

  He placed his hand on Murdoc’s arm and said calmly, ‘Hold your rage Mur, now’s not the right time to act on it. What chance will the children have if we die here?’

  Dominic’s words seemed to have little effect upon Murdoc, who continued to stare at Egbert. ‘I saw that man butcher my wife and take much pleasure in it. The others too, I recognise. The tall one stood guard over the few things of value in the village, whilst the others amused themselves on violating the women … young and old. But the fat one, he delights in it.’

  ‘There’ll be time enough to kill him later,’ said Dominic, ‘and don’t forget that we now have an advantage over them—we know where they are. We need to stay here until we know where they head for. Then we can make further plans.’

  ‘See,’ said Murdoc, pointing to Martha who had just walked into the clearing. ‘That must be the woman Tomas spoke of. She’s still alive then … and look, an old man is with her. Another one of ours by the look of it.’

  Dominic nodded and looked up into the darkening sky. ‘Night’s not far off. We need to get further into cover. We’ll take turns on watch.’

  Next morning the two men were alert early, observing the activity in the camp. Most of the men had slept around the fire, which still released a hint of curling, grey smoke that lingered in the windless atmosphere of the clearing.

  The three sentries that Egbert had dispatched to the edge of the settlement, sat around the perimeter of the clearing—their spears between their knees. They had struggled to keep awake—their heads often nodding to their chests in sporadic bouts of brief sleep.

  Dominic and Murdoc watched as the large, bulky figure of Egbert struggled to his feet from a position next to the fire. A smaller figure lay unmoving and huddled next to where Egbert had been lying. Squinting into the brightness of the new day, he scratched his crotch as he yawned; then walked over to a slight figure some distance away, covered with a thin swathe of rough cloth. He kicked the figure into wakefulness.

  In the clearing Simon struggled to his feet, half winded, and squinted at his assailant in the insipid morning light. Egbert knocked him back down to the floor with a heavy back handed slap, then dragged him roughly back up to his feet, and pointed at a frame of dry meat the men had brought up from the cellar the previous evening. ‘Prepare breakfast,’ he growl
ed, ‘and get some water.’ He pointed at the stream and pushed Simon towards it, then turned to the sleeping men and started to rouse the camp as he moved amongst them shouting and kicking.

  Simon rubbed his tingling jaw and shakily began to prepare breakfast for the men. Martha, whose clothes were now torn, got to her feet. Simon could see her dirt-smeared skin through the tattered splits in her dress as she stumbled towards him. He looked down as she joined him, not knowing what to say.

  She looked sickened and glanced at Egbert as he continued to chivvy the men. ‘I’ll not spend another night with that man,’ she said shakily. ‘Last night, his strength returned when the tall man left to sleep in the hut.’ She shuddered and looked at Simon, her eyes haunted. ‘I’d rather burn in hell than endure that again—today will be my last.’

  Simon, who was at a loss to console her, merely shook his head, looking wretched as he busied himself with his chores.

  After everyone had eaten, Egbert strode to the centre of the clearing. ‘I’ve given it a great deal of thought and decided that Woden has been kind to us in providing us with this place. If we’re to come back along here next year then we can stock the cellar here with the stuff we need. It’s what Osric wanted us to do, so we’ll split now into two groups. The first group of twenty-eight men led by me will continue along this track, deep into the forest. The remaining eight men under the leadership of Withred will wait here until we get back. The men left behind will establish the camp and hunt the woods hereabouts. These will prepare a large quantity of dried and salted meat for the raiders next year. That will ensure we’ve food as well as spare weapons.’

  There was a general murmuring amongst the men as they absorbed Egbert’s news. They quietened as Withred spoke. ‘Your plan seems sound enough to me, but I think you’d benefit from my experience, even my companionship along the way.’ He nodded towards Martha, ‘And maybe you’d travel quicker without distraction.’

  Egbert laughed at this. ‘What an absurd notion heron-shanks; exchange my nightly comfort for Osric’s spy, I think not . . . now no more of this nonsense, I prepare to leave now with the woman.’ He turned his back dismissively on Withred and grabbed Martha by the wrist before beckoning one of his men to bring him his pony.

  ‘Have it your way Egbert,’ shouted Withred, ‘but I can’t risk your distraction with the woman, so if she goes then I go.’

  Egbert stopped in his tracks and turned to Withred. ‘Risk my distraction with the woman,’ he repeated scornfully. ‘Don’t question my priorities; they are as Osric instructed, and the woman I consider my nightly reward.’

  ‘Yet, I’ll accompany you if you insist on taking her,’ said Withred evenly. ‘We need this thing done quickly to give Osric plenty of time to prepare. It doesn’t bode well for an early end to your little journey if you spend hours rutting with the woman in the forest litter.’

  Egbert looked at Martha and then at Withred, and a dawning smile slowly grew on his shaggy face. ‘Oh, now I see it heron, you want me to leave the woman here. You desire her. That’s what this is about.’

  Withred smiled and shook his head pityingly at Egbert. ‘Don’t you dare judge me by your standards, you toad. I’ll not argue the matter further; I prepare to leave with you now.’ With this, he walked to his mount. He was aware that Egbert had violated the woman during the night and would continue to do so until she was worn haggard, at which point he would slay her. He had done his best to protect her from Egbert’s lusting, but last night’s weariness, coupled with the comfort of the bed, had caused him to sleep deeply, and Egbert had taken advantage and raped the woman. Increasingly sickened by the wanton savagery he was witnessing on the raids, he had decided to protect her and the old man from needless torment. Feeling guilt at his failure of the previous night, he was now prepared to kill Egbert, even though this would mean his expulsion from Osric’s group and a hefty payment of wergild to compensate Egbert’s family.

  Egbert, for his part, knew that Withred’s inclusion would have a restricting effect on his excesses. He loved the smell of blood and gore; he also loved treasure—especially treasure he could keep hidden for himself—and this would be easier without Withred’s surveillance.

  Exasperated, he shouted at Withred: ‘Keep your long legs on the ground you fucking bird; I’ll leave the woman for now!’ He threw Martha to the floor. ‘Weeks looking at your ugly face would soften my dick anyway. I’ll take the old one though; he at least will prepare us with decent food at the end of the day.’

  ‘Maybe your stupid head has hit the tavern floor once too often,’ said Withred. ‘We need the old man to see to the huge stock of food that we’ll collect while you’re away. I’ve spoken to him over it, and he tells me he knows how to preserve meat. Beside, only eight of us remain here, not including the two captives, so all of us will need to hunt every day. We cannot spare a hunter to prepare the meat; every man must be used to hunt!’

  Egbert exploded with rage. ‘So you keep the whore, you keep the cook, and I ride off into the unknown without any comforts!’ He pointed at Withred. ‘I’ll pick the best men though; I can assure you of that!’

  Withred knew he had won the day and allowed Egbert a last face-saving concession. ‘As you wish. Pick your men and get on your way before the morning is wasted.’

  Murdoc and Dominic stayed and observed the group until mid morning. They watched as Egbert chose his men and loaded the ponies with provisions before leaving the camp.

  ‘This complicates matters,’ said Dominic, ‘I had hoped they would all have moved out. Now we must camp away from here.’

  ‘Why not stay at the tree house until the others have gone?’ asked Murdoc.

  Dominic mulled it over. ‘We’ve no option for now, but we only have the time it takes for their scouting party to find a new village to lay waste to. When they get back here, we need to be ready for them; we can’t let them return to their main base. The least we can do is delay the invasion.’

  Murdoc tone was matter of fact. ‘In that case it would serve no purpose to just sit and wait for the main group to get back; we may as well start soon with the business of slaying the others.’

  Dominic sat on his haunches and continued to watch the camp. ‘Yes, but we must do it my way. I’ve hunted in these woods for ten years now, though never against creatures such as these, but stealth and caution works, whatever the quarry.’

  Murdoc peered anxiously into the forest behind him. ‘First we must make sure the children are safe. The longer we’re away, the more chance something could happen to them. Time to go back and check, I think.’

  They ran crouched until they were a good distance away from the camp, Dominic leading the way, running light footed back towards the tree house.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The bear walked the forest alone after losing its cub to a frenzied wolf attack. Ravenous, it picked up the scent of deer and followed it to a leafy bower filled with dappled sunlight. Here, the smell was strong, and the bear stood, snuffling loudly, its great snout stuck in the air as it judged the location of its prey.

  The roe watched unmoving, aware that any movement would alert the bear to the fawn that lay curled against its stomach. Mother and fawn blended perfectly in the mottled light of the hollow; the doe hardly daring to blink its black, shiny eyes lest it catch the attention of the predator.

  The breeze shifted causing the bear to lose the deer’s scent. Back on all fours, it lowered its head and began to scan the hollow, but the deer’s gift from nature—its mottled coat—served to defeat the poor eyesight of the bear.

  It was about to leave the clearing when a movement caught its eye. The fawn, hungry for milk, stood up to harry its mother for a feed. The bear noticed the movement immediately and bounded across the clearing, but was just too slow to grab the doe, which quickly fled into the trees.

  The fawn had not of its mother’s guile or speed, and before it could move its spindly legs, the bear pounced and quickly killed it with its great bulk.


  Five days later the bear again craved for meat; the diet of roots and grubs since it had feasted on the fawn having failed to satiate its huge appetite. It entered a section of forest that was predominately beech trees and stopped cautiously as it heard a familiar but rarely heard noise. During its long life, its foraging had occasionally taken it to the edge of the forest, where it had glimpsed men in their habitations. Not knowing what to expect from these seldom-glimpsed forms, the bear had always retreated and avoided contact with them. It had never regarded them as food, preferring instead to hunt familiar prey such as deer or salmon.

  Today was different, and its hunger overrode its caution, so it decided to investigate the source of the noise. It padded cautiously through the beech wood and stopped fifty yards from a wide girthed tree, under which sat two small figures. Mad with hunger, it decided to feed and bounded up towards them.

  The second morning after Dominic and Murdoc had left them, Tomas and Ceola had spent the day around the base of the beech tree. Tomas had told Ceola all about his village and his friends, all of whom were dead, but had made her giggle when telling her of his past mischief making and escapades.

  Ceola, in her turn, had told Tomas all about life in her village. How she had loved to accompany her father into the fields on warm, sunny days. Throughout their chatter, they mentioned neither the invaders nor the loss of the people dear to them, having now driven all the ghastly images from their conscious awareness.