by Griff Hosker
“That is why you are convinced that they will come at night.”
I nodded, “It means they can get closer to the walls without our archers hurting them. They know of our strength. They will try to avoid our arrows.”
I took the middle watch. It was the hardest one. You rose from sleep, watched and then had to try to get back to sleep. I told Matthew and John to sleep all night. When Roger woke me, I was dozing anyway. I seemed to be able to wake myself up whenever I needed to. I sluiced some water on my face as Roger woke the rest of the watch. I swallowed some ale and took a piece of dried venison upon which to chew. I donned my mail and slipped my coif over my head. Strapping on my sword I left the keep and headed across the upper bailey to the fighting platform. It was an overcast night with a hint of fog in the river bottom. It was the sort of night the Scots would choose to make their attack. Despite my warning to my men I would have to walk the fighting platform. My men needed to see that I was on duty and, more importantly, I needed to see what they could see. We had just twelve of us on duty. One was in the bell tower on the keep. Four were walking the fighting platform of the upper bailey and the rest had the harder task of patrolling the lower bailey. We had equal numbers of archers and men at arms. None spoke as I passed. They were too well trained for that. They nodded and then turned to peer into the dark and the murk.
The dogs had been let loose but they had smelled nothing and were sleeping, I saw them in the upper and lower baileys. So long as they were sleeping then we were safe. When they smelled strangers, they would growl. I estimated that it took me an hour to return to the upper bailey. I climbed the steps to the tower. Idraf was perched on the bell tower. On a clear night he would have had an uninterrupted view almost to David of Amble’s farm but this night he would barely see one hundred paces from the walls. I looked up and waved and then I walked to each side peering into the dark. It was as I looked east along the Rothbury road and towards David of Amble’s farm that I spied a movement. Of course, it could have been an animal. Deer were nocturnal creatures. I had given clear orders and I obeyed them. I attracted the attention of Idraf and pointed to the woods which lay to the east of Rothbury and then I descended to the keep.
I roused John and Matthew, “Go and wake my men, tell them to stand to.”
Matthew was awake in an instant, “Do I wake the villagers, too, lord?”
I shook my head, “This may be a false alarm. Let them sleep. John, when the men are roused then go along the fighting platform and warn the men that their lord thought he spied danger from the east.”
I grabbed my helmet and shield. I headed back to the fighting platform. It was Harold Hart who guarded that side of the platform. I leaned in to him and, pointing east, said, “I am certain I spied movement there. Watch for it.”
“Aye lord.”
I returned to the keep and climbed the steps once more. Already the three archers who would man the keep with Idraf were climbing the steps to take their positions. Idraf had left his perch and his bow was already strung. He nodded when I emerged. “You are right, lord. There are men making their way across David’s land.” The archers arrived and Idraf pointed to the east. They began to string their bows.
“I will leave you here. I will be needed on the fighting platform. I will send John to sound the bell.”
Roger and Wilfred were waiting for me in the upper bailey. “You two take charge of the fighting platform and the lower bailey. Get the rest of the caltrops from Tam and scatter them beyond the ditch and close to the walls. You can wake the village men as you pass. I will sound the bell when the enemy commit to the attack. I would rather we man our walls silently. Send a child to me if you think the walls will fall. I will leave open the gates to the upper bailey.”
“That is a risk, lord. If we are overrun then we might lose all.”
“I trust my people. Once daylight comes then the enemy loses whatever advantage they have.”
I hurried to the walls of the upper bailey. I passed Alan of Bellingham. “I will join those on the walls of the lower bailey, lord.” I saw that he wore his Hospitaller surcoat. He smiled, “I never thought I would need this again.” Patting his sword, he said, “I am glad I did not turn this into a ploughshare.”
Matthew was already mailed and ready. I climbed the steps to the walls of the upper bailey. I had seven men at arms and just four archers to aid Matthew and myself. That was planned. There was no external gate close to the upper bailey and the hill was the steepest there. The ditches were seeded with stakes and caltrops. The one around the lower bailey was flooded now and the stakes would not be seen, even in daylight. The ditch around the upper bailey was dry and they would see them when the sun rose.
Placing my helmet and shield on the fighting platform I peered over. I could now see the shadows moving closer to the walls. They were using the cover of David of Amble’s farm but soon they would be exposed and coming across the grazing which my animals used. They had two hundred paces to cover without anything behind which they could hide. The slope which rose before them was covered in animal droppings until they reached the bank which protected my ditch.
John arrived and I pointed to the keep. Join Idraf and take your bow. When we send our first arrow then ring the bell. We will rouse our folk and warn Cedric and Sir Richard that we are under attack.”
“Aye lord. The men of the village man the walls of the lower bailey and the women are waking.” He smiled in the dark, “Mistress Mary woke them.”
We were ready. I turned to Matthew. “They have been checked already but make certain that there are plenty of darts and spears on the fighting platform and then stand at the north wall in case they attack from more than one direction.”
“Aye, lord.”
That was my fear. An attack on one side of my castle could be contained but we would struggle to defeat an enemy who attacked from two or more sides. However, to attack from more than one side would involve an attack by many hundreds of men. They must have already committed many men to an attack on Otterburn. I hoped that Sir Richard could also hold out. This would be a defensive fight. We would be outnumbered. I had thirty-two trained men and then the men of the village. It was not a large number. When they closed with the walls then my women and boys would be able to fight. There were plenty of darts!
I picked up a dart. They were simply made. A point and a weighted lump of metal could just be hurled down. Thrown from the walls they were difficult to return and although they could not penetrate mail or helmets if they found flesh, they would cause a wound and a wounded man rarely fought well. I could now make out that the shadows were men. They were channelling towards the lower bailey. A few looked to be trying to ascend the slope. As the lower bailey bulged out towards David of Amble’s farm, they would reach the flooded ditch there before they reached my wall. It would be Roger Two Swords and Alan of Bellingham who would give the command to release. Garth Red Arrow was at the southern end of the fighting platform of the upper bailey. He would command our archers.
I heard a cry from the south and then a shout, “Release!” The battle had begun.
My four archers in the keep had the greatest range for they had the advantage of height. Idraf and the others began to send their targeted arrows at the men who were struggling to climb our hill. John began to toll the bell. Leaving my men to watch I hurried to join Garth.
I saw that the attackers had thought us all asleep. There were four bodies lying close to the ditch. The first ones had died quickly. There were sixty or so men moving closer to the ditch. They had shields. These were not Scots. These were Sir Eustace’s men. I recognised one, Peter of Wark. He had been one who had come to help me settle in. Garth saw him too. He took a bodkin arrow from his arrow bag and licked the flights. He nocked it and drew back. It would be a prodigious hit for Peter of Wark was more than a hundred and fifty paces from us in the dark. The arrow plunged down and struck him in the right shoulder. The force was so great that it knocked him over and, as
he fell, another arrow was sent from my wall and he lay still.
The first of the attackers reached my ditch. Holding their shields above them they stepped into the water. It was dark and they had no idea of the steep slope beneath the black water. Some slipped while others lost their footing. As men stepped onto hidden stakes and caltrops they were wounded and they screamed. Their plan had been to catch us unawares. When they began to fall back any sense of elation disappeared. There were too few men in the attack to guarantee success. Cupping my hands, I shouted, “Man the west walls! Idraf, look to the north and west.”
Garth looked at me, “We have beaten them off, lord. They have failed.”
“And where were the Scots?” I pointed to the dozen or so bodies which littered the ground. Even in the dark, we could see that they were English warriors. The half-dressed clansmen who made up the bulk of Scottish raiders were absent. We had fought them enough times to recognise them. “Stay here. I will go and look.”
I ran along the fighting platform and across the gatehouse leading from the lower to the upper bailey. I reached the west wall. Here there was more cover for Rafe’s farm, the church and Harry Sourface’s farm were there. The east side had open fields. I had barely reached it when I saw faces peering from behind buildings. I picked up a dart and, as I reached the palisade threw it towards the nearest man. He was thirty paces from the wall. He was struggling up the slope to the walls. He wore no helmet and the dart struck his skull. He tumbled down and knocked a companion down too. Idraf and the archers in the keep sent arrows at the Scots who were struggling to reach the rampart. I hurled another dart but the shield held above him protected the Scot I had tried to kill. Even so, he lost his footing and tumbled down. Garth had now joined me. His arm drew and released so quickly that I wondered how he managed to do so. And then the Scots pulled back. Thirteen bodies littered the slope of the mound. We had beaten them back but now we were surrounded. We were under siege.
Chapter 15
When dawn broke, we saw the Scots and the English traitors begin to demolish and destroy the farms and the buildings. Rafe’s wife’s clothes were taken from the farm ripped, torn and then waved at the walls. It was vindictive mischief. Matthew shook his head, he had brought me ale, “There is no need for that lord!”
“No, Matthew and it is foolish.” He looked puzzled and I explained, “Had they left the buildings then they could have used them for cover. They would have had somewhere to sleep. This does not hurt us. The animals of Rafe and Harry are within our walls. Brother Paul brought all that was valuable from the church. We can rebuild the buildings. Let them sow the seeds of their own destruction and we will reap the benefit.” I had half the men stood down to eat and I walked along my fighting platform, “Men, go to your families and eat. It is now daylight and we will have a warning of an attack. They thought to take animals from us.”
Alan of Bellingham said, “Cedric the Sheepman has his flocks. He is in danger.”
“I offered him sanctuary, did I not? What else could I have done?”
“I know lord. I am merely pointing out that they can be fed from Cedric’s flocks.”
“I know. We will see what will happen. He may have already taken his flock and family to safety.” I did not think that had happened but I had to appear positive.
Tam said, “Will there be help coming our way, lord?”
I shook my head. “If we are lucky then our bell may have been heard in Morpeth. Sound travels a long way in winter. We have visited the market and we may be missed. If Alan does not show up next week and they heard the bell then they may investigate but I doubt it. Our visits have been infrequent.” My father could be due but something made me doubt a sudden end to the siege.
He nodded, “We suffered no losses lord and they did.”
He was right. We had counted more than twenty bodies. There were others who had managed to crawl back to their lines with wounds. We had hurt them but not enough. Garth wanted to recover our arrows but I forbade it. There was too much danger. We had blank arrows and we had a forge. We could make arrows if we were running low.
By noon they had not attacked and Brother Paul forced me to eat. I found I was ravenous. I had forgotten my hunger. I had just finished my food and made water when I heard a shout from the gatehouse. I fastened my breeks and hurried to the walls. Roger Two Swords pointed to the woods beyond the farm of Rafe’s son Henry. “They are hewing trees, lord.”
“They are building a ram, good.”
Roger said, “Good, my lord, how is that good?”
“It takes a couple of days to build a ram. When they have built it, we know where they have to attack, our gate. There the ditch is at its widest. They will have to build a bridge also. A ram means they will not be able to attack for three or four days. When they do attack, we will have oil and fire ready for them.” We had laid in supplies of seal oil we had bought from the fishermen of Bamburgh from Morpeth market. It was intended to light our homes but it could also be used to burn a ram.
I knew that the longer the siege went on the more likely it was that we would be relieved. Had they brought a ram with them we would have been in trouble. They had gambled on catching us asleep. They had lost that gamble.
When it began to rain, in the afternoon, then we knew that God was on our side. The water would raise the level of the moat. It would make the ground slick and slippery. The enemy had destroyed their own shelters. The knights had a couple of tents but the men would be forced to live in hovels. They would become increasingly weaker as nature aided us.
I held a council of war with Rafe, Tam, Brother Paul, Alan of Bellingham, Garth and Roger. “They will come again tonight. They will try some mischief. If I was their leader, I would try to bridge the ditch. All that they need to do is to use some of the farm buildings. They are big enough.”
Garth said, “If this rain continues then our bows will not be effective.”
“I know. We use the boys with slings. They will be keen to hurt them.”
“They will not be able to kill.”
“I know but they can hurt. A broken hand cannot wield a sword. If they make them slip and fall in the ditches then they may be spiked by a stake. They may even have men who risk swimming the ditch and then climb the walls to put fear in our hearts. I want one in three of every man and boy on the walls this night. We will use the same system we did last night.”
The wanton destruction of their farms had hardened the hearts of my villagers. If they caught a Scot it would not go well for them. As they were leaving Rafe said, “God sent you here, lord. If you had not come then my sons and I would lie dead and our wives would be Yalesham widows. We will not let you down. We may not be trained warriors but we are English warriors!”
I was heartened.
In the end, they did not come. We found the reason the next day. I was summoned at dawn. I had managed a couple of hours of sleep. Cedric’s head and that of his second son, Will, were on the top of two spears. They had been put just on the other side of the ditch in the night. We could smell cooking mutton. Cedric had paid the price for his stubbornness. What concerned me was the fact that we had not heard Cedric’s horn. How had they surprised him? He had been a wily old man. He was not like Old Will. I put the speculation from my mind as we listened to the sound of construction. Even more depressing was the thought that they were eating Elsdon sheep!
We had built two devices to pour boiling fat from my stone gatehouse. They were crude cauldrons which could be tipped on a fulcrum. Tam had made two metal gutters to take the fat beyond the wooden gate. The last thing we needed was to set fire to our own gate. Tam’s forge was closer to the gate and we would use his fire to heat the fat. That was the safest way. We had the two cauldrons and a block and tackle to raise it to the fighting platform. We would keep the fat in the cauldrons at the forge. We would only need to light the fire once we saw the ram approach. It was almost half a mile from the wood where they were building it. In the time it took t
o trundle down we would be able to heat the oil and fat. The fire from the forge would keep it warm. My decision to cut back the trees had been vindicated. They would have further to push the ram.
They spent three days and nights building the ram. No help had been forthcoming. My father’s men did not appear nor did Sir Ranulf. I had not expected any. If they came it would be after a week or more. It was not all bad. I smiled as I viewed the woods close to Henry son of Rafe’s farm. The Scots and English attackers had cleared enough land for him to increase his grazing. Alan of Bellingham joined me. “They have cut more wood than they need to build a bridge and a ram, lord.”
“I know.” I pointed to some pavise they had built. They were using them as a screen. “Unless I miss my guess, they are also building a stone thrower.”
“That will take longer to build”
“It will. I wonder now, about this conspiracy. Why has not Sir Ranulf sent men to investigate? Either he cannot or will not. I hope it is the former for I have made enough enemies already. Do you notice that they have stopped cooking mutton?”
Alan turned and said, “I had not but now that you mention it. There has been no smell of cooking.”
“And that means they have none left to cook. Yet Cedric had a large flock. They did not display the heads of Cedric’s other sons nor parade his family.”
“You think that they escaped with the larger part of their flock, lord?”
“It is the only explanation which makes sense, Alan.” He nodded. He was an old soldier and understood such things. “What I do know is that they will be hungry. The rain might have stopped but there is a cold east wind and Rafe told me, last night, that the wind from the east brings snow. I know it is early but this is winter and if snow comes then they will hurt.”
