by Griff Hosker
Anger burned within me. I had gone to speak and my oldest friend had paid the price. I looked at Dick, "Fetch fire! We will burn the keep down! We have lost one man and that is one man too many!"
Chapter 19
With improvised fire arrows and kindling thrown around the stone base of the keep the flames soon took hold. The damp wood and the cold slowed down the fire. I had lost one warrior and I would lose no more. The screams from inside told us that the fire was catching hold. We just watched as the flames crept higher. When they reached the door they joined with the flames from the fire arrows in the wooden walls. A sudden draft sucked the flames and they leapt up the inside of the castle keep. Men threw themselves from the fighting platform, preferring a sudden crash to a long and painful death.
As it burned I walked to Sir Hugh and Sir Tristan. "This was your father's home and it was yours. I would have you as lord of the manor of Yarm. What say you?"
Sir Tristan was watching the home in which he had grown up burning. His mother and father's bodies would lie within the ashes when it ceased to burn. He nodded. "Aye lord and I will make it stronger. It will be a memorial to my parents."
"And you, Sir Hugh, will have to break the news to your wife that her parents are dead."
"She knew already lord. A messenger was sent from Sir Harold and I could not keep that from my wife. She knows."
Even while the last of the enemy died I set John of Craven to use the poles to repair the bridge temporarily. We needed our horses. As soon as they had made a rough repair I sent men back to my castle for horses. We would strike south as soon as we could.
We buried Sir Edward and the warriors of Sir Richard who had fallen defending their castle by the small stone chapel which Sir Richard had built. Of the lord and his lady there was no sign. Aiden told us that he had seen the head of Sir Richard on a pike. We could not find it. Sir Edward and the others were laid in the ground by the small stone chapel which lay inside the wooden walls of Yarm.
I stood over Sir Edward's grave. "You were the first of my men at arms and you served me loyally. I had hoped your son would follow in your footsteps but it was not meant to be. Your name and that of your son will live on and we will honour you each winter when we remember the sacrifice you made. Know that I will care for your children as though they were my own. Farewell old friend."
We walked back to the camp in sombre, reflective mood. Sir Edward's death somehow made ours seem a little bit closer.
The horses were brought to us after the burial and while we were eating. My men had brought me Copper. He was a fine horse but I had not ridden him for over a year. As they were placed in the stables I wandered over. I stroked his mane as I spoke to him. "Tomorrow we ride to war. I hope you remember that you are the Warlord's horse. All eyes will be upon us. The old warriors are fewer now!"
He nuzzled me. Horses never forgot and he would be as reliable as Rolf.
As I sat amongst my knights it struck me that there was only Wulfric left of my old guard. All the others were young and most had been squires. Dick was the only one who was of an age with me. I had outlived all of my peers save the Earl of Gloucester. There was irony. I was aware that all eyes were upon me.
I smiled, "You wonder how we retake Wulfric's castle?"
Dick nodded, "It had crossed our minds, lord. If they have enough men to besiege it then they outnumber us."
"That they do. We have however two advantages. One, they know not that I am alive and roused!" They laughed. "Second we are all mounted. My experience at Oxford has told me that they will have built a counter castle. With our excellent archers we can make the counter castle untenable and use our mounted men to sweep them away."
"But what if they outnumber us?"
"They may well, John of Craven, but our secret weapons is Wulfric. When we attack he will sortie forth and I cannot imagine that it sat well with him to be under siege and unable to fight back. Besides I have lost one old friend in Sir Edward. I will not lose a second."
The journey was but forty miles and there was no need to rush. If Wulfric had held out this long then he could hold out a little longer. I intended to arrive in late afternoon before dusk. They would have had a day assaulting the castle or working the machines and they would be tired. More importantly they would be unprepared. As the enemy held Helmsley we would have to go over the moors and use the small road by Chop Gate. I had no doubt that the road might either be blocked or hard to negotiate for it was still winter. I wanted time to do that. It was good to ride with my own scouts out once more. We would not be surprised. My squires and I had retained our white cloaks. It was not just that they helped in the snow, they felt lucky.
The hardest part was the greenway known as Clay Bank. It was hard going for the horses. The bank was north facing and lay in the lee of the hills. We had to dismount and walk our horses up its frozen surface. We rested at the top. It was while we were resting that Aiden, Edgar and Edward appeared.
"The castle still holds lord. They have a camp to the north of the counter castle. It sprawls over a large area. I would estimate a hundred horsemen and two hundred men on foot. It was hard to be accurate. I counted fires."
"Do they have a ditch around the camp or palisade?"
"No lord. They seem confident. Their horse lines are even further north."
"Then I see an opportunity to increase our stock of horses while destroying their camp. Aiden, take the squires. I want you close to their horses. I will attack with my horse and we will charge their camp. When we do so then capture the horses or as many as you can. Dick, you and Sir Philip have your archers slaughter the men working the war machines and then destroy the machines."
They all nodded. "Gilles, you command the squires. Aiden, you will instruct the squires in how to be hidden." I pointed to my scout. "Listen to him!"
"Aye lord."
"May God be with you."
The ten of them mounted and then galloped off. I did not worry. Aiden would get them close and they would succeed. "John of Craven, when we attack you and your men will support the archers. Your Frisians can use their axes to help the archers destroy the war machines."
Dick said, "But lord, that will only leave you seventy men to charge the camp. Will it be enough?"
"It will have to be."
The road flattened out. It was cold and the wind whistled from the east but the going was easier. We had two valleys to cross and we had to dismount to ascend the roads out of them. We reached Cropton and halted. It was a small village a couple of miles from the counter castle. There we prepared for battle. We tightened girths and checked straps. We watered and fed our horses. Some men knelt and prayed. Others did so silently.
Dick said, "We are ready lord."
I nodded, "Get into position. We have no horn but you will know when we attack."
"We will see you at the castle lord!"
And then they disappeared into the woods which went all the way to Aislaby. They would appear like ghosts. Dick would ensure that they were not seen until he chose the moment. Tristan and Harold flanked me with Sir John and Sir Hugh behind me. Sir Tristan's lust for revenge had not been satiated. He would ride on my left. We rode in a column of three for we could make quicker time that way and be harder to see. Behind my men at arms rode the Countess' six men at arms. I might not have many men at arms but the ones I had were the best.
We knew roughly where the camp was and that there was a road which bisected it. I would give the order to spread into line once we were through it. I spied the smoke from their campfires. I drew my sword. Soon someone would see us. I kept a steady pace. My shield was held lower than normal for we would be fighting men on foot. The blows would strike lower than fighting men on horses. Most of my men had spears but I used my sword.
We were three hundred paces from the camp when we were seen. We had passed through some trees and into an open area. I kicked harder. I could see the men inside the camp as they ran to get weapons. Horns sounded the alarm. Tha
t was good for it would signal both Aiden and Dick that we were attacking. The majority of the warriors were at the siege machines or attacking the castle. We burst into the camp. I leaned to my right to slice through the neck of a fleeing sentry. Tristan was laying about him to the left and to the right. He did not miss one man. I hoped that Aiden and the squires had heard our attack and taken the horses.
My scout had been right. It was a haphazard camp. There was no organisation that I could see. I stood in my stirrups, raised my sword and shouted, "Into line!" While I was standing up I could see that Dick, Sir Philip and John of Craven were in the counter castle. Their arrows fell like rain. Half of the defenders fought John of Craven's men while the rest were hurrying back, with their knights to defend the camp. They were too late. The survivors from the camp hid or fled. We moved towards the mound that was the counter castle.
Someone tried to form a shield wall. We were too spread out to hit it with any great force but it is hard for a man on foot to face horses unless he is many ranks deep. They were two ranks in depth. Nor did they have the ideal weapon to face horses. They had neither spears nor pikes. The danger was not to us but our horses. Sir Tristan was so keen to get to grips with the enemy that he sped ahead of me. An axe was buried in the chest of his mount. Sir Tristan's sword took the warrior's head but he was thrown from his horse. As he tumbled from the saddle I pulled back on Copper's reins and to the right. His mighty hooves reared up and smashed into the shield and helmet of the knight before me. As he fell there was a gap and I spurred him through it, striking out with my sword as I did so.
I could not look to see if Tristan survived. We had momentum with us and victory was in sight. I wheeled to the left into the gap vacated by Sir Tristan. My archers were effectively driving the men from the counter castle towards us. I rode towards them, swinging my sword from behind me. I sliced across the face of a man at arms who fell screaming. A crossbowman knelt to take aim at me and he fell face forward with two arrows in his back.
Then I heard Sir Harold shout, "Warlord there is a knight rallying the men ahead of us."
I saw that there was a piece of high ground and a handful of knights had their standards waved to draw men to them. We had killed many but they still outnumbered us. I reined in, "Form line on me!"
Sir Hugh, Sir John and Sir Harold answered the call along with Wilfred and my oldest men at arms along with the Countess' men. We had a line twenty one men long. It would have to do.
Behind me I heard the sound of axes and splintering wood as the war machines were destroyed. "We break these and we have won. Keep the line steady! For God and the Empress!"
We trotted forward. This time the knights had formed their men so that they were six men deep and eight men wide. It was a solid block. As we rode I shouted to Alain of Auxerre, who was on the extreme left, "Alain, go to their right and we will follow!
"Aye lord."
I regretted not having a spear for using my sword brought me and Copper in range of their swords too. Alain wheeled his horse and jabbed with his spear. I struck a man at arms in the shoulder, just above his shield but he kept his place in the shield wall. Raymond of Le Mans was more accurate. His spear went through the ventail and into the mouth of a knight. As he pulled it sideways the knight's mouth and cheek erupted in blood. By the time I reached them two men had been wounded and one was dying. As I brought my sword down on a helmet and shield a sword jabbed blindly out and hacked against my leg. My hauberk held. As Alain reached the end of the line he wheeled right and here the men had to suddenly turn to make a square. I had read of Roman legionaries doing just this.
Sometimes accidents happen. Wulfstan had called such happenings wyrd.
Pierre Le Grand had just clattered his sword off the helmet of a man at arms when another brought his axe around to hack into the chest of his horse. Pierre turned his horse as it was struck. At the same time a spear was thrust from behind and it struck him in the chest. Horse and rider fell into the serried ranks of our enemy. A mailed man and a horse are heavy and they are big. Alan son of Alan of Osmotherley saw his chance and he wheeled his horse into the centre of their square through the gap made by the dying warrior and his horse. Before him were backs and he stood in his stirrups to hack left and right. Sir Hugh followed him and Oswald. The three of them carved a path through the heart of the enemy formation.
I saw a gap beginning to appear and I kicked Copper towards it. An axe clattered against my shield. I stabbed down and found the gap between the man at arms' coif and his hauberk. As I pulled it out I slashed blindly to my right and felt it clang off metal. I looked and saw that I had hit a knight's helmet. As he stumbled Sir Harold skewered him. With more men joining my twenty the enemy were slaughtered. None asked for quarter. I would have given it but they fought like mad men slaying three horses.
Darkness had fallen and I wondered how we would see when there was the sound of a horn and Wulfric and his men rode forth carrying torches. They galloped to the counter castle and soon we had enough light to see for they set fire to the war machines. It was a grim end to the battle as we fought in the fire lit dark. The archers had put away their bows and drawn their swords. The slaughter was only ended when the survivors fled in the dark. We would hunt them but not yet.
I rode back to where Tristan had fallen. He was being tended to by the priest from the castle. I dreaded a wound such as John of Thornaby had suffered but I saw that all he had a badly cut leg. He shook his head, "I was too reckless, lord! My blood was hot and vengeance was in my heart."
"I understand. We won and that is all that really matters."
Wulfric looked a little thinner as he dismounted but his grip was as strong as ever. "It does my heart good to see you lord. I am sorry we lost Helmsley."
"It matters not. I was wrong to try to hold on to them without support. It has cost us dear."
Wulfric looked around my knights."Where is Sir Edward?"
"He died when we avenged Sir Richard of Yarm."
It was as though someone had punched Wulfric. He turned to Sir Gilles and dropped to one knee on the ground. He held his sword before him and closed his eyes in prayer. Sir Gilles had been Sir Edward's squire for many years and he looked ashen too. It had been Sir Edward who suggested he be knighted. Gilles said, "He died well?"
"He died well."
"I will tell his wife, lord. I knew her well."
Harold looked at John and then said, "His wife and son died before. There is none left now."
Wulfric looked up and stood. He took his axe from his cantle and smashed through an enemy shield. He screamed in rage as he did so. The shield was smashed in two. "And I thought we had won! I thought that all was well."
He jumped on his horse and galloped off. I understood his anger and his upset. He had lost one close friend, Roger of Lincoln and it had been a dark time for him. It had been Sir Edward who had got him through that.
"We will collect the treasure on the morrow. Ralph of Wales go and find Aiden and the squires. They should have the enemy horses. As for the rest we will see if there are any prisoners to be taken. We stay here tonight."
I sought Sir Gilles out. "Tell me of the loss of Helmsley and the siege."
"We were tricked, lord. It is as simple as that. A messenger rode to us and said that Normanby was under attack. We left a small garrison at Helmsley and we prepared to ride. Sir Wulfric sent his scouts to Normanby to discover the enemy numbers and when we were half way there we discovered the truth. I was sent back to Pickering with half of the men. I was told to send a messenger to Sir Edward and Sir Wulfric rode to Helmsley. He was too late. It had fallen and the garrison's heads adorned the walls. Sir Wulfric was chased back by the army you defeated. Sir Wulfric barely made it within the walls. He lost half his men in the pursuit. He was not happy."
"Come, let us find him. We have much to say."
We found him in his castle in the small chapel by the east wall. He was weeping. In all the years I had known him I had neve
r known him to weep. While we waited I asked Sir Gilles, "Why did it take you so long to sortie the castle?"
He smiled, "Sir Wulfric had had the gates nailed shut and it took time to open them. In the end he took an axe himself and chopped them apart. It will take some time to repair them."
"We will not repair. We will destroy."
"Destroy?"
"I will explain when Sir Wulfric is present."
He stood, "I am ready now, lord. I am sorry that I fled. It is not seemly."
I turned to face the bear of a man who had seemed so vulnerable just a moment ago. "It matters not. I have much to tell you both." As we walked into the warmth of his hall I told them of the siege of Oxford and the manner of our escape. I spoke of the Earl of Chester and then the threat from warbands. "So I have decided that we give up Helmsley and Pickering. We have not the men to man them. Tomorrow we burn this castle before we leave. I would do the same for Helmsley but I am worried about the Scots. Wulfric you shall be the new lord of Thornaby."
"Lord of Thornaby?"
"Sir Gilles here can be lord of Normanby can he not?"
"Of course but Thornaby..."
I smiled, "Who do you think Sir Edward would wish as his successor?" He nodded. "Besides I need that side of the river in strong hands. We are on our own. I will not be going south again. My war is here in the north. I will support the Empress and Henry but I cannot abandon the people."
"Then I accept."
We turned and looked to the gate as Aiden and my squires led the captured horses inside the castle. Wulfric said, "And at least we shall be well mounted!"
We had great quantities of treasure but no prisoners. The knights had either been killed or escaped. They would probably be in Helmsley. While Sir Hugh led most of my knights and the captured horses, weapons, mail and treasure back to Stockton, I stayed with my squires, Sir Wulfric and Sir Gilles. We destroyed the castle. A castle is difficult to hurt from the outside. The walls protect the most vulnerable parts. His men dug beneath the walls of the keep and the gatehouse and lit fires. They burned every wooden building and the wooden roofs. As we headed north a black pall of smoke rose from Pickering. It could be rebuilt and repaired but the task would take at least a year. We had lost three castles but we lived to fight again.
