by Griff Hosker
It was a rich vale through which we passed. The farmers hid as we galloped through. We rode horses and they knew that we were enemies. I suspect they wondered why we did not attack them. We reached the fort on the headland by the afternoon. There was a Roman fort atop the cliff and they had re-used it. That suited us for we were familiar with the layout of the forts. We spied upon it from a spot a mile inland. We rested before dark and then rode, silently, towards the stone structure.
Although the Saxons used the Roman forts they did not understand them. They never maintained the ditches and they never used traps within them. Although they watched the walls they rarely used enough warriors to keep an effective watch. At night time they were vulnerable. We would exploit that weakness.
We left the squires to guard the horses. I estimated that there were fifty or so warriors within the walls. There would be a thegn there who would be responsible to Edwin, or possibly one of Aethelfrith’s sons. It allowed the king to control a large area.
Daffydd and his archers watched the walls; they were ready to strike down any sentry alert enough to see us. The younger equites were thrust up on shields to scale the walls. Kay led them. I waited with Pol, Gawan and the more experience equites by the main gate. I thought that we had managed to eliminate the sentries silently but a sudden cry told me that the alarm had been sounded. The gate groaned open and we raced inside.
I saw three bodies lying on the ground. A light from an opening door revealed the Saxons racing out to meet us. Some had donned armour but most had not. I used my shield to deflect the spear which was thrust at me from the side and I slashed the sword across his unprotected middle. I saw one of my younger equites as a huge warrior swung his axe and took his head. I ran towards the giant. He was a little taller than me and he had put on his byrnie. Leaving my men to deal with the rest I faced him. It was a two handed axe he swung. He had a shield on his left arm and he was strong enough to wield the long weapon with his right only.
He grinned, his teeth showing in the light from the open door of the hall. “You have come here to die, Welshman!”
“I have come here to snuff out your candle, Saxon!”
He whirled the axe expertly and it came towards me at an angle designed to take off my leg at the knee. I lowered my shield and braced myself. This was not an Hibernian axe; this was a powerful weapon used by an expert axe man. It bit into the shield. As he pulled it away I saw a chip of wood fly off. He saw the wolf design. He snarled, “So the Wolf Warrior has returned!”
“Aye Saxon and I have teeth which bite.” Instead of swinging my sword, which he would expect, I stabbed forward at his face. He had a shield which protected his eyes but he recoiled as the wickedly sharp tip lunged at his throat. It meant he could not swing his axe and I punched forward with my shield. He was already off balance and the blow sent him tumbling to the ground. For a big man he was quick and he scrambled to his feet and swung his axe in an arc to give himself breathing space.
My little flurry had damaged his confidence. Around us his warriors were being slaughtered but it was as though we were in our own world. He took a leaf out of my book and punched at me with his shield. I pivoted and spun around. His punch took him into the space I had occupied and I brought Saxon Slayer around to smash into his back. He had a good byrnie but I felt and heard the crack as the rings on his mail shirt were severed. The sword ripped through the leather byrnie and he grunted as the iron propelled him forward.
He tried to turn quickly but I stabbed down with Saxon Slayer and the tip burned into his knee. This time he roared in pain but he had the strength and the presence of mind to bring his axe down in a steep swing overhand. I used the shield to angle the axe head down and I stabbed forward with all of my might. Saxon Slayer sliced through the mail and the leather. I saw his eyes widen as it tore through his stomach and when the hilt was stopped by the mail I twisted and pulled it out. Intestines were wound like wriggling worms around the red blade. The axe fell to the floor and he stood there looking surprised. He used a hand to try to hold the blood and his knees gave way. He sat on the floor holding himself in the middle.
“You are the Warlord.”
“I am.”
“Then I have been slain by the bane of the Northumbrians, Saxon Slayer. Give me my sword and send me to the Otherworld I beg of you; one warrior to another.”
The man was not a Christian. I took his sword from his scabbard and he smiled. “First, who are you and whom do you serve?”
He scowled but knew he could do nothing about it. “I am Aelfraed of Scar and I serve Oswald.”
I nodded and gave him his sword. “Go to the Otherworld and meet your oathsworn.” I stabbed him cleanly in the throat and he sighed his way to the afterlife.
I sheathed my sword and walked around the fort to make sure that all were dead. “Pol, collect any armour and weapons which you can find. Give the armour to the squires. See if there are any horses.”
“Warlord!”
I turned to see Osgar. “What is it?”
“We have found two cattle!”
“Excellent” Slaughter them. We will stay here tonight and return to our camp in the morning.”
The Saxons had done nothing to make the fort more habitable save repairing the gate. They had used the barracks which had a roof remaining. That would have to be our bed too. After setting sentries we ate in the open courtyard. We hacked off the cooked meat and left the carcasses of both beasts to cook overnight. The meat would last three or four days. This was a gift from the gods.
Pol and Gawan sat with me. “Was he Edwin’s man?”
“No, he served our enemy, Oswald.” It had been the two brothers Oswald and Oswiu who had suborned and seduced Morcar and Morgause. I smiled, “That makes me happier.”
“Why, brother?”
Pol knew me as well as any man, “Because, Gawan, it means it is more likely that Oswald will come here to give battle and that is what the Warlord wishes.”
I nodded, “I will sleep easier when those snakes are dead.”
Gawan looked thoughtful. “It still makes me wonder where King Edwin is. We know that he campaigns in the summer and collects both slaves and tribute.”
“He has the whole of Northumbria to visit, brother. He could be in the south.”
“I would be happier knowing where he is.”
Gawan never spoke for the sake of filling a silence. “Speak your thoughts, brother. You know that Pol is of our mind too.”
“If he is not in the north then perhaps he is threatening Cadwallon and Deva.”
Now I understood. He was worried, naturally about his family. “Have you not dreamed, as Myrddyn might have?”
He shook his head, “I need to be in a holy place for that.” He looked apologetic, “I am sorry brother. I am not Myrddyn.”
“Perhaps not yet but you will be one day.” I threw the rib I had been gnawing into the fire where it sizzled. “I had planned on raiding north, along the Dunum to aid King Fiachnae mac Báetáin and perhaps wrest more of the north from King Edwin’s greedy fingers but we can head south towards Loidis and thence to the lands closer to Mercia.”
There was a look of relief on Gawan’s face. “Thank you, brother.”
“And we will speak with Myrddyn. Perhaps he has dreamed.”
The next morning we rose at dawn and placed the bodies of the Saxons in the barracks. The men gathered kindling and we set fire to the fort. We would never use it and I wanted the Saxons to know that we had been here. The pall of smoke rose high in the sky.
There had been just two horses in the fort and we took those with the hunks of meat we had cooked. As we passed along the fertile vale I sent parties of men to burn the farms and take what we could. Our funeral pyre had alerted them and the farmers and their families fled while their land burned. We could have hunted them down, as slaves, but that would have slowed us down. I wanted to strike swiftly.
It was early evening when we rode into the camp by the river. L
ann Aelle was there and he had three horses and some cooked pork. We would still be eating well.
While the spare armour and weapons were distributed I spoke with Lann Aelle, Pol, Gawan and Myrddyn. “Have you dreamed of Edwin, Myrddyn?”
“He is hidden from me.” I sighed. He smiled and said, “However, if I were to make a guess I would say he is not far from here at Eboracum.”
“Why?”
“When we were in the village I spoke with those men who supported Aedh. They told me that the King was to be wed and it would be in Eboracum.” He paused and then delivered a statement which set us all thinking. “It may well be that he is becoming Christian. They believed that a priest sent by the Pope in Rome was coming.”
“You may be right then.”
“Warlord, we have not enough men to assault Eboracum.”
“I know but if this is a wedding then he will have many nobles and warriors there. We all know that they like to hunt. We may have an opportunity to damage their leaders and that, in the long run, may be crucial.”
Gawan nodded, “And Oswald and Oswiu may be there too.”
“Then I am decided, we will head for Eboracum.” I tapped the wolf shield of my father. “We shall become the hunters.”
The next day we went south east, towards the old Roman fortress. I knew that, just south of the city, there were many forests which teemed with game. The Saxons hunted them on the eastern side of the river. The Romans had used it and I could see Edwin regarding it as a royal hunting ground. We left the farms we saw and avoided contact. We could resume our raiding after we had found the nobles.
I divided my warriors into four columns. Each had equal numbers of equites, archers and squires. Pol, Lann Aelle and Gawan led three of them. We arranged to meet some ten miles from the fortress and south of the forest in two days time. We were gambling and if it did not pay off then we would resume our raid. I hoped that one of us would come across Northumbrian nobles. An attack in the heart of their homeland would be demoralising. We did not need large numbers in each column. If there were hunters then they would only have a handful of retainers. We were strong enough to deal with them. I took the younger equites and Osgar. He had proved himself to be dependable and it would allow the others to have the more experienced warriors. As night fell and we drifted into the eaves of the forest some of the younger equites were disappointed that we had not seen any Saxons.
Myrddyn, who had decided to cook for us, waggled his ladle in their direction. “When you go fishing you do not expect a fish each time you cast. Learn patience.”
The next morning we left Myrddyn and half a dozen squires in the camp we had made. The rest of us rode to the main track which wound its way through the forest. We were in the middle of the hunting preserve which was conveniently placed for the fortress. I imagined Romans using it. Hunting was perfect training for combat. I knew that the other three columns all had more chance of finding hunters. They would shun the road but I had the untried equites and had given myself that task. Aiden son of Miach, who was our southern sentry, brought the unexpected news that a band of warriors was marching up the road through the forest. These were not hunters!
I turned to one of the squires, “Ride to Myrddyn and bring him and the others. Tell them we have found warriors!” He galloped off. “Aiden, how many are there and where are they?”
He pointed to the south. “About a mile and half down the road and there are forty of them at least. They are leading pack horses.”
“Are they wearing armour?”
He shook his head, “Helmets only and they are not fastened for war.” When warriors were travelling they rarely wore armour, especially if they thought that they were safe and helmets might be pushed to the back of the head to allow air to their faces.
This was where I needed Myrddyn or Gawan. They could untangle these puzzles in an instant. I set a trap while I worked things out. “I want equal numbers on both sides of the road. Hide yourselves and do not move until I yell ‘Saxon Slayer’ and my archers release.” I would bring the wrath of the Saxons on me and it would allow the other men to attack unprotected backs. Why did they have pack horses? Then it came to me. They were travelling from some distance away and I remembered that Myrddyn had spoken of a wedding. It had not taken place yet and these were the guests. That made things much easier for they would not be expecting trouble. They were close to their destination and they would be relaxing.
All was silent. The birds had departed. Then I heard the sound of singing. It was the Saxons. I recognised the song as one of their story songs. It told of a great warrior who fought and killed a dragon. I smiled to myself and looked at the dragon standard carried by Llewellyn. If he rode hard then they would hear the dragon as it wailed. That would have to wait for another day. Today we needed surprise. I had five archers with me. There were four on the other side of the track. I tapped the one next to me on the shoulder and he drew back his bow. We were still and the undergrowth, which was thick with leaves, hid us. It would not impede the horses when we moved but it was a barrier between us and our prey.
I spied them. The scout had been correct. The ones at the front were nobles. They had plaited hair and their beautifully made cloaks were adorned with fine brooches. Their shields were slung over their backs and none had their weapons drawn. I waited until they were level with the archers next to me. It was an irregular column and it would have been impossible to seal off both ends. I would just have to take my chances. I wanted the nobles dead.
I nodded to the archer and, as they loosed their arrows, yelled, “Saxon Slayer!” My fifteen equites burst from the cover of the undergrowth. My archers had loosed a second flight before the first had hit and now the other four loosed theirs. Five Saxons fell. They tried to grab their weapons. I rode at the ones who had the best cloaks. They were the nobles. I swung Saxon Slayer horizontally and it sliced through the shoulder and chest of one of them. His body fell, to be trampled by Star. One of the nobles tried to grab my reins and pull me to the ground. I punched him hard with my shield and I heard the crack as the boss broke his nose. I wheeled Star to the left and swung my blade vertically to split both his helmet and his head.
I saw the warriors at the back trying to flee back down the road with the pack horses. There were five horses and their value was inestimable.
“Get those horses!”
Unfortunately all of my equites, save for Osgar, obeyed my order. I was left with just four of us and my archers. The archers had no targets for we were in the way. The surviving fifteen ran north, along the road. There were just four of us but we pursued them anyway. We would easily catch them. I realised that this would be Pelas’ first combat on a horse. I hoped he was up to it. As we rode so the dragon standard held by Llewellyn wailed. It must have terrified the fleeing Saxons. Strangely as we moved forward and the dragon wailed I could have sworn I heard horns in the distance. Then they stopped and I convinced myself that I was dreaming.
Osgar caught the first laggard. He leaned forward to stab him between the shoulder blades. Pelas too managed to blood himself. His victim tried to duck under Pelas’ horse’s head. My young squire showed great skill in striking on the wrong side of his mount’s head and killing the Saxon. I thought we might have caught them when a flurry of arrows came from our fore. One struck Llewellyn in the arm and three hit me on the helmet and shield. There were more Saxons ahead and we were being ambushed.
“Fall back! Archers, cover us.”
I wheeled Star around and felt an arrow hit me in the back. I felt a tiny prick of pain. I kicked hard and Star surged forward. As we passed my line of nine archers, they loosed three flights. We kept going until we found the pack horses and the dead guards. The archers rode in behind us.
“They have given up, Warlord, but they have reclaimed the bodies.”
That was disappointing for the nobles had had fine weapons. Still, we had their armour and their gold for that was on the pack horses. We had lost one equite, Dai so
n of Aiden. We put him on his mount. We would bury him later. Myrddyn arrived with the squires. “We had best head for the meeting with the others, Myrddyn. We have woken the wasp’s nest. But we did better than I could have hoped. We killed five nobles.”
“Good. Perhaps the others have had as much success.”
We rode through the forest feeling elated. It had not been a total victory but it had been a surprising one. Wyrd!
Chapter 7
When we reached a safe place to count our treasure Myrddyn examined the wound on my back. The arrow had penetrated both the mail and the leather but it had just caused a little bleeding. Myrddyn cleaned it and applied a salve. It was not serious and the value of my armour had been demonstrated once more.
We had a day to ourselves and it allowed us to examine the armour and gold we had recovered. There were some fine jewels as well as wonderfully carved ivory and jet. I guessed they were wedding presents and gifts for King Edwin. The horses were also invaluable. What neither Myrddyn nor I could understand was the attack on us. We could not explain the presence of Saxons where they had ambushed us. All was explained when Gawan arrived. He and his equites were full of excitement but they waited for Gawan to tell the tale. His was the last column to arrive. Pol and Lann Aelle had met just a handful of Saxon hunters and they had killed them.
“We came across King Edwin himself. He had thirty warriors with him as well as ladies and some priests of the White Christ.” He pointed to Daffydd. “Our Captain of Archers nearly slew him with a well aimed arrow but one of the holy men managed, I know not how, to block the missile with his staff. It split the staff but his oathsworn surrounded him with their shields. When they sounded their horn then other warriors arrived and we had to leave for we were outnumbered.”
“You have done well, brother. Did you lose any warriors?”
“Aye, Warlord, two squires and an equite; Tadgh son of Tuanthal.” That was a grievous loss. My father’s old captain only had two sons remaining. “And we were pursued. We had to ride far to the north and then swing around in order to reach you. King Edwin has his men hunting us now. We heard hounds.”
