by Griff Hosker
“I know that they grew apart and I cannot fathom the reason but he has changed. If you could take Ragnar and Ulla War Cry to see him then that would be a good beginning. Ragnar chose to live here.”
“Just as Sámr chose to live close to you.” She held up her hand, “I can understand why but I am his mother and it hurts.”
I sighed, “And how is Elfrida?”
“She is grown older but the summer weather suits her and she aches less. I will take you to her for she will also be pleased to hear Sámr’s news.”
She was and I sat with the two women telling them of Sámr and Aethelflaed. I also spoke of the danger from the Danes. Elfrida was a Christian and her hand went to her cross. “My eldest and my husband lie there dead because of Danes. They are a plague on all humanity.” Elfrida was a Saxon. Her people, the people of the East Angles and of Essex, were now under the heel of the Danes. She was a kind woman, a Christian woman, but she hated the Danes.
I left the two women and went to seek my grandson. He was still sitting in judgement on the man accused of murder. I entered the hall which was filled with the men of the settlement. They would have a say in the sentence.
I saw the accused. He was Beorn Sharp Tongue. I had met him many years earlier when he was a young man. He had had a high opinion of himself then. He had been belligerent as a youth. I saw him now as a man grown. He was massive and his whole manner reminded me of some of the Danish jarls I had met. I wondered if he had their blood in him.
My grandson was summing up, “Beorn Sharp Tongue, men have testified that you killed Arne Siggison and that he did not defend himself. Have you anything to say now that all the evidence has been collected?”
He almost snarled at my son and I did not think that he adopted the correct position. “I am a Viking. I told Arne Siggison that I wanted the corner of land which abutted mine and he would not sell it to me. I told him that I would take it if he would not sell it and he said he would appeal to the jarl. I said we should fight for it and he would not. He would have lived had he let me have the land.”
My grandson said, “Then you are guilty by your own admission. You killed without cause.”
He spread his hands and adopted a surprised expression, “I had cause. I wanted the land. Are we Vikings or are we the followers of the White Christ?” He looked around for support but none was forthcoming. “What justice can I expect from the son of a Christian. You are not a true Viking!”
My grandson’s knuckles were white as he gripped the scabbard on his sword. He stood and I could feel him calming himself. He would have been well within his rights to have Beorn Sharp Tongue executed for his insult but he did not. “Beorn Sharp Tongue you are banished from the Land of the Wolf. You have seven days in which to leave. Your family may stay and farm your land but you must leave!” He turned to the assembled warriors. As he did, he caught sight of me, “What say the warriors here gathered?”
To a man they shouted, “Aye!”
Beorn Sharp Tongue shouted, “I do not accept your judgement! You are the pup! I would speak to the Wolf himself. I would hear Jarl Dragonheart’s judgement.”
His back had been to me and he had not seen me. The men around me had and they parted. Haaken and I strode forward. I had my hand on Ragnar’s Spirit. When he saw me his face fell. He had thought to humiliate my grandson.
“Then hear my judgement now! I confirm my grandson’s judgement and more. If you utter one more insult, Beorn Sharp Tongue,” I drew my sword, “then I will execute you myself, here and now! What do you say? Will you leave my land or shall I execute you as you deserve for your crime and your insult?”
His eyes glared at me but his voice was smaller, “My family and I will leave. I will take my snekke and find a land where there are real warriors. This was once the Land of the Wolf but it is now a toothless wolf! I will leave but I will have vengeance on this clan!”
I sheathed my sword and, as I turned, I backhanded him so hard across the side of his head that he fell to the floor, “Think yourself lucky that I did not kill you. You have but two days to leave. If you are still here when I return to my home then you will have the blood eagle!”
He rose and, wiping the blood from his mouth, left. The men began banging their feet on the wooden floor and chanting ‘Dragonheart!” Over and over.
Haaken One Eye shook his head, “We should have gutted him where he stood. Nothing good will come of this, Dragonheart!”
Chapter 18
That evening I ate with my grandson and his family. “Ragnar you need to be firmer with your people. This was murder. There was no question of mitigation. What of Arne Siggison’s family?”
“He has a son. I was going to give them coin as weregeld.”
“Give them Beorn’s farm. That is only right and proper.”
“Of course. I am sorry.”
“Do not be sorry. Being a jarl has rights and responsibilities. You enjoy much but you must have a stronger hand. Did you hear his words? He was challenging you. You cannot allow any to challenge your position.”
He shook his head, “I was going to ask if any had ever challenged you but I can see that it was a foolish question. Perhaps Beorn was right. I may be not strong enough to be jarl.”
“You are strong enough.” I turned to Ulla War Cry. “Ulla, you are now a man. Can you not help your father?”
“I will try but I am not Sámr.”
“Sámr’s thread is not yours but you do not choose your thread.” I saw Erik Shield Bearer taking all of this in. He was learning. I changed the subject for I could see that Elfrida and Astrid were becoming upset. “I am having signal towers built for when the Danes come and come they will. When they do, Ragnar, I will need you to leave enough men to defend your homes but to bring the best to Cyninges-tūn. It will not be a warband which tries to kill me. It will be an army.”
He nodded, “When will this stop?”
I sat back and said, simply, “When I am dead. I have angered and hurt too many Danes for them to forgive me. I have killed Saxon kings and Danish war chiefs. The Danes may control the eastern side of the land but the Land of the Wolf stands as a symbol of their failure. When I took the side of Athelstan and then destroyed their Dyflin home they were forced to do something.”
He shook his head, “But why do you do such things? Why did you bring back Aethelflaed?”
I turned and said flatly, “Because the Norns had spun. If I did not do these things then you and your sons would never have been born.” He gave me a blank look. He did not understand. “Aethelflaed is not the first Saxon who has married into my family. There was a Saxon Queen called Elfrida first. Think of the clan had she not joined it!”
He sank back into his chair and nodded, “Now I understand.”
The murderer and his family left the next day. I saw him cursing the quay as he left. I was not worried. He was not a galdramenn and it had no power. I knew that we had another enemy and that did worry me. We should have executed him but it was too late for that. Had I intervened then my grandson would have had even less power. On such small mistakes do disasters grow.
I conferred with the hersir who lived in the land north of Whale Island before I left to travel east to meet with Gruffyd and his men. I wanted him to know the importance of the signal towers. He was an older warrior and he understood better than any. He would ensure that his farmers did as I had bid. I left with a rift between my grandson and myself.
I also had conference with Elfrida before I departed. I spoke to her of her son. She was understanding, “It must be something he inherited from Wolf Killer. The two of you seemed to have a problem speaking with each other.”
“But not with you.”
She smiled, “No Dragonheart, not with me. We will visit Cyninges-tūn at Ýlir. We will stay with Sámr and make good the distance we have put between us. It will be good to see Cyninges-tūn and my grandson’s home, Hawk’s Roost.”
I kissed her hand, “You will always be a queen to me
.”
We rode east and Haaken was able to speak freely. He had been restrained in Ragnar’s Hall. “It is good that your grandson only commands Whale Island. He has Raibeart there in case of danger but he is not strong enough. He reminds me of a priest!” I had spoken at length with Raibeart and he knew my mind.
“Do not judge Ragnar so harshly. We have fought alongside him and there is none braver.”
“Aye, but he has changed. Perhaps it was when he almost lost Ulla and Sámr or perhaps the fate of Gruffyd and Mordaf put doubts in his mind. A warrior can have no doubts or he is dead.”
“He will be strong.” My words belied my fears.
Gruffyd had built himself a stronghold which lay on a high piece of ground some twenty miles by road, east of Whale Island. It was a fertile piece of land and, now that the Mercians had been vanquished from the south of us, it was a safer place to live. We could, however, see the High Divide as we approached. When the Danes came there was a chance that they would come for Gruffyd too. The land through which we passed was heavily populated. There were animals grazing as well as crops growing.
My son had been clever. He had built the stronghold so that it was clearly visible from afar. He wanted an enemy to know where he was. He had used the stones he had found to build his wall. As we twisted and turned up the trail to get to it, I saw that he had built a number of ditches. Cleverly he had used the natural folds in the ground so that some of them were wider than others. The bridges which crossed the three ditches could all be easily removed. At the four corners of the walls and on the single gatehouse he had built small wooden towers for archers. If the Danes came then they would struggle to defeat the ditches and the walls.
There were just four men watching from the walls but that was all that was needed. They waved as we approached. Haaken nodded, “Your son has a good eye for defence. With mailed men on the walls then an enemy would never take this place.”
“And it may be that he needs the defence.”
Erik asked, “What do you mean, lord?”
“If the Danes come then this is a good way to reach the heart of my land unseen. North of here there are few people until the southern end of the Water.”
Bronnen and Ebrel greeted us. Ebrel, Gruffyd’s wife, said. “I am sorry, my lord, but our husbands are with our sons and they have taken men hunting.”
I smiled, “Then I have the opportunity to wash and to change my clothes. We would stay the night if it is not inconvenient.”
“Of course not.” Servants were waved over and we were taken to a pair of rooms on the first floor. Gruffyd had had the foresight to have the sleeping quarters above the Great Hall. The stairs were points where an enemy could be held. He had had the floor made of wood too. His wife had been the daughter of the King of Om Walum. There was no longer a King but she was used to more than a hut with a dirt floor. Gruffyd had been aware of the shortcomings of his first hall. This new one reflected the former status of his wife. I realised that this had been the real reason for the raid he had made. The building could be built from what we had but furnishings, especially good ones, did not come cheap.
We heard the dogs barking and knew that my son and his hunters had arrived. We went down the stairs. The warrior in me noted that while they were well made, they were only three men wide. Three mailed men, at the top, could hold off an army. I heard noise as we descended and a bleeding Dane was dragged into the hall. I saw my son wave Ebrel and Bronnen from the hall. He looked up at me. “This is good timing, father. We caught some Danish spies. The rest died but we managed to save this one for questioning.”
We hurried down. Two of my son’s men held him. The Dane had a stomach wound and would not last long. “If you are going to question him then you ought to do it sooner rather than later. Already he is knocking at the door to the Otherworld.”
Gruffyd nodded, “I bow to your knowledge and ask you to question him.”
I lifted the man’s chin. I saw anger and pain in equal measure. He was not a young warrior. I put his age at about forty. “I am the Dragonheart. Your entry to Valhalla rests in my hands. If you answer my questions, I will give you a sword and a warrior’s death.” He stared at me defiantly. I sighed, “I know almost all. You were sent when your attack in the north failed. Sven the Boneless was less than happy and told Ubba Ragnarsson that you needed to attack in the south instead!”
He looked at me in horror. I said nothing. “If you know all then give me a sword and my warrior’s death.”
I shook my head, “I need more than that. You are a spy and a Dane. I have no reason to be merciful. Where is the army gathering?”
“That cannot help you.”
“Then telling me does not betray your leader.” I saw the pain from the wound. A stomach wound was always fatal and rarely quick.
He nodded, “West of Jorvik there is a camp. The Land of the Wolf is doomed. Ubba Ragnarsson has the crews of thirty drekar gathered. All of those you have slighted are gathered; the men of Dyflin, the Skull takers, all of them. You cannot survive.”
I laughed, “In which case why do they need to send an old warrior to scout out the land? Surely they could just walk in and slaughter us all!”
A sharp pain must have scythed through him for he doubled over. “Kill me now!” I waited. “Ubba Ragnarsson is in Sweden visiting his father. There is to be a raid on Paris. He has to ask his father’s permission. When he returns then you will die.”
I had enough information. I took a sword from one of the guards and nodded to Haaken One Eye. I handed the sword to him and said, “I will see you in Valhalla.” Haaken slid his dagger across his throat the moment his bloody fingers wrapped around the sword.
As the body was dragged away Einar Fair Face shook his head, “How did you know so much already?”
“I dreamed and I guessed. I heard, from Ketil, that Ragnar Hairy Breeches and his sons were at the heart of the Danes in the East. Carr had gathered that information from Ada in Jorvik. Ubba was one of the lords whom Sven the Boneless had allegiance to. Ubba and Garðketill the Sly had raided together and were blood brothers. It was a guess and it saved time. The man had moments left to live.”
While servants cleaned the floor Gruffyd and Einar led us to the table. Ebrel sent servants in with ale. “Is this the reason you are here?” I nodded and told them of the attack on Ketil. “This just tells us that they will attack. It also confirms your suspicion that they might try to come through me to get at you.” The ale was poured and my son drank. I remained silent. I saw him ruminating.
Eventually I asked, “Did any escape?”
He looked at Mordaf who nodded, “Aye, grandfather. My men and I were chasing three of them. One turned and went berserk. It took all four of us to kill him.”
Haaken nodded, “That is berserkers for you! Olaf Leather Neck had the best technique to deal with them. He took their heads. A man cannot fight without his head!”
“It matters not, Mordaf. The attack cannot take place until after the new grass. If Ubba is in Sweden then he cannot be in Jorvik.”
Mordaf asked, “Then what will the thirty crews be doing?”
“They will be ravaging Northumbria. They will practise their art for they know they will need all of their skills to defeat the Clan of the Wolf. Thirty crews mean they have more men than we can muster. They will know that we have to guard our borders. An attack on Ketil and scouts here tell them that we have to be prepared for an attack anywhere. They will hope that we relax our vigilance. We will not.”
“What can we do, then father?”
“You need to build signal towers between here and Whale Island. They are in place from there to my home. Send the signal when you are attacked.” I sighed, “They will come for me but if you cannot spare men to come to our aid then do not worry. Ráðulfr Ulfsson and his warband are my reserve. Raibeart and Ragnar can spare men.”
Gruffyd smiled and put his hand on mine, “And you are my father. If I am able, I will bring men and sti
ll leave my walls defended. We, too, are Clan of the Wolf. It has taken me some time to realise that but I see it now. I would have questioned the Dane and discovered nothing. I would have dismissed it as a speculative raid by a band of bandits. We are not alone here. It is good that you have come. We can be one family once more and one clan again. We will defeat these Danes!”
The three of us stayed just a couple of days and then headed north. The ride home was of greater interest to us now. This might be the way the Danes came. Haaken and I cast our eyes over every piece of ground as we rode to our home. I saw many places where we could ambush or hold them up but, sadly, all were too far south. When we reached the Water, I knew that we would have to fight an enemy, for the first time, on the land around my hall. Thus far we had fought them some distance from our homes. The only ones who had harmed us had been the witches who had abducted Kara. We would not be fighting witches this time, it would be Danes.
“Jarl, how many men are in a drekar?”
I looked at Erik Shield Bearer. It was good that he was paying attention and listening. “You are thinking of the Dane’s words, thirty crews?” He nodded. “A drekar can be as small as a snekke or almost half as big again as a threttanessa. If you take an average of forty men for each crew then we would be facing more than a thousand men.”
Haaken added, “Well over a thousand for there will be those who live close by Jorvik and wish to seize the opportunity to raid our land. It could be nearer fourteen hundred men.”
“And how many men can we muster, Jarl?”
“If we took every man and every boy from every farm and settlement then we might raise twelve hundred men.”
“But we cannot do that can we, Jarl?”
“No. There are two probable ways they will come. Either through Windar’s Mere or Gruffyd’s Stad. We can draw on the men of Cyninges-tūn and the dales which are close by. That would give us more than four hundred men. Ráðulfr Ulfsson can bring a hundred. Raibeart and Ragnar could field another two hundred. Asbjorn would give us another one hundred. We would have to face them with four hundred and hope that we could hold out until our reinforcements arrived.”
