Hosker, G [Wolf Brethren 02] Saxon Revenge (29 page)

The whole of the army looked at King Morcant Bulc who stood with pure hatred for his fellows etched on his face.  Even though he did not swear allegiance or subservience the idea was there for all to hear.  King Urien was High King.  He was the first to be acknowledged as such since the time of Dux Britannica.

When he spoke it was measured and thoughtful. “I thank you.  I hope that we never need the High King again and that this threat from the Saxons is over but if they return then I swear that I will lead you again for it has been my honour to serve with such brave and resourceful warriors.”

He mounted and led us west to the land of Rheged. As I waited for the princes to pass I noticed that Llofan Llaf Difo was speaking with King Morcant Bulc and I wondered if he were thinking of returning to his homeland having learned his trade with the finest army in Britain.  After a few moments, however, he trotted to take his place next to Bladud and the handful or bodyguards who had survived the slaughter.

We had to take our time crossing the land for we had wagons and we had wounded.  Garth complained about having to travel in a wagon but Myrddyn, for all his youth could be quite strict and Garth had to lie there and suffer. Myrddyn worked miracles and he saved men and their limbs when all hope was gone.  Next to King Urien he was the man held in the highest regard by all of the army of Rheged.  His bravery as a scout and on the battlefield merely added to his lustre.  I thanked my gods again for bringing him into our lives.

We reached Castle Perilous first and, not for the first time, I was glad that I had left so many of my warriors to guard my home.  Had I taken them all then I know that they would all have died. The others did not come to my home as they were all keen to return to their own families.  Aelle’s survivors left too, to head south towards the Wide Water.  King Urien announced that we would have celebratory games at midsummer.  Until then we could all reflect on the war to end all wars which we had just fought.

I led my tiny troop through the gates.  Any celebration would have to wait until we had mourned and paid our respects to the dead. Once through the gates Brother Oswald, Aideen and my children waited for me.  They had seen no reports of our travails and I saw the look of relief flood over Aideen’s face as she watched me dismount. I knew what she was thinking and I smiled.  She was checking for fresh wounds but I had been saved this time and returned whole.

I said little, after hugging my family and greeting Brother Oswald. It had been a hard campaign and Garth’s wounds were a clear reminder of the mortality of all of us, no matter how invincible we felt. Hogan appeared to have grown and my daughter, Delbchaem, now responded with giggles and smiles.  Some of my hurts went away. They all left me in my silence and after we had eaten Aideen put the children to bed while I went to the solar. Myrddyn appeared quietly and sat opposite me.  He said not a word, but, like me, looked to the west and the setting sun.

Eventually he spoke; not necessarily expecting a response but merely articulating his ideas. “They say, my lord, that there are lands to the west Hibernia.” I said nothing but noted the thought. “Perhaps it is a place too far for the Saxons to bother us.”

I looked at him sharply.  This sounded like defeatist talk. “You would give up the fight against the invader? You would let all the deaths become meaningless?”

He gave me that disarming smile of his which infuriated me. “No, my lord, I was doing my job, I was healing, healing your mind.  The battles and the deaths seem to have taken something from you as though you no longer wish, yourself, to finish the fight.  I was merely giving you an option.”

His words set me thinking. I had become morose over the deaths and there were three choices, as far as I could see: continue the, fight, join the Saxons or flee. Myrddyn had merely given me a way out. “Sometimes I think you are a wight, and far too clever for your own good.  Where did you get such knowledge when you are so young?”

“I listen, my lord, and I think.  It is an activity in which more men should partake.” He paused and his eyes seemed to bore into my mind as though he was reading my thoughts. “You will continue to fight then?”

“Your mythical land to the west may cause more deaths than fighting and I could not, in all conscience, join with the Saxons.  No I will fight and, so long as King Urien is the leader of the kings then we will prevail.”

He nodded. “They will, of course return and those Saxons in the south will come north to take, first the land of Elmet and then, Bernicia.  We both know that they are ripe for plucking.” He of course was correct and we both knew it. “We have bought time and that is all.”

Once again his astute young mind had cut through the mist to see the truth.  “What would you suggest then? The old mind in such a young body?”

“There are a number of things we can do. The king could make Rheged so impregnable that the Saxons will find other land to steal.”

To me, that sounded as though we had lost. “The king would not countenance that. He would defend the other kings.”

“Then, my lord, become used to this feeling for it will be Rheged blood which will defend the allies and you will have to face the families of the dead.” I suddenly looked at him.  How did he know that was what I had been thinking?  The men knew about dying on a battlefield but the families had to live with the loss. “That is the real reason you are so unhappy is it not?  You do not want to see the looks on the faces of the families of the men who will not return that is what you fear, not death, not defeat and certainly not the Saxons.”

I slumped in my chair.  My healer was right. “I know from Aideen’s face that she worries each time I leave and yet I always return.  How much worse for those who do not return?”

“It is the same for every warrior but at least here in Rheged the families are not left destitute.  Someone cares.  It is another reason I left my home to serve Rheged.  Even if I had not had the dream and the vision it seemed to me that this was a place I could live and a king and a lord I could serve.”

I pondered those words. He was right and we all served King Urien because of who he was and how he acted.  We were tied to him for good or all. I suddenly felt better. “Well then Myrddyn.  How can we make life difficult for the Saxons?”

We talked, or rather he talked and I listened until a sulky Aideen came for me.  Her ill temper was short lived as she saw the change Myrddyn had wrought upon me. After we had enjoyed each other and she slept, snuggling in my arms, my mind was filled with all that Myrddyn had said. As he had said to me, it was obvious but I had not seen it until he had pointed the way. We could not defeat them in a shield wall.  They would always outnumber us.  The weapons they feared were our bowmen, our horses and our castles. Now that we had the booty from the battles we could arm more horsemen and archers and improve our castles. As far as I knew the only stone buildings which stood against the Saxons were in Rheged and at Din Guardi.  As the sly Morcant Bulc had shown, you could easily defend such edifices.  In the time we had before the Saxons returned we would train more men to be archers and horsemen whist we toiled to improve the defences.  Myrddyn was clever and had deduced that a series of ditches with offset entrances would enable our archers to slaughter an attacking army. He also recommended towers at the gates from where we could have a greater range with our bowmen. He had heard of the horse patrols the king and the prince had once undertaken and he suggested that would be a good way to watch the Saxons and slow them down. When I had finally dropped to sleep I had all of my plans made for the next year.

By the time the midsummer games arrived, Garth and the other wounded men were healed and could travel.  Surprisingly many declined the invitation to visit Civitas Carvetiorum. I did not make the men go for I, above all, understood what it was to leave your families.  Brother Oswald had evolved into a fine Steward who ran Castle Perilous far more effectively than I could. He had the men continue building the ditches and improving the defences.  He and Myrddyn had spent long nights drawing and scribbling on pieces of parchment with the priest showing a remarkable knowledge of how the Romans used to do such things.  I knew that the building would carry on well without me. In the end I took only twenty men; they were all mounted and well armed. I was not worried about the Saxons but I knew that there were still Hibernians who liked to raid the coast for easy pickings.  They would find us a hard morsel to swallow.

Aideen was looking forward to the visit as she would see both my brother’s wives and Prince Ywain’s bride.  I knew that she missed the company of other women and they did, in all fairness get on well together.  It also helped having other children there for my two were lonely at my castle.  The men made a great fuss of them and spoiled them but they did not have the company of children their own age; at the court of King Urien they would have.

We were all set to arrive on the same day and I met Aelle and Freja not far from my castle.  He had grown in the months since I had seen him and put on more weight around the waist and the jowls.  It showed me the difference between a life of peace and a life of war.  Aelle was happy and comfortable.  His domain was the most peaceful and prosperous in the land and he ruled it well.  I knew that King Urien held him in high regard. I was always a little taken aback by how much respect he showed me.  He seemed amazingly proud of his brother. It was Myrddyn who gave me the reason. “He grew up not with his own father for you told me he was a Saxon who hurt him and he had not long with your father.  You are the father he has known the most, the one who protected him and the one who helped him to get to the position he is.”

“He did that himself fighting for the king.”

“But it was you who was responsible for that position.”

Now, each time I met my brother I was acutely aware that he saw me as a father figure rather than just his big brother.  It was just another responsibility I had in my already, full life. However, as we rode towards the fortress on that Midsummer’s Eve, the world felt good.  I could see the banners hanging from the towers as we approached from afar. Men working in the fields called out our name and applauded the wolf banner. I recognised many from our wars and noticed that some had an arm missing or limped badly but they still cheered us as we rode along the old Roman Road.  They were alive and they were free.

The king and queen greeted us at the gate.  I noticed that the queen was greyer; yet another son had fallen but she still gave me that welcoming smile and embrace as she always did. She leaned and whispered in my ear.  “I am pleased that the Wolf Warrior still defends Rheged.  It gives me hope for the future.  May Jesus bless you.”

I never knew what to say when the Christians asked their god to protect me. It was as though they were trying to convert me in some way.  Having said that, I welcomed the protection of any man’s god; the battlefield was no place to spurn their aid.  “I am pleased to serve the king still. Is he mending?”

She pulled away slightly and glanced over to where her husband was embracing Aideen and Freja. “His body heals but his mind is still disturbed.”

I nodded.  I knew the feeling. “It is with all men who think when they return from the battlefield.  Those who cannot think, like Bladud, are to be envied for they never imagine, after a battle, what might have happened had they fallen.”

She laughed and suddenly looked much younger.  “I share your opinion of that brute but the king still thinks highly of him.” She shook her head, “I know not why. Go to him and talk for he values your opinion and it will ease his mind.” She turned to our wives and children.  “Come ladies let us leave the men to talk and we will see what treats the cook has for us.” She was a kind and thoughtful lady and adored children.  She was the grandmother my children never knew. As they wandered off Pol, my squire caught my eye.  It was the first time he had been to the fortress and wonder was in his face.

“Yes Pol, you can explore but try not to get in people’s way.”

“Yes my lord.” He raced eagerly off.

“He thinks much of you.”

“He is young but he is so loyal.” As the king led me by the arm I turned to him. “Well your majesty, you are looking well.”

He smiled and looked older than he had ever looked.  “You are kind but we both know I came within a handbreadth of death.”

“But you survived your majesty and we won.”

“We won that day but what of the future days?” He looked sadly to the east. “It seems Gwalliog and Bulc have just returned to their lands and not prepared to defend them against the Saxons for they will come back and they should be ready.”

Myrddyn was disappearing into Brother Osric’s rooms and I pointed to him. “My healer is an intelligent man and I have spoken with him. He has counselled that we make our land too difficult to take and the enemy will go elsewhere.” We walked into the great hall where there were jugs of beer and platters of bread and cheese. “The hedgehog has not teeth and is easy prey for any hunters, fox, or wild pig.  Yet he survives and why?”

Aelle smiled as he answered.  “His back is covered in spines and he can roll into a ball.  The fox soon gives up.”

“And that is what we do.  Make ourselves as a hedgehog and surround ourselves with spines.”

“Spines?” The king gave me a curious look.

“Archers, horses and defences even better that those you have here in your fortress.”

The king drank and contemplated this. “That might work but what of our allies? Do we abandon them?”

It was time for some hard talking for this kind king. “Your majesty it is the men of Rheged who died defending their lands.  It is time they took responsibility for their own defence.”

“And if they fail?”

“Then they fail but they know that there is a sanctuary here at Civitas Carvetiorum.”

“Perhaps we could make peace with the Saxons?”

“They are like the fleas on a dog.  You could make peace with one group and another would come in their place. We make Rheged a circle of stone and iron.  They will go elsewhere.  Look at Aelle’s domain at Wide Water.  No-one could capture that, no matter how many men they had and our southern borders have been safer than any; mine included.”