Hosker, G [Wolf Brethren 02] Saxon Revenge (3 page)

I sent Tuanthal to the eastern gate while I led my band of men behind the pathetically thin line of slingers to the northern gate.  There was enough cover for us to approach to within half a mile of the palisaded stronghold.  I had to assume that the other parts of this puzzle were in position and I lead my men forwards.  We marched in a four wide column for speed.  I was confident that we could change to wedge formation in the blink of an eye.  We moved swiftly across the open ground at a steady trot.  The slingers were a good hundred paces before us and they would be the ones to initiate the contact. I heard the whirr and whizz of their missiles and the screams and cracks which told me that they had struck their targets.  The gates swung closed as those inside Wachanglen realised their danger. I hoped that they would be over confident in their stockade and not realise the danger they were in.

“Wedge!” I ran a little faster to facilitate the change in formation and soon felt the comfortable presence of Garth on my right. I had drawn Saxon Slayer as soon as I had ordered the formation and it felt satisfying to hold the mystical blade once more. I saw at least two of my slingers fall to arrows and lead balls and I shouted, “Slingers! Retire!” They all disengaged and ran behind the wedge.  They would still be able to use their weapons but would be afforded the protection of the shields. As we approached the gate I suddenly decided to change my plan as I saw that the gate was not reinforced; I could see through the gaps.   “Men of Rheged, we are not going over the walls we are going through the gate!” I heard the roar and felt the excitement of combat course through my body.  I moved my shield around to my front and lowered my head.  Stones began to ping and crack off helmets and shields but they caused minor discomfort rather than serious wounds. My two hundred warriors in their mail struck the gate like a battering ram.  I felt my arm jar and I went dizzy and then I heard a crack as the gate gave way and we poured through the wrecked gate.

A Saxon rushed at me with a two handed axe and he roared defiance as he swung it at my head.  Even though my arm was still a little numb I held it forwards.  His blade was sharp but it caught on the metal rim of my shield and Saxon Slayer slid up under his armpit to appear, as though by magic next to his right ear.  He slumped to a bloody death. I looked ahead and saw that the Saxons were rushing to their broken gate. “Shield wall!” We formed three lines, each one seventy men wide with the boy slingers hurling death above our heads.  I knew now that we would win for no army could stand against my seasoned two hundred warriors.  I hoped that Raibeart and King Gwalliog were having the same easy time of it. The Saxons appeared to be waiting for something but I didn’t know what.

One of my men growled.  “They are scared, my lord.  Let us end this.”

I thought that he was right and I ordered the line forward.  “Attack.” We moved towards the enemy with a measured pace.  We did not need momentum, we had skill.

Just before we struck their line I heard am urgent voice behind me. “My lord! It is an ambush! There are five hundred Saxon warriors coming towards you.”

I turned and saw Tuathal and the remnants of my equites behind the slingers. “What of my brother?”

“They are still attacking the gate!”

“Ride and support them.”

“My lord?”

I grinned, “We are going to join him! Wedge!” I turned to Garth.  “There is no point going back to fight five hundred men.  We might as well join Raibeart.”

He too had the mad look of battle I recognised so well. I could hear the men moving into position and I lurched forwards screaming, “Rheged!” at the top of my voice.  The cry was taken up and we hit the shocked Saxon line like a hot knife through winter butter.  I smashed one man in the face with my shield as I stabbed a second.  The line did not break, it disintegrated. I could see, through the gaps which appeared, that Gwalliog’s men were on the ramparts.  As we neared the gate I shouted, “Get the gate open.  The last two ranks about face.  The rest of you kill anything that moves!”

Those Saxons who still stood were quickly despatched as the gates were opened and I saw the smiling face of King Gwalliog. The smile left his face as I shouted, “It is a trap.  They have more men behind us.  Back over the river.”

The old king just nodded and shouted, “Men of Elmet form a shield wall across the river!”

“Garth, get the slingers to safety.  I will bring the rest over.” He was going to argue but I just shouted, “Now! We have no time for a debate.”

I turned and joined the fifty warriors who formed my rear ranks.  I shoved myself into the front ranks.  “Come on lads.  Make way for me!” I heard them cheer. They were neither beaten nor cowed. “Now let us walk backwards.  Lord Raibeart will be giving them a welcome once we get through those gates.”

The Saxons had formed a shield wall and were less than fifty paces away.  I knew that they had to be tired as they took some time to form a wedge.  My men were fit and had only run for a couple of hundred paces.  We still had a chance even though they outnumbered us ten to one.  The narrow gates would slow them down.  I tried to visualise the river and the walls. If we could make the river then we might still escape.

The leader of the wedge had a long spear and a helmet like mine.  If he thought the extra reach of the spear would aid him he was wrong.  As he thrust the blade forwards, aiming for the eye hole of my helmet I turned his spear and then chopped down on it with Saxon Slayer. As the heft broke in two I heard the clang as the warrior to my right fended off an axe.  Before the spearman could recover I punched him in the face with my shield and, as he raised his to protect himself, stabbed him through the thigh. He crumpled to the ground. I could see that the ramparts were close and I shouted above the din and clamour of combat. “Left and right, through the gates.  Shield wall!” My well trained men punched with their shields and disengaged leaving ten of us filling the gate and backing out slowly. A second hero swung at me with his axe and he aimed at Saxon Slayer.  Although I punched it away it continued its arc and knocked the warrior to my right to the ground.  A spear stabbed him in the throat and I was suddenly without any protection on my right hand side.

I brought Saxon Slayer up to slice savagely through the unprotected throat of the axe man and then whirled around to knock the two swords which came at me from my left with my shield. Although I had gained space I saw an exultant spearman stabbing down at me with his weapon eagerly anticipating a victory over the Wolf Warrior. I would have died there and then but a feathered shaft appeared in his throat and his joy died with him; I knew, without being told, that it was Raibeart who had loosed the life saving arrow. I heard Garth yell, “Across the river my lord, we are all.”

Shouting, “Back!” I led the remaining four warriors through the icy river. Arrow after arrow hurled back those brave warriors who tried to kill the killer of champions and claim the Saxon Slayer. Soon they were forced to form a shield wall and watch impotently as we were dragged from the river, the whole army cheering as though we had won.

I felt Raibeart’s arms around my shoulder.  “That was too close for comfort brother.”

“Thank you for your arrows.  I would be dead were it not for you and your archers.”

King Gwalliog’s voice came from behind Raibeart.  “And we would have suffered a slaughter had you and your men not made the charge and sacrifice you did.”

I looked up at Tuathal; he seemed far away on the top of his horse. “You and the king’s horses, cover our retreat. Keep them from pursuing us.” I suddenly realised that I had given the orders to the King of Elmet’s men and I looked at him.  He smiled and nodded. 

I tried to turn to leave the field with my men but my leg would not work. I had felt no pain but my leg did not move. As I crumpled to the ground I heard Raibeart yell, “Lord Lann is wounded. Fetch a healer!”

Chapter 2

I had not noticed that I had been struck; we had been too busy fighting our foes for that but the wound was deep.  A blade had sliced down the back of my calf and the blood flowed freely.  The priest bound it to allow us to journey home where it could be dealt with more effectively.  As we trotted, in my case, painfully home I discussed with the King and Raibeart what had occurred.

“I think brother that we were spotted the other day when we scouted.  I wondered why there were sheep in that open pasture but no shepherds.  That also explains why we saw no one outside the settlement this morning.”

I had to ask the painful question; made even more painful by the waves of pulsing agony with each footfall of my mount.  “What is the butcher’s bill?”

I saw the look exchanged between the king and his son in law. The king sighed, “The men of Elmet and your archers lost few men but fifty of your warriors perished and ten of your horsemen.”

It was a heavy loss for those warriors could not be easily replaced. “And ten of the boys, my brother.” That cut me to the quick for the boys, my young slingers, had died before their time. Their reckless bravery had cost them and Rheged dear for they would have been the future warriors. “But we killed many more of their warriors.  We might have yielded the field but we left it sown with over a hundred and fifty dead Saxons. There were many others who were wounded.  Their walls are wrecked.  We have won my brother and they will not forget this day.”

We rode in silence. I suspect the others thought it was my wound which silenced me but it was not.  I had been bested and I did not like it. Despite my brother’s words, to me it felt like a loss as we had left the field with neither victory nor booty. The next time we fought them I would make sure that we were not surprised and we would hurt them. Raibeart made my remaining horsemen take me to hurry me back swiftly to Loidis for my whitening face worried him. In the event it was a good thing he did so for my wound was bleeding more than we had thought and I fainted as we entered the Elmet stronghold.  When I came to the first sight I had was of Raibeart’s concerned face looming over me.

“You had me worried there; we thought we had lost you.  The holy men have stitched it up but you will not be moving for a few days.”

I struggled to raise myself but felt drained of all energy. “I will…”

King Gwalliog’s voice boomed out.  “You will be staying in that bed Lord Lann until I am satisfied that you are healed.  The Saxons have been given a bloody nose and they will be on the alert for a while wondering if we will return.”

Raibeart nodded. “We captured a couple of prisoners and they were terrified that the Wolf Warrior was coming to get them.” My face must have displayed my thoughts for Raibeart smiled, “Aye brother.  Saxon mothers frighten their naughty children warning them that the Wolf Warrior will come in the night and take them if they are naughty. That is why they fought so hard to get at you and also why the warriors inside fell back when your wedge broke through.  Wach has sworn to have your head on his walls.”

I slumped back on to the bed.  All I wanted was to sleep but I still had my duty to perform.  “Raibeart we need to find where their other settlements are. Have our scouts find them. We will keep them guessing where we will attack next.”

“It is already planned.  Garth and I will be leading the patrols on the morrow. Now rest and then you can tell us of the plan which is hatching in your fertile mind.” My brother knew me well.  I had already begun to devise a strategy which would defeat these men from the sea.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next two days.  I suspected the priests had put some drug in my water but after three days I felt better and I was allowed to sit up.  King Gwalliog and my brother joined me when they had returned from their patrols.

“You have a better colour Lord Lann. The priests tell me that you can walk soon.”

“I will walk tomorrow.” I was not as confident as I had sounded. 

“We will see.  Now what is this plan you have concocted.  I am intrigued.”

“It is obvious that they will outnumber us.” I turned to Raibeart. “How many Saxon strongholds are there?”

“We found six although none are as stout as Wachanglen.” Raibeart had deduced which way this was going and he pre-empted my next question.  “I would think the six hamlets could field eighty men each, at least.”

“If we add them to the force at Wachanglen then we can see that the enemy will be twice our strength.”

“Not if we use our own people when we have sown our crops.”

I shook my head.  “I would rather fight now for we will weaken them. Did you see many workers toiling in their fields and meadows brother?”

“No.  They were on the watch for us and, had they had horses, they would have chased us.”

“You see, King Gwalliog, our very presence weakens them. Your people are preparing for the summer and autumn and you will have a good harvest.  They will not and, in the long run, that will be how we defeat them. We will use nature and the earth to be our allies.  Famine and hunger are fierce enemies.”

King Gwalliog looked disappointed. “That does not seem glorious.”

“It isn’t but, when this is over, you will have more people than they do.  We will strike at their smaller settlements using archers and horsemen.  We are mobile.  All of Raibeart’s archers can ride and we can weaken them by constant attacks.  We will make them watch for us, not knowing when or where we will strike. Eventually Wach will tire of this and he will come here to attack you. We will lay a trap for him. Our horsemen can watch for them and warn us of their arrival. Then they can stay without the walls while they hurl themselves at your defences.  The archers will thin them out and they will not expect us to attack them.  When they are weakened enough then the horse and the foot will attack at the same time.”

Raibeart nodded. “They will have seen our dead warriors and as the only forces they see will be a few horsemen and archers they will assume that they have seen off the threat of our men.”

I could see that King Gwalliog was not convinced.  “Once they have been drawn here and weakened then you can call up all of your forces and drive them from your land. You can lead your mighty host.” The beaming smile told me that I had used the right argument.  He saw himself as another King Urien leading a mighty army and showing his people that it was he who had destroyed the Saxons.  That was the difference between the two kings; one saw the end result while the other wanted their name enshrined in men’s memory. I was pleased that I had chosen to follow the former. “While we harry them you can improve the defences of this stronghold to make them bleed upon its walls.”