Knight of the Empress (19 page)

They could see it was the only way. We built a pyre in the centre of the huts and placed Oswald's body with his sword on his chest and then the bodies of the others.  Piling kindling and wood on the top the fathers of the dead threw their burning brands on the bodies and we watched them burn. The sword would mark their ashes.

When the flames had died and the bodies no longer recognisable as human we loaded the dead wolves on to the horses, put the ashes in a pot and carried Oswald's sword to be interred with his ashes. We wearily trudged the mile back to the castle. We reached there on a cold and misty Christmas morning.  Father Peter had told us that when the baby Jesus had been born then wise men brought gifts and the shepherds, lambs. We brought the survivors of Oswald's families and dead wolves. It was a reminder of what a harsh world we lived in.

Adela proved to be a tower of strength. When Alan of Aldborough had come into the castle and she knew what we were about she had rearranged how my men slept and curtained off a corner of their hall for the refugees.  Our broth would not be for our Christmas feast it would be the sustenance which gave hope to the shocked survivors. As the morning drew on more families came from the east. The sounds of the howling wolves had drawn them in. While Adela and John son of Leofric saw to the domestic arrangements my men skinned the wolves. In many ways although we had lost children the wolves provided a lifeline for the rest of us. The wolf skins made the best cloaks and fur.  The meat meant that all of us, including those in the town, would eat well. We would devour those who had meant to devour us. As Father Peter might have said, "It is God's will."

By the time the food was ready I was exhausted. I had worked so hard that day that I felt not the cold. It was crowded in the two halls we used to eat but no one minded.  The presence of so many bodies made us warm for the first time in a long time. Edward, Adela and myself made sure that all of our refugees were fed first. We left Wulfric presiding over the telling of tales and the singing of songs and wearily headed to my hall for our own feast. There were just the five of us around my table and I felt guilty about the crowded hall we had just left.  I began to rise and Edward asked, "Where are you going, my lord?"

"We have much room here and they are so crowded down there."

You are right, my lord, but I tell you to sit, Baron. You have done more for them than they might have expected and none of them would thank you for bringing them here where they would have to watch what they did and said or what their children touched.  Wulfric is a good man and he will care for them."

Adela put her hand on mine.  "He is right, my lord.  You have done what Christ would have wanted.  You have provided shelter for those without one. This is their stable.  You can do no more.  Let us enjoy this Christmas here in your castle and be thankful for what we have."

I smiled, "And I am thankful to you Adela.  I know not what we would have done without you and John organising what you did."

We had a pleasant time despite the presence of the wolves and the biting cold.  Edward showed what a sense of humour he had by telling us tales of his youth and his early campaigns.  I suspect there were some risky parts he omitted for the sake of Adela but he kept us amused. Then John totally surprised us by singing.  He had a beautiful voice. He sang in Latin and although neither Edward nor Harold understood the words it did not matter.  It was such a beautiful sound and it echoed through the castle.  The Christmas of the wolf winter ended better than it had begun.  Sadly our troubles did not end that night.

As the weather showed no signs of abating Adela and my men worked with Alf and Ethelred to accommodate all of the refugee families. The willows and hurdles were covered to provide shelters. I went with Edward and his brothers to take their families ashes to be buried. I had loaned them horses and we gathered the pot and the sword and rode to Norton. Father Peter was distraught at the deaths.  He, of course, had known Oswald all of his life, having grown up around Norton. Athelstan and Osric joined us as we placed the urn in a niche in the church.  When the weather warmed the land they would be interred beneath a stone along with the sword which rested against the wall of our church.

As we left the church I said, "I will have William the Mason carve a stone for them.  When we return to my castle tell him the names of those who died and they will be remembered."

The brothers left and Harold and I as I spoke with my steward and castellan. "We heard the wolves but we did not suffer any losses."

I sighed. They were good men but they thought little of the life beyond their walls. "Have you visited Wulfestun? Have you seen those who live to the west of you?" They hung their heads.  "Then Harold and I will visit.  Prepare to have those within your walls who cannot survive beyond."

"But Alfraed we have little enough food as it is and with the water frozen we cannot grind at the mill."

"Then tighten your belts. We all survive this wolf winter not just those lucky enough to be behind Norton's walls!"  There was an edge in my voice which I did not intend.  It was my fault.  Osric and Athelstan were too old to rule the manor for me. When the spring came then I would have to make other arrangements. They both looked embarrassed.

Osric said, "We have let you down, Alfraed.  Better we had died with our lord."

I softened my voice. "No, it is my fault.  You two should be enjoying the twilight of your lives and not worrying about the problems of those who would be strangers to you.  Do this until the spring. Then I can make changes."

"We will not let you down again.  We swear."

It was sad that two old men who had helped to bring me up were almost begging to seek my approval. I felt ashamed. "You never have."

I rode north to Wulfestun.  Thomas Two Toes and his family lived there.  They had fought off Scots before now. After the last raid we had helped them build a wall and ditches around their hamlet. I was relieved to see a shut gate when we reached there. He and his two sons, Edgar and Tom came out to greet us.

"I was worried about you when we heard the wolves.  They killed Oswald of the Ox Bridge and some of his grandchildren."

Like Father Peter Thomas Two Toes had known Oswald all of his life. "He was a good man.  We heard the wolves."

"You can always shelter in Norton."

"I know, my lord, but we are well provided with wood and we eat well."

I smiled. Aiden had told me that Thomas and his sons hunted both rabbits and deer. I should have been offended at such poaching but it did not hurt me.  The King might not be very happy but as he rarely visited I would turn a blind eye.  "Good but do not let pride and a stiff neck keep you from the safety of Norton.  I have buried one of the oldest men in the manor this morning; I would not bury a second."

"Do not worry my lord I was not born to end up in a wolf's belly." He was a tower of strength and always had been.  So long as he lived in Wulfestun then the approach to Norton from the west was protected.

The other three farmsteads felt the same.  They were closer to Norton, less than a mile away and I knew that they could reach the safety of the walls should danger threaten. We headed back as darkness loomed from the east. The road home had not become any easier and the two of us struggled to move at more than the pace of a snail. The days should have been getting longer but it seemed that darkness and the night ruled my land. The long nights stopped what little sun there was from warming the air.  The snow and the ice were here to stay. I felt a great sense of relief when the gates of my castle were slammed behind me.

Looking back, years later, I am still amazed at the how long the snow and the ice lay. Each day we looked for a break in the weather and a little warmth but none came. We eked out our provisions and killed more of our cattle as they succumbed.  The husks and the dried grass had kept our animals going longer than we would have possibly hoped. There were little enough scraps for the pigs but they survived. When spring finally came then we would have larger herds and flocks.  I just prayed that we would survive to see another spring. Aiden managed to cut holes in the ice and hunt for the fish who dwelt beneath its icy shell. Every mouthful meant we were closer to surviving.

The wolves came again a month after Christmas.  The days were a little longer and we were more prepared.  When Aiden and his fish hunters returned from the river they noticed, in the fresh snow, the prints of wolves. They had come scouting. Each day Aiden used a different part of the river.  On this day he had been at the bend in the river two miles to the south of the Hart Burn.

"There were the tracks of just four wolves.  This is the time of year when they have cubs.  They will risk the wrath of men for they have young to feed."

"Why did they not attack? You found their tracks and they were recent.  Why did they return to their pack?"

"These wolves came from the north, my lord.  I am guessing that they have finished hunting in the hills and there is little left for them.  These are not the same ones as came across the river.  Their scouts will have been searching for new hunting grounds.  Close by the prints we saw where Wulfstan's men had been chopping trees. The wolves picked up their scent for they had relieved themselves there."

I summoned Edward and Dick. "Have your men rest today.  We go hunting wolves tonight. Harold ride to Wulfstan and warn him and his people of the presence of wolves."

Since the winter had started we had learned to protect ourselves from the cold better. The wolf fur I used went beneath my cloak and I had boots lined with rabbit fur.  My mittens kept my hands warm and I wore a linen mask across my face. We did not look warrior like but we were better protected. The others took bows but I was happier with my spear. Aiden led us.  It was the only choice.  Had I led we would have blundered into them and they would have escaped.

As we left the castle at dusk there was a wind coming from the west.  Aiden led us north. We headed towards the Durham road.   If the wolves had come down from the hills then they would see the security of the forests which were to the north west of us. We were down wind of the animals we hunted and they would not smell us.  We were reliant upon the senses of Aiden and Scout. Both would warn us of the presence of wolves. Wulfestun was just two miles to the east when we entered the forest.  We walked our horses. Wulfstan and his men were waiting close to the Hart Burn.  Our plan was simple; catch them between us and kill them.

We cut their trail half a mile in and found that they were heading south west.  It was a large pack.  Aiden marked the tree where we crossed the trail so that we could back track and find the cubs. The tracks we followed were only adults. The threat needed elimination. Once we found the trail we mounted and I followed Aiden. It was such a large pack that even I could follow it. After a mile or so the forest petered out.  We passed a farmstead and we halted there.  I had visited this six days ago and Carl and his family had been fine.  Now there was no smell of smoke and the door of the hut was open. When we found the bones we knew what had happened.  The wolves had found this family first, when they were scouting. The dismembered, inedible parts of his animals lay discarded amongst the human bones. The easy meal had encouraged them. I had thought Carl was safe for he was close to both Norton and the Hart Burn.  I had been wrong.  I should have forced the family to safety. Now we knew why the wolves had chosen this route.  There were no humans to stop them.  There was just one farm between us and Wulfstan now and I prayed that it had been evacuated.

When we reached it there was smoke and, although the door was closed the farmer, Robert of Trimdon had taken his family to safety. Suddenly Scout snorted and Aiden looked around.  The wolves were close and my mount had smelled them. We saw that the tracks spread out. They were circling.  As we were less than a mile from the two homes of Old Tom and Wulfstan we knew that they were following the smell of the humans. Old Tom and his son did not keep animals.  I could not see the wolves hunting them.  They would head for the smell of Wulfstan's pigs and sheep.

I waved my hand to the left and the right.  My men spread out to emulate the circle of the wolves. When we heard a shout in the distance and saw the flare of a torch we knew that the wolves had struck. All need for silence was gone and we spurred our horses on. We could hear the wolves as they howled and snarled at the defenders of the hall. The wolves had the advantage of a moonless night and dark coats. Wulfstan had had torches prepared and we could see them but a man cannot hold a torch and fight effectively.  The best he can hope for is to keep the wolves at bay and there was a large pack.

The memory of Carl and his family put steel in arm and anger in my heart. I pulled back my arm and punched into the spine of the young male which had failed to hear my approach. I twisted and pulled to remove the head of the spear.  A second wolf launched itself at Scout. I jerked my reins around and stabbed with the spear.  I caught the old wolf on the side but the weight of his body knocked me from my saddle and I fell to the ground. He was not dead, though dying and his teeth sought my throat.  I pushed my left hand under his throat to push his jaws up and I sought my dagger. He was a powerful animal and his claws scratched at me as he did all that he could to kill me. I was beginning to fear he would win.  His teeth were less than a hand span from my face when I found the dagger. I brought it round and rammed it through the wolf's eye and into his skull. I pushed his dead body from me and, drawing my sword, stood. It was over.  Between Wulfstan's men and mine we had slain all but three who ran north.

Wulfstan and Edward ran to my side, "Are you injured?"

In the light of Wulfstan's torch I saw that I was covered in blood. I smiled, "It is the wolf's blood.  He was a tough one.  He took some killing. Did you lose any?"

Wulfstan shook his head. "No but your arrival was timely.  I learned that you cannot fight and wield a torch. Old Tom?"

"They went nowhere near him but they killed Carl and his family."

"I should have brought him in."

"We have learned our lesson.  Tomorrow we hunt the pack.  Aiden marked the tree.  Now let us divide up the carcasses.  We eat well again, at least for a while."

It seemed that we were in bed for moments only and then we had to head out again.  I rested Scout and took another of our palfreys.  As we left amid a sleet storm I wondered if the weather was improving.  It was not; the sleet soon turned to snow again! We found the tree and Aiden saw the trail.  The sleet and snow had made it a little hard to follow but when we did find it we made up the time. There were occasional patches of blood in the wet snow.  One of the wolves had been injured. We found a large puddle close to the rocks where the pack had sheltered with their cubs. They had left. We found their trail heading towards the north west.  They were heading for the high ground to the north west of Durham.

Perhaps we were complacent for we failed to see the wounded wolf who waited at the small mound of rocks above the trail we were following. He leapt at my scout as he passed beneath him. He knocked Aiden from his horse.  My falconer must have been winded for he lay there inertly. I threw my spear as the wolf's jaws opened, ready to bite.  Although I hit the beast it was only in the haunches.  It merely slowed down the movement of the mouth towards Aiden's throat. Miraculously Aiden opened his eyes and pushed his hands towards the wolf's throat as I had done the previous night.  The wolf clamped his teeth around Aiden's left hand.  I had drawn my sword and I leaned forward in the saddle to slice down across the back to the wolf's neck.  As soon as my blade ripped through the spine it became still.  I leapt from my horse and threw the carcass to one side.

Wulfric joined and held Aiden's hand in his.  He sighed, "The hand can be saved but the little finger has been lost." I saw that the little finger had been severed while the others showed teeth marks. In the driving sleet there was no chance of a fire and so Wulfric wrapped the hand in a piece of cloth.  "My lord, I should take him back and heal this.  If not he may lose all of his fingers."

Aiden shook his head, "I will continue the hunt!"

"You will do as your lord commands.  Take him home."

I led the rest of our men north. The trail was unerring.  It kept going north east and I took a chance.  I spurred on the horses.  I would have to risk the pack moving from their course for we needed to catch them. If not they would return next year. The sleet was in our faces and I knew that they would not know of our approach. Their sense of smell was not as keen in winter. Although we kept going the pack was elusively always too far ahead of us. As night approached I knew we would have to give up the chase. The wounded wolf had bought the time to save the pack.  It was the way of the wolf.  We turned around and headed home.  We were soaked to the skin and frozen by the time we reached Stockton. We felt we had failed for Aiden had been hurt and we had not caught the wolves.

While the men went to fill their empty bellies I sought out Aiden.  Adela and Wulfric were with him. "We have saved the other fingers of the hand, my lord but I am not certain if they will function as they once did."

"I am sorry you were hurt, Aiden."

He shrugged, "It was my own fault but I want to thank you, lord.  But for your quick thinking I would be dead.  I owe you my life. I was ever your man but now I will be your man unto death."

I smiled.  He meant every word. "You just get well.  I am happy with all that you do."

"And the pack?"

"It escaped but I think they will find easier hunting grounds in the future.

The sleet was a false sign of a change in the weather.  The winds and blizzards returned and we had to clear the bailey and the town of snow again.  However the slight rise in the temperature meant that the ice on the river melted a little and became thin where it remained.  One of our boundaries was secure once more.

As Candlemas came and went I began to fear for my people.  Illness spread throughout the town. Wulfric was our only healer and he was just someone who could repair bodies injured by war. Faren had some remedies which helped some of those with the coughing sickness but a few of the old died. When I became distraught Adela explained that it was inevitable that the old would succumb in such a harsh winter. I took comfort from that. What I should have realised was that if we were suffering then there would be others in a far worse condition than my manor.  We had plenty of cattle and we had prepared for this winter.

I had just woken and was eating my frugal meal of porridge when I was summoned to the tower. I knew that my meal would not have been disturbed if it were not urgent. I ran.  It was Roger of Lincoln who had sent for me. "It is Norton, my lord.  They have lit the beacon."

We had put a brazier at the top of the tower we had built and it was there to summon help. "Rouse the men! We ride when we are armed."

This would be the first opportunity I had had to try out Alf's new armour.  As Harold helped to dress me I realised that I had not worn any armour since we had been at Hexham. Although it felt heavier than my old armour it was not uncomfortable. The new coif incorporated into the byrnie and the ring of mail around my forehead meant that I did not need to wear my helmet until I was actually going into combat; I had protection. I left six men at arms to guard my castle and sent a rider to warn Wulfstan.  He could watch over my manor. I rode Scout for I wanted speed and not a war horse.

We left Aiden in the castle.  He wanted to be with us but Wulfric forbade it as did Adela. We rode quickly.  As we neared the manor I saw smoke billowing from the walls.  They were under attack. The walls were surrounded.  Even as I donned my helmet I wondered where this warband had come from. I saw neither banners nor horses.  It might not have knights but there were far greater numbers than my handful of warriors.

"Form line!" My men knew what that entailed.  With lances in one line my archers would cover us with their arrows.

I lowered my lance and we galloped towards them.  The ones at the back turned to face the new threat.  There was no armour on many of them but they all wielded axes and old swords.  Some even had shields.  I pulled my arm back and punched forward to spear the axe wielding savage before me. I flicked my hand to the side and the weight of his body slid it from the lance.   Two men clambered towards me from the ditch.  I jabbed at one and hit him in the middle of his head and as the second swung his axe I pulled back on the reins so that Scout rose and clattered him in the head. The dead warrior slid from my lance and I edged Scout forward. I stood in my stirrups and stabbed at the back of a warrior trying to scale the walls.  As he fell back he took the lance with him. I drew my sword as two men came at me. Although I swiped one man across the face, ripping it in two, the second swung his sword at my side. He hit my mail and Alf's fine work held.  I stabbed him in the eye and pushed until the sword came out through the back.

Although we had been outnumbered the force of our attack had thinned them somewhat.  Dick and his archers now released arrows at all those who had reached the top of the walls. Osric and his men despatched the rest. As the warband fled I shouted, "Wulfric, Edward, after them.  Archers, stay with me." I looked around and saw that Harold had survived. I no longer had to keep turning around to see if he was there.  He had become an extension of me.  He protected me from all attacks from behind.