Saxon Dawn (Wolf Brethren) (7 page)

I saw the looks of rapture on my brothers’ faces and I handed over the sword to them.  The next treasures were almost as good. There was a fine helmet with a red crest and cheek guards. The armour which lay within was not mail but looked to be overlapping pieces of metal.  I took it out and held it; it felt lighter than the mail I had found in the fort. Beneath it
lay a padded undergarment, a bow, quiver and a dagger.

Raibeart looked at the prize which was spread across the stable floor.  “I think that father’s grandfather was a great warrior.” I nodded, unable to speak. “Do you think father knew it was here?”

I shook my head, “Had he known that he would have used this.  No I think that he and mother stayed in the main building.  They would not have had animals and would not have come in here.  I stumbled across it, literally, perhaps it was meant to be.”

Aelle nodded in awe, “
Wyrd
!”

“Aye brother,
Wyrd
.”

We spent the night looking at the weapons and marvelling at the skill which had made them. “Our great grandfather must have been a great warrior to own such a magnificent sword and such fine armour.”

“But why, Raibeart, did he leave it here? Why did he not die using it?”
Aelle was confused as we all were.  Had we had these weapons we would not have buried them.

I confess I could not work that out.  Warriors died with their swords in their hands.  My father had not been a warrior but he had died as a warrior. “Perhaps he became old…
” Wondering what happened in the past would not help us now, “we have the sword and we must use it well.” While my brothers cleaned the blade, not that it needed cleaning, I examined the helmet.  The red horsehair crest looked magnificent but I could not see how it would aid you in battle.  I discovered that it could be removed by taking out a small plug at the bottom. and, when I had done so, it looked more like the helmets of the Angles. “Tomorrow I will ride and bring back the other swords, shoes and daggers. Then we must make this house our home.”

Aelle looked up; he had been quieter since his mother had been killed and it struck me that he was now totally alone, all his blood kin were dead. “When do we fight the
Angles!” There was a quiet determination in his voice and I knew what was in his heart, he wanted revenge.

Raibeart also looked up in anticipation
as I sombrely answered them both. “When we are prepared then will we fight back.  We were lucky the first time we fought.  We caught them by surprise and our father killed many of them. We need to be able to fight with swords as well as bows and slings.  That will take time.” I smiled, we were alone and yet we were still together.  The three of us were more powerful as a group than we would ever be as individuals and I took comfort from that.  Perhaps father was looking down and approving of my actions.

While my brothers fixed the roof and made the house more habitable I took Raibeart’s horse
and the horse I had named Blackie for his jet black coat and headed for my buried treasure. In the short time I had left it the metal had begun to deteriorate and I saw how lucky I had been to find it in such pristine condition.  I slung the bags on the pommels of the two saddles and saw how efficient they were compared with the broken saddle given by the farmer. I approached the hidden house from a westerly direction. I discovered another overgrown path and a second damaged gate through which I entered. For the time being we had two ways in and out should anyone stumble upon us. I was just grateful that the Angles had not, so far, pursued us and, as I saw the storm clouds fill the sky, I knew any trail we had left would soon be washed out by the imminent rain. We would slaughter a sheep and stay within the walls for a few days and then I would scout the old stronghold and see if the Angles had returned.

My brothers stopped working when I clattered on to the cobbles. I think they were eager to see what I had with me. I handed the mail shirt to Aelle.  It was slightly too big at the moment but he was growing all the time.  I think he had been mistreated and malnourished by his father
as well as the other Angles and my mother’s food had already started to put muscle on him. “Here are Roman shoes.  Find some that fit.” I showed them my footwear which was a mixture of leather and caligae. “You could make yours like this if you wished.” As I unsaddled the two horses they examined the contents of the sacks.

“We will need arrow heads Lann.”

“I know.” Despite having collected the arrows we had used against the Angles we still only had thirty shafts between us. Now we had no goose feathers we would struggle to replace the ones we already had.

“There is a forge Lann.”

Raibeart and I stared at Aelle.  “Are you sure?”

“Aye.
  I found it well away from the house close to the north wall.  There is no roof and the bellows need repair but it is there.”

“Well done Aelle.  We will leave that for another day but, with the Roman nails we have enough metal
to make many arrow heads and we can use the existing arrows for a template. Raibeart, choose a sheep.  We will slaughter one.  It means we will not need to leave here for a while and, if the Angles are seeking us, they will not stumble upon us.”

When we had skinned the sheep Aelle scraped all the oils and fat from
the hide.  It would be useful as a lotion for our thighs after the horse riding and it helped to preserve the sheepskin. I butchered the mutton and we put all the bones in the one surviving cooking pot we found and covered them with stream water. When we had eaten the sheep we would still have a stock for soup.  I now reprimanded myself for not bringing salt from our home. Had we had some then we would have been able to preserve the meat. We would have to use the other method my mother used, cook the meat in animal fat and let the fat protect the meat.  It would make the meat last another eight or ten days.  Now we needed to husband and watch our scant resources; we had no Radha and Monca to organise our lives.  The three of us would have to provide everything that we consumed.  We would have to learn quickly!

Over the next few days we used two of the short Roman swords to learn how to fight. 
I also regretted not bringing one of the shields as I was loath to use our good ones.  We soon discovered that both Raibeart and Aelle needed to build up their strength. My work with the longer bow meant that my right arm was powerful and I wondered how I would fare against a warrior who knew how to use a blade.

“Tomorrow we leave before dawn.  We will travel to our old home and see who is there.  If there are no Angles yet then we can travel further afield and see just how far they have come.”

“Will the king not return?  He said he would.”

“The problem is,
Raibeart, that the king may have other enemies closer to home and he may think that all is well here in this part of the land.”

“Should we join him
then?”

“I do not know Aelle.  Why would he want three such inexperienced warriors such as us?” It had been on the tip of my tongue to say boys but my brothers deserved better.  They had fought; they had killed; they were warriors.

We had still to make a saddle for Aelle but, by using the girths and the sheepskin he was able to ride and, after we had negotiated the copse and were riding south he remarked how comfortable it was. It set me to thinking that, when the other sheep were s
laughtered we could use their skins to make riding a little easier. We rode mailed and armed.  The horse and ponies could rest while we scouted; they were transport and that was all.

The closer we came to the old hill fort, the more familiar
became the scenery.  We had spent most of our lives within a few miles of the ramparts and ditches; Raibeart and I could almost navigate without the use of our eyes. We knew of a copse a mile or so from the north gate.  We tied the horses there and left them under the watchful glare of Wolf.  We had travelled less than two hundred paces when we smelled them.  It was a mixture of fire and different men.  We could have turned around then for I knew the answer to the quest.  The Angles had occupied the fort. Dawn was still just a faint lessening of the dark and I gestured us forwards. The gate, we knew was blocked, but the rain would have washed away some of the earth used to pack the trees and make an impassable barrier.  Had we still occupied the site then some of us would have been given the task of putting more soil and turf there but the Angles had not had time yet and we climbed the wooden ties which were like steps cut into the ramparts.

As I edged slowly towards the top I took off my helm and slowly eased my head up abo
ve the top log. I could see a handful of fires burning and tendrils of smoke seeping from the shelters erected by the invader.  The burning of the huts which had seemed petty at the time now seemed justified as the Angles suffered on the sodden turf beneath branches and pine. I could see that they had taken down the twenty heads; they had received my message. Aelle grabbed my arm and pointed to the west; there was a solitary guard on top of the mound some forty paces from us.  Luckily he was peering in the opposite direction but he would, inevitably turn, and when he did so he would see us. I notched an arrow and half raised myself.  Perhaps the slight movement alerted him but, whatever the cause, he turned.  He made it an easier strike as my arrow took him in the throat and he was pitched from the wall, landing with a dull thump in the bottom of the ditch.  There was no time to see if the others had heard and we fled back to the horses.  We quickly mounted and I led us towards the road in the east. They would easily see our tracks in the mud but, once on the road it would become more difficult to track us. Dawn broke as we approached the bridge of the fort.  I did not turn towards home but carried on across the bridge.

“Why cross the bridge brother?”

“Because, Raibeart, I do not know how good they are at tracking and they may be able to follow us on the road.  We will just make sure.” I grinned, “We may get a little wet but we will disappear, trust me.”

Once across the bridge I turned west through the bushes and headed down to the river.  There was a shingle bank and after we had negotiated it I led us into the water and headed upstream. Our father had told me that horses were good swimmers and this seemed the opportunity to try out his theory.  The water was flowing quickly but it only came up to the haunches of my horse and he kept his feet all the way across.  The other two were only
swimming for a few paces and then they, too, were walking again. I watched for the shingle and stone I knew were ahead and took us out of the river about a mile upstream from the bridge.  It would take a skilful tracker to follow us there.

Raibeart appeared a little downcast as we stabled and fed our mounts.  “Is that it then Lann? One Angle killed and we flee with our tails between our legs.”

Part of me wanted to do as I had when he was a boy and cuff him about the ears but he was a warrior now and he needed to know my mind. “We went there to find out if they had returned and they have. Now we can plan to hurt them, knowing that they are there.  We know that it would be impossible for three of us to attack them there.” He stared at me, a veiled anger and frustration in his eyes, “Agreed?  Or do you have a death wish about you?”

“Lann is right Raibeart.  We cannot attack the fort.” It was unusual for Aelle not to support Raibeart and it took my brother aback.

“We need to hit them when they are not in the hill fort. What do you think they will do there?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.  Raise animals, hunt.”

I could see his mind working as he reached the same conclusion I did. “All of which means that they will be outside the hill fort and in the lands which we know far better than they do.” I tapped my armour.  “We will not need shields or swords or armour.  We can ambush them and trap them in ground of our choosing.  We can hit and run.  When we are all stronger,” I tapped my chest, “me included, then we will try to find the king and join him.”

Raibeart grinned as he saw the sense in my words and Aelle looked pleased that we were not arguing. “We had better get the forge going then and make the arrows.”

I shook my head.  We wait for a day when the wind is blowing from the south for that.” He looked puzzled.  “It will blow the smoke away from the Angles. We do not want them curious about our presence besides we have a saddle to make for Aelle and nails to put into our shields.  The more nails we use the stronger they will become.”

Eight days later and we had completed our preparations.  We now had thirty arrows each and our shields were far stronger than they had been. 
It would be easier to hit a nail than the wood. We had eaten a second sheep and I knew that soon we would need to hunt but first we would hunt Angles.

As we were not mounted we used the south gate and I mad
e the other two walk in my footsteps. We left early and, this time, took Wolf with us; he would make an excellent sentry. We had spent the evenings discussing what the Angles might do.  If they wished to hunt then they would head to the forests and woods to the west. If they were seeking meadows for their animals then they would go south and west.  By heading south we hoped to cut across their trail. We each had a sword strapped to our belts.  I had left the magnificent sword in our home.  I needed more practice with it and I had the shorter Roman sword which I found easier to use.  All three blades were wickedly sharp and their points honed to perfection.