The Long Ships (8 page)

Krok said the number of the defenders worried him less than the dike and the stockade, which would make a surprise assault difficult. Some of the men thought it would be a simple matter to set fire to the stockade, but Berse reminded them that the whole fortress might then catch, in which case they would gain little profit from whatever wealth it might contain. In the end they decided that they would trust to their luck and determine what plan to follow when they reached the place. It was agreed that forty men should remain on board the ships, while the rest were to set out when evening fell, for it would then be cooler. Then they drew lots to determine which of them should stay with the ships, for they were all keen to be on the spot when the looting began.

They saw to their weapons, and slept during the heat of the day in a grove of oak trees. Then they fortified themselves with food and drink and, as evening fell, the company set out, numbering in all one hundred and thirty-six men. Krok marched at their head, with the Jew and Berse, and the rest followed, some wearing chain shirts and others leathern jackets. Most of them were armed with sword and spear, though a few carried axes; and each man had a shield and helmet. Orm marched beside Toke, who said it was a good thing to have this opportunity to loosen one’s joints before the fighting began, after so many sedentary weeks on the oar-bench.

They marched through a barren wilderness, in which no signs of human life could be seen; for these border regions between the Christian and the Andalusian kingdoms had for long been deserted. They kept to the northern bank of the river, fording a number of small streams; meanwhile the darkness thickened, and after some hours they rested and waited for the moon to rise. Then they turned northwards along a valley, making swift progress over flat terrain, and Solomon proved himself a good guide, for before the skies grew gray, they reached the approaches to the fortress. There they hid in the scrub and rested again for a while, peering forward into the gloom to discern what they could by the pale light of the moon. The sight of the stockade somewhat daunted them, for it consisted of rough tree trunks more than twice the height of a man; and the huge gate, which was fortified on top, looked exceedingly formidable.

Krok observed that it would be no easy task to set fire to this, adding that he would, in any event, prefer to storm the place without using fire if it was at all possible; but that there might be no other way, in which case they would have to pile brushwood against the stockade and set light to it, and hope that the whole building would not catch. He asked Berse if he had any better suggestion to put forward, but Berse shook his head and sighed and said that he could not think of any alternative, though he, too, disliked resorting to the use of fire. Nor had Solomon anything better to propose; he muttered that he would have to rest content with seeing the infidel burn, though he had hoped to obtain a more satisfying mode of revenge.

At this point in the discussion Toke crawled forward to Krok and Berse and asked what the delay was for, as he was beginning to grow thirsty and the sooner they stormed the fortress, the sooner he would be able to get something to drink. Krok told him that the problem they were debating was how to force an entry. To this, Toke replied that if they would give him five spears, he could, he thought, show them that he was capable of more things than merely rowing and drinking ale. The others asked what plan he had in mind, but he would only answer that, if all went well, he would procure their entry into the fortress, though the owners of the spears would have to be prepared to re-shaft them when they got them back. Berse, who knew Toke of old, advised that he should be given his head; so the spears were brought, and Toke cut off their shafts just where the iron joined the wood, so that he had a short stump left below each blade. He then announced that he was ready to begin; and he and Krok began to steal quietly toward the rampart, taking cover behind rocks and bushes, with a handful of picked men following them. They heard a few cocks crow from within the fortress, but apart from this the night was completely quiet.

They crept up to the rampart a short way along from the gate; then Toke climbed up to the foot of the stockade and drove one of his spears in between two of the piles, a good ell’s length from the ground, twisting it with all his strength to make it fast. Higher up in the next chink along, he drove a second blade; then, when he had noiselessly made sure that both of them would take the strain, he stepped carefully up on the shortened shafts and fixed a third spearhead higher up in the next chink. But, placed as he was, he found himself unable to make this blade fast without creating a noise. Krok, who had by now realized what Toke had in mind, signed to him to come down, whispering that they would have to do a bit of hammering now, even at the risk of disturbing certain sleepers from their slumber. Then, carrying the two remaining spearheads in his hand, he took Toke’s place on the steps that he had already made fast, and drove the third blade home with a couple of blows from the flat of his ax, immediately afterwards doing likewise with the fourth and fifth spearheads, fastening them higher up and farther along. As soon as he had driven the last blade home, he climbed up them and so reached the top of the stockade.

As he did so, they heard cries and alarums from within the fortress and a great baying of horns; but others of the Vikings followed Krok swiftly up Toke’s ladder as fast as they could clamber, and joined him at the top. Along the inside of the stockade there ran a wooden bridge, for bowmen to stand on. Krok and his followers jumped down on to this, encountering some men, armed with bows and spears and still drowsy with sleep, who ran out to intercept them, and cut them down. By this time they were being assailed with arrows from the ground, and two of them were hit, but Krok and the others ran along the bridge to the gate, and there dropped down to the ground, in the hope of being able to open it from within and thus admit the rest of their comrades. Hard fighting ensued, however, for many of the defenders of the fortress had already run to defend the gate, and reinforcements were coming to their aid with every minute that passed. One of the twenty men who had followed Krok up the ladder was hanging from the stockade with an arrow in his eye, and three others had been hit in their passage along the bridge; but all those who had managed to reach the ground safely packed themselves together in a tight phalanx and, raising their battle-cry, fought their way with spear and sword to the gate. Here it was very dark, and they found themselves hard pressed indeed, with enemies behind as well as in front of them.

Then they heard their battle-cry answered from without, for the men waiting on the hillside had run forward to the rampart as soon as they had seen that the attempt to scale the stockade had succeeded, and many of them were hacking at the gate with their axes, while others clambered up Toke’s ladder and dropped down inside the fortress to assist their companions who were fighting within the gate. There the strife was fierce and chaotic, friends and foes hardly knowing which was which. Krok felled several men with his ax, but was himself then struck on the side of the neck with a club wielded by a huge man with a black, plaited beard, who appeared to be the defenders' chieftain. Krok’s helmet partially parried the force of the blow, but he staggered and fell on his knees. At length Toke and Orm succeeded in fighting their way through a tangle of men and shields, so tightly packed that it was impossible to use a spear, with the ground so greasy with blood that their feet several times all but went from under them, and managed to draw the bolts of the gate. Their comrades poured in to join them, and such of the defenders in the gateway as did not flee were overwhelmed and slaughtered.

Then a terrible panic descended on the Christians, and they fled with death snarling at their heels. Solomon, who had been among the first to break in through the gate, charged ahead of the Vikings like a fanatic, stumbling over the bodies of the slain. Seizing a sword that lay on the ground and whirling it above his head, he shrieked to his companions through the uproar, bidding them all make haste to the citadel. Krok, who was still dazed from the blow that had felled him and was unable to regain his feet, cried to them from where he lay in the gateway to follow the Jew. Many of the Vikings ran into the houses that lined the inside of the rampart to slake their thirst or to look for women; but the majority of them pursued the fleeing defenders to the great citadel that stood in the center of the fortress. The gate of the citadel was crowded with Christians trying to get in, but before it could be closed, their pursuers swarmed in among them, so that fighting broke out again within the citadel; for the Christians saw that they had no option but to defend themselves. The big man with the plaited beard fought bravely, felling two men who attacked him, but at length he was forced into a corner and sustained blows that brought him to his knees, sorely wounded. On seeing him fall, Solomon rushed forward and threw himself upon him, seizing him by the beard and spitting on him and slobbering like a drunken man; but the bearded man stared at him as though uncomprehendingly, rolled over on his side, closed his eyes, and so died.

Seeing this, Solomon broke into loud lamentations at having been cheated of his full revenge, in that he had not been allowed to kill the man himself. Such Christians as remained alive defended themselves no longer when they saw that their leader had fallen, but surrendered to the mercy of their conquerors. Some of them were spared, so that they might be sold as slaves. Having helped themselves handsomely to meat and drink, which included ale as well as wine, the Vikings ransacked the fortress for booty, and disputes broke out concerning the women whom they discovered crouching in various corners, for they had been without women for many weeks. All the booty they found was heaped into an enormous pile—money, jewels, weapons, garments, brocades, coats of mail, household goods, bridles, silver plate, and much besides—and when it had all been counted, the value of it was found to exceed their wildest expectations. Solomon explained to them that it represented the fruits of years of plundering at the expense of the Andalusians. Krok, who was now able to stand on his feet again, and had a rag soaked with wine bandaged round his head, rejoiced at the sight of it and was only afraid lest it might prove difficult to find space for so much on board their ships. Berse assured him, however, that they would be able to find room for it all.

“For no man,” he said, “complains of the weight of the cargo when it is his own booty that is putting strain on his oar.”

They spent the rest of the day indulging their appetites, in high good humor; then they slept and, when night came, started on their return march toward the ships. All the prisoners were heavily laden with booty, and the men themselves had much to carry. Some Andalusian prisoners had been found in the dungeons of the citadel; they wept with joy at being freed, but looked wretchedly feeble and were incapable of carrying anything. So they were granted their liberty, and accompanied the Vikings on their way back to the ships, whence they were to proceed southwards with Solomon to their own country. Some donkeys had been captured, and Krok mounted one of them and rode at the head of the column, with his feet reaching to the ground. The other donkeys were led behind him, laden with food and ale; but their loads were speedily lightened, for the men stopped frequently to rest and refresh themselves.

Berse tried to hurry them on, that they might reach the ships as soon as possible. He was afraid lest they might be pursued, for some of the defenders of the fortress had managed to escape and could have ridden far enough to have procured help; but the men paid little attention to his exhortations, for they were in high spirits, and most of them were befuddled with drink. Orm had taken a bale of silk, a bronze mirror, and a large glass bowl, which was proving awkward to carry. Toke had a big wooden box balanced on his shoulder, finely embossed and full of various objects; with his other hand he was leading a girl who had taken his fancy and whom he wanted to hold on to for as long as possible. He was in excellent spirits and expressed to Orm the hope that the girl might turn out to be the margrave’s daughter; but then he grew melancholy, beginning to doubt whether there would be room for her on board the ship. He was unsteady on his feet, on account of the quantity he had drunk, but the girl seemed already to be solicitously disposed toward him and supported him when he stumbled. She was well proportioned and very young, and Orm said that he had seldom seen a finer girl, and that it would be a good thing to have woman-luck as good as Toke’s. But Toke replied that, despite their friendship, he could not share her with Orm, for she appealed to him very particularly and he wished to keep her for himself, if the gods should permit this to be.

At last they reached the ships, and the men who had remained on board were greatly jubilant at the sight of such rich booty, for it had been agreed that this was to be divided among them all. Solomon received many expressions of thanks from them all, and various costly presents; then he departed, together with the prisoners whom they had freed, since he was anxious to get clear of the Christians' country as soon as he could. Toke, who had not yet stopped drinking, began to weep when he heard that Solomon had left them, saying that now he had nobody to help him to converse with his girl. He drew his sword and wanted to run after him; but Orm and the others succeeded in quieting him without having to resort to violence, and in the end he nestled contentedly down beside his girl, having first bound her fast to him so that she should not steal away or be stolen while he slept.

The next morning they began to share out the booty, which proved to be no simple task. Everybody wanted to have as big a share as the next man; but it was decided that Krok and Berse and the helmsmen and one or two others should have three times as much as the rest. Even then, though the business of sharing everything out fairly was allotted to the wisest among them, it was difficult to satisfy everyone. Berse said that, as it was largely due to Toke that the fortress had been taken, he, too, ought to have a triple share; and they all agreed that this should be so. But Toke replied that he would be content with his single share if he might be allowed to bring his girl on board and keep her there without anyone objecting.