Viking Dragon (4 page)

Olaf Leather Neck banged the table with his seax handle, "Jarl Dragonheart! You have led us to success again! May the Allfather watch over you!" They all began banging the tables, making the pots and beakers rattle.  I was lucky to have such men to lead.

When I awoke it was late afternoon.  Aiden had done little during the night and had not bothered sleeping.  He had been examining the books and the parchments we had captured.  Knowledge was Aiden's treasure. "Well Aiden, are you pleased?"

"There is much here which we can use and some that we can sell.  I have given thought to the knarr we emptied.  If we fill it with the goods we wish to trade we can sail to the land of the Franks. They will buy the Holy books and the items from the churches. We have no need for such things. Siggi could come with us and then we could even sell the knarr too.  You are right we cannot crew two such knarr.  This way we make profit and do not have to waste such a fine ship."

That made sense to me. "Good, then see Siggi and sail tomorrow. Choose your crew."

The two knarr sailed before dawn and I led my warband north.  We went as three boat crews.  We had left enough guards to closely watch the monks although they were so frightened that we would kill them that they seemed quite submissive. Snorri and Beorn had taken horses and they rode north before dawn. They met us on the Roman Road not far from Tilaburg. "We have found a hall.  It is unguarded and looks to belong to an Eorledman or the like.  It is on a hill.  There is a farm and they have animals."

"How far is it?"

"Six Roman miles."

I had thirty men with me and I was confident that we could reach the hall and return unharmed. We began to run along the road. We reached the small stream which was a mile or so from the hall and we watched from the trees. "Snorri, take Beorn, Rolf Horse Killer and Rollo Thin Face. Make sure no one flees north."

We gave them a start and then spread out in a long line to ascend the slopes to the hill. It was a rich farm.  There were sheep, cattle and horses grazing in the fields.  I saw thralls with yokes around their necks labouring.  It looked like the owner was building a second wing to the house.  We approached unseen.  The land lay in such a way that we were hidden from those who were toiling around the buildings. I had time to wonder why the thegn had not built a palisade around his home.  The slope was such that a palisade and a ditch would have ensured he was safe from attack.

As we emerged from the dell, just fifty paces from the hall, we were seen.  There were screams from the women and the men ran for their arms. I needed to give no commands to my men and ran as quickly as we could to those with weapons. I recognised the thegn from his fine clothes.  He grabbed his sword and axe and stood before his door. I ran straight at him. He held his sword before him. I just raised my shield and hurled myself at the entrance. I knocked him to the ground.  He slashed at my leg with his sword but I moved my foot out of the way.

"Surrender and you live! You are a brave man but you will die if you fight."

In answer he swung his sword at my leg again.  I brought my sword over and he managed to block it with his shield before rolling away. That was a mistake for he bared his back and Ragnar's Spirit hacked through his neck.  The women and children who cowered in the corner of the room screamed and began to weep.

"Do not try to escape and you will not be harmed." I needed them to be as calm as possible. I turned, "Finni The Dreamer, watch these."

I went out of the hall.  My men were finishing off those who had resisted and herding those who had surrendered towards the hall. "Ulf Olafsson, take some men and begin to drive the animals back to the ships. We will only need ten men for the prisoners."

"Aye Jarl.  We will eat well this night."

I went to the other side of the hall and saw my four men walking towards me.  They were driving four captives. When they neared me they said.  "We killed the man.  He resisted but we captured these."

"Have them load all of the food and valuables into carts.  They can pull them.  I would leave as soon as we can."

It was mid afternoon by the time we crossed the stream and headed south.  In the distance I saw smoke spiralling into the sky and I wondered if that was one of my other jarls. I rode one of the captured horses and I went to speak with the woman who looked to have been the thegn's wife.  I spoke in Saxon and, as always, it seemed to surprise the Saxon woman.  "Your husband was a brave man.  What was his name?"

She looked up at me and I could see the contempt on her face.  She contemplated insulting me but she must have been a pragmatic woman for she answered, "Wulfric of Belesduna."

I nodded and rode in silence.  That name would be useful.  Aiden would put his red dot on his parchment and add another name. His maps were useful. It was how we had known of Lambehitha. The treasure from the two monasteries and their churches had almost filled the captured knarr. Even if the Franks paid us a fraction of their value we would still be rich.

"What will happen to us, Viking?"

"My name is Jarl Dragonheart."

She crossed herself, "You are the one who can become a wolf!"

I laughed, "It is a legend. Do not believe all the stories you hear.  I wear a wolf skin and I carry a wolf charm.  That is all."

"You did not answer me. What will happen to us?"

I liked her.  She was afraid of me and yet she did not show it.  She was willing to stand up to me. "To be truthful I know not yet.  However I never lie and I say to you that it may be you become slaves. I will promise you this; if you are to be a slave it will be in my home and you will not be ill treated."

She gave a scornful laugh, "And that is supposed to make me feel better? We will still be slaves."

I pointed to the thralls who pulled the cart just ahead of us.  "They were free once, lady.  They are slaves.  Did you treat them well?"

She looked nonplussed, "They are thralls!"

I shook my head, "As are you. If your husband had given you a wall and armed men instead of another building you might still be free.  Those are the choices he made and you pay for them with slavery."

I urged my horse on.  I had been taken as a slave.  It was not the end of your life.  It depended upon your attitude. Scanlan and Seara his wife had been slaves and I had freed them.  Now they were happy. Deidra and Macha had been nuns and yet they were now free and held in high regard by my people. Slavery was not the end of life unless you chose to make it so.

My other bands had returned to the monastery with varying degrees of success. We had many sheep and cattle as well as enough horses to mount one warband if we chose. Raibeart returned with more treasure from a church.  It was not as great as that from either Tilaburg or Lambehitha but there were precious metals and fine linen. He told me that they had destroyed the ferry which crossed the river at that point.  We had cut off Tilaburg. We placed the captives, all of them, in the church.  The priests comforted the wife and family of Thegn Wulfric.  I guessed he had been an important man.

Rather than raid the next day we consolidated what we had.  We slaughtered the older animals we had captured and salted the meat.  We had found a great quantity of salt at Belesduna. I did, however, send riders to spy out any other sources of treasure. They brought the news that the fyrd had been raised and were heading for us. It was not unexpected.

"When will they get here, Snorri?"

"If it was us then tonight but the Saxons move slower than a snail.  It will be the morning before they reach us. They are heading first for Lundenwic."

My jarls and captains gathered around me. "Do we stay and fight or leave, Jarl Dragonheart?"

I smiled, Olaf Grimsson was the youngest of my captains.  "We stay and fight, Olaf. Firstly we have to wait for the return of Aiden and Siggi and secondly the Saxon fyrd is not a reason to flee. We will, however, be prudent. The ships will anchor in the river.  It will stop the Saxons using ships to attack us and prevent reinforcements joining from across the river."

The afternoon and evening was spent in sharpening weapons, oiling mail and preparing defences. I knew we would be outnumbered.  I intended to use the land to help us. I would make them attack up the slope.  I had Snorri gather fifteen warriors to use bows. We still needed men to guard the captives and so I was left with a hundred and twenty men to face the enemy. Twenty five of us had full byrnies but all my warriors had a helmet, a shield and either a short byrnie or leather armour. We would be better armed than the fyrd.

We rose before dawn.  Snorri had said it was unlikely they would attack before morning but it paid to be prepared.  We had cooked a half a dozen old sheep the night before and we ate well.  The monks brewed good ale and we were as prepared for battle as any. Each warrior went through his own ritual.  Mine was the same each time.  I donned cochineal and then groomed myself.  I took out Ragnar's Spirit and asked for the help of my old mentor and I touched the pommel stone which had come from deep within the earth.  It was a link to the Mother.  That done I was ready. 

I went outside to join the sentries who watched to the west. Snorri had seen the fyrd approaching Lundenwic from the west.  They would join the remains of the garrison.  The warriors of the garrison were the real warriors. There would be other thegns who would bring their hearthweru.  The Saxons found courage in numbers. The Saxons made good swords; some said the best but they did not handle them as well as we did. They used them like an iron bar.  We had Beorn put a sharp tip on our swords so that we could stab. We had discovered that you could open up mail that way.

My men wandered out as they were ready.  If I had given the alarm then they would have rushed but there was little point until the Saxons were in sight. One of the sentries shouted, "I see the banners and the crosses, Jarl. They come."

The Saxons always liked to have their priests with their crosses in their armies.  They also carried boxes with pieces of the dead holy men with them.  It rarely seemed to help them. I saw them as they rose along the Roman Road to Lundenwic.  It looked to be a large number but there was little order.  I saw the standard of Eorledman Brynoth and he rode with five or six other fully mailed men.  I took them to be other thegns or Eorledmen. The hearthweru looked to be small in number, perhaps forty of them and only half were mailed. They looked to have brought a fyrd all of whom had a shield and a spear. Lundenwic was indeed a rich city.

They halted at the bottom of the hill upon which the monastery stood.  It was neither a large nor a steep hill but we would have the advantage of height and that was always an advantage. Eorledman Brynoth rode forward a little way ahead of the throng of warriors behind him. He took off his helmet and held his hands open.

Haaken said, "It looks like he wishes to talk. Do you think he comes to surrender Essex to us?"

My Ulfheonar laughed.

"Possibly, Haaken. or maybe he has heard the stories about you and wishes to know the truth!"

That brought an even bigger laugh.  It showed my men were comfortable but, more importantly, the Saxons shifted uncomfortably.  They outnumbered us and yet we could still laugh. That was always disconcerting. Our ships were on the river and yet we had not fled.

"I will go and speak with him." I took off my helmet and handed it to Leif the Banner. My shield was behind my back and I kept my hands from my sword.  I stopped twenty paces from him and waited.

"I come to ask you to surrender the captives you took, Jarl Dragonheart."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because if you do then you shall leave and live. If you do not then you stay and die."

I shook my head.  "The last I saw of you, Eorledman, was when you were running back to Lundenburgh's walls.  I do not think we have anything to fear from you."

"You are outnumbered and the men of Kent are coming."

"We stay until I am ready to go.  We have many more animals to eat and there are churches all over this land.  They yield much treasure and your women... well they are not as comely as ours but they will fetch a  good price in the slave markets of Dyflin."

"This is your last chance."

"And we reject it."

He smiled, "Very well, then let battle commence."

There was something disquieting about his demeanour.  He was up to something but I could not work out much.

"What did he want, Jarl?"

"He wanted us to leave!"

They all laughed.  I had just donned my helmet and turned when I heard a roar from the bottom of the slope.  The fyrd opened ranks and thirty mailed warriors, Danes, began to march towards us in a boar's head wedge.

I shook my head, "He has hired mercenaries!"

Olaf laughed, "At least we will get some decent armour from their corpses." He spat on his hands and prepared for battle.