Viking Voices (6 page)

Slowly and rather unsteadily the drunken warriors carry their plunder down the cliff path. We suffer our first casualties here as several fall and get injured, mostly minor injuries: many cuts, sprained ankles and bruised heads. The unfortunate four guards who stayed by the boat also get to have some of the food at last but obviously there is no mead remaining for them.

It's a long and quite difficult voyage back to the community we left on the north of the island. The tide is with us at first though it runs slowly, which makes rowing easier, but it is difficult to know where we are going in the dark and we seem to be often off course. The helmsmen could have really earned their place this night, but it seems they have a full belly of mead too, and they are not performing well. As we turn west at the big headland we find the tide is now turning against us and runs strongly here. No matter how hard we row we can make no headway into it and have little choice but to turn out of the stream and into a rocky bay near at hand. There we beach the boats and settle down to sleep off the effects of the mead! Those effects together with the excitement of the raid and the long periods of rowing have left us exhausted, and we all sleep soundly. No one even thinks to leave a guard.

As the grey dawn breaks we are awake with a start, having slept only a little, since Ragnald is calling us urgently to action. He has gathered us under his boar's head banner. Further up the beach are a small group of armed men, all staring angrily at us. None of them move towards us, which may be wise for we are more numerous than they are, and we are also well-armed. They have lost the advantage of surprise as we are all awake now and well aware of the threat they pose to us. We might be feeling badly jaded and weary, but faced with a fight we will give a very good account of ourselves, and our bad temper will be taken out on our enemy.

There is no battle though, or at least, not this time. After a lengthy time of fiercely staring at us the foreigners recognise that they are outnumbered, and with our warriors spread out in a semi-circle to face them they can see our strength. We see that realisation spread through them and as soon as it has they start to move backwards and slip away along hidden pathways among the undergrowth, paths which we cannot see. Not that we try too hard to follow, it's our boats that interest us and so we launch them immediately and row off along the coast to rejoin our families, bringing them the remainder of our plunder. Mostly it consists of clothing and hides though there is enough food left for all of the community. That seems to be the most welcome item among them even though it will not go far in this large group.

Although no one says anything about it we all know that the main beneficiary of the night's efforts, in fact the only one to gain anything of real lasting value, was Ragnald. Once again he has collected some silver coins to add to his hoard, and perhaps quite a large amount. It is clearly a real obsession with him to collect silver, and we have all now seen examples of his gathering it and no one has ever seen him spend any. Clearly he has a purpose for this!

Perhaps it is a simple purpose, to gather great riches for himself and his family. We certainly know that he sees himself as a strong king and great leader and has great ambitions. It seems that a great deal of our future is dependent on his leadership too; so we will need to support him as much as we are able, his fate will also be our fate.

A more immediate question for him to consider is whether we will stay here on this island, the first place we have found after leaving Dyflinn. It has the great advantage of being close enough to Dyflinn to allow us to raid the Irskrs regularly, but it would also allow them to raid us. The greatest priority now has to be a safe place for our families, especially our women and children. We do not want them to be on the receiving end of the kind of raid that we mounted last night.

The group of captive women that escaped from us last night will be probably even now be spreading stories of the slaughter of their men and calling for vengeance among their people. I can imagine the unrestrained wrath of that raven haired maiden, clearly a very passionate woman. The group of men who confronted us on the beach were probably there to show us that there are warriors here who are capable of, and willing to, resist us. The question remains as to whether the foreigners have the capability to put together an army large enough and strong enough to resist us, now that we are back in the main group.

We are soon to find out.

After a week we are feeling much more settled in our temporary camp above the cliffs of our exposed and stony bay. There have been no further signs of any interest in us from the foreigners, and we are starting to feel more secure here, though probably with no good reason.

The weather has been a little drier and even a little sunny at times which has helped improve the mood of the whole community. The shelters have been made a little sturdier, and we have been able to supplement our food stocks with a good and regular catch of fish, which are very plentiful here and easily caught in nets and traps. So we are all eating well, feeling better and starting to believe that we can make a home here. It will however, certainly not be on this site.

The reason we are here is that it allowed us to land on an unknown and possibly hostile shore with the best chance of being unobserved. We will need to find a bigger, better and more sheltered harbour if we are to stay longer. This bay will be very open to a northerly gale, and we would lose most of our precious boats in the next big storm if we were to leave them here. Time is not on our side but, as so often, Ragnald is complacent and needs persuading to move on and he has a few advisers who urge him to do so. He even asked my opinion, which pleased me, but also shows that he has so little ability to see the longer term issues.

We have made many short trips exploring the coast from here, and these have taught us of the necessity to go out as the flood tide starts to run and return on the next ebb tide. The wriggling motion under the boat is not really a group of serpents but a very rapid tidal stream here, which is another reason why we would benefit from a different location with a better harbour, and easier access. We are ideally looking for a large estuary, just like Dyflinn, which we can arrive by sea at any state of the tide, but also be far enough inland to be accessible to good land so we are able to farm the valley.

Well to the east of us there is the large sandy bay which is close to the village we have already raided. That might be a better prospect for a permanent base although it would have a small drawback in that it would sometimes be difficult access for boats, since it is all dry sand at low tide. It is not a great problem, though we would need to carry the boats up the beach when arriving at low tide. Not far to the west is a very large sheltered bay with a good site for developing a new longphort. It might have a little less farm land than we would ideally want and, of course, it is already inhabited so we would need to drive the current inhabitants off the site. Neither of these sites are absolutely ideal for us so perhaps we will need to look further afield than we have already.

It is not long before we have a new and pressing reason to look much further away. We have visitors, who have not brought us good tidings. A small group of unarmed men have entered the settlement seeking talks with Ragnald, and this will surely mean that danger, in some form, is coming sooner or later. I am included in the small group of men around Ragnald who are there to listen and advise him, and it seems I might have become something of a favoured adviser of Ragnald's, perhaps he sees me as one of his most trusted and capable warriors now. These people have come to meet him as representatives of the King of Gwynedd, who rules this region, and they have been chosen for this task as they are Norse speakers, a rare thing in these parts.

It seems that we are not the first Vikings to come here and that there have been a large number of Norse raiders and even a few settlers here in the past, so these foreigners have learnt our language from them. One of them is the son of a Viking who settled here many years ago and took a local wife, so he speaks both languages fluently and is the perfect ambassador.

They are not bringing much good news but at least we can understand a great deal more about the land we are in, and especially the attitude of our new neighbours. Not surprisingly, in the light of our recent raiding, that attitude is very hostile towards us. It seems we have arrived at the most northerly point of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and are on the island of Môn, which is a well populated island with very fertile farming land. It is known as the main source of food, especially grain, sheep and cattle, for the entire region. The people here are Britons and they have already resisted the Angles for a long time, before eventually King Alfred forced them to form an alliance with his Saxons. It is clear that they still hate the Anglo-Saxons more than anyone else, but they have also fought off many expeditions from the Irskrs and have met many other Vikings who came here to raid and even to attempt to build colonies earlier. Often those raiders were our own kin from Dyflinn.

It seems their king now knows of our current plight and is not planning to allow us to take any part of his land even in these circumstances. He is obviously fully aware both of our presence, and our reasons to be here. He already knows a great deal about our strength, our numbers and our plight as well. The raid we carried out on the village, their ambassador calls it Maes Osfeilion, has indeed stirred up great anger and hostility towards us. As a result he is finding it easy to gather a large army together and will be coming to sweep us off the island, they will outnumber us enormously and they will be here in just a few day's time.

Our visitors have come on his behalf to warn us and to give us the chance to leave peacefully and so avoid bloodshed on both sides. They are keen to suggest that we go north to the island of Vannin which they say is already a Norse settlement, and where they suggest we are more likely to be welcome. I have already been to this place, which is only one day's sail away, and traded with the people there. They are indeed Scandinavian, but Danir rather than Lochlain, so it is not at all clear that they will welcome us. There is, however, probably no better option available to us in looking for new land. After all, we are wanderers now, having lost our true home, and have few good options in these terrible times. Our opportunities are also limited by knowing too little of the lands and the people that surround us, so it is time to get to know much more.

Ragnald is characteristically unhappy at the threats he is receiving, and his instinct immediately is to fight, but he is above all a pragmatic leader and listens to my advice on the subject. He already knows it is much better for us to avoid a full scale conflict at this time when our numbers are reduced and our men still demoralised by their defeat at the hands of the Irskr. Most of all we have our women and children with us and must find a safe place for them. They would be in great danger here if we fought and lost.

It is much better to accept the opportunity to move on, which we must do anyway as we need a better harbour, and find another location with a better site for our new town. I suggest to Ragnald that he plans for us to come back to this island later when we have built up our strength and our numbers, and give the King of Gwynedd a better answer than our current retreat by raiding him again, and thus punish him for expelling us. Ragnald feels better when he thinks of that prospect; vengeance is something he can readily understand.

So the next day is taken up by our loading the boats and preparing to leave once more. At least we will move on better fed and better prepared than when we arrived, but it does feels like another defeat, and so leaves a bitter taste. Somewhere else we cannot remain, one more place which will not be our home, and we are still wanderers! We are still searching for that safe haven for our people.

Ragnald gathers his inner group of warriors around him and I find myself among them, we get the awkward task of carrying a large and very heavy wooden trunk down the beach and into Ragnald's drakken boat. It is obviously the same one taken from the dead King Ivarr and is surely his collection of silver. It is impossible to move such a heavy bulky item discreetly, and it is certainly very heavy. Although we do our best the whole of the population watches this procession in silence, and every one must know that it is Ragnald's personal treasure hoard.

In the morning, at dawn, the fleet is launched and the entire community is taken out across the hostile sea, dark grey but covered in white foam in the strong breeze. Ragnald is taking us to the island of Vannin as the foreigner suggested, and we will go directly north from here.

I have suggested to Ragnald that he sends Ingamund, the other Jarl, eastwards with a smaller group to search out other possibilities there. Ragnald should not be putting all his eggs in one basket this time and we also need to look for contacts in Danelaw or perhaps even with the Saxons. So we will not see Ingamund again for some time, probably some weeks or even months, as it is necessary for him to explore this sea and its various lands very thoroughly to gather full information and draw charts. We cannot wander unguided forever as a safe place for our families is our first need. We might find it in Vannin but this is far from certain and we therefore need to have other options if that should turn out badly. We have no friends in the world and so must fend for ourselves and it is best to do that in a planned and intelligent way.

Even the elements are unfriendly as we row out from the shore into a turbulent current, with the wind going across our intended course, and opposing the tidal stream. We can still use the wind to move us but it stretches the sails and it tries to take us further east and so we will also need to row strongly to keep to our northerly track. We are all battered by the wind and the waves, the families being bounced around in the bottom of the boats, a very uncomfortable journey for them. Most of them will be extremely sea sick on this voyage and many of the men will be too.

Although we hope for brighter weather with lighter winds the opposite happens; the turbulence of the sea heightens and the rain falls steadily on us. It is a good thing that we have many leather hides to cover us and warm us. They do not keep us very dry though and so no one is cheerful, it is a thoroughly miserable journey. Our only consolation is that for most of our voyage we can see the mountains of our destination occasionally appearing through the clouds ahead of us. First they are far away on the horizon, but each time they appear through the gaps in the cloud they are larger and therefore closer. Our next resting place is not far away, and we are moving rapidly towards it. Perhaps this time we will find our true haven. That is the great hope and consolation that we are all clinging onto.

The wind is behind us as we get close and the last part of our journey passes rapidly. Suddenly the clouds have cleared and the island appears large and immediately in front of us, lit up in a great red glow by the setting sun. The last rays of light brightening the western slopes and picking out all the colours. They are the sunlit uplands that promise a happy life to come.

As before, when we arrived in Môn, we make landfall at the island in darkness but this time we come into a large sweeping bay with gently sloping beaches with fields and woods beyond them, leading up towards some low hills. We are close to a small existing settlement and, having discussed our strategy with Ragnald, he has decided that we will not attempt to conceal ourselves this time but will make our presence here apparent to our neighbours. So we sail the boats together right into the bay as a grand fleet, in full sail until we are very close in to the land. In this place we expect to be able to converse with people in our own language and gain ourselves some time to rest through negotiation. It is most unlikely that we will be attacked before some attempt to carry out talks takes place, and we are in a land where we can converse in a common language. We are not simply a group of helpless refugees, but a strong and well-armed group very capable of defending ourselves if necessary. Any sensible leader will take us seriously, and although we are vulnerable and needy ourselves we also represent a serious threat to those who will make enemies of us.

At present we will be content to carry our wives and families ashore and settle them down in whatever shelter we can find or quickly construct from the dismantled shanties that we have brought with us from the now abandoned site on Môn. It is a great relief to me to see Aud and our two mothers arrive safely in this new haven and Ragnald is also seen carrying Thora and her children up the beach in a touching display of affection for such a difficult, aggressive and self-centred man. Perhaps there is a softer, more family oriented side to him after all.

Thora seems to have won his heart completely, and I have no doubt that having lost one king she is very anxious to keep the second one. I think her wise to do that, as few women get one, let alone two, chances to be a queen. Clearly he is a great comfort to her, as she seems to have no grief at all for her first husband, so recently deceased but already completely forgotten. She is always the finest dressed in the community, with brightly coloured costumes made of expensive cloth: acquired in the good times of Dyflinn. Even then they were difficult and expensive articles to acquire.

Her impressive appearance enhances her status and many of our women admire her good looks and rich clothes. Others are less generous about her manner and particularly her ambition. While she is both respected and admired among our women, she is not liked by many.

Aud speaks to her occasionally and has a good relationship with her, they are apparently quite friendly, but in chatting with me Aud admits that she does not really like Thora very much either. My wife can be as contrary as most women in her dealings with her neighbours, but it is difficult to feel much warmth in Thora. Her instant switch of affection from Ivarr to Ragnald without a moment of mourning has left a very sour taste in all of our mouths. No one feels that she is a woman of any depth of emotion and is just coldly looking after her own best interest.

The only credit she is given is for being a very effective mother in looking after the interests of her children with Ivarr. They have been able to retain their privileged lifestyle.

It is not the most peaceful of night's sleep, as the rain and wind continue to drive down and there is little shelter, but we both feel a great relief to be on land again after the difficult crossing, and we are learning to see the best in all the events that befall us. Aud says that we must fight hard, work hard and solve every problem, as that is the Viking spirit.