Hosker, G [Wolf Brethren 03] Saxon England Read online

  I was leading the thirty warrior patrol on that fateful day. Pol, my squire, and Scean, my standard bearer rode behind me. Despite the disparity in their ages, Pol was a boy and Scean was the oldest warrior who served me, they had both grown close to me having watched my back and fought to protect me so many times. When I had fought in the shield wall I had the confidence of knowing that Garth was there to protect my right but on horseback I had these two and they were just as comforting. Our scout that day was Aedh, the younger brother of my best ever scout Adair who had died fighting Aella. He too wore a wolf skin as I did and I had helped him to kill the wolf. He was determined to justify its wearing but I knew that he deserved that honour.

  We were heading south east. There was a high ridge of land and below it, towards the land of the Saxons; the land became flatter and less hilly. We usually visited it once a month to see if there were signs of the Saxons. That particular day there was a thin mist which drifted into cloud on the ridge tops. It made visibility difficult but that did not bother us. The land was open and the chance of an ambush by those on foot was slim. We had paused at noon, although without the sun it was a guess, and Aedh reported that he had seen no signs of the Saxons. The news did not disappoint us; the longer we could go without seeing the enemy the better.

  As we mounted and I prepared to send Aedh off, we heard the noise of a whinny. It came from down the valley and it was not one of our horses. Without a word being spoken my men drew their spears and Aedh left us to see what had caused the noise. There was a possibility that it was a stray, it did happen, but it was unlikely as horses were so valuable and I had yet to see a stray. We remained where we were just listening for the sound to recur. It seemed an age before Aedh reappeared.

  “My lord, there are ten riders; they look to be from Elmet.”

  “Ride beyond them and see if they are being followed.” I turned to my men. There are riders and they may be from Elmet but they could also be Saxons. Be wary.” I knew that they would acquit themselves well; we had become accustomed to treachery and tricks. We rode slowly down the slope and I began to see vague shapes ahead. They were too regular to be rocks and I knew that they must be horses with riders. I checked that my thirty men were in a half circle. I had no doubt that Aedh was correct and there were just ten riders; we would not be outflanked. I called, “Riders you approach Rheged land. Identify yourselves.”

  “I am Geraint of Elmet seeking Lord Lann the Wolf Warrior.”

  “Then you have found him.”

  The ten lumps emerged from the fog and I relaxed as I recognised Geraint whom I had fought alongside in Elmet when we had defeated and killed Wach son of Aella. I could see that the ten riders had suffered for all of them bore wounds. Geraint’s left arm hung limply by his side. Their horses looked about ready to drop. I wished that I had my healer, Myrddyn, with me. I turned to Scean. “Take ten men and form a skirmish line down the valley.” As he rode off I shouted, “Feed these warrior’s horses and see to their hurts. Pol, see to their leader’s mount, he is a friend.”

  I dismounted and was just in time to catch Geraint who almost fell from his horse. “Pol, water.”

  Geraint’s eyes were closed and I wondered if he had died. I leaned in to see if he breathed and his voice whispered, “I am not yet with the gods Lord Lann, but it was close.”

  I sighed with relief and Pol poured water down his parched throat. I checked his wound and saw that he had lost much blood. Myrddyn had made us all carry pieces of torn cloth and I took some from my saddlebags. Using the water I cleaned the wound and then bound it tightly. I hoped it would stop the bleeding but Myrddyn would have to work hard or this brave warrior would die.

  Aedh galloped in, “There are no Saxons my lord.”

  “Good. Ride to the castle and tell Myrddyn and Garth that we have ten injured warriors from Elmet. He is to bring carts and the rest of the equites.” The resourceful young rider kicked hard and he was gone in the mist in an instant.

  Geraint opened his eyes, “Your brother sent me, my lord, Elmet has fallen and much of our army was slaughtered.” He relapsed as though the effort had been too much. My heart had almost stopped when he said Elmet had fallen but then I remembered he had said that my brother had sent me which implied, I hoped, that he was alive still. “He and the king and the ones who survived fled north west. We all fled but we were pursued. Our horsemen made charge after charge to delay them and they bought the time with their lives. When we could go no further we took refuge on a high rock above the river Raibeart called The Swale.”

  “I know it.” It was a good place to defend but there was no escape route. The river wound around a steep rock seemingly placed there by the gods. There was water but little food.

  “He sent twenty of us to find you.” He waved his arm at his men. “These are all that is left of King Gwalliog’s horsemen.”

  “And the archers?” Raibeart was a renowned archer and had made the archers of Elmet almost as feared as those of Rheged.

  “Many of those still live but they are short of arrows.”

  “When did you leave him?”

  “This morning.”

  Then we still had time. We could be at the river bound rock by nightfall but we would have to leave now. “I will have to leave you and your men here Geraint. Garth will bring warriors. When they come they will take you to my castle and you will be safe.”

  He struggled to rise. “We will go with you my lord.”

  My voice hardened, “Think Geraint, you and your men are wounded. You would slow us down.” I put my hand on his shoulder and my voice became gentler. “You have done your duty and now I will do mine.” He nodded. “Pol. You are to bring Miach and all the archers. Garth will know the place my brother has taken refuge you must come there and tell Miach to bring every arrow he can.”

  Pol looked torn between his orders and his duty to serve me. “What will you do my lord?”

  I laughed, “I will annoy the Saxons until you arrive. Now go and tell Lady Aideen that we will have the survivors of Elmet as guests. She will know what to do.” My wife and my steward, Brother Oswald, were resourceful people they would have a comfortable welcome waiting for whoever we brought. “You will be safe Geraint. Wolf Warriors, we ride to fight the Saxons, mount.”

  The men of Elmet gave a weak cheer as we rode down through the mist to see if we could reach the last free men of Elmet in time.

  Scean rode next to me as we steadily rode towards my beleaguered brother. Scean had served with me as long as Garth and knew me as well. He was a veteran and had stood at my side with the wolf banner since I had become lord of Castle Perilous. He knew he could speak his mind. “Do you have a plan, my lord, or do we just charge in and kill as many as we can?”

  “I have a vague plan but it needs the others. What we will do is frighten the Saxons.”

  “Frighten?” I could tell I had piqued his curiosity.

  “They will be camped close to the river, they have to be. We will make them think they have displeased Icaunus.”

  “It does not do to take the gods in vain, my lord.”

  “I know which is why we will make a sacrifice first and then we will make them think the spirits of the river are there. All we need to do is to distract them until Garth, Tuanthal, Miach reach us and then we can use real weapons to destroy them.” I could tell that Scean was relieved. None of us wished to offend the river god but I felt a special bond with the river god, he had saved me on a number of occasions and I believed his would on the side of those who were born into the land and not some thieves come to steal it.

  We knew that the gods were on our side when we found a deer which emerged suddenly from a copse. We killed the beast which appeared to gallop in front of my spear-wyrd. I saw the look of awe on my men’s faces and even Scean appeared to be surprised. We cut out its heart and took that to the river which thundered nearby.

  “Great river god, Icaunus, take this offering as an apology for what we are about to d
o.”

  The men all looked relieved as we continued on our journey. They had all heard and echoed Scean’s sentiments but we had averted any danger to us and could now terrify and kill the Saxons below.

  The high pierce of rock was visible from miles around and we halted some distance from it. Leaving one man to guard the horses and keep watch for Garth and the reinforcements, I led the men towards the distant fires which marked the Saxon camp. They had most of their men, from the number of fires we could see, on the southern bank. The northern bank had less room for them. There was a small waterfall which afforded them the opportunity of crossing the river as well as a ford I knew was further downstream. We had no idea of numbers but, from their fires it was a mighty host. I had assumed it must have been a large army to have driven King Gwalliog from his fortress stronghold of Loidis. We had left our shields with our mounts for this would not be a battle but a terror attack and we need to move swiftly and be unencumbered. My plan, devised and disseminated on the trail was simple; we would capture their sentries, kill them and then float their bodies down the river one by one. I hoped that this would make the Saxons fear the river and have to delay while they made a sacrifice to Icaunus. I knew that Garth would arrive by dawn and, although he would be tired we would be in a better position to fight, especially with Miach’s forty mounted archers. The rest of my army would not arrive for a day; I knew that much for certain. We had to buy a precious day and hope that my brother and his men could hold out in their rocky refuge.

  We spread out in pairs and skirted the periphery of the camp. I hoped that the Saxons would not be alert. I hoped that complacency would make them think that as their enemies lay at the top of the rock and had no escape save through their camp that they did not need to keep a keen watch. The noise of the waterfall hid our approach quite well. I could see that they had erected a barrier on the northern side to prevent my brother and his people from rushing through their lines and escaping.

  We progressed very carefully and I saw a wave from the nearest pair as they saw their sentry. At the same time Scean and I saw ours. He was a veteran with scars visible in the moonlight and he had his cloak about his ears to keep warm; a sure sign of someone who has campaigned before. He had no helmet and wore no mail but he carried a spear and a short sword. We waited, patiently, for him to face away from us again. As soon as he did so we pounced. Scean had a thick wooden branch which he used as a cudgel and he struck him on the back of the head. The crunch and the pieces of bone told us he was unconscious or dead. We picked him up and went back to the river bank. Once we were there we drowned him as my men had drowned the other six men we had found. When the Saxons saw them they would see men who had been nowhere near the river, drowned, and they would put that down to magic or the river god; either worked for us.

  We then waited with the stiffening corpses, watching for the first faint light of day. Scean had really sharp ears for the oldest man in my army and he suddenly hissed. “Someone is coming!”

  We spun round, weapons in our hands and I was relieved to see one of my men. “Captain Garth is here my lord with forty horsemen and forty archers.”

  “Good, tell him to bring them forward silently.” I turned to my men. “One in two of you get some sleep. Scean, sleep.”

  No one argued. We would need our strength in the morning. Garth and Miach ghosted next to me. “I ordered all of our warriors to come and I sent despatch riders to your brother Aelle and the king telling them that Castle Perilous was without warriors.”

  He looked at me fearfully, as though I would chastise him. I put my arm around his shoulder, “You did exactly as I would have wished.” Besides I knew that the old warriors who could no longer fight in a shield wall, all twenty of them would defend my home as well as any. “When the first light comes we will let one of these bodies slip down the river and then all the others.” They both gave me a look which showed that they were intrigued rather than perplexed. “I want them to think that Icaunus has taken their sentries. When we attack them I want them to believe that it is the spirits of the wood and not the warriors of Rheged. We will use the warriors who have a wolf cloak to increase the illusion.”

  I was pleased that they both looked pleased with the idea. I had not been sure that it would work but their approval was vital. “When dawn comes we will move towards their camp. I want the archers behind my wolf warriors so that when we retreat the Saxons can be slaughtered. The wolf warriors will attack silently,” I gave a wry smile, “perhaps a wolf’s howl from those who feel up to it.” They both chuckled. “We are here to stop the Saxons attacking the men of Elmet. I want to draw them off towards our army. We have a long day to buy. Today will be the longest day. I want no heroics. It will be the Saxons who bleed and not us.” I suddenly saw Pol with his wolf skin and felt guilty that my young squire would be putting his life in jeopardy and then I remembered, he would be doing so to save my brother and his family and I felt proud of him and all my other wolf warriors.

  The sun began to peer over the eastern horizon and we carried the bodies to the waterfall which marked the western end of their defences. I turned to Scean, “The first body.” I mentally counted and said, “The second.” In no time at all the Saxon sentries were floating down stream, slowly on the current. We heard a yell as the first body was seen in the slow moving eddies below the waterfall and soon we could hear the hubbub from the camp. “I grinned. “Now, wolf warriors, now, we go.” There were thirty five of us with wolf skins and we slipped through the woods covered by Miach’s archers.

  Approaching as we did, from the west meant that we were in darkness while they were silhouetted against the lightening sky of the new day. The attention of the warriors was also on the river and the bodies which were being fished out. The warriors whose backs were to us died silently and quickly. I wondered how long we could continue as the third Saxon fell to Saxon Slayer. One of the men on the end of our line was seen and the Saxons turned to see the wraiths from the dark. We still had the advantage as their eyes widened in horror. They saw creatures that looked live wolves but held swords! However when I heard their leaders order them forward I knew that it was time for a retreat. “Fall back!”

  The men were expecting the order and, killing their opponents, they turned their black cloaked backs on the Saxons and moved quickly west towards Miach, his archers and Garth with the rest of my men. The sudden move took the Saxons by surprise and it gave us a head start. We knew where our warriors were and they did not. As soon as Miach saw the line of cloaked warriors coming towards him he ordered the archers to loose a flight. Although aiming blind the rain of arrows could not fail to find bodies and many Saxons fell. Once again, they halted. Dawn had now fully broken and we could be clearly seen. Our wolf cloaks signalled who we were as much as my wolf banner and they formed a shield wall and came on. By the time they had organised themselves we had reached our horses and mounted. Miach ordered a third and final flight and then his lithe and nimble archers sprinted back to their horses and we all withdrew. I made sure that we withdrew in good order and at a pace which gave the illusion that they could catch us. Indeed, they probably thought that they would as it was scrubby bushes and trees through which we escaped but my men were used to such terrain and half an hour later as our horses climbed the gentle slope of the hills to the south they gave up and withdrew.

  “Well done men. Tuanthal, take twenty of your men who have the fittest horses and follow them. Do not let them get close to you. I merely want to know if they intend to attack the men of Elmet today.”

  Grinning, my young captain of horse said, “With pleasure my lord. My men were a little bored awaiting your return.”

  We all dismounted and checked our horses for wounds and then ate and drank a little. I looked around for the young despatch riders. “I need someone who can swim and climb.” A forest of hands went up from the boys and riders. I saw Aedh and Pol amongst them. I pointed to them and their joy was matched by the disappointment of the rest
. I took them to one side. “I want you both to swim the river and then climb up into the camp of my brother. I am sending two of you in case there is a problem. Do you understand?” They both nodded eagerly. “You do not have to do this and I will not lie to you, it may be dangerous. We know not if the enemy has warriors hiding in the bushes on the far side.”

  “We are happy to risk it.” Pol was the more confident of the two.

  “Then take off your cloaks and just burden yourselves with a seax or dagger.” As they began to rid themselves of anything which could drag them down I gave them their instructions. “Tell my brother and King Gwalliog that Lord Lann is here and his army will arrive on the morrow. When they reach us we will attack the Saxon camp. I will sound the buccina as we attack so that they can attempt to break out at the same time. One of you can stay with my brother in case he needs to send a message and the other can return to me. You may decide which it will be.” I put an arm around each of them. “May Icaunus watch over you.” We walked to the water’s edge. The river did not look deep but I knew that the current was deceptively quick. “Swim upstream and the current will bring you to the shore opposite. Miach!”