Housecarl (13 page)

Sweyn ordered us armoured and
ready on the ridge.  We would have to walk down to the fort to
offer battle but it was a little over a mile and we would not be
unduly tired. When we marched down we were in two lines of
Housecarls.  The archers guarded our left flank, the one next
to the river and the woods whilst the horsemen watched our right.
The fyrd and the unarmoured spearmen were placed behind us and we
had the place of honour in the middle. To our right were two more
bands of Housecarls; they numbered sixty the same as we whilst to
our right were two more bands totalling about fifty.  The
white horse banner flew proudly above us and Earl Harold led us
down to the Welsh who had emerged from their walls and were
hurriedly preparing to meet us in battle.

I felt a nervous excitement;
this was not training nor was it a skirmish this would be a
battle.  I could see that our numbers were evenly matched
although they appeared to have more archers than we did and fewer
armoured men.  The Welsh Dragon flew proudly above their king
whom I could see was behind his front rank mounted on a fine white
horse.  Earl Harold was dressed as we were and was
afoot.  He would stand in the middle of the line but if we
adopted the wedge formation then he would withdrew behind us to
enable him to see the way the battle was unfolding.  Uncle
Aethelward was mounted behind the Housecarls and before the
fyrd.  He would make the decisions during the heat of the
battle.

We halted about six hundred
paces from our foes.  They were slightly above us but I did
not think that would make a difference.  King Gruffyd rode
from his men escorted by his standard bearer and Earl Harold and
Sweyn went forward from our lines. Maddeningly we could not hear
the words but their faces did not display any anger and they seemed
to be discussing rather than arguing.  Eventually they
returned and we watched as Sweyn took his place at the front of the
wedge and the Earl walked behind us. Osgar said , to no one in
particular, “Well, we attack then.”

Sweyn confirmed this when he
shouted, “Wedge! And we formed into a wedge.  I noticed that
the Housecarls to our left and right did the same and we formed
five points.  As we moved into position I could see that his
would allow us to puncture their line more effectively.  There
was no doubt that, as the largest wedge we would penetrate the
furthest but our comrades would have their flanks protected by
archers and horses.  I could see my uncle’s handiwork in
this.

We were silent until we heard my
uncle shout, “Forward!”

As we walked we began to chant,
“Harold! Harold!” whilst beating our shields. To me in its midst it
seemed a terrifying sound and I wondered what it would do to our
enemies.  We knew that we would have to run the gauntlet of
missiles but that did not worry us. The command came, “Run!” and we
picked up the pace.  Gone was the fear of tripping on a spear
butt and I gripped Dragon Tamer, ready to thrust and end the life
of an unknown Welsh warrior. 

Aethelward could see beyond the
line and when he shouted, “Shields!” we all raised them ready for
the arrows which rained upon us.  I was glad that Sweyn had
insisted on so many nails and pieces of metal on my shield for only
two arrows penetrated it, the rest bounced off. I knew that at
least one of the enemy arrows had struck home when I hurdled the
body of Thorin who had been two rows ahead of me.

I could now see the sea of
shields waiting for us and the prickly points of their spears. I
had no time to worry for Sweyn roared, “Charge!” and our front rank
hit them. It must have been like being trampled by a bull for those
men in the front rank and we moved swiftly.  They must have
halted Sweyn for the men before me stopped. We knew then that it
was our turn.  While Osgar and Ridley fended off and
despatched those warriors at our side the rest of us pushed hard
with our shields on the men before us.  I felt the pressure
from the shields behind and suddenly we were moving forwards. 
I saw a terrified face beneath my feet and I stabbed down on his
throat. There were more men fighting at our side now and I wondered
if I should turn and fight them.  Luckily I remembered the
admonition of my uncle and restrained myself. Just then I heard his
voice shout, “Shield Wall!”

Our training took over and we
all moved slightly to our right to enable the warriors at the front
to join our line. Now I was in the front line and knew that soon it
would be axe work. The Welsh saw Sweyn and the others fall back and
thought they had won.  As they rushed forward we readied our
spears and thrust them into the faces of the Welsh elite. 
Dragon Tamer went straight through the open mouth of a surprised
warrior and continued up through his skull.  As I felt the
haft loosen in my hand I let go, swinging my shield to my back and
I took my axe in both hands. This was the first time I had faced an
enemy with no shield but I trusted my training and began to swing
my axe. I felt, rather than saw the axes of those alongside me also
swinging and we were soon in a rhythm. The first man I killed had
thought he could dip below the whirling blade  but he was
wrong; even his helmet did not afford him any protection and it was
cracked, along with his skull like an egg. Their archers were
busily showering us with arrows and I watched as one hit my
gauntlet only to flick off a rivet.  I was glad that I had
bought the best gauntlets I could.

Our line had now advanced beyond
the others and I could see, clearly the face of Gruffyd. He
recognised me and smiled and then said something to the men with
him.  Suddenly the line in front of us vanished like fog on a
summer’s morning and a wedge of Welsh Housecarls hurtled towards us
and the point was aiming for me! The warrior at the front was well
armed and his spear was aimed at me.  I felt time slow down
and saw that his shield was that of a Welsh dragon; he was of the
royal bodyguard and would be a fearsome opponent. Luck was with me
as my axe struck his shield and bounced up to hit the head of his
spear; the sharp edge sliced through the wood leaving him with a
staff.  Wolf’s axe struck his arm and the man looked down in
horror at the stump which remained.  I wasted no time in
lifting my axe to split his skull and helmet in two.  Next to
me Ridley had smashed the shield of his opponent and Osgar had
finished him.  We were now lapping around the left side of
their wedge which was their stronger side while Sweyn on their
weaker side had also made inroads so that our line had surrounded
their wedge.  They stood no chance against over fifty well
trained warriors and soon they were fighting back to back. 
There were two axes to every warrior and no warrior could fight two
foes.  Soon there was a bloody mass of bodies before us and I
looked up to see Gruffyd and his horsemen flee. Even though I knew
that it meant we had won, I felt disappointed, for I had hoped that
he would have fought for his honour and his crown.

With the king fled, the army
before us disintegrated and the fyrd and the spearmen cheerfully
chased after them along with the archers and the horsemen.  We
were spent. Once we had ascertained that the field was ours we
wandered the body strewn hillside despatching the wounded and
retrieving weapons. I felt better when I found that Dragon Tamer
was unharmed.  I looked for my Uncle and the Earl but they had
mounted and followed Gruffyd.  I realised that the Earl had
more noble and kinglike qualities than the Welsh king who had shown
himself to be a craven coward by his actions on the battle
field.  His men had died for him and he had deserted them.
This was my first battle but I could see that the Welsh could have
fought longer for, as we toured the battlefield, we could see that
more men had fled than died.

As we drank from the water skins
brought by the boys Sweyn sought me out. “You did well
Northumbrian. It must have been wyrd that made them attack you. You
have killed a famous warrior, he was Gryffydd of Rhuddlan and was a
Welsh champion.” He picked up my axe. “I name this blade Death
Bringer.”

All around me my comrades
roared.  It was a special moment when a blade was named and to
have it named by the worthiest warrior in our army made me proud. I
could not wait to tell my uncle when he returned.

When they returned Aethelward
told us that Gruffyd had been warned of our approach and had a ship
waiting at the coast and he had fled. I felt disappointment for the
snake or was it dragon still had a head. We made ourselves
comfortable in the fort although the court of King Gruffyd Ap
Llewellyn was not a gloriously apportioned palace.  Still we
revelled in the glory and in the booty.  To the victors went
the spoils and, as with we, Gruffyd’s Housecarls had carried their
treasure with them on their person. Gryffydd of Rhuddlan had been a
rich man and I took a healthily heavy purse as well as his arms and
armour. His helmet, although finer than mine was too badly damaged
to be of use and I sold it to the blacksmith for a small purse of
coins.  His mail coat was fine and needed little repair. 
I decided to keep it as a spare. His shield was not as good as mine
and I gave it to Osgar whose own had been shattered during the
fight. His gauntlets I gave to Ridley whose own lacked
rivets.  I thought back to the arrow which could have disabled
me and gladly gave them to my friend. The other men I killed I let
Wolf and Osgar share the bounty for they had helped me to kill my
enemies. The booty was welcome but more welcome was the attention
of my peers who all came to look at Death Bringer.  It had
been admired when I had first used it but now it was a weapon of
legend having killed a Welsh hero.  I felt slightly guilty
about their praise for I had done little enough and luck had been
on my side.

When I confided this to Osgar he
had laughed, “A warrior who does not have luck is a dead warrior. I
take all the luck I can get for without it no amount of skill with
a blade will keep you alive.”

It was towards evening when the
monks arrived. Brother Aidan led them across the fields towards us.
Despite the fact that they were holy men we kept our wits and our
weapons at the ready for monks had been known to fight. This time,
however, they came in peace to bury the dead Welsh. The Brother did
not seem surprised to see me and approached me. “Well Aelfraed of
Medelai I can see now that you are a warrior and have turned Saint
Asaph’s ash into a weapon of war.”

I looked at the spear in my
hand. “Do you disapprove?”

He shook his head.  “No,
for you are a warrior.  I knew that when I spoke with
you.  I hoped that you would fight for our king for I saw in
you nobility which belied your years.” He shrugged.  “It was
not to be but you did make an impression on our king.”

As he left with the monks and
the bodies I was astounded.  I had not known any of
that.  Perhaps that was the reason he had unleashed his
warriors at me for he feared me.  I did not know why he would
do that for I was just a Housecarl.

The next day we all awoke with
thick heads for the one thing the fort possessed was ale and we
consumed vast quantities of it. Uncle Aethelward shook his head in
disapproval as he awoke me, Ridley, Wolf and Osgar. As we trudged
behind him to the Earl’s quarters I wondered why we had been
summoned.  The arrogant, prideful side of me thought it might
be to praise me for my actions but the presence of the others
militated against that.  The alcohol had certainly fogged my
brain. Ulf and Sweyn were with him; the two older warriors had a
wry smile on their faces which showed less disapproval than
uncle.

“You all fought well yesterday.
Sweyn here tells me that it was the turning point of the
battle.  Well done but that is not the reason I have summoned
you. I need to visit with my brother in Jorvik.  I need to
travel swiftly and yet have protection.  Lord Aethelward has
enough horses for all of you and with five others we will travel
this morning. Sweyn will watch your gear for I want us to be swift.
Prepare yourselves.”

It had all happened in a blur.
Ridley and I led our friends to our horses.  The spare would
carry our mail.  We each gathered their belongings; Wolf found
a chest which he emptied and we placed in it our spare arms and
armour. By the time we had completed that task Earl Harold and
Uncle were waiting impatiently for us. Slinging our shields upon
our backs and tying our spears to the pommels we mounted.  Our
comrades engaged in good humoured banter as we left.

“Kill one warrior and they
become knights!”

“Too good for us now!”

“I’ll bet they are off to a
whore house.”

Thankfully Sweyn silenced them
with a roar, “Right ladies let’s make this castle inhabitable.”

The journey North was totally
different from the one when the four of us had travelled
south.  For one thing we were not hiding and secondly we rode
quickly and hard. I was desperate to find the reason for the
urgency but the Earl and Aethelward rode at the fore with Ulf
between us and them.  We could neither speak with them nor
hear a word. At night when we camped it did not seem appropriate to
bring it up and I hoped that they would reveal their plans in
conversation, but they did not.  They did speak of the battle
and, like me, were surprised at Gruffyd’s apparent cowardice. 
My uncle, of course, had an explanation.  “I am not sure he
can count on his allies.  He has upset too many people.” He
pointed at me, “When Aelfraed spied on his court he saw much
dissension and discord.  I think he fears for his position and
now that Aedgar is dead he has no major ally. I do not think that
he will invade England.  That is certain.”

“Still I would like to be rid of
this particular thorn.  Perhaps after we talk with my
brother…”

Enigmatically that was all that
was said and the four of us were left to discuss and deduce what
would occur.  I say four of us but in reality it was three for
Osgar saw no point in speculation.  “We will find out what we
need when the Earl tells us.  You are like the village gossips
making sagas out of accidents.”