Northern Knight (13 page)

I waited until the Scots lowered their lances and I shouted, "Fall back!" I did not need to say
'to the bridge'
they already knew that.  I could see my knights on the bridge already. We had cleared away the scrubby growth at the end of the bridge and an enemy would have to risk my archers on the walls of the fort and at the southern end of the bridge. As we descended the hill I saw that the Scots had spurred their horses on. It was a mistake for they lost order and their horses were becoming exhausted. They were no longer knee to knee as the more eager knights went to the fore.

"Leofric, signal the charge!"

He signalled the charge and I saw Edward lead my knights up the road. "Two lines along the edge of the road!" I was the last man and I watched as my ten companions split into two lines so that the road was clear for our charging knights. As Edward and the knights charged past me I pulled Scout around and followed them.  This time our charge was halted as my men smashed into the enemy.  Sir Geoffrey was unhorsed.  I rode into the gap and punched my lance through the face of the exultant Scot who thought to finish him off.  He tumbled backwards from his horse. We had stopped them and there was no point in risking further losses. 

"Sir Geoffrey, lead your horse back to the bridge.  We will follow."

I looked up the road to the enemy.  They had superior numbers and were now using them.  I suspect they thought we had fled through fear. They would learn differently. The rest of their horses had now followed and were galloping down the hill. 

"Fall back to the fort."

Once again the Scots had to negotiate the casualties on the road and we reached the end of the bridge with ease. Dick had taken it upon himself to bring ten archers to the bridge and, as the Scots advanced they were showered with arrows.  Three horses and two men were hit.  They quickly retreated.

"Well done. Wulfric, have a barrier erected here and Dick have six of your archers watch them."

As my men set about their task I dismounted and took off my helmet.  "You did well Leofric!"

"Thank you my lord."

Sir Richard and Sir Edward took off their helmets and joined me. Edward pointed to the west.  "They will lick their wounds and cross the river you know."

I nodded, "But that cannot be today for it is coming on to dark and they will not risk the Tyne at night.  They would lose too many men. Tomorrow we place scouts along the river and when we see where they are using to cross we make life difficult."

"This is a large band, Baron.  I estimate almost two hundred men." I could see that Sir Raymond was worried by the large numbers facing us.

"But we have hurt them already.  They were knights who fell.  The bulk of their band is made up of those who fight on foot. They cannot out run us. The knights are the leaders.  Without them the rabble will fall back when we attack.  The advantage is still with us and our plan works yet."

As we led our horses back into the old fort I pointed to the land which rose gently south, towards Hexham. "There is little for them south of here for twenty miles. Those are twenty miles we can use. If they pass us we can attack from ambush.  For now we wait and see what they will do."

We unsaddled our horses and took off our mail. Some bathed in the river.  They were my men and they were showing the Scots, now camped on the other bank, that they were not afraid of them.  I stood with my knights.  Tristan had his arm in a sling. Wulfric had assured me it was a precaution but advised against having him in the front rank. 

"Tristan, you can carry the Bishop's banner the next time we fight." I saw him swell with pride and the nod of thanks from his father. I pointed to the Scots.  "They have no archers.  If they had then our men would have been attacked when they bathed."

Edward smiled, "Then we can use our archers to keep them at bay."

"But they could cross the river anywhere!"

"Yes, Sir Guiscard, but, if they do, then tomorrow our scouts will be out again and they will soon pick up their trail.  We are all mounted and we use that advantage.  We can move much faster than men on foot and they have to cross rivers.  That limits their movements. It is one reason the Bishop and I chose this as our base." I began to plan our next moves.  The enemy might not know what he would do but I had his options in my head.  I would plan to defeat whatever they might try.

We had eaten when Aiden came galloping in.  His horse and his breeks were wet.  Edward laughed, "Have you been swimming, Aiden."

He had the good grace to laugh. "Aye my lord." He pointed to the north bank. "I came from the New Castle along the northern bank.  I saw movements ahead of me and I watched. The Scots are building a raft two miles downstream.  I chose the wet road back here."

"And the garrison?"

"I think they were taken by surprise, my lord.  They certainly began to prepare for the worst. I do not think they knew of the attack."

"Good.  Then get something to eat and after we have eaten we will see about this raft."

Sir Guy pointed to the Scots across the river. "Then there must be almost two hundred in this band for there are still many camped yonder."

"Just because you see fires do not assume that each one has men around it.  I have used such ruses before. And besides there is no point in worrying about the odds.  We are paid to fight and we will do so. We fight until they go away."

Edward laughed, "Why worry?  They are only Scots. They may be brave but they are reckless.  They hope to intimidate with a wild charge but if you are resolute then it will come to nothing." Edward was the rock of my conroi. He would still stand when all else lay dead.

I gathered my archers and Wulfric around me. "Dick, choose ten good woodsmen.  Wulfric find ten men who can wield an axe and move stealthily. Edward you and the other knights stay here.  Move around as much as you can and make them believe that we are unaware of their raft. Keep a watch to the west.  They may have two rafts under construction.  I will take Harold.  He is a good woodsman. We will not need armour."

We slipped out of the south gate.  It was as far away from the Scots as it was possible to get.  We did not take horses and Aiden let us swiftly through the woods to the place he had seen raft building. Although they had chosen a spot well away from the bridge we heard their axes as we neared them.  We moved even more cautiously then. I was not wearing mail for I did not wish to be seen.  I expected to have to do little save watch my archers and men at arms.

The Scots had done well and already the log raft was floating in the water. The Scots who had built it were making it more secure. They could not just launch it and pole across; the current was too swift for that. They would need to use a rope and secure it to the southern bank and then have men haul it across. It was the way Ethelred moved his ferry at Stockton. I waved my men towards the trees across from the place they would need to use to land the raft. I intended to let them cross and then destroy them and their raft.  It would discourage further raft building. We hid ourselves just twenty paces from the river bank.  We were invisible.  Trees overhung the river and tall grasses and reeds rose high to give us cover. The wait gave me the opportunity to identify them.  The huddle of men who supervised was the knights. The leader was the Earl of Moray.  I recognised William fitz Duncan and his livery.  The quartered lions and the blue and white checked fess were distinctive. If these were his men then they had travelled a long way south.  There were five of his household knights with him and I counted at least thirty men. They were men at arms and half had mail on.  The other half did not and I knew that they would be the ones to haul the raft across.

We were close enough to hear them speaking.  Unfortunately the sound of the Earl was hidden by the guttural Gaelic of the men below his men toiling with the raft.  He was giving orders, for one of his squires mounted his horse and rode back along the bank to the main camp. I saw why when four men dived into the water and swam across.  They were pulling two ropes behind them. Even though they were strong swimmers they were still pulled downstream and they had to struggle back along the southern bank towards us pulling the sodden ropes with them. They tied the ropes around the bole of a mighty willow and then waved.  The men at arms who had mail on began to board the raft.  The ones without mail lined the two sides.  Half of them had poles, to use on the downstream side while the others took hold of the ropes on the upstream side.

I tapped Dick on the shoulder and he and his archers nocked an arrow. I nodded to Wulfric whose men slipped through the undergrowth to the four exhausted men who were resting on the bank. When the raft was half way across I yelled, "Now!"

Dick only had ten archers but they were less than forty paces from their targets.  The ten men hauling the ropes died instantly.  The four swimmers died even as they watched their comrades raise shields to protect those who were poling. The current had the raft and even though the men worked hard they were fighting a losing battle.  Dick's arrows did not always find a target but gradually the men with the poles fell into the river.  I heard the crack of axes as the ropes were severed by Wulfric and his axe men. The raft with the doomed men at arms drifted away eastward in the dark.  Soon it would meet the South Tyne and become even faster. Even if it beached on the south bank the fifteen men at arms who had survived would not be a threat. We waited until the Scots marched back to their camp before we did the same.

Although my men were excited and exultant I warned them against over optimism. "We are still outnumbered and I think they will try to force the bridge."

Sir Geoffrey shook his head. "That would be madness We have archers and the bridge is narrow."

"We have but twenty archers and, as we saw tonight, they have men who can swim beneath the bridge and attack us."

Sir Raymond asked, "Will we be mounted when next we fight?"

I knew the reason for his question.  His palfrey had been injured and he would have to ride his destrier. In such a confined space it could easily be badly hurt and his destrier was his most expensive piece of equipment. "No, there is little point.  We face them on foot. If they are foolish enough to charge us across the bridge then they will suffer many casualties. When it is pitch black then I will have logs placed in the middle of the bridge.  If anyone tries to move them then Dick and his archers will have some easy target practice."

We enjoyed a peaceful night.  We had spoiled their plans and they would, even now be working out another strategy.  I knew that we had not hurt them enough to deter them.  They had much support amongst the absent rebels. None of those who had risen the in the previous rebellion would join this attack but I knew it would have their tacit approval. Cynically, I knew that this was why the Bishop of Durham had sent us north to fend off the attack.  He could absolve himself of all blame should the invasion and a future rebellion take place.  I was King Henry and Robert of Gloucester's man. We were expendable.

I had Wulfric wake everyone before dawn.  The logs which had been cut down in the night had been jammed between the walls of the bridge and would prevent horses charging. I had had them placed irregularly.  I knew horses could jump logs. Wulfric and my men at arms had taken some of the poorly made weapons we had captured from the dead Scots and fashioned them into crude caltrops. They were spread between the logs on the bridge. If they used their horses then they would get a shock. Finally we had taken some of the fat rendered from the pigs we had eaten and that has been poured onto the bridge. It would make the surface slippery. It would not be an easy crossing for the Scots.

I made sure my men ate. A man fought better on a full stomach. I lined my knights up at the bridge. We each held a long ash spear.  I could have used my men at arms but it was dishonourable to risk our men while we watched. Behind them I had two rows of men at arms who were also armed with long spears and, behind them, I had my archers. The squires, led by Tristan and his injured arm, held the banners before the gate so that the Scots would know whom they fought. The remaining men at arms I split between the gate of the camp and guarding the buttresses of the bridge.  The only ones not fighting were Aiden and those watching the horses. We had to hold them at the bridge end.  If they reached the gateway then we had lost for there was no gate; it was just a wooden barrier to stop a surprise attack.

They advanced and they came as I had expected.  Their horsemen led.  There were forty knights, squires and men at arms. Above them, on the slope, the mass of wild warriors with swords, axes and shields waited to fall upon us and wreak death and destruction once their horses had broken us. I saw the Earl of Moray, William fitz Duncan, with four other knights waiting to lead them down and end our resistance.  I smiled. He was not confident. If he was then he would have led the charge himself. He had allowed his younger, eager knights who wanted the glory to charge us. My name and my banner drew them on.  I had been a thorn in the side of the Scots and the younger knights were keen to remove it!

The charge would be led by three knights who looked to be the same family.  They had a blue shield with three red fess across them. I saw them shouting to their men and there was an enormous cheer.  I daresay they were inspiring them.  Then they charged towards the bridge.  They would have seen the logs but I assumed they would have thought they could leap them.  The pig fat, the irregular placement of the logs and the caltrops would be surprises. Dick and his archers had their arrows jammed into the ground next to them.  They would release six arrows in quick succession once they began. There was little point until the Scots were just paces away from our spears.  Their arrows would kill indiscriminately.  Horses and riders would fall. One hundred and twenty arrows loosed at such close range would hit more than they missed.

"Jam the haft of your spear into the ground and lock shields." Even with our archers I could not guarantee that someone would not get through.  If they did then we needed a wall of metal to halt the mass of horseflesh and mail which would be crashing towards us. The Scots had to slow as they reached the logs.  One who tried to rush found a caltrop and then some pig fat.  The horse reared and fell over the side into the river taking the knight to a watery and ignoble grave. The others slowed and, already, their charge was doomed to failure. When they reached halfway they were so busy looking for traps and fat that they failed to see the arrows which plunged down vertically at them. My archers released four more flights before making their arrows fly horizontally. Horses were hit and enraged. They reared and bucked at the pain they were suffering. Some arrows struck mail and shields but many found flesh.  Once the arrows began to fly horizontally the knights were just twenty paces from our shields and our spears.

Despite the rain of death four knights on wild horses made it through the maelstrom of murder we had inflicted upon them.  Two of the horses were maddened by arrows which would suck the last vestige of life from them very shortly. Their nostrils flared they charged towards us eager to stop the pain they were suffering.

"Brace!"

We had practised this and the men at arms jammed their bodies behind ours.  The four horses were impaled on our spears. Their dying bodies pushed us back towards the gate but their bodies fell like a barrier before us. I let go of my shattered spear, took out my sword and stabbed the stunned knight who tried to disentangle himself from his dying horse. Edward, Sir Guy and Sir Richard all despatched the three other knights.  One of them looked to be mortally wounded anyway; he had three arrows in his chest. Eight of the horsemen at the rear had halted for their way was barred and they began to pull back to safety.  Dick and his archers kept up their rain of death and another two were hit before they reached the Earl.

"Bring up spears!"

The attack had broken half of our spears.  The wild men would attack soon and they would be less easy to stop. Our arrows had brought down horses as well as men.  A falling horse stopped a rider as effectively as an arrow. The bridge now had a route of dead horses and knights over which the Scots could advance.  The caltrops and the pig fat were no longer a barrier to the men on foot. The men who would charge us next would hide behind their shields. Dick and his archers would have a smaller target and it would be down to the knights to stop them. As the spears were passed up I looked to see if we had suffered losses. The last four knights had failed to strike a blow but I knew that the others would be feeling the bruises from the crashing horses.  Our armour and gambesons gave us some protection but we would still know that we had been in a battle when we had finished this day.

The Earl of Moray launched his attack.  He had waited until all of his knights who had been wounded had dragged themselves back along with the remaining horses.  The bridge was now littered with the dead horses and men at arms. The foot advanced.  I had expected a wild charge across the bridge but they came steadily and were led by a dismounted knight. They had bunched together, protected by their shields so that we could not see a gap into which to send an arrow.

I heard Dick, my captain of archers, advise his men. "When they step over the logs and the bodies then there may be a gap. Our arrows are like gold do not waste them.  Release when you have a target only."

The Scots had reached half way across the bridge before we had our chance. As they carefully climbed over the carcass of a dead destrier one of them caught his foot in the reins and bridle.  He tumbled forward.  My archers saw their chance. Three arrows flew into the gap and punched into the next soldier.  The Scot who had fallen was struck in the neck by two arrows and the two men at arms who flanked the gap were hit by arrows.

The Scottish knight halted the line while the gap was filled. There would be more carcasses to contend with and they came forward even more slowly. Some of the men in their front rank did not have a kite shield such as ours.  They had the old fashioned round shield my father and the Vikings used. It provided good protection to the body and head but almost none to the legs. Some of Dick's archers pushed their way behind us so that they could release their arrows horizontally.  As the Scots climbed the logs, arrows were sent towards legs which had neither a shield nor mail to protect them. Although they only sent ten arrows towards the bridge before they had to return to Dick, five Scots fell. Their fall made up the mind of the knight.  He yelled, "Charge!" when they were twenty paces from us.