Saxon Dawn (Wolf Brethren) (20 page)

All eyes were upon me and I noticed a savage satisfaction in the red eyes of my enemy. “As I said before your majesty; I am King Urien’s man and if he asks me to follow you then I will do so.  It is my liege lord’s decision.  Not mine.”

Morcant’s eyes narrowed and he pursued the point. “You did not answer my question.  Would you follow me?”

I could
see no way out of this which would not result in the king being offended and so I made a joke of it. “Your majesty, I will follow any man who allows me to kill Saxons; even Brother Osric.”

All but Morcant Bulc and Bladud laughed and the atmosphere was calmed but I could see that it was not forgotten.  I had made another enemy although in truth I could not see how I could have avoided it without betraying my king. “So we will ride to the causeway and examine the defences and then we,” he emphasised the ‘we’, “will decide the best strategy. I would suggest just the kings
and their bodyguards.  The other commanders will need to prepare their warriors for the assault.”

As we left Riderch sought me out.  “I am sorry that you were placed in such a position my lord.  I know your honour and your bravery.” He looked darkly at the back of his king. “As do all my men. If you are chosen to lead the attack then we will not let you down.”

I was touched by the young warrior’s honesty.  He was patently no diplomat. “Thank you Riderch that means much to me.”

As I left the hall I found Ywain waiting for me. “What does Morcant Bulc think he is about? He has less experience of leading a battle
than Aed the blacksmith.”

“He sees himself as the saviour of Britannia
; the next Artorius.”

“You mean Dux Britannica?”

“He does.”

Ywain laughed. “That is ridiculous.  If anyone has claim to that title it is my father and I know that he is fa
r too humble to compare himself with Artorius.”

“I am afraid that he has delusions of grandeur but we have more pressing matters to consider.” Ywain’s look was one of confusion. “When we attack tomorrow we can not use a shield wall for we will be attacking and, as far as I know, the men have not practised the wedge.  We are going against hardened men who know their business.”

“You are right but how do we know what the kings will decided?”

“No matter what their strategy it will involve men with spears and swords attacking across the causeway and that means a wedge.”

“Which you will lead.”It was not a question but a statement.

“If I am ordered
I will do so but it is more than a decision about one warrior.  We need to consider where we place the men.  We have much work to do this day.”

I had no doubt that the king would come
up with a plan which would lose as few lives as possible. Equally I also knew, from my own visit, that the only way, without a fleet of ships, was across the causeway at low tide and that would be a narrow, wet and deadly killing ground.

There was a high, dry although undulating piece of ground about a mile away and Ywain and I marched our army there.  The other two armies just watched us with mild interest. As far as I was concerned the battle would be won by our men whom we would lead. The wind was blowing hard but the men could hear me as I gathered them around in a large circle.  Ywain stood next to me, not that I needed his authority but I felt that, as he was the leader of the army he should be acknowledged as such. “We will be attacking
that island,” I pointed to the rocky island which dominated the bay. “Now there are well over five hundred Saxons there who will dispute that. “ I had no idea of actual numbers but that seemed a reasonable figure to me.  For one thing more men could not be brought into action on such a narrow front. I grinned at them and put my hands on my hips.  “Now they have never fought us before; they fought against me and they didn’t like that so imagine how they must be feeling knowing that there is an army of you, all as good a warrior as I am.” They gave such a roar at the statement that the kings and their bodyguards on the beach looked over to us. “These Saxons are good fighters but, “I tapped the side of my head, “they are a bit thick!” I received the laugh I wanted.  “They don’t have archers and slingers.” I pointed to my brothers.  “We do.  The best in the whole land so when we go to fight them we will have our brothers loosing arrows and slingshot to make their life a little uncomfortable and you know that these men can shoot the eye of a gnat at a hundred paces!”

They all laughed again and one wag shouted, “Two hundred if the wind is right.”

I had them now.  They were eager and ready. “But we will need to practise fighting and working together. I want the spearmen to line up here, behind Lord Gildas and the sword and axe men next to Prince Ywain.” They all shuffled into line wondering what my next instruction would be. “Now I want the tallest next to Lord Gildas and Prince Ywain and the smallest at the far end of the line.” When they had done that I saw that there were a number of men in both lines who were the same height as me.  That is what I wanted. “Warriors of Rheged, put your hand up if you have fought in a wedge formation before.” About twenty hands in total went up. I had never fought in a formal one but I had seen them and knew the concept.

I went down the lines touching men on the shoulder. “Those men I have touched come here.” All the rest were fascinated.  I had to take this step by step so that they all knew what we intended. When this was all over we would have to use this as a regular training exercise.
I placed the two tallest warriors next to each other. Behind them I placed two tall axe men with a spearman between them. The next five were three spearmen flanked by two swords men. When I had finished we had a huge wedge with over three hundred men in it.  The two hundred I had not used were disappointed. “You men will form the second wedge.  First you will watch how we work.” I stood at the front and faced my wedge. “The warriors with the spears, you have been placed in the centre to protect the outside warriors. The most dangerous side is the right for you have no shield to protect you. It is up to the men with the spears to stop the enemy coming close.  Keep your shield as high as you can and yet still be able to see over it.  They have no archers remember that.”

The next part would be the hardest.  They would have to move without tripping over each other.  I stood away so that they could all see me. I held up my wolf shield. “This side is wolf. All of you hold up wolf!” They laughed but all except two did it and the ribald comments they received meant they would not do it again. I held up my sword. “This side is slayer. Hold up you
r slayer arm.” They all cheered as they did it. “Good now I am going to tell you which foot you will use for walking.” I grinned at them.  “I will be like your mother and teach you how to walk! I will hold up my sword and you will march on the spot. When I lower my sword we will move forward until I hold up my sword.”

I turned and nestled in to the two warriors.
I held up my sword and began to chant, “Wolf, Slayer, Wolf, Slayer.” I heard the men chanting it too.  “That’s right, all of you chant it.” When I was happy I lowered my sword and we set off. We marched forwards about a hundred paces and then I stopped them. The rest all applauded.

“Excellent now we will work on attacking. We will turn around.” It was harder than I thought to move three hundred men in a circle but we did it. “This time when I raise my sword we will charge Prince Ywain and the others but we will stop when I lower my sword.” I had not told Ywain of the plan and his reaction would be interesting. They all chanted and we moved forwards.  After fifty paces I raised my sword and I saw the look of horror on the faces of the prince and the
men behind him when we charged. Some actually ran backwards but when I lowered my sword, my warriors all managed to stop.  A little untidily but they stopped.  In a real battle that would not matter for we would have struck their line and their shields would halt us.

“You had me worried there Lord Lann.”

“But was it effective?”

“Oh yes.  I would not like to face your warriors in that formation.”

“Lord Gildas you need to form your men and do as we did. Can you do it?”

I saw a momentary hesitation and then he said confidently, “Of course.”

We spent the rest of the morning perfecting the technique. I had the men practise pushing shields against each other and others supporting their backs with their shields. I was happy that we would be able to use the wedge formation in the battle, if it came to one.

We had a break for a meal and then we gathered everyone around us. The two young princes,
Rhiwallon and Rhun, who were the standard bearers, were brought out with the new standards. Ywain took them through the signals which were quite simple.  The standard moved forwards meant attack.  To the right meant move to the right.  To the left meant move to the left and swung in a circle meant retreat.

As we trudged wearily back to the camp, ready for some hot food I felt satisfied that we had prepared our men well. I was les
s sure of the other two components of our army but that was not my concern. Raibeart, Aelle, Ywain, Gildas and I hung back behind the men. “You two will have to advance with us, brothers, and cause as many casualties as we can. “

Raibeart had spent part of the morning looking at the causeway and the island. “The problem is, brother, that your wedge will take up the whole of the causeway and if we were at the rear then we would be too far away to see the falloff arrow.”

Silence and depression consumed us.  Then Aelle said, “Boats.” We looked at him as though he had spoken Greek.  “Lann, you said that you had taken two boats to attack the island then fill them with archers and slingers and they can outflank the Saxons effectively.”

It sounded like
a good plan.  “Unless they bring boats too.”

Aelle gave me one of his really serious looks. “It seems
, wolf brother, that you are the one who has been taking all the risks lately.  I think Raibeart and I can manage.”

The cooks had produced a
rich stew made from fish they had caught from beach nets and shellfish which abounded on the shore.  It was a refreshing change from either dried meat or game and there was a buoyant mood in the camp. When King Urien and Bladud entered the camp they both looked as though they had the cares of the world upon their shoulders. He gave us a wan smile.  “It is good to see my warriors so happy.” He looked at me and his son.  “When I heard the cheers ringing out on the headland I wished I was with you. You do not need to tell me that you had a good and productive day.”

Ywain could not help his enthusiasm. “We did
, father, and I am certain that our tactics will defeat the Saxons.”

“I am glad but I wished that I shared your conviction. The others are all for a direct assault on the causeway.”

Our smiling faces made the king wonder if we had heard him. Ywain said, “We expected that and we have a strategy to make it work.  We will have archers behind our assault wedge and slingers and archers in two boats which will harass them with missiles.  Lord Lann will lead the first wedge and Lord Gildas the second.  The other forces can follow it needed.”

“Oh
that is a relief! And I dreaded to tell you the news. I thought the attack would be suicidal.”

“We have practised father and we have the signals too.  It will be a hard fought day but we will prevail.”

Gildas brought out an amphora of wine and we all celebrated our plan.  The only one who looked put out was Bladud who kept casting looks of hate in my direction.

When the king returned the next morning he had agreed with the other kings the plan of action.  King Morcant would provide the two ships and the crews. We would assault on the next low tide and the two missile ships would be rowed out on the high tide and wait.  If the Saxons showed undue interest then the two ships would row inshore and we would evaluate our strategy. King
Morcant was happy as his men would only be the rowers but King Rhydderch wanted his men to begin the assault. Eventually he agreed that if we failed then his men would take up the attack. King Rhydderch was informed that if the attack totally failed then the men of Strathclyde would lead the next. He was placated.

We were up before
first light as the low tide coincided with dawn. My brothers had each taken command of the boats on each side of the causeway; both boats contained a mix of slingers and archers. As I waited on the mainland I looked at the two warriors who would be behind me, Scanlan and Tad. It was important that they knew their job. “We are the tip of the sword. We have to fight as one man. You Scanlan have the slightly easier task for you guard my shield side.  You Tad have a more onerous job for you have to protect Saxon Slayer.  Talk to me while we fight and tell me of any problems.” I turned to the men behind. “You spearmen must keep the men from us. We have to penetrate as far as we can and those further behind let us know of any signals you see.”

King Urien rode before us.  “Today I cannot lead you for it will be up to your swords and axes.  But you are well led and you will prevail. You fight for Rheged and freedom.  May god be with
you.” I hoped that my gods, all of them, were with me, and that my mother, in the spirit world would do all that she could to aid us against those who had slain her and the rest of my family.