Saxon Fall (2 page)

I turned and saw the middle Saxon ship in flames and the warriors hurling themselves into the sea. I slung my mace, drew my sword and roared, “The Saxon Slayer bites! On, men of Rheged.”

The effect of my words, the flames and, most importantly the sword, had a dramatic effect.  The Saxons tried to get back to their ships.  I was not allowing them to escape.  They would pay.  I galloped Star next to the Saxon ship and threw myself from the saddle. I ran through the surf. I stabbed one Saxon in the back as he tried to clamber aboard.  They had thrown a rope for him and I slung my shield on my back and grabbed the rope.  I began to climb up the strakes.  The Saxon ships had a low freeboard.  Suddenly a warrior grabbed an oar and tried to strike me with it.  I sliced down with my sword and sheared it in two. Pulling myself on board I hefted my shield around to protect me from the attack which I knew would come.

There were ten warriors on the ship. I spoke in Saxon so that they would know who I was. “Saxon dogs, I am the Warlord and none of you will leave this ship alive.”

Their leader was an overweight warrior.  “You may be the Warlord but you are one man. Kill him and bring me his sword.”

I did not wait for them to attack me.  I ran at them.  I punched one with my shield and he tumbled into the water.  As I did so I sliced forward and felt my sword rip into the soft belly of the leader. A sword came out of nowhere and struck my mail. It merely broke a couple of links. I held my shield before me and swung the sword at shoulder height. I felt it bite into flesh.  A spear punched towards me and although I caught it on my shield it twisted and scraped along my side.

I pulled my left arm back and the warrior who had been leaning against it overbalanced and fell to the deck.  I raised the shield and brought the metal edge down sharply to break his neck. There were just five men left and they made the mistake of backing off. I feinted at the man on my right; he fell backwards and I twisted the sword in the air to hack the head from the next warrior. I stepped forward and punched the fallen warrior in the face with my hilt. The crosspiece ground into his eye and he fell overboard, screaming. The other two had had enough and they jumped over the side.

I began to bang my shield, “Saxon Slayer!”

The cry was taken up and I saw that we had won.  The Saxons had either fled or were dead. There was the smell of burning flesh coming from the blackened Saxon ship struck by Myrddyn and my men were walking down the beach despatching wounded Saxons.

As I remounted Star I realised that this had been
wyrd
.  We had given the nobles a lesson in how to defeat the Saxons, even when outnumbered.  I wondered just how much Myrddyn had known of the surprise attack. The speed with which the thrower had been dragged into position suggested it had been readied before.  That was the advantage of having a wizard.  He saw things other men did not.

Clearing the battlefield was always a gruesome task. There was little mail to strip but we had the metals from the helmets and the swords which could be reused. This time we had gained a Saxon ship and part of the others could be reused.  We wasted nothing.

It was after dark by the time I returned to the citadel.  Aelle and Myrddyn were talking. “You need to take more care, nephew! Climbing aboard a Saxon ship when you are outnumbered eight to one is not a good idea.”

Myrddyn sniffed, “His father learned how to be more prudent but it is something in the blood that makes them act this way.” He smiled, “I have not yet dreamed your death, Warlord.”

I shook my head and laughed, gently, “That was ever the cry before my father went to war.”

“And so long as I live it shall be mine.”

I caught something in his tone I did not like, “Have you dreamed your death?”

“I know how I shall die but not when.  I do not think my death is close. But when I am in the spirit world you will have Gawan.  His skills are improving.”

I sat down and poured myself some of the heavy red wine we imported from Lusitania. I looked at my uncle.  “You said you would defend the island.  It is much to ask someone who is….” I struggled for the word.

“Old? Do not be shy, nephew.  I am well aware that I have outlived my brothers and those I fought alongside.  There are just two of the original warriors who remain: Tuanthal and Myrddyn. To answer your question I say yes, I will defend the island but there is much work to do. In a way I am pleased that the Northumbrians attempted the attack for it means they will not return soon.” He took a drink of the wine.  “It was Northumbrians I take it?”

Myrddyn nodded, “It was.  We questioned a couple before we helped them to the Otherworld.  They came from Manau.”

“And that means that they must have a foothold on the west coast and that is worrying.”

I detected an approving look from Myrddyn. “I am pleased that your brain is not addled Warlord. You are thinking as your father would. You are right.  If we can cut off their supplies from the mainland then it might be we prevent their attacking us here.”

I stood and walked to the window which looked south. I remembered my time in Constantinopolis. They were a sophisticated people.  Their minds did not work in straight lines.  I had lived, for a while with Pol and I had picked up some of the ideas and strategies.

“We need allies who will harass the Northumbrians on Manau.”

Aelle looked interested while Myrddyn smiled enigmatically.  “We have the men of Strathclyde.  Who else is there?” Aelle looked at Myrddyn as though he might have the answer.  I answered for him. “The men of Hibernia.”

“You would ally with those bandits and murderers.” It was a shocking thought for my uncle.  He knew that the Hibernians had tried to enslave the island of Mona many times in the past.

“I would buy them.  Their island is a poor one and they need money.  We have gold.  We are a rich people.  We buy them and use them as mercenaries.  The Emperor in Byzantium does the same with the Pechengs and the Arabs.  He uses others to fight his battles for him.  If we can destroy Edwin’s base on the mainland the Hibernians will have an easier time assaulting the island.”

“But that is dangerous is it not? Vortigern did much the same with the Angles and look what happened there.”

“If the Hibernians take over Manau we will deal with that problem in the future.  The problem we have now is with the Northumbrians and until we can build up both your strength and that of the army we need all the help that we can get.”

Myrddyn clapped, “Well done strategos.  Masterful.”

“You approve?”

“Of course I do. You have thought it through well. We will bolster the defences here.  I think more artillery and, perhaps some underwater defences at Porthdafarch.” He looked at Aelle. “You will need to deal ruthlessly with your nobles.  Make them train their men and ensure that they do maintain a watch. We need the towers again.  There is little point being the breadbasket of the west if anyone can walk in and steal it.”

I felt more settled. Myrddyn knew how to play me.  I was like an Irish harp in his hands. I had worked out the best solution to the problem with just a few prompts.  Byzantium showed us the way and we would copy the Empire which survived surrounded by a sea of enemies.

“I will leave on the morrow with my equites.  I will visit with Cadwallon and then Gawan.  They should know what we are about.  Then I will take ‘
Gwynfor
’ and visit Hibernia.” I looked at Myrddyn, “I will need you with me.”

“Of course you will. Do not worry, Warlord, by the time you have returned I shall be ready. I will help your uncle make this particular delicacy of Mona unpalatable to the greedy Saxons.”

We left the next day and headed towards the Narrows and the mainland. The mountain on which we had built our fort was visible behind us as we headed east.  But our gaze was drawn ever to the mountain of Wyddfa and the fortress which nestled beneath. Until my family had been taken from me I had been happy there, It was secure from attack and protected by the spirits in the mountain; now I spent as short a time as possible within its walls.  I did not sleep well there.  I heard the cries of my children, my wife and my step mother. I longed to dream as my father and brother did but that was not my destiny.  I was destined to suffer mortal nightmares which made me wake sweating and fearful. It was another reason for shunning the fortress; those weaknesses were not part of The Warlord.

King Cadwallon and I were of an age. We had trained together as youths along with Pol. The king had married my little sister, Nanna, and they were happy.  He had served with my father before Lord Lann had helped to regain his throne.  He was forever grateful.

He greeted me as a brother. “How goes it Warlord?”

“The Saxons came some days ago by sea to Ynys Mon and tried to take us by surprise.”

He examined my face as he asked his next question. “Did they succeed?  Have you been forced to flee?”

I shook my head, “If I had failed then my bones would lie bleaching on the beach at Porthdafarch. No, we drove them hence with many losses.”

He led me to the hall my father had built with the large oval table.  Our names were still carved upon it. Out of habit we both sat in our appointed places. I had sent the others hence for I wished conference with Cadwallon only.

“The Northumbrians on Manau are becoming more adventurous.  We have not the manpower to invade and subdue them.  I intend to travel to Hibernia and pay for the warriors of that land to attack Manau.”

“Can you trust the Hibernians? Are you not substituting one bad neighbour for another?”

“Possibly but the plague and the war have decimated my men.  It will be two years or more before we have enough men to replace the ones we lost.” I shrugged and sat back, taking in the painted plaster which showed my father leading the men of Rheged to victory over the Saxons. It seemed a hollow victory now. “I will not be based on Mona any longer. My horsemen can inflict more damage harrying the Saxons. I intend to invade Northumbria.”

Even my old friend was surprised by my words and my ambition. “How many men do you have?”

“Not many: sixty equites, twenty archers and twenty squires. But we will all be mounted.”

“That seems to go against what you have said. Will you not wait until you have more men?”

“The small numbers mean that we shall be mobile and can strike and run. If I can draw Edwin’s eye here it may prevent him invading Mona.”

“Do you wish me to supply any men?”

“I want you to build up the strength of your army.  Use Penda and King Cearl as allies too.  I hope to irritate Edwin so that he comes south to punish us and we can draw him into battle.”

“A risky strategy.”

“Sitting behind walls is a safe strategy and it does no good. It merely invites tragedy.”

“I am sorry for your family, Warlord.”

I nodded, “But you cannot bring them back. If they had been taken by an enemy then I would have flayed the flesh from his body.” I shrugged as my anger subsided, “as it is I am impotent.”

“Will you see your sister and stay awhile?”

“No, we will push on to my brother.  I will need his men and his support.”

He nodded, “His wife and family are welcome here, you know.”

“I am sorry King Cadwallon but this place has too many bad memories for me. I suspect that Gawan would prefer to stay at Deva.  The plague did not touch them there. We will ensure that his wife and his family are well protected. All of my foot warriors will remain here.  We take mounted men only.  I will become a swift moving enemy who strikes like a ghost when the Northumbrians are least expecting it.”

As he walked me back to my horse he said, “You have changed, Hogan Lann. There was a time when you laughed more and were gentler.”

“And then I became Warlord and my family died.” I tapped my chest. “Something died in here too.  I have one purpose now, to defeat Edwin and rid the land of the Northumbrians. I cannot free Britannia but I can free Rheged.”

My brother was at Deva which was the old Roman fortress guarding the Dee and the entrance to King Cadwallon’s lands. He lived there with his wife, Gwyneth and his son Arturus.  He had had another son and a daughter but they had both died young.

He greeted me warmly but I saw him examining my face carefully.  He was a wizard and could read men through their eyes. I found it uncomfortable and I shifted my gaze to his son. Arturus was growing rapidly.  He was at least ten summers old. “You are growing Arturus.  Soon you will have your own armour and become a warrior.”

I could see that I had pleased him. “I hope so uncle.”

“Go and find your mother, my son.  Tell her we have visitors.” He ran off.  “Brother,” he warned, “let him have his childhood.  The world is not just about war and fighting Edwin.”

“It is for me,” I realised that it had sounded cold and I shrugged and gave my little brother an apologetic smile.

“You need a woman.  You are still young enough to father children.”

“I may be but I am aware of the passing of time.  We need to slow down the advance of the Northumbrians. The Northumbrians are flexing their muscles; they tried a sneak attack on Mona.” We sat in his hall and I told him of the failed attack and my plans. “So I need some of your equites and, if possible, you.”

“Of course I will join you but why do you need me?  There are better equites than me.”

I laughed, “Because you complete me.  I need a wizard. Our father gave half of his skills to you and the other half to me.  I can fight but I cannot dream.”

“You have Myrddyn.”

“Myrddyn is getting old. I need you, little brother.  Even if your sword remained sheathed you would still be invaluable to me. You are the only one, save Pol, who can think as quickly as I do.”

“What about Tuanthal?”

“I would take him too but he is old and I would that he protected Mona with Uncle Aelle.  The two of them can protect our home.”

“Very well.  When do we leave? It is almost summer now.”

“I will be in Hibernia until Midsummer’s Eve at the latest but I warn you that I intend to winter in Northumbria.”

That surprised even Gawan. “But you have horses and the winters are harsh.”

“And we can punish the Northumbrians for they will not expect us. We will become a spectre. We will haunt them in the darkest and longest nights. I have plans for feeding the horses. Fear not.”

And I did have plans but I told them to no one yet.

I took but twenty of my equites with me on my trip to Hibernia. Before I travelled I met with Aelle and Tuanthal. “I told King Cadwallon that I would be taking a hundred men with me to raid the Northumbrians but I want you two to train as many as you can.  If any show prowess as riders then they will come with me. We need every boy as a slinger and the girls too.”

“Girls?” Women did not fight.

“Yes Tuanthal.  If the Saxons come they will not be spared will they?  They can fight for their freedom as can the boys.”

Myrddyn stood next to me as we set sail.  “You may have ruffled feathers on Mona, Warlord, but I am pleased with this ruthless warrior I see before me. The land will need a firm and strong hand. Your father both trained and chose well in his successor.”

“I am just sad that I cannot talk with him.”

“
Wyrd
. But he talks to me and to your brother.  I hide nothing from you, Warlord.”

“But it is not the same.”

“I know.”

I had chosen Pol to accompany me and the rest were young equites who were yet to be blooded. I hoped that this expedition would not be dangerous but I needed to know my young warriors and how they would react to the unexpected. Pol and I had shared many experiences; from having been my father’s squire to travelling to Constantinopolis. He was even closer to me, in many ways, than Gawan for I had spent almost every day with him since I had been a child. When I went to war he was on my right hand side and I never looked for him on the field of battle for he was always there.

While Myrddyn slept, he did much more of that these days, I went to the prow with Pol. We had sailed west and then north to avoid the Saxons on Manau.  Once the captain turned north we would begin to see the coast of Hibernia. Pol pointed off to the horizon. “Where will we go to seek these mercenaries, Warlord?  There are many on the island who would slit our throats for our helmets alone.”

“They would have to be fine warriors to do that but I will go to the north of the island; to the land of
Fiachnae mac Báetáin
.”

“He is in Strathclyde is he not? And, as I recall the
Uí Néill
are untrustworthy.”

“True but Fiachnae had a brother, Fiachra, whom he left to rule in his name.  I hope that he may know some men who may wish to earn our gold.”

“This use of gold does not seem honourable, Warlord.”

Pol was one of the few men who could speak to me as critically as he did. “I have learned that there is little honour these days from any. Look at my cousin, Morcar.  He had no honour and my father did.  Had my father been less honourable then he might still be alive.” Morcar and his witch had killed my father with a poisoned blade.  I had killed Morcar but I wished to kill him over and over again. One death was not enough.

Pol was silent for a while. “And yet even if he were that would not bring back your family, would it, Warlord?”

He was right of course and my silence was enough of an answer for him to contemplate the coastline which began to appear to our left. It took us two more days to reach the beach which was closest to the home of Fiachra.  Last time we had been here my father had brought horses for he wished to impress the Hibernians.  I had no need to impress them now for they were our allies and the journey would have been difficult for them. It meant, however, that we would need to walk. I wondered if Myrddyn was up to it.

Dawn had just broken when we clambered ashore and I told
Daffydd ap Gwynfor to wait for us offshore. My ship was a tempting prize for any pirate and I wanted him to have sea room. It only took Pol and I a mile or so to regain the use of our legs, properly. Some of the younger ones marched as though they were drunk. They would learn- eventually. It amused Myrddyn. Despite his frequent naps the wizard seemed to be able to march as quickly as we did.

Perhaps someone had been watching us for, as we approached the coast, a group of armed warriors trotted down to meet us on the small hill ponies so favoured by the Hibernians. I had tried it once but my feet trailed along the ground and I could not see the point. My size went against me. The leader bowed, “Prince Fiachra saw you as you approached.  He recognised your ship and sent us to escort you to the oppidum safely.”

Something in his voice alerted me, “Safely? Is there trouble afoot?”

He nodded, “The
Uí Néill
has begun raiding for slaves. They came in the night. The king is away and they think we are weak.” He spat into the grass. “We were less than vigilant, that is all.  We will recover them.”

“How many did they capture?”

“A whole village.  They killed the old and the handful of warriors who were there. They have over thirty women and children.”

Something in the bitter way he spoke told me that this was personal. “You lost family?”

“I did.” He set his face in a look of stone. This was a warrior.  He would get his family back.

I knew that in Hibernia slave trading was a lucrative business. Many would be sold to the Saxons.  They knew better than to try to sell them to us or the men of Strathclyde. I wondered if I had come to the right place.  It seemed unlikely that there would be spare men for me to hire as mercenaries.

I remembered the king’s brother. Fiachra was a good and loyal brother to the king but he was no general. The king would have been better served appointing a trustworthy leader for his people and keeping Fiachra as the leader of his bodyguard.  There were more sentries around the hill fort than the last time I had visited but the ditch had not been deepened nor had it been sown with traps. My plan looked to be faltering before I had even started.

He looked older than the last time I had seen him but that had been some years earlier. He gave a deferential bow as I approached.  Like my father before me I was no king but many warriors were impressed by my armour, helmet and the trappings of an equite. They treated me as a king. The Hibernians fought without armour and most deigned a helmet. However they had seen my father fight in armour and knew the effect.

“It is good to see you, Warlord, and you come at a propitious moment.”

“I heard about the raids.  Does your brother know?”

His downcast eyes gave me my answer, “I have yet to tell him.  The raids were less than two days ago.”

“Have you tried to get the slaves back?”