Saxon Fall (22 page)

“Aye, Warlord.” I heard the doubt in his voice.  We halted half way between the burgh and the Northumbrian camp. I opened my palms and put my hands to the side in the sign for peace.

I saw a warband forming up and then five warriors detached themselves and rode their ponies towards us. They were heavily mailed warriors and I saw many battle rings adorning their bare arms.

They dismounted as did I.  It was not easy but I gritted my teeth. I could afford to show no weakness.

“I am Eadfrith of Caer Daun. I command here.”

“And I am the Warlord of Rheged.”

Eadfrith took off his helmet and I did the same. These were the rituals of negotiation.  It showed peaceful intent on both sides and I could almost feel the relief from the burgh behind me.

Eadfrith was younger than I was with a blond beard and a scar running down one cheek.  He had done well to command at such an early age. He smiled, “You are here to surrender?”

I laughed, “Why should we? Your king was kind enough to lay in such supplies that we may never choose to leave such a lovely spot.”

Anger briefly flitted across his face and then he smiled again. “When the rest of our army arrives we will have your surrounded and you will have to surrender.”

“You have such little faith in the walls which your men built. How sad.”

This time he allowed his irritation to show. He had already revealed his lack of experience by giving me too much information. “We shall see, Welshman! What is it that you do want?”

I spread my arm around the battlefield. “Your men fought and died bravely. Now that you follow the White Christ we thought you might like to bury them.”

A frown crossed his face.  “Why would you do that?”

I shook my head, “Such suspicion.  Leave them there then for the beasts of the night to devour and despoil. My holy men thought that your priests might like to bury them and send them to their new god. My men died well with swords in their hands and they are already in the Otherworld but you are Christians are you not?”

I could see from the faces of them all that they were not all committed Christians.  King Edwin might have been converted but some of his men still adhered to the old ways.

“Very well then.”

“We will have a truce until noon.”

Eadfrith shook his head, “That is not enough time to collect the dead and to bury them.”

I shrugged as though it did not matter, “Until nightfall then.”

“Until nightfall.”

He nodded and we remounted.  It took me all my time to do so. He grinned as he looked up at me on my magnificent mount, “And the next time I see you, horse lover, my sword will bring you down to my level and I will wear that fine armour.”

“Many men have promised that Eadfrith of Caer Daun and yet I still wear it.” I wheeled Star’s head around and we rode back to the fort.

When we were out of earshot Pelas asked, “Warlord, why did you say the truce would be until noon? Surely we needed as much time as possible.”

“And that is why.  If I suggested night fall then he would have been suspicious.  I made him suggest that which I desired.”

Llewellyn chuckled, “And that is why he is the Warlord, young squire. He uses his mind as well as his sword.”

“There will be a truce until nightfall. Have Aed and the other scouts collect our dead.  Have them listen to the Northumbrians. Do not let on that they speak Saxon and I want other Saxon speakers on this wall to listen to the Northumbrians as they collect the bodies.  We can gain valuable intelligence.” Pol nodded and ran off to find the men.  As I stepped down I said, quietly to Gawan, “My wound feels damp.”

He nodded, “I will look at it.  I feared this.”

In the hall Pelas and Llewellyn helped me to take off my armour. The wound looked angry but there was not as much blood as I had feared. My brother sniffed it and seemed satisfied.  He took a clean cloth and dipped it in a mixture of vinegar and herbs.  He wiped at the wound which stung but I knew it would help the healing process. He took out his balms and salves. “It is healing but you need to rest more.  No more armour for a day or two.”

I laughed and regretted it for it hurt. “Tell the Northumbrians that, brother.  I have, at least, bought us a day. I will try to avoid becoming involved in the fighting.”

Pelas said, “Fighting? Surely you have bought us a day and a night, Warlord.”

“No, Pelas.  They will come tonight. They will take their dead away and then this Eadfrith will try to capture the burgh before King Edwin gets here.  He is young and I think he is keen to impress. As soon as it is dark I want the ditch sowing with lillia. Llewellyn, you can go now and have the ditch to the south sown for tonight they will surround us.  We will have a ring of fire by morning.”

“How do you know?”

Pelas was inquisitive and that was good but I did not have the time to explain every decision I made. “Eadfrith told me when he asked for a truce until nightfall. He also said that King Edwin would surround us.  It was a slip of the tongue. They will come and we will be ready.”

As the last Saxon left the field I ordered the squires and the boy slingers to collect every piece of horse manure they could and throw it into the ditches.  Some was already dry but even the fresh would soon dry.  It would make the interior of the burgh slightly sweeter smelling but, more importantly it would disguise the lillia and make any slight wounds potentially mortal.

“Daffydd, as soon as it is dark, tell the squires and the boys to throw down kindling and faggots into the ditches. Not too many but enough for you to start a fire. Have spare faggots ready to keep the fire going. I will give the command when you are to release fire arrows.  Have your best archers around the walls to make sure they take hold. ” It took skill to use a fire arrow effectively.  There were only five or six of my men who could do so easily although I would have as many as possible sent into the ditch.

“Aye Warlord.”

“Bors, have any pig fat and oil poured down the sides of the ditch.  I want it slippery and I want it to burn.”

“Aye Warlord.”

Of course the pig fat and the oil would also burn.  I risked it igniting the walls of the burgh but the fort was made of new wood and would not burn as easily as an older fort.

I went to the hall with my warriors and ate well. Pol looked at me as we ate and said, “You will not fight tonight!”

“If they break through then I will have no choice will I?”

“Then we will make sure that they will not break through.”

“They will come at us from all sides. I will stand at the north gate with Pelas and Llenlleog. Lann Aelle, take the south gate. Pol and Gawan I think they will attack the hardest at the east and the west for there are no gates there.  You each take one.  I want the men evenly spread around: an equite, a slinger, a squire, an archer and so on. I would that we all had equal protection.  Daffydd, you take charge of the fire arrows.  When they have suffered wounds in the ditch we fire it and we feed the fire.  The dung in the bottom will help to keep the fire going.”

I caught Pelas looking south. “Fear not, squire, King Penda will come. He has already won the support of the Saxon kings to the south.  He will want to defeat King Edwin for that will make him high king of the Saxons in this land.”

“And then we will have to defeat him.”

I smiled at Gawan.  “You are right brother but that is in the future.
Wyrd
puts one obstacle in the way at a time. Who knows what might happen between now and then? We did not expect the help from the Hibernians but that helped us.” I pointed to Llenlleog. “We did not know we had kin across the sea but we do now.” I shrugged, “Who knows, at some time in the future our kin may come across the waters and conquer the Saxons, eh Llenlleog?”

He grinned, “Aye my lord. For I now see that this is a land worth fighting for. We have a toe hold in Frankia but we are like you, a hardy and resilient people. Do not rule it out, Pelas!”

I donned my armour despite the pain. I would not fight but I could not risk an accidental wound because I was not wearing armour. I knew, from Pol, that the warriors felt better when they saw me amongst them. I smiled and spoke to each one as I passed.  I had learned the names of each of the slingers too. I had known many of their fathers.  My own father had taught me the value of knowing the warriors with whom I fought. The number of my warriors was small and everyone was as valuable to me as any other.

We stood silently awaiting the enemy.  I did not wear my helmet.  Although well made, it did dampen sounds a little and I needed sharp ears that night. I scanned the forest. It blended into the land but there was a darker shadow there.  I began to wonder if I had mis-read Eadfrith for all we heard was the sounds of the night. My warriors knew better than to talk and to move.  By standing silently we made it hard for an approaching warrior to spot us.

I became aware that there was total silence.  The animals of the night were still.  The Northumbrians were coming. I slowly picked up my bow and took out an arrow.  I was not certain if my wound would allow me to pull the string but it felt better having a weapon in my hand. I saw moving shadows making their way from the forest. I did not need to speak for my men would have spotted them too.  The boy slingers had especially good eyes. Every equite had either a bow or a javelin. They were all ready. This was the hard part as we waited for them to come. We had to remain still to create the illusion that we were not ready.  This was where I missed Myrddyn for he would have had some magic up his sleeve.  I had not had time to speak with Gawan but I hoped he had something too. If I had but one pot of Greek fire it would make all the difference.

I saw that the shadows had stopped some twenty paces from the ditch. They had learned from their earlier attack and would not come forward blindly this time.  It mattered not. I turned to see if Llewellyn had the buccina to hand and I saw that he had. I could make out the Northumbrians now.  They were slithering like serpents towards the ditch. That was clever.  They would feel the stakes.  Of course it would not be pleasant for them as they would have the horse dung to go through first. Eventually they would need to stand and when they slipped they would be impaled anyway.

The Northumbrians disappeared into the bottom of the ditch; it was all shadow.  I saw one of them.  He had not blackened his helmet and I saw a reflection.  He began to pull himself up the side of the ditch. He had a sword in his hand and that was his undoing.  His foot slipped on the slippery bank and his one free hand was not enough to save him. He fell backwards knocking over a companion and, more importantly, impaling his foot on a dung covered stake.  He screamed. We were all ready and arrows, lead shot and javelins were accurately hurled at the men we had watched for some time. Llewellyn sounded the buccina. It seemed to be answered by Saxon horns and we saw more shadows running from the forest to join the attack.

The initial attack had been thwarted but now more Northumbrians ran to join their beleaguered comrades. The ones in the ditch had shields above their heads for protection but they could not ascend the slippery sides nor the wooden walls.  They would wait for their comrades. The technique had been mastered by us.  They would use two men to hold a shield and make a platform for a warrior to use. They would either scale the walls or fight the defenders from the top of the shield.  It worked.  Our forts had higher walls but the Northumbrian’s burgh had walls which could be scaled.

We were causing fewer casualties.  My men were waiting for a certain target rather than wasting precious missiles. It emboldened the Northumbrians; perhaps they thought we were running out of arrows and stone. I was waiting until the ditch was filled. My eyes were so accustomed to the dark by this time that I could make out faces.  When I saw the ditch filled with faces I yelled, “Now, Daffydd!”

There were only four or five fire arrows along each wall and they were not aimed at men. They plunged into the faggots and the brush. The faggots began to burn. There were not many of them and the Northumbrians ignored them.  They had light now to see the walls and the defenders.  They began to hurl spears at their tormentors. Daffydd and his archers began to spread out their fire arrows and more of the faggots flamed. Suddenly some of the pig fat ignited and then the oil. There were spurts of flames and some of the warriors lying wounded in the ditch found themselves on fire and unable to move. The dried dung burned and began to send ripples of flames along the ditch. Now the Saxons could not ignore the flames and they tried to throw the faggots from the ditch towards the walls. To do so they had to use two hands and more warriors fell to stones and arrows. They were brave.  I saw a leader exhorting his men to attack once more.  Llenlleog’s arrow silenced him. 

“Throw more faggots into the fire Daffydd!”

Faggots were thrown in to join the inferno. We fed it as the Northumbrians gamely tried to climb the walls. Eventually we heard the Saxon horns and the living left the ditch.  The air was filled with the shouts and the screams of the wounded and the smell of burning hair and flesh.  It was not pleasant.  I saw some of the slingers being sick at the sight and the smell. They now knew war.

Dawn brought us the grisly sight of blackened bodies lying in our ditch.  The dung and the bodies smouldered still. We would be trapped within the walls for the rest of the day but the Saxons would have to lick their wounds and decide what to do next. Daylight also brought us the size of the problem we faced.  The Northumbrian army had arrived and now stretched all around us.  We were ringed in by warriors. The supplies we held were vital to King Edwin. He would have to keep attacking us if only to reclaim his own supplies.

“Have the men eat and sleep in shifts.  They will not attack for a while and we might as well rest and eat.”

“And you, brother, will you rest?”

“I would have to descend and to climb the steps to return here.  I think I will watch for King Edwin.”

At noon I was rewarded for my patience by King Edwin and his leaders coming towards us, their hands held out in the sign for peace.  I recognised Eadfrith, Osric, Oswiu and Oswald.  The sixth I did not recognise but as he looked much like the brothers I took him to be the elder, Eanforth.

They halted out of bow range.  That, in itself, was discourteous. The king took off his helmet.  I noticed the huge cross of the White Christ which he wore now that he was a Christian. I waited for him to speak.  He had sought this conversation.

“Warlord, I see that you are up to your usual tricks, burning warriors because you fear to fight them.”

I laughed, “Your warriors are like fleas on a dog Edwin, you get rid of them any way you can for there is no honour in getting rid of lice.”

I saw that I had struck a nerve with the three brothers. The lack of a title would also have irritated the king.  He held out his hands to quieten the brothers. “You are now completely surrounded and you must be running short of firewood.  Surrender and I will allow you to leave the burgh unharmed.”

From their reaction I could see that he had not discussed this with the sons of Aethelfrith. None of them appeared happy: I was their Nemesis.

“We are comfortable and, as you have been so kind as to lay in supplies for us, we will stay here until they are gone.”

This time I had got to him. “Then there will be no quarter given and you will all be put to the sword.  Even the boys.”

“Good for I would hate them to be the slaves of Northumbrians!”

They turned and rode their ponies away.

I turned to Pol, “They will attack soon.  Bring all the men back to the walls.”

Daffydd said, “Should I throw the last of the faggots in the fire, Warlord?”

“No Daffydd, save those for tonight.  If we are still here.”

I donned my helmet for I knew that I would need it. I looked at my quiver.  There were ten arrows left and then I would have to rely on Saxon Slayer. I estimated that the Northumbrians were in their hundreds.  I could see at least eight hundred before me and we were surrounded. I had to assume there were others in the forest too. The odds were more than twenty five to one against us.

King Edwin organised four wedges to attack us. He had more than enough men to divide our forces and he would be able to outnumber us on every wall. The attack the previous night had, effectively, filled in the ditches with his dead warriors. The Northumbrians did not have many archers but they would be able to target our men on the walls and they could afford to lose twenty five men just to kill one of us.

Each wedge was led by a chief and mailed warriors. Further back they were lightly armed.  Between the wedges came the fyrd.  They had an assortment of weapons and would fight individually.  They were useful in dividing our attack.

“Daffydd, concentrate your archers on the men without armour.  The slingers can deal with the mailed warriors.” We had a limited number of arrows and I wanted the maximum casualties.

The advancing wedges chanted their Saxon war cries.  It was meant to intimidate. It did not affect my equites and archers but I saw some worried looks amongst my slingers. “I will give a silver coin to any slinger who brings down a warrior in mail!”

The cost was immaterial; I wanted them to forget their fears and try to win the silver coin. I heard the lead balls as they cracked against the shields of the warriors. One suddenly pitched backward as the lead ball struck his helmet.  He might not have been killed but he was out of the attack and the gap enabled Kay to hurl a javelin into the chest of the warrior in the second rank. The wedges slowed up. The archers began to hit the warriors at the rear of the wedges. It was like the effect of dripping water; it was slow but eventually it would cause the dam to break.  I just hoped we had both the arrows and the time.

“Ready the javelins!”

As soon as the warriors stepped into the ditch their line of shields would not be continuous. That was the time to strike. I had three arrows left. When the leading warrior stepped down on to the crisply blackened bodies I loosed an arrow at the warrior behind him. Although he kept his shield up I struck his knee with the barbed missile.  He dropped to his good knee and Llenlleog sent an arrow into the shoulder of the warrior next to him.  We were not killing warriors but these were their best and they were being wounded. 

By the time the wedge reached the gate there were handfuls of wounded warriors lying sheltering beneath their shields.  Some tried to drag themselves back towards safety; that was easier said than done with their fellows trying to get to grips with us.