Saxon Fall (9 page)

When Aed returned he led us to the Nidd.  It was a three hour ride but we could defend the narrow gorge if attacked. We had visited there once with my father and Myrddyn.  We had found a cave with a Roman sword and witches made of stone. It was a good place to hide as the Saxons shunned it, fearing the dead and the spirits. We would use it to help recover the horses and to plan our strategy.  It was now long past midsummer and soon it would be harvest time. This would be the opportunity to hurt the Northumbrians.

“Kay and Daffydd, I want sentries a mile out from the camp.  Use pairs of men; one sleeps while one watches.”

“Aye, Warlord.”

Myrddyn pointed to the cave, “Gawan that is a cave of the dead.  I will sleep there.  The spirits may talk to us.”

“And I will join you.”

Pol, Lann Aelle and I watched as the two men walked happily into the cave of death. It frightened me but not my young brother.  It was just the way we were. Pelas took Star off to feed and water him. Both had served me well.

Although I was tired I needed to talk.  I went with Pol and Lann Aelle to the river.  The soothing sound of the water rushing over the stones was reassuring.  It reminded me that Icaunus was close by. He had oft times protected us.  We had yet to lose a warrior during a river crossing.

“Lann Aelle, where do you think that we should raid?”

“I think south and east will be too dangerous at the moment.  We know where Edwin and his men are. They will be searching for us. Oswald and Oswiu will have discovered that we have killed their men and he will be scouting the east.”

“You are saying that we should work north and west?”

“We know the land and we have a shorter journey to our cache of weapons should we need it.”

“You counsel well.”

Pol threw a stone into the bubbling waters. “What do you make of the brothers, Warlord? It seems they are not part of Edwin’s army.”

“I think they are allies but it may well be that they have ambition.  Perhaps we could ferment discord.”

“How?”

“I am not sure.  When my brother and the wizard have dreamed, they may have thoughts on it.” I stretched as I yawned.  “We will leave tomorrow afternoon.  We can strike at Stanwyck. It is not far from here and we can rest there once we have captured it.”

“You are sure that you can capture it?”

“It is the one place I am certain of.  Our fathers were born there, Lann Aelle.  It was from thence that the Saxons first drove our people west. We will capture it and this time we destroy its defences.  They will not use it again.”

I thought I would sleep well but it came in fits and starts punctuated by pictures in my minds.  They made no sense.  I saw Irishmen fighting Irishmen.  I saw Caer Gybi burning. I saw dragons fleeing west. When I woke I did not feel rested. It was late afternoon and my warriors were all asleep save for the sentries. I wandered to see Star.  Pelas was sound asleep and close by. I stroked Star and examined him for injuries.  I knew that Pelas would have done so already but he was my horse still and I knew him better than any. He appeared unharmed although I noticed he looked a little gaunter than usual. I spied a wild apple tree by the river.  I wandered over and picked three of the riper fruits.  I took a bite and they seemed a little sour to me but they were Star’s favourite treat and I took them back to him.  He savoured each one as he ate it.  The sour taste did not seem to bother him. After letting him drink from the river I tethered him again.

I strapped on my sword.  I needed no mail yet.  I walked the camp until I came to the first of the sentries.  I spoke quietly for one was sleeping.  “Have you seen aught?”

“No Warlord.” The squire looked up at the cliff and the cave.  “This place frightens me. I was told that there is a cave yonder and within it lays a stone witch.” I nodded.  “And yet your brother and the wizard sleep there.”

“The dead do not frighten them.  They walk in the world of the dead but I am like you, Dai son of Daffydd, I prefer the living to the dead.” I noticed that he was wearing a short byrnie. “Is that Saxon?”

“Aye Warlord, Pol gave it to me after we had routed the warriors in the forest.”

“Good, then soon you will be an equite.”

“It is my dearest wish, Warlord.”

Dai was not from Rheged.  His father, Dai, had been King Cadwallon’s squire and then leader of the oathsworn. When he had died fighting the Northumbrians he had been orphaned and the king had asked me to train him as my father had trained him and Dai. It seemed his allegiance was now to me.

My brother and Myrddyn came down after dark.  We had all woken and were busy cooking hot food.  We felt safe here for we were far enough to the west of the road to be safe from Edwin, at least for a while. Pol and I were sat with Lann Aelle when they came. Both had a worried look upon their faces. “Did the dreams not go well?”

“They were dreams,“ sighed Myrddyn, “but their content was somewhat disquieting.” He nodded to Gawan, “Your brother can tell you. I need to make water.” He shrugged, “It is my age.”

“Did you dream the same?”

“I do not know but Myrddyn seemed to know what I had dreamed.”

“And there is trouble?”

“Dreams do not tell you what is; they just give you glimpses into what may be. I saw
Fiachnae mac Báetáin
falling and then there were waves of Saxons flooding over the Roman Wall and they fell upon Deva. There were Hibernian ships stretching across the horizon and they hid Mona from my sight. I saw King Cadwallon and he lay slain with King Edwin and Oswald standing over him.”

The dreams sounded catastrophic.  Usually there appeared to be some ray of hope or a solution to the problems they suggested but the spirits seemed to offer only despair.  I wondered if Gawan’s state of mind had affected his dreams.  Myrddyn only had himself to think on. “You were worried about your family.  Perhaps that affected your dreams. “

“Perhaps but Myrddyn had seen the same too. And then I saw many ships leaving Manau and sailing to Mona.” He hesitated.  “Mona was burning behind the wall of Hibernian ships.”

Lann Aelle said, “It is a sign that we should return home!”

I shook my head, “That would be a mistake.  We have been here just a short time and yet we have already achieved much.  Another two or three moons might be all that we need.” I turned to Gawan, “You said yourself that you do not know when these events will take place, if they take place at all.”

“You are right brother but I cannot help worrying.”

Myrddyn’s voice came from behind me, “Worrying does not solve problems; it creates them.  The Warlord is right. The dreams we both had may tell us what will happen at some time in the future.”

We stared into the fire.  My pictures suddenly made a little more sense.  Pol threw another branch onto the fire. “Even if the dreams are true the Saxons on Manau do not have enough ships yet to attack Mona and King Cadwallon is still at the Narrows.  We know King Edwin is here, we saw him! I agree with the Warlord.”

“However, we will not stay beyond Yule. I do not want my brother worrying about his family in the short days of winter but we will leave our mark on Northumbria.  King Edwin will know that we have visited our vengeance upon him.” I looked at my leaders one by one. “We will take as much of the harvest as we can and feed our people.”

“That means wagons or carts.”

“It does.  We begin at Stanwyck and work our way along the Dunum Valley.  We will send whatever we gather to the Belisama. Daffydd can carry it home.”

Myrddyn nodded his agreement.  “Then you will be sending riders back?”

“I will.  We will send two squires to Deva.  I will ask Daffydd to be at the estuary by the night of the bone fires.”

We reached Stanwyck before dark. We knew the hill fort well. Leaving our horses in the woods to the north I led half of the men towards the northern gate.  Lann Aelle and Gawan led the other half to the southern gate.  As I had expected word had spread about the Warlord rampaging through Northumbria. We had watched as many of those in the outlying farms trudged towards the security of Stanwyck’s walls. This suited me for it gathered them in one place and meant we could take their crops and animals more easily after the fall of the fort.

The ditches at Stanwyck are ancient.  They were there before the Romans had reached Britannia.  My grandfather, after whom I was named, had ordered the erection of the two gates which we would now use. The wooden walls had been put up at the same time. They were older than I was. I doubted that the gates had been well maintained and I knew that they would not have laid traps in the ditches. With our archers covering us I led my forty odd warriors towards the walls.  There were sentries but it did not matter if they saw us.  Daffydd and his archers would silence them and we knew how to scale walls.

I had left Llewellyn with Myrddyn and the two wounded squires to watch the horses and it was Pelas who watched my back.  He had grown much since he had killed his first man. He was not yet experienced enough to stand in a shield wall or to ride as an equite but another summer would see him being considered.

We reached the ditch and waited out of sight behind the mound.  We watched the sentries and as soon as they moved we flooded over into the banks of the ditch and lay waiting in the bottom. When they moved again we ran to the wooden walls. It would be the squires who would be hoisted over the walls.  They were lighter and quicker.  They would not have to deal with armoured warriors and their knives and swords would make short work of them. Bors and I held my shield.  Pelas put his foot upon it and rested his arms on our shoulders.  When he was set he nodded and Bors and I thrust him upwards. He had just reached the top when we heard the cry of alarm from the other side of the fort. I heard the arrows as they flew towards the sentries and heard their cries as they tumbled from the walls.  I looked up and saw that Pelas had disappeared.  The other squires soon joined the first ones and we ran to the gates.

Inside I could hear the clash of metal on metal and the shouts of combat. I had two men ready with axes in case we could not gain entry but, as we reached the gate I saw it creak open and Pelas was there with two of the other squires. I saw that he was bleeding. The concern must have shown for he shook his head and said, “It is nothing.”

He was a warrior and we had to bear such things. We burst into the hill fort.  This was the biggest fort we had seen. It was even bigger than the Roman ones we frequently used.  Only Eboracum and Civitas were bigger. I said to Pelas, “You and the squires wait here.  No man leaves alive but do not hinder the women and children.”

“Aye Warlord.”

This was less a battle and more of a hunt.  The women and children soon discovered that we were not interested in them.  It must have surprised them for when Saxons raided they violated and then enslaved the women and the children.  We just let them go. They ran. The men fell as they fought to hold us back.  Eventually we had the last four cornered near the hall of the chief.  While the squires went from hut to hut gathering anything which might be of value I questioned the four prisoners.  Two were wounded and were likely to lose limbs.  They would be either sold as slaves or used as slaves on Mona.  We could not afford to let men go free.  They would breed more Saxons. Had I been a cruel man I would have applied that logic to the women but I could not.

“Who is your master?”

The four remained obstinately silent. “This place you have taken is where my grandfather and grandmother died and where my father was brought up. I have no reason to be kind to you. You, or your fathers, killed my grandparents. If I chose I could have you blinded, castrated or merely maimed. I have allowed you to live and to live whole.  My healer will be here soon to see to your injuries so do not try my patience!” I roared out the last word and they all recoiled.

“Prince Oswiu is our lord and master.  We serve him and he serves King Edwin.”

“That was not so hard. I see you have gathered in many of your crops and your young animals.  It has been a good year?”

My voice was calmer and almost conversational. “Yes we have done well.”

“And when do you extract tribute from Rheged?”

“As soon as…”

He got no further as the man next to him hit him in the ribs with his elbow. “Finish what you were going to say.” Once again there was silence. I nodded, “I think that you were going to say as soon as Prince Oswiu arrives which means he is due.” I nodded.  “Bind them and mark them.”

Kay went to the fire and thrust two daggers in it. The men began to plead for mercy.  They knew what was coming.  They were to be branded.  If they escaped then my people would know that they had been enslaved.

By the time dawn had broken we had collected the bounty of Stanwyck. We had done well.  There were many sheep; my father and Lann Aelle’s had herded them on these very fells.  There were three cows and the villagers had gathered in much grain as well.  It was mainly oats and barley but they had some wheat. We also found two carts. Most of the grain went in the carts.

“Kay.  Take four equites, four squires and four archers. Use two of the horses for one of the carts and the four slaves can pull the other.  Head for Belisama and await Daffydd. Take most of the sheep and the cows too.”

“Aye Warlord. When should we leave?”

“Now.  With the animals it will take some time.  Go back through the valley we used.  Give four of the sheep and one of the cows to the villagers.  It will help them to remain loyal.”

Pol asked, “And what do we do, Warlord?”

“Today we rest but I want this place burning in the early hours of tomorrow. By the time the sun breaks I want a cloud of black smoke to tell Oswiu that we have burned Stanwyck.”

Pol grinned as he nodded his approval, “And he will race here with his warband ready to pursue us.”

“Except that we will not have gone we will be waiting for him.”

The men tore down whole sections of the palisade and piled the wood onto the huts. We found pig fat and oils and we doused the rest of the walls with that.  We needed flames at night.  When dawn came we would add material which would make it smoke; the bodies of the dead Saxons.

My three scouts and six of the squires were spread out five miles away from Stanwyck.  There were many woods and copses in which they could hide.  The warband would be on foot and I knew that if they came we would know of it. Bors was not certain that they would come.

“Why should they care if this fort burns?”

“Because there is nothing else which compares with this one.” I pointed to the north, “There is the fort at Morbium and Eboracum.  They are the only forts which defend from the west.  You saw the riches of this fort.  He will have lost much food for the winter if he loses this. We have hurt Edwin, we have hurt Oswald and now we hit Oswiu.  When we have finished here we go to Morbium and the Dunum Valley.  From now on we pull further west and draw the Saxons away from safety.”

“But why?”

“Because, Bors, I want them to think we are pulling them into a trap.  They will not believe we are so few.  By the time they catch up with us we will have less than fifty warriors.  Next year, when we repeat this they will come on recklessly but by then we shall have King Cadwallon and his army to help us.”

“You think that far ahead, Warlord?”

Pol laughed, “You must visit Constantinopolis. There they plan even further ahead than that.”

The fire burned so brightly that it made it seem like daylight. By the time dawn broke it had taken hold and the bodies were hurled in to the hall. Myrddyn ordered that leaves and fresh branches be put on the burning ramparts and soon there was a black cloud rising high into the sky.

We moved out of the burning hill fort and headed east. Oswiu would expect us to have fled further west once we had destroyed his fortress.  He would neither be wary nor worried about ambush until he reached it.  We would strike before he did so. We knew that he would be on his way west from what his villagers had told us but we had no idea how close he might be.

Dai was the scout who found them. “Warlord, they are four miles away coming from the east.  There are a hundred of them, at least, and they have five nobles on horses.”

There were less than seventy of us remaining with deaths and the messengers we had sent. We were made up largely with archers and equites. The Northumbrians would be using the sunken lane which meandered its way towards the hill fort.  It was an ancient track way.  The Romans had never built a road here. There were trees and bushes which lined it.

“Daffydd, Take your archers and line the track way.”

“Aye Warlord,” he hesitated, “we are getting low on arrows; should we conserve them?”

“No, if you use all of them then you and the archers can ride to the Belisama and replenish.  It is why we brought them with us.”

After they headed down the track way to their ambush site I spread the equites out. “Osgar, take charge of the equites. Myrddyn will be close by. Your task will be to fill in any gaps which appear in our lines and to stop them outflanking us.” I saw the disappointment on his face.  He would have preferred to be with the other equites fighting by my side. “This is important Osgar. The men you lead will be equites soon.  This is your chance to be a captain.”

“Aye, Warlord.  I shall not let you down.”

As we waited I realised that Oswiu had not been far away. I had stopped his tribute raid.  The lands of Rheged would keep their harvests and their children for this year at least.  They would be stronger. I knew that if I had had more men I could have stayed over here and denied the Northumbrians the freedom of movement they enjoyed.  Our mobility was our secret weapon. Even though we had been outnumbered by Edwin there was no way he could have caught us. This was the land of the horse. Back in Cymru he could have blocked passes and we would now be dead. It was a lesson I needed to learn from.

We had chosen a place where we had the high ground. The sunken lane turned between some oak, birch and yew trees and then climbed to begin the ascent to the hill fort. We waited there so that when they turned the bend they would see us.  As soon as we charged them then my archers would rain death upon them. I was with the last ten lancers.  All the other longer weapons had broken.  The rest used spears but they were no longer than the spears the Saxons would use. Our advantage was our horses.