The Dunston Blade (25 page)

They were riding through the forest when the scent of camp fires came drifting towards them. One of them crept forward to see who and how many were cooking
their breakfast. He returned and reported to John that there were a large group of Welshmen waking up, they didn’t seem to be in any hurry. John signalled
to his men to spread out and circle the camp, when they were in position he raised his horn and gave a quick blast.

The Welshmen were thrown into confusion as John’s bowmen loosed a cloud of arrows into their midst from their hidden positions, many died in that first
attack. John blew a second time and his men drew swords and swept into the encampment shouting as loud as they could while cutting down the enemy who were
trying to defend themselves. John faced a great brute of a fellow who was wielding an enormous axe, John lent back as the weapon scythed towards him and he
ducked under the swing and stabbed at the man’s middle feeling the point enter the soft flesh, but the man steadied himself and brought the axe back to
strike again, John bent double as he managed to avoid the swing and he struck at the man’s unprotected legs. The big man fell with a roar of pain and John
raised his sword and plunged it through the neck of his opponent. He swung round to find that most of the Welshmen were down and the remainder had
surrendered. They gathered all the weapons together and bound the prisoners that could walk, two of John’s men had died and there were no others with
serious wounds.

“Bury our friends and take their personal possessions to give to their families, four of you take these prisoners back to Chester,” said John. “Hurry, as
the noise may bring others and we need to be away.”

They disappeared back into the trees and after they had distanced themselves from the battle ground they rested and John thought about his next move. They
had won that encounter easily, it would not be that way next time, thought John. The enemy were now warned and his party would be depleted if he had to
take prisoners every time. Continuing through the woods they moved ever closer to Hawarden, suddenly his scouts came running back to tell him that an enemy
patrol was heading towards them.

“Dismount,” called John and the horses were collected and moved into the trees. The Welsh were close behind and John’s bowmen only loosed a couple of
flights before the enemy were on them. Fierce fighting started and John found himself facing two men who were determined to end his life, as he fought them
off he shouted “BOX!” as loud as he could, a move they had practiced with all his men backed together with bowmen in the centre. The move was successful
and the Welsh found them selves facing a solid square of swords with arrows flying out from the middle, many of them went down and John shouted “Charge!”
the Box broke with his men falling on the enemy. With their battle blood up it was not long before the Welshmen were defeated but before John sounded his
horn to stop, a frenzy took hold of his men and when he at last put the horn to his lips there was not an enemy standing. One of his men brought him a
pouch full of papers, John looked through them and realised there was important information of support going to David’s army, he had lost another six dead
and two seriously wounded, it was time to return to Chester.

Riding into the English camp John went to find Sir Cedric.

“Glad to see you made it back in one piece,” said the Earl. “What news do you have?”

John reported on what they had found out and Sir Cedric told him that it tied in with what the other patrols had reported. He suggested the next move would
be to find a boat to take a force up the coast and come ashore as near as possible to Rhuddlan Castle. John left to find his Squires and arrange how to
split his forces.

“Stephen, I want you to come with me on the next patrol and Tristan, you provide a guard for the Earl with the men we leave. Stephen, select bowmen and
good sword’s men we shall not need the horses when we board the boat so there will have to be some to return our mounts.”

John gave these instructions and walked to his own tent to prepare. That night they left the camp and proceeded to the coast, looking for a village that
could provide two or three boats to take them up the coast. The first village they came to had only small boats pulled up on the beach so they rode on in
the darkness. The next fishing village had a small harbour and John could see several boats that could carry them, tied up at the quays. The men dismounted
on the outskirts of the village and John with Stephen and the man who could speak Welsh, walked down to a building showing lights. They entered and found
themselves in what could loosely be called an Inn. The men who were drinking there turned and some stood up.

“Good evening,” said John. “You will know by my voice I am English, I am not here to fight you even though my men surround your village. I wish to offer
some employment to those who wish to take it.”

He held up a purse and shook it, the coins jingled and he let one fall out. The gold glistened in the lamp light and he could see most of the eyes in the
room became fixed on the winking coin. He was gambling that these men were fishermen and were not too interested in the fight with the English as they must
have been selling their catch to Chester and surrounding towns. One of the men walked forward.

“What is it you want?”

John explained he wanted transportation for his men up to the headland at the mouth of the estuary. The spokesman turned and a discussion ensued and
eventually four men stood before John.

“We will take you, if we can agree a price. How many men are there?”

John said he wanted to see the boats before he gave any further information. They all walked down to the harbour and were shown four large fishing boats,
capable of carrying all of the patrol. John and the man who had become the fisherman’s leader agreed a price. The tide would be right for them to leave at
dawn and John said he would bring his men down to camp at the harbour which would also guard the boats.

“I shall leave enough men around the village to discourage any attempt to warn the forces of David.”

At which the leader laughed and said that would not happen as they did not support the rebellion as it interfered with their livelihood. John wondered if
he had paid too much but he smiled and shook the man’s hand to seal their bargain. As dawn approached several of the fishermen arrived to prepare the boats
and John’s force packed up and stood ready to board. Several of the soldiers looked very nervous as they walked up the gangplank as it was their first trip
on the sea. John spoke to the men who were to return with the horses and told them to wait until they were embarked and on their way. Soon all the boats
were underway and with the sails hoisted they started to make good speed out of the river and into the estuary. John had not been to sea either, only a
trip on a lake, but he found the sensation of the boats movement exhilarating and he smiled to himself. Soon they hit the swell of the tide and the boat’s
movement became more exaggerated, many of the men made for the boat’s side and some released their breakfast to the fishes. The headland came into view and
the Captain of John’s boat asked him where he wanted to be put ashore.

John sprung a surprise by asking him to round the headland and take them further along the coast, he said this while holding up another purse and smiling
at the Captain.

“Or would you prefer that we take command ourselves?” he said.

The Captain called to the other boats and they sailed round the headland and along the coast of North Wales. “Take us into the mouth of the River Clwyd and
we will go ashore there” said John.

The Captain signalled the other boats to follow him and it was not long before they were in the mouth of the river.

“This is far as we can go without grounding,” said the Captain and steered his boat to the bank. The men disembarked and a few fell to the ground giving
thanks while some just lay trying to recover from the seasickness. Stephen soon had them up and in some sort of order.

“We will make for Rhuddlan Castle,” said John. ”Send out forward patrols and lets move off.”

He paid the fishermen who thanked him and said he could hire their boats anytime at these rates. The column marched away and John hoped their intelligence
was correct that Davids forces were not in this area, but there was alway chance there were sympathisers looking to make a name for themselves. Nearing the
Castle they could hear the sound of voices and John called a halt as one of the scouts came back to report that the Castle was under siege from David’s
men. The column moved into the woods and John went forward to see what was going on. The Welshmen were congregated at the main entrance and a small gate at
the rear of the Castle, there was little organisation as they fired the odd arrow at the walls and shouted at the soldiers inside to come out and fight.
Some had started to tunnel under the walls with the intent to start a fire but had not gone far and were sitting on the side of the trench drinking ale,
another group were cutting branches off a large tree trunk which was obviously going to be a battering ram. The whole atmosphere lacked any urgency or
organisation. John went back to his men and deployed the bowmen to cover the main gate and the two trenches, he then sent Stephen with the rest to be
prepared to storm the gate on his signal. When all were in place John gave the signal for the bowmen to fire and suddenly the air was filled with arrows
arching their way to their targets. Pandemonium broke out in the Welsh lines as men fell wounded or dying, they ran to find shelter but John’s well trained
bowmen found them as they ran. John blew his horn and out of the trees swept Stephen and his band making for the main gate of the Castle, cutting down all
before them. The defenders in the Castle opened the gate and rushed out to join the fight. The battle did not last long and out of the melee stepped the
leader of the Welsh signalling his surrender, John walked to him and received his sword. The remaining Welshmen were herded into the Castle and sent down
to the dungeons. John called Stephen to him.

“When they have cooled down take some out as a burial party and clear up outside, make sure they are guarded as we don’t want them running off to join
David.”

Since Llewelyn’s death John had hoped that the fighting would finish but David still continued, so John fortified the Castle and waited for news from the
King. They had time to care for the wounded and look after their weapons while the Castle builders carried on with the work that had been interrupted by
the Welsh. John found the Captain of the Castle guard a likeable fellow and they talked at length on the best design for Castles. John filed these away in
his mind with the prospect of using some of them for Dunston, if he ever got home. He was walking the battlements one afternoon when men appeared moving
towards the Castle, they were part of the retreating army of the Welsh. John sounded the alarm and instructed Stephen to prepare for an attack. The
Welshmen tried to storm the gates but were soon discouraged by John’s bowmen, and a familiar sight of dead bodies littering the field made them withdraw.
When night fell John could make out the glow of campfires in the distance but no more attacks came. They were all awakened by the sounds of battle as King
Edward’s army caught the rebels. As John looked out from the battlements he saw riders galloping towards the Castle, one unfurled a standard and John
recognised the crest of the Earl. A courier from the Sir Cedric brought the news that the King’s army was approaching, they had success in the field and
commanded John to meet him at Wrexham as soon as he was able. There was also a letter from Tania that had found it’s way to him. The letter contained the
good news that everything was well at the Castle though she missed him dearly. He read the letter several times and longed to go home, fighting for your
King was a duty but he yearned to be at Dunston with Tania, especially as his son was growing daily.

The following day another larger group of riders were spotted and as John could see more clearly he noticed that there were more horses than riders.

“It’s our men,”he shouted excitedly. “We shall ride to Wrexham thank God.”

The next day they set off in high spirits with the knowledge they would be at least nearer their homes.

The stopped several miles short of Wrexham to make camp while John and his Squires with four men-at-arms rode towards the town. The town appeared quiet and
when Tristan entered a nearby Inn he did not arouse suspicion, there had been no sign of the King or his troops. Tristan returned with this news and John
was puzzled as he would have thought that some activity would have been seen around the town. They returned to where they had left the rest of the men and
decided to spend the night there, but John forbade any entry into the town. In the morning John and Tristan rode back into the town stopping at the Inn
they had previously visited, as they walked in a man approached them an asked if they knew of Sir John Ivanson.

“Who wants to know?” queried John.

Several heads turned and John said that he had seen a group of men on the outskirts of town and if he stepped outside he would direct him. Outside the Inn
John revealed himself and the messenger delivered a package to him saying he came from Sir Cedric. The letter inside explained that David had been given up
by his army and captured, he was to be taken to Shrewsbury and be judged by parliament. The Earl said that there was no need to come to Shrewsbury and John
could take his men home, he asked that John visit Wymondham to inform Rowan what was happening. John thanked the messenger and rode back to their camp. The
men could not wait to start their journey home so John ordered them to break camp and start for Wymondham.

The journey home was mainly uneventful, who would want to tackle this group of heavily armed men eager to get home. They stopped and made camp at night but
were soon up in the morning and back on the march.

John had time to think as they made their way home, why did the King not want him to stay and fight or was it Sir Cedric’s decision? Whoever it was John
was glad that he did not have to run the risk of losing more men. They had been pushing on in their desire to reach home and were becoming very tired and
irritable, some times tempers rose and blood was spilt so John declared that they would rest up in Nottingham forest for a few days. Once the camp had been
set the men began to relax and enjoy the break.