Hosker, G [Wolf Brethren 02] Saxon Revenge (2 page)

Elmet’s stronghold, Loidis, had a good position on a hill above a fast flowing river. They had cleared an area of forest all around its perimeter and it had a commanding view of the surrounding land; it could not be approached stealthily. It was not ancient, as were Civitas Carvetiorum, Stanwyck and Eboracum.  It had been built neither by the Romans nor the ancient ones but the men of Elmet had been forced to build it when the Saxons came.  It looked new.  The palisade was sound and, doubtless, still a little green.  The wooden buildings within still looked fresh and the ditch which surrounded it had sharp edges and fresh stakes in the bottom.  The Saxons would not find it easy to take such a fortress.

King Gwalliog and his lieutenants were pleased to see us.  A new warrior hall had been built at one end of the fortress and we could still smell the animal dung which had been mixed with the mud and straw for the daub. My warriors would not baulk at the smell; it meant they had no walls to construct and would sleep in the dry and warm beneath a roof. Raibeart and I left Garth to see to the men while King Gwalliog took us to his Great Hall. I know that the Elmet king was proud of his hall but, having lived at Civitas Carvetiorum and seen what a magnificent hall could be, it seemed primitive by comparison. I chided myself.  I had grown up in a wattle and daub roundhouse and, if my father were alive, I would have received a clout around the ears for my uncharitable thoughts.

“Come, Lord Lann and Raibeart, my son.  Sit and enjoy some ale.  We have much to discuss.” He and three of his leaders sat with us around a huge table laden with jugs of ale and cold meats.

King Gwalliog was not a young man and the years of fighting had taken their toll.  His hair and beard were white and he had the gaunt look of a man who has seen four of his sons die. Raibeart could be the next king of Elmet if his last son fell and that was a sobering thought. The ale was good and we were both ready for it.  Raibeart was still nervous and remained silent. “You have a fine fortress here King Gwalliog.  The Saxons would lose many men trying to take it.”

“What you say is true but it is the only one we have and the Saxons raid with impunity.  It is why we, as your king does, use mounted men to hunt them down.”

I had learned not to hide my words when speaking with kings; if they were good kings then they valued the truth and if not then it did not matter anyway. “Unless you have an army of horsemen you can never defeat the enemy, your majesty.”

He nodded, sadly.  “I know Lord Lann and I hope that your warriors and my son’s famed archers can swing the war in our favour.”

I saw Raibeart begin to smile and sit a little straighter in his chair.  He was still my little brother. “How many men can you field?”

“When the crops are sown and the lambs born then a hundred mounted men and a thousand warriors.”

I took a deep breath. “And what if we attacked them now? The soil is still cold and the lambs are unborn. I think the Saxons will be too busy to have begun the wapentake.”

A frown creased the brows of his leaders and they began to murmur but he held his hand up.  “What Lord Lann says is true.  It will be a month before we can move such a number.  Today, Lord Lann, we have the horsemen and three hundred warriors available.”

I nodded, “Would I be right in saying those were your best warriors; the warriors of your household?”

“Aye they would.”

“And they would all have a helm, arms and armour?”

He smiled proudly, “They would indeed, every one of them.”

“Then we have an army my lord, for the Saxons will have the same problems as we do; frozen ground and inclement weather.  They will not be mustered. We strike now for the men we lead, although small in number, will be worth ten of those we meet.”

“But that would be less than a thousand men!”

“Eight hundred and seventy by my count,” I smiled apologetically, “plus the six warriors beneath this roof.”

He laughed, “Well that makes all the difference.” He slapped Raibeart about the shoulders.  “If you have balls the size of your brother’s then I will have many fine grandchildren, my son.” He became serious.  “Are you sure that less than nine hundred will suffice?”

I had made the bold statement and now I needed to back it up.  I saw the look on Raibeart’s face and knew that I could not let my brother down. “Where is their nearest settlement?”

“There is the settlement of Wachanglen which is close to the Calder River. It is but half a day south of here.  The chief there is a young warrior called Wach and it is said he is the son of King Aella.”

Raibeart threw me a knowing look and I nodded. “I know Aella; we have fought him before.  He is a wily king.”

One of Gwalliog’s lieutenant’s said, “You defeated him last year did you not?”

“I was part of the army which defeated him yes, but it was not an easy win and he showed great cunning.  His son may have inherited some of his father’s skill.” I remembered how close we had come to losing and how it had cost my little brother, Aelle, his arm. “Is the place defended?” I swept my arm around the hall.  “As well defended as this, perhaps?”

The King beamed at the compliment and shook his head.  “No.  It is close to the river on one side and has a palisade as high as a man around the rest. There is a ford close to the settlement.”

“Warriors?” Raibeart ventured.

There was an embarrassed silence around the table.  They had not scouted it out and showed that they were fighting a defensive war; holding on to what they had. “No matter.  Raibeart and I will take our men and scout it out. If you have your men to prepare to leave in three days we will give this Wach a bloody nose and then see who else we can upset.”

King Gwalliog stood and embraced me.  “I can see why King Urien values you, Lord Lann.  For one so young you have a clever mind.”

I hated compliments and praise and I felt myself colouring.  “Have you someone who can show us this place?”

One of the lieutenants stepped forward.  “I am Aiden and I lived close by until the men from the sea came.  I will take you.”

We found Garth who was organising the sleeping arrangements. “My brother and I will be taking the equites to scout the enemy.  Have the men prepare for battle.  We will be fighting soon.”

Garth grinned.  “Excellent.  I hate them sitting on their arses too much; it makes them soft!”

Garth was a hard task master but a fierce warrior.  When he guarded my right I never feared any danger. I told the equites that they would not need mail. Raibeart and I took our bows.  This was a mission when we needed to be invisible but, if we were spotted, then we could delay any pursuit.

The land we had to cross was heavily wooded and that was a good thing.  We could feed ourselves and remain hidden.  However if they had scouts out then we could be ambushed. I sent four men forwards as scouts ahead of us.  I turned to Aiden. “How do the people there live? Is it the same way you and your people did?”

His face became hard and cold as he remembered his childhood.  “They fish the river and they tend animals such as cattle, goats and sheep.  They have cleared much of the forest and they plant crops.  My people were hunters and Vindonnus was good to us.”

I had learned much from his words.  He was, as were Raibeart and I, a follower of the old ways and he would be skilled with a bow and a javelin.  These things were good to know. “So they are likely to be spread outside the walls?”

Raibeart looked over at me and grinned happily as he understood my words. “They will be as we were in Stanwyck with a few people remaining in the village while the rest work beyond its walls?”

“Yes and I am now wondering if these were the same warriors who destroyed our home for it is almost as close to Stanwyck as it is to Loidis.” Aiden’s face creased into a frown. “Do not worry, warrior of Elmet.  We do not seek revenge.  Those who did the deed are dead.  We saw to that.”

“The stories are true then, my lord, that you and your brothers, when little more than children killed a warband?”

“It wasn’t a very big warband.” I could see that he was impressed but, at the time, we had not thought of our own survival, just hitting back at the enemy.

Aiden pointed ahead.  “The land drops to the river there.”

I gave a long whistle and the scouts reappeared.  “There is no-one ahead my lord.  The edge of the forest is a mile distant beyond these trees.” Aiden looked bemused. I smiled.  We normally travelled on Roman roads with their mile markers and my men could estimate distances well.

“We will halt at the edge of the forest and approach on foot.” I did not ask Aiden how far it would be from the edge of the forest to Wachanglen; his estimate would be of little use.

When we reached the edge of the forest I could see that the land had been cleared and there were a few sheep and goats there. Beyond them was another wooded area and beyond that I could see tendrils of smoke rising; it was Wachanglen. I left half of the men at the edge of the forest and I led the rest with our horses through the cleared area to the woods. Once there I left ten men with the horses and we took the other five with us.  Raibeart and I had our bows strung and our arrows ready.  My men had their javelins and spears prepared.  Aiden just had a sword and shield. It was a small thing but I would need to speak with the king about arming his men more effectively.  I had learned that you needed to be prepared for any eventuality.

I knew we were approaching the edge when it began to lighten and we heard the sound of activity. They obviously had a blacksmith for I could hear the clang of the hammer on metal.  The sound of children playing also showed that they were not expecting trouble. We almost felt our way to the edge of the trees.  My men were good at this and used the cover of the trees to mask our approach although I doubted that they were looking for an enemy.  Aiden also showed his skill as a hunter and we soon found ourselves looking across the river to the village. 

It was a large village and I could see a river gate with two bored looking guards who were fishing.  Through the gates I could see many villagers moving about.  There were a few guards on the walls but they did not appear to be concerned and, like the guards at the gate, were not alert. A column of men with a line of pack horses hove into view at the northern gate. They were warriors. We watched until the sun moved the shadows of the walls and I signalled for us to withdraw.  Once back at the horses I asked them what they had seen.  By pooling our information I discovered that they had a small herd of ponies and we had counted a hundred warriors, including the ones who had brought the pack animals.

“We can now return to the king.”

Aiden started.  “But we have not counted every warrior!”

“And we could not do that without alerting them to our presence. From the number of women and children we counted there could be over a thousand men in that settlement. But we could only see a hundred.  We assume they have double that number of warriors available and make our plans accordingly.” I left him to ponder that as we headed north again.  Raibeart and I compared ideas.

“We need to attack in the late morning when the workers are away from the town.” I nodded.  An early morning raid, while it would have the element of surprise would leave us with a greater number of warriors to fight.  I wanted to make a quick strike and cause more casualties amongst the Saxons than on our meagre supply of warriors. “What about the women and the children?”

I knew what he meant.  Neither of us wished harm to come to those who were not warriors, our mother and sisters had been ruthlessly slaughtered, but neither could we allow them to remain. “They will become slaves. Some may do as Freja did and join us.” Freja had been a slave whom we had rescued and she was now married to my young stepbrother Aelle. It was a harsh world in which we lived but this was a fight to the death between two cultures and we wanted ours to be the victor.

King Gwalliog had prepared a feast for us when we returned.  All of his bodyguards were there as were his mounted warriors.  Raibeart and I were seated next to him and I drank sparingly for I needed to explain my plan to him.  I was arrogant still in those days.  It never occurred to me that the king might have his own ideas.  The fact that he had asked King Urien for help showed me that we had more skill than he.  King Urien was diplomatic; I was not!

“We will use my horsemen to guard the road from the north and yours to guard the one from the east. Raibeart and his archers can attack the men on the walls close to the river while your men use the ford to attack the gate.  My men will attack the northern gate.  Even if there are two hundred warriors within the walls we will outnumber them four to one and our bows will outrange them. “

“But scaling the walls…”

“Do not worry.  Raibeart will clear the walls and they can then be scaled. The gates are twice the height of a man but the walls are only as high as a warrior.”

One of his lieutenants, Aidan, asked, “Will we need ladders?”

“No for your men have the means to scale the walls with them.”

He looked puzzled and Raibeart smiled as he explained. “Two men hold a shield.  A third man climbs upon it and then he is raised to the top of the walls.” He saw the doubt in the warrior’s eyes.  “We have done this before and it works.”

Garth and the leaders of the Elmet warband spent the next day rehearsing getting into wedge and shield wall formations.  The fact that all of the warriors who would be making the assault were mailed meant that this would be a safer undertaking than had they been armed as the Saxons were.

We left well before dawn to allow ourselves the time to get into position and, as dawn broke, we were at the edge of the forest with the open ground before us. We waited until the sun warmed the ground to allow the shepherds and herdsmen to take their charges to the pastures. Raibeart and his archers quickly raced across the open ground to secure the woods on the far side.  I left King Gwalliog with Aidan and his men. Aidan knew the plan and I trusted him.  The king too had understood the need to coordinate our attacks. I led my column to the east. We would have to swim the river but Aidan had assured us that it was shallow enough for it to be a safe task.  I used my thirty horsemen to scout the giver and make sure that there were no surprises. As we formed up on the far side I was concerned about the lack of people working in the pastures.  So far we had seen none, despite the fact that it was approaching mid morning. Perhaps they were using the pastures to the east and the south. I still had a nagging worry at the back of my mind as we headed east.