Earl (13 page)

We had broken their first line. I turned my horse to allow Wulfric and the two lines of men at arms to attack through the gaps we had created.  My own knights followed suit but I saw three of Sir Gilbert’s men charge headlong into the enemy who were racing to fill the gaps. They were fools. Aelric and his archers tried to support them but I saw the three of them and their squires surrounded and butchered. We could not afford such losses.

Star snorted and stamped the ground as I waited for William and my lance.  He was there so quickly that I wondered if he had ridden in with Wulfric’s men.  He handed me my lance and his face was aglow. “Well done, William, now withdraw down the hill.”

“Have we not yet won?”

“We are not even close to winning!” I turned Star and shouted, “Reform!”

None of my knights had fallen and I saw that young Sir Ivo was still alive.  Sir Gilbert looked chastened while Baron Geoffrey looked embarrassed about the behaviour of his knights.

“Keep together!”

Wulfric and the men at arms had not had an easy time of it.  The successful attack on the three knights and squires had heartened the enemy and they had formed a three deep shield wall.  The ones at the front all wore mail byrnies and Wulfric and his men were struggling to make successful strikes. I saw Wulfric shout the order to reform. They fell back to reform behind us. As they did so a dozen or so wild Irishmen broke ranks and hurtled after them.  Dick’s archers cut them down to a man. It gave me an idea. As Wulfric passed me I said, “When we fall back then you do the same.  I want them to think we flee.”

He grinned, “Hastings?”

I nodded, “Hastings!”

It was a short line which attacked the enemy shield wall but our horses had had a brief rest and when we charged from fifty paces we must have presented a terrifying aspect to the Vikings.  They were brave fellows. Only some were Christian and all would wish to die with a sword in their hands. As we neared the line I pulled back with my lance and, at the last moment, lifted Star’s head so that his hooves rose.  The Viking who faced me was brave but he still raised his shield to protect himself from my horse’s hooves.  I punched my lance into his middle.  The head broke his mail and tore through his leather kyrtle. I twisted as I felt it slide into soft flesh and, when it ground on bone, I pulled it out.  He fell back breaking the line.  A second warrior stepped forward and smashed his sword through the shaft of the lance. I could see that most of my men had broken lances.  “Fall back!”

As we turned I saw two warhorses without riders.  Two more knights had fallen. As we approached Wulfric I saw him order his own men to turn.  Over my shoulder I saw that many of the Irishmen had left the shield wall to pursue the defeated Norman horsemen. They thought we had broken.  The Vikings who remained closed ranks.  Our two companies of archers and crossbows sent flight after flight into them.  More Irish followed their fellows after us.

I yelled, “Turn and charge!” This would not be a cavalry charge.  We would be a ragged mass of men on horses but the ones before us had no armour and were alone.

Drawing my sword I whipped Star’s head around just in time to bring my blade down across the neck of an exultant Irishmen with lime spiked hair who had raced ahead of the others. His red blood quickly stained his dead white head. We were like foxes amongst chickens as we turned and fell upon them. They were taken by surprise.  I had to lean down to slash at them as they tried to hide beneath Star.  That was a mistake for he stamped them with his hooves. Had they had armour they might have survived but they were without any protection.  My long sword caused terrible wounds. It tore deep cuts into bare flesh.  I saw bone through the flesh.  Arms were severed and heads despatched.  It was a slaughter. Behind me Leofric and John protected my back and flanks. My thin line of knights and squires led my men at arms back up the hill. Ahead the Norse still held their shield wall and I knew, from Star’s labouring gait, that he would not be able to charge again. I slew the last Irishman who had failed to regain the shield wall and I reined in Star.

The Norse warriors were now a manageable number.  Our archers continued to loose arrows at them.  The bolts from the crossbows punctured any mail which was not protected by a shield and their line was shrinking.  Had the Earl of Chester not needed our help then I would have let the archers finish them off but we had to leave as quickly as possible.

“Dismount! We fight on foot!”

John waved William forward. The other squires took the reins of the horses of their knights.  John held Star’s reins as I dismounted.

“William, stay here with John and guard the standard. Leofric, come with me.”

I stepped forward and waited for the rest of my knights to join me.  I saw that De Brus was not there.  He must have fallen.  Sir Gilbert, Sir Ivo and Sir Ivo’s father were there.

“Wulfric, form a second line behind us.  Wedge formation.”

Leofric tucked in behind me between Sir Edward and Sir Richard.  We moved up the hill.  I did not rush for the archers were still causing damage and the enemy line was shrinking. I saw a Viking chieftain in the centre of the line and I made for him.  If I could kill their leader then the rest might become disheartened.  Of course it could go the other way and the chief’s oathsworn would fight to the death. I saw that he was smaller than I was but broader.  His sword was broader too and had less of a point than mine.  He would try to batter me to death. He had an open helmet and his neck was protected by a mail aventail. His bare arms were covered in warrior bracelets. This was an experienced warrior.  His shield was enormous.  That did not worry me for mine would function as well and was lighter.  He did, however, have a boss which I knew he would use offensively.  My father and Erre had told me that.

I saw anger in his face for he had had to endure the arrows and bolts of my men.  He had seen his allies throw away the advantage of numbers and he intended to cut me into tiny pieces. I knew from Erre that the Norse despised Normans with our armour, lances and horses.  It must have seemed like a gift from the gods for us to fight them on equal terms. I was not afraid.  I had trained with Athelstan and he was a warrior without peer.

I feinted towards his middle with my sword.  He had to hurriedly bring his shield from over his head, where he had been protecting himself from arrows, to block the blow which never came. I flicked the sword up and aimed for his unprotected throat.  Although I took him by surprise he managed to move away from the fatal strike it should have been.  Even so I scored a long cut along his neck. My sword came away red. He cursed me in Norse and then brought his sword over his head. There was no subtlety in the blow.  He intended to break a bone or two in my left arm.  He did not know that my shield was cunningly constructed so that it had a curve on it.  I turned my shield as the sword hit and the heavy blade slid down the side.

The expected move from me would have been a stab at his middle but I did not do that.  Instead I hacked at his right hand. Had I connected then his wrist would have been severed.  He pulled his hand back and my sword rang against his blade. His sword was old and I saw it bend a little.  Not much but enough to upset the balance.  It was then he tried the punch with the shield.  I had been expecting it and I spun around so that the shield struck fresh air. I turned my sword so that, as it came around, the edge of the blade struck the mail links on his byrnie.  It was across his back and the links were severed for the length of my blade. The broken mail hung down like a sea anchor.  He was forced to turn to face me but the combination of a wounded neck, torn mail and a bent blade made him a weakened warrior.

He swung his sword overhand.  Rather than blocking with my shield I used my stronger sword.  Sparks flew and the sound was like a church bell. The Norse blade bent even more.  I swung my shield upwards towards his chin.  He had not expected that and I saw his head snap back as it caught him beneath the chin. How he remained conscious I do not know but he was stunned and I took my chance.  I stabbed at his middle.  The weakened links at the rear had also made the front less strong and my sword entered the mail, and his leather byrnie and his middle.  I ripped it sideways to eviscerate him. Even dying he tried to raise his sword but he failed.  As he fell he yelled, “Allfather!” And he died.

Before I had time to gather my wits a warrior took off his helmet and hurled it at me.  I barely had time to deflect it away before he ran at me wielding a double handed sword.  He had gone berserker. An arrow plunged into his shoulder and he ignored it.  I braced myself with my shield held before me.  He was a powerful warrior and he would bowl me over; I knew that. As the sword swung over my head I ducked.  At that moment John jabbed the point of my standard into his face. Although it did not stop him it made him slow down and I ripped my sword across his unprotected middle as I spun away from the sword which whistled above my head. My blow and John’s made him stumble.  He looked lost. He was bleeding heavily from his stomach and his face was a mess. I turned and brought the sword down across the back of his neck.  Even a berserker could not fight without his head. His headless torso tumbled to the ground. I looked around as cheers rang out.  The enemy were destroyed.  We had defeated them.

Even though I was aching and I was tired I knew we had not finished. “Dick, rescue the captives.  Wulfric, Ride and destroy their boats!”

William galloped up with Scout.  He leapt from the saddle, “Father, are you hurt?  How did you kill that monster?  He looked unstoppable!”

“I owe my life to John here.  His timely blow gave me the time to slay him.”

I sheathed my sword.  I would clean it later.  Surveying the battlefield I saw that we had won but paid a price.  I saw dead men at arms littering the field. I saw two of my surcoats.  My men had fulfilled their oaths and died well.  I would remember them. Sir Gilbert and the Baron of Kendal made their way over to me. Sir Gilbert bowed his head, “I am sorry, my lord.  My men did not obey orders.”

I nodded, “They have paid with their lives.  I leave you two to clear the field and gather the treasure.  Protect the captives and send our share of the treasure to Stockton.”

The Baron of Kendal looked at me with an open mouth.  “You will not stay?”

“The Earl of Chester needs my help and I never let down a friend.  We ride as soon as my men return.”

The survivors managed to take two of the drekar and headed west.  Sir Gilbert’s men burned the others.  Their blackened carcasses would remain in the estuary as a reminder to any other raiders that death was the only reward they could expect. We stayed only long enough to bury our dead and then we headed south.  With luck we could reach the Ribble before dark. Sir Raymond’s death saddened us. He was the first of my knights to die since Sir Hugh’s father. I had sent his men at arms and archers back to Hartness with his horse and armour.  He had a wife and he had a son.  As much as I would have liked to keep his warriors his family would need them more. We had lost men at arms but, thankfully, no archers.  We had twenty miles to travel and, with tired horses and exhausted men, I did not want to risk stumbling into an ambush.  If the Earl of Chester could not hold out until dark then this was a huge enemy force we faced.

Sir Edward and Sir Richard rode next to me. Sir Richard shook his head, “When you ordered us to dismount, my lord, I thought you had lost your senses. What man loses the advantage of fighting on horseback?  And yet you were right.  They would have destroyed too many of our horses.”

Sir Edward nodded his agreement, “And the Hastings retreat was a master stroke.  If we did not have to ride to the Earl’s aid then we would be celebrating now on the Lune rather than making our weary way south.”

For my part I was glad to be away.  Although we had just lost one knight the other conroi had not been as lucky. There were just three knights who had survived unscathed.  Sir Ivo, his father and Sir Gilbert were the only ones unwounded.  With five dead and two who were grievously wounded it had been a harsh lesson for the knights of Cumberland. Sir Ivo and his father had been close to Sir Harold during the battle and had copied him.  If they had not then they too might have remained on the field.

“I think we were lucky to be fighting the Norse now.  I think that in their heyday, before Hastings, we would have suffered more.  We might even have lost.”

“They are tough warriors. Thank the Lord that they never learned to use horses.”

Aiden rode back to us as the sun was just dipping towards the sea to our right. “They are not fighting, my lord.  The enemy are still in Preston and the Earl has made a camp between them and their ships.”

That was a clever move by the Earl. “Can we approach the Earl’s camp without being seen by the raiders?”

“If we head further west then we can.”

“Then we will do so.” Although it would make for a longer journey I took us west and sent Aiden back to tell the Earl that we were on our way. It was dark when we trudged into the camp. The Earl had his two healers tending to the warriors who had been wounded.  I waved Father John over to help them as I dismounted.

The Earl strode over to me. “Thank you for coming to my aid, Alfraed.  My man told me you were fighting to the north.  You won?”

“We won but the knights of Cumberland suffered heavy losses.  It is just my knights and men that I bring.  How went today?”

He led me to his tent so that he could tell me in private.  I knew that my men would be organised by Wulfric.  Leofric and John would see to William.  He was now a squire and he would have to suffer the rigours of camp life with the other young men.

“We had to force the ford and cross the river.  They hit us then and we lost some men. Our horses forced them back up the hill but they are wickedly efficient with those axes and we lost some of our palfreys. The slope leading to their camp made it hard for us.  We charged them time and time again.  I think neither of us could fight more. Your arrival might just tip the balance.”

“I brought my men this way so that we would be a surprise for them.” He nodded.  A servant brought me a flagon of ale and some stale bread and cured ham.  I ate and drank gratefully.  The food allowed me the time to think.  Athelstan had always said that a good warrior used his brain and thought things through. “The enemy ships, they lie in the estuary?”

He swallowed his ham and said, “They moved into the estuary and anchored in the middle.  We cannot get at them.”

“And have they men aboard?”

“A skeleton crew of boys with a couple of guards on each.”

I rose and went to the fire, “Aiden?” John looked up, “Find Aiden for me.” He ran off.

When I returned to the Earl he said, “You have a plan?”

“No, I have an idea.” Aiden appeared. “Go to the river.  I need to know if the tide is on its way in or out.”

He grinned, “I can tell you that without a journey my lord.  It has just turned.  It will be low tide by the middle of the night and then it will return.”

“Good.  Rest for I have a task for you and Dick later on.”

The Earl looked at me curiously, “The tide?”

“Your arrival meant that they could not do as they did on the Lune; they could not draw their boats on the beach.  They can ride safely in the middle of the estuary but when the tide ebbs then they will be perilously close to grounding. There will only be a narrow channel which is safe for them.  They cannot leave for their crews are in Preston. If we can fire them then the ones in Preston will have to try to save them or risk being stranded here. I am hoping that they try to save them and attack us.”

“It is worth a try.”

“I will find my men and give them instructions and then we will rest. We have travelled far and fought hard this day.”

Wulfric and the rest of my men at arms were camped with Dick and his archers.  They were a closely knit group. I saw Wulfric give a wry smile and a nod to Dick as I approached. “I amuse you Wulfric?”

“No my lord but I had just said to Dick that you would have a trick up your sleeve and you appear, as though by magic.”

I laughed, “You know me well! I have a plan which may save lives.” I explained my ideas to them.  I was gratified when they nodded approvingly.  These men were no fools and if they thought it could succeed then it just might.

I made my way back to my tent which my squires had erected.  The three of them waited anxiously.  They helped me to undress and John took my sword.  “I will have to put an edge on this, my lord.  It saw hard service this day.”

“Thank you John and thank you for that timely blow with the standard.  It bought me time.”

He looked pleased that I had remembered to thank him.  He nodded to William, “See, young William, a squire might not ride in the first rank but we each play a part. Now go and fetch your father some warmed ale to help him to sleep.”

The two of them hurried off as Leofric began to oil my mail. “Your son did well today my lord.  He never flinched.  His sword was not needed but it was ever ready.”

“And I am grateful that you watch over him.”

“Sir Hugh did it for us when we were beginning.  Your son is younger than we were but he has great courage.” He worked in silence and then asked, “We fight again tomorrow, my lord?”

“We may but I hope not.” I did not need the warmed ale to sleep but I was grateful for it. As I lay on the ground I saw John lie across the entrance to the tent.  If anyone came in the night he would be the first to know.

I woke myself.  I had trained myself to wake up at a particular time. My three squires all rose as I did.  “Get back to sleep.  I need you not.” The three of them gratefully snuggled into their blankets.  It was a cold, cold night.

I wrapped my cloak around me and join my men by the edge of the camp.  Aiden waited.  We said not a word for none was necessary.  He led us through the undergrowth and down the river bank. The ten ships lay in two long lines in the middle of a shrinking river. Leaving Dick and the archers to make their way across the mud I went with Wulfric and his men carrying the rafts they had constructed earlier.  They were small but each was covered in kindling and firewood. When we were far enough upstream we walked to the water and placed the rafts in the river.  The current was fast for the tide was still on the ebb. Using his flint, Wulfric set fire to the kindling which covered the rafts and then the ten tiny boats were pushed into the river.

We hurried back to Dick and the archers. I hoped that with so few on each ship there would be panic when the fire rafts headed for them.  The ebbing tide meant that the river was narrow.  There was nowhere safe for the ships to go. They would find it hard to fend off the rafts and if they did they would merely fend them into another drekar.  Dick and his archers would pick off any that they saw.

We heard the cries from the watch on the ships when the rafts were spied. I saw the men on the two rearmost ships begin to hack their anchors in an attempt to flee for they were the closest to the danger.  Two of the crew fell to Dick’s arrows.  A pale hand tried to saw through the rope from the protection of the strakes on the ship. One of the ship’s anchors was severed and it leapt down the river like a greyhound released. The man who tried to man the steering board fell to an arrow and the rear of the drekar slewed around; the bow must have grounded.  The stern struck the next boat and its dragon prow became entangled with the sheets on another.  The river became blocked by the three ships.  All of them cut their anchors and the floating dam drifted down toward the others.

All of us had become so engrossed in the tableau before us that we had forgotten the fire rafts.  Now fully ablaze five of them struck the stricken three drekar. Fire is a sailor’s worst enemy and with good reason. The fire licked around the drekar and then whooshed up the bone dry ropes which led to the sail.  The three ships began to burn.  When their crew tried to douse the flames an arrow would hurl them into the river. Two of the drekar which were closest to the mouth of the estuary managed to raise their sails and hurry away from the fiery floating inferno which sailed down the river.  With five ships afire and the other rafts still drifting down stream there was no escape. We heard the cries as the crews were burned alive. I watched as two ship’s boys leapt in the sea and attempted to swim towards the two remaining long ships.  In my heart I prayed that they would make it. I saw that the current was too strong and flailing arms which disappeared beneath the waters told me that they were drowned.

As we returned to the camp I saw the Earl and the rest of the knights watching the drekar slowly sink beneath the river. Sir Edward nodded and pointed towards the castle in the distance.  “Well that should give them something to think about.”

I nodded, “It should indeed.”

I managed to get an hour of sleep before I was woken by the sound of a horn.  My squires were up before I was and while John ran to see what was amiss the other two held out my hauberk for me to don. John came back and said, “It is the Irish and the Norse, my lord, they are coming from the castle.”

I had expected a reaction.  From the walls of the walled town they would have seen the fire the night before and now, as daylight illuminated the river they would have seen that their means of escape was gone. They would be angry and they would assume that they had before them just the men of the Earl of Chester.  My banners were hidden and our horses and camp were below the bank.  We now had the element of surprise. The Earl of Chester had only fifteen archers and ten crossbows.  We now had treble that number and it was they who would break the back of this mailed mass of marauding men.

By the time I was dressed in full armour the Earl had gathered his knights and they were mounted. “Sir Edward, keep our men hidden. John, stay with William and keep my banner here. Leofric you shall come with me.”

I mounted Star and joined the Earl.  I could see, in the distance, the lines of Irish and Norse as they emerged from the walls of the wooden town.  It would take them some time to form the boar’s head wedge I knew they would adopt.

“Well Alfraed, what do you suggest?  Do we charge them?”

“We do not need to do that.  We now have archers aplenty. If we line up your knights and men at arms it will appear like a thin line which they will easily break. We put our archers behind us where they are hidden and I will send Sir Edward and my men to the west.  They can attack their flank.”

He nodded, “I like the plan.” As he formed his men I sent Leofric to give Dick and Sir Edward their instructions. John and William joined me.  “Keep my standard furled until I give the command.”

“Aye my lord.”

I saw that they formed a double wedge.  Two warbands of Norse formed the horns and the Irish the head.  They began beating their shields and chanting as they descended. I looked along the line and saw that the Earl had just ten knights and thirty men at arms.  It must have looked like a perilously small number to the two hundred enemies who descended the slope intent upon revenge.  Their ships were precious to them.

Dick and the archers appeared behind us.  The Earl’s crossbowmen took up a position on our right flank.  Archers could release their arrows over us. Dick said, “Ready when you command my lord!”

The order to release would be mine.  I knew my archers and knew their range.  The others might not be as good and so I had to allow for that.  I would give the order when they were two hundred paces from us. They would not charge until they were fifty paces. In those one hundred and fifty paces they would have to endure over three hundred arrows and bolts.

This was a well led band for their shields were locked. They would need a charge of lances to halt them.  With just forty odd of us we would have a difficult task but I knew that Sir Edward would be attacking their flank with the best warriors in the whole of the north.