Saxon Bane (20 page)

“Your brother is right. He is learning rapidly.  The story is already written and we are just acting it out.     Trust your heart, Warlord and your brother.”

“But whose descendant will it be?”

“That I cannot see.  I know the face of the warrior but he did not wear a name in my dream.  He looked like your father, as you do. Watch over your children and tell them of their past and their future for they are intertwined. What we do now will affect their lives and their futures. They need to know about this deserted church on the estuary. They should tell their children.  I know not how many generations this will take.”

By the time we reached the men and the wagon Gawan and I were deep in thought. Tuanthal and Aedh knew better than to ask what we had been about. Myrddyn and his escort took the Roman Road south. “I will not bury your father until you are there.”

I laughed, “Suppose we do not make it.”

Myrddyn closed his eyes for a moment. “I have not dreamed your death yet.” He pointed a bony finger at Gawan.  “Remember, Warlord, your brother can dream too.  Keep him close.  Keep him safe.”

Aedh and his scouts rode just fifty paces from us.  There were now just eight of them.  We had lost some to treachery and ambush and we had left some for the king.  The ones we retained were the best. Tuanthal had kept forty resolute warriors too.  With Garth, my squire, we were more than equipped to deal with Morcar and whoever else Oswald and Oswiu had waiting for us.

We found that the trail headed towards the south east. We were moving away from the village where we had found Morgause. I knew little of the coastline and the villages. This was all new country to us. We would have to move carefully and stealthily. We crossed the Lune and it became too dark to continue without losing the signs.  We camped in a sheltered dell with a nearby stream for water. It was cold fare we ate.  I wanted no fire. We had no idea how close or how far away the enemy were.  Their fires at the church had shown us that they were lighting fires.  The fact that we could neither see nor smell fires, meant that they were not close.  However I was taking no chances. Morcar knew our ways. Sentries were put around the camp and I found myself asleep as soon as I stretched out.

I did dream.  It was not one of my father’s dreams.  It did not tell me of what was to come.  It was just a vision, over and over of Morcar stabbing into my father’s neck. I watched, unable to move as the wolf’s bane dripped from the point of the cold dagger. I saw my father as his body shook and shivered when the poison took hold.  I heard Morgause and Morcar laughing like demented foxes. And then I awoke.

Gawan was awake and he was watching me. “You dreamt.”

“A nightmare more like.” There was something in the way he said it.  “You knew.”

He nodded, “I dreamed too. I have the gift, like Myrddyn.  It is not as accurate as Myrddyn’s but I saw that you dreamed of our father’s death.”

“And what did you dream?”

“I saw a sea and a whale rising from the sea. It opened its mouth and I saw Morcar.  He was holding Saxon Slayer.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I know.  Myrddyn told me that I had to interpret my own dreams. I do not understand it yet but I will look for a whale.  As we are not close to the sea I will not look for it yet.”

“What made the noise which woke me?”

“It was a couple of foxes.”

I nodded, “The fox is the younger brother of the wolf.  I dreamed of foxes.” Something nagged at the back of my mind.  It had been Morcar and Morgause who had sounded like foxes.

The nightmare did have one effect; it had made me wide wake. Perhaps that was my father at work for, as Gawan lay back I was suddenly aware of a slight noise and it was close. I slipped my sword from its scabbard and rose.  Gawan knew me well enough to follow my actions.  I walked to Tuanthal and shook his shoulder.  When he saw the sword in my hand he too rose and grasped his weapon. We awoke all those around the fire. Soon we had twelve armed men.  The rest were sleeping closer to the horses.

I scanned the outside of the camp.  There was something missing; the sentries! “Alarum! We are being attacked!”

I sensed a movement and whipped around. My sword caught the edge of a spear which had been thrust at my side.  A heartbeat later and I would have been skewered like a piece of meat.  The warrior’s momentum carried him forward and I punched him hard in the side as he came past. As soon as I hit cloth I knew he had no armour. He began to fall to the floor and I raised my sword and brought it crashing down on the side of his head.  There was crunch and he lay still. I whirled around and two dark shapes were racing through the dark to reach me.  I knew that I might not be so lucky this time.  I reached down to grab the dead warrior’s spear.  Taking a chance I dropped to one knee and braced the spear against the ground. The first warrior ran on to the spear and I slashed my sword to rip into the unprotected thigh of the second warrior.  They both screamed.  The man with the spear stood looking at the wood coming from his middle and then fell while the second quickly pumped his life away.

I stood and took in the scene.  I could not see any other warriors close by. I knelt down and picked up the short seax the first warrior had had in his belt. I ran away from the fire to the horse lines.  I reached there just as the warrior who had been trying to save them was slain by two Northumbrians.  They did not see my stealthy approach.  As they went to untie our mounts I stabbed one in the back with the seax and, as the other turned punched him in the face with the guard of my sword. He fell stunned to the ground.  I needed prisoners. I stabbed him in the palm of his right hand and his left. I knelt down and cut the tendons on the back of both ankles. He would not move.

I checked to make sure the horses were still securely tied and then ran back towards the firelight. My men were all awake now and the raiders were either fled or dying. Tuanthal, Aedh and Gawan all came running towards me. “We thought you, too, were slain.”

“No, little brother.” I gestured to the skies with my sword. “The spirits sent the nightmare to wake me.” I noticed that it was getting lighter.  Dawn had broken. “I wounded a warrior by the horses.  Bring him to the fire so that we may question him.  Gawan, see to our wounded.”

I sheathed my sword and slipped the seax into my belt.  We had been lucky.  I knew we had lost men but it could have been far worse.  Had Gawan and I not been awake then we might all be dead. As I stepped over the bodies of the first warriors I had killed I remembered how the Roman legions would build a camp each night to protect themselves. Perhaps we needed to do the same. We had become over confident because of our successes.

I examined the dead bodies. The warriors had no mail and only poor helmets. I could only see a couple of badly made shields.  These were Saxons but they were not equipped like seasoned warriors. My guess, before we questioned the wounded prisoner, was that they were mercenaries.  These were warriors without a lord who needed coin. That was a disturbing development; I had assumed that Oswald and Oswiu would be running out of warriors.  Little by little we had been thinning their numbers. If they were hiring new killers, that would pose a problem. I needed to question the prisoner to discover the truth.

Aedh and Tuanthal were not gentle as they dragged the bleeding and moaning warrior to the fire. I saw that he was a young warrior.  He had seen no more than eighteen summers. His beard was straggly. If he lived he would be crippled for life.  I would offer him a warrior’s death.  Then I saw the cross of the White Christ about his neck.  He would not thank me for that. We would just kill him when we had finished with him.

“Aedh, take some of your men and see if you can pick up their trail.  They may have come from the main camp.”

I reached down and ripped the cross from the warrior’s neck.  His eyes opened and I saw fear in them. I dangled the cross before him.  “You have one chance to have this returned to you before I kill you; you answer my questions. If you do not then I will throw this into the fire and you will not see the White Christ after I kill you.” His eyes widened in terror.  He tried to raise his hand but the pain was too much and I saw him wince.

“Where did you come from?” I waved the crudely made cross in the direction of the fire.

“Manau.”

“Is that where you lived?”

He shook his head. “No, we are West Saxons and we followed our lord, Aethelred, to fight against the Welsh.  He died and we became bandits when we were left far from home.” Now that his tongue had been loosened he could not wait to tell me all that he knew. Perhaps he hoped to be spared. “Eorl Oswald paid us to become his warriors and he took us to Manau.”

“That is where he has his men?” He nodded. “How many does he have?”

He shook his head, “I am not sure.  There were thirty of us who were brought on the ship to find you.”

“How did you know where to find us?”

“The Welshman with the sword told us.”

I shivered, “Saxon Slayer?”

He began to smile, “Yes that is it.  How did you know?”

I ignored his question.  “Where is this Welshman with the sword?”

“We left him and the woman who has the golden hair like sunset with the ship at the coast.”

“South or north?”

“South.  A day’s ride.”

“Thank you.” I put the cross into his maimed hand and nodded to Tuanthal. Even as the youth smiled my captain of horse ripped his blade across his throat. “They must have some horses close by.”

“Where would they get horses?”

“I have no idea but at least we have a direction for Morcar now and we know that he is with Morgause and they still have the sword.” As I stood and looked at the wrecked camp, an idea came to me.  “And we know that Oswiu and Oswald are not on the mainland.”

“How do we know that?”

“Morcar still has the sword and I think that the boy would have mentioned them. He told us the truth.”

The attack had cost us dear. We had but twenty four warriors remaining.  With Gawan, my squire and my two captains that left less than thirty of us. As we headed down the clear trail which Aedh had found I spoke with Gawan about what we might face.  Tuanthal and Aedh were great warriors but their minds were not as sharp as my little brother’s.  He had, like our father before us, the ability to see into the dark places of other men’s minds and discover their plans.

“I think, Gawan, that they are using their father’s treasury to buy back the throne. Remember we could not find it at Din Guardi. It explains why he was able to hide in Hibernia.  He bought the protection for the two of them.”

“That would make sense.  If you wish to be king then no price is too great to achieve that.”

“As our treacherous cousin proved.”

“Perhaps the flaw was always within Morcar.  We did not know him much when he was growing up.  We were too busy becoming warriors and serving Rheged.  He was indulging himself with his father’s treasure.”

“Was our father wrong to try to make a man of him?”

Gawan got that faraway look I often saw on the face of Myrddyn. “It was ordained.  It was meant to be.”

There was some comfort in knowing that everything was decided by the spirits.

The followers of the White Christ had so many rules to follow it was a wonder that they ever got out of bed in a morning. “Will they still be at the ship?”

Gawan closed his eyes.  I was not sure if he was doing what Myrddyn did or if he was just trying to be like the wizard. “They will want to know if their attempt on your life succeeded.  We found but four horses.  I think they were to take the message back.  The warrior told you it was a day’s ride away. It would have taken them longer to walk.”

“You are saying that if we hurry we can reach them before they leave.”

I saw a brief moment of indecision and then he nodded. “Yes.”

“Aedh!”

My captain of scouts galloped back to me.  “Yes, Warlord?” It felt briefly strange to have this warrior whom I had grown up with deferring to me but I had to get used to it.  I was now Warlord. 

“Is this trail clear?  Could we go faster?  My brother and I believe that Morcar and the ship will be waiting for the return of these killers.”

Enlightenment dawned, “Aye Warlord.  We will go like the wind and leave you signs if we deviate from a straight line.”

The scouts all had the fastest and most agile horses we possessed.  They galloped off and I rode next to Tuanthal. “We are hoping to catch Morcar on the beach with his ship.  We must brook no delay if we find him.  We need to risk all and stop the sword from leaving these shores.  The heart would go from Rheged if word got out that we had lost Saxon Slayer to the men of Northumbria.”

“Fear not, Warlord, my men are keen to avenge the murder of the Warlord.” Resolution and conviction were in his words and eyes.  He had served with my father as long as any.  I knew he would have given his life for my father without a moment’s hesitation.

I was feeling more hopeful having seen the state of the mercenaries we had fought. If that was the best they had then I could take them with a handful of warriors. However it could be that the brothers had better warriors who they would have with their boat to guard Morcar and the precious sword.

The land through which we were travelling was flat.  It meant the journey was easy but we could not see very far ahead. High hedges and trees were close to the paths and trails we took. We were not moving along Roman Roads.  These were tracks made by animals and hunters and they wound around obstacles. I hoped that Morcar had not laid an ambush. This was perfect country for ambushes. We rode with our helmets tied to our saddles.  We needed our eyes and ears to find the enemy before they found us. It was, indeed, our noses which smelled the sea before we saw it.  The trail dropped down a bank and there, at a tree we saw a mark in the bark.  We were to head west.

When we came upon the river we knew that we must be close to an estuary. Despite our need for speed I had to slow us down.  Aedh and his men might be hiding ahead and watching for the ship. It proved to be a wise decision for one of Aedh’s scouts suddenly stepped from the trees and held up his hand.  We all stopped instantly.

He spoke quietly, “Warlord, the ship is in the estuary. It is one of the small Saxon ships with a dozen oars.”

“Any sign of Morcar?”

He shook his head.  “There are eight warriors on the beach.”

I dismounted. “Leave the horses here.  Tuanthal, leave five men with them.”

I carried my helmet and my sword.  I did not think I would need my shield.  I knew that Aedh and his scouts would have bows.  They would be our best attack. We trotted down the track and then our guide waved us to drop down and we crawled the last few paces to the small bluff overlooking the estuary. I was glad that I had carried my helmet else it might have alerted the Saxons on the beach to our presence.

I slithered next to Aedh. He began to whisper to me. “The ship is just twenty paces from the banks.  It must either have a low draught or the water will be deep there.” He nodded with his head.  “Occasionally one of the Saxons walks over here and looks to the north.  We hide when he does that.” I could see that the men on the beach were just waiting.  I could not understand why they did not have someone watching from the bluff where he could have given them early warning of either the other men or us. It was extremely careless of them not to have someone hidden in the woods to keep a look out.

I rolled on to my back to look at the sky.  We still had some hours of daylight. I slipped down the bank to join Tuanthal and Gawan.  Aedh soon joined us. “Tuanthal, how many of your men can swim?”

“Six or seven I think.”

“Good.  I want them to go back along the trail and find some driftwood.  I saw some trees damaged in a spring storm.  I want them to float down to the ship and board her.” I saw the question forming on his lips.  “Do not worry I do not send them to be slaughtered.  Aedh and his archers will attract the attention of the men on the beach.  Aedh, I want your archers to wound them.  We will then attack when our men clamber aboard the Saxon ship.”

I looked around their faces, not for approval, but to detect any flaws.  There appeared to be none for they all nodded their agreement.

The selected men went upstream and I left Gawan to watch for them as they floated down.  When he saw them closing with the boat I would order our attack.  We had been lucky to find them still so close but I was worried that we had seen neither Morcar nor Morgause. We went back to watch for the swimmers. I was not certain how long the ship would remain there.  I supposed that the eight warriors leaving the beach would be a sign. Aedh had his men with their arrows notched already.  Suddenly Gawan appeared like a wraith at my side.  He pointed up stream.  I saw what looked like branches drifting down the river.  Had I not known there were men with them I would have been fooled into thinking it was natural.

“Ready Aedh?” He nodded. I waited a heartbeat or two to allow them to drift closer to the Saxon ship and then I said, “Now!”

They were good bowmen and four of the eight men waiting on the beach were struck in the legs by the arrows.  The others stood and looked around for the danger. As Aedh and his archers loosed again I rose and led Tuanthal and his men down the bank towards the Saxons. We ran silently for I did not want to make it easy for them to see us. That was when I saw Morcar. He was at the stern and was hacking through the rope holding the anchor. He knew us too well and the arrows descending from the dark skies told him all he needed to know. He was holding Saxon Slayer! Oswald had not yet got his hands upon it. Three more of the watching Saxons on the beach were down.  Two of them looked as though they were dead.

The unwounded warrior was wading through the water in a desperate attempt to reach the ship.  Suddenly there was a twang as the rope parted and the ship began to drift away from the shore and out to sea. I wondered why the oars were not being used and then I heard a splash and watched as two of the swimmers we had sent were hurled back into the water, dead. They had used the crew to repel our attack. When the oars began to move I knew that our plan had failed. They might be undermanned but, with a sail they could escape. Morcar himself stood at the tiller.  I was close enough to see the grin on his face. He shouted something but I could not hear it.

I turned to Tuanthal and shouted, “Kill the prisoners!” I wanted the Saxons on the boat to know their fate if they were caught.

Tuanthal had seen all but two of his men killed and he was not in a merciful mood. They all died. We watched the small ship, propelled by just four oars and under a shortened sail as it headed north west.  He was going to the island of Manau.  We had lost the sword.

There was little point in leaving the river.  We would not reach Deva any quicker. We were exhausted. Instead we camped.  We buried our dead and cast the Saxons, stripped of clothes, arms and valuables into the river.  Their bodies would return to the sea.

“Brother, why did you strip the dead?”

“We will need to follow Morcar into the nest of vipers.  I will need to take men who look like Saxons if we are to blend in.”

“That is dangerous.  It is not only Morcar who knows you but also Oswald and Oswiu.  Perhaps it should be me.”

“You are a good warrior, Gawan, but this will need something more. This will need a killer.  I will choose only those warriors who can be as ruthless as me.”

Gawan looked angry.  “It was my father too! I can be ruthless.”

I hated to do it but I grabbed his damaged hand and held it before his face. “This can hold a shield but if you were fighting with your bare hands then you would lose.  I do not intend to lose my little brother as well as our father and his sword. Besides you need to plan how we defeat Oswald and Oswiu.  Father and I did not realise the danger they represented.  Now that we have hurt King Edwin they might be in a position to gain Northumbria and all our work and sacrifice will be in vain. I need your mind and not your sword to work out how to defeat Aethelfrith’s spawn.”

I could see that his quick mind had assessed what I had said and found no flaw in it. “Very well but will you not be able to kill the two brothers when you have the sword?”

“If I can I will but my priority is the sword and then to kill Morcar. I am now Warlord and I have a responsibility to Rheged.  I cannot risk all, just to avenge father and kill those two.  That may have to wait for another day.”

The next day everything took longer than I had planned.  The river crossing was difficult and the journey south was hard; the rains came and drove into our faces. It was late evening when we reached Deva. The commander there was an old warrior called Angus. He had served with my father and only his damaged leg had stopped him from marching north with us.  He broke down when I told him what had befallen the Warlord.

“I have lived too long.  There is none left now who fought in Rheged. All of my brothers in arms have fallen.”

“We will fight again, Angus.  We have fought a great battle and Edwin is a spent force.”

He gave me a sad smile. “It is not good to be the last soldier.”

“You aren’t.  There are captains like Tuanthal and Aedh yet serving Rheged.”

He laughed, “They were young boys when I was fighting in the shield wall around Dunelm, Warlord.  To me they are young boys still.”

I began to understand my father a little more. He had seen all of his comrades die, some violently and some, like his brother Raibeart, silently in their sleep. His days of fighting had been over since the battle of Wrecsam. His last fight had been against the Irish giant, Calum.  But in sacrificing himself for Rheged he might have saved our land. He had fought again knowing that he would die.

“I need a message sending to The Narrows.  Have we any of the messenger riders here?” We used young boys riding fast ponies to take messages from one part of the land to the other. Eventually they became scouts, horsemen or, if they were particularly gifted riders then squires and ultimately equites.

“Aye Warlord, I will send for one.”

The land between Deva and The Narrows was as safe a piece of land as you could find.  The rider would be there by morning for there were no dangers along the way and it was a Roman Road. Hopefully, a ship would reach me within a day or two.

Just to be sure I sent two boys with the same message. Morcar’s lead was a long one. I needed to find him before he left Manau.

Angus provided a good feast for my brother, my captains and me.  We told him of Morcar’s perfidy and where we sought him.

“But you do not know if he is there?”

“No, we saw his ship leave and head north west.”

He nodded. “That would be Manau. I think you may be right.  Those who travel the seas speak of the island being conquered by Saxons. As it never seemed to concern your father we did not worry about it. I have a fisherman who knows the island well. I can send him to spy out the land for you if you wish. If I send him this night he could be back here when your ship arrives.”

An idea suddenly came into my head. “How many men can the boat hold?”

“I am not sure.  Let me think.” He rubbed his beard, “With just him he could carry four men.  Why?  Are you thinking of sending your warriors with him?”