Saxon Bane (14 page)

“I am gambling on the future.  I hope that we will win and free Rheged but if not then we know that we will not be here to remedy the situation.  Either your son, or one of his children or grandchildren will grow to be a warrior and if he reads this he may see his own destiny.”

“But you cannot be sure.”

“No I cannot.  Think on this.  What have we got to lose? A religious relic, a ring and a bag of coins?  It is nothing but if it leads one of your descendants here then he will discover the treasure and that may save the land in the future.”

I folded the letter and put it under the bones, the ring and the coins.  I closed the box and gave it to Myrddyn. “You will need to guide my sons when I am dead.  They will need to know what they must do for their sons. This knowledge must be passed from father to son.”

As he took the box Myrddyn said, “I swear that I will watch over our sons and their children so long as I live.  And when I die then my spirit will guide them.”

“Thank you.”

A sudden thought hit me.  “And what of my spirit?  Shall I be able to guide them?”

“I know not. The spirit is strong in you but perhaps it runs on your mother’s side.  Your mother was a follower of the Mother cult.  That goes back to the Druids and beyond.  Perhaps it will be from the mother’s side.”

“You mean Nanna or Delbchaem.”

He nodded, “Or perhaps Hogan Lann’s daughter.”

“Then they must be told what to do too.”

He sighed,  “You are giving an old man a great deal of work.” There was a twinkle in his eye. He was the one man in the whole world I could trust to watch over my children.  He would not let me down.

Pol stared at us when we emerged. “I thought you had gone forever.  What did you find to do in such a small room?”

I smiled at Myrddyn, “Save Rheged!”

Myrddyn took the box and went away to secrete it somewhere safe.  I knew he would make sure he placed it in a church where it could be easily found. Hogan Lann and Lann Aelle sought me out. “Perhaps we can go and inspect the work of my son’s warriors. Gawan had told me that his warriors had worked hard to block the gates.”

All of us were keenly aware that we were in danger of being surrounded if the men Dál Riata decided to fall upon our flank.  The three of us took Pol and twenty of his squires as an escort.  We did not think that there would be enemies but it paid to be careful.

As we were leaving Penda asked us, “Could I accompany you? I have heard of this mighty wall. I am not sure that I believe it.”

I smiled, “It is real but come and see for yourself.”

Parts of the wall had fallen into disrepair, especially close to the fort but Gawan’s men had made them good.  However they did not look as awe inspiring as they were closer to the high ground. They were as high as two men and five men could have walked abreast along it. Even so Penda found the scale of the wall beyond belief. He looked at the mighty structure rolling endlessly eastwards. “Men must have toiled for lifetimes to produce this.”

“No, Penda, the legion took less than ten years to build it.” I pointed to the blocked up gates.  “Those gates were there to allow people through but they were people that Rome wanted. They stopped cattle raids and slave raids. They allowed the Romans to tax all who passed in and out of their lands.”

He nodded.  “Perhaps I will speak with King Cadwallon.  It would be in both of our interests to build such a barrier between our kingdoms.”

Wyrd
! The spirits were moving men’s minds.  I knew not how they did it. We rode for twenty miles and were happy about the condition of the wall. To save time we came along the Roman military road which ran south of the wall.  Once again Penda found himself admiring the work of the Romans.

“I cannot see how they were defeated.”

Hogan Lann and Pol had both been in Constantinopolis and knew the story. “The problem lay in the cities which became corrupt and their rulers who became greedy.  The soldiers and warriors on the border still fought for their country but they were let down by their leaders.”

Penda looked from me to Hogan Lann and back. “I cannot see your leaders ever making that mistake.”

I smiled at Hogan Lann. He would not understand my words but once I was dead Myrddyn would explain them. “So long as our blood courses through our veins then Rheged will always have hope.”

The first of the ships arrived six days later. It gave us time to recover and to ensure that the horses were fit. It took a day to unload the ships but by the third morning we were ready to begin our eastward march.  Aedh and his scouts left before dawn had even broken.  They would operate deep in the heart of the Northumbrian kingdom. Aedh knew it well and no one would find him unless he wanted them to.

Tuanthal’s men led followed by the archers, then the spearmen and finally the equites.  We had sent the message to King Cadwallon as soon as we had arrived and the day that we set off I knew that he would heading up the road to join us as soon as he received the message.  He had fewer men and would be able to make better time.

Our plan was to reach Hagustald and take that important crossing of the Tineus.  That would give us a base from which to delve deeper into Northumbria. At the same time we would send the equites to capture the crossing at Chesters.  That was the site of the battle against Aella where Aelle, my brother, had lost his arm. If we held those two crossings then we would divide Northumbria in two.  There we would await the arrival of King Cadwallon.  We wanted the impact of the flag of Cymru along with the wolf standard and the dragon banner to terrify the Northumbrians. Our numbers were less than the army which King Edwin could field but we hoped to dazzle him with the enemies he would face.  The Mercian standard might be the one which would worry him the most.

Aedh’s scouts reported back each day.  We had spare horses but I wondered at the endurance of these remarkable horsemen who could ride all day, seemingly without sleep. They reported a small force of Northumbrians at Hagustald guarding the crossing of the river.

We reached Hagustald and Aedh himself met us.  He looked exhausted and exultant at the same time. “I rode as far as Din Guardi.  Edwin has emptied his land and headed south to face King Cadwallon. The fortress has a skeleton garrison.”

I shook my head, “I have been inside that fortress.  I could hold it with twenty men.”

Morcar chirruped, “Myrddyn could fly us in!”

Everyone laughed but Myrddyn and I knew the truth.  That still might aid us. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it.  That is two battles away, at least. What of Hagustald?”

“There is a garrison there.  No more than forty warriors. There appears to be the beginnings of a church and they are robbing stone from the wall to build it.”

“Can it be taken easily?”

Aedh had not been to Constantinopolis but he had a good mind for strategy. “We could take it as we did the monastery on the Lune. We would need to use archers and spearmen.”

Daffydd and Bors looked at each other and nodded. Bors said, “Aye, we could do that but are we worried if the word is out about where we are?”

Hogan Lann shook his head. “Now that we are here then the need for secrecy is gone. King Cadwallon will be here in a day or so.  If any escape then they will report a couple of hundred archers and spearmen. It will not alarm them.  When we strike at Dunelm and Din Guardi then they will know that we are coming but by then it will be too late.  It is a long march from the borders of Mercia to here. Remember the Northumbrians do not use horses.  They will have to march.” He nodded towards me, “The Warlord has thought this through well, Bors, have faith!”

We camped at the old deserted Roman fort they had called Broccolitia. There were no roofs on the buildings but the walls sheltered us from the wind. It was built on little bumps and mounds and Myrddyn chuckled when I commented on that.

“The Roman soldiers had a sense of humour for the name Broccolitia means Badger Holes.”

The warriors were all busy preparing themselves for the attack the following day.  Although only a couple of hundred of the seven hundred or so warriors we had with us would actually be attacking we all knew that we might have to defend as soon as we had taken the two crossings.  We still did not know for certain that Edwin had taken the bait.

I sat with Myrddyn, Morcar and Morgause. I had had little time to talk to the young girl with whom Morcar was besotted. She had prepared the food and I found that she was a good cook. Her skill with herbs and wild plants meant that the mundane meal I had expected was enlivened by strange new tastes. I was a little worried, especially in light of Carac but as she ate at the same time as us my fears were allayed. I was becoming cynical. She was but a young girl.

After we had finished and we sat by the fire listening to the warriors sharpening blades and oiling armour I asked her about her capture. “Tell me Morgause, where did you live on Mona?”

“We lived in a cave above Trearrdur.”

I frowned, “That is not far from the fort at the bridge.”

She nodded, “We did not bother the warriors and they did not know we were there. My mother did not like men.”

“There was just you and your mother then?”

“No, there were two sisters too, Morwenna and Morgana. They were older.”

“And how did you come to be taken?”

“We had gone down to the beach at Porthdafarch to collect shellfish at low tide.  It was before dawn and the Saxon ship was lying off shore.  We did not see the men until it was too late. They silenced us and took us on board their ship.”

“The warriors did not see them.”

She shook her head.  Morcar said, “It sounds to me like they were scouting the defences of the fort.”

“I agree and I like it not.  When we return I will enforce patrols of the beaches at night.  Go on with your story.”

“They took us to Hibernia.” She hesitated and began to weep uncontrollably.

Myrddyn put his hand about her shoulder and took up the story. “Her mother was abused by the warriors and she threw herself into the sea. The followers of the Mother cult choose when they will have a man.  They live apart from men. By forcing her she could not live with herself and by throwing herself into the sea returned to the Mother. Her daughters understood.  It is a powerful religion and its roots run deep.”

Morgause nodded.  “The warriors were shocked and they tied the three of us so that we could not do the same.  We were taken to Hibernia and we feared that we would share the same fate but the chief and his brother were kind men and he ordered us to be spared that ordeal. He discovered that we followed the Mother cult and knew that we would be healers for his men. The three of us were sent away.  I was sent to the place where you found me and I know not where my sisters went.  That was the last day I saw them.”

Kind men and Saxons did not appear to go together but I ignored the statement.  Perhaps they saw what they expected to see. “When was that?”

“I had been in the village for three summers. The people were afraid of me but more afraid of upsetting their leaders.”

This story was becoming more intriguing with each word. “And these Saxons lived in Hibernia?”

“I think it was Hibernia; it was west of Mona for we saw the sun rising to the east and we landed on a beach in the west.”

“It could be the island of Manau.  We know there were Saxons there.”

“Aye Morcar, and they were the followers of Aethelfrith who escaped after Wrecsam.” I turned to the girl.  “What was the name of the kind man who spared you?”

She shook her head and her eyes filled with tears.  She began to become distressed.  “I know not, sir. We were only there one night and we were too upset over our mother’s death to ask.”

“But surely the people in the village you were taken to must have referred to him by name?”

She began to become agitated, “They did not speak to me in the village.  They feared me and called me a witch. They only spoke to me of their ailments.”

Morcar put his arm around her and cast me a scolding look, “She is upset Warlord! Leave her alone! She has told you all that she knows!”

“I am only trying to discover who this kind Saxon was.”

Myrddyn stood and stretched. “It may be a new group of warriors whom we do not know. We will have to wait until we return to Mona to question those we captured.”

As we prepared for bed I began to regret sending the captives away so quickly.  I had been so keen to head north that I had not questioned the presence on the west coast of a settlement of Saxons. As I lay down to sleep it nagged and gnawed at me. Suppose there was a colony of Saxons on Manau or even in Hibernia; I had left my lands thinly protected assuming that any attack would come from the east. That night my dreams were filled with demons and Saxons who terrorised Mona and I awoke in a sweaty fit well before dawn.

I went to stand on the nearby wall and I stared out towards the west.  It was as though I was trying to see across the hundreds of miles. I had thought Oswald and Oswiu had been dealt with.  We had killed most of their men but suppose they had more on Mona and in other villages on the west coast of Rheged? Carac and Afon were two spies we had identified but there might be others. It would make sense.  They would be able to build up their strength and then the brothers could retake their father’s kingdom through Rheged; a Rheged I had left undefended.

Suddenly Myrddyn was beside me.  “The girl’s words worried you?”

“You must have known the import of her story.  Why did you not tell me?”

“Your mind is filled with this attack on Edwin and on your own death.  I did not want to burden your mind with more fears.” He smiled.  “The fact that you are walking the walls instead of sleeping is proof that I was right. Besides I was teasing out the information little by little.  I believe she does know the name of the Saxon leader but she does not know that she knows it. By gaining her confidence she might relax and then spill the information inadvertently.”

“But what of the threat?”

“We left enough warriors to protect our home.  We travelled up the west coast and we found but one village.  I believe that this is a plan of Oswald and Oswiu to retake Northumbria but they have not the strength as yet. We can scotch this snake and then turn our attention to those two vipers.”

Hogan Lann led the equites towards the Roman fort called Chesters while I went with Bors and Daffydd. Penda and King
Fiachnae mac Báetáin
accompanied me.  Both men were keen to watch my men as they fought the Saxons. We rode horses but kept well behind the advancing archers and spearmen.

“Your archers ride horses?”

“Aye it gets them to battle quickly and they can be extricated quickly if attacked.”

Penda rubbed his beard.  “I never worry about archers.”  He banged his shield with his hand.  “My shield protects me.”

I smiled,  “Then watch how we deal with that.”

There was a low ridge which was some half a mile from the walled settlement. I could see the church which Aedh had identified. King
Fiachnae mac Báetáin
pointed to it.  “Will your men attack the church?”