The savage wilderness, p.24
The Savage Wilderness, page 24
It was the sound of disturbed birds which heralded not only the dawn but also the attack. Arne was a canny leader and as soon as the birds flew up with a frightened cacophony of screeches and flapping wings, he ordered the horn sounded. We knew from Bear Tooth that the sound frightened the Skraeling.
Fótr and I were at the two ends of the bowmen and slingers. When I left, he would continue to lead them. “Nock an arrow and prepare a stone. We aim blindly over our shield wall. We keep sending arrows and stones until the stone arrows have all been spent. Then you will all use slings and river stones until we have won.”
As the last note of the horn died, we heard screams from the grey light of a western dawn. Arne began to bang his shield with his spear and he began a chant. I knew why he did it. The terrifying screams which rent the air would dishearten the young warriors, including his son Lars, who stood behind him. A man who is singing is not as afraid as one who is not.
Clan of the Fox, from Orkneyjar’s shores
Clan of the Fox, take to your oars
Clan of the Fox, we row as one
Clan of the Fox, heading west to the setting sun
Clan of the Fox, from Orkneyjar’s shores
Clan of the Fox, take to your oars
Clan of the Fox, we row as one
Clan of the Fox, heading west to the setting sun
Then I saw them. They were less than forty paces from our palisade, “Loose!”
I aimed for I knew which ones were the leaders. The half dozen arrows we sent over found marks but mine hit leaders and killed them. The Penobscot arrows rattled and cracked off mail, metal and wooden shields. It sounded like hailstones. There appeared to be no end to the mass of painted warriors who hurled themselves at the palisade. Inevitably their dead and dying bodies gave them a platform and they would come face to face with the spears of Viking warriors. It would not get any easier for them. I sent my last stone arrow and I turned to Fótr, “I will join our brother in the shield wall.”
“May the Allfather be with you.”
I ran to my den and, dropping my bow I picked up my shield and my helmet. By the time I reached the shield wall, I saw that the battle had been engaged and I saw casualties on our side. Stone clubs could break limbs and render warriors unconscious. As I ran to take the place of Gandálfr I shouted, “Take the wounded on to the drekar!”
Fótr nodded and detailed some of the larger boys to do so. Carrying a fully-grown warrior wearing mail was hard.
I found myself next to Lars Arneson, my nephew. His spearhead was unbloodied. “Uncle, there are so many of them!”
“Just kill them one at a time as your father does.” A Penobscot had managed to hurl himself in the air and was descending with a stone axe towards Arne’s head. I rammed my spear up and it caught the Penobscot in the centre of his chest. There was a bone there and a stone spear would have shattered. I had honed my spear and it slid in and tore through to his back. I used his momentum to throw his body behind me. Emboldened, Lars thrust between Siggi and his father. His spear struck the open screaming mouth of a warrior and the angle of Lars’ thrust drove it into the warrior’s brain.
“Good, now twist and withdraw.”
It went on for what seemed like hours yet it could not have been. Lars and I thrust and stabbed with our spears while Siggi, Arne and the warriors used swords and axes to hew heads and tear terrible wounds into their bodies. I heard a Skraeling cry out, “Back, we are lost, back and we fight another day.” They turned and ran.
Our warriors cheered until Arne shouted, “Silence, this is not over. Those without wounds follow me and we will follow them to their camp. Erik, Fótr, take charge here and dispose of the barbarians!”
Breaking down our own barrier Arne led the first fifteen warriors in mail to pursue the broken enemy. They clambered over the dead bodies while Fótr and his boys began to shift our wounded and there were more of them than I had expected. Other warriors picked their way through the debris to follow Arne. All that remained were the Skraeling dead and our wounded. Eidel had a wounded arm. From the way it was hanging, I think it had been broken at the wrist. That there appeared to be no dead was a miracle. I began to drag the bodies across the camp and drop them into the river. I could not possibly attempt to remove the charnel house of corpses which lay beyond our barrier and in our ditch. If there had been one hundred warriors in the deserted village then most had perished for I estimated more than eighty dead.
I had just dumped the last one and the wounded were all aboard the drekar when I heard the horn sound. It was the call for help and I knew that disaster had struck; the Norns had spun. Arne had fallen foul of the three sisters. I turned to Fótr, “I will go to our brother’s aid.”
“Is there no other who can do this?”
I waved a hand. The camp was empty and we two were the only two unwounded warriors left, “You might have to sail back to Bear Island with just this crew. You can do this. The Norns have spun, Fótr. If I do not return then swear you will watch over my family.”
“Do not say that! You will return!”
“Then you will not have to keep the oath but just to make me happy swear, on this!” I took the dagger, King Raedwulf’s dagger. It bound Siggi and Arne with me and now it would bind Fótr. Wyrd.
“I so swear!”
He made the mistake of grabbing the blade and he cut himself, “Now there is blood on the blade and the oath is the most powerful one that a warrior can make. I am content.” I sheathed my dagger, “And watch over the clan for that is the lot of our family.”
I grabbed my spear and ran off down the path. I passed bodies of Skraeling who had been wounded and had been caught by Arne and our vengeful warriors. I ran harder. I was lucky for I wore no mail. Arne and the others would be exhausted. The Skraeling wore no mail and knew where they were going. It was as though I had second sight for I knew that the Penobscot would have reached their own camp long before Arne and they would have had the opportunity to prepare their own ambush. That was why the horn had been sounded and I feared that I would be too late.
The river was to my left as I ran and the sound of my padding deer hide boots was replaced by the sound of battle. I saw that there were some rapids and rocks. The water bubbled and boiled. There was no sound of metal on metal. There were cries from the clan and from the Penobscot. There was the sound of wood cracking and stone hitting metal but it was not like a battle in the east. Then I heard, as I neared it, the roar of water from a waterfall; we were close to their camp. I hefted my spear for soon I would need it. As I came around a bend, I saw that Æimundr Loud Voice had a shield wall of men and they were blocking the path. The Skraeling could not get past but the press of the enemy was so great that they could not advance. Then I looked to my left. There was the waterfall of my dream. I would not leave this place for I would anger the Norns. I saw that my brother, Siggi and four others were fighting at the top.
“Æimundr Loud Voice, leave this place and get back to the drekar.”
“But the jarl!”
“I will go to his aid. The clan cannot lose you and the others. Fótr has the ship ready to sail, get back to him. It is my command for I am the jarl’s brother.”
“Aye, Erik, but what will you do?”
“I will climb the other side of the fall. There are no Skraeling there.” Even as I looked, Leif Leifsson, one of Arne’s oathsworn, fell from the top and I heard his body crash onto the rocks. “Æimundr Loud Voice, go! Save the clan!”
“May the Allfather be with you.” He then used his loud voice. “Clan of the Fox, sword foot back!” He began a monotonous chant as the clan stepped backwards. If he kept his movements slow and if the men moved together then they would reach the drekar although it would take some time. The Skraeling could not kill them but they could cause wounds and I doubted that any who returned to ‘Njörðr’ would be whole.
I was not wearing mail except for my helmet and I plunged into the water which came to my chest. I forced my way across. Some Skraeling sent arrows at me which hit the water, my hide jerkin and my helmet but none of them caused any damage. When I reached the other side I shouted, “Brothers of the blade, I come!”
Another body fell onto the rocks. I did not see who it was but I heard the crack as the warrior’s spine was shattered. Using the spear as an aid, I climbed up the side of the falls; it was manageable. By the time I reached it I saw that Siggi, Arne and Lars were the only survivors. The rest were all dead. The three stood on an island of rock in the middle of the falls. To get to it the Skraeling had to jump from rock to rock and they could not do it in numbers. Lars had no shield and his left arm hung down at his side but he still held his sword. There were four rocks I had to jump to reach them. The sound of the falls obliterated any noise I made. The first jump was the easy one for it was just a little longer than a pace. Some of the others meant I had to jump almost two paces and when I landed on their rock, Arne and Siggi whirled with blades ready to skewer me. Siggi grinned, “This is wyrd, the brothers of the blade together at the end.”
“Who says it is the end? We can get down the way I came up. There is a path down the cliff.”
Siggi smiled, “Then there is hope.”
Arne asked, “What about Lars, he is wounded and I will not leave him?”
“We leave no one, brother, for we are the Clan of the Fox.” I drew King Raedwulf’s dagger so that I had two weapons.
The Skraeling were still hurling their clubs and spears at us. Arne and Siggi held their shields above them to protect the three of them and now me. Three Penobscot tried to emulate me using the rocks and islands which lay upstream, one did not make it for he missed his footing and he cracked his head on a stone and slipped over the falls. The other two did make it but I thrust my spear into the chest of one and, as the other landed and struck my shoulder with his axe, I ripped the dagger across his throat. It bought us a little time.
Arne said, “Siggi, jump back on to that rock and I will use my shield to protect Lars and Erik.”
I stepped into the space vacated by Siggi as he turned and jumped. He barely made it. He was tired and he wore mail. He turned, grinning, and hefted his shield before him. He shouted, although I barely heard him against the sound of the roaring water, “I am ready!”
“He has made it, Arne!”
He nodded, “Thank you for coming back. I was wrong about you. Forgive me.”
“What is to forgive, are we not brothers of the blade?”
Two more Skraeling tried the leap and they both made it. My shoulder ached from the first blow but I still had the strength to thrust with my spear and gut the Penobscot. Arne was a mighty warrior but he was tiring and although his sword slashed across the savage’s head, the dying warrior still managed to ram his spear into Arne’s lower leg. Blood poured.
“Lars, you need to follow Siggi. Go now!”
He nodded and, sheathing his sword, he leapt. It was at that moment that a Skraeling arrow hit his calf. Lars made the rock but the arrow was embedded in his leg and I saw the water turn pink close to the rock. Father and son had the same wound and it would slow us as we made our way down the river. Lars showed his courage for he drew his sword and faced the enemy.
Just when we thought we had a chance, a number of Skraeling all decided to make the leap across the water. My rescue attempt had shown them a way to get to us and the wounding of Arne and Lars had given them hope. Three fell into the falls and were swept over to smash upon the rocks below but three others made it. My spear took one but the dying warrior held the shaft as he plunged into the water and I was left with King Raedwulf’s dagger. Arne had been attacked by two and his sword became his bane. He rammed his blade into a Skraeling but he could not withdraw it and the other Penobscot smashed his stone club into the side of my brother’s head. As his head turned, I saw the light leave his eyes as he died. I rammed the dagger up into the enemy warrior’s rib cage for he had killed my brother. Arne’s body tumbled into the water and slipped over the falls. The jarl of the Clan of the Fox was dead. I pulled his sword from the dead Skraeling.
I heard, as though it was in the distance, a voice, it was Lars, “Father! Noooo!”
Siggi shouted, “It is now or never, Erik!” Each rock we jumped would make it harder for the Skraeling to reach us and I jumped. As I did so something hit my back and when I landed, I was winded. The Norns were spinning for as Siggi bent to help me up a spear was hurled and hit Lars in the face. He fell backwards into the water. He was swept over the falls still holding his sword in his dead hand. He would be in Valhalla!
As I stood, still trying to get my breath, three Skraeling followed my path and jumped to our rock. Siggi swung his sword and connected with the side of the head of one while a second stabbed at Siggi with his stone dagger. I blocked the Penobscot club which came at my head with my dagger while forcing Arne’s sword up through the rib cage and into the skull of the other. I twisted his body and two Penobscot arrows hit him. His dying body knocked the last warrior into the falls. There were just two of us left for Arne, his son and his oathsworn were all dead. I risked looking over my shoulder. I could see Æimundr Loud Voice still backing down the path. Soon they would be lost to sight but the Skraeling were not hurting them.
Siggi said, “The last blow drew blood; I am hurt. Save yourself, Erik, and I will hold them off.”
“We are brothers of the blade and we swore an oath, let us keep it. Jump to the next rock for that will leave just one and then we can reach the bank for it is the shortest jump.”
“You had best go first and you can pull me across. I tire.”
His words made sense and I jumped, When I made it easily, I grew in confidence. I turned and said, “I am here, Siggi.”
He slipped his shield over his back and sheathed his sword. He took a run and he leapt. A spear and an axe came at the same time. The spear hit his shield and did no harm but the stone club hit his helmet and unbalanced him. He missed his footing and landed in the water. I knelt and offered my right arm. He tried to grab it but missed. As he was swept over the falls, I heard him say, “Siggi the Clumsy!” I saw that behind his shield he held a dagger. He would go to Valhalla and I would see him there.
I retrieved my brother’s sword and stood. I was angry and the tears which came were a mixture of anger and sadness. The Norns had toyed with me. They had given me a dream which suggested hope and yet it had ended in tragedy. I raised my sword and shouted in Mi’kmaq, “One of the Clan of the Fox remains alive. I fear no Penobscot! Come one come all and I will slay each one of you!”
Even as three of them came at me I wondered it Fótr would take the maid and her sister to Bear Island. Perhaps that was meant to be.
I no longer had the advantage of a spear and the first savage did. As he rammed it at me, I twisted. He caught a piece of bone on my jerkin and the end caught and stuck. The blow still hurt but I spun around. His momentum carried him over the falls and my dagger, still in my left hand, slashed across his throat. Blood sprayed over me. The last warrior was blinded by the blood and my sword took his head in one blow. His torso stood, briefly and then toppled over the falls. I put my dagger in my sheath and I leapt to the last rock. I turned, just in time to see two more warriors come at me. I had no dagger and so I stabbed one with my sword and head-butted the other with my helmet. His dagger raked down my left arm and the blood flowed freely.
I could still escape. If I could make the last jump I would be on the bank and I could climb down the waterfall. I sheathed my sword and prepared to jump. I was actually in the air when something, I guessed it was a stone club or axe, hit the side of my head. The last thing I saw before all went black were the rocks at the bottom of the falls. They were covered in dead men including the body of my cousin Siggi. My last thought was that I was not holding my sword and I would not go to Valhalla. I would spend the next life drifting in darkness. My last sight in this world was Arne’s broken body and then all went black.
Fótr
Fótr and the Clan of the Fox
It was almost dark when Æimundr Loud Voice, leading the survivors of the disaster at the falls, made it to the drekar. I had the ships boys on the ropes and I held my bow. The Skraeling fought all the way to the camp. When I loosed a hopeful arrow in the air and killed a large, bloody warrior they seemed to lose hope and they fell back. I did not see faces, just warriors. When they were all aboard, I said, “Are the others following?”
Æimundr Loud Voice took off his helmet. I saw blood dripping down his cheek from a scalp wound. He shook his head and said, “They are all dead, the jarl, his oathsworn, his son. Siggi and Erik.”
“Not Erik, surely not the Navigator?”
“I wish it was not true but it is. Erik almost saved them. He climbed the waterfall and almost brought them to safety. We waited to watch and see if we could help but first the Jarl, then his son and finally Siggi were washed over the falls and plunged to their deaths on the rocks below. Siggi had a blade in his hand as did Lars.”
“But Erik!”
“We watched him defy all and then, as he leapt, an axe hit him in the side of the head and he joined his brother and cousin. I am sorry.” They all looked at me. Æimundr Loud Voice said, “You are, until we reach Bear Island, the captain and jarl. What are your orders?”
My brother had made it quite clear what I had to do and I would obey his last orders. “We sail home! Cast off and lower the sail.” I walked to the steering board and, opening Erik’s chest, took out the hourglass, compass and his charts. I looked at the fresh wound in the palm of my hand. I had sworn a blood oath and I owed it to Erik to keep that oath and watch over his family. I sat on the chest and pushed the steering board over. It was dark but I knew that we had to sail down the river and reach the sea. My brother had told me how the Skraeling had tried to ambush them with boats. The longer we stayed the more chance they had of doing so.
