Viking Dragon by Griff Hosker Page A

their families from the outlying farms began to pour towards us.
    "Raiders from the north Jarl!" We rang the bell which would summon all the workers into the stronghold.
    This would be a test of the defences and of the men who manned the walls. As the last refugee entered the fort we slammed shut the gates. I stood on the gate house and peered north. There was a warband of fifty or more warriors.  Eight were in mail and they arrayed themselves beyond bow range. Had we had more men I would have met them beard to beard but there was little point in risking all. We had to defeat them and that meant using the Roman defences.
    Ulf looked at me and I could see that he was worried. "It seems our raids north have brought us trouble."
    "It would have happened anyway.  Better now while we have six Ulfheonar here." I patted the wall.  "We have taken places with walls but never such walls as this I think. How would you attack these walls, Ulf?"
    "If I did not have ladders I would attack the gate. I would use axe men to break through the timbers."
    I pointed, "And unless they use all of their mailed men then our archers and even your boys with slings can hurt them. What we do need is rocks.  I would have your men fetch rocks.  We can rain them down on the mailed warriors."
    Haaken said, "Then the problems will begin for they will leave here and raid your lands.  We must be ready to fight them beyond the walls when they have bled enough.  These barbarians are brave to the point of madness."
    He nodded, "I will get my archers and slingers ready!"
    I went down to the quarters I was using to don my mail and prepare for war. It had been some time since I had fought from a wall.  Normally it was we who would be doing the attacking. By the time I had reached the walls again the men of Strathclyde were preparing to advance to the walls.  They were not fools and they had assembled a shield wall two shields high. My Ulfheonar joined me on the walls.  I saw Sven and Einar waiting for orders.
    "Sven go to the east tower. The men there will need a leader. Einar do the same on the west."
    They hurried off, eager to be doing something.  Erik laughed, "They will be safe enough there. This is where they will attack."
    I nodded, "But this way they will see mailed warriors at the two towers and assume that we have more men than we actually do."
    The enemy came towards us.  The leader had committed half of his men to this first attack. He had divided his mailed men between his two groups.
    Ulf led some of those who were not warriors to deposit rocks and stones on the wall above the gate. He looked down the length of the two walls.  There were not enough of the enemy to attack more than one wall. We had plenty of men and boys. The men of the north would not be able to simply walk into the fort. The shield wall was now within range.  Ulf shouted, "Archers, slingers, release!"
    There was a whirring and a series of twangs followed by cracks as arrows and stone struck the shields. While they remained tightly locked the shields would provide protection but once they reached the gates they would have to lay down their shields and use two hands to wield their axes. Some of the shields now had the added weight of arrows.  I wished that we had javelins.  They would have weighed down the shields even more. The stones cracked against the shields. Behind them the men must have wondered if their shields would hold. Ulf was a strong warrior and, as the shield wall stepped on to the bridge over the ditch he picked up a rock and hurled it down.  It struck the middle of the shields and the weight must have stunned the bearer for a hole appeared and stones and arrows hit flesh as archers and slingers saw targets. Two men fell into the ditch before the shields became a protective cover once more.
    My Ulfheonar each picked up a stone and they threw it down. I chose one and I managed to throw it and strike the leading shield and the warrior beneath.  One of the