Varangian (Aelfraed) (21 page)

“Well Basil I am famished.
  Has the food been served yet?”

“They are just eating my lord; you are invited to dine at the tent of the strategos.” He looked at me sternly.
  “You are not yet late.”

“Which is your subtle way of telling me to hurry up. Well I shall because I could eat a horse, with the skin on!”

He wrinkled his nose at the unpleasant image. The Byzantines were more delicate eaters than the Saxon. We liked our meat and lots of it! I quickly dressed and strode over to the stategos’ tent.  The sentry waved me in.  The other officers were all there including Ridley and next to him was the fey woman I had seen clinging to him.  She was no longer clinging but sat as close to him as was humanly possible. He gave a shrug and continued eating. He looked happy enough. I could see that she was pretty.  I am always hopeless at guessing ages; my wife Gytha found it an amusing trait in me.  She had jet black hair and the most amazing violet eyes. I was surprised that her guards had not violated her.  It must have meant that she was important to them.

Alexios had reserved a place for me at the head of the table and I sat next to him with Andronikos next to him.
  He spoke quietly. “While you slept,” he shook his head as I started to apologise, “you deserved the rest and we did not need you.” He gave a disarming smile, “There were no men to kill!” The Droungarios, Andronikos, almost choked on his food with laughter.  “As I was saying, while you slept we managed to interview the girl.  It turns out she is related to Nicephorus Botaniantes. It seems her father and his family lived around here and they were captured by the knight Roger of Evreux whom you slew.” He saw my face and its reaction. “You knew him before?”

“I believe I slew a relative of his Guy of Evreux, he was a nasty bastard too.”

“Quite, well it seems that they were being held hostage while they put pressure on Nicephorus to support the Normans in this part of the world.”

“Would it have worked?”

“Of course not.  He will be the next Emperor, mark my words, besides the Normans did not understand the nature of families here.  Nicephorus was not close to the family and there was nothing in it for him.  He is not stupid, why let the Normans in?  They are like locusts. Your tales of what happened and our experience in Italy has warned us that you do not make a deal with a snake. The girl, Anna, was the only survivor and she seems somewhat taken with Ridley and will not leave his side.  I may have to send him back with her to Nicephorus.  How do you feel about that?”

“It might do him some good.”

“Excellent.” He turned to Andronikos. “A Kontoubernia of your horse as an escort?”

“Of course, strategos.”

I watched the two of them and saw that Ridley, surprisingly, was at ease and the girl seemed enamoured of the rough Saxon, feeding him titbits of food and giggling throughout the meal. “I will speak with him afterwards, strategos.”

“Thank you and tomorrow we head for
Dyrrhachium
and see if that, too, is a nest of serpents.”
Dyrrhachium
was the largest port on the Adriatic coast and vital to the security of the Empire.
  If that had been infiltrated then the Empire was in trouble.

I found Ridley with Anna outside his tent.
  He saw us coming. “This is Aelfraed Godwinson, the commander of the Varangian Inglinoi and the greatest warrior in England.”

“Thank you Ridley but you need not praise me.
  The title your friend would have sufficed.” I could see that he swelled with pride at that title. “And this must be Anna Botaniantes.  I am sorry for your loss.”

“I too would be dead if it were not for the bravery of this man.
  Truly I have never seen such a display.  He is a hero!”

“I know that. Ridley, the strategos would like you to take Anna to her uncle tomorrow with an escort of archers.” I could see
that he was torn between his duty to me and his desire to be with Anna. “It is more of an order than a request, Ridley.” I saw him relax with relief.

“In that case it will be my pleasure.”

They left early the next day.  We had found a chest of clothes for Anna and, luckily, she was a competent rider.  I suspected that they were country nobility and not city ones as I couldn’t see those in the city knowing one end of a horse from the other.

We had lost fifteen men in the attack which was not a disaster but more than I had wanted. I hoped that Ridley would not tarry in the capital for I needed him with me.
  You get used to someone’s ways and as good as Egbert and Edward were, they were not familiar reliable and unflappable Ridley.

With the losses and the garrison we were a smaller force now and we headed over the Roman road to the port of Dyrrhachium. The city was incredibly old and the Romans had used it as a stronghold in that part of the world. The Great Pompey had used it as a base during his war with Caesar and I knew that Alexios was worried what we would find when we reached there. The ever reliable Andronikos took his Droungos to patrol the outskirts and we felt vulnerable as we trudged along the road without scouts and without cavalry. I had yet to see the Thema fight and I wondered why their commander never offered to volunteer them.
  Perhaps it was not the Byzantine way.

We were relieved to discover that the garrison still remained and that the Normans had not attempted, as yet, to infiltrate that town. It also meant that we had the pleasure of a city instead of leaky tents.
  The weather had not only been hot but also wet, a dreadful combination.  The strategos intended to stay for a few days in the port and then sweep northwards to return to the city.

The journey from the coast was not a pleasant one.
  Although the winters in that part of the world are not as harsh as those in the north of England, once you were in the high passes, there was snow and there were terrifyingly fierce winds. We received a message from Constantinople that Ridley and Anna had reached the city but Nicephorus was entertaining Ridley over the winter.  I envied my friend for I was chilled to the bone every night and my feet were soaked each day.  Maddeningly there was little action for us.  The news of our defeat of the Norman and his rebels made most of the erstwhile revolutionaries surrender without a fight.  My men wanted to fight.  They were warriors. The Thema and the cavalry seemed happy to be paid to tramp around the wild mountains of Thrace but not my men. 

It was spring when they had their wish fulfilled and one of the chiefs in the more remote part of the hills decided that he would oppose us. I suppose he thought that we looked like easy pickings. There were less than five thousand of us by then for Alexios had sent some of the Thema to Dyrrhachium in order to strengthen the garrison there.
  The warlord had gathered a huge band of warriors from various tribes.  Andronikos had told me that this land had been the homeland of Alexander the Great and the warriors had always been truculent. We found ourselves camped on a hill less then five miles from the warlord’s camp.  Andronikos had reported where they were but when we awoke we had a shock for there were over seven thousand tribesmen arrayed for battle, less than a thousand paces from us. They seriously outnumbered us in cavalry and our only salvation was their lack of archers.

Alexios calmly surveyed the enemy. “Aelfraed, place half of your men on the right, the rest will be on the left
in front of Andronikos.  Andronikos put half of your horse archers on the left behind the Inglinoi and the other half behind the others on the right.” He then placed the half of the Thema who had either javelins or bows behind our camp ditch.  The rest of the Thema he placed with us about four hundred paces from the enemy. He explained to the three of us, his senior commanders, what he intended.  “They think that we will run and then they will slaughter us. I want the Thema to withdraw but you, Aelfraed, will hold your men.  The horse archers can loose over your heads.  When they reach the camp then the other bows and missiles will come to bear and we will have them encircled.”

“Good plan my lord, if they take the bait.”

“They will. Trust me.”

I did trust him but my men would be in the front line. I gathered my officers around me.
  “Put spear men in the second rank to hold off any horses and to deter them from attacking.  I will be on the right and I will stand on the right of the line.” The most reliable and stoic officer I had was Edward. “Edward you take the left of the left line.”

They were appalled.
  “But my lord, you will be taking the biggest risk.  Who will guard your right side?”

“Do not worry about me Egbert.
  I will have Death Bringer and it will take a brave man to come within an arm’s length of me.”

As I was on the right Andronikos took charge of the left. His horse archers behind me would be commanded by me and he would order Edward should the need arise. We marched forwards towards the enemy and they began to wail and to scream. I could see that the Thema looked less than confident and I began to bang my shield with my axe.
  Soon all of my men had taken it up and the beat echoed across the valley.  Oddly, the noise made the enemy stop their screaming and look at us in wonder. When they suddenly launched themselves forwards they reminded me of the fyrd, they were uncontrolled charging, roaring beasts. “Englishmen do not fear them, they are like the fyrd at home and we know what useless fighters they were.” My men gave a confident cheer and I felt guilt for my fyrd had been reliable fighters but I knew that most of my men would remember the disaster at Senlac Hill.

I shouted over my shoulder in Greek.
  “Archers prepare.”

They were more disciplined than my men and roared back, “Yes, Droungarios!”

I glanced to my left and saw the Thema, standing behind their wall of shields and spears begin to look uncomfortable. I hoped that their officers would be able to make a controlled retreat or this could be a disaster. When the Thracian horse was fifty paces away I yelled, “Loose!” Horses and men tumbled to the ground but this was a wild barbarian horde and the ones behind merely hurdled or jumped the fallen and roared towards us. The archers needed no command now and continued to loose volley after volley into their ranks and then the line struck us. “Brace!”

There were spears either side of my head and my men were determined to protect me so that their heads were three paces before me.
  I swung Death Bringer, quickly getting into the easy rhythm of old. As the enemy were shorter than me the axe head was at my chest height and, even though four warriors rushed at me I was confident. The warrior next to me, Aedgar, was also swinging his axe and the line of whirling blades before us made the enemy slow.  None wished to risk the wall of death after the first to do so were despatched in a sea of blood and gore.  Had they too, had archers then it would have been a different story but they had to get inside our swings to use their rhomphaia and they could not do that.  The ones before us fell back to regroup as the braver, reckless warriors to the fore were felled.  I glanced to my left and saw that the Thema was moving backwards. I yelled to the warrior on the left of our line, “Cnut! Angle back!”

“Yes my lord”, came the English voice.
  I hoped that Andronikos’ horse would remember their instructions.

Inexorably the line began to shift and the warriors who were unwilling to face the one hundred axes to their left and right were funnelled and channelled towards the middle where the battle seemed to be going the Thracian way. The further forwards they went the more they all congregated in the centre.
  We were still hacking at their flanks.  I yelled over my shoulder in Greek.  “Archers move to the right!”

“Yes Droungarios!”

“Shield wall! Forwards!” I could see that there were few men left to join the fray and now was the time to close the neck on this trap. I was reassured to feel a horse’s flank on my right and I glanced up to see a grinning horse archer loosing as quickly as he could manage.  They were all excellent riders with superb mounts and they were guiding their horses forwards with their knees and their heels.  It was impressive. I heard a collective groan from my left and knew that the strategos had unleashed his hidden men. “Into them! They have nowhere left to go.” I chopped through the shoulder and the arm of one warrior and then took out the next by decapitating him. Some of the horses were being targeted and I yelled, “Kontoubernia!” My well trained men quickly formed into tens.  They all knew what their role was and I said to those around me, “Wedge!”

I turned to head towards the rear of their line where I could relieve the pressure on the horse archers. Here were the warriors who had been a little more cautious and that showed as they saw Death Bringer’s bloody head closing on them,.
  They tried to flee but the archers had drawn their swords and the Thracians were being massacred in their droves. I stopped when I looked up into the grinning face of the Kentarches. He saluted with his sword.

“Have any escaped?”

“There are a few Droungarios who are fleeing north.”

“Take your Kentarchia and pursue them.
  I will close the trap with the rest.”

We turned around to see a sea of terrified faces running towards us. “Shield wall!” The men with me formed a shield wall and the archers who remained poured arrow after arrow into the men who were brave but had neither armour nor helmet. When Andronikos rode up to me I knew that we had won although, in truth, it was never in doubt. This was not the same as fighting the mailed Normans; there was no glory in this.
  It was just the slaughter of the badly led.