Valor

Valor

Prologue

Slowly, the sun crept down towards the horizon. The stench of death filled the air. A flock of crows flew overhead, letting out loud caws. The men, faces etched with sorrow, walked forward. They carried famine stricken bodies in their steady hands. They laid their grim burdens down on the deck of the large longboat. High pitched wails filled the air. A man walked forward carrying a torch. The flame danced with anticipation. He touched the ship with the lit end of the torch. The ravenous flames spread quickly. A brisk wind filled the sail and the boat strained against the ropes that bound it to the dock. Calmly the man unsheathed a rusty knife and cut it loose. Silently, the boat drifted away leaving a trail of black smoke. Laggardly, it faded into the distance carrying the bodies of the deceased on their final journey.

Nobody in the town could sleep that night. In the morning they all met in a large longhouse to discuss what to do about the lack of food. The meeting began with a speech from, Craggie Crow, the elected leader of the town. “More people die of starvation each day. Our supplies are dwindling down to nothing and our hunters have failed to bring any food home. If anybody has any ideas about what can be done speak now!” he uttered in a booming voice that echoed throughout the building. “I suggest that we send one of our best seamen to go to the nearest town on Iceland.” called a garbled, low, and loud voice. This voice belonged to the local carpenter, Marle. He was in the last years of his youth but still retained the daring manner of a boy who just earned the right to hold a sword. He was skinny and his head was topped off with a thinning crown of dark black hair. His dark brown eyes were located under two bushy eyebrows that seemed to be connected in the middle. A wispy, pathetic excuse for mustache covered his upper lip. He wore a brownish black coat with grey fur poking out everywhere and an old pair of tattered ankle-length breeches that covered the top of his rabbit fur moccasins.

“Does anybody have any suggestions on who to send?” called out Craggie. “Why don’t you go father.” said his son “You’re one of the few sailors who actually knows for sure where the nearest town is.” “Alright then.” said Craggie “How many people vote for me to go?” Everybody raised their hands. Good then it is settled! I’m leaving my son in charge while I’m gone.” Nobody objected. “Good, this Thing is over!” Everybody rushed out of the longhouse in a chaotic manner while Craggie ran to go get some supplies for his adventure.

Chapter One

Craggie was a short, old, grey bearded cripple. He walked with a distinctive limp that could be seen from a mile away. He was skinnier than a bean pole and was covered with more wrinkles than a potato. He supported himself with an old and beat up staff. He wore an old cotton cloak over a fur vest, an old cotton white tunic and pair of baggy ankle-length breeches. He had set out before sunrise to get to the dock and sail away without to any long goodbyes. He hated saying goodbye. The longboat he decided to use was the smallest one they had. He had made it when he was very young and had aptly named it the “Quest”. It was only fourteen feet long and about five feet wide. It had a small little sail and a set of oars just in case. There was even a raggedy, old flag with a raven sewn on it.

He had gathered all of the provisions someone might need for over a month out to sea. He had barely enough food and water for that amount of time. He also had brought along fishing gear and a bow and a hundred arrows for shooting seabirds. Strapped to his belt was an old sword that had been handed down for generations in his family. On it were runes telling a little of his family’s history. It also had an engraving of a crow on the blade. Strapped to his back was a long stave of wood with a half-foot long leaf shaped spear head at both ends. In a time of need, his staff could also serve as a weapon.

He climbed into the boat and pulled up the anchor. There was a nice southeasterly wind so he let the sails down and caught the wind. His quest had begun. It was not very long before he could not even see the shoreline behind him. Then one of the oddest things in the world happened! A spiraled white horn rose from the water. Then Craggie saw the creature that was attached to it. It was one of the biggest fish he had ever seen. It body stretched from one end of the boat to the other. It was far too big for him to attempt to catch so he decided to let it be. The strange fish brushed the side of the boat as it swam past. Suddenly it shot a cascade of water out of a hole on top of its body! It was within an arms length of Craggie. He slowly reached out and touched the creature’s bizarre horn. He also swept his hand back and forth across the creature’s skin. It felt a lot like the skin of a seal. He also thought it looked like a creature that a fellow sailor had described to him. He had called the creature a whale. Everything was right except for the horn and the size. According to his informer whales were much larger. Behind this creature he saw another creature of the same type. The only difference was this one lacked a horn. The creature’s followed the boat till dusk. Then they descended into the depths of the ocean.

At this time Craggie decided to drop anchor so the boat would not drift of course while he slept. He lay down in the middle of his boat and using some clothes from his pack as a pillow and blanket he closed his eyes and went to sleep on his back.

Dawn seemed to come quickly, fore when he awoke he felt like he had just closed his eyes. The sun shot out beautiful rays of pink, red, orange and yellow as it peaked over the distant horizon. Using the sun as a compass he set out in a southeasterly direction. There was almost no wind at all. For breakfast he had some bread, an uncooked sausage, and a cup of goat’s milk for Greenland had been much too cold for them to raise cows. After breakfast he grabbed the oars and started rowing for the wind was so slow that it would have taken all day to move 100 arms’ lengths. The boat was harder to move than it had been in the past. Worry gripped him. At this pace the town would be dead before he even got halfway there. Then he realized the error he had made. He had forgotten to raise the anchor! After he raised the anchor he started paddling again in the general direction of Iceland.

It took him until almost noon for him to find enough wind to strop rowing. By then he was so hungry he could have eaten a whole wild boar. He put up the sail and made a giant cod sandwich for lunch. After he was done eating he tied the steering oar in place and watched the sea for signs of interesting creatures. He did this until it was almost dark. For dinner he had some lamb chops, bread and a cup of water. After he had eaten his fill he grabbed his makeshift pillow and blanket and went to sleep.

The next morning he was awoken by a flock of angry seagulls. They squawked in a manner that was so loud and annoying it almost drove him off the deep end. He quickly grabbed a bow and arrow, tied a rope to the arrow and the mast, aimed and fired at one of the gulls. The arrow went right through the eye killing it instantly. He dragged it onto the boat and put in a sack. He continued killing gulls until the entire flock flew away. He had succeeded in killing four of the annoying, pathetic excuses for birds. They had about as much meat on them as a small chicken. The meat was salty and bitter. He had one gull along with two cups of water for breakfast. The wind was strong that day and carried him a long ways. He hoped that it would not take him too much longer to reach his destination. The next day there was a horrendous gale that had winds so fast that they produced an ear-splitting wail. The waves rose to four times the height of the ship and bashed against it like mad. Craggie started getting very queasy from all the rocking of the ship and he even threw-up an unbelievable amount of vomit over the starboard side of the ship a couple of times. By midday he felt his body weakening. I cannot die now he thought. If I do my town will perish. He grabbed the mast of the ship and held onto it with all his might. Even the largest waves could not break his grip. Eventually the winds started to die down. Silence filled the air and time seemed to crawl by at a snail’s pace. The ship had entered the eye of the storm! Craggie wished that it would remain calm like this forever. Unfortunately it did not. After a little while, although it felt like an extremely long amount of time to Craggie, the winds picked up speed again. Rain and hail started falling like crazy. The hail was so sharp that it rent deep cuts in his skin. He grabbed a cloak and used it to shelter him from the storm. Up high in the sky he saw little white specks that got closer and closer with each passing second. When they got close enough he saw that they were seagulls trying to fly despite the incredible amount of wind! Smack! Splash! One of them hit him right in the face on its way down to the water. Eventually the rain slowed down to a light drizzle. The winds stopped and the waves died down. Craggie felt grateful that he had survived. His town still had a chance.

Amazingly Craggie found that the ship had sustained very little damage from the terrible storm. After repairing the damage Craggie went to bed. That night was full of nightmares and little sleep for Craggie. In the morning, he was awakened by an odd moaning sound that seemed to come from nowhere. Then he saw its source. A gigantic whale had just jumped completely out of the water and landed with a belly flop. He stared in awe at this amazing spectacle of nature. Then a spout of water burst upwards from beside his boat. One of the whales had swum up beside him. He cautiously reached out and stroked its barnacle encrusted skin. It felt much like the skin of the strange horned creature he had encountered earlier. The whale began swimming towards its counterpart and started leaping along with it. The whales kept doing this until midday when they disappeared beneath the waves.

For lunch he caught a strange fish and cooked it. Then he put it between two pieces of hard bread and ate it along with a cup of water. After lunch it started to drizzle. It continued for the rest of the day. In the rain clouds had been replaced by a clear blue sky. The weather was sunny and windy for the next couple of weeks. Craggie became overcome with boredom. He seemed to be the only living thing left in the world. This calmness went on days. Eventually Craggie lost track of the time. He had no idea how days it had been since he had left Greenland. He passed the time by pacing back and forth on the deck of the ship. He also started talking to himself and started seeing things. One night he awoke to the clanking of feet and a screeching noise that was too high pitched to be made by a person. The thing he saw when he opened his eyes and looked up turned his blood cold. Goosebumps arose through his skin and covered him like wildfire. He was frozen with horror. His mouth was wide open but he couldn’t even muster up the courage to let a scream escape his lips. The hairs on the back of his rose and stood over and inch tall. In front of him stood a ghostly figure that was hovering an inch or so above the deck. The figure resembled a person somewhat but the arms were too long and the legs too short. The figure had giant mouth that was forming a giant grin and full of razor sharp teeth. It had an oversized nose and beady red eyes. The eyes were the only part of the thing’s body that Craggie couldn’t see through. It was rushed at him and opened its mouth wide. It raised one of its arms and Craggie saw that it had claws on it in the place of fingers. Sweat dripped down Craggie’s chin. He could hear a loud thump in his hears that deafened all other sounds. His body started to tremble. Whoosh! The thing seemed to disappear in a whirlwind right before it got to him. Craggie fainted with terror. When he awoke he could see nothing unusual aboard the ship. He entered a constant routine and was in a semi-asleep state throughout the day due to excessive boredom. This dreamlike state lasted until the day the calm ended.

It started with a thick fog that made it impossible to see and lingered throughout the morning. The waves got bigger and bigger until they rose to twice the height of the ship. The wind was so fierce that there was little Craggie could do but hang on for dear life. Then down came the hail. In an endless avalanche it pelted the ship like mad. It was as big as cannon balls and covered with more gruesomely sharp points than a morning star. The storm didn’t relent. Instead it got fiercer every second. Out of nowhere a cascade of water spouted out of the water. It came out of the blowhole of a gigantic toothed whale. Thinking the tiny ship was something else the whale lunged at it, its mouth open wide. It closed its mouth and snapped the ship in half. Craggie took a rope and tied himself to a piece of wood so that when he could hold on no more he would not drown. The whale thrashed back and forth shredding the ship to pieces. Craggie went flying into the air his face frozen in horror. He saw a bright light closing in on him. He closed his eyes shut right before it got to him. Then as the bolt of lightning hit him he felt himself being fried. Thump! The echoing thunder was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

Chapter Two

The world that Craggie opened his eyes and saw was not much more than a big light blur of yellow. He rubbed his sand-encrusted eyes until he could see clearly again. He looked up and realized a seagull was standing on him. He swung his arms at it madly and croaked in a parched, low growl “Get off me you dumb bird, I am not dead yet!” The gull flew away from what it thought was going to be an easy meal.His back ached and his sides were sore. His weapons were scattered around him in a hap-hazard matter. He stood up, picked up his weapons and sheathed them. He also found a rope from the ship and his bag with some food still in it. Lastly he picked up his old staff and started limping inland. Soon he reached an impossibly steep cliff. Knowing there was no way he could climb it he decided to find a way around it. Eventually he came to a ravine. It was very narrow and could not see the end of it. Wanting anxiously to find a town he limped through it.

At the end he found the old ruins of an ancient fort. The walls were fallen over and completely missing in places. It looked like there had not been people here for years. It was located at the top of a hill. The cliff wall beside it was dotted with caves. Hoping there was a populated town nearby he walked onward. Eventually he came to a humongous field. An impossibly tall and skinny man was plowing it. The man stood over three yards tall, had a face buried in hair and looked like he had been strung to the racks and stretched many times. His skin was a dark leathery color and covered with scars. He wore nothing but an old, battered pair of breeches that was full of holes. He was chained to an immense plough that four horses could not of moved and yet he was pulling it inch by agonizing inch at a pace that was slower that a snail’s crawl. Craggie wondered what cruel, awful creature this thrall could belong to. He took out his sword, lifted it and swung it down hard on the chains. It cut through them in five swift strokes. The man was unable to comprehend what had happened at first. Then Craggie yelled “Run away from here you are free!” The man whispered in a low voice “Thank you!” and ran away at an extremely fast pace towards some woods.He ran into the trees and disappeared. Behind the field there was a town. He headed towards it.

When Craggie reached the town he quickly tried to get directions to the leader of the town’s house. The first person he asked laughed at him. Eventually Craggie found out that the leader, called a jarl, lived at the western end of the town. The door to the huge longhouse was guarded by two huge men who had an assortment of gruesome weapons. The house was huge and richly decorated. It certainly looked like a king’s house would look if the king didn’t live in a castle. He went up top of door and asked “Is there any way I could see the jarl today?” one of the guards laughed and said “You, see the jarl don’t make me laugh, now get out of here before you get yourself hurt!’ Craggie shoved against him yelling in a rumbling voice “Get out of my way!” One of the guards quickly picked him up and threw him into the mud his partner cackled wildly. “Now get out of here before I throw you in the dungeon you filthy beggar!” He yelled Craggie quickly walked away from the barrage of insults that was spewing from the guards’ mouths. “Filthy rich people.” He muttered to himself as he walked away. Soon, He reached an inn. The sign was old and broken but he could still make out the words “Travelers Haven” carved into the wood.

The common room was messy, dark and almost completely empty. The only other guest was a drunk that had fallen asleep at his table. A door creaked open and a fat old man waddled into the room. He was the innkeeper. Craggie went over to him and asked “How much does a room cost?” The innkeeper replied “One gold piece.” Craggie asked “Would you be willing to let me stay if I did some work for you?” “No money, no room, now get out of my inn you beggar!” replied the innkeeper. Not wanting to cause trouble Craggie walked out of the inn. The sky had turned dark. He decided that it was useless to try to find another inn and went to sleep in a cozy spot under an oak tree.

In the morning he awoke to the beautiful music of birds. The tree was covered in ravens, jays, finches and robins. Unfortunately he couldn’t sit there and listen to them. There was something that he had to do that was more important. After a hasty breakfast thrown together from the food in his pack he set off the direction of the king’s house. It was before dawn and the sun still was not out yet. Once he got to the house he crept around it silently and checking the windows to see if they were all locked. They were. He decided he would have to go in another way. He took the rope from his pack, tied one end to a tree and the other end to a rock that was a little bit bigger than his fist. He spun the rope around his head and let go hoping to make go down the chimney. The first few times he missed horribly: After while he was able to hit the chimney every time. Finally on his fifteenth try the stone broke a hole in the chimney and went through it. It stuck when he pulled back on the rope. Once he made sure it was securely fastened in place he clumsily climbed up the side of the side of the house. Then he cautiously climbed down the chimney. At the bottom of it was a large pile of ashes. The room was pitching black. Slowly he climbed out of the fireplace trying his best not to trip over some unseen object. His right foot caught something and he hit the floor with a loud thud! “Who’s there?” yelled a slightly shaky voice. A candle burst into flame right in front of Craggie’s face!

A tall man with light blond hair and sea blue eyes was holding it in his steady hand. In the other hand, he held a great sword that appeared to be made out of pure silver. It glowed brightly in the light of the flame. “I don’t mean you any harm, I just want to talk.” whispered Craggie in a rather anxious voice. “About what?” grumbled the tall man. “I came from a town in Greenland called Whaledom and we are running out of food. I would like to know if there is any you could give me some supplies and food to bring back to them. I would gladly guide this ship or ships to my home so they do not get lost.” Voiced Craggie in a tone that said he was not going to give up easily.” “I cannot do that. The English army is not very far away and need all of the food we have for the battles that are to come.” The man said this in a solemn voice that seemed to be full of regret. “Now get out of my house and go find someone else to help you before I have you thrown in the dungeon for breaking into my home!” yelled the man. Craggie pleaded “But could” “No, now get out!” interrupted the man in a loud yell. Seeing that he was not going to win this argument he quickly opened the door and ran like mad out of the house. He ran back to the old oak tree and started crying. He was at a complete loss. What could he do to change the jarl’s mind? He paced around for a few minutes in deep thought. His town needed these supplies. Maybe there would some other way he could get the food. He was also worried about the English army. If they were this far into Viking territory then something must be terribly wrong. “YYYYAAARRRRGGG!” yelled some distant voice. He followed the sound and found two men engaged in a fierce fight. They were both berserkers. One was tall, heavily muscled, and wielding a giant sword. He had a bearskin cloak on that almost seemed small on him. He wore it like a cape and he was wearing the bear’s head over his head like a hood with mouth as the opening. His chest was bare and his leggings were also made out of bearskin. His face was hidden in the shadow of the bears head. The other fighter was also wearing a bearskin cloak. His however had sleeves and was tied around his upper body covering it completely. He also was wearing the bear’s head as a hood. This man however was much wider than the other man. His leggings were extremely wide and baggy. He held a gigantic war-hammer in two hands that was so big that Craggie did not think he could lift off the ground in a million years. This man was the one he had heard yelling. Their weapons were locked together between them. The fat man pulled his hammer back and swung forward. The tall man quickly blocked it with his sword. Then he pulled his sword back and swung it in a sideways arc. Clang! The fat man blocked it again. Than the tall man lashed out his foot and kicked the fat man in the head. He went flying back a few feet than landed on his back in the dirt. He had managed to keep hold of his hammer. He rolled over and quickly got up. Then he yelled in a loud and deep voice “YYYAAAARRRGGGG!” and leapt at the other man. He swung his hammer like a mad man right at the other mans side. The man managed to block the hammer but was unable to dodge his opponent’s body. Thud! They collided and the tall man was knocked to the ground with the fat man on top of him. The fat man got off the tall man and helped him up. The fight had not been real but rather a rigorous way to train for the real thing.

Craggie went over and congratulated the two men on their fine fighting skills. Then he introduced himself and asked for their names. The tall answered in a loud and low voice “ I am Hughnnerland.” “ And I am Fralleg.” voiced the fat man in a low grumbling voice. “ I was wondering if I could challenge the winner?” asked Craggie. Fralleg guffawed and looked at Craggie replying “Are you crazy I am probably not even a third of your age and probably outweigh you by over 100 pounds!” “ Appearances can be deceiving especially to the untrained eye.” “Fine then let us have at it and see what you are capable of ol’timer!” Craggie took off his cloak and vest so they would not get in his way and keep him from fighting at his full potential. Then he un-strapped his spear sheathe and his sword sheathe. He laid his sword and his staff down on the ground and took the spear out of its sheathe. Fralleg who had never seen a spear with a head at each end stared at this odd and bizarre weapon. “You’re going fight me with that?” He asked sounding confused and bewildered. “Yes fore I do not want to ruin my sword in a mock battle and I fear your hammer would break my walking staff in half after just one blow.” “Fine whatever suits you.” said Fralleg and slowly swung his hammer up and down so the part of the handle right below the head hit his right hand. Then he walked up to Craggie, brought his hammer over his head and swung it down on top of Craggie’s skull. Faster than the eye could see Craggie brought his odd spear up and stopped the great hammer mere inches from his brow! Sweat dripped from his face as Fralleg struggled to bring the hammer head closer to Craggie’s head. Finally giving up on this attack he brought his weapon back and swung it low at Craggie’s side. Again it was stopped mere inches from Craggie’s skin. He brought the hammer back and swung Craggie’s other side. Again Craggie blocked it. Then Fralleg swung his hammer madly at different parts of Craggie’s again and again. Amazingly Craggie seemed undaunted by the massive barrage of swings. He blocked every one and didn’t let the hammer head even touch him. Fralleg brought his hammer back and held it panting heavily. Craggie started to spin his bizarre weapon around in his hands. He did so fast that all Fralleg could see of the spear was a rotating blur. Then Craggie brought his weapon to one side of him keeping it spinning all the while so now that it was rotating towards Fralleg. He brought it closer and closer to his opponent. Then Fralleg brought his hammer forward stopping the spear from rotating. Then he shoved it down and away from himself. Next he swung his hammer down ward at Craggie. Craggie quickly dodged the blow and swung his weapon faster than the eye could see at Fralleg’s neck. He stopped his swing right before the spears head pierced Fralleg’s skin.

“I win.” He announced in a solemn monotone. Fralleg dropped his weapon in surprise. “But how could you beat me?’ he muttered. “ Experience and wisdom will beat raw strength most of the time friend.” said Craggie. “So have you come to fight against the army that is going to attack this town?” asked Hughnnerland “I think not for the quest that brought me here requires me to leave as soon as I get what I came here for.” “That is too bad for we have great need for skilled fighters. What is this quest that has managed to keep you from joining us?” asked Fralleg “If you must know I have come to get supplies and food for my town which is in desperate need of it.” said Craggie in a slightly irritated voice. “You better give up that quest. Why besides maybe some tiny villages on the mainland this is the last Viking town left. All of them have either converted to that awful, dreaded, stupid religion of Christianity or been destroyed by the English. Especially those in Iceland, they converted to Christianity without any threat from the English at all. If the jarl of this town won’t give you supplies you are not going to get any and you can take my word for it.”said Fralleg “Hold if this isn’t Iceland than what is it?” said Craggie. These are the Faeroe Islands. You missed Iceland completely.” “Dang, well that explains a lot. What am I supposed to do I can’t abandon my town to starve to death.” “The only thing I can think of is to send a message to your town somehow and tell the residents to abandon it for good and sail to here. They would sure be welcome and believe me we’re going to need them along with any other help we can get if we want to defeat the English.” suggested Hugnnerland “How long do you think it will be before they attack?” asked Craggie. “Not long for they are not very far away.” replied Fralleg. “Nice to meet you two, now if you will excuse me I have some thinking to do.” Craggie turned and walked away. Nothing worth mentioning happened for the remainder of the day. When night came Craggie was able to find a comfy patch of grass and fall asleep.

Craggie saw his town basking in the moonlight. Everything was utterly and completely silent. Suddenly a burning torch fell against one of the buildings. It was quickly engulfed in flames. Before his eyes these flames spread throughout the town. He was immobile and unable to do anything to try and douse the flames. He felt completely useless. Dark immense shadows walked through the town. He heard a forlorn yell of protest, than the clash of weapons. One of the buildings collapsed as something was flung against it. A gut wrenching wail of pain came from the building. It got louder and louder until it was all that Craggie could hear. His head was starting to pound and the sound seemed to reverberate throughout his body. He awoke to find himself covered in sweat. His breathe came in sort and haggard gasps. He could still hear the awful wail inside his head. People were moving around him at a frantic speed. It looked like controlled chaos. He grabbed one of the men rushing past him and asked what was going on. The man replied in a quivering voice “The English army has been spotted not far from here. And according to the man who saw them there must be close to a million of them! They will reach the town by tomorrow morning!” Craggie released the man and ran away like his heels were on fire. What could he do now? Honor demanded that he join the battle and try to help save the town but his duty was to his own town which desperately needed supplies. Caaww! A giant crow flew over to him and landed on his shoulder. Then he recognized the crow. It was Crooked Beak, a crow that he had found with a broken wing and nursed back to health. He was huge for a crow and was covered with black feathers. His beak was long and a slight downward curve to it that was unusual since most crows had straight beaks. Tied to one of his legs was length of corded rope knotted into a series of shapes. These shapes were a crude way that the Vikings had developed to send messages to each other. It read “village attacked during hunt. Survivors found in a cave.. They remember nothing. Many were missing including Marle, Wolf, Bane, Wycliff, and Skymir. We are abandoning the town. We are taking a boat and will try to find you, your son Bluebeard.”

Chapter Three

Marle could feel his hands burning. His skin had become covered with burns. His hands slowly got even hotter and hotter. The pain was intense beyond all imagining. He was strapped to some metal bars that were laid out above something ten times hotter than any fire he had ever felt. His vision was blurry from the tears he cried and his head hurt. He couldn’t remember where he was or who brought him here. All he could remember was that terrible monster’s face. That one he had fought in the town. It had beady, red eyes, a beard of ice and was covered with bumps. It wasn’t even the right color. Its skin had an eerie white glow to it and it looked like ice. He could see that face right in front of him now. Then it started to laugh. A horse, coughing, manic laugh that echoed off the stone walls around him. Then he figured it out. He was in a cave and that face in front of him wasn’t imaginary. It was real! He cried out in agony and pain. His hands were burning. He couldn’t turn to see them, it hurt his head too much but he could feel them. The pain tore through him and he smelled the stink of burning flesh. The face disappeared from his limited vision. The creature was gone, at least for now. Then he realized something. If his hands were on fire than the ropes that held them to the bars should also be on fire. Maybe it would burn him lose. He tried to pull hands of the bars. Slowly and painfully they came lose. He brought them to his face and saw that were ablaze. The fire quickly spread to the rest of his body. He shuddered but resisted the urge to cry out from the agony. His whole body was aflame. Then he felt all of the ropes that had been holding him down loosen. He somehow was able to sit up and then lift himself into a squatting position. Using all of the strength he had left in him he leapt forward. He went off of the bars and did a belly flop into the snow. The snow was deep and he quickly sunk down into it. As it melted around him the flames started to sputter than finally went out. He slowly got on his feet. He looked at his hands. They were burned beyond recognition and fingers on both hands were fused together into odd claws, claws of some monster from his nightmares. He quickly ran out of the cave. The wind was fierce and he had trouble keeping his feet. There were rocks everywhere and the ground was severely sloped in places. He was on top of a mountain! He slowly crept down the slippery slope trying desperately to keep his grip on the rock. He slowly inched his way down the rock face. He couldn’t even feel the intense cold. He couldn’t feel anything. Then one of the rocks he was holding onto came loose. He managed to dangle by one hand for a few seconds before he finally fell downward.

Thump! He hit the out cropping of rock hard. He struggled to his feet and looked up. He saw that he hadn’t even really fallen that far. He heard odd noises coming from somewhere near him. He followed the noise till he reached the mouth of the cave. Inside he saw two of those creatures talking to each other in some odd speech. Behind them was a crudely drawn map. It showed Greenland and there was a little mark near the southern shore. There was also a dotted going towards a group of islands. There was a cave drawn on the islands and there were not any ships shown. Then he remembered what had happened to the town. Scenes flashed through his mind about what had happened. He needed to get back. He needed to make sure they were okay. He crept out of the cave and saw an odd looking pile. Above him the moon shined brightly. He slowly walked towards the pile. It was some pieces of wood and some old cloaks. The wood had been cut into somewhat flat pieces. He quickly grabbed one of the cloaks and tied it around his chest. His also found some old boots which he quickly slipped on to his feet. He needed to get to the town quickly. Then he saw the roped lying in the pile. That rope gave him an idea. He grabbed the two flattest peaces and tied them to the bottom of his shoes making a crude pair of skis. He then wobbled over to the edge and looked down. It some places it didn’t look too steep. He went back to the cliff wall and himself off of it. The skis slid slowly across the snow. There was a slight incline and then he started to pick up speed. He flew off the cliff edge and plummeted downward. Keeping his skis up, he landed awkwardly on a path of snow. He was able to keep falling and then he swerved from side to side to avoid the rocks. He might as well been skiing blind. He could only see a few feet in front of him. Patches of ice were everywhere and he slid over them like made. He went off the side of a giant rock and let out a loud cry of fear! Then the he heard the sound of rocks falling. He had started an avalanche! He bent into a squat and skied as fast as he could, dodging rocks and bumps like mad. A few he went off of and barely kept ahead of the wave of snow. He could see trees in the distance. Maybe he could reach them. Thunk! One of his skis that hit a bump that he had not seen and he went flying head over heels. He landed on his side and he started too slide downward. Then the snow covered him as the avalanche caught him. He saw nothing but white. He was having trouble breathing. His vision got blurry and then he blacked out.

He awoke seeing white everywhere. Frantically he started clawing his way out of the snow. He was gasping for air. It would not be long before he exhausted his supply and suffocated. His hands were numb and his vision blurred. His skin still burn from what had happened. Suddenly, one of his hands burst into open air. He quickly moved his arm to dig himself the rest of the way out. Then he climbed slowly and awkwardly out of the hole he made in the snow. He stood up and stared at his hands and shook with fear. They were turning a dark purple. He needed to find a way to warm them and fast before they became frostbitten. He started walking in the general direction he thought the town was in. To keep he his mind off of his hands he thought about what he had saw in the cave. Those monsters must have been planning to invade them. But how would they. They were not located anywhere near the shore and there was no way he thought that they could make ships big enough to carry them without sinking any way. Then he remembered the cave. They must be planning to go underground somehow. But that did not make any sense. There was no was way they could go under the ocean. Or maybe there was. They were monsters after all he thought. His legs were tiring rapidly but he pressed on. He rubbed is hands together and blew on them desperately trying to keep them warm. It took him a while but finally he could see the town in the distance. His hands had grown numb and he knew that if he did not warm them up soon they would get frostbite. So he did the only thing he could think of. He ran as fast as he could towards the town. As he got closer he could see that most of the buildings were falling apart and some were no more than a few stones now. His legs burned and cramped as he ran. He screamed in agony but didn’t slow down till he reached the town. He headed for the only building he could see that wasn’t in ruins. It was slightly warmer inside but not by much. In the corner he found some old ratty clothes that someone had left behind. He quickly pulled on the old breeches, the gray shirt and the big coat. He discarded the cloak he was wearing for it was wet and cold. He went back outside and gathered some wood from what remained of one of the buildings. It took him awhile but finally after trying for what seemed like hours he finally got a fire going. Then he removed his shoes and put his right by the fire. He also placed his hands above it rubbing them together. Now in the light of the fire he saw how badly he had been burned. His hands looked like black claws with some purple in them. They ached horribly and hurt to move them. His fourth and last finger on both of his hands had been reduced to little tiny burnt lumps. His feet did not look any better. They were misshapen and a dark black and purple color. All of his toes had been fused together by the flames. His eyelids felt heavy and it was not long before he lie down and fell asleep in front of the fire.

He did not sleep well. He kept dreaming about being eaten alive by those creatures. They had big claws and huge teeth. He awoke screaming with pain in his foot. It had caught on fire! He quickly ran outside and put it in the snow dousing the fire. Every part of his body ached with pain. He pulled on his bots and some gloves he found in the house. He started exploring the town trying to look for signs telling where everyone had gone. Behind one of the houses he found an old chopping axe stuck in log. It looked like had been carelessly left behind. He gripped the shaft and yanked it out. It was almost as long as his arm and had a chip in the head. He also found and old belt in a pile of rubble. It had loops on it to put weapons or tools in. He slipped the axe into one of the loops. Then he started walking towards the docks. Along the way he found clothes and wood thrown on the ground. It looked like they had left in a hurry. When he reached the docks he saw that they were in ruins. Pieces of wood were missing and there was only was boat left tied to it. It was battered and old looking with rotting wood. It was a small boat and could be steered by one man but it did not look seaworthy. He decided though that he did not want to stay here and wait for those things to find him. He did not care how bad of a condition that ship was in. He was leaving. He found a pack dangling under the docks near the boat. It was pulled out from under them and opened it up. In it saw skins of water. He closed it back up and put it on his back. Then climbed on board the old boat and started undoing the ropes that kept it tied to the docks. When they were all free he untied the sail and went back where the steering oar was. The sail billowed out and caught the wind dragging him out to sea.

Chapter Four

Craggie stood there simply stunned for a few seconds. He simply could not fathom that what he had read was true. He even reread it to make sure he was not mistaken. What could have happened to the town that destroyed it so utterly that his son had chosen to abandon it? He also now knew that his quest had been vain. It had accomplished nothing. The only thing he could do to retain his honor was to join the fight to save this town. He would also try to get the rest of his town to help out. Sadness gripped him. He cried for all the dead, especially Marle. He had been a stubborn and dedicated man that did not know when to quit. He also was a cowardly man who did his best to avoid fights with other inhabitants of the town. Craggie had grown to respect Marle if even he did not agree with all of his views. He had never told Marle this and now he would never get the chance. He decided to start walking towards the king’s house. Maybe he let him join the fighters. He passed a man yelling “Come to the war meeting in the town square!” Craggie quickly changed direction and headed towards the town square. When he got there the place was packed to seams with all sorts of warriors from berserkers to archers. He heard loud voice preaching his thoughts to the crowd. He quickly started shoving through to try and see who was speaking. Unfortunately he was getting nowhere. He decided he must take another route if he wished to see the speaker. He looked for something tall that he could to the top of. As he was looking around he had also been backing up. Unfortunately there was a tree in his path and he backed right into it. He turned around and looked at it. It would not be the easiest tree to climb but it would have to do. He clumsily grabbed one of the branches and climbed up. When he got as high as he could he turned and faced the speaker. It was exactly who he thought it was. It was the man who had called himself the jarl of this town. He stood up there in the most beautifully designed armor Craggie had seen. Unfortunately it would also probably not last a day in a real battle. It was simply ceremonial. He bet the Jarl could not even fight. The Jarl was yelling in a loud and boisterous voice. From what Craggie catch of it considering he had missed the beginning of the speech and was so far away from the speaker he interpreted that the king wished to have the warriors defend the field in front of the town, which was stupid because that field would be impossible to defend. The battle would quickly become a massacre. Craggie shouted at the top of his lungs “That plan won’t work you fool! You know nothing of battling do you, if we try to defend the field than we will be giving them the advantage!” “Where do you suggest we meet them at then?” asked the Jarl in a surly voice. “At the old ruins by the beach, there we might actually have a chance of winning.” answered Craggie. “That would be cowardly. We would be running away from them to reach those ruins!” yelled the Jarl “Say what you wish but it is the only way we could possibly win.” answered Craggie. “Nobody will follow you, you filthy wretch of a beggar!” yelled the Jarl. “If you wish to win then follow me. If you wish to die in vain than listen to your petty Jarl and stay here!” shouted Craggie to the crowd. Then he jumped down and headed for the ruins. The Jarl yelled "Stop!" Craggie turned to look at him. The Jarl ran over to him and drew his sword. It glowed elegantly in the light.

"You are not going to take warriors from my town. If you wish to leave you will have to go through me." said the Jarl. Craggie smiled and drew his sword. The Jarl leapt at him and swung his sword. Craggie quickly blocked it. The Jarl brought his sword back and stabbed at Craggie with it. Craggie jumped out of the way and hit the Jarl's hands with the flat of his blade. The Jarl dropped his sword. "I yield."

"Vikings never yield!" said Craggie and kicked the Jarl in the jaw. Then he slowly walked away as the Jarl's guards watched him anxiously.

About a third of the people there chose to follow him. Craggie wondered if it would be enough. There was still a chance though. Maybe more people would change their minds and go after him. He hoped he was right.

The crowd followed him to the ruins in an ungainly manner. They often stopped get possessions and family members. Also some other people joined them in their journey to the ruins. The crowd contained all manners of people from the rich to the poor. Among his followers were Fralleg and Hugnnerland. It was nearing nightfall and they still had a ways to go before they reached the ruins so they decided to make camp. They posted sentries around the camp. Craggie took first watch despite many objections. His followers argued that leaders should not take part in tasks that should be done by those lowest in rank. Craggie said that in this army tasks shall be shared equally. Finally the followers just gave up on arguing. Craggie did not mind taking watch. He needed to think anyway. He needed to decide on a winning strategy for his army. While his mind pondered options he thought he heard the noise of running feet, than he spied a strange figure in the moonlight. It seemed to be impossibly tall. As it got closer it form started to resemble that of a man. Craggie grabbed a torch from a nearby fire. When the figure drew close enough he brought the torch near the figure head so he could attempt to tell who it was. The figure was the thrall he had freed in the field. Somehow he had found the army. Craggie asked “what are you doing here?” The thrall answered “I want to fight the English!” Craggie asked “What be your name?” The thrall answered in steadfast voice “Sluggard Clod” “Well you came to right place. Now I suggest you find somewhere to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be along day.” Clod said “Thank you” quickly and walked off into the darkness.

Eventually Craggie figured it was time to wake the next sentry. After he shook the man awake and told him it was his turn, he found a nice patch of grass and using his pack for a pillow he fell asleep. That night he horrible dreams that the ground was shake and starting to create great ravines and rockslides. Then he felt a slight nudge in the stomach. He ignored it. Then he felt another nudge only this one was harder and it woke him right up. He opened his eyes to find Ibn standing over him. Ibn’s body glistened in the early morning sun. Clod reached out his hand for Craggie to grab and said “It’s time to get up sir”. Craggie grabbed it and pulled himself up. “Don’t call me sir, my name is Craggie and I prefer that.” “I’ll remember ‘hat.” said Clod. “Let’s get a move on, I want to reach those mountains before nightfall.” yelled Craggie. “You heard him, let’s move iiitt!” bellowed Clod in the loudest voice Craggie had ever heard. All around him all of men stumbled up as fast as they could. Than with Craggie and Clod in the lead they started moving once again towards the ruins.

By midday they could actually see the mountains in the distance. Their pace became much quicker once they had a goal to shoot for. By Craggie’s prediction they should be able to make it to the ravine that would lead them to ruins by nightfall. As dusk drew closer their pace started to slacken. The mountains did not seem to be getting any bigger. Before they knew it, it was nighttime and they still had not reached the ravine. Craggie was kept up all night by intense worrying. He still had no idea about what do when the English came. He had never led an army into battle and this was his first battle in over thirty years. He was also worried about what had happened to Marle. He had been the first Viking born in their town of Whaledom. His father had been named Wycliffe and he had mated with a native of Greenland. We found her wondering around by herself. Odd furs had cloaked her body. We took her to our town and made her a citizen. Eventually she learned some of our language. She told us her name but nobody could pronounce it. Her and Wycliffe fell in love and had a baby boy which they named Marle. Sadly the Greenland lass died in childbirth and Wycliffe died just a few days later from an odd sickness. Luckily though there was a family that was willing to take him in. They treated him well and he grew into a fine man despite the facts that he was rather rash and one of the worst fighters in the whole town. His whole life he had never won a mock fight. Still Craggie had known him well and he was worried about what had happened to him.

At dawn he awoke to a beautiful sunrise despite the immense fog. Different shades of blues, reds, pinks, and oranges shined brightly in the sky. After a bit of watching the sun rise Craggie started waking people up. Today they would reach the ruins. Once they got there they would have to start preparing it for battle. The English would most likely reach the ruins soon. Once everybody was up and had eaten breakfast they started marching towards the ruins. They reached the ravine that led to the ruins by midday. After stopping for a hasty lunch they continued on through the ravine to the ruins. While they were walking Craggie hit upon an idea that might keep the English army from coming through the ravine. Once they reached the ruins he told Ibn to get all the warriors and tell to meet him by the back of the ruins in a few hours. It was time to make a battle plan and he would need all of his warriors present in order for it to work.

When the time for the meeting had arrived all the men and a few of the women who had followed Craggie to the ruins were at the meeting place. Craggie walked in front of the crowd and called for silence. Everyone just kept on carrying on their own little conversations. He tried calling for silence again and still everybody kept talking. “Quiet you fooolllls!!!!” yelled Clod. Everybody became as silent as the wind. No noise could be heard except for the clatter of shifting feet. “Do all of you who are gathered here wish to fight?” asked Craggie in a booming voice. “YES!” they all yelled in unison. “Good, I have a plan that might be able to hold the English scum off for a while. Still even if it works the English will still most likely attack us in time. We need to be ready. Every able bodied man and woman here needs close combat weapons. The smiths who are gathered here I want you to make weapons for them. Everyone shall get a short sword and a shield, if you prefer another weapon than simply ask one of the smiths here to make it instead of the sword and shield. Also I want all of you smiths to work together so the weapons can be made faster. Those of you who are skilled with a bow I want you to make as many arrows as you can. Also I would like you to teach some of the older and younger men how to use a bow. Many archers will be needed if we wish to defend this place. Also I want all of the stone masons here to get to work on the walls. They need some repairs if they are to defend us from the English. We also need skilled carpenters to get to work on some catapults. I want some of the carpenters and the people who aren’t archers or smiths or stone masons to meet me here tomorrow morning with their tools and climbing equipment. Now get something to eat and get some rest!” Craggie walked away from the crowd and towards a tent that he had set up earlier. He grabbed a blanket and rolled it up so he could use as a pillow. Then he fell asleep.

When he got to the meeting place it was already crowded with people. He got in front of them and told them to get into teams. Then he said “I want each team to tie one rope to each of their teammates’ waist in a line so that if someone falls we don’t lose them.” Okay let’s get started.” Craggie and the rest of the people started climbing to steep cliff. Before they got very far one of the men lost his handhold and fell. Luckily thanks to the rope that was tied to him, they were able to pull him up until he found another handhold. This happened many more times during their climb. Each time though they were able to save the person. It was slow going at first. Once they got the hang of it though they were able to keep a good pace. By midday they had reached the top. Once Craggie made sure that they had not lost anybody they sat down and enjoyed a nice, well earned lunch.

Once they were done with their meal Craggie got the men up and they started walking again. They were heading to the area where the ravine was. It took them a while but eventually they got the edge of the ravine. Then Craggie yelled “Men I want you to find as many big boulders as you can and bring them here, if you can carry it by yourself than it is too small. Carpenters, I want you to find some good trees that we can use as levers. Now get to it!” the men dispersed in a scramble to find the boulders. Craggie went with them. When he saw a group of four struggling to move a gigantic boulder he went over and helped them push it. With all five of them pushing they were able to get the boulder rolling. They rolled to the edge of the ravine and use some small rocks to keep it from rolling. In no time they had brought about twenty boulders to the ravine. Now all they needed was the levers. Unfortunately the carpenters were still not back yet. After what seemed forever pone of them finally came running towards them. “Craggie we can’t find any wood sir!” he said urgently in a nervous voice. “That is all right I think I saw some trees I will show you guys where they are. Get the rest of the carpenters to come here. And don’t call me sir!” The man ran to go get the other carpenters.

Once the man had brought the other carpenters, Craggie led them to where he saw the trees. When he got to the edge of the rounded edge he pointed down wards. A little ways down the slight hill was a huge forest. There seemed to be no end to the trees. “I want you to have your strongest to climb all the way down there and cut down twenty trees. Then you are going pass each of those trees up here. Men will be posted on different parts of the cliff in order get the logs all the way up here. I will go get the rest of the men so they can assist you guys.” Craggie went to go get the rest of the men. Using the system that Craggie had devised they were able to get the trees to the top of the cliff and over to where the rocks in almost no time at all. Once they got there he selected twenty men that would the first shift. They were going to watch for English and when they saw them then they would trigger the avalanche on them. There turn would be over in by tonight and then he would send the next watch. Then they would keep rotating the men. The rest of the men he brought back to the edge of the cliff that they had climbed up. He asked them to tie all of their ropes together this time and make single team. Then he hammered the e middle of the rope down with a peg and threw one end down to the bottom of the cliff. They would bring the other end down with them. When he got to the bottom he and the men made a crude pulley lift using the left over wood. Now the men could get to the top easier when they changed watches.

Nothing was spotted by the sentries for the first couple of days. During this the stone masons were hard at work repairing the walls to the ruins. So far the carpenters had made two catapults and they were almost finished with the third one. Meanwhile most of the warriors had weapons and a lot of the warriors were hard at work sparring or practicing their archery. Craggie noticed that Ibn was not among them. After a bit of searching he found Clod helping the masons with the walls. His immense strength was a great asset that they used to help them on some of the more difficult sections. He asked one of the masons if Ibn could take a short break so he could talk to him. The mason said “Aye sure, he needs a break any way.” Craggie called him over and said “I appreciate all of the help that you are giving to the masons.” Clod said “They looked like they could use the help Craggie and I like to keep myself busy.” “Ibn have you seen the smithies and got your weapon yet?” asked Craggie. Ibn looked around nervously “Ugh, No I haven’t sir.” “Well then let’s go there now.” said Craggie. They walked at good pace toward the smithy. When they got there Craggie asked if he could see Billy. Billy was skilled blacksmith and knew his trade well. When Billy came over Craggie asked him “Have you made a halberd before my good man?” Billy responded “As a matter of fact I have made a couple of those.” Well then, I would like you to make one for my friend here.” said Craggie pointing toward Clod. “Alright sir, Clod now if I could see you I can take some measurements” “I’ll come in and ‘help ya good man.” Clod said. When Clod went over and stood next to Clod and started jumping around and trying to get his height and arm length it was hilarious. First off Billy was a stumpy man with balding red hair, 2 chins and a chubby but surprisingly muscular body. Also Clod was twice the height of Billy. Try as he might Billy couldn’t even jump close to high enough to get the measurements. Eventually he had to go get a stool. After he gotten the measurements he announced in a sure voice “Good sirs, I shall have this halberd ready for ya in about three days. You won’t be disappointed. Now off with ya and let me get to work!” Craggie and Clod quickly shuffled out and after seeing that was near midday they decided to go and try find something to eat.

After they were done eating Clod went back to go help with the wall and Craggie went to see if the carpenters needed some help with the catapults. The rest of the day dragged by at a snail’s pace and at nightfall most of the Vikings went to sleep including Craggie and Clod. The only ones who didn’t were the ones that had the night watch at the ravine. In the morning Craggie was awakened by a short stumpy, little man with a chubby face. He was pale and had bolding dirty blond hair. He was dressed in a simple tunic and breeches. He spoke in an annoyingly high pitched voice “Sir, our supplies are starting to run low sir.” Craggie massaged his forehead and shook his head. He knew this would happen sooner or later. He had just not expected it to happen so soon. “What is your name?” he asked. The man answered “Nathanial sir” “Well Nathanial start rationing the food and drink that we got. I’ll get some of the women and men to plant some crops. Spring is starting anyway. I will also send out some hunting and fishing parties.” replied Craggie. But sir that might not be enough.” said the man. “I know but what else can we do. We can’t just magically make food appear. Now get back to work.” The man left in a hurry. Craggie went out the door and headed for the carpenters. When he got there he was surprised to find that they had completed four catapults. He got a hold of the man in charge and told him to pick a few to go collect the best hunters and fishers among the people that were in the ruins. He then went to the men that were sparring and told them to follow him. He went and gathered most of the women that were inside the ruins and all the farming supplies and seeds he could find. He brought them to some fields and told them to get to work on planting the crops. He then went to the supply center where the rations were given out. He found Nathanial and told him to try and get all the people who had brought farm fowl or cows to start getting milk and eggs to the supply center. He then went back to where the carpenters were. By now a group of thirty men of all shapes and sizes had gathered in front of the catapults. They were caring bows, arrows and fishing equipment. He told them to go west to the beach and see if you can get some food. He told them that it didn’t matter what they caught just that they brought something edible back. With those encouraging words they left and went to see what they could find. It was nearing midday and Craggie stomach was beginning to growl. He ran to get some breakfast. He hoped that they had some good food left.

It was a few days before the hunting party returned. Meanwhile the men and women kept preparing for battle. Including the hunting party there were roughly one thousand and nine hundred men willing and able to fight and about seven hundred women. Still they would most likely be vastly outnumber by the English force that they would soon do battle with. Craggie though had a plan that might even their chances. It was risky but if pulled off it would devastate the English army. All of the parts of the trap were set; they were just waiting for the English to come to be triggered. On the fourth day after the hunting party had left Craggie found Clod in the smithy. He was holding a giant halberd in his hands. The handle was three meters long and made out of mainly driftwood along with some pine and other woods. The axe head was twice the size of Craggie’s head and made out of iron. The spearhead was about a foot long and both the edges and the point where razor sharp. Clod was eyeing it almost uncertainly. Craggie realized why. He asked Clod“Son, have you ever used a weapon before?” Clod looked at him nervously and answered truthfully “No sir I haven’t” “Well then I got teach you then.” Craggie responded. Clod looked stunned. Craggie said in a gruff voice “Well don’t just sit there with your mouth agape. We haven’t got all day, Come on! And don’t call me sir, I prefer Craggie!” Craggie then walked out the door and Ibn after a moment of hesitation followed him outside.

Craggie kept walking till they got to a big open field. He pulled his odd double-headed spear weapon out of its sheath which was strapped to his back. Ibn stood a few feet away and was trying to figure out how to hold the halberd right. So far he was failing miserably. He didn’t want to ask for help either because that would be embarrassing. Craggie, after watching Clod struggle for while and laughing as Clod fumbled around with the weapon, decided to try and help him. He walked over to Ibn and said “you couldn’t fend off a chicken holden’ a halberd like that boy!” He then walked over by Clod and moved his hands to the right place. After that he showed him how to thrust with it and also how to swing at a target with the axe-head. Then he showed him how to follow through, block and thrust and swing the weapon in one smooth stroke. Also he told that he had to keep his feet planted. It was a grueling and agonizing process but Ibn was a willing student and eventually he was able to use the weapon on his own okay. Craggie then took a couple of steps back and yelled “Now, let’s see what you are capable of!” Craggie then leaped forward his weapon brought back. Ibn was taken by surprise but somehow he was able to get himself together. He thrust his halberd forward and blocked Craggie’s from getting near him. Craggie landed a little off balance and then he swung his weapon at Ibn again. He quickly blocked it. Craggie kept the same strategy for a while. He just kept hacking at Ibn and somehow kept blocking. Craggie even tied thrusting his weapon towards Ibn but he still was unsuccessful. Ibn was at a serious disadvantage though. ‘Cause of his weapon’s long handle he could not attack Craggie when he was this close. Finally Craggie did a little trick move in which he thrust one of his spearheads forward and then when Ibn swatted it away he used the Ibn’s momentum to bring his other spearhead at Ibn. This caught Ibn off guard and Craggie was able to bring his spearhead within a few inches of Ibn chest. He then lightly tapped Clod’s chest and said “You got to be prepared for moves like that. If this was a real fight you would be dead now.” Craggie didn’t want this fight to be over yet though. He brought his weapon back and swung it at Ibn again. This time when Ibn blocked the swing he thrust Craggie backward a steps. Now Ibn was out of Craggie’s weapon’s range of attack. Ibn, now having the advantage because of his weapon’s long handle, swung his axe-head at Craggie. He yelled “Arrggghhh!” as he swung the weapon. Craggie was able to block it. Ibn just kept on yelling his battle cry and hacking at Craggie. Craggie blocked him easily every time. Craggie could not get close enough to attack Ibn though because Ibn’s fierce attacks kept him at bay. Ibn, getting tired off this, thrust his weapon towards Craggie. Craggie swatted the spearhead away before it got to him. Ibn also tried some thrust and swing combinations but these also failed to penetrate Craggie defenses. Ibn started to tire out. His swings lost much of their power. Craggie after seeing this blocked his swing and ran at Ibn. He was able to get to Ibn before Ibn could block him. He then announced that they were done for the day. Ibn yelled “No were not!” and backed up and started swinging and thrusting at Craggie again. Ibn did this till he fell over with exhaustion. Craggie then went and helped him up. He said “You are going to hurt yourself if you don’t be careful. Now let’ get some food and water in ya.” He then helped Ibn walk to the supply building to get some well earned food and rest.

The next day they practiced again and Craggie also gave a few of the other inexperienced fighters some advice and taught them how to use their weapons. Also he helped a bit with the archers. Quite a few of the archers were women and they were good archers too. They were also a few women willing to fight with swords and shields. Craggie was fine with them fighting as long as they listened to orders and didn’t hinder the other soldiers. So far these women were proving to be quite able fighters. Many of them could also beat some of the men in mock battles. He found Fralleg and Hugnnerland and they were willing to help him teach some of the new troops. He also found some more experienced fighters who were willing to help out with the teaching. He was planning to make some of them regiment leaders when he started assigning positions and regiments for the fighting that was to come. A few days after Ibn’s first lesson the hunting party returned. They brought with them tons of meat and fish. They also said that they had more that they had to go back and get. With this newly acquired food they raised the rations a little bit and made everybody happier. They also liked the fact that meat had been added to the menu.

The rest of the day went smoothly with few setbacks. In the Craggie awoke early and went to go get some breakfast. He was eating like he hadn’t eaten in days when he was interrupted by a skinny young man with a little goatee who looked liked he hadn’t eaten in forever. “Sir, a group of people has been spotted traveling towards the ravine that leads to us!” he said in a stuttering voice. Craggie got up in a flash and said “Come on let’s go!” They ran at breakneck speed to the pulley lift and got on. The men who were stationed at the pulley started heaving like mad and the lift started creaking upwards. While they were traveling upwards Craggie asked the man his name. He responded “Willick sir.” “You can stop calling sir now okay, my name is Craggie.” said Craggie. “I know your name.” Willick said. When they got to the top Craggie ran towards the edge like a madman. When he got within seeing distance he saw a group of man standing around a spyglass. Behind him he could hear Willick trying to catch up. Eventually although it took a while they reached the group. Standing there were three men Craggie had met yesterday at dinner. Their names were Thanesbane, Reb, and Gillifert. Thanesbane and Gillifert were both skinny and taller than Craggie by about a head and had long messy hair. Thanesbane had blond hair and Gillifert had red hair. Reb on the other hand was shaped like a barrel and had a rapidly balding head with grey hair. Craggie grabbed the spyglass and looked through it. Far away he saw a blurry group of people and animals. When they got close enough he saw that they were waving a white flag. Craggie grabbed Reb and asked him “Do you recognize any of those people?” Reb peered through and said “Why it’s Wilfred and Caleb and…” he went through a long and lengthy list before he finally stopped. Then he said “There is also quite a few thralls among them and I don’t see their masters” Craggie responded “That’s all right we all ready have quite a few freed thralls among us.” He then peered through the glass and took a good look at them. Most of them were clothed in rags and looked ill fed. He could see a bunch of donkeys, mules, oxen and goats among them. A few also seemed to be carrying chickens. He looked towards and told him “Let through, we need all the men we can get” The word was quickly spread to all of the men posted at the boulders. They all started yelling with joy. Quite a few of them had left their families behind in the city and told to catch up later. Finally now they were here. As the rest of the men jumped around and cheered Craggie wondered how the town they had left behind was fairing against the English. He hoped they were still fighting strong.

Once the new group entered the ruins, Craggie went to go talk to them. He went up to one of the men in the group and asked him “How is the town fairing?” The man looked quizzically at Craggie and then answered in a sad solemn voice “We are being decimated. There seems to be no end to them. We were vastly outnumbered. For every one we killed two more would take their place. Most of the people left can barely fight. We decided that if we wanted to survive our best chances lie with you. There are still some warriors there fighting to protect the town of Thorenhall but they will not last long. They the English will destroy them and what is left of the town any day now. Then they will come to these ruins and try to kill us!” His body was shaking uncontrollably throughout this speech and he seemed to be fighting back tears. The rest of the group wore haggard faces and looked like they would never be happy again. Hopefully that would soon pass. He looked at them long and hard and said “You guys look hungry and tired. Why don’t you go get some food? The supply station is right there. Then get some rest and in the morning we will make battle plans” He pointed towards to old building where the supplies were kept. They started walking towards it in a hurry. They seemed anxious. He went to go get some food himself and started pondering on what kind of plan he would use. He knew his little army was no near ready to fight the English in a full-scale battle. They needed to delay them. And he knew just how to do it.

In the morning he called a meeting in the general center of the ruins. It took awhile but eventually all of the people were gathered before Craggie. He told them that first order of business was to choose some people to lead different groups in the army. He told them that he was going to let them vote on these because he knew that he wanted them to follow him they would have to be lead by people they trusted. It took awhile but eventually they chose seven leaders. Three of these leaders would lead different groups of the townsmen who going to fighting hand to hand with the enemy. Unsurprisingly, Reb was among these three men. The other two were DrenHolden and Fienberg. DrenHolden was a burly man with an impassive face and short buzzed hair. Fienberg was a skinny man with a long mustache and a bald head. Both appeared to be able fighters. One other leader would help lead the archers and slingers. The man chose for this job was Willick. Apparently he was fine archer. They also chose someone to be in charge of the catapults, burning cauldrons, and other weapons of defense that needed special engineering skills to make. The man chosen for job was Brickholdenferd who was of the stone masons who had helped repair many sections of the wall. He was of a slightly below average height with a raggedy beard and bright red hair mangy hair. He appeared older than he was because his hair was thinning and had grey spots in it. The next leader to be chosen was the one who would lead the Berserkers. They chose Hugnnerland to be their leader. Many of the freed thralls had also chosen to fight in this group. The last group that needed a leader was the smallest. This group contained all of the women willing to fight plus some very young men, a couple thralls, and few unskilled older men who needed a lot of training. A lady named Farina was chosen to lead this last faction. She had stunningly red hair, a tall figure, and a large bosom. Craggie had found out by watching her fight a little that she was very capable fighter. Now that the leaders of the different groups or factions of the army were chosen it was time for Craggie to reveal his plan.

Chapter Five

He cleared his and yelled in a booming voice “I bet a lot of you have been wondering what we are going to use those large rocks for on the cliffs by ravine. Well I’ll tell you what were going to do with them. We are going use them to trigger a rockslide. This should block ravine and keep the English from getting to us. We also might to deplete their numbers by sending the rocks down to them while they are trying to get through the ravine. This only a delaying tactic though. If done right it will give us time to better ourselves to fight them head on. For even with the ravine blocked they can still get to us through from the beach. Also they might be able to get to us through the caves. I don’t think they will trey the latter for it has little chance for success. Still we must be ready and consider all possibilities!” The people in front of him looked stunned for second. Then they started cheering laughing. They seemed to find the idea of bringing a mountain down upon the English invigorating and funny. A lot of them appeared anxious. Craggie just hoped this risky plan worked and that few deaths on their side would result from it. He also wondered vaguely if they would be able to keep the rockslide somewhat under control. It would be a disaster if they couldn’t.

The next couple of days dragged by at a sluggish pace, many of the new warriors underwent extensive training in fighting techniques and skills. It was a long and grueling process but slowly many both the men and women developed into able fighters. They also made many improvements on the fortifications of the ruins. Craggie spent many long hours finalizing his plan and trying to decide on who should man the rocks and who should guard the ravine and cut down any enemies that make it through the rockslide. He finally decided that all of the factions except for the Berserker faction would be posted somewhere on the cliffs over the ravine. The berserkers would guard the end of the ravine and make sure that no enemies made it to the ruins. The other factions would provide the manpower needed to send the rocks over the cliff edge and into the ravine. The engineering faction would also think of and put to use devices that should make the rockslide more catastrophic for the English. These devices included large barrels of boiling salt water and large barrels of animal blood. These devices might drown or simply terrify the English forces. These devices were being assembled and gathered at this very moment. Many of the men and women were getting anxious for the battle to begin.

On the fifth day after the group of townspeople and thralls had arrived a second group of people was spotted by the morning watchmen. This group was much larger in size and garbed in red and white. Craggie was called up to take a look at them. What he saw stunned him and left him speechless. The line of people seemed to be endless. The group was so large that it was nearly impossible to pick individual people among the teaming mass of soldiers. Many flags and banners flew above the massive army. One symbol that was unmistakable was the massive White Cross against a red background that adorned many of these banners and flags. These people were unmistakably the English forces that they knew were coming for them. Compared the teaming mass of uncountable numbers that was the English force, the army that was assembled to guard the ruins only contained about five thousand people with only about two thousand of them willing and able to fight. They were vastly outnumbered and in a head on battle and would quickly lose. Their only hope was to use the walls of the ruins that they had helped to rebuild to their advantage. Their chances were slim but with this risky maneuver that were about to perform their chances might increase. After peering at the opposing force for a while Craggie ordered all of the warriors to get to their posts. It was time for the battle to begin. Craggie quickly went down the lift and ran to where the Berserker faction was assembling. He would be helping them fight today because their part needed to be done right in order for this to work. Also a huge horn that ran that was set near the cliffs was going to be used to signal the beginning of the rockslide. The men near Craggie appeared nervous. Among them were Ibn, Hugnnerland, and Fralleg. Fralleg paced around behind Craggie while Hugnnerland was kneeling on the ground and sharpening his huge sword. Ibn stood still as stone a few feet in front of Craggie and seemed to be meditating. Craggie went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Ibn turned his head and looked at Craggie. Craggie asked in a low voce “Nervous?” Ibn peered at him for long time and responded “Sir, this be something I’ve been waiting a long time for so why should I be nervous?” Craggie looked at him and responded “No reason. Now remember what I taught ya. And stop calling me sir. I don’t like it!” Ibn chuckled and said “Sorry, old habit.” He then walked forward to the end of the ravine. The day seemed to crawl by. Many of the men passed the time by playing card games. Finally with the sun low in the sky some men in armor were spotted by Ibn and Craggie. They wore the symbol of the cross upon their chest. Craggie pulled his double headed spear out of its case and started whirling it around. The men that were playing cards put them away and took out their weapons carefully so they did not make too much noise. Hugnnerland got up from where he was kneeling. Fralleg was swinging his massive war hammer back and forth. Ibn stood erect with his Halberd balanced beside him like a staff. Finally the English men spotted the fierce looking fighters and drew their swords. They raised them over their heads, yelled “Forr the Kingg!!!!” and charged towards Ibn. Behind them came an unending line of men with crosses on their chest. Ibn brought his halberd back and held it like one would hold a giant axe. His ground his bare feet into the ground and growled. When the men reached him he swung the halberd at them with all his might. He opened his mouth and let out a long and loud yell. His halberd went straight through two of the men, cleaving them in half at the waist. The rest of the English tried desperately to get around Ibn. A few managed to slip by him and one headed right towards Craggie. One man quickly brought his sword down upon thinking him an easy kill. Craggie brought his spear and easily blocked the blow. The man brought his sword back and swung it at Craggie again and again. Craggie blocked every swing effortlessly. The man even tried changing the angle of his swing but Craggie was undaunted. Then an earsplitting sound cut through the air. It was the signal horn being blown. The man must of grown anxious and signaled before he gave the order. The man Craggie was battling with was distracted by the sound and looked for source. Craggie quickly cut him down while his attention was held by the horn. “UUUUGGGGHHHHH!” a loud grunt broke through the air from the top of the ravine. Boom! Thump! A loud chorus of sounds vibrated and echoed through the air. The ground seemed to shake from the very force of the noise. Huge masses of rock and dirt rained down upon the English that were in the ravine. They were crushed and flatted by the rockslide. Earsplitting yells, screeches and howls of pain cut through the air. Red and clear liquid joined the barrage of rocks along tons and tons of mud. The English panicked like mad and rush to escape the falling debris. Horses and other animals broke free from their masters and stampeded in the direction of the Main English army in an effort to survive. Many of the English were cut down by other English soldiers in their effort to escape the ravine. Many of the English also headed for the Berserkers. Many of them were quickly cut down by Ibn. None seemed to be able to get past his quick moving halberd. The English were barely over half his height and he cut through them like a farmer cutting through wheat. A few were able to get past but all of those were killed by the berserkers. Fralleg was yelling “YYYYAAARRRRGGGHG!” in a loud voice and swinging his hammer like lightning upon his foes. He seemed to just barrel through masses of the English. Hugnnerland was gracefully hacking through many of the English solders. Craggie was a blur of movement as he quickly swung his double-headed spear around. Eventually the number of English fighting the berserkers went down until they were only a few left. One of these soldiers headed for Craggie. He swung his giant sword at him fearlessly. He moved so fast that it was hard to see him. Craggie had a hard time just blocking his barrage of blows. Many times Craggie had to jump back or duck in order to dodge a blow. Craggie noticed something about the man though. He moved slowly his blows seemed weak. Finally he made a mistake. When he swung his sword at Craggie, Craggie quickly blocked and shoved it away. Then he thrust the spear towards the man and stabbed him in the chest. Blood splattered everywhere. Craggie quickly pulled the spearhead out and the man fell over. Craggie looked around. Sweat beaded on his face and dripped down to the ground in a large puddle. There were no more enemies among the berserkers. They had won the battle for now.

Craggie stared at the giant pile of rock that now blocked the ravine. It was so tall that he could not even see the top of it. The sides were impossibly steep and slippery. There was no way the English were going to get over it. He had accomplished his goal. Now they would have to go around the mountains and come from the beach to the ruins or come through the caves. Either way it is a very long time before they got to ruins. Time he needed to train his men to fight. He looked over towards the berserkers. Among them only a few were injured and none were dead. Fralleg was clutching his stomach and one arm was soaked in blood; on closer inspection though that blood appeared not to be his. Hugnnerland stood near him and seemed to be drenched in sweat. It had been hotter than they had expected that day. Ibn stood near the rockslide leaning against his halberd. Craggie yelled in a cracking voice “Come on lads; let us get some water before we die of thirst!” A few of the berserkers laughed in loud parched tones. Then Craggie started walking towards the supply station where the water would be. The men quickly followed.

After the men got some much needed water and drinks they walked over to where the lift was. All of the people who had been up there to start the rockslide were now slowly making their way down in groups. People were also being lowered on long lengths of ropes. Still it would take forever for all of them to get down to ground level. Craggie and the berserkers offered as much help as they could. Eventually there were only about a hundred people left at the top of the ravine. Some people had decided to climb down the side of the ravine, not wanting to wait for the lift or the ropes. When they started to raise the lift for the final time, it started to make creaking noises. They slowly lifted it upward trying to avoid the side of the cliff. Despite this though it got snagged by a long a branch of one of the plants that was growing on the side of the cliff and they could not pull it up past it. The lift was stuck. They crazily swung the guide rope back and forth desperately trying to shake it loose but to no avail. Then they tried to pull it up through the branch. The rope started to stretch and the branch started to bend. Everybody stood staring at the rapidly thinning rope that was call that kept the lift from coming crashing down to earth. Sweat beaded on the brows of the men who desperately trying to pull the lift upward. They grunted and yelled in frustration. More people ran up to the rope and desperately tried to pull the lift free. Craggie, Ibn, Fralleg and Hugnnerland were now among them. Despite all of the grunting and tugging the lift still refused to budge. Snap! The rope broke right above the lift and came plummeting down to earth. All of the people quickly leapt out of its way. Boom! Snap! It hit the hard rocked ground and fell apart. The people just stood there staring in shock for awhile. They would have to make the next lift bigger, sturdier and be more careful with it. Luckily they still had the long ropes up there so the remaining people came down on those.

Slowly summer started to take hold. Days got longer, hotter and more humid. Rain was a rare thing that all strived for and wanted. The crops stood despite the drought and were able to survive on the water that was given to them. People did their jobs half heartedly and most just skipped training. One of the few ones who seemed to unaffected by the weather was Ibn. Craggie spotted him sparring one day with Hugnnerland. Hugnnerland was bare-chested and had a pair of worn knee-length breeches on. Ibn had on a beaten up bare of knee-length breeches and a rag that barely resembled a shirt. Both were bathed in sweat. Hugnnerland wielded his long sword as usual. Ibn however fought with a beaten up, rusted double-edged saw blade in place of his halberd which was leaning against a nearby rock. When they spotted Craggie they stopped and rested for a moment. Craggie walked up and asked “How’s the training going?” Hugnnerland answered “Well he is improving but he is having trouble adjusting to the short reach of his weapon.” “Okay Ibn let’s see what you can do.” Ibn and Hugnnerland got up and faced each other. Ibn held his saw blade in front of him and waited for the attack. He did not have to wait long. Hugnnerland quickly charged toward him with his long sword raised high. He jumped up into the air and swung his sword downward at Ibn. Ibn turned his saw blade sideways and brought it up effectively blocking the attack. Hugnnerland brought his brought his sword back again this time from the side. Ibn easily blocked him. Ibn then brought his blade forward swinging it sideways Hugnnerland. Hugnnerland quickly jumped backwards though avoiding the attack. Ibn wobbled forward and struggled to keep his balance. Using this to his advantage Hugnnerland quickly lunged at him. Ibn managed to regain his balance though and dodged it. Hugnnerland brought his blade back and swung it upwards at Ibn jumped backwards and the sword missed him barely, than he leapt towards Hugnnerland swinging his blade sideways at him. Hugnnerland blocked the swing easily leaving chest open to attack. Ibn kicked at him with his right leg. Hugnnerland dodged the kick and brought his blade forward and tapping Ibn on his chest with the flat of the blade ending the battle. Craggier walked towards them and said to Ibn “You need to get used to fighting with that saw blade because you won’t always be able to use your halberd.” Then he turned to Hugnnerland and said “I would like to see how good you are with that sword.” He then pulled his ancient curved sword out of the scabbard on his back. Hugnnerland ran towards with his sword held high. He let out a yell and swung downward in an arc. Craggie blocked easily. He thrust his sword forward and pushed Hugnnerland’s sword away. Craggie’s sword glowed with eerie black light that reflected the sun. It seemed impossibly smooth. Craggie leapt forward swung his sword downwards. Hugnnerland quickly brought his long sword up and blocked it. Craggie’s feet hit the ground with a thump. He quickly brought his sword back. Hugnnerland saw an opening attacked. His attack was easily blocked. Hugnnerland brought his sword backward and swung sideways at Craggie’s head. Craggie quickly ducked beneath it quickly. Hugnnerland then swung the sword at Craggie’s belly but Craggie dodged it easily. This continued on with Craggie dodging every attack. Finally after a while Craggie jumped over one of Hugnnerland’s thrusts and landed on the flat of the sword. Hugnnerland quickly dropped it. Craggie brought his sword forward and tapped Hugnnerland on the shoulder with the flat of his blade. “Nice try” he said. Craggie then slid his sword back into its sheath. He walked over and said “Continue on with your lesson, we are going to need every advantage we can get.” He walked away slowly and went to go get some food. Eventually summer turned to fall turned from to shades of red, yellow, brown and orange. The weather became cooler and windier. There was usually a slight breeze and people started to pick up the pace on fortifying the walls and building catapults.

One morning Craggie was rudely awakened by a loud knocking sound. He stretched, opened his eyes and walked to the tent entrance. Reb was there waiting for him. Craggie asked “Why did ya wake me up? The sun is barely even up!” Reb answered “A man was found in the caves by a few kids who decided they wanted to explore.” Craggie seemed more interested and awake now, “Who?” he asked. Reb answered” Well, we think it is a leper that left Thorenhall a long time ago but we are not entirely sure.” “Lead me to him.” said Craggie. Reb started walking towards the caves and Craggie followed. When they got an entrance to one of them Reb and Craggie went inside it. After a bunch of turns and narrow passages Craggie finally spotted the man. He sat lazily on the ground and was coughing like mad. Leprosy had had a long hold on him. He had only one ear. A fleshy stump protruded from his left shoulder where his arm should be. He had a crude peg-leg in place of his right leg. Scabs and bruises covered his motley-spotted skin. He had a black mop of mangy hair and wispy, thin beard. One of his eyes was clouded over while the other one was brown. He said in a low and raspy voice “What are you people doing in my cave? Kicking me out of the town was not good enough for you? Now you have come to terrorize … cough, cough, me some more?”

Craggie said “Just calm down now, the town that you were kicked out of most likely no longer exists.” “What you talking about old man?” asked the leper in bewilderment. Craggie responded by saying “The town was destroyed by the English. Some of us came here because it would be an easier place to defend. And my name is Craggie!” “The town got sacked, that’s too bad. Look I will you guys alone if you leave me alone and allow me to have some of your food alright?” said the leper. Craggie thought about for a long time and then said that it was a deal. As they walked away the leper slowly got up and yelled “By the way, my name is Kraumhammer!” After they got out of they got out of the cave and Craggie wandered off to go have breakfast. Kraumhammer came in when Craggie was halfway through his meal and grabbed a plate of food. He went over to old barrel and sat on it. He ate like a madman stopping only to gulp down some mead. In less than a few minutes he had finished his plate and went to get more. Craggie looked at him and wondered how much longer the old man could hold off his death. He finished his plate and then went go train some more. Before long it started getting cold and the trees became bare. The first snowfall of the year was not long in coming. To Craggie though this was nothing compared to how cold it got sometimes in Greenland. Most of the other men in camp though were freezing. Clod had found an old long cloak that he now constantly wore. He also seemed to fighting off a cold. The Berserkers were best suited for this kind of weather because their bearskin cloaks kept them warm. Most of the other people camp could not get much done and spent much time inside. Kraumhammer spent the whole time inside his cave and only came out for food. The men were restless and fights and brawls were quite common. Craggie managed to steer clear of them though.

One mock battle happened though that Craggie could not help but watch. On the first day that it had snowed that year DrenHolden challenged Reb to a fight. DrenHolden had called Reb a glutton and did not see why he had been chosen as one of the leaders. He looked like he had never fought a day in his life and before this in the town he had made his living making shoes and clothes. He had challenged him saying why these men should follow a person with no skill at all in fighting. Reb had after while agreed to the fight saying he would resign from his position if he lost. Reb had a small round wooden shield and a sort sword. DrenHolden had chosen to fight with a long sword. The men had been placing bets for a while on who they thought would win. Most had chosen DrenHolden as the winner for he was younger and larger in stature. The men had gathered around the battle circle watching the two men intently as they circled one another. DrenHolden paused for a second a second then lunged towards Reb thrusting his sword forward. It glanced off the front of Reb’s shield and made a loud clanging noise. Then without pausing to take a breath he brought his sword back and swung it sideways at Reb. Reb easily knocked the sword to the side with his shield and then swung his sword at DrenHolden’s side. He misjudged the distance though and his swing came up short. DrenHolden then pulled back his sword and swung it downward towards Reb. Reb crouched under his shield and trembled when the sword hit the shield. The shield made a loud cracking noise and for a second it seemed like it would break in two. Amazingly it held together and DrenHolden’s sword bounced off of it. DrenHolden backed away from Reb and prepared to charge. Reb stood his ground and stared warily at the other warrior. DrenHolden brought his sword back and charged towards Reb his face twisted into a grimace. Reb stood still with his cracked shield in front of him preparing for the charge. Then at the last second he leapt to the side nimbly dodging his opponent’s weapon. DrenHolden stumbled a little bit and then quickly turned and swung his sword at Reb. Reb let his shield take the full brunt of the blow. DrenHolden pulled his sword and swung it Reb again and again. He tried both sweeping and hacking motions but nothing could penetrate Reb’s defenses. He was starting to tire and wanted this fight over soon. He decided to change his tactic. Right after another one of his mad swings he quickly stepped back and lunged at Reb thrusting his sword at his belly. Reb quickly dodged the sword thrust and put his sword back in his belt. Then he quickly grabbed DrenHolden’s sword arm. Then he slammed his small shield down on hard on his opponent’s arm. DrenHolden flinched and dropped his sword officially ending the duel. He pulled his arm back to find that it was badly bruised. He picked up his sword and sheathed nit. Then he looked Reb in the eye and grumbled slowly “Good fight.” Then he turned and walked away quickly feeling embarrassed.

Reb walked home and next day he found Craggie eating a nice big breakfast. He decided to join him. He sat down and took some of the food from the center. It was good. Craggie was not eating any of it though. He asked “Why aren’t you eating anything?” “I am not hungry” he said. “Then why do you have all this food?” asked Reb. “I don’t know I thought it would make me feel better. I feel guilty about not being able to help my town.” Reb looked at him for a second and then said “Don’t worry they will be all right. Plus who knows maybe they will get here soon.” “Maybe, it should not be taking them this long though.” At that minute Kraumhammer walked in, grabbed some food and walked out. “Why do you let him stay? He was not kicked out because he was leper. It was because he was a thief. He does not belong among us.” Craggie stared at Reb and then said. “I’ll let him stay despite that. I think he might prove useful.” Reb shook his head “He’s not even a Viking. He’s one of the Old Ones, the people who lived on this island before we discovered it. They live mostly by hunting and gathering. He wondered into our village when he was young. Lived by begging mostly, did not take long though before he got greedy. He stole one of the Jarl’s chickens. Most people wanted to hang him after that. He’s lucky he just got banished.” Craggie said “That was a long time ago. Maybe he has changed his ways.” “All right, I am just warning ya if stuff starts disappearing you know who is to blame.”

Reb left soon after that. Craggie was in a bad mood and it could only get worse. It had been over five months since the English had attacked. He wondered why it was taking them so long to find the entrance that Craggie had come through, the one that faced the sea. Then a man ran past him screaming. He was headed for the supply center where Craggie was eating. The man burst through the door and said “Craggie men are headed this way. Nobody knows who they are but they do not look like the English. There are not enough of them!” Craggie got up and ran out the door with the man following him. He ran to the lift and the man next to it started hoisting it up. The man that had given Craggie the message jumped on as the lift went upward. Craggie looked at the man and realized it was Willick. When they reached the top they ran to where some men were standing around a looking glass. Craggie put his eye to one end and looked through it. He saw a group of men and women through it garbed in huge furs. Then he saw that his son, Bluebeard in the front of the group.

Chapter Six

They had a big feast to welcome the Craggie’s son, Bluebeard. In all there were about eighty newcomers to the fort. Fifty of them were battle hardened men and willing to fight. That brought their total number of fighters to somewhere near 22 hundred. Most of the fighters got drunk at the feast and many did not get much sleep. The next day Craggie went to go see his son. Bluebeard was a little taller than he remembered and now a full beard of blond hair. His eyes were an odd shade of blue and they seemed to be staring at something that was not there. Craggie sat down in of his son and asked him “What happened son?” He looked at Craggie and said “I do not Know father. Me and most of the other men were gone hunting. When we came back the town was destroyed. Not a single building was left standing. We found the people we had left behind in a cave nearby. They could not remember what had happened to the town. We packed all we had and took all of the boats but one and headed in an eastward direction. The boat we left behind was full of holes and would have sunk in minutes after leaving the harbor. It took a while but eventually we reached here.” Did you stop anywhere along the way? You took longer than it should have even with all those boats.” Bluebeard answered in a firm voice “We did stop in Iceland along the way but I regret the fact that we did. They cursed us and called us pagans, father. They said that they wouldn't give us food unless we relinquished the old ways and prayed to god. We soon left that place. Those cowards betrayed our beliefs and joined our enemies. I am proud to help you fight the English.” “Thank you, Son.” said Craggie “You have grown a lot in the time we have been apart. You will lead the men, from our city, which are willing to fight in the battle that is soon to come.” “Thank you father” said Bluebeard. At that moment somebody knocked at the door.

Craggie opened it to find Nathanial standing in front of him. He said “They have been spotted by the men at the spyglass Craggie! They will reach our walls by tomorrow morning!” Craggie yelled “Go alert the other leaders. Tell them to get there men ready. The English are here!” Nathanial ran to go tell the others. Craggie turned to his son and said “Get your men ready, tomorrow we fight.”

They moved the catapults on top of the old fort and set up facing the seaside entrance. There were six of them each about 20 feet long and able to throw a boulder about 150 feet. These catapults used tension to hurl the boulders into the air and looked rickety. Brickholdenferd stood by them along with his men and so did Willick with his archers. All of the fighting groups except the berserkers were below behind one of the fortress’s two doors. The berserkers were in front of the walls and hidden behind some rocks. Most of them were garbed in Bearskin cloaks and none of them wore armor. In fact most the men wore little more armor than an old, rusted mail shirt. Craggie himself wore a dark brown cloak with a hood that hid his eyes. It was getting dark and was unlikely that the English would reach the walls of the fortress before night fell. Most likely they would attack in the morning. Nobody could sleep that night for they were anxious of battle to come. Craggie was kept up by odd dreams that were from long ago. He had been in battles before but they were when he was young and they were skirmishes compared to what this one would be. Finally morning came and Craggie gave up on sleeping and ate his breakfast. After that he back on top of the fortress and started sharpening his double headed spear. Fog billowed out over the fort and covered everything. He had trouble seeing more than a couple feet in front of his face. It swirled around and showed no signs of dissipating. He did not want to fight a battle in this fog. Then out of the fog about six feet in front of him appear a ghostly figure. Its eyes were red with blood and they stared out at him from a bruised and burnt mess that was covered with dark brown hair. The figure had misshapen claws of burnt skin for hands and it wore an old battered cloak and an ancient pair of grey breeches. The figure had a pack on its back and a chipped hand axe hung from its belt. The figure looked like something from a nightmare. Then figure spoke in a cracking voice “They are coming through the caves! There is no defeating them for they shake the earth when they walk and blizzards follow them. They are coming to destroy us!” This last part he yelled and suddenly Craggie recognized the voice. The figure was Marle. Somehow he had survived and was able to make it here. Marle repeated the phrase “They are coming!” Then he gasped and his face turned pale. Craggie looked at Marle’s belly and saw an arrow protruding from his chest. Craggie rushed towards him but he could not reach him in time. Marle gasped again and then he felled backwards over the edge, plummeting downwards into the mist. Then a terrifying wail ripped through the air and Craggie shivered. He yelled as loud as he could “Get down”. Then through the fog came a barrage of arrows that covered the sky in front of him and fell like rain from the heavens.

He dropped down and covered his face with his cloak. He heard screams of agony behind him. Despite the fact that the archers were shooting blind many of the arrows had killed people. He got up when thought it was safe and yelled “Charge!” Then he grabbed a rope and climbed down the wall to the field. The fog was even worse down here. The two doors opened slightly and the warriors led by Reb, DrenHolden and Fienberg came out. Bluebeard’s group stayed behind to guard the left door while Farina’s group would guard the one on the right. The berserkers had gotten out of their hiding places and started to head to where the arrows were coming from. They came in barrages every few minutes and men stayed low avoiding most of them. Craggie twirled his spear around in a circle and caught any that headed towards him. He charged forward and finally in the distance he saw two English men. One had a giant long bow and the other had a huge shield and a short sword. Both were wearing lots of plate armor but neither was wearing a helmet. The man with the shield rushed at Craggie when he saw him. Craggie blocked the man first thrust easily. The man though was not deterred though and kept trying to get his deadly blade past Craggie’s spear. The man finally decided to use all his strength and he lunged at Craggie. Craggie dodged the blade then grabbed the man sword arm with one hand. Then he pulled the man close to him and stabbed in the side of the head with one end of his spear. It sliced right through man’s skull. Craggie then pulled it out and rushed at the unprotected archer. He killed him in one quick downward stroke. The fog though had been hiding the other warriors though and now a man rushed at Craggie’s back with a pike. Craggie quickly turned around and knocked the pike away from him. Then he rushed at the man and swung the spear at the man’s head. The man’s helmet clanged and the man fell forward. He then jumped over the man and went to engage the next fighter. To right of he saw DrenHolden charging madly at some Englishmen with his long sword held high. Arrows were stick out of his sides and blood coated most of his body. He leaped at one man and stabbed in the chest with his sword. The sword got stuck in the man’s chest though and he could not remove it. A man quickly stepped forward and cut off DrenHolden’s head. Craggie rushed over to DrenHolden and cut down the man who had beheaded him. Then another man rushed at him with an axe. He blocked the axe with his spear. He pushed the axe backwards and stabbed at the man. The man dodged the stab and swung at Craggie’s left side. Craggie blocked the swing with his spear. Then he kicked the man hard in the head. As he fell backwards Craggie stabbed him in the chest killing him swiftly. More men were coming now out of the fog towards Craggie. They eyed him warily before attacking. Then two of them wearing suits of armor attacked at the same time. He blocked both of their attacks with his spear. Then they both swung at his side and he quickly jumped over their swords. Their swords swung harmlessly under him. When he landed he turned sideways and started spinning his spear madly. It backed them up and then it stabbed in the groove under the man’s helmet. He fell over and the man attacked. Craggie blocked his blow and then swung his spear at him. It hit his armor but failed to penetrate it. Then Craggie kicked him hard in the chest. He fell backwards and then Craggie quickly stabbed him in the neck. The fog was starting to clear and he saw English warriors all around him. Ten of them attacked him at once. All he could do was dodge their many blows and he had no time to attack. Luckily he didn’t need to. Behind him heard a yell and Ibn and Fralleg appeared beside him. Ibn attacked first with a swing of his halberd at the enemies. It knocked many of them over as they tried to dodge it. More enemies were coming from the sides though and Craggie and Fralleg were forced to fight these men. The thinning fog spun around their legs eerily and then they attacked. Fralleg swung his hammer like mad knocking his enemies backwards for his hammer could bash though their swords and shields with ease. Craggie stabbed at the first man to come to him and his spear slid into his chest and out his back. He then pulled his spear out and attacked the next man. His arms were aching from their constant use but he ignored it. This man was quite skilled and wielded a huge mace. He swung it with all his might and Craggie was barely able to block it. Their weapons clanged against each other and the man smiled at Craggie and then he kicked him in the stomach. Craggie went flying back. He landed on his back with a thud. The man rushed at Craggie at and swung downwards at him. Craggie quickly rolled out its way. The man swung it down again and again. Somehow Craggie was able to doge it each time. Then he got lucky. The man’s mace somehow got stuck and he couldn’t pull it out. Then Craggie saw that that man had struck a dead body. Craggie got up and waited till the other man got his weapon free. Then he quickly stabbed him in the chest killing him instantly. The fog was slowly clearing. This was not a good sign for his army would be slaughtered when the fog cleared because then the English’s archers would be able to see their targets. This he realized with dread and ran towards the first English soldier he saw. He could now see a good distance in front of him. He quickly stabbed the man in the chest and then found one of his warriors. He told him to gather all the men he could find. He kept running up the hill and saw another English warrior. This held a short sword in one hand and shield in the other. He quickly charged at him. The warrior blocked his first thrust with his shield and then stabbed at Craggie. The man’s blade tore through Craggie’s cloak but did not pierce flesh. Craggie then bought his spear back and swung it at the other man. The man blocked it with then swung his own short sword at Craggie. Craggie blocked it quickly and then shoved the man’s blade backwards. The man stumbled and Craggie saw his chance. He quickly stabbed the men in the chest killing him instantly. Then he pulled his spear free and saw that the fog had cleared. Farther up on the hill he saw vague shapes that shined in the sun. Then he heard trumpets blaring and the ground started to shake. Then the shapes came pouring down the hill towards him. He realized that they were knights in full armor on horses, bearing lances. Then a strange figure leapt out of the mud in front of him and charged towards the lancers. Mud covered it and it ran up the slope like an animal holding a hand axe high in its right hand. The figure showed no fear and that filled him with courage. Than in the loudest voice he could muster he yelled “Charge!”

He quickly put his spear back in its holder on his back and then took his giant broad sword out of its sheathe. It shined eerily in the sunlight and the runes on it seemed to glow. This weapon would be much better suited to fighting horsemen then his spear would. It had more reach and was sharper. Unfortunately it was also heavier and more like to get stuck inside somebody’s body. He then ran forward towards the charging nights with their lances. Arrows flew down over the knights’ heads and then came him. He was luckily able to dodge most of them. One did hit him in the shoulder though. He quickly tore it out and kept on running. Ahead of him he could see the figure with the hand axe charging at the knights. As soon as the figure reached the first one it leapt on top of man knocking him of his horse. The horse fell over and all of disappeared under a maze of hooves. Craggie cut the legs off of the first horse that came near. The knight riding it fell and his wooden lance splintered. He quickly got to his feet and threw what was left of the lance away. Then he drew a long sword. The man approached Craggie and attacked. He had black curly hair and a fancy mustache. Sweat dripped from his face and he grinned madly. Craggie blocked his first swing easily. Then he pushed the man’s blade away and lunged at the man. The man dodged Craggie’s blade and swung his blade at Craggie’s side. Craggie leapt backward narrowly avoiding the blade. This man was faster than Craggie had expected. He swung at Craggie again and Craggie brought up his blade to block it. Their blades clanged together and then they pushed against each other, testing each other’s strength. The man was stronger and he shoved Craggie backwards. Craggie stumbled and the man lunged at him. Somehow Craggie was able to jump out of the way of the man’s blade. Then he quickly swung down cutting the man’s hand off. The man creamed in pain. Craggie bought his blade back and cut off the man’s head ending his misery. Then he moved on to confront his next enemy. Five men on horses were charging at him. Their armor shined in the sunlight and nearly blinded him. He covered his face with his hand. Then behind him he heard a faint whooshing sound. He quickly jumped backwards. Boom! A giant boulder slammed into the ground in front of him crushing the enemy knights. The enemy had finally gotten in range of the catapults. Now that the first one had hit more would be fired. Unfortunately the enemy still stood out of range of the bows. Then from his left he heard a loud growl. He looked over there and he saw Marl’s odd figure attacking three men at once. The men looked terrified and trying to defend themselves. In the end they failed for Marl fought like an animal and struck lightning fast. As Craggie watched him, he slowly realized what had happened. Marl had gone berserk and lost all control of himself. Anybody standing in his way would be killed. Craggie charged at a knight wearing black armor. The knight lowered his steel tipped lance and charged towards Craggie. He wore full plate armor and a helmet that completely covered his face except for a slit for him to see through. That slit was just a little longer than Craggie’s sword was wide. Craggie bought his sword back with both hands and tensed his muscles. Then when the night got within a few feet of him he leapt forward. He went sailing over the horse’s head and right at the knight. He quickly stabbed at the knight’s head with his sword. It slid through the helmets eye slit and ripped through flesh. The knight fell backwards and off his horse taking Craggie with him. Thud! Craggie landed with a smack on top of the knight’s body. He heard bones crack. He slowly stumbled to his feet than pulled his sword out of the dead man’s head. He used his cloak to wipe the blood off the blade. Then a giant of a man came towards him in rusty armor. It barely covered his chest and carried a massive morning star in his hands. He growled “You heathen scum! You die!” Then he brought back his morning star and charged. He swung the morning star at Craggie’s head. Craggie ducked, holding his sword one-handed. Then he quickly kicked the man in the face hard. Crack! The man stumbled backwards, his nose dripping blood. Craggie then rammed his sword into the man’s head and pulled it out quickly killing him instantly. Craggie started to tire. His old bones ached. As he looked around him he saw most his men struggling to fight the knights. Then he realized his mistake. His men would have been able to kill more men if they had stayed at the fort. Still there might be a chance to force the English back. Then he heard the hammering of hooves. He quickly turned around and dodged the horse that was charging at him. The rider wheeled the horse around and charged back at him. Craggie dodged him again and swung his sword at the horse’s side. It cut deep into the horse’s flesh and it stumbled. The rider fell off it and quickly got up. He then charged at Craggie his sword held high. Craggie block the first blow easily. The man then came at him with more for and sung his blade at Craggie’s chest. Craggie leapt backwards and prepared to jump. Then he saw a spearhead burst through his enemy’s chest. The man fell forward and Ibn stepped out from behind him. Wounds covered his body but none of them seemed severe or deep. Craggie croaked “Thank you.” He then told Ibn to yell as loud as he could for the men to gather here. Ibn bellowed in loud deep voice “Vikings to me!” They came as fast they could form a solid wall behind him. Craggie saw that a good number of his men had been slain. Then all of his leaders stepped forward except for DrenHolden who he had seen fall. He then nodded at them and yelled “Charge!” Unfortunately his voice was weak and hardly anybody heard him. Luckily his leaders yelled after him in a much louder voice. Then as a group they charged up the hill. The English fell before them and eventually started to retreat. The Viking’s lifted their weapons and cheered. They had won today’s battle. Unfortunately there would be much harder battles in the future.

Chapter Seven

Ibn sat next to an old tree trying anxiously to get to sleep. The battle had shaken his nerves more than it expected it would. He had felt fears that he had not felt in a long time. It reminded him of how he had come to live among the Vikings. When he was young, he had lived with his family in a country that is now known as Spain. He did not remember much for he was very young at the time. He did remember his mom’s love for him. He also remembered with clarity, the day his whole life changed. His dad had been fighting in a battle that had gone terribly wrong. The enemy stormed through the town looting and burning. They raped the women and killed the men. He remembered the fear in his mother’s eyes when those pale-skinned men beat door in and came rushing at her. He had stood there frozen with fear until her screams broke his daze. Then he realized she was telling him to run. So that’s what he did. He ran out the back door and towards the edge of the town. He ran through dark alleys until he found the walls of the city. Then leapt like a madman and clutched a vine that was growing on the wall. Then he used it to help him climb over the wall. Once he was over he ran for the woods. He ran till he fell over with exhaustion. Then his eyes closed and slept. He traveling like this for quite a while never staying in one place for very long. Eventually he reached the coast. The ocean fascinated him and he did not know what to make of it. He waded into but did not go in deep. After that he kept close to ocean as he traveled. Eventually he reached a monastery. He slept that night in a field not far from it. He awoke in the early morning to the familiar smell of burning wood and the screams of the monks. The attackers had long wild hair and all wore strange helmets. One of them grabbed him and took him aboard the ship. There he was tied up and given very little food. The next few days were nothing but misery. Eventually he was untied and led off the ship and to a house made of wood. A big, husky woman with blond hair and cruel eyes stood in front of him. From that moment onward his life became an endless cycle of pain and anguish. The cruel woman had forced him to work from sun up to sun down in the fields. Whenever he failed to do a good enough job, she laid out him on the racks and stretched him for hours. This happenedd frequently. That was part of the reason he was so tall. It had been that way for years till Craggie had rescued him. That is why he now fought. He owed the man for setting him free. He had heard of the English before he had been rescued but he had no reason not to like them just as he had no reason to like the Vikings. The only reason he fought them was because they were Craggie’s enemies. He did not regret killing them though. He just felt anxious about the battles to come. That is why he could not sleep. Clank! He heard crashing sounds coming from inside the walls of the fort that surrounded him. Apparently he was not the only that could not sleep.

Craggie was furious at himself. He should have known that he could not beat these enemies so easily. He had lost many men and if he continued to fight in the same manner he would lose many more. He would have to stop being offensive and start being defensive. Unfortunately he knew nothing about defending. All of the battles he had fought in had been raids or attacks on castles. Besides it all of those battles were many years ago and he had trouble remembering most of them. They still had a chance to win this battle though. The old fort was near twenty feet tall and would hard to scale, even with ladders. The doors would need to be barred shut and guarded. He could also keep hundreds of men on top of the walls for they were very wide. Behind the walls most of the stone buildings had been repaired and they were close together. There were also some trees inside the fortress. They had enough food and water for quite a few months because Craggie had stored the rainwater and the surplus from the crops. The land that the battle had been fought had been where their crops had been grown. That land was now useless. Tomorrow would be another long day of fighting. They would use mostly bows and catapults. He remembered that he had learned to make these devices after attacking a town when he was younger. They had one of these devices in order help protect the town. It did not do much good though for they lost the battle. Afterwards Craggie studied the thing and figured out how it worked. Now they had a few catapults of their own on top of the walls. They weren’t very big and could fire far but they might scare the enemy a little. They would have to be protected so the enemy couldn’t destroy them. This battle would have fought differently from any battle he had ever fought in. That would be his only chance for success. He decided he needed to get some sleep. He would need all of his energy for the next battle.

He slept like a log. When he awoke his arms were all stiff and cramped. He stretched slowly. Then he heard at the door. In came his son Bluebeard. His son was the exact opposite him. He had huge arms, was very tall and long thick hair. Strapped to his back were a long axe and a claymore. He walked over to Craggie and said “It will be light soon, you better get up.” Craggie yawned and said “I know. Go get the other leaders. We are going to decide on a strategy.” Bluebeard got up and left. Craggie slowly crawled out of bed and strapped his sword and his double ended spear to his back. He also grabbed his walking stick. His legs were not feeling good today. He walked out the door and went towards a big fire. Around the fire sat Bluebeard, Fienberg wearing a raggedy cap with a long sword strapped to his back, Reb his shield beside him and his short sword in his belt, Willick with his bright orange hair and bow, BrickHoldenford wearing only a pair of breaches and holding a large hammer, Hugnerland in his bearskin and covered in tattoos, and finally Farina with blazing long red hair wearing a tight fitting leather jerkin and billowing pants. Strapped to her belt was a long sword with a hand shaped into a raven’s head. There was a gap where DrenHolden should have been sitting. Unfortunately they could not find his body so that he could be given a proper funeral. He would remember his name with honor.

He walked over towards and said “This time our plan will very different from last time. Reb you will now be commanding the men left from Drenholden’s group. You and Fienberg will work on barricading the two doors so they cannot get through.” “What will the rest of us be?” said Willick. “We will be on top the wall, keeping people from climbing it. Now got your men and prepare for battle.” They all walked away except for Farina and Craggie. She said slowly to him “Somebody wants to join my group of fighters.” “Who?” said Craggie. “Kraumhammer.” said Farina. “He won’t be much use you know. I am surprised he still alive.” said Craggie. “He might surprise you.” She said. Then she slowly walked away. Craggie slowly limped over to the stairs that led to the top of the wall. He stuck the old walking stick into its place at his belt and walked towards the edge of the wall. He saw four of the catapults slowly being put in position. He called over one of the men who were working on them. It was Billy the blacksmith. He was covered in grease and wore a raggedy old shirt that was blackened with dirt and grime. He said in a deep voice “You wanted to talk to me?” Craggie stared at him and said “Yes, what happened to the sixth catapult?” “The wood snapped after only being fired twice. It was badly made in the first place and could not repair it.” He answered. Craggie frowned “We will have to make do with only four then. They will be needed in order to defeat these bastards. They will need to be protected from destruction.” The man said “Yes” and then slowly backed away. Craggie peered over the wall looking for the enemy. It was a cloudy day but he could still see pretty far into the distance. Unfortunately he could not discern any figures. Behind him he heard more people gathering. Then a hand fell upon his shoulder. He turned around and faced his son, Bluebeard. “We are ready father.” He said proudly. Craggie smiled and then yelled “These English scum are cowards! They think to beat us with their arrows and numbers! They think they can overrun us. They think that we will be beaten easily. We shall show how vain and stupid they truly are! Today we show them how real men fight!” The warriors all cheered and banged their shields and swords together. Craggie smiled. It was time for the battle to begin.

Chapter Eight

In the distance Craggie slowly started to see figures marching towards him. The men behind him were preparing for battle. Many had laid out their arrows and were stringing their bows. Billy was practicing throwing knives at a wooden stake. The wait was grueling long but eventually the enemy came into range. Then he lifted his hand and yelled “Fire at will!” Arrows shot in a barrage heading towards the advancing enemy. The catapults were loaded with rocks. Then the ropes were released and the boulders went sailing towards the enemy. Unfortunately the arrows and boulders were failing to kill most of the enemy. There were just too many of them. Craggie saw ladders being carried by the enemy soldiers. There were no gaps in the lines and when a man fell he was replaced another man almost immediately. Slowly they got closer and closer to the wall. Many of the men stood ready to knock the ladders off as soon as people started climbing them. Kraumhammer stood leaning against the side the wall ready to push ladders off the walls. He had a small club hooked to his belt. The first ladder came up a few feet away from him. He limped over to it as fast as he could. When he got to it a man was already peeking over the wall. He punched that man right in the jaw sending him careening off it. He then pushed the ladder sending all the people climbing it to their deaths. Similar efforts were being made on all parts of the wall. Unfortunately there were too many ladders and some the enemy managed to make it on top of the wall. Billy stood a few feet from Craggie and was throwing his knives at the English as soon as they got over the wall. Craggie charged at the first man that came near him swinging his double-headed spear wildly. The man was forced backwards till he fell off the wall. Three men charged towards Ibn. The first one leap at him and he nimbly dodged the blow. Then he brought his halberd back and swung. He cut all three of them down with solid stroke. Hugnerland charged at a man a few feet from Craggie. Both Hugnerland and the man went over the side of the wall. Hugnerland pointed his sword down ward and stabbed a man in the head as he was climbing up a ladder. He continued to fall downward knocking men off the as he plunged downward. When he hit the ground some men cushion his fall. He turned around and knocked the ladder over. Then a bunch of men in shiny armor charged him. He dodged one of their blows and sliced that man’s side. Then he blocked the next couple blows that came at him. He then succeeded in knocking one of the man’s helmets off. He quickly beheaded that man. Then a rope appeared beside him. He jumped and a grabbed it. He used it to haul himself back up the wall. Along the way he got shot in the leg with an arrow. When he got to the top Craggie helped him over. Hugnerland ran over towards some ladders that the English were using the climb the wall. Craggie hauled the rope the rest of the way up. It seemed heavier than it should be. Then a man’s head popped up over the edge of the wall. Craggie punched him in the jaw and he went plunging downward. He then grabbed his two headed spear and ran towards one of the one of the enemy who had just gotten off a ladder. Craggie charged at the man but surprisingly he managed to jump out of the way. Craggie quickly turned back around and dodged the man’s sword thrust. He heard a footstep behind him. He quickly whirled and blocked a sword that was coming at his head. Now he was being attacked on both sides. He turned sideways so he could see both his opponents. They attacked him at the same time using their numbers to their advantage. Craggie ducked under one man’s swing and blocked the other man’s. Then the man was split in half by a giant axe blade and Craggie saw Ibn. Craggie looked at the other to see that he had fallen to the ground and had a knife sticking out of his head. Craggie heard a roar and saw a man charging towards him. A knife whirled through the air and sliced into the side of the man’s head. The man went crashing down. Ibn on the other hand was now fighting a short skinny man holding a thin sword. The man was very fast and nimble. He easily evaded the mad swing of Ibn’s halberd. He then charged towards Ibn his sword held high. Ibn’s leg lashed out and the man flew backward. Ibn charged towards him when an arrow came out of nowhere and hit him in shoulder. The pain halted Ibn and the man was able to get up. His right arm felt weak and blood ran down it. He let go of the halberd with his right hand and held it upright in his left. The man saw the opening and charged at Ibn. Ibn drew his saw blade out of its sheath on his belt and cut the man down in one quick, fluid motion. He then sheathed his saw blade and ran over to the ladder. He quickly pushed it off the wall killing the people climbing up it. He then walked over to Craggie. Craggie helped him get the arrow out of his shoulder and then he bound it with part of Ibn’s shirt. Ibn’s arm had stopped throbbing and he felt ready to fight again. Then Craggie turned around and saw to his horror that one of the catapults was on fire. People were franticly trying to put out. It was useless though. He and Ibn ran over to it and found BrickHoldenferd and Kraumhammer. Craggie said “BrickHoldenferd, get your strongest men over here. We are going to push this thing off the edge of the wall!” BrickHoldenferd found some men and they got behind the catapult. Luckily the fire had not spread to the back of it yet. They all got up against the catapult. Craggie then yelled “Puuuusssshhh!” They all pushed and slowly the catapult moved. “Put your backs into it!” yelled Craggie. The fire got very hot and it was spreading to the back. They reached the edge and the catapult slowly began to tilt downward. They gave one final push and then backed away. It slowly rolled off the edge and then it plunged downward. Craggie rushed over it watch it fall. It looked like a magnificent fireball and crushed many of the English. When it hit the ground, pieces of wood went fly everywhere. These pieces stayed aflame and the fire spread consuming some of the enemy! The English started to retreat in fear. Then a crack of thunder broke out. Craggie looked up to see a sky masked by dark, angry rain clouds. Rain poured down upon their heads and the wind blew against him, almost knocking him over. The fire was out in seconds. Men came rushing up the ladders and on to the wall. One charged right at Craggie. He brought up his two headed spear and quickly blocked the blow. He then kicked the man in the chest. The man stumbled backwards and Craggie thrust the spear into the man’s throat. He then quickly pulled it out. The man dropped to the ground. Then another man charged towards Craggie. This man towered over Craggie and had long brown hair. He held in his hands a giant axe and wore a mail shirt and brown breeches. The man brought his axe backward and swung it at Craggie’s head. Craggie ducked under it quickly. The man just kept on swinging like mad and Craggie was forced back a couple steps. Then the man changed tactics and swung his axe straight downward at Craggie’s head. Craggie jumped to the side dodging it barely. The man then swung mace sideways at Craggie’s legs. Craggie jumped up and the mace missed him by only a few inches. The man then brought the mace over his head, jumped into the air and swung the axe downward at Craggie. Craggie blocked the blow with his spear. Thwack! The man’s sliced through the spear but missed Craggie’s stomach. He landed awkwardly and stumbled forward. Craggie quickly took advantage of this opportunity. His leg lashed kicked the man in the chin and propelling him backwards. The man flew backwards and Ibn skewered him with his halberd. Craggie dropped his damaged spear and unsheathed his giant two handed sword. It shined brightly reflecting light off it. A man in armor carrying a large broadsword came charging at him. Their swords clanged together and Craggie was shoved backward. The man’s movements were slow but powerful. He swung again at Craggie’s side and this time it took all of his strength to block the sword. His muscles tensed and sweat dribbled from his chin. The man brought his sword back and swung it at Craggie’s head. Craggie ducked and hit the man’s legs hard with the flat of his sword, tripping him. The man fell sideways and Craggie switched his sword to his left hand, unsheathed his knife with his right and leapt on top of him. The he stuck his knife in a groove below the man’s helmet stabbing his throat and killing him instantly. He heard a yell and turned around quickly. A man was charging at Kraumhammer with a broadsword. Kraumhammer was holding an old war club in his one hand. He knocked the man’s sword to the side and head butted him. The man stumbled backwards and Kraumhammer swung his war club straight at the man’s head. It smashed into it, breaking the man’s skull. He fell backwards and hit the stone with a thud. Another man came charging at Craggie’s side. He held in his hands a long spear. Craggie dodged the man’s jab and leapt towards the man. He swung his sword and cut the man’s head off in one swift slash.

On the opposite end of the wall Willick, Fralleg and Bluebeard were fighting along with a few others to keep the English from taking control of that part of the wall. Willick had his bow strung and an arrow pulled back. As a man slowly crawled over the edge of the wall he released his hold on the arrow. It flew straight and true, hitting the man in the jaw. He tumbled backwards, knocking some of the people below him off the ladder. Another climbed on top of the wall, just as Willick had started to pull another arrow back. When the man was only a few feet from him, he let go of the arrow. It went straight into the man’s eye and blood gushed out. The man fell forward and struggled to get up. Willick unstrung his bow and put it back in the quiver. Then he drew his long knife and stabbed the wounded man with it. The man shuddered and lay still. Fralleg was next the wall shoving the ladders off as soon as they were put up. Bluebeard stood not far from him with his claymore held ready. An arrow flew through the air and pierced Fralleg’s shoulder. He growled in anger and then pulled it out. He took his hammer off his back and got ready to swing it. A big man in armor topped the wall. Fralleg swung with all his might. Crunch! The hammer smashed into the man, sending him flying backwards. Another man topped the wall and ran at Bluebeard his sword held high. Their swords met with a clang and sparks flew. Bluebeard’s arms trembled and he growled. The man brought his sword back and swung again at Bluebeard’s head. Bluebeard blocked the swing. Meanwhile another man had climbed on top of the wall. Willick rushed at the man and swung his long knife at him. The man blocked the blow. Willick used his free hand to push the man off the wall. Willick backed away and Fralleg kicked the ladder off the wall with his foot. Bluebeard and his opponent were still fighting hard. Bluebeard forced his opponent backwards with a bold swing. Now the man was inches away from the edge. The man swung at Bluebeard’s side. Bluebeard turned sideways and kicked the man in the gut. He careened backwards and fell off the wall. Another two ladders had gone up some distance away from them and some of the enemy had managed to climb the walls. Bluebeard, Willick and Fralleg charged towards them. They weren’t alone. Farina and some other fighters were charging at the enemy from the other side. A big man in chain mail swung his long sword at Bluebeard as soon as he came near. Bluebeard easily blocked the blow. Fralleg wading into the group of English swinging his hammer like mad. The enemy scattered before him. Meanwhile Willick had engaged a skinny man wielding a mace with much skill. Willick dodged the man’s first attack and rushed at him with a slash. He man blocked the slash with his shield. Bluebeard was swing madly at his enemy looking for an opening. The man was fast and strong. He swung wildly Bluebeard and he dodged the swing by stepping to the side. Clang! The man’s sword hit the ground and lodged between two stones. Bluebeard swung hard at the man’s head which was not covered. The sword pierced the man’s skull and he shuddered. Bluebeard withdrew the blade and the man fell to the ground with a thump. Willick had managed to pin his enemy to a wall. He ducked under a blow and slashed with his knife cutting the man’s throat. Then he got his bow back out and started firing into the mass of people. Fralleg managed to reach the ladders and he pushed both of them off the wall. Then he turned and charged at a tall man in armor. The man had a sword and a big wooden shield. Fralleg swung his hammer at him with all his might. The man blocked the blow with his shield but the shield shattered under the force the swing. The man stabbed at Fralleg but he batted the sword away with his hammer. He then swung his hammer at the man’s chest. Clang! The man went flying backwards and was skewered by a Viking’s spear. Farina and Bluebeard managed top flank a big man in armor. Farina swung with all might but she did not even make dent in the warrior’s armor. Bluebeard meanwhile had put his sword back in its sheathe and was now wielding his axe. The man was wielding a big sword which he swung with much ferocity. He swung at Farina with his sword. She ducked under the blow. Meanwhile Bluebeard swung the back of his axe at the man’s legs. The blow knocked his legs out from under him and he fell to the ground. The man’s helmet flew off his head and Bluebeard swung his axe at his head. Blood went flying everywhere when the blow hit and the man was killed. Bluebeard turned to find out that all the enemies in the area had been killed. A few Vikings bodies also lay among the dead. He and the others moved along the wall searching for more enemies. Rain poured down in massive torrents and the day was nearing its end. Bluebeard and the rest reached a part of the wall where two more ladders had gone up. Many of the enemy had managed to climb these ladders and a few Vikings lay dead at their feet. Bluebeard gave out a mighty war cry and rushed at the enemy with his followers’ right behind him. The enemy scatted before them. They were beaten back quickly. Many of them were forced off the wall and they fell to their deaths. The few that did not fall were poor fighters and quickly slain. Then they heard horns being blown and horses’ hooves striking the rough, rocky ground. Bluebeard looked over the wall and saw that the English were retreating. His heart lifted a little bit but he knew this war was far from over. On the other end of the wall Craggie also saw the English retreating. He did not cheer or rejoice though for he knew that had only fought a fraction of the English vast army and he knew they would return the next day with many more fighters. He called a man over to him and told him to go to his generals and tell them another thing was being called. He had to find a way to protect those who could not fight from the enemy if they did break through his defenses. He was also worried because he had still not seen some of the siege equipment that he had expected to see. He did not know what weapons the enemy possessed but he knew that his three pathetic catapults were nothing compared to the instruments of war that his enemy possessed. On the way to his tent he saw Kraumhammer and walked over to him. He said to Kraumhammer “Do you know if there is way that the English could flank us from behind through the caves?” Kraumhammer replied “Yes I know of a way, it is an old mine that was made a long time ago. I doubt the English would have found it though for it is well hidden.” “Come and follow me so we can tell the generals about this old mine” said Craggie. They walked over to the meeting place. They did not have to wait long for the generals soon arrived. Craggie spoke slowly “I have been informed that there is old mine that the English could use to flank us. Hugnerland, you and the rest of the Berserkers will go through this mine and make sure they are not able to flank us.” “Who will guide us?” said Hugnerland. “I will” said Kraumhammer. “There is something else that we also need to discuss” said Craggie “I fear that this place will soon become unsafe for the women and children. Do any of you have ideas about what we could do?” “We could move them on top of the plateau.” said Willick. “That is what we shall do, now you all get some rest and prepare for tomorrow. This war is far from over” said Craggie. They then left to get some food and much needed rest.

Chapter Nine

Marle sat on a rock eating a dead rabbit. The rain had finally stopped and a full moon now hung high in the sky. He had slept most of the day and had awoken late in afternoon his stomach growling. He had managed to find a few berries and this rabbit. In the distance he could see shadowy figures. He still remembered with horror what those monsters had done to him. It hunted his dreams and during that afternoon he swore that he saw some of those awful creatures. They resembled men somewhat but they were much taller and uglier. They had many warts and were covered with lots of hair. Whenever he went near them they simply just disappeared. As the night wore on a strange urge overcame. He had to know what those shadowy figures were that he had seen in the distance. He crept very slowly until he could see them clearly in the moonlight. They appeared to at first be people but there was something wrong in the way they acted. They slept at sat near low fires that were made of very dry timber. He heard an odd noise that echoed in his head. He listened intently and slowly the sound starting to sound like someone was talking. “Kill them!” it said in a raspy old voice. “Kill them!” The voice kept repeating this same phrase over and over. His head started to hurt and his hand tightened around the small axe that he held. He resisted the urge for a while but eventually it overcame him. He snuck into the camp and crept up behind one of men. They slowly started to look less like men and more like strange monsters. The voice was getting louder and louder. Silently he leapt at the man in front of him. He swung his axe with all his might and it plunged deep into his shoulder. The man was knocked over with Marle now on top of him. He brought the axe back and swung again. It hit the man’s neck and sunk in. The man groaned and then stopped breathing. Marle got off him and leapt at another man. This one screamed loud and long as the axe bit into his soft flesh. His scream awoke some of the men and they saw Marle’s ghostly figure. Some panicked and ran. Others surrounded him their swords held high. Some were wearing armor but most had slept with it off and had not had time to put it back on. One of them rushed at Marle with a pike. Marle smoothly stepped out of the man’s way and way and let him charge past. Then he leapt and spun swinging the axe hard. Crack! It hit the man’s head and pierced his skull. Marle pulled the axe out of the man’s head and he fell with a thud. Now Marle leapt at one of the man knocking him over. He cut his throat and ran. The men ran after him. They were slow and could keep up with him though. As he began to reach the edge of the camp more men rushed to block his escape. Marle cut down the ones the ones in his way like weeds. They were killed easily. The men were slow and could not see well in the scant light that the fires provided. After managing to kill a few more men Marle disappeared into the night. The men were scared. They awoke their commanders and pleaded with them to leave this cursed land. It was filled with evil and the enemy fought like demons. The commanders ignored their men. None of them had seen Marle so they did not believe what their men told them. And so the English remained and decided to attack the fort the next day with even greater force. Their trebuchets and rams had finally arrived. Also they had a secret weapon. A cannon that sot as large round ball at the enemy. It was much more accurate then the Trebuchets but could only be fired be fired 5 times a day because of all the preparation it took to load it. The commanders were confident and sure that they would destroy the Vikings soon. Their men however visibly shaken and in low morale, did not like this. In the morning with much reluctance they marched towards the enemy fort.

Back in the Viking fort, the berserkers and Kraumhammer had finally awoken. The early sun had crept slowly in to the sky. They gather some supplies and let Craggie know that they were leaving. Then, with Kraumhammer in the lead they headed down a twisting path to the bottom of the plateau where the lift sat on the ground. Then they turned left and continued on until the lift disappeared behind them. The wind blew harshly against their sides. Dark and baleful, the mouth of the cave loomed front of them. The wind picked up speed and they gritted teeth but did not shiver. Their long bearskin cloaks flapped in the wind. Ibn wished he had one of those. He and the other freed slaves wore old, raggedy tunics and breeches covered with holes. Plastered with damp dirt, they chilled their skin. Cautiously Ibn and the others approached the cave. Kraumhammer lit his torch and walked into the cave. Slowly, the rest followed. Squeak! Squeak! A mass of bats flew over their heads in a squall of wings and claws. The men ducked to keep their faces from being scratched. The torch flicked back and forth, threatening to go out. After a few long seconds the bats had passed. The men continued onward. Eventually they came to a place where the passage split into three tunnels. Kraumhammer pointed towards the one on the right and said “this is it.” “You sure?” questioned Hugnerland. “Of Course I am sure. Now come on.” Ibn and others followed behind him. He ducked to keep his head from touching the low ceiling. He felt cramped and his breath came in short huffs. Growl! The men froze. Growl! “It’s a bear!” whispered Fralleg. Ibn’s muscles tensed and gripped his halberd tightly. His heart throbbed loudly, inside his chest. Sweat dripped from his chin. The bear’s stench stung his nose. It reeked of damp fur and blood. Thump! Kraumhammer dropped the torch and it rolled forward. The flame illuminated the tunnel and revealed the shadow, hunger-stricken figure of the bear. Its bones bulged through its skin. It eyes spoke of hunger and sorrow. Greedily they stared at Ibn. It opened mouth, revealing its crooked, yellow teeth. Drool dripped down from its chin. Ibn slowly crept forward he halberd pointed towards the bear. The bear reared up its hind legs and swiped at Ibn’s head with its long curved claws. They ripped through his face leaving long, deep cuts. Blood flowed freely from his chin. Luckily, the bear had missed his eyes. Ibn stabbed madly with head of his halberd. It plunged deep into the creature’s chest. He pulled it out and the bear let a loud roar! It wobbled slightly and then fell backwards with a loud thump! Kraumhammer picked up the torch and approached the bear warily. “It’s dead” he whispered in shock. Ibn smiled. He had slain his first bear and become a true berserker.

Chapter Ten

Back at the fort Craggie awoke and went to get his generals. He told Farina to guard the lift while the women and children used it to get on top of plateau. Then he and rest of the generals gathered their men and went to the wall. He told Fienberg’s group to guard the left side and Bluebeard’s group to guard the right. They engineers went to their four remaining catapults and Craggie headed towards the middle along with Reb’s group and Willick’s archers. Craggie drew his sword and scanned the horizon for the approaching English. Soon he spotted a trebuchet rolling forward. An endless wall of men followed behind it slowly. They held their flags high and blew their horns loudly. Slowly they approached. Craggie turned towards his men and yelled “Today we don’t just fight for ourselves. We fight to protect our families. We fight for honor and glory. We fight for every last man that those English have killed. Let’s show them how true warriors fight” The men let a load roar and stomped their feet against the ground. Willick strung an arrow to his bow and pulled the bowstring to his ear. The others archers did same. He yelled “Fire!” Twang! The arrows rained down on the enemy like rain from the heavens. Many of the fell but more stepped forward to take their place. Willick brought another arrow to his ear and yelled “fire at will!” He let the arrow and flew from bowstring. Boom! A loud noise shook the air. Craggie turned to see a large black ball hurtling towards them. It slammed into the wall shaking the foundations. Luckily they held. “What was that thing?” asked Willick in bewilderment. “I don’t know.” said Craggie. He scanned the horizon but could find where the ball had come from. Eventually the enemy reached the wall and put up their ladders. Craggie ran up to the nearest ladder and kicked it off the wall. The warriors near him did the same. Still a few enemy soldiers managed to get on top of the wall. One of these charged towards Craggie. He carried a large, metal shield and a skinny, short sword and wore iron plate mail. He had curly brown hair and a clean shaven face. When he got to Craggie he swung his sword at his side. Craggie blocked it easily. Then Craggie shoved the man back and swung his sword at his neck. The man raised his shield and Craggie's sword bashed against it. Craggie brought the sword back and held over his shoulder. The man lunged at Craggie attempting to stab him with his sword. Craggie nimbly stepped to the left and jumped forward. He swung his sword and the man's head off at the neck. The man's body fell forward and the head flew backwards and over the edge of the wall. Craggie ran to the edge of the wall and shoved another ladder off. In the distance he saw a large boulder hurtling through the air. Boom! It slammed into the wall and fell to the ground.

Craggie ran over to Reb and said "Gather some men and go destroy their trebuchets." Reb nodded and ran to gather his best warriors. They ran to wall abutted the rock wall of the plateau. They climbed up the rock face till they came to a ledge that went towards the enemy. Then they ran along the ledge and climbed down near where the trebuchets sat. Reb and his men ran towards them, cutting down the few people in their way. After a few minutes of intense fighting, they got within a few feet of the trebuchets. Some men bearing long pikes charged towards Reb and his men. Reb dodged one of the enemy's pikes and quickly chopped its head off. Then he ran forward and slashed open the man's chest. The man screamed loudly and fell backwards. Reb put his shield in front of him and charged his way through the rest of the pike men like a battering ram. He reached one of the trebuchets and pulled out his tender box. He lit his torch and then touched the trebuchet's base with it. The wood caught fire and started to burn. He dropped the torch and ran. He yelled "Back to the ! Back to the wall!" his men turned and ran back to the cliff face. Reb started to follow but a knight on horseback blocked his path. The knight wore a full suite of iron armor and held a large wooden lance in his right hand. He lowered his lance and charged at Reb. Reb held his shield in front of him and braced for impact. Bam! The lance slammed into the shield and shattered into splinters. Reb fell backwards and hit the ground with a thump. The knight turned around and drew his sword. He charged back towards Reb his sword held high. Boom! A large rock fell from the sky and crushed the knight.

Reb got on his feet and ran to the cliff wall. Then he sheathed his sword and climbed up the face to the ledge where his men were waiting for him. They ran along the ledge back to the wall. Then they went down to the wall. Reb turned and looked back where the trebuchets were. The flames had completely engulfed them. Reb drew his sword and ran back towards the middle of the wall. A man in chainmail, wielding a large mace charged at him. Reb blocked the mace with his shield. The man brought the mace back and swung it at Reb's chest. Reb blocked it with his shield and shoved the man backwards. The man stumbled and Reb slashed at his chest. The sword sliced through his mail and blood spilled out. The man fell over and Reb ran past him.

More ladders went and up and enemy soldiers climbed on top of the wall. They headed for the catapult on the left side of the wall. Fienberg, Brickholdenferd, Billy and a few other warriors blocked their path. Billy brought back his arm and hurled a small, sharp knife at the approaching enemy. It struck one of the enemy soldiers in the throat. He fell forward and got trampled by the rest of the enemy soldiers. BrickHoldenferd ran forward and swung his hammer at a knight in chainmail. He brought his shield up and blocked the blow. Then he lunged at BrickHoldenferd's chest. Brickholdenferd dodged the man's sword and swung his hammer at the man's head. It bashed into it, cracking the man's skull. He fell backwards and hit the ground with a thump. A man in a brown cloak swung his axe at Fienberg. Fienberg brought his sword up and blocked it. He kicked the man in the chest, knocking him backwards. Then he leapt forward and swung his sword down, at the man's head. It cut into his skull and stuck. Fienberg landed on the ground and wrenched the sword out. The man fell to the ground. A large man wearing a black cloak swung a broadsword at Billy's head. Billy ducked under the swing and stabbed the man with his knife in the leg. The man groaned and swung his sword at Billy's chest. Billy jumped backwards and hurled a knife at the man. It struck him in the eye and he let out a blood curdling scream. He grabbed the knife and yanked it out of his eye. He brought his sword back and swung the flat of the blade at Billy. The sword struck him in the chest and knocked him to the ground. The man stood over him, raising his sword to stab him in the chest. Billy lashed out with his left foot and knocked his legs from under him. The man fell to the ground and Billy leapt to his feet. He stabbed the man in the neck with his knife. The man shuddered and he struggled to breath. Then he fell silent. Billy pulled the knife. A loud, thundering boom sounded from far away. He looked up and saw a large rock hurtling towards him. He leapt out of the way and the rock struck the catapult, crushing it. BrickHoldenferd yelled in anger and charged at the enemy swinging his hammer wildly. They scattered before him like insects. Fienberg and the others slew the ones that managed to evade his swings. BrickHoldenferd fell to his to knees, exhausted. Fienberg grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Come on. The battle is not over yet!" They ran to the edge of the wall and shoved off all of the ladders near them.

Meanwhile more ladders against the middle part of the wall and started to climb up them. Craggie ran to push them off but the enemy managed to get on top of the wall and block his path. One of them let out a war cry and charged at him. The man wielded a large falchion and wore iron plate mail. Long blond hair hung from his uncovered head. Their swords met with a loud clang. The two men gritted their teeth and shoved against each other. The blond haired man brought his sword back and swung at Craggie's chest. Craggie leapt backwards and shirt cut his cloak barely missing the skin. The blond haired man stepped forward and the sword at Craggie again. Craggie brought his sword up and blocked it. The blond haired man growled with frustration and swung at Craggie’s head. Craggie blocked the swing and kicked the man in the stomach. The man stumbled backwards and Craggie leapt forward. He brought his sword backwards and at the man's head. The sword slashed through his left eye leaving a long cut. The man cried out in pain. Craggie leapt up and brought his sword down on the man's head. Crack! The sword bit deep into the man’s skull. Craggie pulled the sword out and the man fell over. Then Craggie ran forward towards the rest of the enemy. Willick and some of the others joined him. Craggie leapt at a man holding a short spear. He slashed the man's chest open he fell over. Willick charged at another holding a long knife in each hand. The man swung a short sword at Willick. Willick blocked the sword with the knife in his left hand and lunged forward with the one in his right. He stabbed the man in the chest and then stepped back. The man growled and then stabbed at Willick with his sword. Willick blocked the stab and slashed at the man's stomach. The knife slashed it open spilling blood. The man grabbed the wound attempting to stop the flow of blood. Willick slashed the man's face with his knife and he fell backwards. Then he leapt over the man and killed the man behind him. The other Vikings charged with him swinging their axes, swords and swords crazily. The enemy fell before them like stalks of grain before a scythe. The Vikings reached the wall and shoved the ladders off.

The archers put their weapons away and pulled out their bows. They pulled their arrows and pulled the strings back to their ears. Willick yelled "Fire!" They released their arrows and they rained down upon the enemy dropping them like flies. They waited a second and let loose another volley of arrows. The enemy continued their attack, heedless of the arrows raining down among them. Every time one of them fell two more stepped up to take his place. They reached the wall and put up more ladders. Craggie and the other warriors without bows rushed to shove them off. In the distance Craggie heard a loud creaking noise. He looked and saw a large tower on wheels a short distance away. Large horses slowly pulled it towards the wall. Their long mains whipped back and forth in the brisk wind. Craggie grabbed torch and lit it. When the siege tower got close enough he threw the lit torch at the tower. It hit the tower but failed to catch on fire. The torch fell into a puddle on the ground and went out. The tower reached the wall and a large piece of wood fell from it onto the wall forming a bridge. A large of enemy soldiers wielding axes, maces and spears rushed towards Craggie and the others. The archers put their bows back in their quivers and unsheathed their weapons. One of the enemies swung at Craggie with a large axe. He wore a brown tunic and had brown hair. He brought the axe back and swung at Craggie's head. Craggie ducked, dodging the axe head. The man brought his axe back and swung it at Craggie's legs. Craggie leapt over the swing. Then he slashed at the man's chest with his sword. The sword cut a long gash in the man's chest and blood sprayed out. The man groaned and fell forward. Another warrior carrying spear and shield stepped forward cautiously. He stabbed at Craggie with the spear. Craggie dodged the blow and swung his sword at the man's shield. The sword cut through the wood and split it in half. Craggie leapt at the man and slashed his chest open. The man let out a scream and fell to the ground with a thump. More of the enemy came forward. Craggie and the others fought valiantly but failed to stop their assault. Slowly the enemy forced them backwards. Craggie yelled defiantly " You shall destroy!" He and his men charged forward swinging their weapons desperately. The first line of enemies fell before them. The second line stepped forward. They hid behind their shields preventing Craggie and the others from killing them. They fought fiercely and many of the Vikings fell before them. Then Craggie heard a loud yell from behind the enemy. The enemy turned to see Fienberg and some other warriors charging towards them. Craggie yelled "Charge!" and the two groups crushed the enemy between them. In a few seconds nothing remained of them. Craggie went to Fienberg and asked " How did you get behind them?" Fienberg smiled and said "They were too confident in their own abilities. They were not watching their backs and we able to sneak behind them." "What about the tower?" said Craggie "We burned it" Craggie laughed and said "Good, let’s hope they do not have too many more of those."

Kaboom! Craggie froze. In the distance he saw a large rock hurtling towards him. It flew over his head and slammed into one of the catapults, crushing it to pieces. Fear gripped him. His movements became frantic. He still had no idea what was firing those rocks. He ran to the edge of the wall and looked towards the enemy. The sun hung low in the sky and a large group were carrying ladders forward. They reached the wall and put the ladders up. Craggie and the rest pushed off as many as they could. The enemy reached the top of the wall and climbed on top of it. One of them rushed at Craggie. He wore a leather hauberk and brown breeches. He swung his large two-headed axe at Craggie's head. Craggie ducked under the blow. The man brought the axe back and swung downwards. Craggie dodged the swing and ran forward. He swung his sword at the man's chest and plunged deep into his chest. Craggie wrenched the sword out and the man fell backwards. More of them climbed on top of wall. They formed a wedge and slowly forced their way through the Vikings. Craggie ran towards them his sword raised high. He charged into the line slaying those in his path. The enemies separated and slowly surrounded him. Craggie swung his sword back and forth keeping them at bay. Finally some found their courage and charged at him. One swung his mace at Craggie's head. Craggie raised his sword and blocked the blow. Another man ran forward and stabbed Craggie in the chest with his rapier. Craggie screamed loudly. He shoved the man with the mace backwards and then swung his sword in wide arc cutting through armor, flesh and bone. Fienberg heard Craggie's scream and called his men to him. They locked their shield and charged at the enemy in a wedge shaped formation. The enemy soldiers fell before their awesome might. Their courage disappeared and they ran to escape the advancing warriors. The wedge of Vikings of Vikings reached Craggie and quickly surrounded. Then they charged into the remaining enemy soldiers forcing them off the wall. They pushed the remaining ladders off and the enemy retreated back to their camp. Craggie's knees buckled and he fell to the ground. Pain filled his chest and his vision blurred. Then his world went black.

Chapter Eleven

Kraumhammer walked forward slowly holding the wavering torch in front of him. Behind him, the berserkers followed cautiously. The low ceiling forced Ibn to stoop to avoid hitting his head. The cave wound back and forth in an odd twisting path. Fralleg growled in frustration. This tunnel seemed to go on forever. Stalagmites hung like hungry teeth from the ceiling. Kraumhammer came to a stop. In front of him loomed a large pile of rocks that blocked the tunnel. Fralleg grabbed Kraumhammer and yelled " What trickery is this?" Kraumhammer whispered "There be no trickery." Fralleg dropped him and yelled "Then why have you brought us to a dead end?" Kraumhammer limped past him and held his torch to part of the wall, revealing a small tunnel. "This is the way." Then he handed the torch to Fralleg and crawled into the dark tunnel. Fralleg growled and got on his knees. He took his hammer off his back and crawled forward. It was a tight fit and his sides scraped against the walls. The rest of the berserkers removed their weapons and crawled after him. The tunnel twisted and curved. Roots poked out through the floor and scraped against their legs. The air was thin and dust filled the air. Onward they crawled each seeing nothing but the feet of the man in front of him. Only Kraumhammer knew where they going. Slowly he crawled dragging his peg leg. He remembered this tunnel well. It would go on for quite a while in finally lead to a larger passage. That passage continued on through the plateau and out the other side. He doubted that the English had found this passage. It was well hidden and full of turns. If one did not know the way they could lost easily. Ahead of him he could see the tunnel start to widen. It would not be long now. Behind him the berserkers crawled noisily often dislodging rocks and scraping against the sides. If somebody was in this tunnel they certainly will be able to hear them coming. Onward he crawled till he came to the opening. Then he slowly crawled through it slowly and moved to the side to allow the others to come through. The first one through the tunnel was Fralleg, pushing his hammer before him. Then came Clod, Hugnerland and finally the rest of the berserkers and freed slaves. Ibn walked over and pulled Kraumhammer back on his feet. Fralleg handed him the torch and said "Lead onward." Kraumhammer turned and limped forward. The rest put their weapons back into their sheathes and followed him. The passage grew wider and four men were able to walk side by side. Thump! The earth shook violently. Kraumhammer lost his balance and fell the ground. Thump! The earth shook again. They pulled their weapons out and gripped them tightly. A rank stench filled the air. Thump! The ground split open and a huge muscular hand thrust out of it. Another hand came up and the creature pulled itself out of the hole. It stood so tall that its head scraped against the ceiling. It wore a white coat and icy blue skin. Long white whiskers hung like icicles from its pointed chin. A large axe was strapped to its back. It smiled showing rows of sharp yellow teeth. Fralleg let a yell and charged at the beast. The creature's brought its claw back and swung its arm at Fralleg, knocking into the wall. The creature reached back reached back and pulled out its giant axe. Thump! The earth shook once more and ceiling caved in, burying all of the men except for Fralleg under a pile of rocks. Fralleg yelled and charged at the creature, swinging his hammer with all his might. Crack! It smashed into the creature’s leg breaking bone and the creature fell to its death. Thump! More hands appeared and two more creatures crawled out of the hole. One of them held a large club in its long sharp claws. Fralleg let a yell and leapt at him. The creature roared and swung its club. Smack! The club hit Fralleg in the side and knocked him against the wall. The ceiling shook and rocks fell, crushing its body. The creature yelled in triumph.

Chapter Twelve

After the enemy retreated, Bluebeard and Bane, one of his men, carried Craggie to back to his tent. They did all they could but he refused to wake. Then he heard someone call his name. He walked out of the tent and found Farina waiting for him. "All of the women and I have moved to safety. I heard about what happened to Craggie. Is he all right?" Bluebeard shook his head. "He will not wake" e said sadly. Farina frowned and said "The generals request your presence so we can discuss who will put in charge in Craggie's absence." Bluebeard nodded and she led to a large fire where the others had gathered. "Good you are all here. Now we can begin" said Reb. Bluebeard nodded and sat on a log. Farina sat on the log to his right. Reb cleared his throat and said "Now we must answer the question of who will take charge in Craggie's absence. I think it should be me. I am the eldest here and know more about the strategy of war. Does anyone objeardsect?" Bluebeard stood and yelled defiantly "I do, Craggie was my father. His blood runs through my veins. I am his heir. I should take charge until he gets better!" "What right do you have to lead, you know nothing of warfare!" Reb growled fiercely. He leapt to his feet and stared menacingly into Bluebeard's eyes. Farina stood up and pushed the two apart. "Enough! We should be fighting the Brits, not each other. Now I we sould settle this by a vote. I vote for Bluebeard." Reb stood back up slowly and turned to Fienberg. Fienberg stood up and said "I vote for Reb. He has more experience and will be the better leader." Reb smiled and turned to Willick and BrickHoldenferd. Willick said "I vote for Bluebeard." Reb nodded and said "What about you BrickHoldenferd?" BrickHoldenferd stared at him for a second and said "I vote for Bluebeard." Reb shrugged and growled "Fine then, do not blame me when we lose." Reb turned and walked away. Fienberg went to Bluebeard and said "Don't worry, he just stubborn. He did not mean it." Bluebeard nodded "I know" he said. "Now let’s go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." The rest nodded and went to their tents. Bluebeard looked towards his father’s tent and shook his head. He had not wanted this to happen. He turned and slowly walked to his tent.

In the morning a rough hand shook him awake. He opened his dreary eyes and looked at BrickHoldenferd. BrickHoldenferd smiled and said "Come on, it is time to awake." Bluebeard nodded and stood slowly. He put on his clothes and strapped his axe and claymore to his back. "So, how many catapults do we have left?" he asked. BrickHoldenferd frowned and said "One" "I thought there were two" said Bluebeard. "One snapped right after Craggie fell." answered Brickholdenferd. Bluebeard nodded and said "We will have to make do." They walked out and were joined by Willick, Reb, Fienberg and Farina. "What are your orders?" said Farina

"Reb your group shall guard the left and Fienberg yours shall guard the right. BrickHoldenferd and his men will guard the last catapult. Willick your archers will spread out and attack the enemy from every angle. Farina, our groups will guard the middle." said Bluebeard. She nodded and the rest ran to gather their men. Bluebeard turned to Farina and said "How many warriors are left?" "Less then half our original number are left." said Farina. Bluebeard nodded and went to gather his men. In a matter of minutes, he and the others had gathered their men and went to their places on the wall. Bluebeard looked forward. In the distance he could see the enemy marching towards. The sound of war drums filled the air. Willick's archers readied their arrows and BrickHoldenferd loaded the catapult. A brisk wind blew across his face, chilling his bones. He looked to the sky. Large clouds were gathered. Thump! The earth shook and Bluebeard grabbed the wall for support. "What's happening" He said loudly. "They are coming." whispered a strange voice beside him. Bluebeard turned towards it and saw Craggie leaning against his staff. "What are you doing here?" Bluebeard said "My time has come, my son. My heart grows weary. I must leave this world." said Craggie. "What are you talking about? The wound was just a scratch. You will be fine." said Bluebeard. "It’s not the wound my son, it is my body. I am getting old." said Craggie. Bluebeard shook his head in disbelief. "I am leaving you my sword" he said. Then he smiled and handed the sword to Bluebeard. He took it and tears slowly fell from his eyes. Thump! The earth shook again. "Who is coming" Bluebeard asked slowly. "The ones that destroyed the village!"uttered Craggie. The sky darkened and Bluebeard felt the cold, lingering bite of wind rushing past, filling him with thread. Thunder sounded in the distance and cold shard of ice fell from the sky!Boom! Bluebeard turned and saw a horde of strange creatures leaping out of a large hole in the side of the plateau. They carried large axes and clubs and had long white beards. They stood taller than any creature he had ever seen.They ran into the enemy, crushing them like insects. Craggie went to the edge and fastened a rope to the side. Then he threw it over the edge and put his staff back on his belt. Bluebeard turned to him "You don't have to do this!" he yelled. "Yes I do, goodbye my son." Craggie whispered. Then he climbed over the edge and slowly went down the rope.A tear crept down Blue When he reached the bottom, Bluebeard cut the rope. Then Craggie took out his staff and went to meet his death.