Viking Vengeance Read Online Free PDF Page B

wide and had enormous loops.  Apart from the two monasteries we saw little which looked as though it might reward a raid. There were farms and if we found nought else we would take what little they had.
    "Jarl Dragonheart, on the river bank, look!"
    Karl Karlsson, the ship's boy who was seated on the top of the mast, pointed to the north.  I saw riders watching us. We had been seen.  From the scale armour I took at least two of them to be nobles,  They rode parallel to us.  The wind was with us and the men were taking advantage of the rest.  I did not like the idea of us being shadowed.
    "Haaken, have the men on the oars.  Let us exercise these Franks and see how determined they are."
    My men enjoyed a challenge and soon the oars were cutting through the water.  Asbjorn saw what we did and, he too, copied us. I smiled as I saw the riders urging their horses to match our pace.  It was an impossible challenge.  When we came to the larger bends in the river they had to travel further than we did and soon we left them behind.  We were almost at the walled town we had heard was the main settlement in the area when we encountered the Frankish ships.  There were four of them.
    Erik shouted, "Down sail!"
    I shouted, "Oars in and prepare for battle!"
    We were both longer and lower in the water than the four ships but they had an aft castle in which archers would wait. We had not expected a river battle but we were prepared for one.
    "Snorri, archers!" I pointed to the aft castle of the nearest ship which was making directly for us. It was only later I deduced that they must have been heading down the river to engage with us and our encounter was just wyrd .  Perhaps the Norns thought we had had it too easy.
    I donned my helmet and picked up my shield. The Franks had made a grave error of judgement. They outnumbered us but they did not have the skills for a sea battle.  We did. Snorri and his archers could loose an arrow further than any other archer I knew and soon they were releasing a rain of death upon the castle of the nearest ship.  When it had been cleared Snorri switched to the next target.
    "Erik, put us next to the first ship Snorri and his archers hit."
    "Aye Jarl."
    I shouted to my crew, "Men of Cyninges-tūn let us see what treasure they have aboard these apologies for ships." Their roar should have warned the Franks what was about to be unleashed upon them.  "Snorri, attack the other ship!" While Snorri and his archers kept one ship busy we would board the other.
    Olaf Leather Neck had the grappling hook ready.  He hurled it.  One of the Franks tried to grab it but missed and it bit through his hand and into the wood.  I heard him screaming.  He was pinned and could not move as Olaf and a dozen men pulled us closer together. The side of the Frankish ship canted over with their efforts and the weight of men on their deck.  It meant the two decks were the same height. I jumped up onto the strake and grabbed the rigging with my shielded left hand.  I held my sword in my right. Spears were thrown at me but the shield I held before me deflected them all.  When the gap was less than two paces I leapt across the water to land on the Frankish deck.  I swung my sword sideways and felt it bite into the arm of the man who was racing to gain the glory of killing a Viking Jarl.
    I punched with my left hand at the three warriors who advanced towards me.  I brought my sword over my head as I pushed at the three of them.  It smashed through the shoulder of the middle warrior and he fell screaming to his death in an ever widening pool of blood. I was no longer alone as my Ulfheonar joined me. There were just six of us on the deck of the Frankish ship but that did not daunt us.  We charged the men before us.  With our mighty shields and superior swords we could both attack and defend better than our opponents.  Our mail meant that any blows which we did not deflect did not harm us.
    We began to harvest the