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mile from where my drekar was resting. Erik rode double with him. "It is a raiding party who came with three ships."
    "Norse?"
    "No, Jarl. These are the tubby boats the Hibernians, Welsh and Saxons use. We have not seen much mail."
    Erik pointed to the west. "I saw fires to the west. There are settlements there. We took 'Heart' out into the middle of the river."
    "Good, you have done well." I turned, "Sigtrygg, take ten Ulfheonar and head west see if any people remain and kill any raiders."
    He nodded and led his chosen men off. Cnut shook his head, "We may need all the Ulfheonar we can get."
    The last of Arturus' men had just arrived and my son was organising them. I knew what Cnut inferred; my son's men were not my elite. That was true but my Ulfheonar grew smaller each time we fought. They were hard to replace. Already we were down to just twenty of us. "Wolf Killer and his men will soon need to shoulder the burden of defending our land. If these were Norse we faced then I might worry. As it is we shall see." I waved over my son. "It is not Norse. Sigtrygg seeks any who are rampaging. It is down to our men to deal with these raiders. There are three boats of them." I turned to Bjorn the Scout. "Does Snorri watch them?"
    "Aye, Jarl. They have burned the huts which were outside the walls and were trying to fire the wooden walls when we left."
    I nodded. Then we had time. The sea soaked walls would be hard to burn and there was plenty of water within the walls. "Then let us go. Bjorn the Scout, take Erik and find their ships. Use Erik's boys and discover if we can take them." Once more Cnut shook his head. Bjorn the Scout was one of my best and most experienced warriors. Cnut was a good warrior but he was no leader. Bjorn the Scout could do a better job than one of the other warriors who had less experience than he had.
    I gave my horse to Erik and hefted my shield around. I led my men at a steady trot down the track, through the forest to Úlfarrston. I smelled the burning before I saw the glow in the distance. As we neared Úlfarrston I began to hear the chants and calls of the raiders. I detected Hibernian and Welsh words although I could make no sense of what they were saying. That was an alliance I had not seen before. Even before I saw them I was calculating their numbers. Three ships such as the ones they were using could hold up to forty warriors. They seemed not to mind overcrowding. That meant that we would, in all likelihood, be outnumbered. I knew that Pasgen and his men, while not warriors such as we, would be able to give a good account of themselves. Timing would be all.
    I halted us while still in the shelter of the forest. Úlfarrston was just four hundred paces away. The ground sloped towards the river and I saw their three ships. Two were beached while the third rode in the centre of the estuary. A handful of men guarded them. There looked to be a hundred warriors. The fact that they had Welsh with them meant that they had archers. I saw flights soaring over the walls. We had not brought our own bows. I now regretted that.
    I turned to my men. "Wolf Killer, make a wedge and charge the heart of the enemy." He nodded, appreciative of the honour I did him. "Ulfheonar, we will attack those closest to the gates. If we can relieve the pressure there then Pasgen might be able to aid us. They have Welsh archers. Be careful."
    My wedge was a pathetically small one. There were just eight of us. I led; Haaken and Cnut were on my shoulders and the other five brought up the rear. We would have no weight behind us but we would have surprise. Then Snorri appeared from nowhere and stood next to Haaken. He said, "They have slaughtered all those who were outside the walls." He paused, "Women and children." I felt my heart harden. Normally women and children were reserved for the slave market. It was not much of a life but it was a life. Whoever led these was making a statement; he was trying to instil fear into the men of