The Angry Mermaid 76 or Y Morforwyn Dicllon 76.

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In this chapter Drustina returns from her spying trip but finds the essential information lacking. She still is not absolutely certain where Harald Cold-blood, the Viking king will land his invasion fleet. There is no other option than to try and tempt him into her prepared killing ground but the risks are high because certainty of success is low. She will have to sacrifice some ships (but not the crews)to get Harals to land on Selsey Bill. Then she must carefully prepare the killing grounds.

The Angry Mermaid 76

Or

Y Morforwyn Dicllon 76.

By the time the Angry Mermaid had reached Ynys Wit, Drustina was well rested. As she stood in her familiar command position she let Helios do the steering because her shoulder was still a little stiff and she had the occasional twinge. She now realised that even the token struggle she had put up in Harald Cold Blood’s grip had served to slow down the shoulder’s recovery. She was secretly grateful that the healer had demanded she resume wearing a sling for another day or so, to rest the joint. She was adjusting the sling and massaging her shoulder as Hengis spoke to her.

“There doesn’t seem to be any guard ship by the Nab or off Porsea. What can Althred be about?”

Drustina frowned. The whole Solanta seemed to be deserted. They continued into the Solanta at maximum speed as a sense of foreboding overtook the Mermaid’s crew. Helios was getting anxious and asked Drustina fretfully.

“D’you think something’s gone wrong?”

“I'm buggered if I can think of anything,” Drustina replied. “When we left, the Viking fleet still lay in The Havre and they can’t possibly have overtaken us. We have come directly at high speed and I’ve seen nothing that resembled a Viking invasion fleet. Something’s odd but I’m not sure what. We’ll push on to Cws then be on the alert for anything.”

By now every eye was straining for any sign of activity but the north shore of Wit seemed deserted. Even the promontory above the Nab seemed deserted of lookouts. Drustina nodded to Helios to take the Mermaid further north so that there could be no nasty surprises if they passed too close to the shore. Finally they arrived off Cws and hove to as Hengis and Drustina discussed what to do.

“I don’t see any ships in the harbour. If the Vikings had overcome them surely there would be longships tied up in there. The town is intact, nothing is burning. I think it’s worth risking going in to find out.”

Drustina nodded slowly. She could think of no better ploy so she told Helios to approach closer.

“We can lower the jolly boat once we’re in sheltered water. I want men up aloft to keep a tight lookout for any activity anywhere, ships on the water or anything on the land. If anybody spots anything, he’s to report it.”
When they came close to arrow range, Drustina hove to again and the jolly boat was put into the water. She made to enter it but Hengis gently seized her arm.

“Not you Dru, your shoulder isn’t fully healed yet. Let me and a couple of volunteers go.”

Drustina cast about the crew and found them all nodding agreement with Hengis’s demand. Secretly she was glad the decision had been made for her, taken out of her hands because her arm still pained her. She had overdone it during her struggle with Harald Cold Blood. She watched as Hengis approached the quay but still nothing was happening ashore. She turned to Helios and Symone with a puzzled shrug and was about to say something when there was a sudden roar from the quayside. At least a couple of hundred men appeared as if from nowhere as they poured out of every doorway and street and spilled onto the quay. They were all armed to the teeth and Drustina watched in dread as the horde advanced towards Hengis. Then as suddenly as they appeared, the horde stopped dead and a leader approached Hengis. Drustina did not recognise him but it was obvious his intentions were friendly. He had sheathed his sword and extended his arms in comradely greeting. From the ship, Drustina could clearly see that the man stepping forward from the Saxon ranks was clearly meaning no harm. Hengis was feeling easier too.

“Who are you?” Hengis demanded.

The Saxon grinned and explained.

“I am Jarl Arden, commander of the garrison defending Cws.”

“Then where are the ships. This harbour should be full of ships.”

Jarl Arden lifted his arms above his head and waved them ‘stiff-armed’ towards the wooded shore on the opposite side of the inlet. Hengis turned, just as Drustina did, to gape with immeasurable surprise and relief as mast after mast appeared as the trees were lowered and ships eventually manifested themselves. Each ship was full of armed men. It was obvious that if the Vikings had attacked Cws, they would have been trapped between a huge fleet of ships and men at their backs and a whole garrison of trained soldiers emerging from the town to confront them as they landed.

Jarl Arden stood grinning as Hengis turned to wave the Angry Mermaid in. Drustina however, had already anticipated him and the mermaid was racing full tilt into the narrow entrance. While the Mermaid manoeuvred, Hengis spoke to the Jarl.

“It’s an excellent plan but what would you do if the Vikings chose to attack somewhere else?”

“We have five squadrons of cavalry. We Saxons have not been idle while your leader has been away spying.”

“How so?” Hengis wondered.

Jarl Arden explained.

“There are only about six or seven beaches where a large infantry force can land effectively and use numbers to advantage. Those are the beaches we have covered. Several of the beaches are on the north shore of the Solanta so the cavalry forces are concentrated on the north side of the Solanta to protect any landing on the mainland. We have signal beacons to warn each salient point. We have practices with our fleets and we can put as many squadrons as we have to concentrate force at any beach within an hour. Wherever the Vikings land between Porsea, Cws or Sotona we can put fifty ships and five thousand men to meet them before the land on the beach. Within three hours, we can have half as many ships and men again to add to that number.”

The Jarl stood expectantly and Hengis nodded with some Satisfaction. Then Drustina and Helios stepped ashore even before the Mermaid had made a single rope fast. Drustina looked about her and nodded with satisfaction.

“Where’s Carl?”

“On the North shore my lady,” Arden replied then added, “that’s where we expect the attack to be most likely landed.”

“Why?” Drustina pressed.

Arden shrugged.

“For no better reason than it’s the Wessex mainland. We know the Vikings have limited resources so it would take two invasions and two separate landings to first take Ynys Wit and then capture Wessex later.”

Drustina nodded with satisfaction. Carl and the other generals had made the best plan of a difficult equation. A shout from the lookout tower at the entrance to Cws harbour told Drustina that Carl had come across the Solanta to join her. She nodded with satisfaction as his sail and banner grew larger with approach. Soon he and Althred and Udris had joined with Drustina and Arden to discuss Drustina’s findings.

“I’m making an educated guess that they will be departing from the Havre tomorrow and they should be here in three days. I think they would be unwise to try and land on the evening of the second day because they won’t have time to consolidate any success they might have. Besides, the highest tide is in three days and that’s in mid morning. Wherever he lands he will try to do it at sun-up or soon after.”

“So, have you any thoughts on improving our current plan?” Carl asked.

Drustina wagged her head. There was little she could offer by way of improvement save to add that any reduction in the Viking cavalry force would reduce the mobility. She explained her idea.

“What I want to do is to somehow get around the main Viking fleet and harry the transports in the rear; unless of course they have decided to land their infantry and cavalry together then their warships will have encircled the transports to protect their horses and riders. If the infantry and cavalry are landing together it might be a bit chaotic at the water line as they step ashore but whatever happens we must somehow reduce their cavalry as soon as possible. We might be able to take advantage of that chaos.”

“Where do you think the most likely landing place is?” Althred asked.

Drustina paused thoughtfully.

“If they’re landing cavalry, they’ll need a firm, spacious beach where the cavalry can use their mobility immediately. They’ll want and expect to gain a foothold quickly; their cavalry will be essential to make an early breakthrough to get deeper inland. Where are the flattest, hardest, sandy beaches Althred; this is your home territory?”

Althred frowned doubtfully.

“The beaches either side of the Selsey bill are firm and flat. If they try the beaches around Porsea or Hayling they’ll only be landing on islands where they can be pinned down in the creeks to the north. Their horses will be no good to them in the marshes. What’s more, the land around Selsey bill is fairly clear of trees, open countryside and ideal for cavalry.”

“Would they be likely to know this?”

“Possibly, we’ve had Vikings trading here for years before they became hostile. They know how fertile the land is so they’ll know about the flat beaches and flat areas behind Selsey bill. I’ve got some troops stationed over there but the nearest defensive ships are in Porsea. There is also the old Roman fort across from Porsea. The walls are still sound and we use that as a useful base. I wish we had their skills to address our problems.”

“Amen to that,” Drustina replied as she recollected the infinite number of Roman remains she had encountered on her journeys. “What we really need though are Roman roads to improve our mobility and responsiveness on land.”

The more Drustina considered the available landing grounds, the more she was coming to think that their best defence was to attack the Viking fleet at sea. She desperately needed more ships. She had enough to make a viable defence of and in the Solanta but a force capable of searching out and confronting the Viking force by attacking it at sea would need half as many ships again; Drustina just didn’t have that many. Ever the pessimist, Drustina considered Althred’s words. If the Vikings had been trading in the Solanta then it was fairly certain they knew about the open flatlands backing to Selsey Bill. One thing was becoming increasingly obvious; the steep sea cliffs of Ynys Wit, even if only a couple of hundred feet high, were totally unsuitable for cavalry. To use his cavalry to advantage, Harald Cold-blood needed to land where he had space to manoeuvre. Selsey Bill was beginning to look like the likeliest place. After finishing her meal Drustina acted quickly as she announced her plan.

“We must first plan to meet the Vikings on the open sea. I’m fairly sure they’ll be putting to sea tomorrow and landing in two days in the morning; that is three days hence. Can we make egress from the Selsey Bill more difficult by digging earthworks from the creeks to the base of Porland hill; you know that steep cliff that backs onto Porsea creek?”

Althred sucked his teeth.

“It’s goodly mile my lady, a ditch wide enough to stop a horse needs be six or seven yards wide. That will take most of the Porsea contingent a couple of days, there are some five thousand soldiers.”

“Who are mainly farmers when they are not in armour.” Drustina countered. “Men used to wielding picks and shovelling earth or rock.”

Althred and a couple of the other Saxon earls mumbled discontentedly.

“They might not take kindly to being made to grub about in the earth.” One offered. “They consider themselves picked men.”

“Yes, well tell them I’m picking them for another military duty, namely building more defences. Grubbing in the earth is a damned sight better than being buried in it. Let’s go and survey the area and see what’s the best option.”

Drustina caught Carl’s knowing smile and she grinned surreptitiously back. She and Carl and her old comrades had plenty of experience of preparing battle fields as well as cause to be glad of those preparations. They rose as one and followed Drustina to their ships. Althred and Udris noted the unexpected enthusiasm of Drustina’s chosen men and quickly followed suit. Soon all the Ynys Wit Garrison were accompanying Drustina’s ships towards Porsea. Althred took the lead and guided Drustina into Porsea creek to dock at the old Roman fort. Drustina looked up at the impressive battlements and nodded with some satisfaction.

‘The Romans certainly knew how to build’. She concluded silently. ‘If the Vikings had any Ballista or catapults or trebuchets; (Which she had not seen during her spying foray,) they might have stood a chance of taking the fort. Otherwise it was a matter of laying siege and starving the fortress out. That would take time which the Vikings did not have. Theirs would have to be a very swift and violent campaign to offer any chance of success.’

Drustina was beginning to feel a little more confident especially when she noted that Carl had been busy building exactly such an artillery piece in exactly the correct platform behind the Battlements, just as the Romans had designed it. The entrance to Porsea creek was well guarded. Drustina had no doubt there was another similar artillery piece across on the other battlement across the harbour mouth. She turned to check only to have Carl nod knowingly.

“Yes Dru. One this side, two over there. It will cost them dear to force their way into the creek.

“Can we not put one of them on some sort of floating platform or a couple of barges lashed together then we could move it around the creek and even defend the earthworks; well a goodly length of them.”

Carl paused thoughtfully.

“The best one would be the trebuchet. You can place several medium to smaller size stones in the sling and it has a greater range than the catapults.”

“And making it mobile afloat will make it impossible to capture if the Vikings overwhelm Porsea.”

“Let’s go for it then.” Carl agreed as he motioned to his troops.

Drustina watched with satisfaction, Carl had some of the best men under their command and they made a good unit when teamwork was needed. She turned her attention to the earthworks project where Althred had found a local man and was questioning him about the narrowest place betwixt Porland Hill and Porsea creek. He motioned to a point and Hengis rode around the shore with Althred while Drustina took the Mermaid across the creek as close inshore as she could. By evening, they had chosen a location and men were arriving from all sections of the Saxon army to commence building.

Within a day and a half, Drustina was satisfied with the result. It was not perfect but an unexpected bonus had been the relative softness of the rock forming Porland Hill. It meant that modest boulders could easily quarried then scattered in front of the earthworks to prevent a full tilt cavalry charge that might just enable some forces to jump the trench. A trench some five yards wide and a yard deep (not as much as Drustina had hoped)stretched from the newly steepened cliff base to the shore a distance of about one thousand five hundred yards. A channel had been dug from the one fathom line to the shore to enable the Trebuchet barge to cover the seaward five hundred yards with slingfulls of rocks perfectly sized to kill a man or a horse and yet provide a spread of rocks to be sure of hitting Vikings in or near the trenched earthwork. The last half day was spent re-positioning the allied Saxon, Celt and Gaulish forces back to their original preparations.

That evening, Drustina put to sea east and south of Ynys Wit with all her mermaid class ships. They were the only ships quick enough and manoeuvrable enough to even contemplate attacking the Viking fleet at sea. Meanwhile, Helios was in command of a small flotilla of slow, merchant craft loitering provocatively close to the Selsey Bill. The hope was that Harald Cold-blood’s innate sense of piracy would see the slow lumbering flotilla as a prize to tempting to ignore. Helios’s crews would make pretence of panic and drive their ships ashore on Selsey Bill. The crews would then abandon their ships and make a seemingly panic stricken dash up the beach onto the dry land behind the storm-beach. Hopefully on the ‘wounded bird’ theory, Harald’s men would land some of their cavalry forces ashore in anticipation of rounding up the routed sailors and putting them to the sword. If this ploy worked, Drustina would bring her own ships and the Celtic fleet commanded by Udris, to attack the Vikings from seaward. They could not hope to defeat the Viking fleet but they had prepared countless fire arrows to pin down the Vikings while Althred’s Cavalry prepared attack the landing area.

Drustina knew this all hinged on Harald Cold-blood’s greed, but there were few things more certain in life than greed.

Gazette of Characters etc.

Mabina.... Ch 1 The youngest daughter and Twin to
Drustan.... Ch1 Her twin brother.
Grandpa Erin.... Ch1 The twin’s grandfather.
Giana.... Ch1 The twin’s grandmother.
Caderyn.... Ch1 The twin’s father.
Herenoie.... Ch1` The twin’s wise and beautiful mother.
Morgaran.... Ch1 The Twins oldest brother.
Aiofe.... Ch1 The twin’s oldest sister. Famous for her beauty.
Tara.... Ch1 The twin’s second oldest sister. Famous for her grace.
Feidlim.... Ch1 Twins aunt (Caderyns’ beautiful sister.)
Mogantu.... Ch1 Twins uncle (Married to Feidlim.) Chief of the Gangani tribe.
Brun.... Ch1 Twins 2nd cousin and the Acaman clans’ blacksmith.
Feorin.... Ch1 Twins second brother. Also training to be a blacksmith.
Rhun.... Ch 2 Feidlims’ son and Feorins’ favourite 1st Cousin. (Both red-heads.)
Arina.... Ch 4. Child of a Demetae fisherman, (rescued by the three siblings.)
Penderol.... Ch 6 Dumnonii Minor chief.
Udris.... Ch 6. Young Dumnonii warrior. Ch 6
Dryslwyn.... Ch 7 High chief of the whole Celtic nation. Dwells in Brithony. Ch 7
Bronlwyn.... Ch 7 Dryslwyn’s wife (and queen.) Ch 7
Magab.... Ch 8 The moor who taught numbers.
Eric.... Saxon galley slave rescued from Corsair pirates.
Carl.... Another Saxon galley slave rescued by Drustan.
Torvel.... Celtic galley slave rescued from the same captured corsair ship
Arton.... Ch 7 Turdetani Chieftain Holder of Gibral Rock.
Carinia.... Ch7 Arton’s wife.
Isobel... . Ch 7 Arton’s adopted daughter.
Appotel.... King of the Turdetani Tribe. (Southern Iberia.)
Bramana.... Queen. (Wife of Appotel)
Pilus.... King of the Capetani.
Shaleen.... Pilus’s queen and sister to Bramana.
Pedoro.... Lord Marshal of the Southern border region.
Lady Shulaar.... Lord Pedoro’s wife.
Taan.... The scullery maid.
Isaar.... Pedoro’s oldest son.
Ferdie.... Pedoro’s 2nd son
Sular.... Pedoro’s 3rd son
Gontala.... Pedoro’s youngest son.
Shenoa.... Pedoro’s only daughter.
Portega.... Tyrant King to the west.
Portua.... Portega’s grandson.
Jubail.... Old Fisherman.
Mutas.... Magab’s younger brother and usurper.
Walezia.... King of Malta.
Alviar.... Megalomaniacal bishop of Carthage. (Hates Drustina.)
Ethelia.... Female healer who treats Drustina during her pregnancy.
Seripatese.... Drustina’s faithful horse.
Astos & Amitor.... Minor royalty who govern Alexandria. King and Twin Queen.
Meronee.... Nubian Queen of Nobatia The northern Kingdom of the Nubians.
Horam.... The Egyptian master Boat builder.
Muraa.... King Astos’s male partner.
Tuk.... Makurian general.
Fantu.... Makurian Captain.
Irene.... Emperor Leon’s only child.
Leon.... Byzantine Emperor.
Zano.... Byzantine general who defeats the Bulgars with Drustina’s help.
Urthos.... The Gaul elected captain of the 4th ship. Ex Barbary galley slave.
Horus... . Horam the boat-builder’s son.
Sister Catherine.... Leader of the pirate nuns.
Guthrun.... Jarl of Bornholm.
Etheline.... Guthruns’ wife the countess of Bornholm.
Capenda.... Taras’ mare.
Athun.... Gay king of Dark Age Denmark.
Queen Elthorn.... King Athuns’ Consort.
Iselda... . Athun and Brendigan’s, younger (middle) sister.
Heingist or Hengis..... Drustina’s loyal Danish pilot who becomes her 1st Mate
Brendigan..... Athun’s older sister and consort queen of Svenland.
Bjorn.... . The captain of the Palace Guard. King Athun’s gay partner.
Morgan and Amethyst..... Drustina’s twin children.
Dalcimon..... Queen of West Friesia.
Andrar..... Prince of West Friesia (Dalcimon’s son.)
Jupus..... Carl’s stallion.
Heliox..... Drustina’s second mate and deputy navigator (Ex Belgiie fisherman)
Gisela..... Viking princess captured after the Battle of Godwin Sands.
“Althred..... Young Saxon Naval commander who allies his fleet with Drustina
Symone.... Young teenaged rape victim who join’s Drustina’s band.
Edburg.... The Angry mermaid’s cook.
Harald Cold Blood.... The Viking King, father of Gisela (Ch 69)

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