The Angry Mermaid 100 or Y Morforwyn Dicllon 100

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First contact is made with the invading Norsemen. Drustina nearly gets caught thanks to a reckless but humanitarian act of kindness.

http://www.westernyachtclub.com/chartsbundle/CHARTS/1819.htm
http://www.westernyachtclub.com/chartsbundle/CHARTS/1547.htm
http://www.westernyachtclub.com/chartsbundle/CHARTS/1548.htm
http://www.westernyachtclub.com/chartsbundle/CHARTS/1549.htm
http://www.westernyachtclub.com/chartsbundle/CHARTS/1540.htm

Most of the first action takes place just east and south of Scattery Island.

The Angry Mermaid. 100
Or
Y Morforwyn Dicllon 100

As they returned to Tarbert, Drustina ensured all four of the mermaid ships were always afloat and ready for immediate action. She then sent Heliox to collect the Men that Dorvan had gathered at Glin Castle some two miles further up the estuary. Next she despatched Carl and Udris to survey as much of the shoreline as they could whilst avoiding any contact with the Viking ships.

“They’ll be coming in from Loop head so if you see them, try and determine how long before they reach Glin, that’s where Heliox is loading Dorvan’s men now. I’m going to join him in case more men have arrived at Glin Castle. Ideally, I’d like at least two hundred men and a few horsemen making as much commotion on the north shore, preferably by commandeering more horses with Dorvan’s consent from the north-shore dwellers.
Once they see the Viking ships they’ll probably agree to just about anything to protect their lives and villages. That’s what I’m hoping anyway. I can’t afford to send too many men across the estuary we need at least five hundred on this side to pick away at the Vikings in the forests. They’ll be spread very thin from Tarbert where we first landed, all the way up the South shore to Foynes. The big problem is we have no idea exactly where they’ll choose to land.”

With clear instructions handed down, Drustina followed Heliox up to the tiny pier at Glin that served the Castle’s logistical needs. Once there, Dorvan reported that he had only four hundred men altogether but men were still coming in from the inland villages. After the last Viking attack, every Celt in Connacht knew that it was essential to meet the Vikings as soon as possible on the beach and before they got themselves established ashore.

Dal O’Dalgliesh’s fleet of ships was an essential part of the interception strategy but the ships were a necessary compromise between sailing in all seasons upon the huge waves of the great west sea and carrying cargo when not called upon for war. He did have three ships that resembled longships however and they operated partly as ferries and partly as traders up and down the long Shannon estuary. These were the fastest Hibernian ships that were first to be fitted with oars when the alarm had been raised. They would be the first ships to reach Foynes from Limerick. The more numerous, sea-going boats would follow as each was fitted with oars and made ready.

When she was assisting with loading some horses onto her own ship at Glin, Drustina still had no idea how many ships or men King Dal had yet mustered at Foynes. After crossing the estuary and landing the horses with Heliox she had yet to decide whether to go down-channel to meet Carl and Udris and assess the Viking threat or to go up-channel to Foynes and assess King Dal’s defensive situation.
In the end the decision was made for her by a very fortunate find. As they were landing the horses in the water Heliox noticed a mast sticking up from behind some rocks. Fearful at first that it might be a hidden Viking raider they stood to stations while a horseman was sent to investigate. He came back with good news.

One of the Viking ships from the previous attack had run aground on the rocks and been abandoned. The horseman also brought back a local farmer who nervously explained that he was dismantling the ship piece by piece.

“I meant no harm sirs! The ship was badly smashed on the rocks, it would never sail again. The local clan leader said I could use it. My son and I have been dismantling the ship to make an addition to my house.”
Drustina was just about to dismiss the frightened man then she had a thought.

“Where are the timbers you’ve salvaged?”

“Still behind the rock. When we have recovered all we can use, we will have one of the villagers help me haul it up yonder to my farmhouse. My son and I cannot let the good wood go to waste for his wife is with child and the house is too small. I am not stealing the timbers; the clan leader said ...”

“Yes, yes; I quite understand, I’m not accusing you of theft. How much of the ship is left?”

“Very little miss except for the big frames, I’ve nearly broken it all down, but everything I’ve salvaged is stacked up by the rocks.

She thumped her palm with her fist as she cursed with delight.

“Bloody fantastic! I have an Idea. Heliox bring some men with me to the wreck.”

They left enough men to mind the horses and unload the arrows while Drustina dashed along the beach to inspect the farmer’s handiwork. What she saw brought a smile to her face. Most of the heavy timbers save the mast, yard and keel were sawn up into manageable ten foot lengths or shorter. The farmer’s son was still sitting with the saw by his side wondering what was going on. As Drustina rooted through the neatly stacked and sorted timber she could have kissed the farmer.

“You can keep the planking and lighter frames for your house but I am commandeering some of the heavy frames and timbers including the Mast, yard and keel. I want you to immediately cut the keel into two fifteen foot lengths, NOW! Don’t stand there gawking man.”

Shocked by the strange woman’s assumption of authority he glanced questioningly to Heliox who nodded confirmation of Drustina’s rank. Thus reassured, the farmer motioned to his son and commenced sawing while Drustina organised the other timbers to be carried to the Mermaid. When she returned she set several strong men to spell the farmers and the heavy keels was soon fashioned into sizes that Drustina wanted. As the timbers appeared beside the Mermaid the men started muttering bemusedly until Heliox grasped what was afoot. He quickly subdued the men as he caught Drustina’s attention and made an over-arm flicking motion to simulate a trebuchet. Drustina smiled and held her fingers out to indicate a small one that was fairly mobile and liftable.

As Heliox encouraged the men, Drustina returned to the farmers.

“Do you have a cart?”

The farmers had by now learned about the Viking danger and were proving very co-operative. Indeed they had already volunteered to join Heliox’s north-shore band. He grinned as he confirmed his cart.

“Yes my lady but I’m afraid it is a heavy cumbersome affair and it needs at least one ox or two horses to pull it.”

“The heavier and stronger the better. I only want the wheels, shafts and backbone.”

“Will I get it back milady?”

“Very unlikely. You will be compensated if we can drive the Vikings back. Go and get it and any more tools you keep on your farm.”

This was as good a promise as the farmer could expect for if the Vikings were not driven off, he stood to lose everything including his life.

Within an hour the cart was delivered and dismantled on the beach. In that hour Drustina had not been idle. The frame and swing arm of a recognisable trebuchet was already taking place. Much of the iron from the Viking ship was being cannibalised and with the additional tools provided by the farmer, Drustina soon had a workable trebuchet and a wheeled frame to carry it. As she was loading it aboard the Mermaid and preparing to leave Heliox on the north shore, Udris and Carl appeared from the West.

“There are three and twenty longships and they are under sail. We think they are conserving their energies by not rowing until they have decided where to land. Our guess is they’ll be here in about four hours. We put into a little village to learn the states of the tides and they were already alerted by the signal fires. We instructed them to mass as best they can with as many horses and men as they can muster and to try and match the longships all the way along the north shore. When we left they had about fifty men but they have a couple of tributaries to cross as they travel east. We cannot with certainty say how many will eventually join you or when because of the dammed tributaries. It would help I think if we use the mermaids to ferry them across the two widest tributaries.”

Drustina was put in a quandary that Carl readily understood as he recognised the hastily assembled trebuchet.

“Does that thing work?” He asked Drustina.

“Not very well, it’s a bit ramshackle but it’ll sling some modest stones about three to four hundred yards.”

“Enough to sink a long ship?”!

“I doubt it. Maybe damage the sails and rigging.”

“But with speed and manoeuvrability it could be effective. You’ll need plenty of sea-room.” Carl mused.

Drustina smirked and motioned one hand to the immense Shannon estuary.

“How much room d’you need? I was thinking about the narrow Channel at Foynes. If we could tempt them into that we might sink a few if it’s well footed down. The sling arm is a bit too long and it’s not very stable, especially onboard. I was thinking of locating it on the cliff overlooking the Island.”

“Best gather some stones then we can share them out between the other Mermaids.”

After a moderately successful demonstration to the perplexed Celts, the whole band was avidly scouring the rocks for stones and the mermaids were quickly loaded but only to a draught that would not seriously hamper their speed or manoeuvrability. Drustina concluded that she might as well have Heliox with them because until the Vikings passed where they had landed on the north shore, there was nothing useful the North-shore troop could do short of making themselves look as large and conspicuous force as possible.
Having loaded the mermaids as much as speed and manoeuvrability would allow, the four ships set off to assist with the ferrying of the north-shore villagers across the large tributary at Carrigaholt then up along the North shore to Killimer where they had left the original troops. This necessitated their going west down the Shannon as the Vikings came east up the estuary. Every man afloat new it was going to be a cat and mouse affair as the Mermaids depended on speed to avoid being trapped by the longships while they shepherded men along the north shore.

It was a foregone conclusion that the longships would immediately turn to investigate the strange ships on sighting them. It was also a reasonable certainty that some of the Viking captains would recognise the mermaid ships as the nemesis that had twice defeated them in the waters south of Britannia and once, earlier, in the great river that drained Saxony, Frankia and Gaul.

Drustina and Carl knew better than anybody that the Vikings would go mad with a lust for revenge if they recognised either of them. As a precaution, they had long ago stripped all insignia and markings from all their sails and hulls. Anonymity was part of their camouflage for as long as the tactic worked.

~o000o~

In the middle of their loading operations at Carrigaholt, Udris was keeping a lookout of Kilcredhaun point when he spied the first sail as the Viking fleet rounded Kilcloher head. He fired a black smoky daylight arrow to warn Drustina who sailed south to join him to assess the situation.

“They’re under sail and the tide’s ebbing, they’ll be a while yet. Tell Carl and Heliox to load as many as they can and make immediately for Killmer, you can then return to me here. Oh and tell Carl to stay close to the shore, the ebb will be weaker there. The others will have to ride their horses and that’s as many as we can muster.”

“What are your plans Dru?”

“You and I will wait here and take a pop at them with the trebuchet, I don’t suppose I’ll get many shots in before they can overwhelm me so after I’ve fired of a few shots we’ll have to withdraw. I want your ship handy with as many bowmen as you can gather from Carrigaholt just to give my ship some cover. Throw all your stones overboard, we’ll need to be fast when the time comes and you’ll need to carry as many bowmen as you can without seriously slowing you down. I don’t expect to come within longbow range but you never can tell. That’s an awful lot of ships out there.”

“This is risky Dru.” Udris cautioned.

“I know. The only plus is that as we use up my stones, I will get lighter and therefore faster. Once I’m out of ammunition, we’ll make a run for the south shore. I’m hoping they’ll follow us and pay no attention to Carl and Heliox. They should be well up-channel by then anyway.”

Udris nodded slowly, he was not very convinced but any action was better than nothing. Any men watching from either shore would be heartened to see some sort of early defence being mounted. He shrugged and set his ship to follow as closely to The Angry Mermaid as was safe. He was literally within talking distance of Drustina’s stern.

As the longships sailed steadily closer Udris watched Drustina’s stern like a hawk. They both knew that the mermaids performed far better than the square rigged style of the longships when close-hauled to the wind but on a reach with the wind abaft the stern the advantage was not so pronounced. As the pair raced south into the westerly wind Drustina called out to Udris.

“I’ll take a shot at the leading ship with the red and black sail. She’s the biggest and therefore the easiest target. I’ll bet she’s the flagship! If this trebuchet is effective I might just linger and take a few shots but if it’s too unstable on this reach we’ll come about and run like hell for the south shore. The tide is quite strong in mid channel and the choppy sea will give us a better advantage. Besides, it’ll be easier firing this thing over the stern cos’ I can load it with smaller stones to get a better spread where our own rigging and sail isn’t in the way.”

“D’you think they’ll use their oars?” Udris asked.

“If they do, we’ll cease firing and keep to mid channel where the water is roughest. It’s hard to row when the sea is too choppy. Look, see where the tide race is short and steep, already I can see some overfalls ...”

“Those waves are very steep and high Dru! You’d best take great care while you’re laden with the stones,” Udris observed with no little concern, “you’ll have to jettison out some more stone.”

“I will do if I have to,” Drustina finished as she attended to the trebuchet.

Udris watched with curiosity as the first slingful of fist sized stones hurtled away only to splash short

“Bloody sea!” She cursed, “She’s rolling too much. The next load I’ll have to watch how she’s rolling and pick my moment.”

“They’re firing back with their bows.” Udris warned.

They both watched with practised eyes as they determined the Viking’s arrow range. Drustina remarked.

“I’d say about three hundred yards; the Norsemen never did make good bows. Not enough Yew trees in Norvegia I suppose. They’re about fifty yards shorter than this we beastie on a calm day.”

She patted the ‘min-trebuchet’ affectionately. The next fall of Viking arrows fell about twenty yards short and Drustina decided they were close enough. She signalled ‘ready about’ and the two Mermaids pirouetted as a dancing pair to present their sterns to the Viking longships. It appeared that they were running away.

The Vikings found this tempting target just too difficult to resist and soon, several of the lead ships had their oars out. Drustina smiled evilly to Udris and they both simply tightened the sheets to gain another couple of knots. This put their speeds fractionally faster than the Vikings so they spilled a bag-full of wind to match their speeds as closely as they could. As they watched the Vikings rowing furiously Drustina wagged her head and called to Udris.

“What d’you bet it will take them an hour to realise they are not catching us?”

Udris gave her evens and they both chuckled as Drustina’s crew had the Trebuchet turned around to face aft and lashed down again to stop it rolling back. Now it didn’t matter if the Mermaid rolled like a pig in mud; the fore-and-aft motion was infinitely less extreme. Drustina tightened the trebuchet a couple of turns more then slipped the lever. The ram-shackle monstrosity rattled noisily as the arm weight dropped and the stones whistled as they showered through the air.

This time they straddled the stern of the lead ship and they had the satisfaction of seeing several men struck down. More importantly one of the stones sliced across the main halyard and the main-yard lurched but held. Nevertheless, the ship had to haul off and attend to the halyard or risk losing both sail and yard.

“She’ll be delayed a few hours!” Drustina cackled across the water to Udris.

Her lieutenant simply gave her the thumbs up and continued pouring arrows into the offending longship. Very quickly the great ship fell back through the fleet and eventually disappeared behind a headland as the Vikings continued cursing and rowing. Drustina immediately chose some sharp stones that were slightly larger and loaded the trebuchet again.

Once again the contraption rumbled and clattered as the weight dropped and the sling arm swept its mighty arc. At the top of the swing the stones streaked out of the sling and fell in a wide circle that engulfed two ships but seemingly only managed to fell a couple of men on each of the two ships. Drustina frowned as a few holes appeared in the longship sails but otherwise little damage was done. She decided to mix the next charge of the sling and selected some largish boulders mixed with an assortment of lesser stones. She was tempted to wind the trebuchet further but the complaints from the crudely fashioned fittings persuaded her that it might be a bad idea. For the third time the weight rumbled off the drum and the arm swung through its arc to release the stones at the point of fastest rotation. This time one of the larger stones struck down through the planking of one of the pursuers and Drustina noted they geyser of water that spurted up through the hole. In addition, several men were struck and Drustina heard the curses even from a little over three hundred yards.

She was so preoccupied with watching the damaged ship begin to fall back that she did not notice the split in the trebuchet’s main arm. When she fired the weapon for the fourth time there was a deafening crack and the arm broke away to catapult into the sea behind the Mermaid.

It splashed into the wake of the mermaid and immediately began to act as a sea anchor as it dragged and skittered in the wake.

“Damn!!” Drustina cursed. “My fault! I shouldn’t have overloaded the bloody thing!”

A huge cheer erupted from the Viking ships as they realised they were at least safe from the damned killing machine.

Drustina suddenly realised that the Viking pursuers now stood a very good chance of catching up with her unless they could free the broken sling arm. She could even feel the Mermaid jerking as the long timber spar skipped and jerked on the ropes that still attached it to the Mermaid. Frantically she started chopping away at the several drum ropes that had operated the trebuchet and it was a full three minutes before she and several of the crew managed to cut the damnable obstruction free. I those three minutes, the Viking ships were within arrow range and several of her crew were shot before she managed to regain her speed. She herself was lucky insofar as an arrow grazed her arm and thudded into the tiller before her well trained and experienced crew raced to form turtles around the steersman and yardsmen. Even so three of her crew lay dying and one of the two young Munster men was severely wounded. Drustina was too preoccupied with squeezing every ounce of speed from her ship, to attend to any of the injured. There were others who could do that.

On the bright side, being in ‘arrow range’ also put the Viking ships in range of her Celtic arrows and British Yew was a far better long-bow material than Norwegian pinewood. The Celtic arrows were descending upon the Viking ships with much greater force even if the pounding of the Celtic ships reduced their accuracy. The Norsemen’s chain mail proved to be little protection from the lethal ‘bodkins’ that tipped the Celtic arrows. In some instances the arrows even pierced their plate armour if the strike angle was perfectly perpendicular.

The Norsemen’s optimism soon turned to frustration and anger as they watched in disbelief as once again, the two Celtic ships put distance between them.

Once out of range Udris came within shouting range and they discussed what to do.

“I think it best if we go south of that island and try to get them to keep pursuing us. That way we give Carl and Heliox time to assemble the north-shore troop.”

“And if they don’t follow us?”

“Hell Udris, I’m not a clairvoyant! What would you bloody do?”

Udris grinned and shrugged. One thing he had learned whist fighting alongside the Lioness was that she was a master of compromise and innovation. There were only two alternatives north or south around the Island. As they approached, Drustina noted the tall tower and somewhat elaborate buildings so she turned to her local pilot who knew the waters.

“What Island is that?”

“Scattery my lady. The monks have colonised it. Those buildings are a church and an abbey.”

Drustina frowned. If the monks had not evacuated by now, she could not help them.

“They’ll have to hide in their bloody round-tower if any of that lot are tempted to raid the place. And they will be. I suppose the place is loaded with gold and silver ornaments!”

The local pilot nodded with some slight embarrassment for he knew of Drustina’s pagan dislike of the Christian faith.

“Well they’ll have to look to their own defences. We are hopelessly outnumbered over ten to one in ships alone.”

The local pilot gazed at the deck with some dismay and Drustina sensed his concern. She asked him what was wrong.

“Go on, what’s bothering you?”

“The Island is a very holy place. There are many holy relics in the church.”

“Huh! You mean bits of bone or skin or cloth!”

“We still hold them in reverence, just like you hold that sword in reverence.”

Drustina unwittingly grasped the familiar handle and automatically rolled her fingers around the reassuring grip. She replied.

“Yeah, well this sword has served me well and I serve it. I have every right to revere my sword; it has kept me alive on many a battlefield. We go south; the monks can take their chances. It would be suicide to tarry here now!”

The local pilot could readily see the Lionesses quandary and he did not envy her the responsibility of command. If she diverted now and tried to save a hundred monks who were in all probability un-armed; she would sacrifice her own few men and Udris’s crew to being overwhelmed by a couple of thousand enraged Vikings. It simply was not worth it.

They raced on with Udris taking the south side of the main channel and Drustina going close to the southern tip of Scattery to see what she could see. It appeared that the monks had already retreated into their round tower until one of the lookouts spotted a lone figure waving furiously from the southernmost extremity.

Drustina cursed as she saw the expressions of concerns in the Tipperrarian’s eyes.

“What, you want me to risk all our necks for one man’s life and not even a fighting man at that.

“I think we could do it. There’ a tiny pier just a few hundred yards around the point. Look he’s pointing towards it.”

Drustina cursed again as they rounded the southern extremity of the island and sure enough, she saw the tiny pier that jutted out into the turbulent waters. What concerned her more was the small group of figures clustered there. Some were obviously children.

“Why aren’t they up in the bloody round tower?” She demanded of the Tipperrarian Pilot.

“They are not monks, they must be the family that run the Farm on the Southern end.”

“What!!?” Drustina almost screeched as she flung the rudder over and raced for the pier.

She glared uncomprehendingly at the Tipperrarian but realised the situation was not of his doing. Even so she wanted to curse somebody or something that a family with children no less, had been left stranded by the monks to face certain execution. The pilot fell silent for he was also angry and embarrassed that their flight from danger had been delayed. Drustina’s next move impressed him immensely as she brought The Angry Mermaid alongside the pier at speed and screeched to the family to jump. They needed no further encouragement as they all flung themselves into the passing ship while the man, who was obviously the father, tossed a tiny baby into welcoming arms amongst the crew. The he himself leapt desperately across the widening gap and slammed his shins against the rail as more hands seized him and dragged him howling with pain to safety.

Despite his agony the gratitude shone like a beacon in his eyes while his wife and children fell to praying to their god for salvation. The Tipperrarian pilot gently tapped the wife’s shoulder while others attended the farmer’s bleeding shins.

“It’s her you should be thanking; not God!”

The woman immediately looked up beseechingly and flung her arms around Drustina’s knees. An embarrassed Lioness tried to extricate her legs from the woman’s frantic embrace and she cursed as she turned to look aft. It was touch and go whether she could get ahead and across the lead Viking ships who were fortunately embroiled in another group of tidal overfalls further south of the Island. Quickly she conferred with the Tipperrarian pilot who explained the best track to avoid the worst of the ebbing tide.

“Thanks, now can you get this stupid woman off my legs. I can hardly steer at these speeds if I cannot spread my feet to plant them!”

The desperately grateful mother was persuaded to release her embrace and Drustina immediately braced her legs as she and one of her companions lay hard upon the tiller. She sighed with relief as her faithful ship responded as always and span around so sharply that the new passengers lost their balances and tumbled towards the low side. The Angry Mermaid lurched uncharacteristically and Drustina swore at the newcomers.

“Sit down you stupid bastards, if you live on an island you should at least know how to keep steady in a ship.”

Shocked expressions turned to look disbelievingly at the very same woman who had, just a moment earlier, saved them. Drustina’s fear showed raw and unbridled in her glare.

“Damn you, if the Vikings catch us, you’d better be prepared to fight. Look you fools, did I save a family of idiots just to have the damned Viking ensnare us!!?”

Tense with real concerns, Drustina even snapped at her well proven and well co-ordinated crew.

“Dammit! Can you not get that bloody sheet tighter. We need all the speed we can muster!”

Her tension spread like a cancer through the crew and the silence became oppressive as everybody’s eyes turned to measure the approach of the Vikings.

She turned to her second and ordered him to make fire for arrows.

“It might slow them down and they won’t be expecting it. Get the Greek stone ready.”

Her second-in-command quickly produced the little waxed leather pouch that kept the flint, marcasite pyrites and fine mixed tinder completely dry. Drustina was not even watching him make the flame as she concentrated on keeping her course and measuring the approach angle of the leading longships. The Tipperrarian pilot however was watching fascinated as the second in command gently struck the pyrites with a slowish downward stroke that produced a long-lasting dull red spark. To his amazement the sparks fell into the tinder and after the third stroke the lieutenant’s gentle breath brought forth smoke quickly followed by flame. The pilot turned to Drustina.

“My God that is amazing. What magic is that stone?”

“We call it Greek stone though that stone came from Polanda.”

“Does King Dal know of it?”

Drustina grinned as she replied with her well used answer.

“I don’t know; you’ll have to ask him!”

By now the crew were preparing the first salvo of arrows and the lieutenant had been given the nod to use Drustina’s personal bow. He knew it was a sign that she had genuine concerns about escaping the Viking pursuers. Showing due reverence for the oft discussed weapon, he nocked the bow, dipped the arrow in the fire pot and Drustina steadied the Mermaid as best she could. The lieutenant chose his own moment and then shouted to the men.

“Now!”

A score of fire arrows flew straight and true into the leading vessel and Drustina squealed with delight as she watched the lieutenant’s arrow thud into the steersman’s leg while another man’s slammed into the steering oar.

“Brilliant shooting!” Look at the mayhem you’ve caused.

The steersman had momentarily lost his grip on the steering oar and it had slipped out of its notch to flop around with the steering end out of immediate reach. Only the safety line saved it from being totally lost and for long seconds several Vikings cursed and struggled to recover control.

In the stern the original steersman thrashed about with a burning arrow in his thigh while cursing and bellowing in pain as men attempted to extinguish the flame. Puzzled that the Vikings had so much trouble extinguishing the flaming arrow, Tipperrarian pilot asked about the fuel.

“What is it that burns so well and can’t be extinguished?”

Drustina looked thoughtfully at the pot of burning oil and watched her men preparing the next salvo of fire arrows. Absent-mindedly she answered the Tipperrarian.

“It’s Babylonian oil. We’ve only got one amphora left. I was hoping to save it for another day but needs must.”

He tapped her on the shoulder to attract her attention back to the Viking fleet.

“Well it seems those needs are over for the moment. Look at the chaos amongst that lot.”

Drustina looked up to see the leading Viking longship go careering across the path of the next two ships as the fire arrows caused pandemonium amongst the rowers. The swift orderly progress momentarily degenerated into a shambolic tangle as ships were forced to stop or turn away from the three entangled front runners. Drustina only had a moment to assess the situation before telling her warriors to aim for the furthermost outer ship that was still spearheading the approach.

‘If we can force that one to divert’ she thought, ‘we might upset the whole approach because there are only four columns and five ranks of ships.

She turned to the Tipperrarian pilot.

“There were twenty three ships. Two were knocked back earlier, where’s the other one?”

“Could that be it, just coming around the northern tip of the Island.”

Drustina turned briefly from watching her course and smiled partly with relief and partly with a smug sense of satisfaction. By her count, they would be free and running if they could slow down the outermost remaining lead ship that was steering a perfect course to intercept them. She didn’t have to tell her lieutenant what to aim at, the risks where frighteningly obvious.

Oh for the trebuchet now!’ She mused as her knuckles turned white as she gripped the tiller.

As she continued pressing hard against the tiller she watched her companions unleash the next flight of fire arrows but now the attackers were anticipating it. Shields went up as one as the Vikings formed a turtle and the arrows simply embedded themselves mostly into the upturned shields. Yes, the shields burned but only slowly and the Viking ship would be in range with their own arrows in minutes. As they prepared the next flight of flaming arrows her lieutenant gave her a searching look.

“What shall we aim for?”

“Wait a few moments, the flatter the trajectory of our arrows, the better the chance of hitting something hiding under a shield.
They have to be able to see out and the shields are hampering their rowing. Look; they have slowed down considerably.”

Even as she said this, she felt some small relief surge through her body. The problem was that when they did come within arrow range, the Vikings would be able to unleash a hail of up to a hundred arrows. She warned her men to be ready to dive for cover under their shields after they had discharged their third and necessarily last salvo of fire arrows. There would be little chance of firing a fourth because it the Vikings had trained properly, they’d be able to pin them down by firing repeated half salvoes still twice the number of the Mermaid’s crew; and shooting every time the Celts showed their faces from under their shields. Drustina’s belly sagged with uncertainty as she calculated the depreciating odds. She pressed harder on the tiller and stared at the rigging that almost hummed with tension. If it got any tighter, the bloody sheets would part and there lay disaster.

“Come my baby, come on! Don’t fail me now! Udris, Udris! Where are you now when I most need you!?”

The Tipperrarian pilot watched with growing uncertainty until he could bear it no more.

“Is there nothing I can do? You are on a perfectly safe course if you hold her steady!”

Drustina studied him for a moment trying to assess the man’s courage under fire. So far he had remained steadfast but she asked herself, ‘would it last when the Viking arrows started pouring in?’

Even as this thought tormented her, she saw a Viking arrow splash into the water not twenty yards distance. She decided to take a chance on the Tipperrarian’s courage as she called to her lieutenant.

“Fire now comrade, fire as flat as you dare and try to get under the shields. Look how they hold them above their heads; they still expect the arrows to come raining down from the sky.”

Then she turned to her pilot as the fire arrows left the bows.

“Now Pilot, take the Helm and steer as straight a course as you think safe past that headland. My men will form a turtle around you even as I take up my bow.”

She motioned to her lieutenant to return her bow then nodded towards the pilot.

“Cover him with shields and get ready to cover me as well. I’m going to try and unsettle their helmsman. Have the men take cover to protect themselves, the pilot and me. Oh and close the fire pot to extinguish the flame.”

She had barely given the order when they heard the first salvo of arrows whistling in. Everybody jumped to their allotted places but even so, a couple of men got arrows in their legs and arms as they strived to also cover the rescued family. There were not really enough shields to go around and Drustina had to duck behind the rail as she chose her arrow carefully from the preselected cluster she had gathered when they first learned of the stockpiles that King Dal kept scattered at various essential but secret locations in anticipation of just such a Viking attack. She crouched down fearfully as the Viking salvo whistled inboard and thudded terrifyingly into whatever they happened to strike. Then as she nocked her arrow, she nodded to her guardians and they raised their shields above the rail. Almost invisible to the Viking commander, Drustina peered from between the shields and slowly took aim as she commanded the Tipperrarian Pilot to hold the Mermaids as steadily as he could.. One of her guardsmen noticed she was not shooting a fire arrow. She explained.

“I’m trying for an accurate shot at the Helmsman. He has to keep looking at our ship to make sure he’s maintaining the best approach. Thus his face is exposed to constantly assess his approach. If he misses us on the first pass he’ll not catch us on the second. We’ll be passed and clear. So if I can juu-uust get an arrow into his exposed face, there’s hope for us yet.

“Good luck Lioness!” The Tipperrarian pilot shouted as he only had to look ahead with the shields protecting him from side and rear.

“Luck’s not in it Hibernian,” Drustina murmured inaudibly to all but her two guardsmen, “This shot is down to many hours of practice. Steady nowww, wait for the roll aaaand now!”

Her fingers hardly moved as the bowstring sang and the arrow left with a deadly hiss. The guardsmen closed their shields immediately so that the Vikings would have little idea where the arrow sprang from and Drustina swiftly nocked another arrow whilst crouching down behind the rail. After waiting hopefully, Drustina could only conclude that the lack of any scream or bellow meant she had missed her mark. She gently prised the shields apart a couple of inches, just enough to sight her target again. When she looked she saw her arrow had embedded itself in the stern post directly behind the Viking helmsman and she deduced that she had only missed him by inches.

‘Could she risk another shot?’ She wondered.

By now the longship was but a hundred yards away and closing quickly. It would have to be a quick shot. She nodded to her protectors and they opened the wedge of space between the shields fractionally more as Drustina rested her fingers on the rail to steady her hand as she drew back her bow. Now her target was closer and bigger, so much so she could see his expression of greed for victory as the longship swept on.

The moment came and she almost missed her chance as the mermaid rose on the wave and gave her a clear shot at his head. She loosed her arrow feverishly and this time risked her life by watching it’s flight. She heard the sickening ‘shtuuck’ as the bodkin point sliced between the links of his helmet strap and pierced his cheekbone. He let out a scream and slumped against his steering oar causing the longship to veer towards the Mermaid. There was a curse from the commander as he realised the helmsman had turned too early and was taking a path that would pass under the Mermaid’s stern.

“You stupid bastard! You’ve turned too early. Can’t you see she's faster than us!!!?”

Another voice replied.

“Rolf’s dead chief. He’s got a bloody arrow through his face.”

“Well get him off the oar you fools!”

This was music to Drustina’s ears for the Viking ship was now only fifty yards away but already abaft the Mermaid’s beam. Drustina had one last chance to hit the man who tried to remove ‘Rolf’ from his steering oar. She risked all and took it. Her arrow struck the man through his back plate and ripped into his shoulder. The man cursed and slumped against the steering oar thus preventing any hope of a swift correction to the longships course. Even as Drustina slipped down below the rail a hail of arrows poured into the planking and the shields of her two companions. They grunted as the sheer weight of thudding arrows almost dragged the shields from their grip but Drustina simply grinned and invited them to duck down close to her behind the rail. The rain of arrows continued thudding into the woodwork but the race was won. The mermaid soon put open water between her and the Viking fleet as she raced for Tarbert and Glin. Once out of range Drustina was free to look back and consider the fate of the monks on Scattery Island.

After realising they would never catch their quarry, the Vikings turned their attentions to the promise of gold and silver in the helpless monastery that sat unguarded on the Island of Scattery.

Drustina grinned as she considered the folly of their greed.

As they wasted more time plundering the monastery. They gave King Dal more time to prepare his defences.

~~oo000oo~~

Hereinunder is a Wikipedia article about the effectiveness of using Pyrites with flint to make a spark and start a fire.

http://www.primitiveways.com/marcasite%20and%20flint.html

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Comments

Great with a sword, great with a bow

Drustina is truly a legendary warrior. Great battle. Hope she can get her seagoing artillery working better for the next round.

Here's To The Next 100!

Chapter 100!

Congratulations, Bev!

I haven't read all of this story - not by a long chalk - but I couldn't let this landmark go by without acknowledging it.

Consider my glass of Apricot Schnapps well and truly raised. Iechyd da!

Ban nothing. Question everything.

Thanks, Beverly

Your good writing keeps my need for your stories satisfied.

Our thoughts are with you and yours.

Much Love,

Valerie R