Читать книгу Arthur, King - William Speir - Страница 19

Ambrosius’ engineers quickly took charge of organizing squads of men to cut timbers from the nearby forest. Horses were used to haul the timbers to the engineers’ camp, where the scaling ladders and catapults were being built.

Uther had never seen a catapult before. He had seen drawings of them left behind by the Roman Legions when they abandoned Britain, but until now, catapults hadn’t been considered useful. They were unwieldy to transport, making them ineffective in the skirmishes and battles against Britain’s invaders; they were best used against fixed fortifications – something that the armies of Britain had never needed before.

The northern armies arrived at Dinas Emrys before nightfall and reinforced the southern armies, which had the hill completely encircled. Uther went to find his captains as soon as the men from Gododdin were assigned to their camp.

Uther was pleased that Gododdin’s losses were light, but he grieved when he learned that all three of Merlin’s sons had been killed.

“The dead have been buried, Lord Uther,” his cavalry captain informed him. “Their personal items have been retrieved and will be returned to Gododdin. The wounded who could be moved were taken to Carn Fadrun. Lord Ceretic’s healers are tending to them, so our healers can help here with the siege.”

“Are the graves marked?” Uther asked.

“Only by kingdom, my Lord.”

Uther nodded. How do I tell Merlin about his sons? How can he find their graves to say good-bye?

Construction of the scaling ladders went quickly, but it took much longer to build the catapults. Squads of cavalry were sent to find boulders to hurl at the hillfort. Most were so heavy that only the horses could drag them back to the engineers’ camp.

The engineers also had teams of men dig around the area to find clay. Makeshift kilns were set up, and soon the engineers were baking clay pots.

“What are the pots for?” Nudd-Lludd asked as Ambrosius showed the kings what the engineers were doing.

“Rocks are effective against the walls and gates, but there are other ways to deal with the defenders inside the walls,” Ambrosius replied. “Pots filled with poisons can be flung over the walls. They shatter on impact, releasing poison into the water and food supplies. The pots can also be filled with pitch and set on fire. When they break, the fire spreads everywhere. These are tricks that the Romans used, and they will still work today.”

Ambrosius knew better than to assault the hillfort directly. Archers along the walls rained down arrows whenever any of his men got too close to the base of the hill. Ambrosius’ archers were too exposed to enemy arrows for them to be useful in any daylight attack. The hillfort could only be assaulted at night, and the loss of life would be very high. Vortigern had chosen Dinas Emrys well as his refuge.

A line of storms moved across Gwynedd as the siege entered its second week. The ground was wet, making it difficult to light fires to keep the men warm and dry. Clouds blanketed the sky, blocking out the sun and the moon. The darkness at night was impenetrable. The storms lasted for three days, turning the camps into a muddy mess, but the sky cleared around midnight on the fourth day.

Two hours before dawn on the fifth day, Ambrosius walked along the perimeter of Dinas Emrys in the darkness. The hillfort had been besieged for nearly two weeks, but Ambrosius’ forces had not yet directly engaged Vortigern’s defenders.

It’s taking too long to finish the catapults. If we don’t attack soon, Vortigern’s allies might arrive to reinforce him. Only Rheged stands between us and Hengist, Horsa, and Colgrin. Lord Gwrast can’t stop them if they invade in large numbers. I need to make an end of this.

Uther, Ogrfan of Ergyng, Arthwys of Ebrauc, Budic of Brittany, and Gerren of Dumnonia walked with Ambrosius, confident that Vortigern’s archers couldn’t see them. In the pre-dawn stillness, he saw the outline of the hillfort above – silhouetted by the torches and fires inside its walls. But as Uther looked up, the silhouette vanished. A moment later, Uther heard a familiar whistling sound.

“Archers!” he cried.

Uther heard the arrows hitting the soft ground all around them. He ran forward and grabbed Ambrosius and Ogrfan, pushing them back away from the hill. They had almost reached a safe distance from the hillfort when Uther stumbled. He pitched forward and felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Darkness took him.

Ambrosius’ guards, hearing Uther’s shout of “archers,” raced forward and pulled Ambrosius, Arthwys, Gerren, and Ogrfan to safety.

Vortigern’s archers had started shooting to create confusion and hide Vortigern’s true intentions. They had no idea that Ambrosius and the other kings were there – their goal was to kill any sentries that might raise the alarm.

His forces left the hillfort and quietly raced down the causeway. Vortigern knew that the catapults were almost completed, and once they were, the walls of his hillfort would be reduced to rubble. He ordered his men to attack the engineers’ camp. They were to kill the engineers and destroy the catapults under the cover of darkness.

However, he didn’t anticipate that Ambrosius’ camps would be so heavily guarded. His forces ran into sentries, who raised the alarm. Galerius’ soldiers were camped directly between the hillfort and the engineers’ camp. Unable to see where the enemy was, they formed ranks shoulder to shoulder to build a wall that Vortigern’s men couldn’t break through. Many of Vortigern’s men were killed, and they were forced to retreat to the hillfort without having reached the engineers’ camp.

As dawn approached, Galerius managed to get torches lit. He set out to find Ambrosius and report to him about the night raid.

“What happened to you, my King?” Galerius asked when noticed an arrow hole in the High King’s cloak.

Ambrosius pointed to the place where he stood when the arrows started falling. “Vortigern’s archers fired on us. Uther pushed Ogrfan and me back to safety.”

Looking around, Ambrosius asked, “Where is Uther?”

Galerius raised his torch and saw someone lying face down on the ground where Ambrosius had been pointing. He recognized Uther’s cloak. Gesturing toward the body, Galerius said, “My King… Uther…”

Ambrosius turned and saw Uther’s body. Galerius ran forward to see if Uther were still alive. An arrow had missed Uther’s helmet and pierced the base of his neck, severing his spine and killing him instantly.

“He’s dead, my King,” Galerius said. The expression on his face was one of deep sadness.

“He died saving my life.” Ambrosius knelt. “His first thought was for my safety.”

Ambrosius was silent for a moment. “He has a son, doesn’t he?”

“Prince Arthur, my King,” Arthwys replied. “The lad is five.”

“Lord Uther’s sacrifice must be repaid. Gododdin will know that I honor my debts.”

Ambrosius noticed another body lying a short distance behind Uther’s. Two arrows had hit the man in the back. When Galerius turned the body over, Ambrosius recognized the face immediately.

“King Budic!”

Galerius looked up at his king. “I’ll have men take these bodies to Carn Fadrun so they can be returned to their kingdoms, my King.”

Ambrosius nodded. As the sky grew lighter, the torches were no longer needed. Ambrosius looked up at the hillfort and saw Vortigern’s men mocking him and laughing at the dead. Vortigern himself waved at Ambrosius in an act of defiance.

Ambrosius’ grief turned to rage. He turned away and stormed back to his camp. “Summon the kings and generals immediately!”

“It’s time to end this siege,” Ambrosius thundered once the kings and generals were assembled. “Their raid last night cost us two of our greatest allies. Budic and Uther deserved better than to be taken from us by a coward’s arrow in the night. Uther’s warning saved me, as well as Lords Ogrfan, Arthwys, and Gerren. His sacrifice will be avenged.”

Ambrosius outlined his plan. The assembled kings and general quickly agreed. Ambrosius’ chief engineer promised that everything would be ready.

After the kings had left to return to their armies, Ambrosius approached Budic’s son, who was also named Budic. “I’m sorry about your father, Budic. He was a close friend and ally, and I’ll miss him. You have my full support, and if you and your kingdom ever need me, you have only to ask.”

“Thank, you, King Ambrosius. My father thought of you as a brother. I’d like to do the same.”

Ambrosius held out his hand, and Budic grasped Ambrosius’ forearm. “So would I, King Budic.”

Teams of horses moved the catapults into position around the hillfort. The horses also dragged the boulders into piles next to each of the catapults. Wooden devices used to lift the boulders onto the catapults were pushed into position. Engineers and soldiers manned the catapults, waiting for Ambrosius to give the order to fire.

By mid-afternoon, the catapults were in place and ready. The engineers began twisting the bundles of ropes that powered each catapult’s swing-arm. The creaking from the twisting ropes against the new wood was heard all around Dinas Emrys. Vortigern’s defenders stood along the hillfort’s walls, watching the engineers work and waiting for the catapult barrage to begin.

The first boulders were set in place. Ambrosius gave the order to fire, and the engineers released the tension from the catapults’ ropes. The swing-arms snapped forward, releasing their projectiles at the hillfort.

A moment later, part of the hillfort’s main gates shattered from the impact. A guard tower and part of the northern wall were also damaged. Vortigern’s defenders fled from the walls as the catapults were reloaded.

For the next several hours, boulders slammed into the hillfort’s walls, smashing timbers and loosening the earthworks that protected the hillfort’s foundations. Shortly before sunset, the clay pots filled with pitch were distributed to each of the catapults. Archers from each of the armies moved forward to ring the hillfort, staying just out of range of Vortigern’s archers.

As the sun set and darkness covered the plains, the catapults stopped firing. But the creaking of the ropes being tightened could still be heard. The sound sent chills down the spines of Vortigern’s defenders.

Vortigern stood on a section of undamaged wall, looking down at Ambrosius’ armies. He heard the sounds made by the catapults being readied, but he couldn’t understand why they’d be fired at night.

“Look there, my King,” one of his captains said, pointing to the base of the hill.

Vortigern saw what looked like tiny torches being lit in a circle around the hill. It took a moment for his mind to register what it was.

He gasped. “Flaming arrows. They plan to burn us!”

“The wood’s too wet from the storms,” the captain protested.

“Not if they’re using pitch-soaked rags,” Vortigern stated.

A large crashing sound startled Vortigern.

“What was that?” he demanded.

Another crashing sound came from just below him. A black, sticky liquid sprayed up and covered his arm. He smelled it.

“Pitch! They’re using the catapults to cover the fort in pitch so the arrows will catch everything on fire.”

Vortigern turned and climbed down off the walls. “Start gathering water. The entire fort will be on fire in a few moments!”

A clay pot burst at the base of the great house where Rowenna waited for her husband. He heard other pots crashing all around, hitting the barracks, the kitchens, and the storehouses. Men ran screaming as pitch covered them. The hillfort was in chaos.

Ambrosius gave the order to his archers. Hundreds of flaming arrows lit the night sky and landed around and inside the hillfort. The catapults continued sending pots of pitch into the air.

Parts of the fort began to burn. The gates, which were the only way out of the hillfort, were covered in fire. Flames from buildings inside the hillfort rose above the walls. The screams of Vortigern’s defenders were heard over the crackling of the flames and the crashing of the clay pots.

Ambrosius never took his eyes off the hillfort burning out of control. His archers continued firing; they had orders to make sure that no one escaped Dinas Emrys.

High above the walls of the hillfort, the red dragon standard of Vortigern caught fire and burned. Ambrosius’ expression never changed as he watched the inferno reduce the hillfort to ashes, along with everyone who was inside it.

By the time the sun rose the next morning, only parts of the earthworks remained intact. The rest of the once-mighty hillfort was a mass of burned timbers, smoldering cinders, and scorched ground. Search parties were sent to look for survivors. There were none. Vortigern, Rowenna his queen, their son, and his defenders had perished in the night. The red dragon had fallen. Ambrosius, the gold dragon of the south, was now the undisputed High King of Britain.

King Brychan of Brycheiniog and King Cadell of Powys arrived the next morning with a small escort. Ambrosius received them warmly. Both kings swore oaths of loyalty to the new High King, and Ambrosius pardoned them for their actions in support of Vortigern.

Ambrosius ordered his engineers to burn the catapults. They were too heavy to drag through the Welsh foothills and too valuable to leave behind in a kingdom that was no friend of the High King’s.

Most of the kings returned home with their armies two days after the destruction of the hillfort. King Budic took his father’s body home to Brittany for burial. The northern armies accompanied Ambrosius to Carn Fadrun to retrieve their wounded.

When Ambrosius arrived at Vortigern’s fortress, he found King Ceretic kneeling next to Uther’s body, which was covered by Uther’s war cloak. Uther’s sword lay on his chest. Ambrosius knelt next to him.

“He was my closest friend and ally, my King,” Ceretic said once he recognized Ambrosius. “I don’t know how I’m going to keep the northern borders secured without him.”

Ambrosius nodded. “He died saving my life from one of Vortigern’s archers. That’s a debt that must be repaid. I’ll help you and young Prince Arthur secure your northern borders.”

“Thank you, my King,” Ceretic said.

Ceretic also swore an oath of loyalty to the High King. He had taken no action against Ambrosius, so there was no need to pardon him.

Ambrosius met with Vortigern’s nephew, Ynyr, for several hours. Ynyr had no love for Ambrosius, and even though he swore an oath of loyalty in return for Ambrosius recognizing his claim to the kingdom of Gwynedd, Ambrosius doubted Ynyr’s sincerity.

Ambrosius decided to leave several companies of his own soldiers behind in Gwynedd, because the kingdom no longer had an army to defend itself. The soldiers answered to Ambrosius, and Ynyr understood that the soldiers were there primarily to prevent further acts of rebellion while helping defend his kingdom from invasion.

After resting at Carn Fadrun for three days, Ambrosius sent the bulk of his army south, but kept three hundred cavalry and five hundred foot soldiers with him to serve as an escort for Uther’s body. Galerius would also accompany him. Ambrosius had a new assignment for his general in the north.

“I’m going to escort Uther’s body back to Gododdin,” he told Nudd-Lludd and Arthwys. “And I’d like to visit Ebrauc and Bryneich on the way north.”

“We’d be honored to have you with us, my King,” Nudd-Lludd said.

Ambrosius nodded. And once I’m done in Gododdin, I’ll come south through Strathclyde and Rheged. Lord Gwrast and I have still have things to discuss.

Ambrosius, his escort, and the northern armies left Carn Fadrun the next morning and traveled the same roads that the northern army had taken to reach Gwynedd. Ambrosius spent a day with King Mor in Ebrauc before heading north to Bryneich.

Several days after leaving Nudd-Lludd’s kingdom, Ambrosius crossed into Gododdin. Messengers had already notified Ygerna and Merlin of Uther’s death, and the people of Din Eidyn lined the streets leading to the hillfort’s causeway out of respect for their fallen king and for the High King of Britain.

Merlin’s left leg troubled him, so he leaned on his staff as he waited at the gates, watching Ambrosius and Galerius approach the top of the causeway. The two men dismounted and greeted Gododdin’s regent. Merlin returned the greeting and then looked at Uther’s coffin, lying on the cart and draped with Uther’s standard – the gold boar on the field of dark blue. Merlin hobbled and clutched his staff as he escorted his guests and the cart carrying Uther’s coffin to the great house, where Ygerna waited with Arthur and Anna.

Ygerna did her best to remain composed when she saw the coffin, but Uther’s death had hit her hard, and seeing the shrouded wooden box was almost more than she could bear. She greeted the High King and General Galerius, and she led them to the great hall for refreshments while Uther’s guards and servants prepared for the burial.

“He died saving my life from an archer,” Ambrosius said to Ygerna and Merlin once the children had been taken to the nursery. “His sacrifice must be repaid.”

Ygerna, looking distressed, suddenly stood. “My King, please forgive me. I need to be with my husband right now. Merlin, please take care of our guests until I’m able to return.”

Ygerna left the great hall.

“I’m sorry if I distressed her,” Ambrosius said to Merlin.

Merlin shook his head. “She and Lord Uther loved each other very much. In an age where most marriages are arranged to benefit the parents, theirs was a love story like no other. It may take quite some time for her to recover from the loss.”

Ambrosius nodded.

“You were speaking about repaying Lord Uther’s sacrifice,” Merlin said.

“Before I do that, I’d like to offer my sincerest condolences on the loss of your sons, Lord Merlinus. I can’t think of a more tragic loss than what you’re experiencing now.”

“Thank you, my King. I know the soldier’s life, and they were proud to serve in Uther’s cavalry. Oh, and please call me Merlin. Most people do.”

Ambrosius nodded and gestured to Galerius. “When I spoke with Ceretic after the siege at Dinas Emrys, he expressed concerns about keeping the northern borders safe without Uther. As I understand it, you’re no longer able to fight, and Uther’s master-at-arms was also killed in the fighting. That leaves you with no one to command or train Gododdin’s soldiers. General Galerius, here, has expressed an interest in becoming Gododdin’s new master-at-arms. In that position, he can train Prince Arthur in the arts of war, train Gododdin’s foot soldiers and cavalry in the same way my southern armies are trained, and lead Gododdin’s forces in battle. He’d make a fine commander for your army, and his knowledge of strategy and tactics is unrivaled.”

Merlin looked at Galerius and Ambrosius. “I’m honored at the suggestion, my King. But I assume that your reasons for making this suggestion are not just out of an obligation to Lord Uther’s sacrifice.”

Ambrosius smiled. “I’d heard that you were clever, Merlin. Yes, I do have an additional motive for wanting one of my generals posted in the north. For too long, the northern kingdoms and the southern kingdoms have had little to do with each other. It’s rare that we fight the same battles and celebrate the same victories. I need men in the north who will help bring both ends of Britain closer together. General Galerius can help me do that, with your help, of course.”

Merlin nodded. “General Galerius, how do you feel about being posted this far north, away from your home?”

“My home is with the army,” Galerius replied. “I go where my King commands.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Merlin said. “Do you think you’d be happy here in the northern kingdoms?”

Galerius nodded. “I spent time here as a boy – mostly in Strathclyde. I love all of Britain, from the southern coasts to the wild forests here in the north. I look forward to serving you and Gododdin.”

Merlin nodded. “Then you are most welcome.”

Ambrosius remained at Din Eidyn until after the funeral. Uther was buried next to his father on the ridge overlooking the village. Ygerna remained cloistered in her private chambers or with Uther’s coffin for most of the time that Ambrosius was there.

After the funeral, Ygerna apologized to the High King for her absence. Ambrosius understood.

Two days later, Ambrosius and the bulk of his escorts left Gododdin to return south. Two squads of foot soldiers and cavalry remained with Galerius to help train Gododdin’s soldiers and their future king.