greet you, Winefrith, husband of Nuala,” Wulf said.
“I greet you, Wulf Ironfist,” came the polite reply.
“Tell me about this Ragnar Strongspear,” Wulf Ironfist said to Eppilus, leaning forward, his interest apparent in his blue eyes. “What kind of a man is he?”
“From what we have seen and learned,” Eppilus said slowly, “he is a bully. He came swaggering across the land some months ago with a troup of bandits like himself. He slaughtered everything in his path, looting and burning as he went along. I expect that is when your hall was damaged. He stumbled upon Antonia’s villa. He brought with him two wives, but he made Antonia his wife, too, though the gods know why. Antonia lives with the other women, her father, and the many children who always seem to be underfoot.
“This Saxon is already consolidating his hold on the surrounding countryside, demanding fealty and heavy tribute. He has not yet found our village here in this valley, but we expect he soon will. We will be forced to accept him as our overlord if we are to survive. There is no other choice.”
“Aye, there is,” Wulf Ironfist said. “You can accept me as your overlord, Eppilus. Nuala says the plague struck down the very old and the very young. That means that most of the men I trained several years ago are still alive. If they will give me their service, we will be able to overcome the threat of Ragnar Strongspear. You will be able to live in peace beneath my protection. We are kin, Eppilus, and I will not abuse those I am sworn to defend.
“The times in which we now live are different than those we once knew. Your village, and the other nearby villages, need a strong man to protect them. You have a choice between either me or Ragnar Strongspear.”
“We would choose you, of course, Wulf Ironfist,” Eppilus said. “We know you to be a fair and an honest man who will not mistreat us or our families. How can we help you?”
“First I must speak with the men. They must quickly refamiliarize themselves with their fighting skills. Perhaps there are even some new men in this village who would join us.”
“I will,” said Nuala’s husband, Winefrith. “I am a smith, and can make and repair weapons for you. Whatever I can do to make the countryside safe from Ragnar Strongspear, I will do, Wulf Ironfist.”
“Good!” Wulf said, smiling at the young man. “Go and speak to the other Saxons who live in this village. Tell them it is not a matter of Saxon against Celt, but what is right against what is wrong.”
Winefrith nodded. “There is no friction between Saxon and Celt here,” he said, and the others agreed. “We are simple people trying to live together in peace.”
“I will need the roof of my hall rethatched, and cannot do it alone,” Wulf said, “and I must put a wall about it for better defense.”
“We can help,” said Eppilus. “I will send to the other two villages left in the area for aid. It is unlikely that Ragnar Strongspear will know we are repairing the hall. He rarely goes there, for he is very superstitious, and believes the hall haunted by Cailin’s family. I expect that Antonia told him of the land’s history, and he drew his own conclusions.”
“If Antonia told him of the land’s history, it was done deliberately and for a purpose,” Cailin interjected. “I wonder why she did it?”
They stayed the night in Eppilus’s village. When the morning came, they were surprised to find that at least a hundred young men, some of whom they recognized and others they did not, had arrived. Wulf appointed both Corio and Winefrith his seconds-in-command. Those who had already had training in martial skills began to train those young men who had not. Another group of twenty men rode with Wulf, Cailin, and Nellwyn back to their hall. They carried with them enough thatch for the roof, and began work almost immediately. Eppilus had sent a wagonload of provisions along. Cailin and Nellwyn cooked simple meals that satisfied the workers before they fell asleep each night upon the floor in the hall. When they were not engaged over the cookfires, Cailin and her servant swept the dirt and the debris from the hall, along with a young fox vixen who had decided to make her den there, and a number of field mice who had attracted the fox in the first place.