CHAPTER XVIII--TIDINGS BROUGHT TO THE WAIN-BURG
Now it must be told of Otter and they of the Wain-burg how they had thetidings of the overthrow of the Romans on the Ridge, and that Egil hadleft them on his way to Wolf-stead. They were joyful of the tale, as waslike to be, but eager also to strike their stroke at the foemen, and inthat mood they abode fresh tidings.
It has been told how Otter had sent the Bearings and the Wormings to theaid of Thiodolf and his folk, and these two were great kindreds, and theybeing gone, there abode with Otter, one man with another, thralls andfreemen, scant three thousand men: of these many were bowmen good tofight from behind a wall or fence, or some such cover, but scarce meet towithstand a shock in the open field. However it was deemed at this timein the Wain-burg that Thiodolf and his men would soon return to them; andin any case, they said, he lay between the Romans and the Mark, so thatthey had but little doubt; or rather they feared that the Romans mightdraw aback from the Mark before they could be met in battle again, for asaforesaid they were eager for the fray.
Now it was in the cool of the evening two days after the Battle on theRidge, that the men, both freemen and thralls, had been disportingthemselves in the plain ground without the Burg in casting the spear andputting the stone, and running races a-foot and a-horseback, and nowclose on sunset three young men, two of the Laxings and one of theShieldings, and a grey old thrall of that same House, were shooting amatch with the bow, driving their shafts at a rushen roundel hung on apole which the old thrall had dight. Men were peaceful and happy, forthe time was fair and calm, and, as aforesaid, they dreaded not the RomanHost any more than if they were Gods dwelling in God-home. The shooterswere deft men, and they of the Burg were curious to note their deftness,and many were breathed with the games wherein they had striven, andthought it good to rest, and look on the new sport: so they sat and stoodon the grass about the shooters on three sides, and the mead-horn wentbriskly from man to man; for there was no lack of meat and drink in theBurg, whereas the kindreds that lay nighest to it had brought in abundantprovision, and women of the kindreds had come to them, and not a few werethere scattered up and down among the carles.
Now the Shielding man, Geirbald by name, had just loosed at the mark, andhad shot straight and smitten the roundel in the midst, and a shout wentup from the onlookers thereat; but that shout was, as it were, lined withanother, and a cry that a messenger was riding toward the Burg: thereatmost men looked round toward the wood, because their minds were set onfresh tidings from Thiodolf's company, but as it happened it was from thenorth and the side toward Mid-mark that they on the outside of the thronghad seen the rider coming; and presently the word went from man to manthat so it was, and that the new comer was a young man on a grey horse,and would speedily be amongst them; so they wondered what the tidingsmight be, but yet they did not break up the throng, but abode in theirplaces that they might receive the messenger more orderly; and as therider drew near, those who were nighest to him perceived that it was awoman.
So men made way before the grey horse, and its rider, and the horse wasmuch spent and travel-worn. So the woman rode right into the ring ofwarriors, and drew rein there, and lighted down slowly and painfully, andwhen she was on the ground could scarce stand for stiffness; and two orthree of the swains drew near her to help her, and knew her at once forHrosshild of the Wolfings, for she was well-known as a doughty woman.
Then she said: "Bring me to Otter the War-duke; or bring him hither tome, which were best, since so many men are gathered together; andmeanwhile give me to drink; for I am thirsty and weary."
So while one went for Otter, another reached to her the mead-horn, andshe had scarce done her draught, ere Otter was there, for they had foundhim at the gate of the Burg. He had many a time been in the WolfingHall, so he knew her at once and said:
"Hail, Hrosshild! how farest thou?"
She said: "I fare as the bearer of evil tidings. Bid thy folk do ontheir war-gear and saddle their horses, and make no delay; for nowpresently shall the Roman host be in Mid-mark!"
Then cried Otter: "Blow up the war-horn! get ye all to your weapons andbe ready to leap on your horses, and come ye to the Thing in good orderkindred by kindred: later on ye shall hear Hrosshild's story as she shalltell it to me!"
Therewith he led her to a grassy knoll that was hard by, and set her downthereon and himself beside her, and said:
"Speak now, damsel, and fear not! For now shall one fate go over us all,either to live together or die together as the free children of Tyr, andfriends of the Almighty God of the Earth. How camest thou to meet theRomans and know of their ways and to live thereafter?"
She said: "Thus it was: the Hall-Sun bethought her how that the easternways into Mid-mark that bring a man to the thicket behind the Roof of theBearings are nowise hard, even for an host; so she sent ten women, and methe eleventh to the Bearing dwelling and the road through the thicketaforesaid; and we were to take of the Bearing stay-at-homes whomso wewould that were handy, and then all we to watch the ways for fear of theRomans. And methinks she has had some vision of their ways, thoughmayhap not altogether clear.
"Anyhow we came to the Bearing dwellings, and they gave us of their folkeight doughty women and two light-foot lads, and so we were twenty andone in all.
"So then we did as the Hall-Sun bade us, and ordained a chain of watchersfar up into the waste; and these were to sound a point of war upon theirhorns each to each till the sound thereof should come to us who lay withour horses hoppled ready beside us in the fair plain of the Mark outsidethe thicket.
"To be short, the horns waked us up in the midst of yesternight, and ofthe watches also came to us the last, which had heard the sound amidstthe thicket, and said that it was certainly the sound of the Goths' horn,and the note agreed on. Therefore I sent a messenger at once to theWolfing Roof to say what was toward; but to thee I would not ride until Ihad made surer of the tidings; so I waited awhile, and then rode into thewild-wood; and a long tale I might make both of the waiting and theriding, had I time thereto; but this is the end of it; that going warilya little past where the thicket thinneth and the road endeth, I came onthree of those watches or links in the chain we had made, and half ofanother watch or link; that is to say six women, who were come togetherafter having blown their horns and fled (though they should rather haveabided in some lurking-place to espy whatever might come that way) andone other woman, who had been one of the watch much further off, and hadspoken with the furthest of all, which one had seen the faring of theRoman Host, and that it was very great, and no mere band of pillagers orof scouts. And, said this fleer (who was indeed half wild with fear),that while they were talking together, came the Romans upon them, and sawthem; and a band of Romans beat the wood for them when they fled, andshe, the fleer, was at point to be taken, and saw two taken indeed, andhaled off by the Roman scourers of the wood. But she escaped and so cameto the others on the skirts of the thicket, having left of her skin andblood on many a thornbush and rock by the way.
"Now when I heard this, I bade this fleer get her home to the Bearings asswiftly as she might, and tell her tale; and she went away trembling, andscarce knowing whether her feet were on earth or on water or on fire; butbelike failed not to come there, as no Romans were before her.
"But for the others, I sent one to go straight to Wolf-stead on the heelsof the first messenger, to tell the Hall-Sun what had befallen, and otherfive I set to lurk in the thicket, whereas none could lightly lay handson them, and when they had new tidings, to flee to Wolf-stead as occasionmight serve them; and for myself I tarried not, but rode on the spur totell thee hereof.
"But my last word to thee, Otter, is that by the Hall-sun's bidding theBearings will not abide fire and steel at their own stead, but when theyhear true tidings of the Romans being hard at hand, will take with themall that is not too hot or too heavy to carry, and go their ways untoWolf-stead: and the tidings will go up and down the Mark on both sides ofthe water, so that wha
tever is of avail for defence will gather there atour dwelling, and if we fall, goodly shall be the howe heaped over us,even if ye come not in time.
"Now have I told thee what I needs must and there is no need to questionme more, for thou hast it all--do thou what thou hast to do!"
With that word she cast herself down on the grass by the mound-side, andwas presently asleep, for she was very weary.
But all the time she had been telling her tale had the horn beensounding, and there were now a many warriors gathered and more coming inevery moment: so Otter stood up on the mound after he had bidden a man ofhis House to bring him his horse and war-gear, and abided a little, till,as might be said, the whole host was gathered: then he bade cry silence,and spake:
"Sons of Tyr, now hath an Host of the Romans gotten into the Mark; amighty host, but not so mighty that it may not be met. Few words arebest: let the Steerings, who are not many, but are men well-tried in warand wisdom abide in the Burg along with the fighting thralls: but let theBurg be broken up and moved from the place, and let its warders wendtowards Mid-mark, but warily and without haste, and each night let themmake the wain-garth and keep good watch.
"But know ye that the Romans shall fall with all their power on theWolfing dwellings, deeming that when they have that, they shall have allthat is ours with ourselves also. For there is the Hall-Sun under theGreat Roof, and there hath Thiodolf, our War-duke, his dwelling-place;therefore shall all of us, save those that abide with the wains, takehorse, and ride without delay, and cross the water at Battleford, so thatwe may fall upon the foe before they come west of the water; for as yeknow there is but one ford whereby a man wending straight from theBearings may cross Mirkwood-water, and it is like that the foe will tarryat the Bearing stead long enough to burn and pillage it.
"So do ye order yourselves according to your kindreds, and let theShieldings lead. Make no more delay! But for me I will now send amessenger to Thiodolf to tell him of the tidings, and then speedily shallhe be with us. Geirbald, I see thee; come hither!"
Now Geirbald stood amidst the Shieldings, and when Otter had spoken, hecame forth bestriding a white horse, and with his bow slung at his back.Said Otter: "Geirbald, thou shalt ride at once through the wood, and findThiodolf; and tell him the tidings, and that in nowise he follow theRoman fleers away from the Mark, nor to heed anything but the trail ofthe foemen through the south-eastern heaths of Mirkwood, whether otherRomans follow him or not: whatever happens let him lead the Goths by thatroad, which for him is the shortest, towards the defence of the Wolfingdwellings. Lo thou, my ring for a token! Take it and depart in haste.Yet first take thy fellow Viglund the Woodman with thee, lest ifperchance one fall, the other may bear the message. Tarry not, nor resttill thy word be said!"
Then turned Geirbald to find Viglund who was anigh to him, and he tookthe ring, and the twain went their ways without more ado, and rode intothe wild-wood.
But about the wain-burg was there plenteous stir of men till all wasordered for the departure of the host, which was no long while, for therewas nothing to do but on with the war-gear and up on to the horse.
Forth then they went duly ordered in their kindreds towards the head ofthe Upper-mark, riding as swiftly as they might without breaking theirarray.