Winter's Blossom: The Seasons of Arthur

Chapter 27

We were not going to be going north. It seemed that Owain had been in conference with Pellinore and Adaryn and it had been decided that it was best that we stayed in Elmet for now. Only a portion of Octha's Army had been destroyed, and Octha himself had escaped. There were potentially hundreds more ready to force the fords in order to push over the border.

So we would go south and harry the border to deter the Angle prince and his men and make our way north on the Roman roads at the start of the winter. I was incredibly happy when I discovered we were to stay in Elmet, and tried to find excuses to tarry in Lindum. I insisted that my men needed a rest. That I had to find lodgings for my wounded and then ensure them the ability to return to us when they were recovered. I had also taken half a dozen big farm lads into my service, much to the suspicion of my men to replace those killed or too injured to return to war. I argued that these men needed to be trained and integrated into my band of men. Owain was under pressure though, and he knew that I must have had an ulterior motive for wanting to delay, correctly guessing that it was a woman.

Then he found out who the woman was and laughed when I complained bitterly about staying in Lindum and that we were wasting our time. 'The Angles are not going to attack.' I complained bitterly. 'We should be in Gododdin. That's where Ambrosius wanted us.'

'You will see her in the winter.' Owain assured me.

The flame headed girl, it seemed, was the daughter of Pellinore. She had accompanied him to Eboracum, watched him ride south and then, upon hearing of our victory had travelled with her two-man escort by horse to try and catch up with her father.

'I'm going to marry that girl.' I declared as he watched me dress in the morning before we were to march south.

Owain raised an eyebrow at me in amusement. 'Did you not propose marriage to a whore before Christmas?'

I ignored him, regretting ever admitting that story to him. 'I will offer anything!' I said loudly.

'You haven't got anything.' Owain pointed out helpfully.

I threw a boot at him.

As we came south to the river Owain was sickened by the lack of defences there. We had reinforced a band of thirty men who had a hundred yards to defend themselves. It was an impossible job and they had not made it easier for themselves by building any defences. Owain, aghast at a laziness that bordered on suicidal, sent them west to join up with another band of warriors from Elmet who were likely also under-defending the ford.

'Octha made a mistake going for Lindum like he did.' Owain admitted. 'He could easily have forced these fords if they're all held this badly.'

I voiced my doubt that they were. Surely those fords by where the river crossed the great Roman road that led north would be more defended there. The Angles needed the roads to move supplies just as we did. Owain gave a dubious nod of agreement before saying. 'You can move supplies on dirt roads remember.'

You could, but we both knew the Roman roads were the veins of the Britain. You could move unaffected by the weather of them, and you could cross unknown lands with confidence of your destination just because of the Roman roads. Knowledge of the land is so key, after all if the Angles had landed on a different river mouth only a few miles away from the Glein they could have sailed all the way to a potentially undefended Lindum.

Regardless, before we did anything Owain dedicated that first week to wielding pick and spade rather than sword and spear. We dug ditches and mounds first in a square behind the river, cutting across the road where we could defend the crossing. Secondly, just off the road with the river on a flank, Owain had us dig a square mound where we built our shelters. This would be where we slept and would defend if we were attacked at night and found the ford forced or the river crossed at some other point. Men spat and cursed the names they had been chanting only a week before. They were made more bitter because it was only the spearmen who dug, meanwhile the cavalry roamed the countryside on both sides of the river.