Asgrim leaned heavily against his Dane axe as he wiped his forearm
across his face. It came away drenched with sweat and blood. Across from
him, Haakon sat, binding a gash on his arm.
"By Hel's ruined face, Haakon, it has been a day for the sagas!"
"Asgrim, you hairy arse, sagas are sung of victories, and today there was no victor."
"This was a red day, a day of heroic acts and feats of arms. How can you be in such a grim mood?"
As
he got to his feet to find something to eat, Haakon thought back on
the day's events. Yes, grim was the right word to describe his state of
mind. Dawn had broken with the promise of glory and plunder, but the sun
had set on a field of the dead.
He thought back to the battle that had transpired...
Ulf
had led their band, the bloodsworn, to a hill that the nithing
Anglo-Saxon considered sacred. According to local legends, they buried
their so-called kings there, clad in their best mail, and surrounded by
treasure. In their home village, a volur had read Ulf's dreams, telling
him that hill would be where he would find his destiny. Ulf had taken
that to mean that was where he'd earn a crown.
The men had been
uneasy at that, believing no good come from looting a barrow - at best
they would anger the spirits of the dead, and at worst the dead might
not really be dead. They had all heard tales of draugar. But Ulf was
persuasive, and had gathered a band of warriors to his side to explore
the place. Before they departed, however, he took two precautions. He'd
had the witch craft a spell of binding onto an iron amulet in the shape
of scissors. And he'd had the men take a blood oath to each other and to
the mission. They had sworn, cutting themselves and mingling their
blood, not to abandon their quest or their mates. They were brothers,
bound by blood.
Whether he was led by his dream, or by his fate,
Ulf led them unerringly to the holy mound. Their journey across the sea
had been uneventful, and they had thought it to be a good omen. Once
they had beached their longship, hard marching had brought them to the
barrow on the third night. But, across from them, they had seen the
fires - the Anglo-Saxon dogs were here to protect their sacred ground!
The
men had awaked long before the sunrise, and around him Haakon could
hear the sounds of warriors adjusting armor, sharpening blades and
engaging in their usual banter. By dawn, which had broken bright and
cloudless, they were ready.
Ahead of them was the barrow, rising
lightly from the flat ground. To the left was a grove of trees,
obviously planted for a purpose as it stood alone in the field. To the
vikings' right were some erected stones, though no one could guess at
their significance.
Ulf ordered the ulfhednar and some of the
bondi ahead into the grove, while he led the hirdmen towards the hill.
One group of bondi were held back, much to their anger. The Anglo-Saxon
warlord had much the same idea, sending his warriors ahead into the
field of battle.
Haakon had been with the group of bondi and
berserkers that made their way towards and into the trees. They
encountered some spearmen, but were able to push them back and out of
the grove in hard fighting. But, the bloodiest action was reserved for
the central hill.
Ulf's chosen men, wanting to impress their
jarl, charged up the hill and into the waiting ranks of foemen. They
were unable to break the enemy's shieldwall, but held a portion of the
sacred ground. Then Ulf arrived, and the stalemate was broken, and
bloodily!
One band of huscarls charged into the spears of the
Anglo-Saxons, only to be driven off by greater numbers. By Odin's dead
eye, these Angles bred like dogs in rut! Kill one and two seemed to rise
in his place.
The wolf-men had abandoned the grove then,
seeking to find and kill the enemy leader and bring a quick end to this
fight. The Saxon archers, though few, made them pay for leaving the
cover of the trees. A group of Saxons fell upon the surviving
berserkers, and overwhelmed them with their numbers.
Finally,
Ulf had had enough of this stalemate. Calling upon Odin and his son, the
Thunderer, Ulf led the remaining hirdmen in a charge against the Saxon
swine-farmers. From the woods, Haakon had seen them race into the massed
spears of their enemy. The gods truly were with them, and though they
fell, they did not leave a single foeman standing. The last of the
huscarls had thrown himself in front of a spear meant for Ulf, giving
his life in exchange for his jarl's, and thus fulfilling his bloodoath.
But
the charge left Ulf weary, and when the Saxon leader came upon him,
wearing outlandish and sorcerous armor, he fell. There, on a piece of
dirt sacred to dogs, Ulf met his destiny. The witch's prophecy was
fulfilled. The bondi that had held back until then, seeing their leader
fall, charged headlong towards the Saxon dog, Asgrim in the lead. They
caught him, and despite his strength and size, like a pack of wolves
taking down a bear, they felled him.
The death of their lord
took the spirit out of the enemy. Their bowmen milled about in
confusion, while the warriors among the sacred stones held their
position, watching warily but not advancing. From his position on the
edge of the woods, Hakon could see the Saxon spearmen ahead of him, and
hear them shouting curses and insults, though they too did not move
against the viking warriors.
The day ended much as it had begun,
with neither side being able to completely claim the sacred land. The
only victors were the scavengers, four- and two-legged, picking over the
corpses of the fallen.
Note: It truly was an epic battle,
and a great introduction to
Saga for me. Big thanks to Sean for his
patience with a newbie! I had tons of fun, and would gladly play him
again. As far as Saga, I love the battle board mechanic! It gives you a
wealth of decisions to make about how you're going to conduct your
troops, while keeping the actual game mechanics pretty simple. No need
to memorize huge charts of armor and weapons values. Just attack, choose
what abilities you're using, roll dice and remove casualties. I'm very
glad I chose to get into this game. My only regret is that neither of us
thought to take photos during the battle. (Note to self - remember to
bring a camera!)
Now what I need to do is (1) become more
familiar with the abilities on the battle boards, both my own and my
opponent's, and (2) finish painting my warriors! I was very inspired by
Sean's wonderfully painted Saxons, especially his shield work. I have to
say, you must see them in person, the photos on his
blog do not do them justice!
