During the days immediately after the exploration of the Time Rift, the magicians Paradoxides and Ubaron experienced may strange dreams that they interpreted as sendings of the God Thoth. However, thoughts of such matters and the predicament of the Rangers were swept from Grettir’s mind by news from the south west. It seemed that the Legate of the XXth Valeria Victrix was making his move.
Grettir attended a King’s Council in Chittagong. Word had come that at least a portion of the legion, estimated at around 3000 strong was marching along the coast from Thentis (or the Sand Lands as it had been known before the Legion’s occupation). They were shadowed by a supply fleet. Progress was slow but steady.
Back in the autumn, Skirmir, the King of Telemark, the only human habitation between Thentis and Chittagong had been struck down by a seizure. This was old news. Although it was said that Skirmir still clung to life, his successor had been chosen at Yule, a fellow called Thorkel the Tall. Skirmir had had two adult sons while Thorkel was only connected to the Royal House by marriage, but there seemed to have been little opposition to his elevation. Thorkel was a notable Viking (which Skirmir’s sons were not) with a violent past commensurate with that reputation. It had recently transpired that there was a judgement against him from a court in Kos and a price upon his head. The contract for this had lain dormant for seven years but had been formally acquired by someone called Valerian a couple of months previously. Now the Legion was moving in the direction of Telemark and in possession of a warrant for the apprehension of the King of Telemark, dead or alive.
It seemed odd to Grettir that the Legion should go to such lengths to establish a legitimate casus belli – if they really wanted Telemark, why not just take it. However, he vaguely recalled that when he was a caravan guard on the run down to the Sand Lands, there was talk of a bandit leader called Grunar the Destroyer. Indeed he had helped beat off an attack by bandits who claimed to be his men. His suppression had been the reason given for the occupation of the Sand Lands by the Legion in the first place. He knew that the Legate was an adherent of Anubis. Perhaps it was important to him to act “Lawfully” – for all that his definition of lawfulness did not align with Grettir’s perception of righteousness. There was also much discussion about the status of the XXth within the Empire. The King had asked the question of the Empire through diplomatic channels and though he had had no clear reply had formed the view that the Valeria Victrix had probably gone rogue.
Grettir offered to take a ship down to Telemark on a “fact-finding mission”. The King readily agreed and gave him carte blanche to act as he saw fit once there. Grettir ordered a longship, the Sea Raven, to be made ready and summoned a strong crew. Ironically the Sea Raven was a Telemark craft, captured by Grettir (Viking Luck, F11). Its erstwhile master was a notable Telemark viking called Gunnar Halfdanson, who had made the mistake of thinking that Grettir and a handful companions would be easy meat for himself and his crew. He paid with his life as well as his ship and the lives of many of his crew. However, some of the survivors had sworn themselves to Grettir, including two now numbered amongst his huscarles: Gron Sigison and Ari Ulfson. Grettir had been to Telemark before and had drunk toasts with Skirmir, but did not know this Thorkel. Gron and Ari not only knew Thorkel but were slightly related to him.
The ship and crew were readied in but two days. A couple of days sailing with the favourable winds granted him by Girindor and they sailed into the huge natural deepwater harbour of the Telemark basin. Towering above it, high on a crag, stood Telemark Castle. The harbour and castle, situated as they were upon the tip of a rocky peninsular, would be a difficult nut to crack by assault, but the town itself was on lower lying ground and protected by no effective wall. It could easily be overrun by the arriving legion, while the Vikings would have to decide whether to settle in to the castle for a siege or break out in their ships and abandon their homes forever. Grettir was troubled to see signs of ships already taking the latter course. Should matters turn out badly, not only would Chittagong have the legion camped out on their doorstep with an impregnable fortress and deep-water harbour at their disposal, but the seas around the Otanga estuary would like as not be awash with displaced pirates.
Thorkel and his court gave Grettir and his men a cautious welcome. They had only recently come to learn of the impending invasion. Indeed it became apparent that Grettir knew a good deal more about the situation than did Thorkel. At least it was apparent that Thorkel had no thought of retreat or surrender. However, this was the worst possible time for Telemark to come under attack (almost as if it had been planned), for the majority of their ships were out a-viking over the summer.
Grettir had expected to find Thorkel to be a typical viking and had anticipated that his main challenge would be to dissuade him from recklessness and impetuosity. To be sure there did seem to be that side to him. However, he had two important advisors. The first of these was his wife, Ella. She was young and beautiful and spoke with a quiet assurance, though she was careful not to speak out of turn when military matters were discussed. She listened intently when Grettir spoke of his suspicions that the Legate’s plans were laid deep and that he had had a hand in all the surprising events that had taken place to bring Thorkel to the throne of Telemark. Grettir privately wondered what part Ella had played in those events herself. Grettir had an Osiris-given ability to read auras, and hers seemed strong but not evil or inimical. He rather suspected she might have some magic. Thorkel’s second advisor was Skirmir’s sword. Grettir had held it once and it had spoken to him in his mind. He was sure that it was giving Thorkel advice and sometimes shaping his words for him.
Thorkel also seemed willing to listen to Grettir’s counsel – particularly once he’d made it clear that he was prepared to put some skin in the game. Grettir thought that he needed to go on the offensive. If he just sat and waited for the legion, his folk would start to desert him and it would not end well. The legion would be a difficult prospect to fight on land, but the Empire were not known for their luck upon the sea. He advised Thorkel to gather all the ships available to him and sally forth to harrass the Legion’s naval support. If successful, it should at least delay their attack on Telemark and might rob them of essential supplies for a siege. Grettir pledged the Sea Raven to join this force. While they were at sea, Ella and the Witan should send forth the Burning Arrow, summon the fyrd and organise the defence of Telemark. All were agreed on this course of action. Thorkel stood upon a table in his ale-hall and gave a rousing speech to all assembled. Some five hundred men immediately pledged themselves to set sail the following morning. The ale was served in small beaker that evening.
Later that night Grettir’s secret weapon returned from a long-range reconaissance. Girindor reported that the legion were about three days march away from Telemark. They were accompanied by a naval force comprising four cogs, four light ram ships and six heavy ram ships. That morning around seven hundred vikings mustered in the harbour with eighteen ships between them of varying sizes. By far the largest was Thorkel’s own longship – half again the size of any other. As they set sail they found themselves aided by an uncommonly friendly wind, conjured by Girindor, and made good speed. It was still day when they came upon the large bay in which the Legionary fleet lay at anchor. Their fair wind rose to became a storm-front that pounded the Imperial fleet and pushed them into the shallow waters of an estuary. Girindor then conjured a number of huge waterspouts which he sent primarily against the ram-ships, smashing oars and putting most of them out of action. Only one heavy ram ship managed to remain operationally active and one was sunk outright.
The storm had now abated to a gale and Girindor announced that he was now out of power for the day. This was possibly just as well since where Girindor was, colateral damage was seldom far away. At least one of the Telemark longships had already sunk in the storm along with the Imperials. The Sea Raven used the last of the wind to forge towards the imperial fleet, well in advance of any other longship. As they came in they could see three bow-waves streaking towards them from the one operable ramship – some sort of under water missiles perhaps. Paradoxides set his demonic squid on one, they managed to outmanoeuvre another but the third struck and damaged the Sea Raven’s hull. However, they managed to sail on towards the cogs.
As they approached, Grettir tossed up the ioun stone that negated his need to breathe and stepped over the rail. He was carrying a battleaxe – not his usual choice of weapon. As he reach the sea floor he activated a ring that allowed him to move and operate as easily under water as on the land and ran towards the anchor hawser of the nearest cog. It was severed with but a few blows of his axe. He did the same to the other three. Then he set about staving in the ribs of each cog in turn. It was hard work and not very quick but when he was done all four cogs were badly holed below the waterline. For good measure, he tossed an alchemical incendiary into the hold of the last – though more in hope than expectation. The Imperials seemed to have little answer to his activities. He had briefly been bothered by a water elemental and what he took to be a Hand of Force, but they had little success in hampering him. Then he noticed that the elementals had turned their efforts to pushing the cogs into the shallower waters where they would run aground rather than sink to the bottom. This served Grettir’s purpose almost as well – if they won the battle, they would be able to loot their holds or even refloat them as prizes. He took off his ring and swam to the surface where he was hauled aboard the Sea Raven once more.
While Grettir had been doing this his companions and crew on the Sea Raven had been battling a number of Imperial craft. They had taken some further damage to the hull and had been raked by an incendiary spray that had killed and injured a number of Sequarl men. They had given as good as they got with Ubaron and Paradoxides cutting loose with various sorceries and Jason lobbing incendiaries into the Imperial ships from his crossbow. Now the rest of the Viking fleet were starting to arrive. It looked a promising day.
G-22
OE Date: May 695
Characters: Grettir, Paradoxides, Ubaron, Jason, Trevillion, Girindor NPCs: Samuel, Gron Sigison, Ari Ulfson, other crew of the Sea Raven
Real World: June 2011; Where: Surbiton
See also Ubaron’s Diaries