Epic Knights of Legend and Steel

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Castle Creca (Pele Tower), 19 Miles northwest of Carlisle

Current Clan Maxwell Stronghold while Caerlaverock Castle is in English hands

Early November

W inter had arrived early this year, with bitter winds and wet snow flying as early as late October. That being the case, travel and communication had been extremely difficult and when a lone rider appeared at Creca, nearly frozen and starved to death. Eustace Maxwell, Lord of Caerlaverock, had the man taken into the guard room in the small gatehouse of Creca’s wall and placed before the fire, so close that his frozen clothing began to steam.

Eustace, a big man with thinning hair, wasn’t usually so attentive to lone riders, or didn’t pay them much mind in any case, but he had a reason to pay attention to this one– he’d come with a missive from his cousin, Hamish, who lived surrounded by the Sassenach down near London. Aye, Eustace had a very good reason for treating this messenger well. The man had provided him with a good deal of information that needed to be passed on to the clans, a man to ask questions of when the contents of the missive would no longer suffice. The messenger was Hamish Maxwell’s son, Davey, and he knew virtually as much as his father did.

Eustace sent out a messenger of his own who ran for the Douglas outpost to the west and in two days’ time, Arn and William Douglas appeared with several of their kinsmen, summoned by Eustace and his mention of the English army. Edward had been wreaking havoc along the borders but as of late, he had retreated back into England and was somewhere in Northumberland, or so they had been told, gathering a mighty army for another strike.

The border lairds had taken a thrashing so they were eager to band together and plan a coordinated resistance, so much so that they had put aside old prejudices and arranged for a meeting in Jedburgh the day after the New Year. They were all looking forward to the meeting to varying degrees, mostly because it meant uniting forces against Edward and presenting an unbreakable front, but there were still those who opposed any kind of united Scots army. There were those that wished to fight on their own, thinking they could stave off Edward in their own way.

Eustace Maxwell was one of these lairds who preferred to fight on his own for the most part, which is why Arn and William had come so quickly when he had summoned them. There were two possible reasons for his summons– he had either decided to fight with them or he hadn’t, and in either case, they wanted to know. Upon reaching Castle Creca, they were immediately taken into the small tower, which only had three floors and one room to each floor. They gathered in the low-ceilinged, ground floor room around a hearth that had burned so hot that the stones around it were glowing red. And there they waited, shaking off the cold, until Eustace decided to show himself.

Eustace entered the ground-floor chamber with his nephews Robert and John with him, young men who had traveled to the Douglas stronghold those months ago to deliver the news regarding the East Anglia marriage. There were other men with Eustace as well including his brother-in-law and a few other relatives, all of them focused on Arn and William as the two warmed their freezing flesh by the fire. Someone brought forth a thick, sludgy ale and the drinking began.

“Arn,” Eustace greeted civilly. “When are ye going tae clean up yer beard? It looks as if ye have a nest of birds livin’ there.”

Arn was known for that filthy beard and the men in the room chuckled at his expense. Arn scratched at his beard, watching things like bread crumbs and dried twigs fall out of it.

“Me father likes me beard,” he said, playing along with the joke because there was no use in fighting the truth. “Would ye tell me da ye dunna like it?”

Eustace glanced at his chuckling relatives. “I never said I dinna like it,” he said. “I said it looks like ye have creatures livin’ in there. So ye received me message, did ye? God was good tae allow ye tae travel through the snow tae get here.”

Arn rubbed at his hands. “I’m nearly frozen, man,” he said. “What did ye call us here for? What is happening with the Sassenach army?”

The humor in the chamber faded as men began to settle in. A few sat on the floor, backs against the cold stone walls, while still others tried to crowd near the hearth. Eustace sat down on one of two chairs in the room, crude pieces of furniture, and accepted a cup of the thick, bitter ale from his nephew, John. He took a long drink, getting foam and sediment on his graying beard.

“Johnny and Robert told ye of me aunt in France, the one who married her granddaughter intae the House of de Winter,” he said, taking another drink and spilling some onto his chest. “Do ye remember?”

Arn nodded as William went to pour himself some of the ale because no one would offer it to him. “I do,” he said. “They said she has been giving you information on Edward’s movements intae our lands.”

Eustace nodded, regarding the ale in his cup. “She has,” he said. “She was married tae me Uncle Argyle until the English killed him. Aunt Mabelle was always the cold sort but when it came tae Argyle, he melted whatever ice was in her. His death feeds her hatred against the English and ’tis not loyalty tae Scotland that motivates her. ’Tis vengeance for Argyle’s death. Vengeance is mayhap the strongest motivator of all, second only tae love.”

Arn was listening closely. “Then ye know the woman well?”

Eustace shrugged. “I know her enough,” he said. “I know that Mabelle hates the English as much as we do. That is why I trust her when she sends us information.”

Arn took a drink of the bitter ale. “Then ye’ve summoned us tae tell us what more she has told ye?”

Eustace nodded. “I have a cousin near London,” he began. “He sent his son tae deliver a message and the lad arrived three days ago. It took him almost three weeks tae come, with the season being so bad. But the message he brings is this– it seems that me aunt is in England for the marriage of her granddaughter intae the House of de Winter. The information she gave me came directly from de Winter. Someone told Edward about our meetin’ at Jedburgh after the New Year and the man has summoned a sizable force tae break it up. It seems he wants prisoners as well.”

Arn’s eyes widened. “Someone told the man?” he repeated, aghast. “He knows the clans are meeting there?”

Eustace nodded. “He has his spies as we have ours, Arnie,” he said patiently. “’Tis no great shock that he should know. But ’tis my guess he doesna know that we know he is ridin’ for Jedburgh. That being the case, we can, mayhap, break up his army before he can make it tae Jedburgh.”

Arn was listening with great interest, as was his volatile brother. William was already into his second cup of ale. “What do we do?” William demanded. “Do we gather the clans and meet him?”

Eustace shook his head. “We canna go head-tae-head with Edward,” he said flatly. “But we can do what we do best– we can knock away at him, weakenin’ him.”

“How?” Arn wanted to know.

Eustace drained his cup before speaking. “Me aunt said that the de Winter army was headin’ for Hexham,” he said. “That is where Edward is gatherin’ his men before marchin’ on Jedburgh. Now, if the de Winter army left Norfolk as me aunt said, that would mean they left no more than a month ago. I would be surprised if they’ve reached Hexham by now because the season has been so terrible already. There has been great snow and cold winds. Movin’ an army through that isna a simple thing, so it’s me guess that even if they aren’t already at Hexham, then they should be close. But they are alone, separated from Edward’s forces still. If we were tae gather men tae attack them, weaken them, then Edward would be weakened as well.”

Arn and William looked at each other, trying to figure out if this was a wise plan or not. Eustace was a conservative commander, not one given to fire and whim, so they were certain this was something he’d thought through. Still….

“How big is the de Winter army?” Arn asked.

Eustace shook his head. “She dinna say,” he replied. “Mayhap five hundred men or more.”

Arn lifted his eyebrows at the lack of concern in that statement. “’Tis the ‘or more’ that concerns me,” he said. “Ye speak of the de Winter army. Everyone knows they are very powerful. And we would have tae go intae England tae attack them.”

Eustace nodded patiently. “I realize that,” he said. “But even the de Winter army isna invincible, especially if they are caught by surprise. Hexham is only fifty miles from us; we could make it across the border without being seen and lay siege tae the de Winter army before they reach Edward. Here, now; listen tae the messenger, me cousin’s son. Davey? Tell them what ye told me, lad.”

One of the men clustering near the hearth, standing right next to Arn, in fact, turned when his name was called. Fair-haired, tall and strong, young Davey Maxwell looked much better than he did the day he’d arrived at Creca. He’d been half-frozen that day and nearly dead, but today, he looked healthy and strong again. He faced Arn and William without hesitation.

“There is a forest about ten miles south of Hexham,” he said, speaking without the heavy Scots burr because he had been born and raised in England. “I passed through it on my way here. If we lie in wait for the de Winter army there, presuming they have not made it to Hexham yet, it would be a good place for an ambush. We could do them some serious damage before retreating.”

Arn lingered on the plan, scratching his nasty beard, while William simply rolled his eyes. “And how are we tae do this?” he wanted to know. “If we go, we must go now. We canna take the time to draw the amount of men we will need from the clans. We will have tae go with two hundred men at most.”

“Two hundred men can do a lot of damage,” Eustace reminded him quietly. “Especially if we take out the knights; that is where the power lies in these great armies and, knowin’ the de Winter army, they will have de Winter kin at the helm. We take out the knights first and do our damage. But ye’re right about one thing; we must leave now. The longer we wait, the greater the chance of the army already makin’ it tae Edward. We have no time tae debate this, Arn. Are ye coming with us?”

Arn sighed heavily, looking to his brother. This wasn’t a foolish folly; he knew that. It was a well-planned incursion into enemy lands to weaken Edward’s strength, and damaging the de Winter army would certainly be damaging to Edward’s strength. He wanted to have that chance, to damage the English king who had been so adept at damaging Scotland. He was a patriot, and a warrior, and both of those things contributed to his answer. He knew there could only be one response.

“Aye,” he finally said. “We are coming with ye. Let me go home and gather as many men as I can and I’ll return in four days.”

“We’ll be waitin’ on ye,” Eustace said with some satisfaction. “But if ye aren’t back in four days, we leave without ye. We canna delay.”

“Understood,” Arn said. “But what about the meeting in Jedburgh? Will ye send word tae the chiefs not tae go?”

Eustace nodded. “I already have,” he replied. “We’ll move it somewhere else, somewhere Edward canna find. For now, it will not be at Jedburgh. When Edward goes there, he will find it empty.”

With that, the matter was settled and there was a good deal of drinking beyond that point. Plans were set and the future, although frightening, was also exciting. Was it really possible that they could damage Edward’s army in a small way by attacking the de Winter troops? That was the hope, at any rate, and the Scots were determined to do what needed to be done in order to protect their lives, their interests, and Scotland.

Aim for the knights.

That would be their rally cry.