The sober thought silenced the group. Ulfrik bit his lip, wishing he could find a way through the walls. The bridges and their towers had halted all progress. Any attempt to move past them, even on foot, was impossible. Days earlier, Sigfrid had filled the shallows by the southern tower with debris and felled trees and tried to march men past it. Arrows and fire rebuffed them, and the garbage now clung to the pilings of the wooden bridge. As long as the bridges held, Paris could not be bypassed or surrounded. With only two hundred men to defend it, Paris could not stand if surrounded by all the Danes at once.
"Curse those bridges," Ulfrik muttered.
"Maybe ghost crews could sail ghost ships over the bridges," Mord said with a laugh. "It might be the only way to get through them."
"Ghost ships …" The words slipped from Ulfrik's mouth as a plan formed in a flash. It was daring plan, and a bold plan, entertainment for the gods, and it was bobbing on the waters before him every day since they had dug into their trenches. "Mord, that is what we are going to use. Ghost ships!"
"I told you not to eat the eels from this river. They're no good for your head." Toki guffawed but Mord understood immediately.
"The abandoned ships, your want to use them to defeat the bridges."
Ulfrik was already stomping through the mud to find Hrolf. "We're going to send those ships up the river and through the wooden bridge. It's coming down before this day is over."
Heart racing, he had found a way through this stalemate. His thoughts turned to family, Runa, I might yet be home by summer!
K
"You are either a brave man or a fool." Hrolf looped his arm around Ulfrik's shoulders as they stood facing the river, far downstream from Paris. "But if this succeeds, your name will live forever."
"It is my desire and plan that more than my name lives on."
Hrolf laughed, but Ulfrik studied the three ships lashed together in the middle of the river. Ghost ships was the name Mord gave them that morning, a fitting description. The men who had widowed these ships would now take revenge on the city, if only as ghosts sailing with Ulfrik. Behind him, scores of men came to watch the start of the spectacle. Many more had gathered closer to the wooden bridge, ready to follow on the collision of the ships with the bridge. Loud voices proclaimed victory and celebrated the vengeance awaiting them in Paris. Ulfrik shared their lusts, but did not share their confidence in utter victory.
Men who had completed loading barrels of oil on the ships now pulled away in small, flat-bottomed boats. Wind bent the tops of distant trees, their bare branches like skeletal hands pointing towards Paris.
"It is time," Ulfrik said to Hrolf. Gunther stood at his right, his single eye squinting at him.
"Your son wanted to join me, but I forbade it. Then he told me he could swim, and that might be useful."
Gunther nodded, but did not reply. Hrolf guided Ulfrik by his arm. "Go to meet Sigfrid before you begin. He will steal your glory if this scheme works, but scorn you if it fails. You are certain of your plan?"
Ulfrik glanced at Mord who waited with Toki and Snorri by the small boat that would ferry them to the ships. "I am. But Sigfrid has been as useful as a twig in a sword fight. Everyone will know what I did for this siege before the sun sets."
Hrolf hissed but kept a smile as they neared Sigfrid and his circle of jarls and hirdmen. "Be more respectful of Sigfrid, even if you're not off the mark. Don't bring me troubles, Ulfrik."
"Another great plan from your clever man!" Sigfrid wore his mail and sword, a shield slung cross his back and a dented helmet tucked under arm. His clear eyes gleamed with excitement as he strode forward to clasp Ulfrik's arm. "You are a brave one too. If you succeed, I will cover your arms in gold bands."
Not even meeting Ulfrik's eyes, he turned to the gathered crowd and sought their admiration for generosity. The sycophantic group cheered or stomped their feet.
"You are a generous lord," Ulfrik said, inclining his head.
"I am here to offer you my aid," he said with a sudden and feigned gravity.
By drowning in your armor? he thought, and the vision of Sigfrid toppling from the ship in his armor made him smile. "Granting me three ships is aid enough."
Sigfrid had claimed all the widowed ships that he could, which Ulfrik heard had caused friction with Hrolf. Few things were more valuable than a good ship. Sigfrid hugged Ulfrik, then pushed him toward the others as the crowd shouted encouragement.
"You are all brave men," he said when they arrived at the banks. Toki had already boarded the boat, and stood when Sigfrid addressed them. "Destroy that bridge, and show these Franks they are not so cunning as they think."
Ulfrik sat with his three companions as Sigfrid and another man helped launch their boat. Toki began to row as they slipped into deeper waters, and the crowd at the river bank began to move upstream for a better view of the attack.
"Sigfrid will cover my arms in gold bands if we succeed."
Snorri rolled his eyes and Toki chuckled. Mord spit into the river, a sour twist on his face. "Aye, and then he'll cut them off your dead body when no one suspects. My father doesn't trust him, at least where gold is concerned."
Ulfrik raised his brow at Mord, but then they arrived at the ships. They were not high-sided ships which was likely why Sigfrid parted with them. Once on the deck of the first ship, Ulfrik patted the rails. "Unless the wind gusts, these ships aren't going to be strong enough to take down the bridge."
"Aren't we supposed to burn it down?" Toki asked as he and the others worked to set the sail.
"I wanted bigger ships to burn longer and brighter, and do more structural damage." Running his hand along the rail, he walked to the stern and placed the rudder into the water. "But it seems Sigfrid wants all the best ships and all of Paris."
"Typical of his kind," Snorri said. "And the rest of us suffer for his gain."
The gods blessed Ulfrik's gambit with an advantageous wind. The sail of the first ship filled and already it struggled against the current. They spread out to the other ships, and once all sails had been hoisted, the vessels strained to race forward in the wind. They tied the tillers in place, bound their small boat for their escape, and each man took position on a ship with Ulfrik and Toki together. Their knives ready to cut free from the anchor stones. All three looked to Ulfrik for the signal. He cast one glance at the gray walls of Paris, seeking for another sign of the gods' favor. Nothing but smoke and gray skies lifted above it. Spitting on the deck, he raised his arm. "Cut us free!"
All three men sawed furiously until the ropes snapped. Snorri's ship, which towed their escape boat, lurched forward and the other ships jerked in response. Ulfrik grabbed the rail, then Toki's rope snapped away. The extra force broke Mord's middle ship free and he stumbled backwards and landed on the deck. The ships moved as one, and all laughed at Mord's fall.
The wind on Ulfrik's face made him miss the open sea. Sailing on a river, even one as wide as the Seine, was a pale comparison. For a short time, they only had to make minor adjustments as the bridge came into view. Its low profile of interlaced supports and beams was a formidable barrier. But it was wood, and therefore vulnerable.
"Set this ship afire," he said.
"We are not close enough yet."
"If it is not well aflame by the time it strikes the bridge, the Franks might douse the fire. You've seen their tricks."
The ships sliced across the waters, sails fat and masts creaking. Already Franks were scurrying along the tops of Paris's walls. Men filed onto the bridge.
Toki dug into a bag containing touchwood and striking steel, while Ulfrik used a hand ax to smash open kegs of oil. Both Mord and Snorri followed, and began splashing oil on the decks.