"To run down Ull's warriors in the field." Several men drew closer to listen as Einar offered his opinion. Konal and his crew joined the small group as the larger army held to silence.
"Why are Ull's men in the field?"
"Because he's retreating."
"Do you know that Ull's retreating? I haven't heard such news."
Ulfrik studied the realization spreading from Einar to other listeners. The forest was silent but for the crackles and creaks of men lingering among the trees, impatient for the order to resume. Konal rubbed his neck and laughed, and others shared concerned glances. Einar's face now darkened with an angry flush.
He dropped his ax head-first into the soft ground. "He's coming after us."
"He lured us out of a place of strength to fight on a battlefield of his choosing. As soon as our scouts departed, he turned back and marched all night to set an ambush along the path to his fortress. His cavalry will burst out of hiding and trample us as we merrily run for his abandoned stronghold. We'll get hit from behind, totally surprised, and he'll hack us to bits. Why did I not see it? I followed what he wanted me to see, rather than what I should've seen for myself."
Ulfrik flung his helmet into the dirt and spun on his heel. He folded an arm across his chest and ran his fingers through his beard as he thought. Those around him dropped their heads and moved back. Hundreds of lives depended upon his decisions, and acting with discipline little better than that of a greenhorn put all of these people in unnecessary jeopardy. His only relief was in recognizing the trap before it was sprung. Pacing in a tight circle as he weighed options, he met no one's eyes. All looked to him for leadership and a safe escape from the trap. Clovis likely had seeded the approach with scouts who would spot a withdrawal and bring Clovis in close pursuit. He twisted a finger into his beard, and stopped as a plan began to assemble in his imagination.
Einar stepped into his vision, holding Ulfrik's helmet in two thick hands. "You've got a plan; I see that look upon you."
Ulfrik accepted the helmet, brushed a clod of mud from the faceplate, and donned it again. "Clovis still thinks we're stupid barbarians because we won't sing songs about his dead god. That's quite an advantage he gives us."
"And he wouldn't expect us to realize we're being baited," Konal said. "So he will expect us to head straight for the prize he's waving before us."
"But we won't do that. We will comb these woods until we kill all his scouts and find where his men are hidden. Then we will attack inside these trees, where his cavalry are useless."
"And so is our shieldwall." Einar raised a brow in challenge, but Ulfrik only laughed.
"The Franks are tired from marching up and down these lands and expect surprise to carry them. They will try to drive us toward their fortress where I don't doubt scores of archers await panicked targets. But we're not giving them any of that. I'll trade the shieldwall for the pleasure of destroying those plans."
"I'll get the best scouts we have ready to go." Einar shared Ulfrik's smile, and hefted his ax onto his shoulder.
"In the meantime, we'll continue to march ahead as Clovis expects. I don't doubt the first of his scouts are nearby and we don't want to raise suspicions. If we do this right, we might still get what we want."
The column resumed the march, most of the men unaware of Ulfrik's plans. He did not doubt his men's ability to adapt to a new plan. The majority had fought with him for years and they all knew Clovis had a weakness for complicated bluffs. Even with so many aware of Clovis's wiles, they had all been misled when offered what they wanted. He would not forget this lesson again.
He had kept progress slow enough to give the scouting teams time while not arousing suspicions of Clovis's hidden watchers. Men began to cluster and bunch, and Ulfrik used it as an excuse to stop and reorder as well as whisper the new plan to his warriors. Soon, scouts returned with fresh blood sprayed on their leathers or fewer arrows in their quivers. They reported no fewer than ten kills along the lightest pathways through the woods. Most anticipated was the location of Clovis and his main force. As expected, they hid at the edge of the woods, with cavalry and their horses a good deal away from the main lane of approach so that the animals would not betray them.
Now Ulfrik began his encirclement. Among his men were Franks who served him, just as other Danes had gone to serve the Franks. These men had proved their loyalty and usefulness too often to count, and Ulfrik had clapped gold armbands on them to ensure they never had cause to leave him. He found two of them now, and sent them on an important task.
"Go ahead of us, to where Clovis's scouts were set, and send word back to Clovis that we are delayed with an argument in our ranks, but are coming as expected."
"What if we are found out?"
"You won't. Be hasty and play your part well. Don't approach their main line, just relay your message to the first man you find. Speak from the shadows. Just as we so readily believed what we wanted to hear, so will Clovis and his men."
Knowing smiles shared all around as the two Franks slipped farther into the brown darkness of the underbrush. Ulfrik now let his scouts lead them to where the cavalry was positioned. The proud animals were patient and quiet, constantly comforted by their riders who stared out of the edge of the woods toward the bright field of amber grass. Two dozen mounted warriors awaited to spring their trap and not one noticed Ulfrik's careful approach.
He drew his men into two lines to hit from different sides. Swords remained sheathed and helmets and mail had been hastily splashed with dirt to prevent an errant glint of the dappled light filtering from the canopy of leaves. Every snapping branch or disturbed bush made Ulfrik seize in fear, yet the Franks waited oblivious. Nearly upon them, he slowly drew his sword and others followed, a gentle sigh of metal echoing through the trees.
A horse began to nod and toss its head and its fear spread to its companions. The Franks stood in confusion, and Ulfrik knew the moment had come. "Kill the horses first. Go!"
Hundreds of screaming warriors burst through the trees at the astonished Franks. Horses screamed as axes and swords bit into their necks and spears drove into their bellies. The lightly armored riders barely had a moment to arm themselves before fending against a dozen strikes. Blood sprayed the ground, men shrieked in death, and war cries shattered the silence. A few horses bolted into the field, one with a spear hanging out of its flank.
Ulfrik did not strike a blow beyond the first hapless Frank he met, chopping him at the shoulder and then through his neck as he flailed on the ground. Confident the isolated cavalry had been defeated the moment he had ordered the charge, Ulfrik turned to his rear lines which now became his main defense. Einar, Konal, and his other best men formed this group, for they would turn to receive Clovis's charge.
"A sad waste of horseflesh," Ulfrik said as he joined Einar. "We'll not be able to carry all that back to Ravndal, and I hate that we just did Clovis a favor." Einar gave him a quizzical smile. "He's got two dozen fewer men to feed and hundreds of pounds of horse meat for the others."
Their laughter was short-lived. With no more need for stealth, the Franks bolted through the trees with curses and war cries driven ahead of them. However, the first clash did not come from the front where Ulfrik expected. Franks sprung up from Ulfrik's right and were among his men before anyone realized.
"Where in Loki's name did they come from?" Einar shouted, not knowing which way to turn. "Are those Clovis's men?"