The time it took to organise the men and ships ready for combat, sad to relate, enabled the Norsemen to raid Defnascir. They did much mischief there and everywhere on the seacoast. Our nine vessels, sailing in line, cut a splendid figure as we bore out into the open sea with one objective in mind – to spring a trap. If we bottled the Vikings in a cove or the mouth of an estuary, we would be sure to prevail with our superior might.
That was exactly how we found them. Not knowing the land thereabouts, to this day, I know not which inlet it was. Thence three craft hove in sight with the intimidating images of their sails – a black, wide-winged raven, a grey wolf’s head and one simple design of broad, red and white stripes. A sharp-eyed lookout pointed out another three ships beached in the e
