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Pov of Sigurd
Anno Domini, 832-March-28
''Eternal glory is within our grasp, a certain entrance into Valhalla and riches beyond our imagination await us ahead. We only have to take them by force'' I said while clenching my fist, hearing the metallic sound as our ships began cutting through the waves at speed while we approached the coast.
''We may not have been selected to raid the Italian coast and that task may have been given to the newcomers from other parts of the north and even… Danes, but we are here because of the importance of this mission. Basil trusts only us to carry out this attack and to make sure that we do not suddenly discover some Christian mercy in our hearts'' I said with a slight laugh, hearing my men laughing aboard the ship.
''We have to besiege Rome and take the Bishop of Rome prisoner. Basil promised us his weight in gold if we bring him back without a single scratch on him, so if you want to return home carrying so much gold that you will not even know what to do with it, then bring me that priest alive. As for everyone else, we are to crush and massacre any force that stands in the way of our mission and we will have to move quickly to prevent any attempt by that priest to escape, because there is a very good chance that he will flee the city'' I continued while watching the ambition filling my men's eyes as they heard about the enormous reward being offered.
''So show them why we, the sons of the north, are the finest warriors. Crush those Franks and teach them how battle is truly fought while we plunder the lands surrounding the ancient capital of the Romans'' I said while turning around as I heard the rowers increase their pace to the beat of the drum.
As the sound of the drum echoed around us, we began to see the lands near Rome, since whenever possible we had sailed through deeper waters so that we could conceal our fleet from as many eyes as possible, because this attack had to come with as much surprise as we could manage.
Besides that, the ships that had separated from our group were supposed to reach the northern ports with relative ease and begin plundering them.
''Look at those worshippers of the crucified god running away'' one of my men said as he watched a number of ships sailing near the coast begin changing course because of our presence.
''Our fleet is enormous compared with anything these men can put together. At least they have enough sense not to remain in our path'' I said while gripping a rope as the ship bounced slightly while we approached the coast.
''So kill and plunder, but no thralls?'' another one of my men asked as he stood up with his polehammer in his hands.
''Exactly. Christians, fine, kill them, brutalize them, beat them into pieces, but no enslaving them because apparently that looks bad. Besides, in Rome… only the city within the Aurelian Walls must be respected… to a certain extent. Outside the walls we can burn everything and steal whatever we want because our objective is to destroy the logistical capability of the local Carolingians to raise an emergency army against the pincer Basil is creating in the south'' I said while turning toward my men.
As we moved forward, many ships began returning to port, where Portus and the Tiber were supposed to be and where there should have been some kind of fortification protecting the coast.
''There… that is a Roman fortress, although it does not look to be in the best condition'' I said while pointing toward the structure rising above the surrounding area.
''How many men do we divert to take that fortress?'' one of the officers following me asked.
''Two thousand. I doubt it is packed with defenders, while the rest of us march toward Rome, which should be somewhere along the Tiber. Leave a small group behind to plunder Portus and gather supplies for our forces. Everyone else pushes toward Rome so we can block the exits from the city'' I said while moving toward the front of the ship as we slowly approached the harbor.
''As you command, Sigurd'' several of my men said before quickly passing my orders to the other ships, which continued increasing their speed to the beat of the drum, its relentless pounding driving the rowers onward.
I took hold of my polehammer while watching the harbor come closer and began noticing people running from the port as we maneuvered into position to land.
''There will be no resistance at sea… the Franks are abandoning their ships'' the lookout shouted from the observation platform.
''Excellent, then we will have plenty more ships for the return journey'' I said while looking away from the harbor.
Finally, when we were almost at the port, we saw a group of men forming near the docks, bringing braziers forward and preparing to fire burning arrows.
''Prepare to disembark and divide the forces. Possible fire arrows. Lower the sails, oars only'' I shouted while turning toward my men and my officers immediately began sending the message to the other ships.
The sails of the dromon we were using were lowered while the oars continued moving and it did not take long before a large number of flaming arrows came flying toward us. We had to use shovels to extinguish them and prevent our ships from catching fire, throwing water and sand over them to avoid any disaster within our fleet.
But eventually we reached the port and ropes were thrown out to secure our ship to the docks while a large number of Carolingian soldiers waited for us there.
The rowers abandoned their oars and quickly took out their crossbows, loading them before beginning to fire bolts at the defenders while arrows continued raining down around us.
I felt the sharp tapping of several arrows striking my chest and soon saw Frankish soldiers pierced by crossbow bolts. The more ships that reached the harbor, the more one-sided the battle became, especially considering that our enemies did not even appear to number a thousand men.
The Carolingians quickly began retreating as more ships reached the harbor and we immediately lowered the boarding bridge from our vessel. I wasted no time becoming the first man to descend.
''Form ranks and get our cavalry ashore quickly. We will gain enough ground to give them room to unload the horses'' I said to my men, who immediately began forming a battle line before we followed the retreating defenders as they attempted to pull away from us.
''Forward, forward. Isolate the fortification at Portus'' I said while pointing ahead as my men continued disembarking while the remaining vessels unloaded their siege equipment and construction materials along with more warriors.
We began moving through the streets, watching people barricade themselves inside their homes. For the moment our priority was securing objectives of strategic value, although my hands were itching and I wanted nothing more than to start plundering. I simply gave the order to continue advancing and reach the weakened Roman fortification near the harbor, where a large number of people were trying to seek refuge.
I left two jarls behind to besiege the fortification and isolate the garrison that had managed to reach the somewhat ruined stronghold while the rest of us moved inland, trying to reach Rome before the Bishop of Rome had any opportunity to flee.
We advanced through the streets of the city almost without resistance, apart from soldiers desperately fleeing from us, and it did not take long before we reached several nearby stables where we seized every animal available, whether they were horses, draft animals, donkeys or oxen, using them to move the greatest possible number of troops toward Rome.
Climbing aboard horse-drawn carts, we continued on our way while black smoke was only beginning to rise behind us and the first groups of people began fleeing the city as we kept pushing toward Rome.
Along the way we continued stopping to plunder everything we found in our path, trying to force people to abandon their homes and seek refuge inside the Aurelian Walls, because if this turned into a siege it would be advantageous to have many more mouths to feed, even if that also meant more men available to defend the walls.
As we kept moving, we saw that the cavalry contingent of our forces had begun advancing and passed us at great speed. Around a thousand warriors were mounted and their duty was to make sure that nothing left the city walls until the entire army had formed around Rome.
So it did not take me long to take one of the warhorses we had seized from the stables at Portus and ride out with my men, who followed my movement on horseback as we rapidly approached where Rome should be.
As we rode, we saw several groups of people already evacuating from our path and trying to get inside the city walls, while others were attempting to bring carts loaded with supplies inside, probably trying to move food into the city.
''Keep going, secure the gates. If any group tries to leave the city, attack them'' I said while signaling for the men closest to me to follow.
We quickly turned at a gallop and began closing in on the group transporting supplies toward the city. The moment they saw us coming toward them, they began scattering in every direction. Only the man whipping the draft animals pulling the carts remained, while many of the peasants and workers simply fled in panic.
Riding closer, I struck one of the militiamen moving the grain cleanly in the chest with my polehammer, hearing the sound of his bones breaking as he fell from the cart.
''Kill them all, quickly. We don't have time to waste'' I said while spurring my horse forward and chasing another Carolingian militiaman who was trying to escape on foot.
As I galloped, I watched my men begin splitting skulls open, smashing heads apart with the tremendous blows they delivered with their weapons.
Once I was alongside one of the fleeing men, I swung my weapon and felt it split his skull open, sending a mess everywhere as the militiaman collapsed dead.
Seeing that there was no resistance left, I took the draft horses they had been using to move the grain because we had to continue toward Rome and there was no way we could move the sacks without the horses.
So we continued riding until, after a long journey, we finally saw the city of Rome rising before us.
''Shit… the city really is enormous… do we even have enough men to completely besiege it?'' I said while staring at the great city of the ancient Empire. Although it was supposedly not fully inhabited, it was still enormous in size.
''Orders, Sigurd?'' one of my men asked, clearly sharing the same uncertainty about what we were supposed to do.
''Rome has a great many gates. We have to keep them watched and make sure nobody gets out. We only have sixteen thousand men, which means we are going to have trouble maintaining the encirclement while also securing our route back to the sea'' I said while studying the enormous length of the Aurelian Walls.
''Fine, I'll take my men and watch the east. The rest of the army should already be on its way, so we should expect reinforcements by midday if their march is fast'' one of my men said.
''Be careful. There could easily be a Carolingian counterattack. If there are enough mounted men inside the city, they could easily try to force us into a battle that favors them'' I said, trying to urge some restraint among my men.
''Afraid of Valhalla, Sigurd?'' one of my men asked.
''Of course not, but we do have a mission to besiege the city and I have no idea how I am supposed to surround a city this large with so few men while also making sure we burn everything around it so that no relief army can be raised in the nearby towns and fortresses'' I said while shaking my head.
''We'll crush them in battle, just as we always have. Forward'' my subordinate said as he spurred his horse onward and his men followed, dividing our forces.
We remained watching the road and the Tiber River. After some time, we finally saw several drakkars arriving along the river and beginning to disembark, bringing the troops we needed to start establishing siege camps. Later, after midday had already passed, another force of four thousand men arrived, allowing us to properly begin the siege while I took my own men out to carry out the task of destroying any attempt to raise a relief army.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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