Here you can see Eadwulf, his wife and bodyguard Athelgard looking out from the top of the tower urging Bermulf to make all haste as they have seen the viking raiders seeking to cut him off. Although he ran as fast as he could leaving many of Eadwulf's best warriors to hold back the raiders it was a lost cause and he was quickly overrun and hauled back to the viking camp. Luckily the viking lord hadn't realised the close family links to Eadwulf, and Bermulf was ransomed back for very little gold. A terrible scenario for my Anglo-Cumbrians with almost nothing to show it was obvious the Vikings would be back to raid again stronger than ever.
In only a month they were back to raid one of Eadwulf's outlying farms he would have to be quick and more decisive if he was to turn around his fortunes.
Here you can see the Vikings already have a head start and are rushing towards the farm, where unsuspecting women's folk are going about their daily chores. A change then of tack for Eadwulf splitting his forces into three larger units to maximise early movement. This enabled most of his forces to get into the farm area before the vikings had had a chance to seek out any valuables.
Decisive action was needed and after sending his second in command Godswold to secure one of the out buildings. Eadwulf called forward his very best warriors and charged headlong into the centre of the farm complex. In a scene very reminiscent of one of the village battle scenes in the second series of Vikings (which I have been re-watching recently) Eadwulf formed his men into a shield wall and pushed forward, cutting down the northmen at every turn and ultimately forcing them out of the farm althogether. (we are using white dice as shock markers).
This final shot shows Eadwulf shouting derision and some quite nasty words at the backs of the fleeing Vikings. Revenge indeed and they will think again before landing in this part of Cumberland.
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