Chapter XXXII
June 872 – Telemark, Norway
Sigurd had decided to not rush a new attack.
His enemy had a clear advantage in confidence with two battles won despite inferior numbers, but to even resist, he had to muster all the forces from his tribe. By contrast, the southern provinces, still unruly, had not contributed that much to Sigurd’s first push. A hundred more warriors refilled the ranks of his army, and guaranteed an at least as good numerical advantage in the renewed campaign as in the first one.
He and Thorolfr had also taken care of the disobedience shown by the warriors of Nidaros. The chief, trusting and thinking himself a just leader, had been particularly offended, but the impropriety of the cowardly refusal to attack was much worse than only offending the chief.
While prudence was valued, cowardice carried a huge social stigma, because it was the worse form of egoism : letting comrades fight alone, sacrificing those lives and the tribe’s interest in exchange for personal safety. The apparent harshness with which society punished it acted as a deterrent to a greater evil.
Still, while individual acts of cowardice were easy to punish, as happened in Emund’s infamous case, a mass refusal to move forward and attack the enemy in melee was much harder to handle.
Sigurd’s first action after the defeat and the retreat had been covering up the details of what happened for the outside world : for it, the army had retreated against a foe too well positioned. The only ones who could tell otherwise were the very warriors whose best interest was for this shame to remain hidden. A lot of these men had fought in previous wars, and Sigurd was hopeful they could redeem themselves
Then, discipline was tightened. While the army stayed in Agder, the soldiers had to accomplish an unusual amount of chores, under Thorolfr’s supervision. Little time was given to slacken, and disobedience was severely punished. For good measure, a few men who tried to desert were executed, as were some men who encouraged discontent among the ranks – this last method proved particularly effective, as most of the trouble came from a tiny minority.
“I have killed cowardice at its root”, commented Thorolfr when informing his chief of this action.
Now, the army marched again in enemy’s territory.
The previous defeat had revealed another weakness : insufficient scouting gave the enemy the initiative.
This time, the location of Roald’s army was known. To be able to answer quickly to an attack from the north-west, as two years before, and from the coast, Telemark’s warriors camped on the western shore of the Norsjö.
Sigurd could have chosen to travel along the Nizir lake to the North, before going east ; however the terrain was more rugged there. Instead, he chose to advance in the cleared and low terrain along the coast.
The good organization of its supplies, and the decision to not lose time pillaging settlements that day, allowed the army from Nidaros to advance quickly, starting well into Agder’s territory in the morning to finish in view of the Grenmar – the richest fjord of the county, stretching to the north – by the evening.
Roald reacted swiftly, marching south to defend the most important settlements of Telemark, but the delay his spies needed to alert him made it impossible to outpace the invading army.
Instead, he had no better choice than to occupy a small hill west of the Grenmar, denying to the army of Nidaros the possibility to advance further.
On the morning, under a grey sky and forest cover, Sigurd’s men advanced north. After two hours of prudent advance, scouts reported that Telemark’s force was on the other side of a ravine, close yet invisible.
Should we not better wait here ? thought Sigurd.
This position is as strong as theirs, they would lose assuredly. As soon as the thought was completed, he realized the futility of such a plan : Roald of Telemark had proved he was no fool, and he would never commit his troops to a suicidal assault.
And if we stay here, he’ll stall us successfully and we’ll run out of supplies.
“Ready for the attack ?”, asked Thorolfr, who observed with curiosity his chief deep in his thoughts.
“Yes, I am. Are the troops organized as decided ?”
“They are.”
“Good. Go in position, I will lead.”
This time, there would be no flanking attempt. The disastrous results of this tactic in the previous battles against Roald had convinced him to not try it again. His warriors were disposed in a much more primitive formation : they would all be in the center and advance forward together, towards the enemy. The expected result was that being part of a larger group would increase the confidence of his men. The troops who had refused to attack in the previous battle were in front, with the others behind them. This was intended to push them forward. Thorolfr himself was to lead from the middle to ensure this.
Soon afterwards, the archers from the two armies began firing arrows at each other.
“Warriors ! The men of Telemark have taunted us for too long. Do you hear their weak insults and their loathsome arrogance ?”, shouted Sigurd.
He remained silent a few seconds, so his men could hear the indistinct sound of the curses emanating from their foes across the ravine.
“It is time to shut their mouths ! Let’s remind them the might which has united under one banner the lands from Nidaros to Agder ! Let’s see if they’ll keep the desire to taunt us once enthralled ! Forward men ! Forward ! Victory or Valhalla !”
And upon those words, Sigurd began advancing down the ravine.
This time, he didn’t look back to see if his men followed. He didn’t need to, as the sound from their steps was the clearer answer possible.
The volleys from the enemy’s archers became more deadly as the army of Nidaros progressed along the ravine, but even on light-armoured warriors whose wooden round shields couldn't cover everything they were too weak to do much damage.
After two minutes of steep hill climbing, Sigurd saw the men from Telemark. Around him, warriors were running to the enemy.
He stopped a few seconds to breath. Then, fighting his body's plea for a longer rest, he pushed forward. He repulsed a few attacks with the help of his shield, and proceeded to strike the legs of an enemy with his sword. Weakly protected, they made an ideal target.
Under Roald’s orders, men from Telemark began to push forward. With their collective strength, they hoped to drive back Sigurd’s men. With the slope, it could prove decisive.
Sigurd shouted to his men to push back and keep striking, while the rest of his army was finishing climbing the hill.
After having initially lost ground, the army of Nidaros managed to push harder than its foe.
The confidence of Telemark’s warriors began shaking, and as this weakness became apparent, Sigurd’s men ceased doubting.
The fight carried on for the better part of an hour with light casualties, before finally Roald of Telemark's line broke in two. The chief ordered an immediate retreat. In the ensuing chaos, the army of Nidaros captured dozen of enemies.
Sigurd could breathe.
A feeling of jubilation filled him, and he closed his fist while having a shout of satisfaction. Revenge was very sweet indeed.
Afterwards, Thorolfr joined him on the top of the conquered hill. Something immediately struck his chief’s eyes.
“You’ve been hurt !”
“Yes, my lord. An axe which my helmet failed to entirely stop.”
His cheek was bleeding.
“Thankfully, I have a strong head. As you, if I may add.”
Sigurd chuckled and patted his commander on his left shoulder.
“This must not be too serious if you can still joke.”
