The Great Pagan Army by Heppner Vaughn

Author:Heppner, Vaughn [Heppner, Vaughn]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2010-07-19T04:00:00+00:00

34.

That evening Bishop Gozlin inspected the tower by torchlight. He wore rich vestments and held his crosier. His rings flashed as he listened to the brave tales and then he bade all fall onto their knees. His priests carried a silver shrine. Men fell into reverent silence as torches crackled. Other priests set down a wooden bust of Saint Genevieve. Gozlin swept aside the shrine’s curtain. Bones lay on fine linen. With his hand on the bones and as he kneeled he prayed aloud, thanking Saint Genevieve for victory and begging for renewed aid tomorrow. Then he blessed them in her name.

Later, Gozlin motioned aside the weary Count.

Odo spoke first. “Your Grace, as you prayed I received an inspiration. We cannot face many more assaults like this. Somehow, we must change the nature of the battle. Then it came to me: heighten the tower. That will steal just a bit more of an archer’s power and add power to our javelins and rocks. It will also make a Dane’s climb longer. Thus I need every spare carpenter and piece of lumber you have.”

“I don’t understand,” Gozlin said, his face pinched.

“We must build a six-foot scaffold onto our tower. We’ll brace it, build thick parapets and add flooring. Six feet may not seem like much, but then instead of twenty feet up, a shot is twenty-six and a climb is twenty-six, maybe with the added parapet twenty-eight or twenty-nine feet. That’s almost thirty feet, almost twice the distance. That will give the Northmen pause, I think.”

“Can such a thing be done in one night? For you cannot build half an extra tower.”

“Agreed,” Odo said. “Yes. A scaffold and boards nailed around it and flooring, I’m certain with all the carpenters we can build it tonight.”

Gozlin nodded slowly as he gazed upon the Danish encampment. Northmen roared in song around their campfires. Slaves cooked oxen on mighty spits. The Bishop regarded him. “I implore you, Count Odo, have mercy on the city.”

“Your Grace?” Odo said, perplexed.

“You ask me for carpenters and lumber. I ask you to give up your sin and return Judith to Holy Mother Church. Which do you love more: your lust or your city?”

“Your Grace, there are many sins among us. Why do you choose mine in particular?”

“Not yours, Count Odo. I’m considering Judith. She is Bishop Engelwin’s child. He was Bishop of Paris. Now I am Bishop. She is therefore my ward, my concern. As the spiritual head of Paris, I must lead a pure life. As long as you hold her, her sins stain me and my prayers will surely lack enough sanctity to move the saints of Heaven. By keeping her, Count Odo, you bring doom upon us.”

Odo was exhausted and he knew that he had a long night ahead of him. He said, “If you truly believe that, Your Grace, then set this test. Give me the means of defending the tower and pray for victory. If we lose, I will concede that you were right.

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