The Nothelm Chronicle

Of Maps and Warnings.

2012-01-29T09:54:00.004Z

Sven and Ivaar sat together at the stern of Svens longship, and discussed their findings to date.
The map, recently gained was strange indeed, in two parts, made of metal and engraved, each formed half a ring, which would fit within the other, A thing of two parts indeed and each different from the other.
It would need further study.

Turning to the scrolls they reread the words, translated from the Latin
by a team of priests, of The Dean 501.11

To any who seek to seize the Whorled Cup and raise it high in triumph ,
I proffer only words of Warning;

Tho ,the minstrells may sing, the Skalds retell, the common people chant,
of your success; There is but passing glory. There is no Saga here.

Seven rounds must be entered in and seven rounds be gained,
before that final conflict when all is left to chance.
Along your path to Wem Burgh Lee lie trials and tribulations,
To test the strongest men.
For no one man can win the prize and no one man can hold it
for more than four short years.

You must gather close around you, from all around the realm,
a team of......................
And pit them gainst the others, from all around the Globe.
From all four corners will they come, they and their supporters,
To seize that piece of glory upon the fields of battle,
Where the gods decide.

Upon those fields of verdant green, there still lie many perils.
Beware the posts and beams that bar and block your blows,
the lines you must not cross,
The banners at the corners that mark forbidden paths.

Of accident and injury you to, must be aware,
for even Odins magic sponge cannot return the dead to life.

Beware,beware, beware again, The pictures of the Gods,
Those cards of Red and Yellow from the book of FA.

Beware again, A priestly man, dressed all in black,
Tho` poor in sight and slight of build, he holds a certain power,
to deny, penalise and banish to obscurity all who break his rules,

Before the final whistle of that final match, every nerve and sinew
will be tested to the utmost lengths.

Then and only then, unless the Gods decide
to extend the hours into Extra time.
Will the cup be truly yours, to have your name inscribed.
As one who for a short while was known both far and wide.
Upon your own head be it,
for only you decide,
to hunt for passing glory.

There is no Saga here.

Vikings raid the shrine of St Gatien...

2012-01-26T19:43:00.001Z

Sven Eriksen and his men drop in on the coast of the continent on their way home ..

---oXo---

The men in the watchtower spot three sails by the coast, they lose sight of them as they pass a forested headland; just in case of trouble the men assemble ...

One of the viking ships has come up the estuary and makes land near a village ...

The vikings move slowly inland towards the village ...

The lookout at the watchtower has seen the viking ship in the estuary and the men make their way to help the nearby villagers ...

The villagers have armed themselves, but seeing there are too many vikings fall back to safer ground ...

The villagers make a stand in front of the old ruined shrine of St Gatien...

The vikings move through the surrounding marshland and charge in to the attack, their archers hang back and pick off a few of the defenders...

The villagers are losing ground ....

The men from the watchtower have arrived and taken up position in the shrine ..

The vikings are undeterred and press home their attack ...

The vikings draw back, the defenders of the shrine are surrounded and being picked off slowly by the viking archers .... Sven Eriksen offers to spare their lives if they agree to a 'fight of champions'. If they win the vikings will leave, if not they may leave with their lives.

The two champions approach each other while the men both sides watch intently ...

The combat continues for some time, however a swing from the vikings' champion mighty axe wins the contest ...

The defenders leave the shrine, taking their wounded. Sven Eriksen and Elfric (a monk) examine the relics of St Gatien.

Elfric finds the thing they are looking for - a piece of parchment showing part of a map, he carefully closes the casket and returns it to the shrine. The vikings leave, after a brief stop at the village to steal all the food and livestock - then burn it down.

Isle of Sceapige (8) - the Vikings leave

2012-01-25T12:42:00.003Z

Shortly after Sven Eriksen and his men assaulted and took Drengham, Ivar Redbeard arrived in his longship. Ivar had been raiding further down the coast, but had lost half his men in the process of his last raid as the local fyrd had got between them and their boats - they cut their way through but only managed to get away in Ivar's longship.

After a discussion Sven and Ivar decided to head for home, they had amassed a plenty of booty. However Sven wanted to make one more 'raid' on the way back to obtain part of 'the map' for the location of the Whorled cup. The vikings systematically stripped what they could in terms of livestock and food from the island and set all the buildings alight. They then set off ...

Paper Houses (2) of (2) - All done

2012-01-22T11:09:00.002Z

I finished off the two larger buildings shown in the previous post and stuck them onto card bases, this also helped strengthen them up some more. I also completed two small A frame ones. One thing I found was that you need to fold down the thatch ends to increase the impression of thickness or the roof. I carefully painted in an extra door at one end of the long house. Bases painted brown with some static grass added. Completed buildings shown below with one of my scratchbuiltt from cardboard and fur thatch ones for comparison.

A couple of closer in views ....

I like them - probably make a couple more small A frame ones, I'll also investigate some of the other construction sets in the series. The A4 books have the all the parts printed on a slightly shiny thin card, so scanning them and re-printing them gave a matt finish which is more appropriate - worth the effort of scanning and enlarging, so now I have the images done I can print off more as needed; I may darken down the thatch roofs a bit though.

Paper Houses (1) of (2)

2012-01-21T15:25:00.000Z

A post on Defiant Principality blog showed some paper/card houses for Medieval Town and Village. I bought one of the Medieval village (available from papel3d). They also make a Viking stronghold set as well - may be worth a look.

The buildings are 1:87 scale; great for 15mm, but a tad small for 25/28mm. I opted to scan in the most suitable ones and enlarge them by a factor of 1.5 and then print on 210gm thin card. They do need some stiffening, so some card supports are needed for the long buildings;

for A frame style buildings I just put a central stiffener in which works fine.

I'm also making up two small A frame styles buildings as well. After adding the thatched roofs I found I heed to touch the dotted 'fold line' out carefully with some thinned paint of a similar colour. Next step stick to bases and add some static grass - piccies to come when done.

A couple of additions ..

2011-12-15T20:06:00.000Z

New boys awaiting painting, these are the Saxon King pack from Black Tree Design; nice set. I've given the harpist some more trouser like leggings and the king figure has had his crown removed replaced with some hair - he will represent Earldorman Rodor out of his fighting gear.

Earldorman Rodor's armoured thegns..

2011-12-11T14:24:00.002Z

A mix of figs finished off in a session yesterday - mostly Gripping Beast with a couple of Dixon and Redoubt; for a change I tried a bit of shading on faces/hands using dilute brown wash ( I bought a sheet of standards some time back - I think from Redoubt - from which I cut out the one shown)

A closer look at the archer ...

The above are the last ( of the currently planned) major additions to Saxon forces; there will be some more oddments. I'm looking to add some more 'personality' figures and have a small project in mind to model the characters from Noggin the Nog.

Thached stone building with enclosure

2011-12-10T14:04:00.000Z

I bougth some bits recently from Gripping Beast and while having a browse (as you do), I took a fancy to a stone building so added it to the order.

I wanted to do soemthing a bit different with it so I based it with some hurdle fence pieces from the Games Workshop fence/wall set to make an enclosure; plus some plastic wood to blend it into the base ...

All finished and ready to takes it's place in a village, ham, tun or burgh...

A bit of cartage ...

2011-12-04T15:15:00.000Z

A couple of carts. I re-based my existing one (on the left above), and I've added a new one - Celtic Cart from Warlord Games.

Looking for the Old Crone ...

2011-12-01T20:02:00.000Z

Earldorman Rodor's wife Beornwyn, her female warriors, Bishop Wulfrum of Wuduceastre and some armed monks (and a dog called ?spot?) - are searching for the Old Crone, as the Bishop is trying to come to an understanding of the ways of old religion (they go armed as it is a dangerous time - you never know if there are vikings about) ...

Beornwyn and the Bishop enquire at a village as to the whereabouts of the Old Crone, they are told to try a hut on the hill about a mile outside the village to the north.

They catch sight of the Old Crone in front of her hut ....

The Old Crone disappears in a puff of coloured smoke, and three other wispy smokelets appear ...

The old crone unsure of the reason for the visit has disappeared and has summoned some 'undead' to attack the visitors ..

The skeleton undead attack, and the party do their best to defend themselves ...

The cowled monk throws back his hood and chants a prayer from the holy book of Crontarth..

The skeleton undead have turned back to dust - a narrow escape for all ...

Female warriors ..

2011-12-01T19:23:00.000Z

Female warriors, converted Warload Games celts, as escort to Thegn Rodor's wife (centre).

A meeting of Mages in the forrest

2011-11-27T13:56:00.000Z

Oswyn (Grey Coat) , Nerienda (known by most as Old Crone) and Hunwald (Black Staff) have gathered for a meeting deep in the forest ..

Oswyn: How goes our plan Nerienda ?
Nerienda: Well it goes. The viking Erikson has the book of Tanwold, and our friend Elfric will decipher the clues to the hiding place of the Whorled Cup and its treasure.
Hunwald: So we let those vikings do all our work for us and take the risks.
Nerienda: Yes they find what we seek and we will take it from them ("cackle")
Hunwald: Let us retire to my cave and have something to eat and drink.

as they walked to the cave

Oswyn: Nerienda I hear that the Bishop of Wuduceastre is hunting for you
Nerienda: I will deal with him and whoever he sends, do not worry

---oXo---

Where is the Whorled Cup ?

2011-11-17T13:09:00.000Z

After their victory at Drengham Sven Erikson looked at beginning of the the second chapter in the book of Tanwold, he new some latin but not enough to understand, he got Elfric (a monk they had captured) to translate. The information he was after was there - chapter two dealt with the history of the Whorled Cup.

Elfric told him the rest of the book contained 8 short chapters , 7 describing the locations of the 7 parts of the map showing the route to the location of the Whorled Cup and the last one special instructions on how to proceed at the site of the treasure.

Sven and Elfric settled down to decipher chapter 3, the location of the first part of the map ...

Isle of Sceapige (7) - The Fight for Drengham

2011-10-22T11:15:00.001+01:00

The defenders of Drengham keep an eye out the for the vikings ...

The vikings start their approach ...

The scaling ladders are getting into place, one viking hacks at the gate with his axe while the battering ram is brought up ...

The battering ram starts pounding the gate, while attackers try to get over the pallisade using the ladders ...

Some vikings are over the wall, Leofric the archer fights hard, holding off a viking axeman ...

As the fight to cross the pallisade goes on, the battering ram continues hammering at the gate ...

More vikings are across the pallisade but the saxons are just holding them back ...

The gate gives way and the vikings pour in. Leofric the archer finally deals with his axeman opponent ..

With the vikings through the gate the resolve of the saxons falters, they fall back ....

The saxons make a desperate stand, but they cannot beat back the ferocious vikings ...

The saxons are pushed back towards the harbour, where the civilians are getting onto the ships ...

One of the ships is away while the saxons fight to hold the vikings so as many can get into the last ship as possible ....

The second ship gets away, not before the vikings cut many brave saxons down. Leofric the archer fires some parting shots from the stern of the ship at the vikings on the jetty ..

Isle of Sceapige (6) - Vikings on the move ...

2011-10-19T19:02:00.002+01:00

Sven Erikson had a bad nights sleep. In the morning he felt that he needed to limber up and get some action - the rest of the men had been getting tetchy lately and there had been some squabbles recently in the camp which had turned into some nasty fights. So they are up for fighting he thought - we can't sit here any longer - time for action. 'To the ships' he bellowed loudly ...

The vikings scrambled aboard their ships and made their way up round the isle past Medham and along the coast towards Drengham - they beached their ships on the sandy cove about 3 miles from the saxon settlement (the other way was round the isle was a trickey route with dangerous rocks, especially near Drengham - where only the locals new the safe way through).

After getting ashore Sven Erikson ordered the battle standard to be unfurled.

He then ordered his mean to prepare some things to help in their attack on Drengham, after felling a few trees and some hard work they were ready to move,- a battering ram and some improvised ladders..

Ready for action the Vikings move off towards Drengham ...

---oXo---

to be continued

Saxons make preparations ...

2011-10-13T12:57:00.003+01:00

The Saxons on the island have been re-inforced by a small group of Warriors who arrived by boat a few days agos and some men who crossed to the island from the mainland using the old causeway at low tide.

Saxon scouts have been watching the Viking camp from woodland nearby and have reported what they have seen back to Drengham. They must make decision soon as to whether to attack the vikings or not - before their camp becomes too strongly defended.

There is much discussion going on among the men

(image from http://www.regia.org/warfare/spear.htm )

2011-10-12T19:59:00.002+01:00

Whilst this rural idyll goes on Sven is a worried man. Throughout the day the sound of axes ring through the forests, trees are cut, trimmed and dragged to his camp, shelters and palisading rises daily as his men enjoy the easy life.
This must soon end, The local fyrd are raising fresh troops from the countryside around, whilst he waits in vain for the arrival of Ivar Redbeard and his men, reports have arrived that the troops have arrived in the home vik, but troubles have arisen in equiping them and fitting out more longships.
More bad news arrives daily, today one of his scouts arrives with information that he has found a pathway to the mainland, this ford would seem only passably at extemely low tides, but these are approaching and his enemy must know of them and even now be preparing an attack.

Lost Monk ....

2011-09-27T19:14:00.000+01:00

A touch of whimsy, prompted by finishing painting a ploughman figure ..

Monk: Excuse me kind sir, can you tell me the way to Wareham in the county of Wuduceastre ?

Ploughman: Same as you wears'em anywhere else

Here be the Isle of Sceapige ...

2011-09-10T18:00:00.000+01:00

When the vikings landed they moved north and took the settlement of Medham, we have also seen their adventure in the forest where they retrieved the Book of Tanwold from the hermits island on Crawsmere (click map image to get larger version)

The vikings now control the island up to the long ridge hill of Segsden; although the Ufdenu (Owls den) Valley and nearby forested areas see incursions by the Saxons (mostly hunting for game). The vikings have also recently raised Deorsingasham on the mainland to get St Wigberts relics, what will Sven Eriksen's next move be - more raiding or a another adventure looking for the treasure of the Whorled Cup ?

Bound for Sceapige ...

2011-08-27T13:13:00.000+01:00

A small group of volunteers start their journey to the Isle of Sceapige to help the defenders against the vikings ...

[Boat constructed from Smer 1/60 kit as posted here]

Small Building - Plan Drawing

2011-08-13T11:07:00.000+01:00

Plan layout of ends and sides of the above building with dimesions

Feel free to use copy amend as you like

Saxons - Thegns arrive to receive their weapons ...

2011-07-02T19:19:00.000+01:00

Earldorman Rodor's loyal thegns: a mix of Gripping Beast packs and a couple of Dixon viking figures, are assembled and ready to paint.

Storage Crisis - resolved

2011-06-25T12:12:00.000+01:00

Having accumulated my Dark Age collection and been adding new buildings, the space I had allocated in the cupboards under my wargame table had filled up. I was looking for a quick solution as I had no more room for any additional cupboards. Fortunately the trim under cupboard comes off and there is space underneath to put a reasonable sized box of figs or some houses - so I unscrewed the trim and added a door knob to it, found a suitable sized box and that has solved the space problem for now. All reorganised,

out of sight and safely stored ...

If I want to get to the buildings I can pull of the trim piece and get the tray out.

Trouble in Deorsingasham (part 2 or 2)

2011-06-17T19:26:00.000+01:00

continued from trouble in Deorsingasham part 1

---oxo---

While Aelfric and his men hold off the main body of the vikings, more appear to the north of the town. The monks, followers of St Wigbert (an offshoot sect of the fighting monks of Wuduceastre), prepare to defend the church ...

The fight goes on, by the minster church and the great hall ...

Aelfric and a couple of men are left, they have pushed the vikings back but cannot hold them any longer (they run for the woods dodging in between the houses ..)

A group of vikings move up the main town street, the saxons who are left don't tarry and make for the woods ..

Only the monks remain, they will defend the minster church and the shrine of St Wigbert

The monks make their last stand in front of the minster ...

The vikings set about pillaging the town ...

Their main prize the reliquary of St Wigbert (this has to be returned un-opened for Sven Erikson to examine it).

The villagers wait in the woods, while the armed men look for evidence that the vikings have gone ..

The vikings make their way back to their ship, with booty and livestock ..

The vikings load up the boat (and then head out back to the Isle of Sceapige ...)

As the townfolk return to Deorsingasham and start to tidy up the mess, Earldoerman Rodor arrives, they are too late the vikings have gone. A woman shouts 'the Abbot is still alive, praise the lord !'

A couple of new buildings..

2011-06-11T18:54:00.002+01:00

When I set out for the Deorsingasham game, I realised I was short a couple of medium size houses. So I've been making a couple from scratch. Foamboard shells on 3mm MDF bases; woodwork made from cardboard. Here are the two houses before they receive their roofs.

Roofs added with cardboard then covered with fake fur to represent thatch. Then onto painting; after putting on the base colours I added a thin black wash. Here are the finished items, with a resin building from Gripping Beast in the background for comparison.

Part 2 of 'Trouble in Deorsingasham' in preparation; need to do some more work on the piccies before posting it on the blog.

Trouble in Deorsingasham (part 1 of 2)

2011-06-11T12:44:00.001+01:00

A quite day in the town of Deorsingasham, the locals go about their business ...

Some men keep are keeping a watch ...

The vikings approach ....

The men on watch spot the vikings and the horn is blown to raise the alarm ...

As the vikings approach the men on watch and the people of a local farmstead head to the town

In the town the men are arming themselves while the women, children and old men head towards the safety of the nearby forest ...

The men gather, Aelfric the local thegn decides to hold off the vikings while the women and children get to safety ...

The vikings approach the town cautiously ...

The vikings make a ferocious charge, the saxons just manage to hold their ground ...

---oooXooo---

to be continued ....

St Wigbert's Church

2011-06-05T14:49:00.000+01:00

The Bishop of Wuduceastre has travelled to the town of Deorsingasham to consecrate and dedicate the new church of St Wigbert. The church will hold his relics.

Many people have come for the event, including Ealdormann Rodor (recently elevated to his new title after his victory over the vikings at Cyddingastun).

The Bishop's sermon reaches it's peak, as he exalts those present to fight to repell the heathen vikings ..

After the bishop finished his sermon they all repaired to the local thegn's hall for a great feast.

Isle of Sceapige (6) - Activity on the mainland

2011-06-04T14:23:00.001+01:00

News of the vikings presence on the Isle of Sceapige has reached the mainland, the local warriors seek a judgement on whether they should go to the island to fight the vikings. They are visiting the local wisewoman.

The signs are good, the White Hart has come forth from the depth of the forest. Take your men and do your best.

Saxon Church receives makeover ...

2011-06-02T20:13:00.000+01:00

The church in its orginal state ...

It is made from a Dapol (ex Airfix) country church kit , with a small 0.5 cm lift up using foamboard to get more height. The thatch was made from old socks.

I was not really happy with the scale height so I removed it from the old base and added and extra 1cm lift to make it look better with 25mm figs.

The lift up was covered with scribed cardboard and some Wills plastic embossed stone sheet I had spare, the original 0.5 cm lift up was disguised with some Wills brick strip. I then added a new porch structure. I added porch doorway from plastic strip and cardboard, and a cardboard roof. Repairs were also made to the bases of the buttresses.

The church starts to receive its new thatching from fake fur ...

Will post pictures of completed church when painted and base finished.

Ship building in progress ...

2011-05-04T11:43:00.000+01:00

I wasn't planning on having another Viking ship, but I spotted this kit when ordering some bits to upgrade one of my 18C ships. At 1/60 scale its a reasonable size, it comes with a few standing crew and a set of rowers; these are a little small but possibly useable.

I had to convert it to a 'waterline' model, and then assembled the rest of it. I left of some of the deck detail parts off so that I could stand more figures in it

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-05-03T12:26:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the following for nominating me,

Mancave - The Man Cave - http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/

For the rest of the maguffin see http://tidders-kingdomofwittenberg.blogspot.com/2011/05/stylish-blogger-award.html

On the Isle of Sceapige (5) - an uneasy calm

2011-04-16T11:15:00.000+01:00

An uneasy calm has settled over the island. The vikings seem to be content to stay on their half of the island. The saxons have sent for help from the mainland, meanwhile they keep a look out from the ridge which divides the island.

A saxon woodsman who scouted out around the viking encampment reported back they were repairing their boats. Are Sven Erikson and his men about to leave or do they have other plans ?

On the Isle of Sceapige (4) - The Search for the Book of Tanwold

2011-03-27T11:35:00.000+01:00

Sven Eriksen and a group of men have left their camp and start south towards the forest ...

While a few men move to investigate a small homestead, the rest move into the forest

The saxons in the homestead put up a fight but are dispatched, except for a small boy who puts up a spirited fight (he is taken captive)...

One of the scouts has found a maiden in the forest (the daughter of the homesteaders), who knows where the hermit lives ...

One of the forward scouts is set on by a pack of wolves ...

The vikings continue through the woods, in the distance a saxon hunting party can be seen they are tracking a wild boar..

The scout continues his tussle with wolves, while the others move through the wood. It seems they have disturbed a giant (one of the last of the few Ny giants who remain), who has come out from his cave by the rocks to investigate ..

The giant decides he doesn't like the vikings, the saxon hunting party watch ..

Hearing the commotion behing him Sven Erikson takes some men to help fight the giant, the scout has beaten off the wolves ..

Some of the vikings have found the hermit's island and are taking the boat across ..

They capture a visiting monk who is studying the Book of Tanwold ...

Sven Eriksen and his men finally kill the giant, the saxon hunting party fall back into the wood after seeing how many vikings there are ....

The Vikings start their return to camp, captives and the book under close guard ...

There will many stories told around the camp fire this night, and to come, of their adventures in the woods.

Newly painted figs ..

2011-03-19T18:23:00.000Z

Finished painting a few dark ages figures this week. A gathering of civilians (from various Foundry packs and a copuile of Irregular Miniatures)...

A few extra warriors (mostly from Foundry with a few mod's)

On the Isle of Sceapige (3) - where is the cup ?

2011-03-13T15:44:00.000Z

The vikings return from their foray into the forest and have brought a prisoner with them (it seems they had other things to do beside killing saxons). Sven Erikson questions the old crone his men brought back to camp

Crone: I foresaw your arrival you in the bones Eriskon viking - what seek you ?
Sven: I search for the treasure of the Whorled cup
Crone: hah, many leagues will you have to traverse and face stiff competition to attain your goal
Sven: Where is the cup old crone ?
Crone: I know not where, but now of something that points the way
Sven: well old hag ?
Crone: Go into the deep woods to the south, find the hermit and ask to see the book of Tanwold,
there was a crackle in the air and a large puff of smoke - the old crone had vanished

On the Isle of Sceapige (2) - Tussle in the Woods

2011-03-12T17:15:00.001Z

The vikings make another foray, this time towards the centre of the island ...

The saxons are evacuating to the main settlement, taking as much livestock and food as they can; some of the mounted men move foward towards the forest ...

Some saxons lurk in the woods, shooting the occasional arrow ...

The viking are unperturbed and form up and respond to the threat ...

The main body of the vikings move forward to take the hill while the others move through the forest ..

A bit of 'to and fro' for both sides, but the vikings are doing better ...

The vikings take the hill and push the rest of the saxons out of the woods ...

The mounted saxons come to the aid of their beleaguered comrades...

After a hard fight the saxons withdraw, the vikings hold their ground - they have won this day ..

Down among the dead men ...

2011-03-01T19:43:00.000Z

Casualties now painted, I flocked the bases for better effect.

On the Isle of Sceapige (1) - The Vikings land

2011-02-26T18:35:00.000Z

Sven Erikson has taken both his boats downstream and intends to land on the Isle of Sceapige, to make a base of operations.

The men form the first Viking boat come ashore; the larger ship carrying most of the wounded men from the battle of Cyddingastun draws up on the beach a little higher up..

The Vikings move through the woods to the farmland beyond ...

They encounter no resistance at the first hamlet they pass through ...

Its a different story at the next hamlet, they have slpit into two groups one to deal with some men in the hamlet and the other to move onward to Medham (the nearest larger settlement) ...

Having cleared the second hamlet they move on to catch up with the other group ...

The men of Medham prepare to defend themselves ...

The Vikings attack ...

The battle is hard fought and the Vikings are beaten off ..

The Vikings retire back to the hamlets they passed through to regroup; meanwhile Medham is abandoned - one group with the wounded leaves by boat to go up the coast to the main settlement on the island.

The rest of saxons go along the coast ...

---oXo---

to be continued ...

Dead and wounded ..

2011-02-25T18:37:00.002Z

Some dead men to use represent casualties, various spare figures altered and suitably equipped and stuck on to bases (bases are poker chips) - need a lick of paint though !

The Isle of Sceapige ...

2011-02-25T18:34:00.002Z

The residents of this small island of the coast carry on with their daily business, unaware that the Vikings are on their way !

In Anglo-Saxon Sceapige = sheep; so the Isle of Sheep (like modern day Isle of Sheppey). My pirate island modules modules for my 'Adventures in the Indies' project are here re-used to represent part of the island.

The Battle of Cyddingastun ....

2011-02-19T18:01:00.002Z

The Vikings organise themselves ...

Then they advance, the Saxon shield wall seems unperturbed

Both sides exchange javelins, spears and archery ...

The Viking centre charges forward with their axemen in the front row ...

The rest of the Vikings pile in and the battle hots up ...

The Vikings have cut their way through the sheild wall in a number of places and are moving to attack Thegn Rodor and his retinue ....

Thegn Rodor orders his reserve of amoured men to fill the gaps and push the vikings back; Rodor has to fight off a mad viking axeman - he is wounded in the arm as the axe splits his shield but with one blow of his mighty sword arm he cuts of the viking's head.

Slash and cut and splitting of helms and shields continues. As the numbers of men left standing falls theViking find themselves hard pressed ....

The Viking right has been mostly cut down but the Saxons are exhausted ...

The Vikings fall back, the Saxons reform their sheild wall ...

Sven Erikson rallies his men ...

The Viking retire back to their boats, the Saxons hold their ground, a few men move forward - some archers

With the light fading; Thegn Rodor and the Saxons are satisified with watching the Vikings leave and busy themselves dispatching the enemy wounded.

Sven Erikson moves his boats back down the river out into the estuary, he has decided to head for a small island off the coast to make a base of operations there and allow time for his men to recover.

---oXo---

Some notes:
1. A great little solo game - had loads of fun playing
2. The rules I used were designed for smaller numbers of figures and one-on-one fighting, so lots of dice throwing.
3. I had Vikings fall back after losing 50%+ of their strength, close run thing though - the last round of melee went badly for the them and they fell below the limit.
4. start and finish numbers : Saxons 98 down to 61 (37 casualties); Vikings 77 down to 35 (42 casualties).

The Vikings have landed ...

2011-02-12T13:28:00.000Z

Sven Erikson and his kinsmen are ashore ...

The vikings leave their ships and stream through the deserted settlement of Cyddingastun ...

As they move into the open farmland beyond the settlement, on the nearby hill they catch sight of perhaps a glint of steel - a few men - then a large of array of saxons assembling - they watch as a shield wall forms ....

Thegn Rodor (a tall strong warrior) watches the vikings to assess what they will do next ...

The men in the shield wall wait for an expected onslaught of the vikings ....

---oxo---

to be continued ....

Enkaland Saga ...

2011-02-09T19:26:00.000Z

The viking Enkaland Saga chronicles the voyages, adventures and battles involving Sven Eriksonand his kinsmen, this stories from this saga interweave with those of the Nothelm chronicle.

Among other things Sven is obsessed with the search for the Whorled Cup ( a jeweled golden chalice) and its associated treasure ....

He is also after revenge for the death of his cousin Sigismund Voralsen at the hand of the saxon dogs of england - it appears that Sven Erikson's ship is being made ready ...

A spot of TLC ...

2011-02-09T19:10:00.000Z

The vikings have arrived, well a box of them. My wargame partner in this enterprise left the box here to save the little fellas 'to and fro' transit damage. I felt like seeing what all his vikings and saxons I look like set out for a pitched battle, a few of the viking figures had some problems like loose weapons and bent spears - so some repairs have been made - with one spearmen converted to carry a standard.

More Civilians and a couple of new warriors

2011-01-22T15:45:00.000Z

A selection of civilians and 3 new warriors, these are Foundry figures from various dark ages packs. These will enter into the painting queue.

New buildings painted ...

2010-12-29T10:50:00.002Z

I really enjoyed painting up my new resin cast buildings and fencing - makes a noce little ensemble. Have also but some extra civilians and a couple more warriors - into the painting queue they go.

New buildings ...

2010-12-07T19:32:00.001Z

Some new scenic bits and bobs, some wattle fence and a large hall from Total Battle Miniatures plus a pigsty, large workshop and grain store form Grand Manner.

More warriors to swell the fyrd ...

2010-10-09T09:54:00.000+01:00

Finished painting the Irregular Miniatures vikings figs. They are done in the same style as my Saxons; I replace the cast metals spears with wire ones.

The Fyrd Assembles at Wudeceastre

2010-09-04T15:08:00.000+01:00

Riders leave Wuduceastre to join the the assembly of the fyrd .....

The fyrd and the house carls have assembled , Beornwulf has arrayed them for battle ...

Beornwulf and his wife inspect the shield wall....

Heroes of the Dark Ages - figs painted

2010-09-04T14:57:00.001+01:00

Finished painting the figures shown two posts previously, they are tad larger than my usual 25mm Gripping Beast figs so I had to do some surgery on their bases to reduce the height so they don't look too out of place.

and there's more ...

2010-07-25T13:48:00.000+01:00

A new band of warriors has arrived to swell the ranks of the fyrd - this time some vikings from Irregular Minatures

More warriors arrive ..

2010-07-03T17:23:00.000+01:00

Some new arrivals, some figs from the ranges manufactured by Heroes of the Dark Age. I sampled a few figures to use to add some variety to my Saxons, they are a tad larger than the figs I usually buy from Gripping Beast. I made some minor conversion changing cast spears to wire ones. There at two female warriors - on the right; these have been modifed one to add a shield, the other to add shield/spear.

Sigismund Voralsen's Raid ...

2010-03-13T10:09:00.001Z

A quick solo game to playtest the rule additions for mounted warriors ...

The viking raiding party of Sigismund Voralsen land and move inland, leaving a small ship guard.

The vikings had been spotted by three of the saxon thegn Rodor's men who had been out hunting, one had ridden to raise the local fyrd from the nearby villages, one warned the villagers and the other rode hard to take word to thegn Rodor.

Thegn Rodor and his retinue mount their horses....

Meanwhile the vikings have reached the village and started plundering, a group has started towards the abbey church ..

Thegn Rodor rides out, with some men following as fast as they can on foot ...

The vikings attack the church which is defended by men of the village and the abbot and lay brothers of the monastery. The vikings in the village are taking their plunder back to the boat ...

Thegn Rodor has ridden round the village and is heading for the vikings ship. In the distance the local fyrd is arriving ...

Thegn Rodor attacks the ship guard ....

The battle at the church is intensifying, some of Thegn Rodor's men are on their way to help ...

The fighting at the ship continues, the local fyrd have blundered into the vikings on the way back to their ship. At the abbey church the vikings there are fighting hard but are starting to lose ground ...

After Thegn Rodor and his men dealt with the ship guard they went to help the local fyrd. The vikings are now being cut down mercilessly, a few try to get away from the fight at the abbey church ...

A few vikings are captured, among them is their leader Sigismund Voralsen. Thegn Rodor shows no mercy - they are all beheaded.

Beornwulf rides out to hunt ...

2010-03-05T17:59:00.001Z

Another post ! this time some mounted saxons warriors.

Beornwulf and his retinue go out for a bit of boar hunting ....

(figs: Gripping Beast)

Wuduceastre Fyrd muster ...

2010-03-05T17:57:00.000Z

Just finished painting some more saxons.

The local fyrd of Wuduceastre, muster and check their shield wall formation skills ....

(figs: Gripping Beast early and late saxons).

The new ship on trials ...

2010-03-05T17:54:00.000Z

A few of the Fyrdsmen tryout the new ship ....

A ship for Beornwulf's navy ...

2010-02-27T12:22:00.000Z

The shipwright have been busy converting a trading ship into a warship to fight the Vikings. This adds to the longboat Beornwulf already has.

(Gripping beast resin ship with revel plastic shields).

After the thaw ...

2010-02-26T14:26:00.000Z

After a hard winter the locals are going to the market at Wudeceastre, a couple of monks are on their way back to the monastery.

Meanwhile the local fyrd is out, getting in some practice, mostly light armed troops ...

figs from HAT 28002 El Cid Spanish Light Infantry

figs from Gripping Beast

Out for a walk ...

2009-10-31T09:19:00.001Z

Brother Nothelm has gone for a brisk walk in the country near his abbey and has stopped for a chat with the local swineherd. [figs and swine from Gripping Beast]

More new arrivals

2009-10-02T18:19:00.001+01:00

A few more new boys to paint, some extra fyrd and some mounted men (from Gripping Beast early saxons)

Quiet times

2009-09-26T13:00:00.005+01:00

Nothing recorded in the Nothelm chronicle since June ! Either Brother Nothelm has been idle or perhaps nothing of note has happened ??

--0X0--

Anyway some new arrivals wait patiently on my modelling desk for painting, including some extra skirmishers and some axemen.

I've also ordered a small boat, house and a few more figs from Gripping Beast.

2009-06-14T11:06:00.004+01:00

As Olaf bids goodnight and makes his way towards his hut, a dark shape appears on the river.Unbeknown to him The crew of the White ship have returned to rescue their leader. Their plan is complex, perhaps too much so, for tis a cloudy moonlight night.

The left wing, with instructions to reach the far end of the fortlet, silence the sentries, and release the captives, before escaping the way they came, set off whilst cloud covers the moon.

Their passage is slow, but noise would be fatal to their plans.

Leaving a strong boat guard the central reserve moves forward until they can just make out the outline of the fort, and takes up position. They should be out of sight even if the moon comes out, but within easy reach to assist their fellows.

The Right wing, tasked with preventing the Huscarls in the seperate small fort from interfering, and with launching a diversionary attack, move quietly forward.

Olaf meanwhile, thwarted from picking the lock on the prison hut, by a group of villagers chatting in the street,a Baby cannot sleep.moves round the side to assess the possibility of breaking through the wattle wall. It will take him some time, but as he begins, a sentry appears on the battlements behind him.

He freezes back into the shadows and waits, heart thumping for the challenge.

The left wing of the raiding party is nearly discovered by a herdsman, sleeping outside the fort who, disturbed by his animals, rises to investigate.

He is silenced without a sound escaping. and the party continue towards their objective.
As they approach the sentry on the rampart stops, turns full circle trying to see what has disturbed him. The raiders freeze, not a moment too soon as the moon comes out from behind a cloud.

Luckily he fails to spot them, and a lone viking climbs the embankment to silence him whilst his back is turned.

The other sentry, still suspicious, spots Olaf , and yells out a challenge.

Olaf, abandons his cover and racing to the door kicks it in with one mighty blow.

The alarm is raised and the other sentry turns just in time to avert a blow to his head and strikes out as the vikings swarm over the wall behind him.

The first sentry races down the bank as the captives burst from their cell.

Leave him to me" shouts Hagar
But the first of the Saxons are pouring from their sleeping quarters, will the captives escape?

Hagar, without armour and armed only with a sharpened stick, strkes out at the sentry, but his blows are turned aside by helmet and shield.

The sentry manages only one blow.

But it tells and Hagar falls.

Olaf, and the remaining captive, back towards the wall, the entire village is alive with saxons and they have to fight every inch of the way, as one saxon falls another takes his place.
The Huscarls are out, and only feet away from cutting off the escape route.

The right flank of the vikings takes up position to hold them off, unaware of exactly what is happening.

On the ramparts the vikings inside the fort, race along the walkway felling saxons like ninepins. They can hear fighting, but are unable to see who is fighting who.

Only Olaf remains on his feet. The captives have both fallen and he needs to make his escape quickly. But he is facing three men now, one falls to his sword, but the others strike him down.

The first rays of dawn fall on the scene, the vikings inside the fort, see that their leaders are down and not moving, Saxons swarm everywhere, it is time to go.

The horn is sounded and they begin their withdrawal, the saxons, with many men down are only to pleased to let them go, only the huscarls pursue to ensure their departure.

Moonlight

2009-06-07T17:48:00.006+01:00

Midnight, on a cloudy moonlit night.

Olaf bids goodnight to the sentry at the main gate of the camp of Beornwulfs brother, and heads towards his bed.

The countryside seems quiet. only the owls are stirring.

But what of the river?

Beornwulf's Hall and Fortifications

2009-05-29T18:16:00.004+01:00

Beornwulf has returned home to find the palisade and ditch he ordered constructed, to enclose his new hall, has been completed.

A closeup of the gate into the enclosure ..

The sentries are vigilant; there are rumours of viking raids ....

Later

2009-05-25T17:28:00.003+01:00

The war of the fortifications continues.
Having finished work for the day, the serfs retire,
leaving the sentries to watch for Viking marauders.

When will they come?

The 8th of the month will be a moonless night, perfect for a night attack.

Which set of fortifications will they choose?

Which will you choose?

Palisade - the gateway

2009-05-25T16:32:00.002+01:00

Finished off the gateway section of my palisades; front view :

and rear view ..

The steps were taken from my G scale railway spares box. I have to nibble out the top of the palisade on either side of the gateway yet - then its painting time.

Meanwhile

2009-05-25T12:17:00.001+01:00

The Russian Trader Olaf, admires progress on the defence works.

Palisade Sections

2009-05-25T09:02:00.002+01:00

I've been making some palisade sections with my favourite materials cardboard, foamboard and paper sheets. The palisade is cardboard with 'wooden stakes' paper stuck to either side. Below is a nearly finished 9" section.

A corner section, with the top of the carboard palisade 'nibbled out' to show the stake points ...

I liked the look of what I'd made so I went on to make more - I've made five 9" straight sections, four corner sections and one 9" section with an entrance gate. Next job is to fill in a few holes and paint up.

The Giants build a Ship

2009-05-24T11:04:00.003+01:00

The gentle giants of Caer Tidi, fed up with continual viking raids on their smaller coastal settlements, decide enough is enough and have made themselves a ship to take the fight to the raiders.

[I've got to get a few more giants (40mm figs) and also do some work on the ship model - Playmobil Viking ship; figs Sash & Sabre 40mm vikings]

Great Hall - more pictures

2009-02-19T18:21:00.005Z

A couple more views of Beornwulf's new hall; front and roof view

rear and side view...

The hall is made from the Zvezda 1/72 Thatched Country House (code ref 8532). The kit comprises of a number of sections for the walls and roof; the roof was rather awkward to construct. I omitted some of the timbering to give it a more 'dark ages' feel. I added my own large door to the front.

page layout ..

2009-02-19T12:56:00.002Z

I'm fiddling with the blog template at the moment. I want to tweak the margins around a bit to widen the parchment width - so far I've got it slightly better. So if the blog looks all weird - I've obviously made a mess of it.

No place like home ...

2009-02-18T15:03:00.001Z

Boernwulf and his wife admire the newly completed great hall ...

The Fyrds Revenge

2009-02-15T16:01:00.010Z

The White ship is nowhere to be seen, so he knows only a part of the crew are asleep in the tents and decides to attack with the small force to hand.

Holding his bodyguard on the ridge, he sends the rest to attack the sleeping camp.

The sentries fail to spot them until they are almost upon them, and it is the sentries dying cries that awake the rest of the camp.

Vikings die as they struggle half armed from their tents, smashing their tents into the mud as they fall.

Harald Hagarsson can only watch in horror, he dare not leave his post as boat guard.

As daylight finally comes to the scene, he can see the bulk of the Fyrd arriving in the distance.

Where is the White ship? Indeed where are the rest of the crew?

He sees his father fall and leads the last few desperate defenders to retrieve the body for a true viking funeral.

With only a few men left he may well have to use the ships boat he has been guarding, but as he leaps to the shore he slips and falls; rising to one knee he manages to fend off the blows of a determined villager. He stands, parries another blow, then falls wounded.

The villagers, decide to waste no time and release the livestock from the holding pen, their own and that stolen from the neighbouring village of wittemburgzoo.

The last viking falls, but still the fyrd approaches cautiously, not quite believing their success.

Perhaps they are right, for the clearing mist reveals more of their foe advancing down the river bank towards them.

Seeing their shipmates lying on the ground.
Bjorn leads his force to rescue the wounded and give the dead a viking funeral.

The fyrd will pay for this. The tide is rising and soon the white ship should return.

Then the saxons will learn the fury of the northmen.

Pressing forward, he leads his men into the attack, only to join his colleages, dead and dying on the foreshore.

As the white ship finally hoves in sight, they see

Karl of the blue shield and his last companion fall in the surf.

Igor the shipmaster, reluctantly gives the order to sail on.

Today is not a good day, but tomorrow, the saxons will pay in blood.

The villagers are happy, their goods have been reclaimed. and the viking taught a lesson.

As the fyrd scavenge the battlefield, they discover most of the vikings are still alive but that is soon altered, and they leave the scene, taking with them both Hagar and his son Harald in chains and the bodies of their dead, Brice and Alun the shepherd.

As Hagar is lead away, he can only ponder on his fate and that of his son, but he wonders if Igors voyage had been a success, the information Bjorn had has died with him. So that must be learnt again, assuming that the Nones are kind to him.

2009-02-08T18:33:00.002Z

A Good Day for The Fyrd?

Alun, the shepherd has discovered the base of the raiders, and rushed hotfoot to raise the Fyrd.

Their leader, realising that there is no time to waste, gathers the men immediately available and sets off to destroy them, ordering his remaining men to march and join him.

It is now almost dawn and as he lies waiting, he still only has those few men to hand, and must decide whether to rely on surprise and attack now, whilst they are still asleep, or wait until reinforcements arrive, and risk them escaping.

On Watch ....

2009-01-29T15:53:00.003Z

After Harald Hagarson's raid on Hooktun, the rest of the villages near the coast line are being extra vigilant. Two men from Dunham keep an eye on the nearby estuary, hoping they don't see a sail ...

Lothar Hargason's Raid

2009-01-29T15:21:00.020Z

The sleepy town of Dunham, the locals are nervous, they have heard of the raid at Hookton; they hope they will be spared ...

The vikings arrive. Lothar, brother to Harald Hargason, moves his ship up the estuary and into a side channel. Mooring up he sends out his scouts and orders his men to disembark.

The lookouts spot the vikings and run back as fast as they can to warn the village ...

The vikings put the first group of raiders ashore ...

Soon they are on their way to the village, skimishers take the lead while the main body follows, one group halts on a hill to act as a reserve and to counter any possible response from the fyrd.

The skirmishers near the village and start to attack the defenders ...

The abbot of the monastery and the lay brothers have armed themselves and entered the village to try and hold off the vikings. The men of the village have suffered heavy casualties and the abbot orders them to retire to the abbey church to protect the women and children.

The main body of the viking raiders approaches the village ....

The vikings get into what they are good at - pillaging. Meanwhile the abbot has formed the men up to protect the entrance to the abbey church.

The fyrd arrives somewhat tired, they have come hot foot from Hookton having picked up some extra men on the way to replace their losses. Beornwulf orders the horn to be sounded to let the villagers know they are here ...

The vikings start to return to their ship, with their plunder, as the fyrd nears the village ....

The fyrd try to envelope the vikings but they are too slow to deploy. The chase to the ship begins ...

The vikings get to their ship and start to re-embark, they moved too fast for the fyrd.

Beornwulf can only watch with dismay as another viking raiding ship sets sail after a successful raid. The fyrd had suffered minor casualties and a few vikings had been killed.

Harald Hagarson`s Raid

2009-01-25T12:50:00.010Z

Meanwhile, farther down the coast, the White Ship of Harald Hagarson nears the coast.

Through the early morning mist, the folk of Hooktun can be seen going quietly about their daily tasks, with only a few warriors visible on watch.

As the ship beaches and the first raiders reach land, the villagers man the feeble defences of home, whilst the womenfolk rush to the shelter of the church and the monks run to arm themselves.

The bells ring out to summon the fyrd, and the armed monks rush to meet the invaders.

As the first vikings reach the village, they wonder how long they have before the fyrd arrives

The villagers fight bravely and manage to hold the fence line, for quite a while, before numbers and skill tell and they fall .

The monks fight well and only retire when the bishop falls seriously wounded, leaving Haralds men to loot their fair town.

A horn is heard in the distance and Haralds men rummage desperately through the huts to find something worth the bloodshed and effort.

As Harald tries to rally the troops in the village to attack the church and defeat the monks and remaining villagers, before the fyrd arrives.

But, too late for as the fyrd arrives, he must form a shield wall and retreat to the ship.

The men in the village scramble to escape as the fyrd attacks, only to be repulsed.

But as more men of the fyrd deploy through the gateway, Hagars men must make their desperate escape, before they are cut off.

Soon dropped loot and wounded vikings are left to mark the trail of the retreat.

The shield wall cannot be broken and the fyrd follow to the beach, able only to pick of a few men at the last desperate scramble into the surf.

The vikings sail off into the mists leaving the fyrd to count the costs and prepare for next time. Harald will return.

Call out the Fyrd !!

2008-12-26T16:00:00.004Z

Beornwulf hears the news of the Viking landing to the south ...

Beornwulf assembles his retinue, he orders the dragon standard to be raised. Sound the horn, send runners to call out the fyrd ...

Beornwulf arrives near where the vikings were last seen and deploys the fyrd in a shield wall on a rise

However they too late. All there is to see are a couple of smoking villages and a Viking ship, with its sail raised, far down the estuary on its way out to sea.

Dragon Standard

2008-12-13T11:45:00.004Z

I was going to have a flag for the battle standard of white dragon. However I decided on a carved dragon standard. I made one with some green stuff - piccies below...

The Vikings Arrive ...

2008-11-29T12:15:00.003Z

A lone viking ship has worked its way up the river. A raiding party sets out to do some rape and pillage ....

[ship: Revell kit; figs: Vikings byGripping Beast from my friends Douglas's collection ]

Saxon Skirmishers

2008-11-22T10:23:00.001Z

Some of the men practice using slings, bows and javelins. (more Gripping Beast figs)

Longboat Completed

2008-10-26T14:45:00.001Z

Fresh out of the shipyard, one longboat ready to bring terror to some innocents or explore the wonders of the world ...

Shipbuilding starts ...

2008-10-11T16:01:00.006+01:00

I bought a Revell 1:50 scale kit a couple of months ago before I bought the figures from Gripping Beast, I thought it was about time I got on with looking at it to see how useful it would be.

Size wize its just a bit big but otherwise OK. Comes with mast, sail, shields and oars; unfortunately no crew. First thing I decided to do was make up the hull after converting it to a waterline model - cutting bits of the hull was awkward - but eventually got it almost right; I then added a cardboard bottom and filled in any gaps with plastic wood.

Next time I'll probably buy resin ship with crew from either Gripping Beast or Old Glory - I don't think these come with masts though.

Giants v Dragon

2008-10-10T20:38:00.002+01:00

The giants of Caer Tidi take on a dragon which has been eating their livestock.
[giants 40mm Sash and Sabre Vikings, Dragon - from the Papo range]

Civilians

2008-10-10T20:36:00.003+01:00

A couple of packs of Gripping Beast civilians have been painted up - obviously oblivious to their future encounters with any viking raiders.

There be Giants in the North

2008-09-13T20:18:00.006+01:00

The Abbot of Wuduceastre has journied north to a meeting with the giants of Caer Tidi to resolve a minor border dispute. The giants are gentle by nature and refer to ordinary size folk as the 'little people', their manner being slightly gruff is often offputing to men. In general they fight with men against common threats; the last being a dangerous dragon.

[figs: Monks - Gripping Beast; Giants - Sash & Sabre 40mm Vikings]

Figures Ready to Paint

2008-08-29T19:15:00.002+01:00

Beornwulf, his thegns and the fyrd, plus some civilians have been cleaned up and armed with weapons. They are now ready for painting.

Buildngs

2008-08-22T20:31:00.003+01:00

A selction of buildings, the large hall + 2 small hovels from Gripping Beast; plus two scratchbuilt buildings made from foamboard paper using plastic hayrick for their roofs.

A church/abbey building, made using the Dapol Chapel kit. The thatch is made from some old socks sealed with PVA then painted.

Fighting Monks of Wuduceastre

2008-08-08T21:45:00.002+01:00

The abbey of Wuduceastre has a number of encumbents (formerly warriors) who have retired from the world to worship the glory of god. However some of the monks, including the abbot, still answer the call in times of trouble to protect the local population.

[figs: mostly converted Irregular Miniatures armed with weapons from Gripping Beast]

Getting Organized

2008-07-30T12:38:00.003+01:00

A nice order of minis arrived from Gripping Beast at the weekend. On monday we sorted through these, splitting them into two 'sides' saxons and vikings, arranging who would paint what.

Also we looked at the boat kits we had, these look good but will need modifying to waterline models.

With a couple of buildings ordered from Gripping Beast, the Dapol church kit, plus other items we have we have enough for a small hamlet, willage or monastery. Also have other options for forts etc.

The blog title has also been updated and a description provided to give us plenty of scope for gaming.

A quick update

2008-07-20T08:35:00.006+01:00

Buildings - I have a couple of small 'hovels' under construction. I'm also looking whether the Dapol church kit can be modified to a Saxon stone church.

Also I have managed to find a 1:50 Revell viking longship kit; it may be a bit large but I need to compare it to some figures.

who, what and where ?

2008-06-30T21:29:00.010+01:00

A blog to record a new wargaming project set in the dark ages.

Initial ideas are for norsemen raiding the saxon kingdom of wessex; however this could develop into something completely different, we shall see ...

I like the old Noggin the Nog and his sagas (http://www.nogginthenog.co.uk/ or http://www.smallfilms.co.uk/noggin/), hmmm lot of very interesting ideas to think about.