Saxon Fall (12 page)

Suddenly Myrddyn stopped and withdrew the drill. He placed it on the floor and held a candle to the side of her skull.  He nodded, seemingly satisfied and then he took a long thin scoop and inserted it into the hole. A blob of reddish purple material dropped out into the pot he held. He shone the candle there for a few moments longer and then nodded.  “Just a couple more moments and I think that we will be done.” I saw him take some catgut and a needle.  He placed them ready to hand. He took a small metal disk and gently pressed it over the hole. It was an exact fit and slipped into the bone well. Myrddyn had been busy.

“Put your finger on this piece of metal whilst I sew.” The piece of metal was so small that when I put the tip of my finger over it the metal could not be seen. Myrddyn joined the two flaps of skin, lifting my finger as he did so and then he stitched, neatly, the flap of skin, back in place. He sat back and smiled, ”And now we wait.  Well done Warlord.  You can assist me again!”

I found that my hand was shaking. “I hope not, wizard!”

He laughed, “Go and have a drink, Warlord.” He chuckled.  “I can see this becoming another legend if it succeeds.” He nodded to the other end of the infirmary where a small crowd had gathered.  We had had an audience.

I went to the main hall and found that I was now ravenous. I sat at the table and quaffed a whole goblet of wine. Pol and Kay joined me. As the food was brought we talked.

“I have spoken with the Hibernians. They did well, Warlord. From what they said they became over confident after their initial success and when Aella brought his whole force they were tricked into an attack when he pulled his centre back.”

“He outflanked them.”

“Aye, had either of us been leading the men then it would not have happened. They feel they have let you down.”

“I know, I spoke with Aengus and he has asked me to lead them. They can be trained here and protect my home.”

“That will make Aelle happy then.”

“Where is my uncle?”

“He went with Lann Aelle to show the improvements he had made and to ask his advice.”

It was good that the two were coming closer.  My father had taken Aelle’s son away from him. He had sent me to fight far away.  I knew now that he had done so to protect the land but I missed him now.  I thought of all the times we might have spoken and the questions I would have asked of him.  I had not thought he would be taken away as he had been. I wondered if the wizard had some way of going back in time. I was jealous of Gawan.  He could still speak with my father.  He and Myrddyn would visit Wyddfa at Yule to the dream cave.  I could not.  Lann Aelle and his father should have more time together.  When I campaigned, the next year, I would leave Lann Aelle with his father.  Outside of Pol and myself, he was the best strategos we had.

“You appear lost in your thoughts, Warlord.”

“I am Pol.  I am thinking of my father and how I wish I could walk these walls with him and talk.  I did not talk enough when he was alive.”

“You and he were not meant to talk, Warlord.  It is a sad fact of life that the two of you were born to fight for Rheged.  There are many people who are free today only because you and your father fought for them.”

I pushed away the empty platter. “It seems Pol, that we take one step forward and two back. Just when we bloody Edwin and the brothers we lose two valuable allies.”

“And yet our greatest ally, King Cadwallon, was not used.  His strength is undiminished. It is sad that we lost our other allies but they served their purpose.  They bought us time.  They have given us a winter to get the horses and to train new men. Our crops were harvested; the Northumbrians were not.  There will be a hard cruel winter for many.  We hurt them.” He held up his beaker, “This is half full, Warlord.  Do not be fooled into thinking that it is half empty.”

“You are right Pol.  I am wallowing in self pity.  Our old teachers from Constantinopolis would be less than happy with us. Come and we will go and speak with the Hibernians.”

We took the jug of wine and went to the table where the survivors were seated. They looked miserable and downhearted.  I saw that there were but fifteen of them remaining.  There were four others, along with Aileen, in the infirmary. They made to stand.  “No, do not stand.  I am here to drink with brave warriors who fought well for me.”

One of the older warriors shook his head, “But we failed! We had to flee with our tails between our legs.”

“What is your name?”

“Fiachnae.”

I poured some wine into his beaker, “Well, Fiachnae drink with me for there is not a warrior in my army who has not had to flee a field at some time. It does not make you less of a warrior.  It gives you something invaluable; experience. You learn from what you did wrong. All of you will have learned from your defeat.” I pointed with the jug towards the infirmary. “I have just left Aengus and Aileen fighting for their lives.  With the Allfather’s help they will survive.  I promised Aengus that all of you can serve with my men if you have a mind.  Will you?”

I saw hope light their eyes as they all chorused an, ‘
Aye Warlord
!’

“Then tomorrow you can swear an oath on Saxon Slayer.  We will teach you how to become warriors like us.  You will learn to fight as one behind a shield and wearing armour.  You will not flee the field again but your enemies will.”

The talk with Pol and then the Hibernians helped me to sleep much better than I had for some time.  I awoke with a positive attitude. I went, even before I had eaten, to the infirmary. I saw Myrddyn there, looking tired. “Have you slept?”

He shook his head, “When they are both out of danger then I will sleep. Aengus appears to be through the worst of it. This is one of the many times I miss Brother Oswald.  He too was a healer and he could have aided me.  Needs must I should train someone to do this when I am in the Otherworld.”

“Do not even jest about such things! It is hard enough to live without my father.  I could not manage without his wizard too.”

“Even the tallest tree in the forest must fall some time but it will not be for some time yet.” He nodded towards Aengus. “I have found the last of the poison and he will live.  He sleeps peacefully now. Let us go and see the one with the strong heart.  She fought all night against death.  She clings to life and that heartens me.” She looked very pale in the thin morning light but her breathing appeared steady. Myrddyn put his hand to her neck. “There is a steady beat.”

We had been there for a few moments when she opened her eyes and stared up. “Am I in the Otherworld?”

I smiled and took her hand. “No Aileen, sister of Fergus, you are in Caer Gybi and you are safe thanks to the hands of Myrddyn the healer.  He brought you back from the other side.”

“With a little help from the Warlord.” Myrddyn added.

“I am sorry for the harsh words I uttered, Warlord.  I was angry and I regret my outburst.”

I noticed that she held my hand still. “I understand and had I been in the same position then I, too, might have said such things but you are safe now and I have promised Aengus that I will look after all of the Hibernian people who fought for me.”

She suddenly started, “My brother?”

“He is in the Otherworld but he died with a sword in his hand and he will be telling them all of the courage of his sister, Aileen.”

She blushed and put her hand to brush her hair away. She found flesh and he eyes widened. Myrddyn took her hand and put it beneath the covers.  “We had to cut your hair for there was a problem inside your head.  We removed it but you have a small piece of metal just here.” He gently touched the stitches.  “Do not worry it will do no harm and your hair will grow.”

I smiled, “You will be as pretty as you ever were.”

She smiled, for the first time, back at me. “Thank you, Warlord, that is kind.  It is an untruth but it is a kind one for a girl who is now alone in the world.”

“No Aileen for when the Warlord swears to care for someone then they are never alone for they are in his family. You get well and when the wizard is happy we will talk of your future. You just need to get better.”

Pelas brought Saxon Slayer to me as soon as I had eaten.  He must have badgered the smith for it shone and looked like new. “Well done, squire, for we need it this morning.” I took it to the Hibernians.  All of them knelt and swore an oath.  Aelle and Lann Aelle were present along with my equites.

“Until you are all trained I would have you here in Caer Gybi as part of the garrison. My cousin Lann Aelle and my uncle, Lord Aelle will be responsible for your training.”

As we went back to the hall Lann Aelle said, “That sounded ominously like goodbye.  What have you planned, cousin?”

“Pol and I will travel to Frankia.  I intend to buy some horses.  We need to breed our own herds. I am sure that had my father been granted more time he would have realised the potential of this island which is perfect for raising horses.  We will buy a good stallion and some mares. Within three years we should have enough horses to campaign in Northumbria for a year.”

Aelle nodded but looked sad, “I hope that I will still be here when you return, nephew.”

“Of course you will.  What ails you, uncle?”

“Old age. There is only Myrddyn left now of those I fought alongside as a young man.  The Otherworld is calling.”

“Then tell it to wait for I am not ready to let you go yet. We all need your sage advice and memories.” I looked pointedly at Lann Aelle who nodded his understanding.

It took a few days to prepare the ship and gather the gold coin. We had traded well over the years and we also had collected much gold and blue stones from the mines in the heart of Cymri. We would use that now to buy us hope for the future. All of my equites wished to accompany Pol and me but I needed the experience of Kay and Bors to aid Lann Aelle with training of the warriors. I still worried about another Saxon attack. The ease with which Aella had defeated the Hibernians made me wonder about the strength of the forces on Manau.  I left the strongest force I could.  I took just Osgar and six of the younger equites.  With Pelas and Llewellyn I was happy that we would be protected. We were not invading Frankia; we were trading.

Aileen was up and about and Aengus was awake and recovering before I left. Myrddyn was pleased with the recovery of both of them and Aileen had shown some skill in caring for the sick. I left them happily knowing that they all had purpose in their lives once more.

The journey south was familiar to us all.  We traded with Dyfed and Gwent on a regular basis.  Daffydd had also made many voyages to Constantinopolis although not in recent years. We seemed to have receded in the last few years and stopped looking out. That was not good. Perhaps this voyage was meant to be.

We had just passed through the tricky waters of Scillonia Insula when Daffydd asked me of our destination.  “Frankia is a large place, Warlord. Where specifically would you have us land?”

This was where we missed Brother Oswald.  He was well read and he knew how to decode the books and writings of Osric.  He would have known precisely where we should land. “I am not sure; where would you suggest, Captain?”

Daffydd rubbed his beard.  “The land of Austrasia is the most civilised place to land. I believe they have a king called Dagobert. “

“Brother Oswald told me of kings who were called Merovingian. They lived in Frankia.”

“Aye, Warlord, we read of them in Constantinopolis. They were great horsemen.” Pol had enjoyed his time studying in the capital of the Eastern Empire.

“Then that is where we will go. Have we still the maps which Brother Oswald made?”

“I will fetch them.”

When we looked at the maps we saw that they showed the old Roman provinces but, fortunately, they gave the place names. They were all marked in red. The names might have changed but the places themselves would still remain. We saw one on a river; it was called Abbatis Villa. “That looks as good a place to start as any.” And so we headed east towards the north western coast of Frankia.

Wyrd
does not always allow us to make our own decisions.  Even as Daffydd put the steering board to head north and east a storm came from the north east and drove us ever south.  Daffydd and his crew desperately fought to keep us heading east rather than west for the edge of the world lay there. It seemed the Gods did not want us to visit Abbatis Villa. We fought the storm for three days. The sails were in shreds when it abated.  We saw no land but just rain, storm clouds and seas which threatened to engulf us and send us to the bottom of the ocean. When dawn arrived and the clouds lifted we found that that we were off the mainland of Frankia but we had no idea where.  The maps did not help us.  We knew, from the position of the sun, that land was to the north of us and there was a distant island to the south east of us. That led Daffydd to deduce that we were close to the land of the
Bro Waroc'h
.  He had never landed there but he had heard that they were the descendants of the last Romans to live in our land and the ones who had fled the Saxons when they came.

“You mean they are our people?”

“They were but I have never landed here before.  It is a savage coast and dangerous.” He pointed to the island.  “It is protected by sharp teeth such as that.  It is
wyrd
that we are here now.” He pointed to the north.  “There is, I believe, a port there. I have heard it named Gwened.”

“That sounds like our language.  We will need to repair will we not, Captain Daffydd?”

“Aye, we will.”

“Then we sail to Gwened and see what
wyrd
has in store for us.”

Daffydd was correct, it was a wild and savage coast.  It made ours look positively welcoming.  There were steep cliffs and savage looking rocks guarding the entrance to the port. There was an oppidum but my heart sank when I saw the cross of the White Christ atop a stone church. These may have been our people once but now they worshipped the White Christ and I feared for our welcome. We had little choice.  Our ship needed repairs to the hull and to the sails. We would have to venture into the port.  The two arms of the harbour meant that we would only be able to leave if the inhabitants allowed us to. Once in we might become trapped.

As we tied up an armed delegation came towards us. There was a holy man and ten armed and armoured warriors. Bows were aimed at our ship and I noticed that two smaller boats had been rowed to the entrance of the harbour to block us in. Although we had no mail on I had Saxon Slayer and Llewellyn carried my dragon banner. I stepped off the ship once the gangplank was in place and my equites formed a guard of honour.

I decided to take the bull by the horns and speak first.  “I am the Warlord of Rheged.” I pointed to the
’Gwynfor’
. “Our ship has been damaged by the storms and we beg your indulgence to repair our ship.”

I saw a reaction from both the priest and the leader of the warriors. “I am Caradog son of Conmar.  We had heard that Rheged lived still. Does the king survive yet?”

I shook my head. “The last king was Pasgen and he died. The line of Coel and Urien has disappeared.  We are all that remain.”

Caradog nodded to the archers who lowered their weapons. “You are welcome.” He hesitated. “You say your ship needs repairs?”

I smiled, “We have gold and silver to pay for the materials.  We are no beggars to ask for charity.”

I saw the relief on his face. “This is Bishop Judicael.”

I nodded and saw a frown cross the priest’s face.  We had not shown due deference. “You are not Christian?”

“No, we follow the old ways.”

Had I burned him with a brand I could not have had a more extreme reaction.  He almost recoiled. I suspect that if we had not spoken his language then he might have ordered Caradog to attack us there and then.  As it was a look passed across his face of pure hate.  I thought that was ironical.  Brother Oswald had told us that the White Christ was both all forgiving and moderate.  His followers seemed to be the opposite. He stormed off with his two tonsured priests scurrying behind him.  We must have offended him just by our presence.

Caradog smiled, “It seems you have upset the Bishop.  He does not like pagans. You are our distant kinsmen and welcome.  Come to my hall and we will sup while your captain sees to his ship.”

We followed him up a path leading to a twisting stone lined track which led to the gate. The walls were stone topped by wood and I saw many stone buildings within the walls. The hand of Rome was visible everywhere.

“Where were you headed, Warlord?”

“We were going to Austrasia to buy horses.”

He laughed.  “I am afraid that the moment you opened your mouth you would have been attacked.”

“Why? We have done them no harm.  Indeed until a few days ago I had never heard of the place.”

“That is our fault.  We war against them.  Their regent, Pepin of Landen, has tried to take our land and expand the empire of the Merovingian kings.” He smiled, “We are too big a morsel for him to digest.”

“Your land looks to be rocky and hard to assail.” We had entered his fort and I saw the machines of war such as we had and the well armed sentries. “And your men look like they know what they are doing.”

“When our people first came here almost two hundred years ago they were the last Roman soldiers to leave Britannia.  We are all descended from them and we do them honour by maintaining their high standards.”

When we entered his hall I could see that it was built in the Roman style. There were fine pots and jugs of wine on the table. It felt like being at home. The floors had mosaics upon them and there appeared to be the heating we had in our fort.

We sat around his table and some of his men joined us.  I could see both sets of warriors examining, surreptitiously, each other’s armour and weapons.

“I have heard of the Warlord but you seem somewhat younger than I expected.”

“That would have been my father, Lord Lann.”

“The warrior who flew with Myrddyn into Morcant Bulc’s castle and slew him.”

I did not correct him.  The legend had spread far and wide. “Aye and Myrddyn lives still.”

That interested all of them.  “We have heard of him.  He is the most powerful wizard in the world; although our Bishop would dispute that.  He thinks all wizards and witches should be burned.”

“But not you?”

“I am a Christian but I have heard of too many strange events to dismiss wizards as something evil.”

I was happy talking to this man. He reminded me of my father.  He had a similar look to him.  The grey flecks in his beard told me that he was no longer a young man. Myrddyn always said that wisdom came with age. “If we are not welcome in Austrasia where would you suggest we buy our horses from?”