by Griff Hosker
King Penda looked around and smiled, “I can see that you have lived this long because you are wise and wary. Before you go I will speak with you privately.”
His brother, Eowa, said, “Do you not trust us, brother? We are family.”
King Penda smiled, “Let us just say that I have not yet thought of a safe and secure way. Besides I have yet to contact my Welsh allies. I will let you know brother. After all, if anything happened to me then you would be the Regent who would ensure that my son attained the throne.” I saw the look exchanged between Eowa and Alweo. There was a conspiracy here. I feared for our coalition. I had hoped for unity from the Mercians and the Welsh. It seemed we did not even have unity amongst the Mercians!
“Of course, brother.”
The King smiled, “We will hold a feast in honour of the Warlord. If you would come with me now, Warlord, there is a pleasant walk through my orchard. The apples are just beginning to ripen. I can tell you of the methods we might use to stay in contact.”
When we left Pybba pointedly walked behind us to discourage any from following us. “It is strange, Warlord, that you, a former enemy and the son of the bane of the Saxons should be the only one I can truly trust even in my own court.”
“A bold statement, King Penda. How do you know that you can trust me?”
“In all of our dealings you have never once broken your word. Why, even with mercenaries who do not deserve the courtesy, you kept you word. That is rare. I have no doubt that should we fall out you would be a fearsome enemy but I will not allow that to happen.”
I stopped and looked at him, “How can you be so sure?”
“You care for Rheged and Rheged alone. The days of Lord Lann, Dux Britannicus, are long gone. You have more modest ambitions. I can tell you now, Warlord, that I have no desire for the smallest part of Rheged. The land is rock strewn. With steep valleys and high mountains, it holds no attraction for me. You may keep it and I will keep in return your friendship and, more importantly, the swords of your horsemen.”
I nodded, “That is refreshingly frank of you.”
“More, as part of our friendship and to show how much I value you I will send you a herd of one hundred horses. I have had them bred in the south. If I thought for one brief moment that my men could learn to ride I would keep them but my men prefer the shield wall. I will have men drive them north for you.”
“And in return…?”
“Just remain friends, come when I call and watch my family for treachery.”
“Your family?”
“Eowa and Alweo think that I am blind, deaf or stupid; perhaps all three. I am not. They plot and they conspire. Pybba has men who watch them. I know their every move. Someone once told me to keep your family where you can watch them. Wise words.”
“And Ethelbert of Tatenhale?”
“I trust him. I show him no favouritism for fear of incurring the ire of mine enemies. He knows that I trust him. However, Warlord, I pray that you do not mention what I have told you to him. I trust him but there are some of his men whom I do not trust.”
“I will keep a good watch. And the signals?”
“Simple.” He took out a metal disk on a leather thong from his purse. He handed it to me and I examined it. There was a wild boar upon one side and on the other a Roman numeral III. “This is yours.” He took out a second from his purse. On it was the Roman numeral I. “This is mine. There is a third which has the Roman numeral II. If a messenger comes with the numeral I then you are to believe the messenger and come to my aid. If, on the other hand, he has the one with II upon it or does not have one then he is a traitor and you should hold him.”
“Then you knew I was coming?”
He shook his head, “I hoped you would come but if you had not then I would have journeyed north. I planned to come at Samhain for the Christians fear to travel at that time of year.”
“And why do I need one?”
“Should you wish to send a message to me.”
I liked King Penda. He was determined and knew what his kingdom needed. A king needed to be ruthless and he was. We spoke of the men I might bring and he gave me his assessment of our enemies. From him I learned that Oswiu was more dangerous than his brother. We returned to the hall just before dusk. I saw questions on everyone’s faces. Now I had heard the King’s words I looked at them differently. Who was a traitor and who was not?
Arturus was the one who pestered me for information. My equites and captain of archers did not. They knew that I would tell them what they needed to know when it was the right time. “Wait until we are in our hall, nephew. There will be time. For now, watch all that is around you. The Mercians are our friends but most Saxons are not. Learn all that you can so that should you need to fight them then you will have that most powerful of all weapons, knowledge!”
At the feast we watched Saxons once more engage in drinking contests. The exceptions were Eowa, Alweo, Pybba and Ethelbert. The thegn’s bodyguards, our squires and my archers dined in a second hall. This time Arturus was less shocked and I could see that he was being more observant. Half way through the evening King Penda said, “I nearly forgot, Warlord. When I need you, I will use a rider on a white horse to bring you the message that I need you. If the rider has any other shade of mount he is not from me. That way Oswald and his allies cannot lure you into a trap.”
Eowa and his son looked smugly at each other and I saw my equites and Ethelbert frown. They wondered why King Penda had made such a public announcement. Any could now send a rider on a white horse. They did not know of the seal. I confess that it was an act of genius. Eowa and his son had taken the bait.
The King retired earlier than the rest of his thegns. Pybba watched him to bed and then returned. He stood where he could watch me. I do not think it was a threat, rather the opposite, King Penda was ensuring that his ally did not die in his hall. Worryingly when Eowa and his son saw Pybba return they both left. I saw a smile crease Pybba’s face. It was further confirmation of their treacherous intent. The King was playing a dangerous game. How and when would he trap his brother and his nephew?
I stood and my equites stood with me. I turned to Ethelbert, “I will see you in the morning. We have a long ride west ahead of us.”
He raised his head. “You could head north from Congleton and save forty miles.”
I shook my head, “I have another task after we reach your hall. All is planned.”
Arturus asked, “Planned?”
“Your father asked me to take you somewhere. It will not take us long and might do you good.”
I found it hard to sleep. I knew that I needed to speak with my men but King Penda had warned me of traitors and spies. I would wait until we were at Myrddyn’s cave beneath Wyddfa. I rose early and found the King and closest hearth weru eating. He had a priest close by him and King Penda was dictating something to the man who scribbled on a wax tablet. My face must have shown my surprise for he said, “You find it strange that a pagan such as me employs a priest?” I nodded, “Yet I have heard that you did the same. I do not persecute Christians. I allow priests in my land. If they can convert any then so be it but few choose the soft way.”
I took some food and placed it on a platter. King Penda used metal platters. I poured a horn of ale and sat at the table. Other men arrived and King Penda gave me a knowing look. Whatever was said would be not be private. The words would not help an enemy. My equites joined me and then Ethelbert. He sat with the King and, with Pybba watching, they spoke briefly. When Eowa joined us, he was alone. Perhaps his son had too much ale the night before.
I finished and Ethelbert said, “If we are to make good time, Warlord, then we should leave now.”
“We are ready.” I turned to King Penda. “When you call then the men of Rheged will return.”
The King nodded, “I am counting on it.”
Eowa looked at us from beneath a furrowed brow.
We headed along the road the Romans had built to destroy the p
ower of the druids. It was remarkably straight and King Penda ensured that it was well maintained. The border with old Northumbria lay just beyond it. I saw a piece of high rough ground to the south of us when we were about ten miles from the King’s home. At the bottom were trees but I spied, at the top what looked like earthworks.
“What are those Eorledman?”
“That is called Castle Ring. I have lived here for twenty years and I have never seen anyone there. When we first came it was empty. Men say the spirits of the ancient ones haunt it.”
To the north was a village on the ridge. We would pass by within a hundred paces of it. “And that?”
“Ridgeley.”
Riding a horse afforded me the opportunity to view this land. I did not know if one day I would have to fight here. The old hill fort would be a good place to stand off enemies. The trees which had grown were nearer to the road. The castle ring still had a good view.
We were almost at the village when Thingfrith suddenly threw himself to the ground and held his stomach, “Lord, I have the gut ache. I have been poisoned!”
The two groups of warriors reacted in different ways. My men reached for weapons and used their elevated position on the backs of their horses to scan the land to the north and south. Geraint and Tadgh peered ahead while Llenlleog’s squire looked behind us. I had Saxon Slayer in my hand instantly.
The Mercians, Ethelbert apart, all ran to the aid of the stricken hearth weru. He was a popular warrior. The spear, when it was thrown would have struck the Eorledman had not Arturus whipped up his shield hand, almost instinctively and the spear thudded into it.
Daffydd ap Miach loosed an arrow into the woods to the south and shouted, “Ambush!”
Spears, arrows, stones and throwing axes rained down from the sky. Some were thrown from Ridgeley while others came from the woods. The hearth weru were not mailed and men died. My men needed no commands. I spurred Copper and we took off towards the woods. It was Mercians who had ambushed us. Even as I leaned from the saddle a spear whistled over my head. The thrower was a warrior I recognised. He was one of Alweo’s oathsworn. He tried to turn to run but a warrior could not outrun Copper. I brought the sword across his spine, laying it open to the backbone.
The trees were thin and spindly. Their foliage had hidden the attackers but they did not stop our horses. A Saxon turned with his shield and spear to try to strike at Copper. A charging horseman always has an advantage. He is moving so quickly that, with a good horse he can change direction in a heartbeat. I did that. The Saxon’s spear was over his shield and I jinked Copper to my left. The warrior’s right side was exposed and I swung Saxon Slayer sideways. It hacked through his upper arm. The blood which arced told me that it was a fatal wound. Copper’s hooves crushed a warrior who was trying to avoid Llenlleog. He did not see us and he died instantly. The ground was rising and the trees thinning. It had been a large ambush. There were still twenty men fleeing us. I could not see what was happening on the other side of the road. I had Llenlleog, his squire and Arturus with me. I knew that Daffydd and some of his archers would be close by but they could not use their bows from the backs of horses; at least not riding through rough scrubland. Had the Saxon fleeing us turned and made a shield wall they might have survived. As it was they hurtled up the hill for the safety of the old hill fort. We slew half of them before they even made the first of the earthworks.
Behind me I heard the voice of my captain of archers. “Warlord, just stop them moving and we will have them!”
Daffydd knew his business. There were no walls on the hill fort. There were ditches and ramparts. Two of them stood on the ramparts with their shields before them. My archers’ arrows hit their unprotected legs. No one else tried that tactic. The Saxons hid in the ditches. When arrows fell vertically men were hit. The four of us moved closer to the ditches. Six men broke cover and ran south. We caught them. Arturus made two kills. He was well on the way to becoming an equite. I watched as he swung his arm back and used its momentum and the speed of his horse to hack into the neck of the Saxon.
When all were dead we headed back. We were a good mile and a half from the ambush. The Saxon ambushers had been on their last legs when we finally slew the last of them. Arturus asked, “You did not keep a prisoner, Warlord, why?”
“I knew what they would tell me. Alweo and his father were behind this. Alweo was not in the hall this morning and I saw at least two of his oathsworn. We will not find him and we have no proof but we do not need any. Eorledman Ethelbert will speak with their King.”
When we reached the ambush, I saw that half of the hearth weru were dead. They had killed their ambushers but there was one body which had been hacked so much that it could not be identified.
I looked at Ethelbert. “It was Thingfrith. He was a traitor. You warned me to beware spies and I did not. I will not be remiss again. And you, Master Arturus, I owe you a life. I would have been dead but for you.”
I dismounted and said, quietly, “Alweo was behind this and probably his father too.”
I gave him my reasons and Ethelbert nodded. “The King suspected as much when he spoke this morning. I had been expecting an ambush but Thingfrith’s deception fooled us. He had shown no sign of treachery and I truly thought that he had been poisoned. I was a fool.”
“And your men have paid the price.” There was little point in being sympathetic. This was a cruel world which did not forgive mistakes. “Now you need to search the hearts of the rest of your men and discover their true loyalties.”
Chapter 4
We stayed a day longer at Tatenhale than I had intended. Ethelbert needed my help to make his home stronger. The ambush and the traitor in his midst had shaken his confidence. He had also decided to invest the old Roman fort at Deva, with men. It might not be as strong as it once had been but it would be somewhere his men could defend. It would be a sanctuary for the people. He had an old warrior, Egbert, whom he would put in command. The Eorledman would have to make the difficult journey back to Tomworðig so that he could tell, in private, King Penda of the ambush. As we headed south west towards Wyddfa I wondered if we would be needed in a war against Bernicia. It seemed to me that there was too much dissension in the Mercian camp. I could not see how they could make a united front against Northumbria.
Arturus had been little more than a babe in arms when we had lived under Wyddfa’s shadow. The men of Gwynedd were our distant kin and allies. We would be in no danger but, as we rode over familiar roads I was saddened and depressed by the ruin I saw. The roads we had maintained were now tracks. The stone towers and walls we had built were now robbed out and used for houses. It had only been a few years and yet there was already little trace of my father’s hand. He and his brothers had forged a line of defences against the Saxons. They were now gone. Gawan had warned me what I might see and I think, for that reason, he had wanted Arturus to see it before it went.
When we passed the island, we had known as Mona, it felt as though my heart was being wrenched from my body. It had been the jewel of our land. With Wyddfa so close we thought we were protected by its power. That was until Morcar killed my father. Like Thingfrith he had been above suspicion and he had cut down the Warlord from behind. I wondered at the motives of two warriors. As I looked west I saw that the two strongholds on either side of the Narrows were gone. What saddened me most of all was that we saw few people. The monks at the monastery of St. Asaph shut their doors when we rode by and the farmers fled at the sound of our hooves. We had been their protectors and their saviours and yet now we were shunned.
We headed up the narrow path which led to the cave. It had been many years since we had been called the Wolf Brethren. Those of us who still bore the wolf amulets as clasps for our cloaks were fewer in number. The plague and the wars had had an effect but as we wound up through the trees towards the entrance to the cave I felt the wolf’s blood rising through my body. Myrddyn had made the tomb. It was fashioned to look like a wolf. He had begun many ye
ars before my father had died. He had dreamed his own death. He had prepared his own part of the tomb too for he had seen that death also. It was an extraordinary construction all the more remarkable in that it was carved from stone. It was part of the mountain. When he had been building it, he had had lights burning within and the locals spoke of the giant wolf sleeping below Wyddfa’s snowy peak. When Myrddyn ran short of magic he used his considerably powerful mind.
Llenlleog had been here before. He turned to me as we reached the clearing where the stream bubbled over a waterfall. It was a lovely place. “We will not be able to descend until morning, Warlord. We will have to camp close by.”
I knew what he was saying and I was prepared. I only needed Arturus and myself to enter. “I know. I am not afraid but if there are those who fear the dead then they can stay here and make camp.” I turned and said, “Arturus and I will be camping by the tomb. If you do not wish to then you can stay here. The water is sweet and the air refreshing.”
All chose to come with us and we wound our way up. I could tell that Arturus was nervous. He clutched at the cross around his neck. His fear was understandable. He would be entering a truly pagan world. Myrddyn had come to him in a dream but I knew that both his spirit and that of my father resided here in this cave we would soon enter.
“The spirits who are in this cave cannot hurt us. Our enemies should fear them but Lord Lann was your grandfather. Myrddyn watched over you as you grew.”
“I know but does this make me less of a warrior to fear that which will not harm me? I am afraid simply because it is the unknown.”
“All men fear the unknown but this is not unknown. Let the spirits enter you.”
“Will we sleep inside the tomb?”
“I know not. Myrddyn has not spoken to me. Your father wished you to see it. He did not specify when.”
The squires and archers who had never seen the cave were awed when they saw it. Perhaps they had been expecting a hole in the ground. The carved mouth, muzzle and ears of the wolf were incredibly lifelike. The closer you came to it then the features were more indistinct but from a hundred paces below it and against a sky already turning pink it was a huge open-mouthed wolf. What Myrddyn had built could have been seen in the east where kings and emperors lay buried.