by Sam Taw
Blydh stooped to collect the old man’s head. With its shaved scalp, he had no hair with which to suspend it from his horse’s bridle. Wandering off with his bleeding prize, Blydh left Tallack to scatter the crowd and make good on his promise of banishment. With orders issued to his crewmen and to his brother’s hunters, Tallack returned to me and picked up the fevered Derwa, to carry her back to the hut.
“Where is her Ordo husband?” Tallack asked me, resting his half-sister down on their bunk and covering her with furs.
“He rode off earlier this morning to hunt. Said he’d be gone a few days.” I wiped her brow with a cloth and loosened her clothes.
“Stupid kyjyan, didn’t he know that she was sick?” Tallack walked to the door, pausing to hear my response.
“She hasn’t exactly made it easy for the lad of late. You can’t blame him. It wasn’t his idea to wed her.”
Tallack shook his head and blinked slowly. He rubbed at his brow with the heel of his hand. “I’ll send your painted slave over to bring your medicines.”
I did what I could for the girl, making her comfortable and cleaning up the messes she made. It wasn’t long before Jago arrived, but he was not alone.
“Is there anything I can do to help, Fur Benyn? Tallack sent me over here. Isn’t he just the most thoughtful Metern ever?” It was Brea, of course. Come to taunt me and make us uneasy. Why the girl needs to keep wittering on about her relationship with my nephew, I’ll never know. If the boy meant to bind with her, I dare say he would have asked her by now. Although I doubt it would be considered a wise union among the elders. A Metern must wed for alliances with other tribes, and that seldom means binding with the widow of the previous Chief.
I did my best to ignore her presence, taking my healing kit from Jago and sending him off to fetch clean water from the spring further up the valley. Derwa thrashed about in her bedding, writhing with fever and sweats. She had no idea that we were trying to assist her, flailing her arms about fighting me off. Brea stepped forwards and held down her limbs. I must have given her a look of incredulity for she peered at me and said;
“You and I are not enemies, Meliora. There is no need for you to avoid me like you do.”
Still I said nothing, focusing my attention on Derwa and the humours leaking from her.
“I bear no ill will for you or your slave…providing you both keep your mouths shut.” She said it with a spite that sent a chill through me. How could we do otherwise without incurring the wrath of my nephews and quite possibly that of the entire Priest Sect too?
“And now that my Tallack is driving the priests from camp, we shall all breathe a little easier.” She continued. “Don’t you think?” Her grin was as malevolent as her intentions. I didn’t answer her, but the reference to her Tallack was hard to ignore. Eventually, Brea tired of my inertia towards her barbed comments and left. My relief at her leaving was, however, short lived, for her threat lingered in my mind for the rest of the night and beyond.
It took all our efforts to get Derwa to drink my tonics, but it was all for nought. The poor girl couldn’t keep them down long enough for them to work. Between the bouts of sickness, she tucked her knees into her chest and cried with the cramping pain. I sat with her through the night. Jago did his best to run all my errands for me and keep me abreast of the news in camp, but Derwa worsened as the night wore on. Tallack returned to visit, bringing me food from his own hearth, but I was too scared to eat his offering.
“Is she any better, Aunt Mel?” He said, leaving the steaming bowl of stew on the table for me and sitting on the bunk by his sister’s side.
I looked at the meal and wondered how much hemlock or nightshade Brea had stirred into the bowl. “If anything, nephew, she’s worse than before.”
He held her hand, expecting her to respond to his touch. When she failed to notice his presence, his expression pinched into a frown of deep concern. “Is this likely to kill her?”
For a moment I was confused. Many lives had been lost over the course of half a moon, but I’d forgotten that he’d been away at sea. This ailment was all new to him. “It might do, Tallack. It’s a nasty flux and has left dozens of families across camp in mourning.” To that, he squeezed her hand tighter and looked to be wiping away a tear or two when he thought I couldn’t see?
We sat together for some time in complete silence. He made no attempt to leave and seemed at ease in my company. I banked up the fire and took advantage of his presence to nip outside to stretch my legs. Snatching some food from my own hut, I returned as quickly as I could to my niece and nephew.
When I arrived in the doorway, Tallack was hovering over the bowl he’d brought for me. “You’ve let your supper get cold, Aunt.”
“I have, but it’s hard to rouse an appetite with all that’s going on in camp.” I lied. “Tell Brea I’m sorry for the wastage.”
“Oh, she didn’t cook it, Blydh’s slaves did. I grabbed a bowl from them on my way over here. Brea does nothing these days.” He looked glum, almost depressed at the mention of her.
I should have minded my own business but the temptation to ask was too strong. “Things aren’t all meadow flowers and sweet ale between you two then?”
He chuckled at my phrase, raising an amused brow in my direction. “She was great fun at first. I’ve always known that she favoured me, Aunt, even when she was bound to father. She’d slip me parcels of honey cakes and fresh baked bread with a bowl of Gwyn’s squirrel stew. Poor Gwyn…” He tapered off, remembering the slave cook from the Long Hut at our old compound, who was famed for her abilities with squirrel. I didn’t dare tell him that it was his current bed fellow who sliced her throat to prevent her from telling me about Brea’s part in his father’s death. Instead I smiled, hoping that he would continue to the juicier parts of the story. He did.
“As soon as I let Brea under my furs, she took it as a given that she was the new Ruvane. She treats the slaves in camp worse than father treated her. She beats them if they cook the wrong dishes or if they use too much of my salt stores.” He picked up a chunky stick and poked it into the embers. “I really didn’t think she could be so cruel.”
I cast my eyes to the fire, keen not to show my feelings about her. There was something about his tale that seemed unspoken, a wistful reluctance to cast her aside. I should have kept my mouth shut, but he’s my flesh and blood. I have a duty to aid in his happiness. “Will you bind yourself to her?” I thought that asking him outright would hasten his decision one way or another. My hope was that he would banish her along with the priests.
He took a long, slow breath and swallowed. I squinted at him urging an answer. All he gave me was a non-committal shrug. Honestly, as Cernonnus was my witness, I could’ve throttled my nephew at times like these. Tallack could catalogue all the crimes and intolerable behaviours of this woman, yet while he could stick his pintel into her whenever the need arose, she could go on creating chaos in camp. I despaired at the ease with which this new Chieftain could be manipulated.
The best course of action was to change the subject. Any mention of that woman gave me shivers. “When will the priests leave camp?”
“At first light. Blydh’s men are watching them right now, mine will take over later.”
“And Paega?” I watched his features carefully, hoping for a clue as to his real feelings about his half-brother.
“He’s already gone.” Tallack leaned backwards, throwing the glowing stick fully into the flames. “And good riddance.”
“Hmm.” I made it sound like an agreement, but Paega’s leaving without further complaint worried me. In actuality, He was now the new leader of the Priest Sect, being the only surviving male member of the old priest’s family, and I knew him to be as underhanded and vindictive as his grandfather. We have not heard the last of Paega the Wily, of that I am sure. I kept that to myself.
Derwa murmured and shifted restlessly. I jumped up and dabbed at her face with a cool wet cloth, hoping that she would rev
ive enough to get more tonic down her gullet. Tallack saw it as an excuse to leave, taking the stale stew with him.
Come morning, Tallack and Blydh drove the priests from camp. When they were sure that the wandering sect were far away, with no chance of them returning to surprise us, the warriors returned to fetch clean water for the sick and elderly who remained. With the menfolk occupied and the womenfolk tending the afflicted, we all got through the worst of the ague within a few days.
Derwa’s fever broke on the fourth day of her bed rest, much to the relief of everyone, but she was still too weak to go about camp. Jago and I took her food and clean water, and emptied her piss pot. Not the nicest of jobs granted, but I was relieved to have her in the land of the living.
When she was well enough to eat a full meal and keep it down, she finally asked after her Ordo husband’s whereabouts. He had returned from his hunting trip the same day of her asking, but he told me he was too ashamed to visit her. If he’d stayed, he could have raised the alarm about her illness sooner. His dereliction of duty weighed heavy on the lad from the mountains. I told Derwa as much, and that when I’d seen him, he was as glum as could be.
“Well that’s just daft. Tell him to come home immediately.” She commanded. At any other time, I would have chided her for her insolence, but in truth I laughed. She was back to her old haughty self, ready to give the Ordo a piece of her mind. She has a lot of her mother, Eseld in her that one. She’s far tougher than she looks. I sent Jago to fetch her husband, who returned wearing a shamed face and carrying an odd-looking rock.
Derwa peered at him, sitting up in her bunk with her arms folded across her chest. “Well?”
“Well what?” He frowned, confused.
“Aunt Mel tells me you’ve been out hunting all this time. What did you bring for me?”
I stared at the young man, trying to figure his state of mind. He looked to me that he was undecided about something. It was as if he’d come to a conclusion on the road, filled himself with earnest haste, and then faltered upon seeing my niece. In all honesty, I was surprised he’d come back at all. No one would have blamed him for returning to the mountains having wed an obstinate girl such as Derwa.
He turned the rock over in his hand and stepped closer to her. “I have brought you this.” He held it out with an air of reverence and placed it carefully into the palm of her hand.
Derwa cupped the article. Her nose wrinkled up pulling her face into a sneer. “What would I want with a filthy lump of green rock? Where are the pelts and the meat from your hunt? I have a fancy for a wolf fur collar like Tallack’s. What did you kill?” She threw the stone down onto the rushes, wholly unimpressed. Her husband crouched low and scooped it back into his hands. It was clearly precious to him, even if Derwa felt otherwise. He didn’t answer her insistent questions. Instead, he left the hut and walked with haste towards his horse. It didn’t occur to me to go after him and ask why the item was such a prize in his eyes, or whether he was riding out of the camp never to return.
As soon as the idea popped into my head, the arrival of Tallack and Brea put paid to my mission. They blocked the entrance, bringing Derwa gifts to cheer her and provisions to keep her fed. By the time I had pushed past them both, the Ordo had gone.
Tallack brought a reed flute from his trip to Iwerdon and a mother of pearl necklace for his sister. He pulled the necklace from a pouch tucked into a pocket of his tunic.
Brea’s face was soured with jealousy. She did not look happy with his gift. Perhaps she had seen it among his things and expected the jewel was for her. Derwa was delighted with her presents. She even gave the flute a little blast. It sounded like a pony being gelded to me.
I stacked more wood on to the fire to heat the cold air that had seeped in with their entrance. “Were you able to negotiate a trade, Tallack? Do they have a good supply of copper?” I was keen to get to the reason for his trip even if the girls were more interested in the presents and bounty.
“Oh, they have copper, Aunt, enough to keep us going for ever more, but they were less keen on trading with us.”
“Why was that? Were they not eager to lay their hands on our tin? How can they expect to make bronze without us?” I was amazed. Tin was rarer than gold, and critical to make strong bronze weapons for defence.
“They’d heard about Wenna. It seems that the Durotriges have a history of trading with the islanders across the sea. News reached them that we had killed our sister. They were extremely upset, accusing us of being disloyal and untrustworthy.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Didn’t you tell them why Wenna was killed? Surely, they cannot blame us for defending our own land, mines and people when she and her warriors attacked?”
“That’s not the version they were told, and they wouldn’t listen to the truth. In their eyes we are selfish traitors who are prepared to kill close kin when it suits us.”
As we spoke, we all became aware of loud talking, followed by shouts and hollers outside the hut. Tallack moved the wooden panel from the entrance, allowing us to see outside. Two riders were hurrying into camp from the top of the valley.
I squinted but couldn’t see far. “Who is it, can you tell from here?” I asked Tallack. His eyes were younger and better equipped to deal with the sea mists rolling in land.
“It’s two of Blydh’s scouts. I’ll go and see what news they bring.” He said, wandering in their direction. I wasn’t going to miss out on the gossip from the east. It’d been many moons since our compound on the Exe was razed to the ground, and none of our warrior clans were near the borders to defend them.
Tallack had such long legs and big strides he left me for dust. By the time I’d caught up, the messages had already been exchanged. My nephew wore a long and grievous look across his features.
“What is it? What have they said?”
“Blydh has a man on the inside reporting back from the Duros. He passed on the urgent message that their Chieftain has called in all the horse lords and clans from across their lands and are forging new alliances further east. They mean to build and train an army.”
CHAPTER FOUR
It was obvious that we had stayed in the mining community for too long. None of our borders were defended and with the compound on the River Exe decimated, we had no base from which Blydh’s warriors could launch attacks on the Duros. I followed Tallack to Blydh’s hut to listen in on their decisions. That is the advantage of being an old woman. No one pays much attention to my presence most of the time, and the warriors never stop me from passing into the Meterns’ houses in case I stop healing their wounds and injuries.
Tallack had already told his brother the message from the scouts when I reached them. They sat together either side of a large fire, contemplating their options. I sat down on Blydh’s bunk behind them. They knew I was there but made no attempts to evict me.
“We will need more weapons for the youngest warriors to join the clans.” Blydh said, his stoic calm was almost unsettling. He was talking about shoving untrained, young boys straight into battle.
“They won’t attack us during winter. By Cernonnus, they can’t handle our rough terrain. They’ll have to train their clans as much as we will. No…” Tallack announced. “They’re nowhere near ready. You should take the head hunters back to the borderlands and rebuild the compound. As soon as there are a few huts and a grain store, we can pull in the homesteaders and train up the young ones.”
“What about the priests?” Blydh glanced up at his brother.
“What about them?”
“We need the numbers. They are warriors despite the hemp and poor discipline. They are part of our tribe.”
“I wouldn’t count on them joining us anytime soon. Paega leads them now. No, forget them brother. We’ll make do with what we have.”
Blydh stood up and reached for his sword as it leaned against the wall next to his bunk. “What will you do?” He asked of Tallack.
“We have no treasure left to buy in
supplies, we have no copper to make weapons. I will take some of my men and what tin we have here across the ocean to Frynk and see what deals can be done. It’ll be quicker than dealing with those slippery Ordos of the mountains.”
The chieftains nodded at each other. It seemed like a sensible plan of action, providing Tallack was right about the preparedness of our arch rivals on our borders.
Their decision filtered through my thoughts and left me in a panic. With Blydh and the head hunters at our furthest eastern border and Tallack away at sea, Jago and I would be left at the mercy of that murderous kyjyan, Brea.
I couldn’t see myself riding through the winter weather to the River Exe, with no shelter to rest in at the end of long days of travel. The hut I built with my bare hands I could cope with losing. I’m not so sure I would be able to hold in the tears at losing some of my most exotic plants and herbs. The seeds I bought at the midsummer gathering were still safely hidden among my possessions. It would be some time until I was settled enough to plant them.
Considering all the options before me, I rose from Blydh’s bedding and rested my arm on his shoulder facing Tallack. “I’d like to come with you nephew, if you have a mind to taking me? With the possibility of battle on the horizon, I’ll need all the medicines and tinctures I can lay my hands on, and there is nothing but charred remains back at the Exe. I can trade for what I need in the Frynkish ports.” The twins looked up at me, brows raised and gasping. The glow of the fire lit up the amusement in their faces.
Tallack reacted first. “That’s a good one, Aunt. You had me fooled for a moment then.” Both took a long drink from their ale, still tittering between swallows.
“I am perfectly serious, Tallack. I need to go. Jago and I won’t take up much room and we’ll carry our own dried meats and cheese. I can heal any of your crew that needs it and learn much from the Frynks when we get there.”