by Griff Hosker
I looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean if they all looked the same… colour. You are the Wolf Warrior and you wear a wolf cloak.”
“Yes but we…”
She waved an impatient hand at me. Women are far quicker than men sometimes. “I know, you cannot give a hundred men a wolf cloak but you could give them a black cloak which would look the same and, if it were made of leather or hide then it would protect them as your cloak does.”
I looked at her in amazement. Was she becoming a strategist? “That is a clever idea.” I looked at her sceptically. “Where did it come from?”
She put on her innocent look, “I reasoned that if your men were more fearsome and better protected then you would live longer!”
“And I am all in favour of that. Could we get the leather and could we dye it?”
She waved another imperious hand. “The leather needs acid to bleach it. Your men are all full of piss so that will not be a problem and there is a stand of maple trees close to the river and the bark makes a fine black dye. By the spring they will all look the same. They will all truly be Wolf Warriors.”
I was so glad that I had returned to Castle Perilous. Since my return from Elmet my life had been much better and I began to see a future beyond the Saxons. That was a mistake. Wyrd is a cruel bitch and likes to play tricks with men and their minds. I will say that that year was the most contented of my life.
By the time the days grew slightly shorter the new defensive wall which ran to the river was completed. It still needed steps building inside to enable warriors to reach the platform and the gatehouse needed a better gate but the barrier was in place. If the Saxons came we could hold them and prevent them engulfing the land. The despatch riders had brought us word that Aella had sent for more of his people from the sea threatened land of the Angles, Frisians and Saxons. There were reports from Bernicia of fleets of ships sailing down the coast. Had they had a fleet they might have engaged them but the Saxons sailed down the coast with impunity. There was a mighty army coming to our land again and our preparations were none too soon. Aideen was heavy with child and Oswald predicted that the babe would be born after the harvest.
Aideen was not a Christian and she had snorted her derision. “What do a man and a priest know of a woman and her babies? You keep to building your walls and counting my husband’s money and leave babies to those who know best, The Mother and we women who worship her!”
Brother Oswald was used to the derisory tone employed by my wife and the other followers of the cult of Mother Earth. He was not at all put out by her attitude. “I have read books by Greek writers and from the position of the baby and your health I am making a prediction.”
“Aha! You are not the logical Christian after all. You use prediction and prophesy.” She went off laughing to play with Hogan, leaving Brother Oswald shaking his head.
“Do not worry Brother Oswald. As you are unlikely to take a wife you will never have to understand the strange ways and thoughts they have. Every husband will tell you he never wins an argument with his wife.”
“True my lord, and I am ever grateful that I am not encumbered by females. No offence intended.”
“And none taken. Now to much more important matters. How goes Myrddyn’s training?”
“He has great knowledge, much more than I, about herbs and plants. He has shown me how to brew a potion which eases the pain of wounds. It will be invaluable on the battlefield when we have to deal with deep wounds. He has also told me of a way to stop an infected wound from killing; you put maggots on the dead flesh and they eat it.”
I shook my head. Brother Oswald was always seeking knowledge. “Excellent so your training is going well. What about Myrddyn’s?”
“What I am trying to say, my lord, is that he could be your healer on the battlefield now for he is more skilled than I am. And it pains me to say that for he is not a Christian.”
“Good. Pride aside then, you are happy with his progress?”
“Yes my lord.”
“Then he will be our healer. Adjust his pay to that of Miach and the others.” He looked sharply at me. “He may not want it but I will have fairness in all things.”
I led the small patrol out along the road. We had halted them for the time it took to cut the stone and build the wall but now that we just finishing off, it was time to begin them again. So far we had seen no recent signs of any clandestine meetings and I was considering halting the patrols, or, at least varying the route. Garth and I had told the men we were combining the patrol with hunting expeditions and we had managed to bag ourselves some game but I felt that the ruse was wearing thin.
The three men I had with me were all experienced warriors; we tried to use those men we could totally trust rather than the recruits. The wall building and stone cutting had been a boon as it had kept the men busy doing other tasks. As we headed off the road Targh suddenly pointed to the ground. “My lord, men were here recently. And they were on horses.”
I dismounted with Aiden while the other two kept a wary watch in case this was an ambush. It soon became obvious that two men had ridden this way. I handed my reins to Targh and back tracked the prints to the road. They had come from the north and merely crossed the road. That, in itself, was suspicious in nature. Any Rheged warrior would use the road. Only an enemy would wish to remain unseen. We mounted again and, with weapons drawn, headed in the direction of the tracks. I knew which way they headed but I could not let my men know that and we arrived at the dell. Targh jumped down. “They lit a fire here and it still has some warmth.” He looked at me. “There were unknown riders here last night my lord.”
“Tie your horses to the tree and search for tracks, see which way they went.” I took a breath, “And see if anyone else was here.”
I took the westerly direction. If anyone from my castle had come here then I would find their tracks in that area. Annoyingly there was a path of sorts and it was covered in pebbles and small rocks. It made tracking almost impossible but I persevered and headed further west. The pebbles stopped and I began to sweep from north to south and I was rewarded by one footprint. Whoever had left the castle was very careful and had stepped on wood or stone to avoid leaving tracks. I put my foot next to the one faint print. It was about my size which meant it was a big man. That was useful as some of the smaller men, Myrddyn and the other horsemen, could be ruled out. We were left with just nine men who were suspect although as Brother Oswald had said it could be a slave but, again, it had to be a big slave; the women and children were ruled out. We were making progress.
I made my way back to the clearing and met the others there. “They rode off to the east my lord. Do you think they were Saxons?”
“Could be; let us find out. Mount up and we will follow their tracks.”
The tracks headed east and then joined the road. We followed them for half a mile and then sharp eyed Targh spotted them again. “My lord. They have turned off the road and are heading north west!”
They had deliberately left a false trail. If they were not behaving suspiciously before they were now. “Let us follow.” We finally lost them after a mile when they entered a wide boggy area. We could have searched for a month and not found out where they emerged. I led the patrol back to the castle. I could end the patrols now for we now had confirmation that there was a spy in the castle. The only way we could find out who it was would be to catch them. I began to formulate a plan to trap the spy as we rode back to our home.
“Garth, fetch Brother Oswald and meet me in the solar.” Apart from being a beautiful room the solar also had the advantage of privacy. No-one could eavesdrop and the guard was stationed at the foot of the stairs, more than five paces away. I nodded to him as I went up the stairs. “When my guests have arrived I want no disturbances.”
“Yes my lord.”
Neither man was surprised by my request. They waited for me to impart my news patiently. “Our spy exists. It is someone my size which
rules out the boys, female slaves, most of the horsemen and the shorter archers. If it is a recruit then we have a limited number to check.”
Brother Oswald recognised the signs. He knew I had a plan. “And how do we catch him then, my lord?”
“There is little point in staking out the meeting place for that would merely let him know that we were on to him. We need to watch for men who leave the castle after dark.”
Garth shook his head. “Surely that is impossible. We have guards and sentries. He would be noticed.”
“Then those tracks I found… where did they come from?” I could see that Garth now understood the implications of my comments. “So whichever of us is on duty at night will also check the beds in the warrior hall. It is a simple enough task to count the men and, if one is missing, then we can identify him”
“And what do you want of me my lord?”
“I want you to check the warrior hall too. Just before you retire and as soon as you rise.” He gave me a quizzical look. “You say prayers at those times do you not?”
“I do but why would I visit the warrior hall?”
“At the moment where do you say your prayers?”
“In my cell.”
“And it is cramped is it not?”
“Very.”
“Then, as we have Christians now amongst the warriors you can make a small… you call them altars?”
“Yes my lord.”
“A simple altar with a cross can be made in the far corner of the hall. The non Christian warriors have their own places of worship in the warrior hall; it will not seem strange. You can tell the Christian warriors that you suggested it to me and persuaded me to allow it.” I paused to let them take in all that I had said. “As they met last night I think that it is unlikely they will need to meet again for a few days. We can begin the new system now and then our spy will not become suspicious.”
“And if we find someone missing?”
“Then, Garth, you find me, and we will deal with this promptly.”
The next few days were filled with the activity of finishing the gate and the wall. I was proud of the achievement of my men. The wall was higher than a man and well protected. There was a step on which archers could stand and rain arrows on an enemy whilst remaining protected by a thick wall of stone. We might not stop the Saxon hordes but we would slow them down and we would definitely thin them out. I was also delighted because the training was complete and my men had become an efficient working army once more. True, some had never faced a foe but more than three quarters had and I would stack anyone of them against any ten of the Saxons.
The harvest came and we celebrated heartily for it was the finest harvest any could remember. The crops were abundant and even dour Brother Oswald was happy with the bounty. The festival was a joyous occasion and the Christians also felt obliged to celebrate the pagan festival although they praised the bounty of the White Christ rather than Mother Earth. What made it even more special was that Aideen gave birth to Delbchaem. We named her so because it meant pretty one and she was. Hogan is a dear son to me but she was so beautiful it made you feel as though your heart would burst and I always found myself smiling when I saw her. She was truly gorgeous and the name fitted well.
The year was going wonderfully for me. My wounds had healed and I felt no stiffness from my leg and my beard hid my scar and then Garth awoke me one early morning. “My lord!” I knew that it was serious when he awoke me.
“Yes Garth?” Aideen murmured in her sleep. She was still tired from the child birth and she rolled over without waking.
“It is urgent my lord.” He whispered.
The fact that he had awoken me told me so and I put a cloak about me and stepped outside of the room. I could see that he was nervous and I made a joke. “Are the Saxons without?”
He relaxed and gave me a nervous smile. “No my lord but we have discovered a warrior trying to leave the castle.”
I stiffened. I had been both hoping for and dreading this news at the same time. “Who is it?”
“It is one of the Bernician recruits. We have him in the gatehouse.”
When we reached the gatehouse I saw Brother Oswald and two of the sentries. The fourth man was Ridwyn, Riderch’s brother. I could not believe the treachery. He looked white and shocked. I dismissed the two guards. Garth threw me a look which suggested I needed protection. I gave him a rueful smile. “As we are both armed and he is unarmed, Garth, I do not fear him.” Garth nodded. “Now what is this about Ridwyn? Why were you trying to leave the castle?”
He remained silent. Garth grumbled and pulled his dagger from his belt, “Let me have him my lord and he will speak.”
I held up my hand. “Come Ridwyn, I owe it to your brother to hear you out but if you speak not then I will have to assume guilt.” The look on his face bespoke innocence but I needed more. “Come, you know me to be a fair man and the priest here should tell you that I will do things honestly. Why were you leaving the castle and where were you going?”
He took us all by surprise by bursting into tears. “I was going to the village. There is a woman…”
I looked at the other two and we all relaxed. This was not acting. This was a young man who was ruled by his loins. Between sobs he told his story. He had been seeing a young girl from the nearby village. She had finally agreed to a tryst and he was going to meet her. It was too ridiculous to be a lie and his reactions were not those of an enemy.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Next time speak to one of us. We are not inhuman and we understand. Send him back to the hall.” After he had gone I turned to the other two. Well we have now alerted our spy to the fact that we are on to him. Unless he has the brains of a mule he will go to ground but I am happy that Ridwyn was ruled by his dick and not by treachery.”
As I returned to the comfort of my warm bed I now knew that there were fifteen men for me to suspect but that I would come no closer to finding their identity. It was annoying and it was frustrating but sometimes events did not turn out the way one hoped that they would.
The next month seemed to fly by. We were still busy training the men and the new recruits who seemed to arrive daily. I was torn between my new daughter and the running of my castle and, before I knew it, the despatch rider arrived inviting us to Civitas Carvetiorum for the Yule festival and the meeting with the allied kings. At one time this would have been simplicity itself but suddenly we had wagons and children to think about. I left Garth and Brother Oswald to guard my home and I took but twenty horsemen and Myrddyn as my companions. I thought he might benefit from meeting Brother Osric. For his part he was excited but, as we rode towards the capital, I discovered that the main reason was that he would be closer to me for a whole week. The dream he had had made him keen to understand me and find out why the other world had both saved him and joined him to me. I was happy to be talking with someone so young, quick and clever.
The ground was hard with frost but, mercifully, free from snow and rain. I could see, as we rode along the old Roman Road that we would soon need to repair it before the frost and ice damaged it even more. I would not have thought of it myself but Brother Oswald had told me how the Roman soldiers worked to keep their vital roads functioning. I knew that they were crucial as they enabled us to move large numbers of men to meet any threat.
Civitas Carvetiorum loomed into view and Myrddyn was silenced by its size. It affected everyone the same way. It had been occupied constantly for over four hundred years and it showed. There had been no stone robbers to strip the walls as Raibeart and I had found with our own refuges. Roman leaders and then the kings of Rheged had improved it so that it always looked different and new but the constant was that it was a powerful statement of who ruled the land.
“Is King Urien a powerful king then, my lord, to live in such a magnificent abode?” Myrddyn’s words showed his awe.
“I suppose I am biased as I swore allegiance to him a long time ago but I think he is the greatest king in thi
s whole land and the only hope we have to stop the Saxon threat. But to answer your question, he is as powerful as we, his warriors, make him.”
“They say that you are the leader and King Urien reaps the reward of your efforts.”
I looked at him sharply. “Who says so?”
I knew that my words were harsh and he recoiled in fear. “I am sorry my lord. It was just what some of the warriors at Castle Perilous said.”
“When we return I will speak with my warriors. King Urien is the leader and I merely serve. It is his ideas and his battle plans which have kept the land safe. I merely do as the others do and carry out orders. Do not speak those words again.”
“I will have to learn to be as Brother Oswald and think before I speak.”
I smiled. Myrddyn reminded me of me when I was younger and more outspoken. “I forget sometimes that you were recently a boy and you are still learning but that is a good creed; listen more than you speak.” I slowed my horse and leaned over to speak quietly to him. “You will be close to me when we are in the castle. You will need to keep your wits about you. Some of the people you meet will try to deceive you. Keep you eyes and ears open and you mouth closed. I will ask later what you saw.”
“I will be careful.”
I kicked my horse on and we approached the drawbridge. “Brother Osric is one of the men you can trust implicitly. I believe the two of you will get on well.”
I was the first of the leaders to arrive and King Urien welcomed me warmly. I introduced Myrddyn but I did not tell him of the dream. It seemed to be a private matter. King Urien was impressed that Myrddyn had travelled such a long way. “Did you not have trouble with Saxons along the way?”
“No, your majesty. The lands are emptier than here. The Hibernians raid the coast for slaves. They took my family and that may be why the Saxons have, so far, shunned it.”
“That may well be why your brother is so untroubled by raids. Perhaps we can settle the lands there, Lord Lann.”