Stoc (A New Druids Series Book 3)

by Donald D. Allan

  "Me, too. It's just... it's just I feel a draw. A certainty to my step, James. I am on the right path. I just need to see it to its end. We have purpose. I won't say trust me, but I will say I am glad to have you by my side. Hopefully with a happy ending for both of us, eh?"

  "T'would be nice, I admit. Beautiful women, wine, and large beds. That's a perfect ending for me."

  Brent laughed. "You and me, my friend. Growing old and still chasing women."

  "There are those two in Jergen. Think they'll remember us?"

  "Hopefully they stay up at night with a candle in the window for us."

  "We'll see. We'll see."

  Their arrival in Jergen was as uneventful as the journey. Brent and James passed through the northern gate around midday without so much as a glance from the guards. They rode in silence until they reached Nadine's single level weathered house standing quiet along the coast. The sun was high in the sky and the shadows of seagulls darting and crying in the cold air swam across the ground. The small house was surrounded by a whitewashed picket fence that enclosed a once-sprawling garden, with fruit trees picked clean of their bounty. The house needed work. It was battered by winds, rains, and now the cold of winter with the freeze and thaw cycle.

  They glanced at one another, their breaths clouding in the cold air, and dismounted and stood still for a moment. James chuckled and pulled off his riding gloves. "Well, here we are."

  Brent grunted and blew a cloud of breath out.

  James tucked his gloves in his waistband. "So how do you want to do this?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, we can't very well just march up and tell the poor woman inside that we are moving in, can we?"

  "Hmm. No. I suppose not."

  "You should do it."

  "Why?"

  "You're older. More trustworthy."

  "Bugger."

  "'Tis true and you know it. Plus you outrank me. Rank has privileges, no?"

  "If that were true I would be ordering you to do it."

  James laughed and waited. His horse reached out with his head to nuzzle his tunic pocket. James reached in and pulled out a dried piece of apple and gave it to the horse. He rubbed the horse's nose and pushed the horse's lips away from his face.

  "Alright, off I go. Wish me luck." Brent handed James the reins to his horse.

  "Luck."

  Brent walked up to the small gate in the fence, opened it, and passed through letting it swing shut behind him. His feet crunched on the seashell path leading up to the door. "Hello inside! I beg your pardon, ma'am, I'm a friend of Nadine. She bade us come and introduce ourselves. We mean no harm. I've a note from her announcing us."

  Brent paused on the path a few feet from the front door and waited.

  After a long moment, the voice of a woman called out. "Who are ye?"

  "My name is Brent Bairstow and my companion outside the gate is James Dixon."

  "You've a military look about ya. I don't like military types. They always take and leave nothin' but grief behind 'em."

  "I assure you, fine lady, that we promise to do neither. We are here in Jergen for the winter most likely but we aren't without means. Nadine asked us to care for you and we mean to. Hopefully from inside the house before the winter storms blast in from the sea."

  Silence greeted this remark and Brent looked back at James who shrugged and watched the seagulls wheel overhead.

  "Leave the note under the door and back up to the gate."

  "As you wish, my lady."

  "I'm no lady, stop calling me that. Now hurry up."

  Brent walked to the door and drew the sealed letter from inside his tunic and slid it under the gap of the door. He walked unhurriedly back to the gate and joined James.

  "What do think?"

  "I think we need to prepare ourselves for a bloody cold winter. What's Plan B? Camp on her doorstep, or find an inn?"

  Brent growled and stood staring at the door.

  "What do you think she wrote in the note?"

  "Knowing Nadine, nothing good, I suspect. She has the devil in her."

  James laughed. "Sounds like this woman is of the same ilk."

  The front door of the house opened and standing in the doorway appeared a woman of perhaps thirty years. Her long brown hair was tied up loosely on her head. She wore a patched dress with an apron around her waist. She was barefoot and dirt smudged her cheek bones. She looked worn down and tired and annoyed. Pressed up tight behind her cowered her three young ones, peering around her legs and blinking in the sunlight. A large hairy dog pushed past her legs and woofed gently.

  "Alright," she said after a moment. "Come up to my door and let me see you. Leave the horses outside the gate. I won't have them caccing on my yard."

  James and Brent tied the horses to a fence post and came through the gate and up the path. The dog raced toward them and they held out their hands for the dog to smell. The dog barked once and trotted happily alongside them.

  James whispered to Brent. "Well, one down, one to go. Which do you think has the worst bite?"

  Brent ignored James and stopped a few feet short of the door. Through the doorway, he could make out a boy with bright red hair with a heavily freckled face. He was maybe twelve years of age. Beside him was a smaller boy of maybe eight years with the same red hair and freckles. Beside him was a little brown haired girl of no more than four years with her thumb stuck firmly in her mouth. A small, stuffed animal that looked like an elk hung limp from her other hand. Brent smiled at the girl and then looked to the woman. She was thin, and her dress was too cold for the weather inside or out. Her bare feet were callused and cracked. The children looked in better shape and dressed well enough for the coming winter. Brent nodded to her.

  "Nadine says in this note that I'm to trust you and let you in," she shook the note in her hand for emphasis. "Now that I'm looking at you I think her more than a wee bit daft. How'd you meet her and where?"

  Brent coughed politely into his hand to hide his smile. "Let me introduce ourselves again, dear lady. I am Brent Bairstow, and this is James Dixon. We're originally from Munsten and both ex-military. We've come south from a farm some days' ride to the north-west of Jergen. Nadine's there with her husband and the others."

  "What's that? Husband? She's sixty-eight years old, ya daft git. Don't be spreading cac on my doorway."

  "I'm afraid it's quite true. She's a druid, dear lady. The Earth Mother, as she is called, brought back her youth."

  "By the Word! Then what she says in the note is true then? Dammit. What are ye doing standing out there? Get in out of the cold. I've no idea what you can do with them horses but you can bring them out back out of the wind. I've no stables for them. And I'm no lady. Stop calling me that. You're pissing me off. My name's Ness. Short for Vanessa."

  Ness moved into the house and pushed her children out from underfoot.

  "That one there's my oldest. Named Joshua Junior after his da. Don't need the junior no more. He went and got himself drowned at sea. Idiot went fishing straight into a storm. Left me these lot. The middle one is Willy. The youngest is Fiona. Watch her, she'll have you doing whatever she wants, if you let her. Don't let them big weepy eyes draw you in. Everything is drama to her.

  "I've naught for supper so I hope you brought your own fare. I've tea left behind by that young man who stole Nadine away from me. Good stuff, though. Clears the aches right outta ya. Come in, come in, yer letting the cold in."

  James looked apprehensively at Brent who raised a hand and gently patted the air and whispered. "No worries. Go see to the horses and bring in the packs. I'll rub the horses down later. We'll have to find a stable for hire tomorrow." James nodded and ducked outside.

  Brent closed the door and looked around. It was a spacious, single room dwelling with an earth floor. The winds outside whistled in the cracks in the walls. Herbs of all kinds hung from the rafters and support beams. The smell in the house was intoxicating, earthy, and rich. He felt immed
iately at peace and better understood why Will had expressed a longing to return. In one corner was a thin mattress on a cot and in the opposite corner were three straw mattresses on the floor. Two cats sat on the dining table and flashed their tails back and forth at him. The dog came in close and nosed his groin. Brent pushed him away and then walked over to look out the back window placed over the kitchen sink. Beyond he spotted a swing chair, cliffs, more seagulls, and the sea.

  The wind blew outside and Brent felt it across his skin. Drafty place and cold unless the fire is kept well stoked, he thought. He glanced at the small supply of wood by the stove. Ness was standing next to it and rubbing her upper arms. Brent reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a groat.

  "Can your eldest be trusted to fetch food at a fair price?" he said holding up the coin.

  The woman looked surprised and then pressed her lips together. Her eyes stared at the coin and after a moment she nodded once.

  Brent tossed the coin to the lad who snatched it out of the air. "Get some food, Joshua. As much as you can carry. Meat and grains. Sweets for you and the other two. Hurry back."

  The boy Joshua looked to his mother and when she smiled a little and nodded, he took off at a run. He flung the door open to find a startled James standing on the other side. The boy looked up at him, murmured something, and then squeezed past and out the door.

  "Where's he off to in such a hurry?" asked James closing the door behind him with a foot and dropping the saddle bags and bedrolls he carried.

  "Food," replied Brent. "Don't get relaxed yet. We need wood. Check out back."

  James nodded, "Horses first." James went back outside.

  The woman scowled. "D'ya think to buy our trust, do ye?"

  Brent ignored the woman and went over and picked up the saddle bags and bedrolls. He carried them over to where the cot was set out.

  "You won't be sleeping wit me!"

  Brent picked up the cot and thin mattress and carried it over to the other mattresses on the floor. "Warmer over here I think. You'll sleep with your children, ma'am. You'll feel safer."

  "Safe? You come here and you're already taking over? In my home? Who says ye can stay here? I won't have it!"

  Brent went back to the saddle bags and started pulling out supplies and laying them down on the earth floor. A whiny from his horse carried from out back. Brent noticed he could still see his breath in the home.

  "Answer me!" declared the woman.

  Brent looked over at her. She had her two remaining children behind her and she looked a little scared to him. He stood up with a package wrapped in cloth. He went over to the kitchen table and laid it down. "For you, from Nadine."

  Brent went back to unroll the sleeping rolls. He took out his personal items and laid them out with military precision. Whetstone, shaving kit, utensils all in their right spot. He heard a soft cry from behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Ness looking down at the contents of the cloth. Brent knew what it contained. He had watched Nadine wrap it up.

  Ness called her two children over and gave them each one of the cookies. Brent stood and his knees cracked. "Dempster, our cook back at the farm, he made them special at Nadine's request." The children squealed with joy and quickly started to eat the rare treat. "The cloth though. That's the real treat."

  The woman looked confused for a moment and then reached out to pick up the cloth that wrapped the paper covered cookies. She held it out and gasped. It was a beautiful needlepoint.

  "Nadine said it was a fair likeness of your husband. Said you would enjoy it."

  The woman drew in a stuttered breath and clutched the cloth to her chest.

  Brent waited a moment before speaking. "Nadine told me to tell you that this is still your home. She won't ever ask you to leave here. We are guests, nothing more. Be at peace, ma'am. God be with you."

  The woman snapped her head to stare at Brent in shock. "God?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I am a man of God."

  "And you openly admit that?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I'm tired of hiding it. I'm here with a calling from God. The Cathedral calls me even now."

  Ness remained silent and stared at Brent. Her eyes searched his face. The wind picked up outside with a low howl and he heard the first chop of wood outside. After a moment, she looked away and placed the needlepoint down on the table and smoothed it out. The fine needlepoint outlined the face of a man with strong features but with a smile to the eyes. Nadine's a true artist, thought Brent. He had told Nadine, and she had just patted his arm and smiled.

  Ness wiped an eye. "When Joshua—senior that is—when he died that night I was lost. I chased him as a wee lass. Drove him batty. He was always trying to hide from me but I always found him. As we grew older, we grew to love each other. He was my life. My everything." Tears fell free from her eyes and she wiped them with the heel of her hands. "I hated God for so long. Hated Him with everything I had. I still do. He took my husband... my..." A sob shook her, and she stuffed a hand in her mouth and a cry escaped her.

  Brent crossed the room and held her. She froze for a moment and then collapsed into him. She cried for a long time and Brent held her. The front door opened and James stepped in with a load of wood in both arms and froze when he saw them together. Brent rolled his eyes toward the stove and James nodded. He mumbled an "excuse me" as he strode past and laid the wood down. He went back outside for another load.

  Ness pulled free and smoothed her dress down. She turned away from Brent to face her children who were standing nearby looking a little anxious. "Away, go get your wee toys out and play. Chores are done for the day. Go."

  William and Fiona ran into the corner by their mattresses and opened a small wooden chest. They pulled out some wooden toys and started playing with them. Ness looked back at Brent and then looked away to watch out the window.

  "God didn't take your husband from you, ma'am. The sea and weather did. He was a fisherman."

  "Call me Ness. Ma'am makes me feel old."

  "Alright, Ness then. I'm Brent and my companion is James."

  "I know that. You've told me."

  "I apologise."

  "Don't apologise, makes you look weak," Ness threw her head back and looked up at the ceiling. "I blame God." She lowered her head and blew out an exasperated breath. "I've always wanted to say that out loud. Being a believer is so hard sometimes. I want to scream it out loud."

  "Then do. Nothing's stopping you."

  "Sure, there is, men and women of faith can't expose themselves. We all know that for truth. Exposing yourself only brings ridicule and pain. When my husband died, I had to sneak into the Cathedral to pray. Not that it did any good. I sat in that place and prayed until my knees bled out on that cursed place. My husband and I, we believed. Like our mums and dads. We were raised in the church. God took him away and left me nothing." She reached out to the needlepoint and touched her husband's image. "It's so hard sometimes. Gah, listen to me rambling like some old woman."

  "I hear you, Ness. It was much the same for me. When my father passed my brother and I each grieved in our own ways. For me I turned to the church. The Church helped me through it. You shouldn't be ashamed of that. Faith is personal but sometimes you need to reach out to others to reaffirm it. I can help you if you want."

  Ness looked up at Brent searching for something. "And who are ye to offer me help with my faith? Eh? Such cheek."

  Brent went to answer but then shut his mouth and thought for a moment. "I really don't know. No one, I suppose. But I believe. Maybe I can't help you. God will guide us both."

  Ness looked toward her children and shook her head. "Unlikely. He's done nothing for me."

  Brent smiled. "Nothing? You've a roof over your head for your children. Wood piled by the stove to push the cold out. And food on its way to fill your bellies. I would say he's done plenty for you. He rewards those that fend for themselves, Ness. I believe that truly. Plus, He sent James and I. You have the former General of the Lord Protec
tor's Guard and a former captain of the Army guarding you. You couldn't be safer."

  Five

  Jergen Cathedral - November 900 A.C.

  BRENT AND JAMES stood outside Jergen Cathedral and admired the architecture. The Belkin National Cathedral was hand carved from blocks of pure white limestone; which shone dully despite the grey and overcast morning. The high outer walls rose to pointed arches and flying buttresses. Soaring above the city, massive framed stained-glass windows looked out over a nation that had long abandoned the pursuit of religion. Central to the building was the main tower, inside of which were two sets of bells, silent since the Revolution. Wide marble steps gleamed and rose to the main entrance and the narthex and provided seats for many who stopped to rest.

  Jergen Cathedral stood on the top of one of the highest hills in Jergen and towered over the city. Where the two stood they could see far out to sea and a good way inland to the west. Brent wondered if he could see Munsten to the north if he climbed atop one of the four towers at the corners of the building. On the south side of the building they could see the massive attached library.

  The last time he had been here Brent had never stopped to admire the artistry of the building. This time James had asked to stop and now he stood with his neck craned back trying to figure out all the intricate carvings in the stonework of the facade. Animals and gargoyles—and who knew what else—covered every inch of exposed stonework. It was an architectural wonder. James was calling out what he was seeing and people were giving them a wide berth on the sidewalk and Brent smiled at them as they passed.

  "Seen enough?"

  "Amazing. Look at that wolf there. It's a wolf, right? Not a dog?"

  Brent glanced at where James seemed to be looking and spotted the carving. "Yes, a grey wolf. When we were here before you never thought to admire it, why now?"