by Griff Hosker
Chapter 6
Din Guardi looked even more impressive than it had the first time I had seen it. We stared at them from the eaves of the woods having emerged out of the gloom and into the bright open beach. There the huge castle almost appeared to be sitting high in the sky. Myrddyn and Pol had never seen the like and they too were astounded. It was not just the fact that the sea surrounded three quarters as it was also the fact that the remaining quarter had a cliff to scale or a twisting ramp which would subject an attacker to withering missile attack. Even at low tide an attacker would have to negotiate either a slippery sea weed ridden swamp of sinking sands or sand dunes riddled with grasping marram grass.
Myrddyn turned to me. “No army could take that.”
“I know and when Aethelric gets his hands on it he will make his kingdom the most powerful in the land.”
Pol asked innocently, “Is it greater than Civitas Carvetiorum?”
“Rheged’s castle is powerful but it can be attacked on all sides. An attacker can use rams and onagers. If enough men attacked then it would fall.” I exchanged looks with Myrddyn. That day would come one day and we both knew it.
“We have to get to the north of the castle we have arrived too far south.” I pointed to the collection of small huts which were across the narrow harbour. “There are boats there and I assume that Ridwyn will have one. He will be watching for us. The problem is that the sentries will also be watching for strangers. Myrddyn you will leave first and head due north. Pol will follow but veer closer to the coast, not to close but a little closer than Myrddyn. I will follow you.”
“I assume there is a reason for this plan my lord?”
“Yes Myrddyn. It will look less suspicious to the sentries, should they see us. And it gives Ridwyn three chances of seeing us. The one most likely to get caught is the one in the rear. As I am the most competent warrior…”
“Brother Osric would be impressed my lord; impeccable logic.”
“Wait for us in those sand dunes north of the fishing boats. Be careful!”
Myrddyn trotted off and I rode next to Pol. “Remember that everyone you meet is an enemy and yet to fight might bring disaster. Today, my young squire you will be using your mind and not your seax.”
“Perhaps when we return from this, my lord, I will use a sword and then, who knows, the axe we took.” His enthusiasm was infectious.
I waited until Myrddyn was about a mile away and said, “Head towards the castle for about a hundred and fifty paces and then head for Myrddyn. It will look as though you are going in a different direction.” Smiling he urged his horse on. I slid Saxon Slayer in and out of my scabbard. I hoped that I would not need it that day but I had to be prepared. I set off towards the south, through the woods. I lost sight of Pol but I was not worried. There had been no-one near to him. When I emerged from the forest, with Wolf sniffing next to me, I saw that was closer to Din Guardi than I had expected and I headed north along the edge of the forest. Soon I passed the place from which Pol and Myrddyn had left and, as I cleared the forest I saw the dot in the distance that was Myrddyn. He was close to the sand dunes and Pol was about half a mile behind.
Wolf growled and stiffened and suddenly I saw two men approaching from the west. They appeared to have come from the dunes themselves and they were approaching Pol. This was the worst event which could have arisen. Myrddyn would not know the dilemma he was in and I took the decision to act. I kicked hard and my horse responded. I could see that they had spoken with Pol and that he had stopped, which was a wise thing to do but it put him at their mercy. The soft ground over which I was riding made little sound and I glanced to my right and saw that the castle was hidden by a promontory of rock. From my previous visits I knew that the dunes were in plain sight and I wondered if the sentries could see the meeting ahead, as I could. I watched as Pol’s horse reared when one of the men grabbed it and then the other pulled Pol from his saddle. I galloped hard. “Wolf, follow!”
By the time I reached them they had a sword at Pol’s throat. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that we were still hidden by a blind area and invisible to the castle and its sentries. One of the men turned around aggressively to me with his spear pointed at my horse. I spread my hands innocently and said, in Saxon, “What is going on?” I waved an impatient hand at Wolf who had begun to growl; and bare his teeth.
The man relaxed when he heard my words. He replied in poor Saxon, “This is spy from Rheged. We take to the king.”
I grinned, drew my sword and dismounted. “Excellent. I hate the men of Rheged. They killed my brother at Dunelm I will make the spy talk. Hold his arms and we will see what his manhood is like.”
They put down their swords and, laughing grabbed Pol’s arms, spreading them as though he was the White Christ. There was one on each side. I saw the terror in his face. He was not looking at me but at the two men. I held Saxon Slayer in two hands and with two swift blows decapitated both of them. Pol jumped to his feet as though he had been struck himself. “My lord! I am sorry they just came at me and I didn’t know what to say.”
“We have no time for that Pol. Help me to put their bodies on our horses.” Poor Pol’s horse almost sank under the weight. He would have to walk. I went over to get the heads. They both had long hair and it was tied at the back making it easier for me to carry them. I saw Pol whiten. “And we have no time for you to be sick either. Lead your horse slowly, as though we are merchants with bags of goods on our horses.”
The walk to the sand dunes was the longest mile I have ever walked. I was glad when I saw Myrddyn’s worried face peer through the marram grass, I deliberately avoided looking towards the castle. That would have aroused suspicion but I desperately wanted to see if the alarm had been raised. The two men were obviously from the castle and they would be missed. We now had less time to complete our task. Finally, we reached the path in the sand dunes and we disappeared from the castle’s view. Myrddyn almost pounced on us when we reached his horse.
“What happened? One minute Pol was alone and the next time I looked there were two men holding him down.”
“They were Bernicians and when Pol spoke they recognised him as a warrior of Rheged.” I smiled at the still petrified youth. “I think we will teach you some Saxon. It may make life easier. And now let us get rid of these bodies and the heads. First search them to see if there is anything of value about them.” While I saw to the grisly task of burying the heads the other two took weapons, money, rings and, most importantly a key. I had no idea what the key was for but it could be a useful object. “Now bury them but make sure they are some distance from each other and I will watch the castle.”
I peered through the grass and could see no discernible movement along the walls. It was a mile or more distant but I could see the sentries, moving along the wall. There was a steady flow of carts and visitors to the castle. It all looked normal. When I returned my two comrades had buried the bodies and I could not see where. Inevitably nature, in the form of the wind, would uncover the bodies but it would not be in the next few days. “Pol, you are the lightest, when we have moved away then make the sand smooth so that no-one can see our tracks.”
“And now, where to, my lord?”
I pointed to the dells and hollows above the beach. “Ridwyn will look for us up there. He said to look where the sand becomes rock and that looks to be the place to me.”
Ahead of us the land rose a little at the natural outcrop of the rock beneath the soil. The wind and the tide had formed the dunes at its base and, as I remembered it, there was a huge bay on the other side. All we had to do was find somewhere which was hidden and await the Bernician.
We found a flat hollow which hid us from view. I sent Pol inland, with Wolf to guard him, to find water and we unsaddled the horses. It occurred to me that we might have finished with the brave beasts which had carried us hither and it pained me to think that we might be leaving them. It was, however, a sacrifice which would be worthwhile if we succeed
ed.
Night fell. Pol had found some water and. Although it was slightly brackish, the horses didn’t seem to mind. It was harder for us to lie there waiting either to be discovered or for Ridwyn to appear. We kept a constant watch on the castle but there seemed to be no disturbance there which might indicate that their men had been missed. Perhaps the men had not been from the castle. The wind whipped in from the sea and chilled us to the bone. Myrddyn tentatively asked, “Should we light a fire?”
I shook my head. “I would prefer the cold to fighting curious Bernicians or Saxons. Wrap your cloaks tighter about you.”
The moon had just risen when Wolf growled. I held my hand to silence him and slipped my sword out. The other two followed suit. It was with some relief that Ridwyn’s face appeared above us. He strode over to me and bowed. “I would have been here sooner my lord but I was confused at the three riders and a dog. It was only when I recognised Pol that I knew who you were. I was expecting you alone.”
“It matters not. Before we go there is something you should know. We had to kill two Bernician guards. These are their belongings.” I showed him the key, the amulets and the swords.
“That would be Dagda and Sayer. They are guards from the gatehouse. The key is the key to the side gate.” His face became serious. “They will be missed, my lord. They both command warriors.”
“It cannot be helped but we now have another way, if we need it. Have you been to the cave yet?”
“Not yet my lord.”
“Then let us go there now.”
“That means going back the way we came.”
“It cannot be helped. If the cave is not there or is guarded then we will need a different plan and you can fill me in on the details as we go.”
“I have no horse.”
“It is only a mile or so is it not and we will be less conspicuous if we go afoot, leading the horses.” For all my confidence I felt exposed and naked as we left the dunes to cross back to the forest. I expected men searching for Sayer and Dagda to fall upon us but we reached the safety of the woods without incident. As we went through the pine carpeted forest, Ridwyn told me that he had found a young girl of seventeen, Anya. She had been captured in the wars in Elmet and given as a slave to King Morcant Bulc. As she was pretty she had been used and abused by the king and his bodyguards. When Ridwyn had seen her she was weeping as she collected mussels at low tide. After befriending her he had found that she was thinking of ending her life. She had been unable to run as there was a guard always watching her.
“Then how did you speak to her?”
“I was fishing quite close to her, lowering crab pots into the sea, takes time. The conversations lasted a couple of days and were as brief as we could make them. She told me that she has the run of the castle for there is but one way in and out. I asked her to find the door and she told me, last week that it is there where my brother told us it would be. She managed to open it and she said she saw a dark cave beyond. It was when I had that news that I sent the message.”
“When will she open it?”
“I will see her tomorrow and so it could be tomorrow night.”
“If the cave still exists.”
He added cheerfully, “Oh it will be there my lord. I grew up near to the castle and know it well.”
We left the horses in the woods and Pol and Wolf guarded them. The three of us scampered through the dunes. We could see lights in the castle but they did not illuminate the outside. We would have to watch for the guards but they appeared to be gathered on the landward side. There was a high rocky outcrop which hid us from the view from the seaward side and the crash of the waves on the rocks disguised any sounds which we might make. The tide was well out and Ridwyn led us confidently to the cleft in the rocks which he assured us led to the cave. When I saw him frantically look around in panic I knew something was amiss.
“What is it Ridwyn?”
“It should be here but it is gone! Is this magic Myrddyn?”
Myrddyn shook his head, “No Ridwyn, it is nature. Look the sea has deposited sand. Stand where you think the entrance should be.” Ridwyn walked four paces closer. “Right, let us dig.”
We began to scrabble and scrape like rabbits building a burrow. Suddenly Ridwyn’s arm disappeared and he turned with a grin. Myrddyn just said, “Let us get inside before we congratulate ourselves.”
It took another hour before the hole was large enough to peer into. Had we had Pol he could have wriggled inside but we had left him with the horses and we had to dig for a little longer until Myrddyn was able to disappear inside. The wait seemed to be interminable but finally he reappeared. “I found the cave,” he paused, “and the door. There appears to be no keyhole.”
“There isn’t. It is a bolt on the inside. It is an escape route and not a way in and out.”
“Good. Let us rejoin Pol.”
Ridwyn looked shocked. “But all our hard work. We may have to dig again tomorrow!”
Myrddyn laughed. “The sea does not work that quickly. It will merely mask our work and will take moments to undo.”
By the time we reached Pol the first thin line of the false dawn had arrived. “Come we will go to Bhru. He has a hut close to where we met.” We were able to ride through the forest to avoid detection and soon smelled the comforting aroma of wood smoke. Bhru appeared behind us as we dismounted. He had a few teeth missing and when he grinned at us he looked terrifying. “I thought it was you, my lord, but I weren’t taking any chances. There is a stall behind the hut for the horses and I have a bit of stew on. I thought as you would be hungry.”
We were ravenous and wolfed down the food quickly. Pol quickly fell asleep and Ridwyn took his leave. “I will need to find Anya and tell her it is tonight after the moon has risen.” He paused. “I promised her that she can come with us.”
The question hung in the air and my immediate reaction was to say no but then I remembered Aelle’s mother and the horror of captivity and I nodded. “But you should know that we will not be returning by horse.” Both Bhru and Ridwyn stopped what they were doing. “It was pointed out to me that they could easily catch us on the one hundred and thirty mile journey but they will not expect us to go by boat.”
“Which boat my lord?”
“Your boat Ridwyn. Is it big enough for all of us, Bhru and Anya included?”
“If we hug the coast and do not run into a storm then we might survive. But what then?”
“We sail along the Dunum. My brothers are meeting us with horses and warriors. All we need to do is slip into the estuary at night and reach the Roman Bridge.”
“It is risky my lord.”
“Life is a risk Ridwyn. Let us see what wyrd has in mind for us. So far it has not been all bad has it?”
Laughing he said, “No my lord, but it has been most interesting.”
After he had left I said, “We will need to turn the horses out before we leave I want them to wander. They will be discovered and the false trail will buy us time.” Although well trained, if the reins were tied on the pommel of the saddle, then the horses would walk until tired if given a slap on the rear. It would not fool the Bernicians for long but we did not need long for us to disappear. “And Myrddyn put your mind to coming up with a trick which makes them think that we entered and left by magic.”
When I awoke it was afternoon and Ridwyn had returned. “You have stirred up a hornet’s nest my lord. They are searching high and low for those two men you killed. They think they may have been deserted but some think it was Saxons who had a falling out with them. They were both known to be gamblers.”
“But Rheged’s name has not cropped up then?”
“No, my lord.”
“And Anya?”
“Game and ready to go. Last night three of the king’s men had her. She cannot wait to leave.”
“Then all we can do is to wait until dark. Bhru, you had better cook whatever food you can. We can fill our bellies for I fear we will get little until we r
each the Dunum. We also need water skins filling.”
Myrddyn smiled his enigmatic smile. “Already done.”
“And the magic?”
“Ah well we are in luck for Ridwyn has a wolf’s head in his hut.”
The warrior who had stood with me in my shield wall looked embarrassed. “I knew that I could not bring my cloak but the head seemed to be a good luck charm.”
“Do not apologise Ridwyn although I am intrigued as to how my wizard can use that.”
“Well when we leave I will put the skull next to the dead king with a bloody dagger in the skull’s mouth.”
“Is that it?”
“No I will lock the door after you leave and let myself out with the Bernician key.”
“Is that not risky?”
“Not really, for the ones who know me should be dead by then and I can pretend to be a lost Saxon in the castle. Ridwyn said there are many there. I will then lock the gate and join you at the beach.”
“I think I would prefer just the wolf skull.”
“Then they will find the unlocked door and know how we escaped. This way they will search the castle for us and then suspect each other.”
I could see that it was a good plan. I would have to trust in the spirits which had protected us until then. We waited until dusk and then saddled the horses. They had been faithful companions and it grieved me to let them go but I hoped that they would find a good owner. We slapped them hard on the rump and they galloped west. I brightened myself with the thought that they might make their way home to Rheged. Perhaps I was deluding myself, they were, after all, just animals.
We went swiftly and quietly to the beach. As Myrddyn had predicted the sea had only filled in a small part of the entrance and it took the five of us a short time to clear it. Ridwyn and Bhru left to bring Ridwyn’s boat around and Pol and I cleared more sand to make the exit from the cave easier. We then went into the cave. It was pitch black but we had flints and two torches we had made in Bhru’s hut. When we lit them the cave was shown to be enormous. It could have swallowed my warrior hall twenty times over. A rough path could be seen and, leaving one torch for the others, we made our way upwards through the natural tunnel. As we climbed I wondered if the gods had made this just for us. I knew that Myrddyn would have an answer; I decided to ask him, on the sea voyage home, if we ever managed to complete our quest. There were steps cut into the stone. They were a little slippery since we had opened the entrance again but all the seaweed we could see looked dead. The cave had been dry for some time.