by Griff Hosker
The second voyage held carts and women and children. The sides of the raft were lined by my warriors who hauled on the ropes as did Miach and his archers. The raft seemed to fly across the water and I heard the squeals of delight form the children. The mother’s faces showed their terror. Once the women and children were ashore then the rest of the voyages were quick. Now that those on shore had seen the success of Myrddyn’s raft they all wanted to board. We rotated the warriors on the raft and those ashore until just Tuanthal and his horsemen were left. This would be the trickiest crossing. Every warrior we had on the Mona side held the ropes. When they were aboard Tuanthal and Aedh slashed through the mooring ropes as we all pulled. The raft lurched with the current as it was freed from the mainland. Tuanthal and his men had to calm their frightened horses but we pulled the raft so quickly that their journey seemed but a moment. As they came ashore we all congratulated ourselves.
Hogan came up to me and asked, quietly. “Why did you destroy the raft? We can’t get back.”
I pointed at the raft which was being pulled to the ridge. “The raft is not destroyed but we do not want our enemies to benefit from our hard work do we?”
Understanding flooded his young face. “Now I see why you are Warlord.”
“No, my son. That idea came from Miach. I am successful because I have good men that I listen to. Remember that.”
We moved some three miles inland to a pleasant glade with running water and trees. Even the weather seemed to have changed for the better as the sun set over the western seas and we were a little closer to our new home. We had a pleasant fire going and I sat with Myrddyn, Oswald and my officers. “How far Myrddyn?”
“Less than twenty miles and it will all be flat. Tomorrow we see Holy Island.” He swept his arm around us. “Any of this land would be perfect for the people to farm. The island is just the place I deem to be the best for a stronghold.”
Oswald smiled, “Then I think we give the people the chance to choose where they will live. Some may wish to be here but we may also pass pleasant places on the way to this Holy Island; a title, Myrddyn, which intrigues me.”
“There are pleasant spots which we will see tomorrow and I will tell you on the journey of the name.”
“Do you all agree that we give the people the option?”
Garth nodded, “It is the reason we came here isn’t it? This land is now Rheged.”
“No it is not Rheged but we will just call it our land for the moment.”
When they had all gone I drew Myrddyn to one side. “Last night, did my mother come to you then as she did to me?”
“Aye she said you were in danger.” I told him my dream and he stroked his chin. It was a habit he had picked up from Osric. “The men from the sea will be Saxons. That is interesting. The island will be safe from them but the tricky Irish prophesy, that intrigues me too.”
The next morning I sat astride Raven and addressed what had become, ‘my people’. “We have travelled many leagues from our home and now we have reached the island of Mona. This is our home. I will be travelling to the western extremity of the island where I will be building my stronghold. Should any of you wish to find land as we travel west then we will try to give that land to you. Should we meet any people on that land we will buy it for you. I do not want to kill, as the Saxons did to take someone else’s home. When we have built our stronghold then my men will patrol our land and defend us all from any who try to take it.”
There was a brief silence and then a spontaneous cheer erupted with roar of my name and ‘Rheged’. It was enough and I smiled and waved. I headed west followed by my son and Pol. The last free people had come home.
Chapter 16
Many of my people took the opportunity of settling as we crossed, what appeared to be, an empty land. As we later discovered most of the people lived at the coast and there was no one to question the new owners of the land in the centre. When we reached the end of the main part of Mona there were just my warriors and eight families left. The island, Myrddyn had called Holy Island, was separated from the mainland by a narrow strip of sea. I could see why he had identified it for there were cliffs on both sides. They were not insurmountable but I could see that any attacker would struggle to climb them and it would be difficult to attack a fort there.
“We will camp here tonight and then tomorrow; Myrddyn and Brother Oswald put your minds to a bridge which we can build to cross over!”
While the two engineers began their bridge I walked down to the beach to examine this new stronghold from the viewpoint of protecting from ships. I was mindful of my mother’s words in my dream and aware that we were close to the place Myrddyn had had his first encounter with my mother’s spirit. There appeared to be a narrow strip of sand surrounding the cliffs which were only twenty or thirty paces high. But the rocks were sharp and they were steep. It was as though the gods had taken a rock and placed it in the sand. In Bernicia we had seen, about thirty miles south of Din Guardi, such rocks and the Saxons did not try to land there. I was aware that I could only see one side of the island and the other side might enable someone to land but I was pleased with my wizard’s choice.
I clambered back up the rocks and saw that Garth and his warriors had cut down some trees and they were being prepared. There were few trees and a thought struck me. “Tuanthal, take the horsemen and take apart the raft. We have ready made timbers there.”
Eager to be away and riding free he gleefully mounted his horse. Hogan’s expectant face peered at me. “Father, can I go?”
Tuanthal; grinned, “An extra pair of hands is also welcome my lord.”
“Then I had better come and make sure that the hands are usefully employed.” The look on Pol’s face belied the nature of his words; he too wanted to be with the young and charismatic leader of horse. Had I been young then I, too, would have wished that.
We still had a few families who wished to be close to the new stronghold. There were also others who had worked in Castle Perilous and wanted to continue to do so here on Mona. I missed Aideen the most at times like this. She had a way of organising them and bringing the best out of, what she called, ‘her people’. I saw that Oswald had them preparing food for the warriors who were toiling away. Aideen would have enjoyed living here on this beautiful island. I missed her. By noon the bridge was ready for the first crossing although it would need Tuanthal and his timbers for it to carry the weight of wagons.
I crossed with Myrddyn, Garth and ten of my warriors. The rest would cross later and build a fort to guard the bridge. I was keen to explore the small island. We climbed to the top of a gorse covered hill and Myrddyn pointed out the features of the island. “That is the western tip. It is but a mile and a half away.” He turned slightly to the right. “Over there is a place we can land ships.” He frowned as he saw the smoke. “And it appears that someone lives there.”
“Then let us visit our new neighbours and introduce ourselves.”
Myrddyn led us to the craggy knoll he had first identified. We paused there to drink from the water which flowed from a spring. “It was here where we lived. This is the sacred home of the old druids. It would make a good place for your stronghold.” I looked back and saw that it was less than a mile from the bridge. We could build a wall so that the defenders of the bridge would have less than eight hundred paces to reach safety. All my thoughts were on defence. All my thoughts were on the Saxons and their plans for revenge.
We walked across the heather to the cliffs, which were thronging with seabirds. They would make good sentries for they rose noisily squawking as we approached. When we walked back to the spring I noticed that the ground steadily rose to a natural crown of rock. Despite his personal views Myrddyn had chosen a good spot. Now that we had less than two hundred men in my army we could accommodate them easily. Myrddyn pointed away to the east to another lower knoll about a hundred and fifty paces away. It was closer to the bridge. “We could extend a wooden wall and enclose that too. It would
make a good place for stables and a warrior hall.”
Once again his keen eye had seen beyond the obvious. There was turf there and a flat swathe, perfectly suited to horses. “Good and now, before we get above ourselves let us introduce ourselves to these neighbours and hope that they are friendly.”
Myrddyn chuckled. “My Lord Lann, since we left Rheged have you seen anyone who is as well armed as we are?”
I had to admit that we had not. With my wolf cloak, shield, full face helmet and sword I was an intimidating sight. I considered taking off the helmet and slinging the shield at my back but I remembered the rabble from Llanrug. If these were from the same stock then I would need all the protection I could get. Besides it hid the angry scar which ran down my face and I did not want to frighten any children just yet.
We followed a man made track down the slope towards the smoke. Myrddyn explained that collecting the sea bird eggs was a way of supplementing a winter diet. We reached the crown of the hill and looked down upon an untidy straggle of crudely made huts. They were not the wattle and daub we used but appeared to be an eclectic mix of styles and materials. The people there would be scavengers of that there was no doubt. The only partly stone building was a Christian church, recognisable from its cross. It looked to be inside a derelict fort of some description. There were half a dozen small boats drawn up on the narrow beach and I saw men mending nets. They were fisher folk. I could see the remains of what must have been a Roman Fort but it had been damaged by the sea, war and thieves although the fishermen had not touched it. We walked down into the village and the mothers grabbed their children and ran inside the crude huts. I almost laughed, had we evil intentions then the pathetically built huts would offer little protection.
I could see indecision on the faces of the twelve men and boys at the beach, fight, flee or surrender? I gestured Myrddyn forwards to speak. He had come from the island and knew their words. “We come in peace.” He gestured towards me. “This is Lord Lann, the Warlord of Rheged and he has come here to Mynydd. We will be building a fort on Mynydd y Twr. It will afford you protection.”
A man, older than the rest came up and dropped to his knees before me. “I am Gwynfor ap Gryffyth and the headman here; that is the church of St Cybi and this is called Caergybi. We have been expecting you. Before she died, our witch told us to watch for the wolf that would come and protect us.” He pointed to my wolf cloak. “And you are he. We will serve you my lord and you will protect us. Our king has deserted us and left us to the depredations of the Hibernians.”
I turned to Myrddyn who shrugged. “I told you my lord, this is a special place. We will be protected in this most holy of islands.”
“Know this, Gwynfor ap Gryffyth, I will protect you and all of your people. When my stronghold is built, if danger threatens then come there. Understand too that we will buy any fish and other food you do not need to use.” I pointed to the towering Garth besides me. “We have big appetites.”
The headman laughed as did his men. “We will need to catch bigger fish to make giants such as you.”
As we walked back towards our new bridge I thought about the differences in people. The men of Rheged and Bernicia were tall and powerfully built. The men of Llanrug, Witherspool, and Mynydd were all much smaller than we and even smaller than the Saxons. To them we appeared as giants. Perhaps wyrd had sent us here for a purpose and we had left our homes for a better life.
Brother Oswald and my men had worked hard and there was now a camp and a wall on the island side of the bridge. Once we returned we joined in and, by the time Tuanthal reached us with the timber all had crossed the bridge and were safely in the camp. The carts and horses would have to wait until the morning to be brought across. The horsemen stayed in our original camp while we spent the first night on the island Myrddyn called, Holy Island.
The bridge took less than half a day to build and we managed to finish the fort at the end of the bridge. We wanted protection above all. The new settlers brought their carts over and began to choose their own plots. Brother Oswald had told us of a story from the book of the White Christ and how a man had built a boat and brought two of each animal. We only had a few but those with animals chose the land which had the best pasture and soon there was the industrious noise of building all around the camp.
“Ridwyn. This fort is for your Bernicians. I think they would like to be together and I know that you will guard this entrance.” I pointed to the settlers. “These are your people. Care for them.”
“I will my lord and I like this place. It is like a clean Din Guardi!”
I laughed with him for what he said was true. He would be able to make the fort suit him and his men who were resourceful. I was just sad that his brother was no longer with us for Riderch would have loved this place too. “Our fort will be less than a mile away. I want our people protecting; all of them!”
As I led my depleted band across the headland I rode next to Tuanthal. “Tuanthal, you have been one of my most loyal warriors and I now have a favour to ask.”
“A favour? You are my lord, command.”
“No, I will ask and you can refuse. We need a fort at the end of the island, where we crossed and we need patrols to travel the island. That would suit horsemen. Will you be lord of the eastern half of the land? I know that the country there is horse country and you can breed more horses.”
He looked delighted. “I would do that gladly my lord.”
“Good then take your men when you are ready and when the fort is built send a despatch rider to me for I would tour my new land.” Given the independent command Tuanthal led his horsemen away and I knew that the narrows would be secure.
My men built with a renewed vigour. Winter was rapidly approaching and we needed a comfortable home building. There was no stone for quarry although many of the boulders and rocks from the nearby beach were used for the foundations. Brother Oswald and Myrddyn had read about Roman cement and they had concocted their own version. The wizard and the priest were weaving their strange magic again. There was little local wood and Miach and his mounted archers had to forage far and wide for materials. When they returned they spoke of many small isolated farms but no one was to be seen when they approached. I remembered Myrddyn’s words; we were intimidating and when I had the time we would need to assuage their fears.
The stronghold was on the high point, overlooking most of the island. We built a stone base as high as me. Half of this was buried below ground. We managed to build two stories with the ground one being used for livestock as we had at Castle Perilous. We built one warrior hall close by the stronghold so that we could escape to our final defence quickly. Quarters were built for me and Hogan, Myrddyn, Brother Oswald with a separate hut for Garth and Miach. Once that was complete we extended the walls to include the open area where we built a second warrior hall. The slingers, archers and despatch riders could use that one. The building took time but, until the Saxons came, we had plenty of that.
It was when I watched the despatch riders and slingers toiling with the archers and warriors that I realised they were growing rapidly and there were none to replace them. They had been boys not long ago and now they were young men. We would have to wait for the fruits of the union between the warriors and the single women. Some families had stayed at Strathclyde whilst others were in the distant parts of my land.
When winter came it was not like Rheged; we had no snow. There was snow in the air but it disappeared before it struck the ground. Myrddyn had that smug self satisfied look on his face which implied it was because the island was so holy. I did not know the reason but I welcomed it for we finished the halls and walls before it became cold and the first frosts chilled the bones. We had few supplies and Brother Oswald was becoming worried. “The fishermen are good at their job my lord but they cannot feed us over winter we need another source of food.”
The families and farmers who lived nearby were also in need of food until their crops could be gathered in. The land
we had crossed had been fertile and I knew that there would be a little surplus in all the farms. I could just take it but I was determined to buy the friendship of the people. I led a strong patrol of archers with pack horses and I set off for the unexplored northern side of Mona. Myrddyn accompanied me, partly, I think, because he had had family in those parts and partly to see the island he called home.
We found a farm some five miles from the bridge. There appeared to be no-one around but I could see a few sheep and goats and smoke coming from the hut. Myrddyn dismounted. As the one who looked least like a warrior I felt he was the best chance we had for a peaceful discussion with our new neighbours. He went to the door; we knew that it would only be barred from the inside and he tapped on it speaking in the language of the island. I could not hear what he said as he spoke quietly but I knew that he would be reassuring the occupants. Eventually a youngish man came out looking fearfully first at Myrddyn and then us with our weapons. He looked like the young man who had been torn apart by wolves when I was a boy and living at Stanwyck. I smiled but it seemed to add to his fear. My scar made even my smile look fearful.
“We mean no harm. I am Lord Lann and I have built a castle on the Holy Island. We are neighbours.” I saw what must have been his wife and young children peer around the edge of the door. “We would like to buy, with silver,” I held out my hand showing a few coins. “Any supplies you have that you do not need.”
His face changed to one of curiosity and his family edge out. “Supplies?”
“Food. Corn, milk, meat… supplies; we have travelled far and we have used our own.”
“We do not use silver.”
“Well we could exchange for things you might need. We make fine weapons and tools.” I was glad we had brought our own blacksmith. “And we can offer you protection.”
The woman came out. “We can hide from the Irish?”
Myrddyn could understand that sentiment. “If the Hibernians come you will be safe in our castle. It is on the island.”