by Rowan Casey
“Can I help you?”
The voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Matthias had not noticed anyone else anywhere near the church and thought that he was completely alone. He turned quickly, almost stumbling on a rock that had been in place longer than he had been alive.
“Sorry, Father,” Matthias said, steadying himself on a gravestone that stood at a strange angle. The grey-haired man did not seem surprised to find him there, but the dog collar probably meant that he was used to finding people trampling through the graveyard.
“No need to apologize,” the man said. “But please forgive me if I startled you. That was not my intention. Were you looking for a particular grave?”
Matthias looked around, as if realizing for the first time that he was standing amongst so many burial plots that had had clearly been there for a very long time. “I was just…” He struggled to find the words, wishing he had a script and had learned his lines.
“Admiring the view?” the older man completed for him. “Wonderful, isn’t it? We do get people examining the gravestones in the search for the resting places of long dead relatives, usually in the hope of solving a puzzle or to complete their family tree, that’s why I asked.”
“Yes, admiring the view, Father,” Byron confirmed, glancing back out to sea for a moment before making to move back toward the road.
“Please, it’s Meirion, and there’s no need to leave on my account. Stay and enjoy the moment. I will leave you in peace. If you would like to look inside the church, I will be here for another hour or so.”
“Thank you. I might just do that.” For a moment he had almost managed to forget why he was there. The sweep of the bay had been enough to drive all other thoughts out of his mind. He watched the clergyman’s back as he retreated inside the ancient building. Matthias knew that he was not likely to stumble across the stone by accident, so unless there was a big sign pointing towards it, he was not going to find the stone without help or a ridiculous amount of luck. At the moment the only source of help was likely to be the man who had just gone inside the church. There was no point wasting any more time.
The inside of the church seemed smaller than it had looked to be on the outside. The afternoon sun shone in through a stained-glass window. The only other light coming from a number of candles burning on the altar table at the front. Meirion was at the front of the church, he had his back to the door and seemed oblivious to Byron’s entrance despite the sound of his footsteps on the stone floor. Rather than interrupt what the man was doing, Byron took his time to take in the features of the church, feigning interest in the time worn pews. The vicar turned before Byron made it down the aisle.
“You might like to take a look at this?” the clergyman said. “This is our most prized possession, though of course we should not fall guilty to the sin of pride.” He took a step to one side to give Byron a clear view of a painting of what he took to be a monk looking straight at him. It was the same image that Hautdesert had provided him with on the piece of paper that had his phone number on.
“Saint Tudno, the founder of this church and the man the town is named after. There’s a stained-glass window using the same image in the Memorial Chapel in our sister church, Holy Trinity. Have you visited there? It is rather impressive when the light comes through it.”
No, I haven’t.” Matthias’ heart was beating faster. “What’s that he’s holding?”
The image was much clearer than the image that had been printed out for him. In the crook of his left arm the figure was holding a staff, but in his hand was what appeared to be some kind of stone wheel, while his right hand offered a benediction.
“That is supposed to be the Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd. Do you know anything about the legend?”
Matthias feigned ignorance and shook his head, he was not so familiar with the legend that he could not bear to hear it again. He was more likely to hear the truth from this man’s lips than from Hautdesert. This man had nothing to gain by spinning falsehoods, but Matthias was surprised to find that in essence the story he told was the same one that he had already been told. The priest did not seem as convinced of the legend’s voracity as Hautdesert had been.
“Of course, the same story is ascribed to Tudno’s brother, who built his own church in Penmachno near Betws-y-Coed. Do you know it? They have a nice stained-glass window there of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth if you’re interested in that sort of thing.”
“I might try to see that on my way home.” Matthias had no intention of doing so, but somehow it did not quite seem to be a lie, even though it was not the truth.
“Back to the south, is it? Cardiff?” He said it as if he held the city on the same kind of reputation as Sodom and Gomorrah. “
Matthias smiled and nodded, still concentrating on the image.
“But you’ve been away for a while by the sound of it.”
Matthias was surprised. He thought he had held onto his accent without it being corrupted, but clearly, he was wrong. “America,” he said.
“Over there long?”
“Too long.”
“Hiraeth,” the vicar said. “The longing for home, though it’s much more than that. We Welsh know how to overemphasize our emotions don’t we?”
“Something like that,” Matthias said though he knew that it was as much about the bitter taste of failure as it was about returning to Wales. He was running away, rather than running toward anything. At least the man had not asked him why he had gone to the States. Matthias had the feeling that he might have chosen to lie rather than get caught up in a confession.
“And is the stone here in the church?”
The man paused for a moment before laughter overtook him. “I’m afraid not. The painting is modern and just the representation of a legend.” He said it in such a way that he was clearly trying not to make Matthias feel like a fool, but he was failing.
“But don’t all legends have an element of truth at their root?”
“I suppose they do, but there is nothing to connect the stone, if it existed, to this building other than a story.”
A wild goose chase. That was exactly what he thought he had been sent on. There was no stone in here; no stone at all.
“Of course, there is another story that this was not St. Tudwen’s original home when he first arrived in this part of the country.”
“Oh?” The man sounded like he was humoring him, dangling a possibility in front of him to take away some of the disappointment, but Matthias did his best not to seize on it too eagerly. There was no point looking for hope when there might be none.
“There’s a cave not too far from here where he is supposed to have lived for a time.”
“A cave?” While Matthias had no problem with the idea of returning empty handed, he needed to at least follow any possibilities before he did. He did not want to hear the scorn that Hautdesert would heap upon him if he had not at least taken a look at the cave. “Do you know where it is?”
“Of course. If you’re interested, I could give you the number of someone who takes people there. I have to admit that I’ve never been there myself, but it’s supposed to be quite interesting.”
“There’s no need. I really wouldn’t want to trouble anyone. If you could give me directions…”
“Nonsense,” the man said. “He’ll be delighted to have someone new to tell his stories to.” A moment later he had a business card in his fingers and was extending it toward Matthias. “Call him. He’ll give you the guided tour.”
“Thanks,” Matthias said, accepting it. He suspected that it was unlikely that the man would be available to take him straight away. The anticipated overnight stay had become a necessity. He was still looking at the card when the vicar jangled a bunch of keys a little too theatrically.
“Sorry,” he said. “I need to lock up now.”
“Of course. My apologies. I’ll give…” he took another glance at the card as if he not really taken in the writing on it at first. “Mr. Evans a call.”
“Like I said. He’ll be delighted to hear from you. Delighted.”
7
Morning broke to the sound of creaking bed springs. Matthias booked into a small guesthouse that reminded him of his early days in repertory theater, touring the country and only staying in a town for a week at a time, at most. Places like this had a smell of their own; the unmistakeable combination of polish and frying bacon. The red light on the bedside alarm clock told him that it was almost 7:30. Somehow, he had slept the sleep of the dead, despite spending the night in a strange bed and felt refreshed.
He had called Evans after saying goodbye to the vicar in the hope that the man might be so enthusiastic that he would have dropped everything to join him straight away. Sadly, the man already had commitments but agreed to meet him at 9:30.
“Where are you staying?” he asked.
“Not sure yet,” Matthias had said. “I need to find somewhere.”
“Will cheap and cheerful do you? Or are you looking for something more upmarket?”
“Cheap and cheerful sounds good to me.”
“I’ll text you a number. I’m sure that Sheila will have a room for you, but I’ll give her a quick call first.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Aunty. Keeps saying that she’s retiring, but I think it’s in her blood. Give me five minutes. If everything is okay, I’ll pick you up at 9:30.”
“I have a car. I could pick you up.”
“It’s okay. I have all my gear in the van, and there’s no need to take two vehicles.”
He hadn’t said what kind of gear he had in the van and Matthias didn’t think quickly enough to ask him. He was still wondering what he might have been talking about when the number arrived by text. Ten minutes later he had secured a room and was on his way to being greeted by the wide smiling, and jewelry bedecked, Sheila.
“Rhys said that he’s taking you to that cave,” Sheila said when she served him breakfast. It seemed that he was her only guest, but that didn’t stop her giving him the full treatment. “You’re going to need that inside you, then.”
It was still short of the prescribed time when the front door opened and a short, wiry man entered with a taller girl in tow. “You must be Byron,” he said holding out a hand. Matthias put down his knife and started to get to his feet, but the new arrival insisted that he should finish his breakfast.
“This is Megan,” he said motioned to the young woman who sat down opposite him. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Are you coming with us? To the cave I mean.”
She smiled and nodded, but barely made eye contact. She brushed her hair from her face, and tucked it behind one ear.
“Been there before?” It felt like he was trying to squeeze blood from a stone but Matthias could not stand the thought of the two of them sitting there in silence while he ate the huge breakfast that had been put in front of him.
She smiled and nodded again, but this time at least she added a “yes” to the gestures. It felt like a breakthrough.
“You two getting to know each other?” Rhys said as he breezed back in with a tray bearing two plates of bacon sandwiches on bread so thick they could have been used to prop a door open, and two mugs of coffee. “You don’t mind us joining you, do you? Aunty Sheila insisted that we come early enough to get something inside us. I managed to turn down the full works but she insisted that we have something before we set off.”
Matthias had no intention of telling the man that he had barely been able to get a single word out of the woman he assumed was his girlfriend in the time he had taken to make their breakfast, but now at least he could work on clearing some of the food while they enjoyed theirs.
“So, what’s the interest in the cave?” Rhys said, pushing his plate away.
“You know anything about the Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd?”
“Please tell me you’re not another one?” he laughed.
“Another one?”
“At least once a year we get someone coming along who has heard the legend and they decided that they are going to be the first to find it, as if no one has even thought about looking for it before. That’s how I met Megan, she’s obsessed with it, too.”
“And you take them to this cave?”
“Nah, most of them make it as far as the church but the vic filters out the nutters. I guess you have his seal of approval. There’s no way that any of them would have been able to get there without a guide and someone to get them down.”
“Down?”
“You have no idea, do you?” Rhys asked with a smug grin on his face.
“I get the idea that I’m about to find out.”
“I think I’ll save it until we get there,” Rhys laughed. There was a trace of a smirk on Megan’s lips, too. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Matthias said, taking a final slurp of his coffee.
8
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Matthias peered over the edge of the cliff to where the waves were crashing on the rocks below. “Is this really the only way?”
Rhys and his girlfriend were already stepping into harnesses and laying out ropes from the back of the van. Their movement was clearly a well-practiced drill, the equipment obviously packed away carefully after use to make sure that everything could be located easily. Matthias watched helplessly, waiting for them to tell him what he needed to do. He was already wishing that he had brought more appropriate clothes with him, but he wasn’t sure that he owned anything that would have been quite right for this trip.
“You might want to slip this on over your clothes.” Rhys offered him a pair of orange overalls. “You should find a pair of boots in the box that will fit, and grab yourself a helmet.”
Matthias wondered if the equipment was absolutely necessary, but another glimpse over the cliff edge was enough to convince him that it was. He wanted to ask just how dangerous it was, but thought better of it. He didn’t it want to sound like he was afraid, or that he was stupid. This pair knew what they were doing, and he was going to have to trust them completely.
“Have you climbed before?” Rhys asked as he helped him step into a harness and secured it in place.
“Apple trees, when I was a kid, but I have a feeling that doesn’t really count.”
“Probably not,” he laughed. “But don’t worry, you’ll be on the end of a rope. We won’t let you fall.”
It was supposed to be reassuring but Matthias hadn’t really considered falling until that moment.
Megan was the first to start the decent, bracing her feet against the cliff while Rhys played out the rope. It looked easy enough, but Matthias knew that it would be a different matter when he was the one making his way down. She stopped every now and then to check on pieces of equipment that had been driven into the rock.
“Don’t worry. The rope is secure. We were here only yesterday, and today is a good day to go down. Trying to go down when it’s windy or raining can be a bit tricky.”
Matthias admired the man’s confidence, but it still seemed a long way down. He watched the girl until she stopped and reached across to her right. Her foot found purchase and she shuffled along until she almost disappeared from sight.
“All good,” she shouted.
“Your turn.” Rhys said. He looped a rope through a mechanism on the harness and checked that it was secure. “In your own time.”
A deep breath and several rapid heartbeats later, Matthias started his decent, trying to do just as Megan had done.
“Lean back,” Rhys called. “Walk slowly and steadily. There’s no prize for getting there quickly.”
It was easier said than done, but eventually Matthias felt that he was starting to get the hang of it, even though he felt that he was not moving much faster than a slow shuffle. He listened as Megan started to give him instructions about where he needed to plant his feet so that he could shuffle across to the cave opening. When she told him to reach across with his right hand he found t
hat he could not release his grip on the rope. A bead of sweat dripped into his eye, delivering a salty sting. He felt a tug as she reached out and helped him into the opening.
“Clear!” she shouted up to Rhys. Matthias had barely caught his breath when he glanced up to see Rhys moving towards them far faster than he had expected anyone to be able to. There was a grin across the man’s face when all three of them were finally standing together, ready to step inside the cave.
“Enjoy that?” Rhys asked.
“That’s one word for it,” Matthias replied looking over the edge and seeing how close they were to the water. A small stretch of beach lay below them and a question started to form inside his head.
“Of course,” Rhys said as he released the rope from his harness. “We could have come in by boat and climbed up from there, but where would the fun have been in that?”
“Is that how St. Tudno would have come here?”
“There are steps carved into the cliff if you look hard enough. Many of them are badly worn or unstable now, but there would have been a time when they would have been used regularly. We just came down the most fun way.” Without waiting for a response, he led the way inside the cave.
Matthias paused only for a moment to look at a statue on the ledge that looked as if it once been an angel, but time and the elements had worn it away. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to find when he stepped inside, but it certainly wasn’t what he discovered when Rhys turned on the powerful torch that had been hanging from his waist.
“They call this Ogof Llech, the Hiding Place.”