‘Run! That’s Clydog or his men looking for us.’
Together they sprinted away into the woods. A cry behind them told them that they had been spotted. A moment before, Eadulf had been cursing the clouds obscuring the moon. Now he cursed the fact that the night was not dark enough to hide them.
Within moments they realised their flight was almost hopeless. Their pursuers were on horseback. They searched desperately for some narrow path which would lead them more deeply into the woods away from the main track; some way by which they might elude the pursuing horses. There was none. The undergrowth was thick and dark and shut them out.
A moment later, one of their pursuers had overtaken them and turned his horse to block their path. His swinging sword blade menaced them.
‘Hold or be struck down!’ he snarled. They halted reluctantly.
The mocking tones of Clydog came from behind them. ‘Did I not tell you that we would soon meet again? We have some unfinished business, you and I, Sister Fidelma of Cashel.’
They turned and stared at him in the moonlight. Fidelma did not reply.
‘We have wasted enough time this night,’ Clydog suddenly said in businesslike fashion. ‘Bind their hands behind them and bring them along. We will return to Llanwnda.’
One of his men jumped down from his horse and roughly drew Fidelma’s hands behind her and secured them with a rope. She gasped in pain. Eadulf, clenching his hands, took a step towards her but was halted by the pinprick of cold steel at his neck. The sword was expertly held in the hands of the warrior on horseback who had blocked their path.
The other man, having finished with Fidelma, turned on him with an evil expression and swiftly searched him, removing his knife. Then Eadulf found his hands being dragged behind him. He tried to resist but the warrior spun him round and slapped him viciously across the side of the head, sending him toppling. His hands were bound before he had recovered. In less than a minute, they were both hoisted onto horses behind two warriors.
Clydog gave the command to ride on. To Fidelma’s surprise, it seemed that neither Clydog nor his companions had noticed the body of Iorwerth, for they passed by the tree without a glance. She realised that when Eadulf had cut the body down it lay in the high grass, and in the gloom had not been seen.
‘What do you intend now, Clydog?’ Fidelma called.
The outlaw chief glanced back at her. ‘Still asking questions, Gwyddel?’ he jeered.
‘I am afraid it is part of my nature,’ Fidelma responded cheerfully. ‘You have grown very bold since last we met.’
‘What is your clever tongue about now?’ Clydog demanded suspiciously.
‘Nothing clever. Last time we met you were hiding in the woods, like the scavenger you are, preying on wayfarers to rob and kill. Now you have decided to attack an entire township. That means that you have become bolder. I merely wonder why?’
‘I believe that you are clever, woman,’ grunted Clydog angrily. ‘I have a feeling that you know more than you say. We shall find out exactly what you know when we return to Llanwnda.’
Fidelma realised there was little to be gained by trying to continue the conversation. She looked over to where Eadulf was struggling to keep his balance behind the warrior on whose horse he sat. Poor Eadulf. He was not a good horseman. It was difficult enough for her, with her hands bound behind her back, to keep her balance. It must be extremely unpleasant for Eadulf.
At least the group of horsemen made no detours. Clydog led them down the track straight towards the township and within moments they were crossing the wooden bridge over the stream, passing the darkened silent forge of Iorwerth.
In the shadows, she saw one or two armed men standing in the darkness. Clydog ignored them, for they were obviously under his orders. He led the way up the street, beyond the still glowing bonfire, to Gwnda’s hall, where the robbers dismounted and Fidelma and Eadulf were roughly pulled from their mounts. One man took the horses on to the stables.
Clydog moved up the steps to the door of the hall and pushed it open. He turned on the threshold and called for his men to bring the prisoners forward. Then he led the way inside, his men pushing Fidelma and Eadulf roughly behind him. So intent were they on keeping their balance, difficult with their hands tied behind them and his thugs pushing them this way and that, that Fidelma and Eadulf had not realised that Clydog had halted abruptly. They stumbled into him and nearly lost their balance. In the time it took them to regain their equilibrium and look up they realised that Clydog and his companions seemed to have become like frozen statues.
There were half a dozen men in the hall with bows strung and arrows pointing at Clydog’s men.
Chapter Twenty
It was Gwnda’s voice which greeted them with a gruff humour.
‘You are welcome to my hall, Clydog the Wasp.’
Fidelma moved sideways a little so that she could see who was standing in front of Clydog.
Gwnda was there, of course, seated in a wooden chair, but in his usual chair of office stretched a young-looking warrior with a circlet of silver round his fair hair. He was quite handsome, with almost violet-coloured eyes that seemed to have no pupils. A boyish grin moulded his features. He was richly dressed but one could easily discern that the sword which hung at his side was no mere decorative piece. He looked familiar but it was only after a moment or two that Fidelma recognised him as the man they had met briefly at the abbey of Dewi Sant. It was Prince Cathen, son of Gwlyddien.
‘Lay down your weapons,’ snapped Gwnda to the outlaws.
Reluctantly, Clydog and his men unbuckled their sword belts and one of Cathen’s warriors laid aside his bow to come forward and gather them up. Another man, at a wave of the hand from Cathen, moved forward to sever the bonds of Fidelma and Eadulf.
They both stood for a moment, rubbing their wrists to restore the circulation, a little bewildered and amazed at this turn of fortune.
‘Take these dogs and put them with the others,’ Gwnda was ordering, indicating Clydog and his men.
‘Wait!’ snapped Clydog. ‘You cannot do this to me. It will go ill. .’
But the warriors were hustling him away, leaving Fidelma and Eadulf facing Prince Cathen and Gwnda, the lord of Pen Caer.
Cathen had risen, and now came forward with hands outstretched to her. ‘You had us worried for a while, Fidelma of Cashel. Your royal brother, Colgú of Cashel, would never have forgiven us if anything had happened to you while you were a guest in our kingdom of Dyfed.’
‘I am very glad to see you, Prince Cathen,’ Fidelma said with enthusiasm. ‘Seeing you has put the final piece in our puzzle.’
Cathen looked perplexed, but when she did not explain further he turned to Eadulf. ‘It is also good to see you again, Brother Saxon.’
Gwnda had risen, a little half-heartedly, in deference to the actions of his prince.
‘Come,’ Cathen invited them, ‘be seated before the fire and let refreshment be brought.’ This latter was said to the stony-faced Buddog, who left the hall to do his bidding.
‘What has happened?’ Eadulf was asking. ‘How did you get here?’
‘Your young messenger, Dewi, arrived at the abbey and told Abbot Tryffin what you had told him to say. My father and I questioned him about the situation here at Pen Caer. I saw beyond the mere message. It seemed that you might stand in need of a small band of warriors to enforce your argument. So I offered to lead them and we rode here as quickly as we could. We left young Dewi at his father’s forge on our way here.’
‘It seems that fortune has favoured your bold move,’ Fidelma observed gravely. ‘Luckily for us.’
Buddog re-entered, her nervousness at the presence of the young prince showing. Mulled wine and oat cakes were served.
‘Fortis fortuna adiuvat, eh?’ Cathen was smiling at Fidelma.
‘Even as Terence says in Phormio,’ agreed Fidelma. ‘But the township was in the hands of Clydog’s robbers. How did you. .?’
‘How did
we change that state of affairs? Easily enough. Clydog had no idea that any adversary was in the vicinity. He had left with four of his men to chase you. That left fifteen or so to guard the villagers. You tell them how it was done, Gwnda.’
The lord of Pen Caer still seemed ill at ease. He stared at the ground for a moment. ‘We had been taken to the big hay barn behind here, the entire township. .’
‘Everyone was imprisoned?’ demanded Fidelma sharply.
Gwnda blinked.
‘Was Iestyn imprisoned with you?’ pressed Eadulf, realising what Fidelma was getting at.
Gwnda shook his head. ‘I have not seen Iestyn all evening. Nor Iorwerth, come to that.’
Fidelma turned quickly to Cathen. ‘Can you spare half a dozen warriors? Men in whose cunning you have faith, as well as their sword hands?’
‘I can. Why?’
‘Get one of the townsfolk to guide your men to Iestyn’s farmhouse. They are to take Iestyn captive and anyone else who is there. Tell them to be prepared for violence, for there might be some more of Clydog’s men present who are not prepared to lay down their weapons without a fight.’
Cathen called one of his men in and issued orders. Fidelma looked satisfied.
‘Now we can continue. We would not want our net to allow some of the culprits to escape.’
Cathen was clearly puzzled. ‘Are you saying that these men Iorwerth and Iestyn are in league with this outlaw Clydog?’
‘There is more in this matter than mere robbery, Prince Cathen,’ she assured him. ‘But Gwnda was explaining how you came to turn this affair to your favour. .?’
She turned, giving Eadulf a warning glance. He finally realised that there was some reason why she wanted to keep secret the finding of Iorwerth’s body. He did not know what it was, but he decided to go along with whatever scheme she had in mind.
Gwnda took up his interrupted tale. ‘As I say, we were imprisoned in the barn. Clydog had set ten of his men to guard us. There were a few others outside.’
‘Thus it was when we came to the township,’ intervened Cathen.
‘How many are there of you?’ asked Eadulf.
‘Fifty warriors of my father’s bodyguard. Good men all.’
‘It’s a wonder Clydog’s men were not alarmed by the arrival of such a large body,’ Fidelma observed.
‘I sent two men ahead to scout. They came across a man positioned at the bridge by the entrance to the township. He made the mistake of thinking my men were his companions returning and greeted them with words which immediately made them suspicious. So they disarmed him and brought him back to our main body and me. He was persuaded to talk a little. .’ Cathen broke off with a dry chuckle. ‘Perhaps we should skip over that. Anyway, he was persuaded to tell us that Clydog’s men had imprisoned Gwnda and his villagers in the barn, and even told us the disposition of his men. It was a simple task to disarm them and release the villagers. Learning that Clydog and some of his men had gone off chasing you and Eadulf, we decided to tell everyone to go to their homes and remain there quietly without lights until Gwnda told them otherwise. We positioned ourselves and waited for Clydog to return, as we knew he must. The rest you know.’
Fidelma nodded approvingly as she followed his narrative. ‘You seem to be a sound strategist, Cathen.’
‘Even a good strategist needs luck, Sister.’
Fidelma gave him an appreciative look. Cathen was certainly no vain leader.
Gwnda cleared his throat. ‘So now, Prince Cathen,’ he said, ‘thanks to you peace returns to Pen Caer. You have rounded up and captured our local band of robbers. And Sister Fidelma will tell you that our other mysteries are resolved. Si finis bonus est, totum bonum erit.’
Fidelma shook her head quickly. ‘If this is an end to the mystery, it is not good nor is everything good that comes from it.’
Prince Cathen looked uncertain. ‘I would agree that there are several questions to be answered before we can resolve all these matters. Do you have the answers to those questions, Sister?’
‘First tell me, Cathen, when Dewi came to your father Gwlyddien, did he make a specific request on my behalf?’
Cathen nodded. ‘That you be given the authority of barnwr to investigate all those matters you felt important.’
‘Do I receive that authority?’
‘My father was most willing to give you that authority. As I said before, we merely thought you might need a little physical backing.’
Gwnda was looking on in disapproval.
At that moment, a tap came at the door and one of Cathen’s warriors entered. ‘It was easily done, Prince Cathen. We have the man called Iestyn. He was at his farm with a couple of outlaws. We surprised them before they could even draw their swords, so no one has been hurt.’
Cathen grinned at Fidelma. ‘Excellent. So do we have all the rats in our trap now, lady?’
Fidelma did not reply for a moment but turned to the young warrior. ‘Was one of the outlaws a man with a metal skull cap? A war helmet? A man of some arrogance?’
‘That must be the one who answers to the name of Corryn. He was arrogant,’ agreed the warrior.
‘Corryn was the man I wanted.’ Fidelma sighed in satisfaction.
‘There was another outlaw, apart from the man Iestyn. His name was Sualda.’
‘Sualda?’ Eadulf’s eyebrows rose a fraction. ‘So he survived?’
‘Luck is definitely on our side,’ Fidelma told him.
Cathen glanced questioningly at her. ‘Are these men special?’ he asked. ‘I thought that Clydog was their leader?’
‘Very special,’ she confirmed. ‘Keep them all separate but closely confined. They are all important in this game of intrigue.’
Cathen gestured for his warrior to obey Fidelma and turned back to her. ‘I am not sure I understand any of this,’ he began.
‘I shall explain tomorrow. In the morning, with Gwnda’s consent of course, let us gather in this hall. I will then endeavour to bring all the ends of these matters together.’
Gwnda was frowning in annoyance. ‘I thought the matter was concluded? We have rounded up all the outlaws. What else is there?’
Fidelma gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘There are many deaths to be accounted for, Gwnda, and also an explanation of the conspiracy against King Gwlyddien.’ She turned to Cathen. ‘Do I have the right and your approval to present the explanations?’
‘Of course,’ the prince replied.
‘Then I shall need one of your men to act as steward for the court that I propose should sit in Gwnda’s hall at noon.’
‘Cadell is my trusted lieutenant, Sister.’
‘Very well. Let me speak with Cadell and issue him with instructions on what should be done tomorrow, for I need this business conducted in a precise and special way.’
Cathen and Gwnda were clearly at a loss to understand what was in her mind. However, Cathen turned to the door and called for one of his men, asking that Cadell be found and sent to him. A moment or so later a young warrior entered. Cathen spoke quietly to him and the man crossed the hall to Fidelma, raising his hand in salute.
‘I am at your service, Sister,’ he said. He seemed brisk and efficient.
‘Remain while Brother Eadulf and I give you instructions. ’ She turned to the others. ‘The night is almost gone and it has been a long and tiring one. I suggest that you all retire. Brother Eadulf and I will not be long in following your example.’
They hesitated and then, seeing the glint in her eye, began to disperse.
The morning was intensely bright. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun shone with that late autumnal brightness which causes people to narrow their eyes in order to focus through its glare. In spite of the sun’s rays, the air was chill and there was a hint that a frost had come and gone in the predawn hours. Droplets of water glimmered and sparkled on bushes and trees and even the grasses.
Fidelma had slept late. In fact, it was approaching the noon day. Even so, she was
stirring long before Eadulf and went down to the kitchen to find Buddog washing dishes there. The woman greeted her dourly.
‘There is much movement in the township this morning, Sister. Many are crowding into Gwnda’s hall to hear what you have to tell them.’
Fidelma seated herself at a table and began to pick at a bowl of apples.
‘Let us hope they will not be disappointed,’ she said tightly. Buddog frowned and left her alone.
A moment later Eadulf entered. Fidelma noticed that he still looked exhausted. She probably looked haggard herself, for they had not gone to bed until dawn. They had spent some time questioning Sualda, who had recovered from his infectious wound thanks to Eadulf’s treatment, and Fidelma’s speculation had been confirmed.
‘I see people are gathering in the main hall,’ Eadulf said in greeting, helping himself to an apple. He had barely bitten into it when Prince Cathen entered with Cadell at his side.
‘It is a fine day,’ he announced. ‘The sun is near its zenith. Cadell has been scrupulous in obeying your instructions. Those whom you asked him to request to attend are already in their places. Clydog and his band of outlaws are still imprisoned, with the exception of Iestyn who has been brought to the hall under guard.’
‘Have the smith Goff and his wife Rhonwen arrived?’ asked Fidelma.
‘They have come with their son, Dewi,’ agreed Cadell.
‘And the girl Elen?’
‘She was most reluctant to return. It was lucky that she had broken her journey at Goff’s forge and we did not have to send all the way down to Llanrhian to fetch her. I do not think she is happy to be back.’
‘Everything stands in readiness, Sister,’ Cathen summed up. ‘Just as you ordered it should be.’
‘And is Gwnda in attendance?’
‘He is, and very unhappy about it,’ replied Cathen. ‘As lord of Pen Caer he would normally seat himself as judge, but I will take precedence in this court in accordance with your request.’
‘It will be up to you, Prince Cathen, to ensure that this hearing is properly conducted. I have no judicial authority and it will be your decision what legal path must be taken after I have presented the facts.’
Smoke in the Wind sf-11 Page 27