by Sam Taw
I say he understood, but Maleek wasn’t paying me much attention. Tallack had caught his eye from across the Long Hut. They exchanged knowing glances that went undetected by almost everyone. I know these flights of fancy well. My nephew has a liking for pretty young women, and pretty young men. That, I have no problems with, but this is not your everyday pretty man. Maleek is the heir to the Prince’s kingdom. They are powerful and extremely wealthy. An entanglement of a frivolous nature could reap tragedy later.
Scowling at my nephew did nothing to curb his behaviour. In fact, he barely noticed my loud tutting or my severe frown. Maleek paid me no heed either. He passed the small jar to the Prince’s warrior servant, and smiling, he moved the door panel and stepped out into the night. Without a backward look, Tallack dropped his cup on an upturned table and followed him. That boy has no shame. What if the coupling of men is an offence in the Prince’s homeland? What if their union damned the pair of them for all time?
I fretted and drank warm ale. Sitting wrapped in my furs opposite that repellent statue, I feared the end of the world. It was only after three more cups and some stale bread and cheese that they returned, flushed in the face and giggling like children. Twisting myself around to see the Prince’s reaction, I found him fast asleep. His guards did not move a muscle. I couldn’t fathom whether it was sheer luck that the Prince had taken too much resin water to notice or whether it was deemed acceptable practice. Either way, my nephew needs to be more discreet in future.
The night wore on and I eventually slept. Jago jogged me awake after dawn when almost all of our things were packed and loaded onto horses on the grassy area outside the Long Hut. It would seem that while I dreamed of curses and demons and grinning statues, Tallack was up early negotiating a compromise with Chief Arundel.
“The deal is simple.” Tallack muttered to me as I mounted a white horse stacked with bags of food and my belongings. “I have agreed to extend any trading voyages to include a stop at their primary port, before sailing for Frynk. That way, I can carry Uncle Arundel’s goods as well as our own.”
“And in return we get a Chief’s son to guide us plus a few horses. That doesn’t seem like a fair deal to me.” I grumbled in an equally low tone.
“It isn’t, but I shall arrange for the trip to go ahead as agreed and delay the delivery of any return goods. By the time he gets his hands on the Prince’s exotic provisions, the fresh stuff will have gone bad. If we continue to drag out the process, he’ll decide that the effort is not worth the long wait for a return on investment.”
“You know you’re craftier than you look.”
He grinned and treated me to a knowing wink. “Right now, that deal has ensured that we retain control of this trip and become Inglond’s first trade partner with the Prince’s people.” Tallack threw his leg up onto the horse behind me. Jago held the pony still by its reins.
“Don’t get too full of yourself. We still have to cross more than five tribal territories before we can deliver our promise, and that’s a lot of tributes and raiding parties to avoid.”
Our procession was surprisingly large when all of Suliaman’s warriors and treasures were loaded onto a cart or the ponies. Tallack rode alongside the wagon that carried the Prince and attached a long hazel pole with a white square of fabric tied at the top. It was the agreed symbol for all tribes in Inglond. It showed scouts and border guards that we were on a peaceful pilgrimage and intended no trouble or harm.
Of course, the banner was often misused, making scouts mistrust the symbol prompting their Chiefs to investigate. Others had successfully crossed tribal lands under the white flag only to cast it aside and launch an attack on fortified compounds when it suited them. In short, the banner was no longer trusted. Cernonnus only knew what those barbarians up in Skotek do to those passing through, whether they bore the flag of truce or not.
Arundel made sure that his eldest son was journeying with us. In the unfortunate event that either Tallack or I fell foul to marauders, Cade would be there to step into the breach and take over the entire trading partnership on behalf of the Cantii. For the whole morning’s ride, I churned over Cade’s character and the likelihood that he might serve us up to the Catuve-Llauni Tribe at the earliest opportunity.
Maleek and Tallack rode along the track together behind the wagon. Their smiles and jostles were clear to everyone in our party. They were more than firm friends. It is probably just as well that Brea fled. I could easily see her slipping hemlock into Maleek’s ale to keep Tallack to herself.
I kicked my heels into my pony, catching up with Cade at the front of our group. “How far is it to the big river on your Northern Border?” I asked.
“At this speed, more than two days. We might be lucky, but it’s likely we’ll have to go around some of the boggier areas.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I’d heard from my father once, that the Cantii were great fishermen. Their rivers wound in loops and bends, and often overflowed into the meadow lands and forests. The region was bordered to the west by their enemies, the Regnenses Tribe who coveted the great river and fought to restrict the Cantii from its banks.
“Can we still cross on your territory?” It was a rude question, one that accused them of losing land to a more ruthless tribe. Cade was sent to ease our way. If the Great River was too wide for our ponies, then we had two options left to us. Either we paid the boatmen to take us across a few at a time, leaving the horses and cart on the southern bank, or we ventured into the Regnenses land to find a narrower crossing.
Cade sucked his teeth, pulling an odd face as he considered his answer. “My scouts tell me that the Regnenses are all overwintering near to the south coast. We’ll be fine inside their borders. They won’t even know that we’ve passed through.”
I could see that whatever I asked him, he would give me a dulled version of the truth, but that was a problem for later. Pulling up on the reins, I slowed my white steed until I drew level with the Prince’s cart. Jago sat next to the giant warrior servant steering the horses. His eyes were fixed on the trail ahead, his posture taut and anxious.
“How’s the Prince doing?” I asked Jago. At first, he pretended not to hear me, cupping his hand to his ear and threatening to jump down from the front of the wagon. I yelled it a second time, adding for him to stay in his seat.
“It’s no trouble for me to walk, Fur Benyn. I do not deserve such fine treatment.”
“You know full well that your lame foot would slow us down. You’ll stay on that cart or we’d be forced to leave you behind.” I looked at his downcast face. I thought he’d like the chance to speak to others from his region of the world, but he seemed intent on avoiding them. “The Prince?”
“Ah yes. He tries to sleep, but the track is bumpy and his stomach does not settle.”
Was it the bumps that made the old man queasy or the over dosing of poppy resin? I’d heard that habitual use can make a man fall for its lure. They can’t think of anything except for when they will next obtain more. For a man as wealthy as Suliaman, the supply was limitless. Too much of the stuff addles more than your brain. If he was taking as much as I predicted, there was every chance that the resin would do him in quicker than the curse. I needed to find a soothing mixture of herbs that would take away the sickness as well as calm his wits. Why the old man even bothered to bring a healer as useless as his is beyond me. The man did nothing but bleed out the Prince’s humours or warm his feet in hot water.
My kit bag of Frynkish medicines ran low of hops. I needed more supplies but none of the things I required grew at this wretched time of the year. Riding back to Cade, I asked him where I might replenish my stocks.
He didn’t answer me straight away. It was as though he was weighing up how desperate my need was for healing herbs. “Can’t you wait till spring comes and collect your own?”
“The Prince needs our help now, and anyway, what if you or Tallack need an ointment or two? Do you know of a healer in your lands who m
ight trade with us?”
He rubbed his chin and bit at his bottom lip. “There are tales of a woman on the eastern fringes of the marshes, between two tributaries of the Swale, but no one ever goes there. Rumour has it that she keeps a pack of wolves to chase off intruders and eats babes in payment for her services.”
I stifled a laugh. “She sounds as though she is fed up with people taking advantage of her kindness. I wonder if the same is said about me across Dumnoni lands? Lead the way, Cade. We won’t get far if the Prince is too sick to travel.”
He grumbled and muttered under his breath.
“You’re surely not frightened of the old healer, are you?” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A grown man, proven warrior and heir to the Cantii, was too scared to approach an old medicine woman in the marshes.
“No, for kyjyan sake. It’ll take us way off course that’s all, and I was hoping to make camp further along our route tonight.”
It was a lame excuse. I yelled over to Tallack, explaining the reason for our diversion. He hardly acknowledged me at all. He and Maleek were busy learning a new and mysterious language of their own, not all of which was spoken.
After a brief stop at the end of a large forest, I grabbed a few evergreen items I thought might come in handy and mounted my horse. Heading north-east, we veered away from the trodden path towards the marsh lands. It was mid-afternoon, and the light was dimming fast. On we trudged, through boggy fields until we reached a riverbank that ended with a large pond.
Cade dismounted. “We stop here for the night. Can’t take the horses and cart any closer.”
“How far away is the medicine woman? I’d like to treat the Prince tonight if I can.” I stayed on my horse, hoping to change his mind.
“I told you. She lives in the marshes. Just you and I go from here by boat.”
I could see him sulking even in the poor light. Sliding down from my horse, I walked across the path to where Jago sat on the wagon, and handed him the reins. “Make sure he’s fed and watered, would you? I’ll go with Cade to get the medicine.”
“Are you sure that you should go, Fur Benyn? I heard the warnings he gave about the strange lady.” Jago looked worn out and in need of a good night’s sleep.
“You think I’m frightened by tall tales? I bet she’s exactly like me.” As the words left my mouth, a deep incessant howl rose from the marshes.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jago’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. The lengthy howl lessened in noise and then stopped.
“By all the gods,” I tutted. “It’s just a wolf. She’s probably got one tamed from birth as a pet. That’ll be where the rumours come from.” I took the tin pouch that Tallack had given me from my bag and tucked it into a pocket in my cloak. Another howl started. This time, it was joined by several other wild hounds. Each tone blended into one chilling noise and the inescapable fact that the medicine woman did keep a pack of wolves.
“See.” Cade said, taking his short sword and wooden shield from his horse. “I’ll go and find a boat.”
Tallack glanced over at his cousin. Their unspoken exchange prompted him to slide from his horse’s back. “I’m coming with you. There are enough guards to keep the Prince safe.
I didn’t argue with him. After all my brash disregard of their rumours, I was ashamed how scared I felt. The Prince’s guards made camp and started a number of fires. I left Jago with my medicine kit and instructions to help Suliaman’s servants with our meal preparation and followed Cade and Tallack to the riverbank. The pair of us waited while Cade wandered upstream to a hut on stilts. By the light of our torches, we could see a dugout boat moored alongside. With a considerable amount of copper exchanged from Cade’s purse, its owner permitted our use. Paddling downstream towards us, Cade threw out a rope for Tallack to catch. We boarded and sat in the water collected in the hull.
“Better put your muscles to work boys or we’ll sink before we get there.” It was my attempt at lightening the tension, but their lack of response told me that it fell on deaf ears. Each of them was concentrating too hard on navigating the tributary downstream, avoiding the rotting masses of bull rushes and weeds collecting in the river. Every so often, the wolf pack would start up their howling. Their echoing cries grew louder the further we paddled.
Holding the lit torch high above my head, I muttered course corrections over my shoulder to guide them as they steered with the oars. As the river widened, the weeds lessened in density, allowing us to speed along with the current towards the ocean. On our left, the boggy land gave way in places to more streams and channels. Without Cade to guide us, I was sure we’d be lost within the marshes. The howling stopped as we rounded a sweeping bend in the river, but the plants on our port side rustled with the movement of animals. The wolves were keeping pace alongside us.
I leaned out to the left with the torch held at arm’s length. That was when I first caught a glimpse of their eyes shining back at me. Gasping with the sheer number, I held my composure. I didn’t want to alert Tallack and Cade to my fear. Beyond another, tighter bend I could see a fire outside a hut. That had to be our destination, for there were no other dwellings visible in the darkness and the tidal waters were receding. This was the most remote homestead I’d ever seen. Long poles stuck out of the water supporting various animal skulls. Carcasses of crows and rabbits lay in bloodied messes across the grasses - interrupted wolf snacks.
“Where do we land?” I asked, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.
“We don’t. The moment we set foot on dry ground; her wolves will rip us to shreds.” Cade grumbled. Before I could protest, he called out towards the hut. “Ho there! We come to trade.”
We all looked towards the hut, expecting the medicine woman to appear in the doorway. Instead, a croaky voice echoed across the water from behind us on the bank. “Be gone from here. You bring a deathly curse to these marshes.”
I snapped my head back to see her silhouetted against the light of the fire. Her shape was not as wizened or frail as I expected. She appeared to be hearty and filled with vigour. A massive black wolf stood at her side, snarling and baring its teeth. I was so entranced by her sight that I had not paid attention to her words.
Tallack had though. “How could she have known about the Prince and his curse? She must truly be a mystical seer.”
Cade nodded his agreement. “I told you so. This was a bad idea all around. We should leave before she gives us a curse of her own making.”
“I need those supplies. There’s bound to be a reasonable explanation for this. She probably has scouts watching our every move and reporting back to her.” I said, determined not to be bested by one of my own kind. I shouted above Tallack’s head. “Ho there. We are in need of medicine and ingredients. We have metal to trade. Can you help us?”
The snarling and snapping increased. The old woman chuckled at its posturing, patting the evil creature between its ears. “You have made a foolish mistake.” We waited for more, but she seemed to have finished her reproach.
“In coming here, you mean?” Cade yelled back.
We’d drifted so close that I could feel the spittle flying from the wolf’s maw as it snapped and growled. Her arm shot out in front of her, pointing directly at me. “The dark one you lead will be your undoing. He will take that which you love the most, turning your heart to stone.”
“What nonsense.” I scoffed. “You saw us coming from quite a distance, didn’t you?”
“Don’t be so quick to judge, Meliora. Folks around here say she’s a powerful seer.” Cade rasped and wheezed at me, as though he could stop the old crone from hearing him. It was the first time he’d used my proper name. It pulled me up sharp.
“I need valerian and hops, plus mallow seeds and roots. If you can spare any soured apple juice and dried thistle tops, I’d appreciate a trade for those too.” I shouted up to her, ignoring her show of doom.
“You’re a healer then?” She said, silencing the wolf with a
single hand gesture.
“I am medicine woman to the Chieftains of the Dumnonii, friend to the Cantii. We travel with a foreigner to the Callanish stones at the top of the world.” The explanation seemed to alter her defensive stance.
“I’ve got all that you seek, barring the juice. I can’t spare that. Took more than three cycles to make, but I can give you a little of the murky cloud from within it and you can sour your own.” She did not move, despite the willingness to trade.
“Appreciate that. We have tin or copper in exchange. Call off your creatures and we’ll settle up on the bank there.” I said, thrusting my torch towards the drooling wolf.
“No. You stay right there or no deal shall be made. I can bundle your goods and fling them to you. Throw the tin up here and I shall take what is fair.”
Tallack grumbled and moaned, tipping out the majority of his tin nuggets into his lap and leaving what he deemed to be a fair quantity. “How can we trust that you’ll give us the herbs?”
She shrugged. “Do you want the stuff or not?” Holding out her hand she waited for him to toss over the tin pouch. She was surprisingly nimble as she stepped closer to the edge to catch the metal. With a curt word to the wolf to stay, she turned and walked towards her hut.
“That’s the last we’ll see of her.” Cade muttered.
I snorted at him in annoyance, but I admit, the thought crossed my mind too. We waited for what seemed like forever, hoping that she was true to her word. When Tallack and Cade had all but given up on her ever returning, she appeared in the doorway clutching a number of herb bundles and a wooden lidded beaker sealed with birch sap.
“Hold out your oar.” She called out to Tallack. “There ain’t no more if you drop it.” She warned, balancing one item at a time on the flat of the rowing pole. My nephew gradually pulled the oar in, holding it as steady as he could. Three times this was repeated, until I had all that I needed in my possession.
