Pagan Siege (Tribes of Britain Book 5)

by Sam Taw

  A third bolt flew and stuck in the ground, but no more. With so few arrows in flight, it was probably just one scout on the trail. That seemed to be my nephew’s assessment too, as he called out from behind the tree.

  “Tell Kenver that I’m prepared to talk. Let us speak together like men. This can all be resolved over ale around the fire. We will be waiting for him at the beach.” He yelled it loud enough to be heard in the next valley. We waited for more arrows, but none were fired. After a short time, the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves told us that the scout was moving fast. With caution, we moved from our cover and hurried back down the slope to the water’s edge. The men caught up with me in no time at all.

  “They must be encamped at the top of the ridge.” Massen exclaimed, picking at his shoulder wound. “Why else would they be defending that trail?”

  Ren approached with a number of trout suspended from the end of a pole. “What did I miss?”

  “A single archer trying to pick a few of us off.” Tallack said, scratching his chin. “What would they be defending up there? Are there any mine shafts in this valley?” He looked at Ren and Massen who both shrugged, and then at me. “Aunt Mel? You spent more time here last winter than any of us. What’s so special about this region?”

  I thought about his question for a few moments. I couldn’t recall any signs of tunnels at all. This was the area of the forest where the best timber for props was felled. “Do you think the scout was sent to deliberately misdirect you? If you spend all your time searching here, you are ignoring whatever they are doing in the next valley.”

  Ren sucked in his lips to stifle a smile. I probably should have worded it better than that, but I was a bit shaken and keen to be back on the beach.

  Tallack nodded slowly. “Go on, Aunt Mel. Tell us where you think they’ll be.”

  “Where the tin is, of course, at the top of the next valley where the smelters live. There are a number of shelters not far from the mine entrances. There’s a good water supply and access to the cliff tops.” If I had overstepped my boundaries again, I didn’t care. We were standing in a clearing between the trees. It was not particularly sensible to give the Alchemists another chance to fill us with arrows.

  I’d said all I had planned to say. Without waiting for my nephew to make a decision, I turned on my heels and trudged back the way we came. Ren tramped after me, grinning with pride. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of my stand against Tallack, or from his skill at fishing. At least we would eat well.

  Sometime in the afternoon, Tallack announced that we would make use of the empty huts rather than camp out on the beach. I wasn’t sure how happy I was about this declaration. I felt safer on the beach surrounded by guards and fires, but I knew that it was a temporary arrangement. I also knew that there would be little room to spare at full tide when Kitto arrived with all the men and horses. We’d have no choice but to move further inland for water and grazing. How long would this standoff take to resolve?

  If Tallack could get to speak directly with Kenver, and a deal struck to avoid conflict, then Kitto could turn about and ride home to the island compound on the River Exe. If not, then who knew how long we would have to stay?

  On our way back through the huts, I found Kewri wandering out of the bushes, tying the fastenings of his leggings. How is it that he always needs to move his bowels at the worst possible time? I thrust my water bladder into his arms. “Make yourself useful. Fill up as many bladders as you can carry from the spring just beyond the bridge on the opposite side of the river. The track is well worn so you should find it without trouble.”

  “But…” He curled his lip in confusion, pointing to the fresh water tributary flowing into the main river.

  “No buts, my lad. We need water straight from the rocks. I’m not falling for the whole tainted water supply again.” As I said it, Tallack walked by, chucking his water bladder to Kewri.

  “Fill mine too.” The Chief said, encouraging all his men to copy him. I had to chuckle, watching the giant juggling slippery bladders in his arms as he lumbered over the bridge. It was the only sensible thing to do. The winter ague carried off so many people from both Kenver’s clan and our own before we found the source of the contamination.

  It was also how Tallack and his brother came to part ways with the Priest Sect. He'd banished them to the moors after killing their clan leader for tying festering goat carcasses in the water upstream. I recalled how I’d thought we’d seen the back of the priests. Now Tallack was all set to bind himself to one.

  Ren descaled and gutted the fish, while the men chopped wood to keep the fires burning. Massen persuaded Tallack to spend one more night on the beach before moving the camp into the huts. His reasoning was to allow Kenver the chance to take up the Chief’s offer to talk. None of us believed that the Alchemist would do so after all his effort to prevent us from retaking control of the mines. I offered to patch up Massen’s shoulder but he declined saying that it was only a scratch. A little splash with sea water and he was content to let it air out.

  The body of our young watchman was more of an immediate problem. The flies were gathering in large numbers and there were few places to keep the corpse cool. It wouldn’t be long before it’d stink up the place. The men were reluctant to go near it, in case the Morrighan should mark them as next in line to fall. I must admit, it did give me pause to think that the longer we stayed, the greater the likelihood that Kenver’s men would kill us all by stealth.

  The fish was cooked in no time at all, and wolfed down by the men even quicker. With their bellies silenced for a while, Tallack was keen to approach the narrower valley before nightfall. Ren tried to talk him out of it, but he was determined.

  “We have no idea whether their entire clan is up there or only some of them.” Ren kept his voice low so that only a few of us could hear. “For all we know, we could be utterly surrounded.”

  My gut twisted into a knot. Perhaps I should have stayed on the ship. What use was I at times like this? I didn’t want the men to put themselves in further danger just to protect me.

  “That’s why we need to walk up the ravine.” Tallack hissed back. “Let’s see for ourselves where that traitorous kyjyan and his men are hiding so that we may rest in our furs more easily.” The Chief had a point. Without further exploration to get an idea of what we were up against, we were sitting ducks.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Tallack was in no mood to listen to our opinions. Neither Ren nor I were in his circle of advisers. If only Senara had sailed with us instead of riding over land with Kitto. She was exactly what the situation required. I’d never known a better scout than her. I looked about me at the men. They were without doubt brilliant sailors and loyal to a fault but they were clumsy on land. None could match her for stealth.

  What surprised me the most, was Tallack’s solution to the problem. In Senara’s absence, he chose young Treeve to take her place.

  “You’re small and wily, Treeve.” The Chief said. “Creep up the gorge as far as you’re able. Count their watchers, take note of their positions, and what defences are in our way. Can you do that for me?” He stood close to his lover and smiled down on the lad. I didn’t know whether to be horrified at Tallack’s lack of regard for the crewman’s life or proud that he would put someone he loved in harm’s way to protect the tribe’s best interests. After all this time of distrusting the lad, I suddenly feared for him.

  Treeve squeezed the Chief’s arm and smiled. “You can count on me.” He scooped up his weapons, took his water bladder from Kewri, and then ran off beyond the headland into the valley.

  The waiting was the hard part, especially knowing that at any moment, we could be overrun by angry miners with their sinewy strength and tenacity. These folks were hardier than any other in our tribe. They toiled come rain or shine, deep underground, hammering, scraping, choking, and dying. It wasn’t hard to see why they resented us.

  We profited and lived a bountiful lif
e based on their labour, although my time with Kenver during the winter made me see that he was indifferent to their rough treatment. Our Chief’s laid down a minimum age for the younger miners. Their laws ensured that those youngsters who were required to support their families stayed above ground, breaking and sorting rocks, assisting the smelters and so on, but I saw children no more than six summers underground.

  Kenver had no intention of protecting the young, unless they were his kin. Their little hands were raw and bloody from picking at the seams with antlers and dragging the ore to the surface. We had no idea what promises their leader had made to gain their support in the rebellion. If there was a slim possibility of a better life, I don’t blame them for taking the chance.

  I stayed close to the fires on the beach, searching for razor clams or buried crabs, anything to add to the pot. Ren and Kewri loitered close by. I was always under their watchful eyes. To be honest, I was glad that they cared. At nightfall, I returned to the most central fire and sat opposite Tallack. I could see that he was fretting about Treeve but doing his best not to let it show. He chewed at the sides of his nails, stood up and paced for a while, and then sat back in the same sandy depression as before.

  The three whistles sounded from the cliff tops, indicating a change in the guards. Those whose turn it was to replace them, hurried off to the path at the edge of the headland. A short time later, those who had finished their watch, returned to the beach. There was still no sign of Treeve.

  When the moon rose, the tide went fully out exposing a large tract of wet sand. I needed time away from the men. They were offensive in many respects, from their bawdy tales of the marshland women to their smell.

  You’d think being so close to the sea that they’d rinse themselves down after a long day of sweating. “Kewri, can you come and hold a torch for me? I want to see if I can’t rake some cockles down there.” I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder, indicating my intention to forage at the low water mark in the dark. He slipped in the loose sand as he attempted to stand up, falling on his backside with a thump.

  Ren tapped his shoulder. “I’ll go lad. You get some sleep before your watch.” I had a feeling Ren would volunteer to help me. It was like we were the only two elders in the world, looking out for one another in this harsh land.

  I held the torch close to the ground, searching for bumps and bubbles in the smooth shoreline where the shellfish pumped out waste water but it was almost impossible to see. Ren dug about with a spear in the hope of hitting something edible but there was not much to be had. I suspected that Kenver had already stripped the beach of food before we arrived.

  The night wore on and with another watchman change, Treeve still had not returned. Tallack sat gazing at the dancing flames, picking his calloused hands in silence. Every now and then, he strolled along the guarded section of the dunes before settling back down by the fires.

  I too found it hard to sleep despite the cooler temperature and the gentle breeze. Late into the night, I did manage to drop off, but it wasn’t enough to revive my spirits. Ren was already plucking a couple of wildfowl from the wetlands further along the bay when I awoke.

  “Treeve?” I asked him. Ren shook his head. “He’s not…?”

  “Not that we know of, just hasn’t returned.” Ren’s face dropped into sadness. “But we did lose two more men last night.”

  “Is Kewri safe?” I shot up from my sandy bed in a panic.

  Ren looked up and pointed to my giant friend wandering back from the dunes. It took quite some time for my heart to stop racing in my chest. He smiled at me as if to say, always fussing. “It was a couple of our youngest crewmen, both shot through the back with arrows.” Ren took out his anger on the dead bird, ripping great handfuls of feathers from its corpse in rapid strokes and plunging them into a sack.

  “Where’s the Chief?” I got to my feet and dusted myself down.

  “Arranging for the funeral pyre. Doesn’t look like this mess will be resolved for a while, so we can’t take the bodies back to their families.”

  I understood why he was so upset. These were sailors who looked up to Ren, learned from him and took their values from his actions. One day, they would have taken his place in the Sea Warriors as navigators and wily traders. Our numbers were declining at an alarming rate. “I did manage to persuade Tallack to wait until Kitto and the Hunters arrive before we venture into the woods again.”

  That was something for which to be grateful. This headstrong and arrogant side of my nephew was hard to stomach, especially when his decisions led to loss of lives. With a great many more men, Kenver might just agree to talks instead of this bloody uprising. When Tallack wandered back to the fireside he approached me.

  “Aunt Mel, how well do you remember the position of the mine shafts in the gorge?”

  “Fairly well, I’d say, although some were new and shallow, whilst others looked to be much older and deeper, with many interconnecting branches. I only went inside a couple, and not far at that. Kenver usually had the injured person carried closer to the entrance for me to treat.”

  The Chief unsheathed the huge greying sword from its scabbard and passed it to me. “Can you draw it in the sand?”

  It was a tall order, considering I could barely wield the heavy weapon and my memory of the tunnels was patchy at best. Most mines ran next to each other from a single external path, with one man gouging out the rock, and a small boy or girl shovelling out the ore. The deepest cuts were on the left side of the tributary and low in the valley. I suggested that as the ore became scarce, new tunnels were created further up the ravine on both sides. I did my best to score a rudimentary map into the wet sand, but it was hardly accurate.

  Tallack pulled at his whiskers, frowning. “So how are they able to fetch clean water or food without coming down to the river?”

  “The whole area is riddled with fresh water streams that pop up from the rock face. I wouldn’t imagine it difficult for them to store dried meat strips, grain, and roots, especially since they’ve had unlimited access to tin for trade with passing ships.”

  No one liked what I had to say. They all scoffed and moaned, kicking at the sand and spitting, before walking away. Did they really think that someone as bright and knowledgeable as Kenver would hide in the tunnels without fresh water or provisions?

  Tallack gave the men orders. Some were to secure a boundary around the huts at the foot of the headland, others were sent out to hunt for and gather food. More warriors were tasked with fletching new arrows or building the pyre. With all the warriors occupied, there was little for me to do.

  My nephew instructed me to stay by the fires until I could move into one of the huts. Left alone with my thoughts, I started to imagine all sorts of unpleasant fates for young Treeve. If he’d been injured, it was unlikely that we would find him in the dense woodland of the gorge since calling out would make him a target for the Alchemists. If, however, he’d been killed or worse still, captured, I was convinced my nephew would not recover from the loss.

  It was late afternoon when Kitto arrived with Senara and the Head Hunters. They must have ridden the horses hard to cover that distance in less than three days. I first saw a glimmer of them on the top of the cliffs, when the guards whistled down to gain our attention. Not long after that, they dismounted and walked the horses down the steep path and around the headland.

  Both the warriors and their ponies glistened with sweat. A few of them made straight for the river. Many of the younger ones were not aware of the brackish water. I watched them stoop low and cup their hands in the water before slurping it into their mouths. It was hard not to laugh, as each of them blew out the salty liquid, spraying one another in the process.

  Ren directed them to a fresh water source, just beyond the settlement, where the Sea Warriors took it in turns to stand guard. I was relieved to see so many of our people, ready to fight for what was ours. Tallack made a point of welcoming Kitto, grabbing his forearm tightly and pulling him into
a manly hug. Both men had healed well from their fight and seemed keen to deal with Kenver’s clan.

  I loitered outside the hut that Tallack had selected for himself, watching Kitto enter before the Chief. Tallack looked about at those of us gathered, considering which of us he would consult. After a short time, he called on Massen to join them. The three leaders requested the presence of no others, which I found to be most disheartening. Massen had a sound head on his shoulders, but my concerns about Kitto’s ambition had not abated. Whatever suggestions he made, would be in order to benefit himself more than the tribe.

  Try as I might, I was not able to hear their discussion and all my attempts to get close to the door were for nought. Kitto’s men stood guard outside preventing my entry. Slinking back the way I’d walked, Ren and Kewri met me outside the largest of the huts. It was the same one that I’d stayed in before with Tallack’s mother.

  Ren pulled back the door drapes and gestured for me to go inside. I looked up at Kewri.

  “I’ll um…” The giant muttered. “I’ll stay in that one over there with the men.” He seemed almost embarrassed. There was more than enough room for us all. I don’t know why he should want to share with those stinking warriors. When I got inside, Ren had collected bedstraw for the bunks and logs for the fire. Not that we needed one with the heat funnelling in up the valley. The waterfowl were plucked and gutted and ready for the pot. He’d even found some green linden twigs for me to clean my teeth and a solitary clay pot filled with cool water from the spring. It was a proper home from home.

  We built a fire outside the house on which to cook. I suggested another stew to eke out the birds, but Ren said he could find more. A little roasted fowl would brighten our spirits no end. While I took care of the cooking, Ren stood outside Tallack’s hut with some of the other men, waiting to hear their plans. At nightfall, Ren returned.