“That’s Dwytrefrhaedr?” she shouted over the noise of the waterfall, pointing towards their destination.
“Yes, one part anyway. The other part is at the top of the cliff,” Heulwen replied, also pointing, but to the top of the cliff beside where the water poured over the edge. September stared.
“Two towns?” she hollered.
“Two towns by the waterfall, Dwytrefrhaedr,” Heulwen replied, although her words were almost lost in the noise of the waterfall.
“How do you get up there?” September asked, staring up at the impossibly sheer cliff face.
“By basket, look,” again Heulwen pointed but this time to something halfway between the lake and the top of the waterfall. The boat was closer now to the dark cliff. Even though it was in the shadow of the afternoon sun, September could just make out two tiny objects moving almost imperceptibly, one rising, one falling. It’s a sort of cable car, she thought.
The oars rattled in their rowlocks as the oarsmen ceased rowing. September dragged her attention away from the cliff just as the boat coasted into a jetty. It was the only one free. There were dozens of the pontoons jutting at right-angles from the shore. The others were filled with boats of all shapes and sizes including two of the large barges like the Gleisiad and Dyfrgi. There were people waiting to grab ropes handed over by the oarsmen and a crowd was assembling on the shoreline and along the other jetties. When the boat was tied fast Heulwen stood up and stepped onto the wooden landing. She held out a hand towards September. She took it grudgingly and hauled herself out of the boat. Heulwen guided her along until they reached the quayside and the crowd. September was suddenly aware that it had been many days since she had last been surrounded by people, not counting the crazed zombies of Glanyrafon. She had often felt uncomfortable in the company of a lot of people, thinking that they were looking at her and commenting on her fatness or how stupid she looked. It was silly she knew – people in a crowd had other things on their minds – but now being the centre of attention and after what had happened she felt vulnerable, even afraid. The mind-numbing noise of the waterfall and the pressing crowd made her dizzy. Heulwen seemed to sense her reluctance to walk through the throng and grabbed her hand.
“Make way for Heulwen and the Cludydd,” someone called and a passage opened up across the stone ground. They came to the door of one of the buildings that lined the harbour. The building appeared as if it was part of the cliff as it was built from the same rock. They stepped inside and Heulwen closed the heavy wooden door on the masses that pushed and shoved behind them. They stood in a cool, dimly lit room, the noise of the waterfall dulled by the thick walls and door. There were a few chairs and a table. September stared back at the door, still hearing the muffled sounds of the crowd beyond.
“How do they know who I am?” September said in a loud whisper in Heulwen’s ear.
“The word was spread when we called for volunteers to row to your rescue.”
“Why?”
“The boatmen were afraid. Your battle with the Malevolence could be seen and heard even here.”
“Seen and heard?”
“Yes, the blue light of the starstone lit up the sky even through the morning mist and the thunder of its force echoed along the gorge.”
“I didn’t realise.”
“Few of the people of Dwytrefrhaedr would dare face the evil but for the four brave men who rowed me to you.” Heulwen glowed with pride.
“And you of course. You were brave.”
Heulwen waved her hand.
“Oh, I had the power of aur, and the skills my father has taught me to protect myself.”
“You are a cludydd?”
“I am... I will be,” for a moment Heulwen seemed flustered, “I am my father’s apprentice.”
September was taken aback but Heulwen’s manner began to fall into place. Her father was a powerful man, perhaps the most powerful in the Land, and if she had inherited even some of his skill with the gold then she had some reason to feel superior. September felt that it may explain her manner if not justify it.
“Please sit,” Heulwen continued, “someone will bring food and drink and you can rest here until we journey to the Arsyllfa.”
September sat in an armchair grateful for the first comfortable seat on dry land in nearly three weeks. The chair was made of wood but padded with cloth-covered cushions. She felt safe, but was she?
“Are we, am I, safe here?” she drew her cloak around her.
“I am here to protect you,” Heulwen said holding herself erect, her hand grasping her gold brooch, “and there will be others here to defend you.”
“But?”
Heulwen sagged a little and looked away from September.
“The Malevolence grows stronger and could attack at anytime, anywhere,” she recovered herself and faced September again, “but we will defeat it.”
A door opened on the opposite side of the room from their entrance and a woman came in holding a tray of food. She was followed by a short man with greying hair and a developing paunch. He carried a short sword not unlike the one that rested beside September’s thigh. The woman placed the tray on the table next to September, smiled and blushed then turned and left.
“Ah, good,” Heulwen began, “this is Iddig, cludydd o haearn and leader of the guardians of Dwytrefrhaedr.”
Iddig nodded to September who examined him with some surprise. He didn’t look like a fierce warrior.
“It is an honour to welcome you to our towns, Cludydd,” he said.
“Iddig will stay with you while you eat,” Heulwen said, and immediately left the room. Iddig pulled a chair closer to September’s and sat down.
“Where has she gone?” September asked, wondering how much she should trust this new acquaintance. She felt alone despite all the people around her.
Iddig surveyed the array of bread, cheese, meats, vegetables and fruit on the tray before taking a hunk of bread.
“Who knows? She looks after her own business does that one.”
September realised that she was hungry too and selected a smaller slice of bread and some cheese and salad leaves.
“She’s the Mordeyrn’s daughter,” she said.
“Aye, don’t we all know it.”
“Is she in charge here?”
“Thinks she is,” Iddig rolled up a slice of meat and squeezed it into his mouth, “Heulwen likes to act as if she is the Mordeyrn’s deputy not just his daughter, but as she said, I’m in charge of defence against evil.”
“Have you been attacked?”
“A few times in the last year, Adarllwchgwin have raided us, but we’re well protected here underneath the cliff with our stone houses. The Hafn Afon Deheuol is different. Many boats have been attacked while travelling through the gorge,” he reached for a peach and bit into it, “and that is how the evil affects us all. Trade has almost stopped and we rely on trade for everything here. People are afraid and don’t trust others anymore.”
September nodded, it was the same story that Cynddylig had told. The Malevolence was seeping into the society of Gwlad making everyone fear everyone else. Thinking about Cynddylig and the evil that was everywhere suddenly filled her with dread. She shivered.
“What is the matter, Cludydd? Are you unwell?”
September could not stop herself sobbing.
“I’m sorry, it’s just everything got to me. This whole Malevolence thing.”
“But you have met and defeated the Malevolence. We saw the signs this morning.” Iddig said.
September was sombre.
“Yes, we met the Malevolence. But I wouldn’t say we defeated it. Cynddylig died.”
“Old Cynddylig the boatman?”
“Yes. Did you know him?”
“Did I know him? Everyone in the twin towns knew that old rascal. Always a miserable bugger, but give him an ale and a willing woman and he was happy. The finest boatman on the Deheuol,” Iddig subsided, “He’s dead?”
“Yes,”
September said sadly, “He guided us nearly all the way here and then I failed him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t use the stone quickly enough. If I had I could have destroyed the Ceffyl dwr before the wave covered us and overturned our boat. Cynddylig drowned.”
“He never did learn to swim. Said that he was boatman not a fish,” Iddig laid his broad arms around September’s shoulders, “tell me all about it, your journey, and this fine cloak you are wearing.”
September looked down at the silver cloak wrapped around her.
“This was supposed to protect us.”
“What is it? I don’t recognise its manufacture.”
“It was made by the two cludydd in Amaethaderyn. Aurddolen instructed them to use the two metals; I can’t remember what you call them, tin and lead.”
“Ah, alcam and plwm. I think I understand.”
“Mixed together and made into this cloak the metals were supposed to shield me and the stone from the Malevolence.”
“I can see the Mordeyrn’s thinking behind it. Did it work?”
“I don’t know. We ran into evil things along the river when I had to get the stone out and use it to defend us. Aurddolen thinks that sent a signal to the Malevolence and attracted the monsters to our route.”
“Tell me about it.”
September warmed to this genial guard and began to recount all the battles they had fought along the river, Tudfwlch’s conversion to evil and the final attack by the Adarllwchgwin, the Pwca and the Ceffyl dwr. At the end she felt exhausted.
“I think you have shown you are a worthy bearer of the Maengolauseren. Not one of us could have fought off so many of the evil manifestations as you have done.”
September smiled weakly.
“I’ve been lucky. I don’t really know what I’m doing with this stone,” she touched the pendant beneath her cloak, “and I worry what will happen next time.”
“Next time?”
“The next time I’m attacked. There will be a next time, I know it.” She decided not to mention the warning her birthmark gave her, late though it was.
“Yes, well of course, the Malevolence is growing in strength. Unless the Mordeyrn and the other Prif-cludydd, and you of course, can devise a plan to overcome it, we’re all going to be attacked more often. But that is why we must get you safely to the Arsyllfa as soon as possible and why I must protect you.”
“But that is just what I am afraid of. The people who help me get hurt, like Eluned, or killed like Tudfwlch and Cynddylig. I know I am the focus of these monsters’ attacks. If the Malevolence, whatever it is, finds where I am no one around me is safe,” she paused and sniffed, “Heulwen just thought it was exciting.”
“That girl doesn’t understand what you have been– um, are going through. Heulwen does not have a fraction of the power that you have, and I bet she knows it. She is envious of her father’s position and seeks it for herself one day. Be wary that she does not lead you into danger through her lust for glory.”
“But what if the Malevolence attacks?”
“I and my guardians are equipped to deal with them. As you have found, the attacks can occur at anytime, anywhere, regardless of whether you are a special target. We are prepared. If we are attacked then your power will be a welcome addition to our own, but you can’t take responsibility for our lives. They are our own concerns. Now rest my girl.”
September closed her eyes, grateful for Iddig’s reassurance, and despite her unease was soon asleep.
September was awoken by sounds of the rustling of a long dress and Heulwen’s petulant voice.
“Oh, you’re asleep. There’s no time for that.”
September really wanted to ignore the girl and continue her doze, but she guessed that Heulwen probably wouldn’t allow her to do that. She opened her eyes and saw the girl standing with her arms on her hips glaring impatiently.
“At last,” she said. “We have to move.”
“Where to?”
“We are going to the upper town, right now.”
“To the top of the cliff? In that basket thing?”
“Yes.”
“Why can’t I stay here, just for a while?”
“Because my father’s house is in the upper town. We need to be there to prepare for our journey to the Arsyllfa. Father wants you there as soon as possible.”
September groaned and got to her feet. She saw that Iddig had been sitting in another chair. He too rose.
“I’ll escort you two ladies to the elevator,” he said.
“Thank you, Iddig. I will enjoy your company,” September said. Iddig opened the door onto the quay and Heulwen swept out. September hurried after her but paused as the noise of the waterfall hit her with its full might. At least her rest had revived her. She saw that the sun had sunk lower in the sky so she must have been asleep for an hour or two. Telling the time by the sun’s position had become almost automatic during her journey.
There were four men equipped like Iddig with short swords standing by the house. They were presumably Iddig’s guardians. They didn’t look like a particularly well-trained military force but they came to attention when they saw Iddig and gathered around them. There were fewer people on the quay but those that were soon clustered around them. Heulwen ignored them and strode off in the direction of the waterfall. Iddig stood by September’s side, fending off the growing crowd and instructing his men to keep close.
“We had better keep up with the lady,” he shouted. September nodded and hurried along by his side.
They walked around the edge of the lake towards the basket lift she had seen from the boat. Now she had a chance to look around the lower of the two towns. It was really just a single row of stone buildings on a flat bed of rock no more than twenty metres wide. The buildings were built right against the cliff face. September wondered whether they were indeed dug into the cliff itself. There were not enough buildings to house all the people that thronged the quay and the jetties. She wondered where they all lived, not many of the boats tied up at the jetties were suitable for living aboard. Looking up at the cliff that towered over them she saw the answer. Between the stone buildings, ladders reached up to caves cut in the cliff with neat doorways and windows. There were three or four stories of the cliff dwellings linked by ladders and walkways that clung precariously to the rock face. September was rather glad that Heulwen had not taken her up the rickety looking ladders.
A few minutes brisk walk brought them to the lift. September was amused that Iddig had called it an elevator when all it looked like was a wicker basket with a rope attached. Just half a dozen people could fit in the lift and fewer if there was any luggage. September bent her head back following the line of the rope as it rose vertically to the top of the cliff. She couldn’t see the rope after about halfway but she could just make out something sticking out from the top of the cliff.
An old man stood by the empty basket. Heulwen stepped up a flight of wooden steps and into the basket. She beckoned to September. It was no use trying to speak as the noise of the waterfall, the edge of which was a continuous pillar of water just tens of metres away, drowned all speech. September climbed into the basket. It hardly seemed strong enough to hoist them a thousand metres into the air, but Iddig and one of his guards joined them. The wicker was lined on the inside with a waxed cloth. The old man pulled on a thin cord which also ran up to the top of the cliff. A few moments later the basket lurched. September grabbed hold of the side of the basket as they were hoisted off the ground. In a few moments September had a view of the lower town of Dwytrefrhaedr, the narrow row of buildings tucked under the cliff, the equally narrow waterfront and the rows of boats moored at the jetties. There were lots of people, working on the boats, hurrying to and from the buildings and up and down the ladders to the cave dwellings. She looked out across the lake to the opening to the gorge, almost invisible through the spray from the waterfall that roared next to her. Conversation on the journey w
as impossible so she continued to look around. Her eyes roved across the sky looking for huge winged monsters but the only birds were small water birds that occasionally dived into the lake.
As the buildings and boats of the lower town shrank to the size of toys, September began to feel worried. She looked up at the rope to check for any sign of fraying, not that there was anything she could do about it. Her companions seemed untroubled and rested against the sides of the basket unconcerned by the immense height that they were rising to. Looking up September saw an object descending on top of them. Her heart leapt for a moment before she realised that it was the other basket on its way down. It passed by very close and fast. There were no passengers, but as it dropped below them September could see water sloshing inside the basket acting as a counterbalance to their weight.
Now September could see where they were heading, a structure built out over the edge of the cliff and a wheel that the rope passed over. It was still small and silhouetted against the sky which would have been clear blue but for the spray from the waterfall that hung in the air above them. The water was settling on her and as they rose September became cool. She wrapped her cloak around herself to keep dry and warm.
The town below had become tiny and the people invisible while the structure above them grew. The basket slowed its rise for the last few metres until they drew level with a platform that jutted out from the cliff. Heulwen climbed the steps out of the basket and stepped onto the wooden platform. She gestured impatiently to September to follow. September felt very nervous about stepping across the gap between the basket and the platform. It may have been just a few centimetres wide but she could still look down to the bottom of the gorge a thousand metres below. A man took her hand and guided her from the basket. She was thankful that there was a fence on the side of the wooden platform and she was able to step quickly onto safe, solid rock. The wheel that held the weight of the two baskets and the rope was a couple of metres in diameter and connected by an axle, itself about a metre broad, to a much larger wheel, half of which disappeared into the ground. Two narrow channels carried water from the river to the sides of the wheel. A man stood by each channel.
Seventh Child Page 21
