Shadow Lands Trilogy

by Simon Lister

  ‘It can be hauled back inside the gate,’ Ruadan said, pointing to the two large, spoked wheels on drums inside gate.

  ‘Two hundred yards further on is a smaller gap in the Causeway. It’s cut much steeper than this one and a simple bridge covers the span, it too can be hauled back once crossed which should give us time to cross this one in good order if we’re being pursued.

  ‘Excellent,’ Cei said, ‘is there any way we can get covered platforms out to either side of this gap below us for bowmen to stop any attempts to bridge it?’

  Ruadan turned to Hengest for his opinion and the younger warrior studied the terrain, ‘Perhaps, I’ll have to look closer. If we could run walkways out from the two corners of the East Wall to platforms supported by bushels. Roof them with fire-hardened wood. Perhaps. I’ll look at it straight away.’

  ‘Good,’ Arthur said, ‘unless they come by sea, which isn’t likely, they’ll have to attack along here. Anything that any of you can think of to help defend this Causeway then suggest it. They’ll certainly outnumber us so the Causeway is our best defence, if they get past here then they’ll be in Britain and gods help us then.’

  Arthur turned to look at the cliffs behind them, ‘What about defences on the cliff path and at the top?’

  They discussed various options. Hengest went to talk to his carpenters. Warriors were sent out to bring in more wood for the construction of defences. Arthur and the others retired from the wall and went to one of the longhouses that stood within the compound for a meal.

  On his way across, Balor who had stayed at the Crossing with Ruadan, shouted out to Arthur, ‘When are we going to get to cut down some of these Adren instead of trees?’

  ‘Soon enough and more than enough,’ Arthur called back to him. Balor rubbed his hands together and beamed at Elowen and Tomas who had been listening to Ethain talk excitedly about the Veiled City. Balor had not believed much of what Ethain had said, despite Morgund’s previous corroboration, and what little he had believed had only further darkened his suspicions of the Cithol. He pointed out that living underground just wasn’t natural and when Ethain had enthused about the strange lighting in the city Balor had just muttered oaths to ward off evil. Elowen was mortified to have missed seeing the Veiled City and she feigned disinterest. Ethain felt robbed that only Tomas seemed to find his journey as impressive as he himself thought it was.

  Arthur entered the longhouse with the others and sat next to Ceinwen who was eating with Morgund and Leah.

  ‘Mar’h?’ Arthur enquired of her.

  ‘I’ve given him something to help him sleep, his arm’s not good.’

  ‘Perhaps you should give something to Tamsyn too,’ Arthur suggested.

  ‘Merdynn’s with her now. She’s distraught – losing her brother...’ her voice trailed off and she turned her attention back to her food. She had tried to keep as much company as she could in an effort to distract herself from her own grief and to some extent it had worked but she only ended up feeling guilty whenever her thoughts came back to her loss. She felt she ought to be grieving more openly but she only seemed to be able to weep for her dead when she was alone. She wondered if part of the reason for that was her desire to fit in with the war band and not have them think of her as another victim unable to cope with death and therefore of little use to them. It depressed her to realise that there was more than a grain of truth in that thought; she had thought she was strong enough not to have to rely upon other peoples’ opinion but it appeared that that too was only a vain deceit.

  Arthur was imagining how he would have felt if Trevenna had been killed. He put it to one side, there would be more death to come and it was better to concentrate on how to minimise that.

  Ruadan sat the other side of Ceinwen and in an effort to take her thoughts from her family she began to tell him about the Veiled City. Around them the others were weighing the arguments for various alterations and additions to the defences of the Causeway.

  Arthur was concerned about being outflanked. Merdynn had assured him that the Adren were unlikely to undertake a sea crossing. Their homeland was landlocked and he did not think they had anything like the craft or knowledge to build ships to transport a large army across the sea. If Merdynn was right then the only way into Britain was across the Causeway. Everything depended upon holding the Adren here but he wanted to be sure of a retreat route should it prove necessary. Being trapped would be the worst disaster of all. He asked Cei about the conditions in the marshes in mid-winter. Would it all freeze over? Could the Adren by-pass or surround them? Apparently it depended on the local weather. The water level dropped in the winter and less of the waterways were in constant flow so during a cold blizzard with the wind from the East the marshes often froze over despite it being mainly seawater in the channels. Even then they were considered too treacherous to cross. The more Arthur heard about the conditions in winter the more he wanted to delay the Adren until spring when the only sure way would be across the Causeway.

  Cei had moved his base to the Gates and the additional families were already helping to make arrows and sharpen weapons. The compound had never been so busy. Between the Wessex and Anglian war bands there were over one hundred and fifty warriors all readying their winter gear, honing weapons and preparing for the journey to the East. Hide tents had been set up against the West wall and there was a constant hum of activity as people sought food or a place to rest. Hengest was working hard to get matters organised but he was beginning to lose patience. Cei left the table to help him and together they finally put some order into proceedings around the camp.

  Arthur turned to Ruadan and interrupted Ceinwen’s tales of the Winter Wood, ‘We’ll need another gap in the Causeway between here and the cliff path, with a retractable bridge too. If we retreat we’ll need time again.’

  ‘Very well, I’ll set about doing that next. Ceinwen was telling me about the marvels of the Veiled City.’

  ‘Including Lord Venning’s daughter, Fin Seren. She’s very beautiful isn’t she?’ Ceinwen looked to Arthur for confirmation.

  Arthur had been trying to put her from his thoughts but this sudden reference immediately brought the image of her face, upturned to the rain, forcibly back into his mind; his heart jolted at the memory.

  ‘Her name means ‘Fair Star’, the bright Winter Star to the North. Merdynn was present at her birth and Lord Venning asked him to name his daughter. He named her well,’ Arthur replied.

  ‘Oh yes, I’d forgot – she wears this clear cut crystal jewel in a silver band around her throat. I’ve never seen anything like it, the way it reflects the light!’ Ceinwen had to raise her voice almost to a shout to be heard over the arguments of the warriors surrounding them.

  Arthur’s hand went to his chest where his tunic concealed the Elk Stone that hung from around his neck. He forced Seren’s image from his mind and stood up, ‘Come you two, let’s talk somewhere quieter.’

  Outside they met Merdynn on his way in.

  ‘How’s Tamsyn?’ Ceinwen asked.

  ‘The trouble with the young is that they think they’ll live for ever. Disappointing for them to find they’re wrong. Bit of a shock too,’ he replied.

  ‘Probably better to give her something to do rather than let her dwell on it,’ Ruadan suggested, thinking of his sister by his side.

  ‘Put her in charge of making the stakes for inside the walls. And tell her they’re to welcome any Uathach raiders and not the Adren,’ Arthur said.

  ‘That should guarantee they’ll be nice and sharp,’ Merdynn said and ambled off to the longhouse.

  ‘Ceinwen, could you go and check on her and if she’s up to it then get her started. She’ll need others to help her,’ Arthur said.

  Ceinwen nodded and left to find Tamsyn. Arthur walked on out of the West Gate with Ruadan walking beside him.

  ‘The only initiative defenders have in a place like this is how they prepare their defences. Once that’s complete then the initiative passes to t
he attackers. It’s not a situation I like,’ Arthur said as they sat on the bank of the Causeway.

  ‘True, but the defences are good. I can’t see how an army of five hundred or even a thousand could overcome it. Only so many can attack along the Causeway at any one time and we can deal with those,’ Ruadan replied.

  Arthur rubbed a hand across his bearded chin and looked at Ruadan, gauging how much of his fears to tell him. Ruadan’s pale face looked tired and strained. He and Hengest had been working on the defences with very little rest.

  ‘I fear it may be more than a thousand and I’m not sure we can trust the marshes to protect us in winter. That’s two reasons why we’re going east. I need to know how many we face. If chance allows then I’ll whittle those odds down a bit and in any case I’ll look to delay them until spring when we can trust that the marshes won’t betray us.’

  ‘So, who’s going east and when do they leave?’ Ruadan asked.

  ‘We must leave enough here to build the defences and man them if necessary. How many do you think?’

  ‘How many will be attacking?’ Ruadan replied, shrugging.

  ‘Say a thousand try to storm the Gates, how many to repel them indefinitely?’

  ‘I don’t know. We’re a bit limited on numbers aren’t we? It’s not as if we’ve had a battle like this for some time. Raids? Battles on open fields? Fine, but hundreds attacking us like this? I don’t know.’

  ‘We’ve got about one-hundred and fifty between the two war bands, it’s a question of how to split them best.’

  ‘I suppose you’ve considered that if they do come across in winter then anyone on the other side of the Causeway will have an Adren army between them and home?’ Ruadan said.

  ‘Yes. It’s a risk, but the reasons for going outweigh those for staying.’

  ‘If we had the time and people I’d have liked to tear down the whole Causeway and let the marshes reclaim it. That would be the best defence.’

  ‘And we could have trained every man, woman and child in Middangeard to wield a spear or shoot an arrow - if we’d had the time. Perhaps we can yet buy enough time.’

  They sat in silence for a while, each contemplating what the future might hold. The marshes below them were still, unstirred by any breeze. The dusk air was cold and Ruadan pulled his light cloak around him. He had not had the chance yet to collect his winter garments. Arthur gazed at the brighter stars that were already emerging in the pale blue sky to the West. His eyes were drawn to the North Star hanging low over the stunted trees and the long reeds of the marshes. He drew a hand over his tired eyes and with an effort brought his thoughts back to the Causeway.

  ‘We’ll need to leave soon. I want to set up a camp in the forests across the Causeway before the winter night and snows set in. We can store our supplies there as we scout further afield.’

  ‘You’ll take the horses with you then?’ Ruadan asked.

  ‘Yes, we’ll need them at first certainly. As the winter deepens and the snows build I’ll probably send them back here.’

  ‘We could suggest that Cei’s spear riders stay here whilst we go across – it is their camp after all.’

  ‘That makes sense but I want it to be a joint venture. A mix here and a mix across the Causeway. We need to act together now. We need to strengthen the ties that have been formed between the two groups. Strangely the raid on the Westway has helped that.’

  ‘High price to pay, especially losing Llud. I thought the old bastard was immortal.’

  ‘None of us are. Especially if we make mistakes,’ Arthur said and then turned to face Ruadan,

  ‘Cei and I will each take forty of our warriors and cross the Causeway. I want you and Hengest to stay here with the rest of the warriors. It’s not enough to go east with and it’s not enough to guard here but then if we all went, or stayed, it would not be enough either. It should be enough to complete the defences. You’ve worked well with Hengest, and Cei and I can trust you both to deal with anything as well as we could.

  ‘It’s possible that we may not return and there are a few things you need to know. Tell this to Hengest too and whomever you place as your second-in-command. The king is not to be trusted. He wants me dead and possibly the two war bands as well.’

  Ruadan stared at Arthur incredulously but Arthur stilled his questions and carried on, ‘I don’t know why yet or what his plans are but he thinks I’m in league with the Cithol and that I plot against him. The Cithol do have a part to play in this but there’s no plot against the king. The Adren possibly want to take the Veiled City for it holds a power they need. This must not happen. If it goes ill here then head for the Winter Wood.’

  Arthur drew a map in the dust of the Causeway explaining to Ruadan where the path was that led into the Cithol woodland.

  ‘The Adren almost certainly want all our land and to destroy all our peoples. If there is no hope left and all is lost then take what people you can and sail for the West.’

  Ruadan still stared at him, daunted by the prospects outlined by Arthur.

  ‘Do you think it will come to this?’ he asked softly.

  Arthur stared out over the marshes once more and his eyes settled on the North Star.

  ‘Not whilst I’m alive to stop them,’ Arthur answered and smiled at Ruadan. ‘If Cei and I can take their numbers down and delay them until spring then perhaps we can hold them from our shores while we train an army to lead across the Causeway and then we’ll send their heads back east.’

  ‘I like that plan better.’

  ‘That’s the plan we’ll follow then. But you know what to do if all else fails. Make sure everyone under your and Hengest’s joint command knows what to do – but don’t tell them about the king, they’ll be concerned about their lands and there’s nothing we can do about that until we send the Shadow Land army to their funeral pyres.’

  Arthur stood up and Ruadan, with his hands on his knees, levered himself to his feet. They faced each other and Arthur stuck out his hand.

  ‘May the gods bless your hunting,’ Ruadan said as he shook Arthur’s hand.

  ‘And keep my land safe, Ruadan,’ Arthur replied, ‘until I return.’

  *

  Arthur and Cei led their warriors across the Causeway in two single file lines with several wains bringing up the rear, laden with supplies for the winter. The two standards of the Wessex and the Anglians, the white horse and the black longboat, were unfurled and carried behind the two warlords. Merdynn rode between them on his pony, wrapped in his brown cloak and lost in his own thoughts.

  Those who were staying at the Gates watched from the East wall with a mixture of envy and relief as the lines dwindled into the twilight. They watched from the wall long after the figures had been enveloped by the dusk. They watched as behind the war bands a spreading mist rose from the marshes and crept up and over the banks of the Causeway.

  They passed the Watchtower at the far end of the Causeway and Arthur exchanged some words with the guards there then they rode up onto the roadway that led into the forests that spread between Eald and Branque. Arthur sent flanking riders into the forests and posted three riders in front of and behind the column. Ceinwen rode in the vanguard with Morgund who was sporting a cut lip from a brawl back at the Gates while the young Cerdic commanded the rearguard. One from each position dropped back to the column every five or ten minutes and another took their place. In that way, even if the entire guard were attacked and unable to send warning the war band would still know something was wrong within a few minutes.

  Ten miles further on the roadway split north and south, heading to Eald and Branque respectively. Following Ceinwen’s lead, Arthur took the column straight ahead and into the darkening forest until they caught up with her in a clearer area in a deep hollow about two miles in from the crossroads. Behind them the rearguard erased all evidence of their passing into the forest.

  They set up their first camp here while others scouted the area for miles around. Hide tents were erecte
d in a circle around the base of the hollow. Their main marquee would not be unpacked until the snows arrived. A large fire was lit at the base of the hollow with a wide canvas supported above it on poles. This stopped the firelight reaching the top of the trees and had the welcome advantage of sending some of the fire’s heat back down on those gathered around it. None of the scouts reported that they could detect any evidence of the fire from any more than five hundred yards away. One of the now empty wains was despatched to fill two water barrels from a stream a mile away and food was prepared.

  The warriors were used to this kind of expedition from their previous incursions into the Uathach lands and the whole process had a routine feel to it. Mar’h and Aelfhelm, acting as respective second-in-commands for Ruadan and Hengest who had stayed at the Gates, issued most of the orders and everyone quickly knew what was expected of them. Arthur sat with Cei and Merdynn discussing the first stage of what they were going to do while the activity around them saw a secure, working camp develop within the circumference of the hollow.

  ‘We’ve probably got another seven days worth of this half-light before the darkness sets in properly, and then it’ll be another few days before the moon is strong enough to offer us any light,’ Cei said, looking to Merdynn for confirmation.

  ‘But how long do we have before the snows set in?’ Arthur asked rhetorically.

  Merdynn stared up at the sky wondering if he was expected to answer or not. ‘How do you plan to use the last of this light?’ he eventually asked.

  ‘We’ll start with our last contact with the Shadow Land army, Branque. Then Eald. Then arc northward up to where Cei’s men were and find out what happened to the Belgae,’ Arthur answered.

  ‘We should be able to get a good idea of their strength that way and how prepared they are,’ Cei said.

  ‘I shouldn’t get too comfortable here then?’ Merdynn asked.

  ‘No, we’ll make a more permanent camp for the winter North of Eald. By then we probably won’t be able to use our horses so we’ll have to sledge any supplies we’ll need for our sweep up to the Belgae lands,’ Arthur replied.