Shadow Lands Trilogy

by Simon Lister

  As they sat and stood around the fire they discussed whether they should use the boats to send their horses back to Britain and return with further supplies. Their stock of arrows was particularly low. A winter crossing in the longboats was not a prospect that appealed to the Wessex warriors. Even the large ships that sailed from the Haven struggled in heavy winter seas.

  Whether they sent all or some of their horses back Arthur wanted the longboats safely hidden in case the route back to the Causeway was no longer possible. The boats could prove to be their only hope of returning to Britain in the spring.

  The question of whether or not to send back their horses was a vexing one. They were hardy beasts and used to the deprivations of winter travelling but now that the heavy snows of winter had fallen it might be quicker for the warriors to move through the land without their horses. It would be easier to stable and feed them back at the camps in Britain too. Against this was the need for their horses once the snows melted in spring. Certainly without them they could not hope to reach the Causeway and cross it without having to fight their way through the Adren hordes.

  Cei maintained that it would not be a problem for the Anglians to man the longboats in spring and take both the warriors and their horses back across the seas. They had done this many times in ferrying the Belgae to Britain for the Gathering.

  They left it undecided for the time being and Arthur’s band trudged tiredly to their tents, wrapped themselves in their furs and slept soundly for the first time in weeks.

  *

  They woke to the sound of hammering. Morgund had begun work on constructing a basic wooden shelter that would provide a covered place for both themselves and their horses.

  Arthur crawled out of his tent and pressed a handful of snow on his face to take the sleep from his eyes. The moon shone down from clear skies and he could see several people using axes to cut and strip branches. Wiping the snow from his beard he walked across to them.

  ‘Thought we could use a shelter if we’re staying here for a while,’ Morgund said as he approached.

  Arthur nodded in approval.

  ‘He’s not a craftsman, that’s certain. Next heavy snowfall and this whole thing will collapse,’ Mar’h said as he passed by carrying a bundle of branches.

  ‘Sorry for the noise but we thought you’d all slept enough and there’s a guest waiting for you,’ Morgund said to Arthur. Arthur raised his eyebrows and Morgund nodded towards the main tent.

  Arthur strode across and entered to find Merdynn hunched by the fire warming his hands. He raised his old eyes and stared at Arthur over the fire, rubbing his hands together slowly above the flames. Arthur dunked a mug into the nearby barrel of water and sat down next to him. One of the warriors came into the tent dragging a makeshift sledge of snow and began packing it into another barrel placed by the fire.

  ‘I’m too old to be travelling in winter,’ Merdynn finally said.

  ‘Did you have trouble finding us?’ asked Arthur.

  Merdynn shook his head slowly and splayed his hands before the fire.

  ‘Adren patrols?’ Arthur questioned as he sat opposite Merdynn.

  ‘Surprisingly few. You must have scared them into staying in their camps.’

  ‘Good and they won’t be re-supplied now until the spring frees the East Road.’

  ‘The Belgae?’ Merdynn asked.

  ‘There’s an Adren army camped there.’

  Merdynn sighed and took his eyes from Arthur, gazing instead at his age worn hands.

  ‘Have you decided yet which course to take, Arthur?’

  ‘Yes.’ Arthur looked around the tent. Morveren was the only other person inside. She was sitting to one side, her long, dark hair falling across her thin face as she cut arrows from a collection of trimmed branches. Her face was pale and dark smudges lay below her eyes in light bruises. She looked older.

  ‘Morveren, find Cei and bring him here,’ he said to her.

  She got lightly to her feet and pulled her thick sheepskin cloak around herself before leaving the tent. Arthur and Merdynn sat in silence with their thoughts. Minutes passed before Cei came in and threw his cloak to one side.

  ‘Merdynn! Good to see you so far from home,’ he said and poured himself a hot drink from the pan by the fire. Cupping his hands around the beaker he sat and looked from Merdynn to Arthur.

  ‘No one has talked much of the numbers of Adren we’ve seen over the last few weeks,’ Arthur stated.

  The silence engulfed them again and Cei drank from his mug.

  Eventually Arthur continued, ‘There must be as many Adren here as there are people in the three tribes. Twenty thousand or more. And the East Road will bring more come spring.’

  ‘Even if we prepare the people for war...’ Cei said and shook his head.

  ‘It won’t be enough,’ Arthur finished for him.

  ‘No, it won’t. They’re stout hearted,’ and Cei nodded to those outside, ‘but they’ve realised they can’t defeat an army that size.’

  ‘Not by battle alone. So we have to defeat them another way.’ Arthur said.

  ‘How?’ Cei asked, fearing the answer.

  Arthur rubbed his hands up and down his face and looked directly at his friend of so many years.

  ‘Their food supplies?’ Cei asked.

  ‘Yes. It takes a lot to feed an army that size.’

  ‘Attack their supply columns?’ Cei asked again.

  ‘That won’t be enough,’ Arthur answered, reluctant to explain further.

  ‘So, you plan to do as we discussed?’

  ‘The Shadow Land City. Like the Cithol, they have some ancient magic, some ancient power. It’s why they can produce enough food to feed such an army. It’s why they want the Veiled City,’ Arthur replied.

  ‘And if the Shadow Land City or the source of their power could be destroyed then there would be no more supplies,’ Merdynn finished.

  ‘If we can keep the Adren from crossing the Causeway long enough. Keep them from the Veiled City. Keep them from the stores we have in Britain,’ Cei said and Arthur nodded.

  The silence returned and each stared into the fire between them. Merdynn absently added a log onto it and used his staff to push it further into the heart of the fire. The entrance to the tent opened and Leah and Ceinwen came in laughing. When Leah saw the three by the fire and their distant looks she clutched Ceinwen by the arm and motioned for them both to retrace their steps back out of the tent.

  The interruption stirred Cei into life, ‘If we can’t raise an army large enough to defend Britain, how can we raise two? One to defend the Causeway and one to attack this Shadow Land City?’

  ‘We can’t raise an army large enough to defend the Causeway against these numbers. And we can’t raise another army to march east.’

  ‘This doesn’t sound too promising,’ Cei said and smiled.

  ‘Dark days...’ Merdynn began.

  ‘Bring dark choices,’ Cei finished.

  ‘Whatever army we can raise will have to defend Britain from the Adren onslaught. Those that go east will be few in number and will go in secret,’ Arthur said.

  ‘And I am to lead them.’ Cei looked at the other two. Arthur nodded.

  ‘Where am I to lead them to?’ Cei asked.

  ‘I’ve been consulting with Lord Venning and his lore keepers,’ Merdynn said.

  ‘And?’ Cei asked.

  ‘And, well, we’re not entirely sure,’ Merdynn said, shifting uncomfortably.

  Cei raised an eyebrow.

  Merdynn started to suck on a piece of dried beef that he had been thawing by the fire before saying, ‘We have some ancient maps, writings and so on. I haven’t been there for a long, long time but I’m fairly confident it lies on the Kara More, somewhere beyond the Middle Sea, if memory serves.’ He nodded to himself as if the matter was explained.

  ‘Oh, there. Well, that’s not so far then,’ Cei said.

  ‘Merdynn will go with you. He’ll remember more as he trave
ls the road,’ Arthur added.

  ‘I’m not sure that will be a great help. How many do you think should go?’ Cei replied.

  ‘Twenty, thirty at the most. Merdynn, unroll your maps and let’s see what we have to face.’

  The three of them settled to one side of the fire and examined the copies of the maps that Merdynn had brought with him from the Veiled City. They reckoned the distance to be two thousand miles. Neither Arthur nor Cei had any idea of what might lie along those miles. Only Merdynn had travelled that far into the East and then many years ago.

  Arthur grew more heavy-hearted as they discussed what might be the best route to take. He had previously decided that his place was defending Britain but he wavered as he considered the prospect of sending Cei and the others on such a journey across so many unknowns. Even if they got to the Shadow Land City they had no idea what to expect there or indeed if it would be possible to enter and destroy whatever the Adren were using to underpin their invasion.

  Cei appeared to be taking the task with a considered pragmatism but as they talked Arthur realised with increasing certainty what a desperate venture it was. When he weighed the matter coldly he knew twenty more warriors defending the Causeway or the Veiled City would make little difference and if this journey had even the remotest chance of success then it had to be gambled. But it felt like he was asking Cei, Trevenna and the others to take on an impossible task and die unsung and far from home somewhere deep in the Shadow Lands.

  Yet Arthur knew they could not hold back the massed Adren ranks forever. Their only chance was to hold them long enough for Cei to choke their supplies and if Cei failed then they too must surely fail and then there would be no one left to sing of either tale.

  Never far from his thoughts were the questions of the king and what his unknown plans were. He would not be able to gather the tribes for war unless the king gave his consent. There was much that was still uncertain in Britain and Arthur knew he could not lead a company east without knowing his land was in safe hands. He did not trust the king’s hands.

  He silently considered once again whether it would be better to keep Cei and Merdynn for the defence of Britain. Both would count for much in persuading the king and the council to do what was necessary. Yet he could trust no one else with such an undertaking. It seemed to him that each choice was ill-fated. The Adren numbers were too great to be able to hold off indefinitely, all they could do was hold on long enough for Cei and Merdynn to succeed and then deny the Adren the harvests of Britain. It was their only hope and it had some small chance of success as long as the Adren did not know that a company was going east.

  Arthur said this to Cei and Merdynn and the three of them talked about who should know of this undertaking and who need not. The more people who knew of the plan, the greater the risk of someone being captured and the information coming into enemy hands.

  Arthur did not want to keep the truth form the war band but Merdynn convinced him that too much relied upon their mission remaining undetected. So they decided that those who were going would be initially told that the aim was to travel deep into the east to attack the Adren supply columns in spring. Once on their journey the true nature of their purpose would be revealed. Only a few among those that remained would know the truth of why their friends had gone east.

  Arthur was not comfortable with this plan but Merdynn’s point was undeniable. To tell those remaining would be to endanger the venture even further, and to tell those going east the truth from the start would be to risk them telling the others. Cei did not feel he could ask people to volunteer for a purpose that was being hid from them. Arthur agreed and they decided instead to choose the members of the eastbound company.

  To Merdynn’s growing impatience they found it difficult to decide which of the warriors to send on what seemed such an impossible task. Cei wanted to select most from the Anglians but baulked at the thought that he might be consigning each one to a death far from home. Finally Arthur rose cursing and strode from the tent to call all the others together.

  News had spread among the warriors that Merdynn was back and was deep in conversation with Arthur and Cei. They were not surprised when Arthur shouted out for them to all gather in the main tent. Most were working on the rough wooden shelter that Morgund had been organising and they had been doing so in high good humour. Few of them had much skill working with wood and it was beginning to tell. They dropped what they were doing and made their way expectantly to the tent where Arthur was holding open the canvas entrance, looking at each one as they passed on inside. Only a few did not meet his eye, among them Ethain and Ceinwen.

  Once they were inside, standing or sitting as best they could in the cramped space, Arthur addressed them.

  ‘We’ve all seen or heard how many Adren are camped on these coasts and what that means for Britain. We are too few to stand against them and defeat them. We’ve decided,’ and Arthur gestured to Cei and Merdynn, ‘to divide this company into two.

  ‘One, under me, to harry the Adren here before sailing back to Britain and raising an army with which to hold the enemy.

  ‘One, under Cei, to go into the East and do whatever is possible to stop their supplies reaching the main army. Merdynn has knowledge and maps to help with this and he will travel with Cei.

  ‘You’ve all lived together and fought bravely together yet it would only be right for you to follow your own warlord on the path they have chosen. No doubt all the Anglians here would want to follow Cei eastward yet it is also right for you to defend your own land against the enemy when the time comes.’

  Cei stood up and addressed the warriors, ‘Only sixteen will come east with Merdynn and I. The way will be long and the chances are that few who start upon this road will return back down it for there are many dangers and it takes us far from home. Who would choose the East Road and who would choose to aid Hengest at the Causeway?’

  In the clamouring that followed it was decided that among those to go with Cei and Merdynn would be Trevenna, Leah, Cerdic, Herewulf and Aelfhelm as Cei’s second-in-command.

  Much to Ceinwen’s surprise, Ethain argued to go with Cei, pointing out that his eyesight was better than most and that it might prove an advantage for them. Cei had agreed.

  They had one last meal together where long orations and extravagant boasts were swapped between the two companies. Balor and Cerdic exchanged ever increasingly unlikely stories, talking and laughing in the face of the fear they both felt but could not express. Tomas and Elowen spent the time talking to a distracted Ethain. Neither Morgund nor Leah were in the marquee and it was a testament to their subtlety that no one had noticed when they had left or if they had left together. Arthur sat with Ceinwen, Merdynn, Cei and Trevenna and they spoke of times they had shared in a past that now seemed trouble free and golden.

  When they had finished their meal, and when Morgund had reappeared to divide out the supplies the two groups would need, it came time to part. Arthur stopped Trevenna as she was leaving the tent and slipped the Elk Stone from around his neck. After a moment’s hesitation he offered it to her and she took it and studied it with a smile.

  ‘It’s beautiful. Where did you get it, Arthur?’

  ‘It’s supposed to offer good fortune for the wearer,’ he replied.

  Trevenna waited for a further explanation and when none was forthcoming she looped it around her neck and tucked it under her tunic. ‘I’ll bring it back to you,’ she said, still smiling at her brother. On her way out she caught Ceinwen’s eye and raised her eyebrows at Arthur’s uncharacteristic gesture and its significance. There had been some idle speculation about where the pendant had come from. Arthur was not known to wear the ostentatious torques or rings that some of the warriors favoured. Trevenna remembered hearing Ceinwen say that someone in the Veiled City must have presented it to him as a gift. Morgund was wagering heavily that it had been the Cithol Lord’s daughter, Fin Seren. No one had yet asked Arthur.

  The two bands stood outs
ide the tent in the small glade under the moonlight which cast the forest in cold hues of blue. The farewell was quiet and Arthur took Merdynn to one side, ‘Look after them Merdynn. Bring them back,’ he said with a quiet intensity.

  ‘I will do what I can, as you must Arthur. If it is possible then I will send you some token of whether or not we have succeeded.’ Merdynn shook Arthur’s hand before adding, ‘It’s been a long time Arthur, fare well.’

  Merdynn donned a sheepskin cap with thick earflaps hanging loosely to either side. He patted it down once, smiled at Arthur and turned to lead his pony along the line of warriors who were impatient to be away. Arthur felt a dread finality in that parting and looked for Cei and Trevenna along the line waiting to begin their journey through the snowed forest. Trevenna was smiling at him and Cei raised a hand in farewell and they too turned and headed off into the darkness.

  Chapter Nine

  In the days that followed Morgund quietly resumed work on the ramshackle shelter that they had started. He didn’t think they would be there long enough to make much use of it but the alternative was to dwell on those who had departed for the East.

  The camp was quieter now, more subdued. The warriors who remained went about their business in silence and any conversations that were held were short and spoken in undertones.

  The skies remained clear and the land froze deeply under the innumerable stars of winter. Everyone spent as much time as they could in the main tent as close as possible to the fire and the warmth it offered. Ice and snow were continually melted over the fire to provide water and even the food had to be laid out around the hearth to thaw.

  Those on duty outside were wrapped in their sheepskin cloaks and wore their fur gloves and caps and still they froze. Sentries paced between the trees attempting to keep warm, deepening pathways in the snow as their breath trailed behind them and hung in wreathed clouds in the cold, still air.