“It’s true, all of it!” Alma shrieked.
“Okay, Alma. Boadicea, please tell me the short version.”
“Alma told me the current consolidation of the Romans below the Wall is a feint. The Romans plan a massive attack, led by the Emperor. They’ll sweep through Caledonia and kill everyone except for those they drive into the sea.”
Mornow considered this for a moment, looking from one woman to the other.
“Boadicea, please have my mother step in here for a moment.”
She went outside and brought Winna inside.
“Mother, Alma has confessed that she is a spy. I believe her. She says she’s spying for the god Mercury, whose priestess she is. I think that’s partly true. Her supposed quest to find her mother is a patent lie, a covering deception for her espionage. Her mother is in a luxurious hut with her father below the Wall. She is Caledonian. Her father’s a Roman centurion. Now that I’ve found her mother, I think my job is done. What do you think?”
“Mornow, I need you to remain while I sort a few things out with this spy. Can you spare a little more time from your studies to help me?”
Mornow nodded and stood back while his mother strode forward, close to Alma. Her strong hand moved very swiftly to grasp Alma by the throat.
“Boadicea, I would like to show you how I deal with spies.” She squeezed her hand around the neck and Alma shrieked. “I think, though, that we may have something better in store for this woman than an easy death.”
“Should I prepare the branding fire and the flaying knives?” Boadicea asked cheerfully, anticipating a lengthy time of torture before the spy was dispatched. Alma struggled but could not free herself from Winna’s grasp.
“Sometimes, we can make greater use of a spy while she still lives than if we kill her right away.” She released Alma, who fell to her knees gasping and holding her throat.
“Please kill me. I can tell you nothing more than I’ve told you already.”
“She’s lying, mother,” Mornow exclaimed. The crow cawed and flapped its wings.
“Alma, I’m going to give you back your knife. You have two choices. You can kill yourself with the knife, or you can work with the Caledonian Confederation as our insider in the Roman camp. Which will it be?” She handed the woman her knife and stepped back one step.
Alma looked from face to face. Winna’s resolve was clear. Boadicea’s eyes glared with her hatred for the spy. Her hand was on the hilt of her sword. Mornow was rubbing the beak of his crow and muttering to it under his breath. Alma raised the knife as if she were going to plunge it into her heart. Then her hand fell and she nodded.
“So you’re going to work for us?”
“I won’t kill myself unnecessarily,” Alma said.
“Let me kill the coward,” Boadicea pleaded with her aunt. She drew her sword and stepped forward.
Instead of answering her, Winna turned to her son and asked, “What do you think, Mornow?”
“I think we’ll release Alma to return where she came from, but she won’t be our creature. She’ll revert to being what she was. She will divulge everything she’s learned up to this point.”
“And what will she tell her people?”
He stood up confidently and spoke with utter certainty. “She’ll tell them what they won’t believe if she tells the truth. If she invents something out of whole cloth, she’ll be detected and come under suspicion of having been turned by us. In any case, she’s a known quantity now among us. We’ll make sure no one else is fooled if she comes north again.” Having given his opinion, Mornow stroked his crow’s beak with his finger.
“Boadicea, once she has relieved herself, you are to place Alma in restraints. I want her returned to the Wall unharmed.”
“What if she tries to escape?”
‘Use your judgment.”
“Mother, I have an idea,” Mornow interjected.
“Voice it, Mornow.”
“I can give her something that would be valuable information for the Emperor. It concerns both the Empress and their son. If Alma goes back empty-handed, she’ll be of no use to us in the future. If she reports something of merit to her masters, perhaps she’ll be allowed to come back.”
“Alma, now it’s your turn to speak. Do you want critical intelligence or not?” She seemed impressed by Mornow’s plan but still disgruntled, as she was not eager to hand over information willingly.
“I’ll hear anything at all. I’m glad to be going back alive if that’s really what’s going to happen. Having something valuable that you want imparted to the Romans would guarantee my living until I reach the Wall and perhaps also guarantees my continuing as a spy.”
“Tell her what you know, Mornow.”
“The Empress will miscarry the child she is hoping for. Caracalla is plotting to end the siege of the north before it begins.” Mornow closed his eyes and waited for Alma’s reaction to what he said.
“How do you know these things, Mornow?” Alma asked, bewildered.
“I see them. That’s how. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to my studies. Is there anything else you want done, mother?”
“No, Mornow. You may return to where you came from.”
“Please say hello to my father for me, Mornow,” the young woman warrior said.
“Boadicea, I shall. Come for a visit sometime. I’d like to show you something you’d like.”
“What’s that?” She seemed skeptical.
“It’s a surprise I made just for you. Telling you in advance would spoil your surprise.”
Boadicea frowned. Then she grasped Alma’s arm and led her away. Winna smiled and kissed her son on the cheek.
“Thank you. Give my best to my brother Wiglaff.”
After that historic meeting, Alma was returned to the Wall and released at the midnight hour. She went back to report what she had witnessed. She had no choice but to tell the truth. The Romans, true to form, disbelieved what she told them about Winna, Boadicea, Mornow and the mysterious shaman Wiglaff, who seemed to be behind the Roman defeat in the war. Since she also related Mornow’s news about the miscarriage, she gained some credibility because that miscarriage happened on the day after Alma’s report of it. As for Caracalla’s cabal, the Emperor summoned his son to discuss the matter. Learning that his plot had been uncovered, Caracalla denied everything and blamed others for what he had initiated himself.
The Emperor was not fooled. He asked to see the person who had uncovered the plot.
Alma appeared before Septimius Severus dressed in her rabbit skins. She contrasted sharply with the elegantly dressed Emperor and his courtiers. “Emperor, you summoned me to ask how I knew about your son’s plot against your Caledonian mission.”
With a wave of his hand, the Emperor said, “Please tell me how you knew that.”
“I learned about his plot from a man named Mornow, a clairvoyant to the north while I was on a mission for Mercury.”
The crafty Emperor mulled over what she said before responding. He seemed highly skeptical, but then accepted the idea. “I like the fact that you report this honestly, when you might have taken credit for the insight yourself. Continue doing your valuable service for your god. I intend to see that your family and you are richly rewarded for information that stopped a movement that would have set back plans that have taken two hundred years to execute.”
“I seek no reward for myself or my family. If you must give a reward, I implore you: make a contribution to the Temple of Mercury. It was his mission that delivered useful information for which I was a mere conduit.” She bowed low. The Emperor motioned for her to depart.
Alma’s positive reception by the Emperor and his subsequent magnanimous gift to the Temple of Mercury enhanced Alma’s esteem. She realized that her success was solely due to Mornow’s advice. She therefore looked forward to seeing the handsome young clairvoyant on her next mission to the north. Alma also knew that she would not be able to fool him. This time, she resolved to take information that would be va
luable from both sides’ points of view. She did not know how she would handle Winna and Boadicea. She would have to think about that deeply before she set out again.
At Wiglaff’s cavern on the mountain, Mornow told his uncle what had transpired in Winna’s village hut.
“You were wise, Mornow, to give the spy information she could use to enhance her standing with the Romans. Perhaps that’ll be an incentive for her to return north on another mission. I only hope she brings valuable information that we can use, or your mother and my daughter are likely to kill her. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that Alma will be looking for you specifically when she comes again. Beware of her. A woman such as she will be keenly attracted to your kind of power. You may have to choose between allowing her to get very close to you or killing her yourself.”
Mornow nodded. He went back to his special projects without giving the matter further thought.
Another of the young clairvoyant’s talents was compartmentalization. He could solve a complex problem and return to doing what he did before the problem arose. Solving the problem did not interfere with his concentration on other matters. His current project was gathering shavings from the bark of willow trees. He had learned from his mother how chewing that bark could ease pain of headaches. Personal experimentation proved to him that she was right. Now he was trying to discover how much bark he had to chew to make his headaches go away. He had discovered that the bark had good effects on animals in pain as well as humans. Mornow was particularly happy that chewing the bark did not detract from his powers of viewing.
Three weeks went by with no word about Alma. Then Boadicea showed up at the cavern’s mouth, asking her father to see Mornow.
“I hope he’s in.”
Wiglaff nodded and gestured towards the back of the cave.
Boadicea said, “I’ve come to see my surprise.”
“Come right in, Boadicea. Mornow is meditating in the back on his special mat. We can catch up on the news while he’s in his trance. When he comes out of it, you can talk to him.”
“I suppose he told you about the spy Alma.”
“He gave me his version. Why don’t you tell me yours?”
“The lying bitch was clearly trying to deceive us. Her true nature was transparent. I wish we’d killed her. Mark my words, letting her live will be trouble for everyone. Anyway, she’s back nosing around, asking to see Mornow like a jilted lover.”
Wiglaff smiled at his daughter’s turn of phrase. Boadicea had spurned the advances of many men who did not have her martial spirit and sense of purpose. He had predicted that Alma might return, seeking the man whose information may have changed her life. Naturally, she would want more such information.
Wiglaff said, “Intelligence is like an addictive drug. The more you get, the more you think you need. You didn’t tell her where we are, did you?”
“Of course not, father. From Aunt Winna’s warriors I learned that Alma divulged the secrets Mornow told her and gained great credit among the Romans. The Emperor himself held an audience with her and later contributed a fortune to the Temple of Mercury. Now across the Wall the name Alma is on everyone’s tongue. I’d like to cut her heart out and feed it to Mornow’s wolves if it wouldn’t poison them to eat a spy’s heart.”
Wiglaff laughed at his daughter’s righteous fulmination. “It seems my sister was right. She came back, and now she is partly our creature. The question is, ‘How much should we trust her being what she is to the Romans?’”
“Father, I think we’ll have to be careful what we tell her. Everything she sees or hears will go straight back to the highest levels among the Romans, even to the Emperor himself. We stand to gain much or lose much from that conduit.”
“You’re right. The next question is, ‘How much do we lose in the interchange of information?’”
Wiglaff knew that Boadicea had a military mind. Not liking ambiguity, she would prefer to cut off anyone of doubtful loyalties, yet she knew how brilliant her father was. Boadicea knew Wiglaff would never act peremptorily. He might be able to puzzle out astounding intelligence from a chance phrase.
“I’ll wait and watch how things develop. In the meantime, I’ll keep my knife sharp and think about the best way to slay Alma whenever I’m ordered to do so.”
Mornow came out of his trance and approached the area where Boadicea and Wiglaff were chatting. His crow sat on his shoulder, cawing because it recognized Boadicea.
“You’ve come for your surprise!” Mornow exclaimed with a smile.
“That, and to give you fair warning that Alma is back looking for you.”
He laughed. “Let me get your gift.” He went back to his area of the cavern and fetched a small pouch with a drawstring. He handed it to his cousin. She opened the pouch and took a pinch of the bark that lay inside it. She held the pinch up with a quizzical look.
“Am I supposed to be deliriously happy about this surprise?” She was curious and on the brink of being disappointed.
“Are you in pain?”
“Not particularly.”
“What does that mean? That you’re in pain continually but can’t do anything about it? That you don’t notice the pain that you have? Tell me.”
“As you know, I exercise all the time. I crawl over the ground and fall on my back or side a dozen times in an hour when we’re on maneuvers. Just thinking about Alma’s return gives me a ferocious headache because no one will let me kill her.”
Wiglaff interrupted her, saying, “Tell Mornow what Winna’s people have learned about Alma’s reception by the Emperor.”
“Oh, yes. When Alma told her people what you said, the Emperor wanted to know all about how she found out what she said.”
“I thought he might do that.” Mornow’s brow furrowed as he conjured the scene in his mind.
He did not pursue that discussion. Instead he asked Boadicea, “Will you please chew the pinch of bark? It’s bitter. Don’t spit it out.”
She put the bark in her mouth and chewed it.
“It tastes like willow bark,” she said.
“Yes, it contains willow, but it also contains sassafras root for flavoring and a hint of lavender.”
“Since you asked about pain, is this concoction supposed to alleviate pain?”
“It’s supposed to help. We’ll see soon enough whether it does that. Just keep chewing and let me know when you begin to feel better. Now that you have your surprise, tell me about our friend Alma. Where is she now?”
“Cousin, she’s approaching your mother’s village, accompanied by three of the women warriors. She’s still draped in those rabbit skins of hers, but she’s woven flowers in her tresses. When she speaks your name, she intones like a forlorn lover looking for her former mate. If I didn’t know better, I’d have guessed you slept with her. That’s all we’d need.”
Mornow scowled at the idea. “Boadicea, perhaps you don’t fully realize the power of ideas.”
“I know the signs of love when I see them. I’ve seen them often enough in the eyes of the ridiculous suitors who’ve come seeking my hand in marriage. I also know the signs of rejection and despair.”
“Sometimes, cousin, I think you take great pleasure in breaking men’s hearts.” He seriously wondered if this might be the case and gave her a wry grin.
“If only a real man came courting! But that hasn’t happened yet.”
“It will, in time,” Mornow told her without irony.
“Are you being supportive, or have you had a vision?”
“Uncle Wiglaff, do you see what happens when you get lucky with a prediction or two? Everyone thinks you see everything.”
“Mornow, it’s an occupational hazard. I second Boadicea’s warning about the perils of Alma. She’s potential trouble for you—and for us all”
“I should be having a headache worrying about this, but I actually feel better than I did before I started chewing your bark.” She raised her arm and curled it back on her shoulder. “My arm feels
better too. So the stuff must work. Thank you.”
“I’m glad. I’ve made a larger portion for you to take to Winna.” He dropped a large sack on the floor of the cavern by Boadicea’s feet. “You and she might want to share the bark in that sack with the women warriors. You may feel it’s noble to suffer your pain in silence, but your martial performance depends on your feeling fit, not on your feeling pain.”
“Maybe you need to work on a concoction that cures people hopelessly in love. Alma could use such medicine.”
“Boadicea, I’ll remember that when the right man comes along for you,” Wiglaff said with an ironical smile.
She turned to Wiglaff. “Oh, Dad. I’m the practical one. I’ll leave romantic ideas to the men in my life, like you and Mornow. Well, I must be going if I’m going to get back to the village before nightfall. Mornow, what should I say for you to Alma?”
“Tell her, ‘Watch out for the two spies who are following you to the village.’”
“What? Now I really do have to run. Can you be more specific about the two spies?”
Mornow sighed and explained, “One is short and fat. The other is tall and slender. They’re both armed. The tall one has a hideous scar on his face. The short one loves large women warriors just like you.”
“You rat! I know that last part’s not true.” She smiled at his jest. For a change, her tone was humorous.
“You’d better hurry home. I mean it. Who knows, by the time you get there, you might have missed your chance to kill Alma and the whole village might be on fire!”
Boadicea grabbed the large sack of ground willow bark and departed down the mountain at a run.
Wiglaff shook his head. “So you really saw two men approaching the village in Alma’s wake?”
“Yes. I was surprised they managed to make it all the way from the Wall without interdiction. I’d have thought Winna’s warriors might have stopped them earlier.”
Wiglaff asked, “What do you deduce from the fact they failed to intercept these two spies?”
“Winna’s letting them live to see what their mission is?”
“That could be. I’m glad in any event that you alerted Boadicea to the danger.”
The WIglaff Tales (The Wiglaff Chronicles Book 1) Page 12
