Second, Wiglaff mused about the opportunities Alma provided for the Caledonian Confederacy. Nothing we’ve told her has given us a disadvantage because she knows nothing about how we defeated the Roman army. The question is rather how using her can give us a strategic advantage. The Emperor is cruel, weak and defensive. That has been confirmed. What Alma tells us that’s new are the buildup of troops and supplies and the imperial plan to feign reluctance until the time comes when the legion advances with unstoppable force. The most critical information is the schedule. That we must discover before it’s too late.
Wiglaff stared out of the cavern while the late afternoon light faded into evening. He became aware of the changes in the birds’ songs and the beginning of the crickets’ and frogs’ songs of the night.
With that settled, Wiglaff thought about the dynamics that had been set up by Alma’s entry into his family’s life. The woman is clearly infatuated with Mornow. She’ll do her best to win him as soon as she can. She’ll likely use every imaginable tool in a young woman’s arsenal. She thinks she has no competition. She’s right about that. How would their marriage affect his powers or her capabilities as our spy against the Romans that she serves? I just don’t know at present. Having a part Roman in the family would be something new. I’m not sure how the Caledonian Confederacy will feel about that. They laugh at our remote viewing and our advice now that they feel safe. Likely, they’ll think such a marriage is in keeping with our being outsiders and strange. After all, they still don’t know about Winna’s secret role, or her warrior women.
The sun had set. The first bat of the evening flittered by the mouth of the cavern. Wiglaff heard the cawing of the crow and two people talking and laughing. Mornow and Alma must be coming down from the summit. I’ll light a torch. Where’s Boadicea? Wasn’t she supposed to escort Alma down to the village?
As he asked himself this question, Boadicea appeared as if she had been conjured.
“I hear noises coming down from the summit. I suppose my cousin and the spy have been watching the sunset. How’d the demonstration go?”
“It went well. Alma can show you the proof. She can process gold from quartz by means of the quicksilver that she calls Mercury’s liquid metal.”
“Was magic involved in the process?”
“Nothing but the natural magic you’d expect from cooking a good meal or cauterizing a flesh wound with a red hot sword.”
Boadicea laughed. “So she’s a high mechanical. I feared she might be an intellectual or a seer like you and Mornow.”
“I almost wish she’d been more like us. If she had been, she’d be less likely to have designs on marrying Mornow.”
Boadicea sighed. “I wish she’d failed in her demonstration. Then I could have killed the bitch.” She knew in hindsight that Alma’s intrusion had changed her family’s dynamics forever. Yet she had come to admire Alma, and they had become close. There was no going back.
“I heard that, Boadicea,” Alma said as she stepped into the cavern. “I wouldn’t be a priestess if I failed to produce the gold. Are you ready to escort me to the village? I’m famished after working all day with no food.”
While she said this, Mornow retreated to the back of the cavern and encouraged his crow to jump back on its perch.
Wiglaff said, “The torch is ready. I’ve already lit our torch for the evening here, so take the extra one, Boadicea. Beware that the bats will be out in force tonight. Watch that they don’t try to land in your hair.”
The warrior woman took the taeda in her right hand and departed, with Alma silently following close behind her. Wiglaff noticed that Alma did not look back at him or Mornow.
In the back of the cavern, Mornow meditated. He sat upright with each hand configured for relaxation, the middle fingers and thumbs touching while his hands rested on his folded knees. Wiglaff watched the bats flit by the cavern, opening in twos and threes while catching insects that hovered in the torchlight. Neither man spoke until almost midnight. Then Mornow came forward and asked Wiglaff if he minded discussing what had happened during the day.
Wiglaff nodded and said, “I’ve been considering the day, but I’d like to hear your thoughts before I tell you mine.”
“Alma’s a remarkable and very beautiful woman. I’ve not had a lot of experience with women, but I like her forthright manner.”
“Forthright?”
“On top of the mountain, she hugged me and asked me to take her in my arms. I did that. She then told me we were going to marry. I didn’t know what to say. I just looked in her eyes and saw the tears forming. She said I didn’t have to make any decisions. It didn’t matter, she said, because our destiny was clear. Alma had dreamed it. She asked me to envision what she saw. Then she did something odd.”
“As if what she already did wasn’t odd at all?” He chuckled and shook his head.
Mornow laughed uncertainly. “She talked with my crow and rubbed its beak. I thought she was explaining to the crow what she’d just said to me. Then she and the crow cawed back and forth. They must have reached some conclusion, because they stopped cawing. She was quiet after that and just admired the sunset. She was stunning, with her faraway look and her hair tangled in ringlets. We started heading back before nightfall and laughed about the wonders of the sunset. She never looked at me once after that.”
“You never looked at her either, Mornow.”
“No, I suppose I didn’t. What would have been the point?”
“So how do you feel about what happened?” Wiglaff asked.
Mornow became introspective and shook his head. “When you proposed to your wife, you did that on the summit, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“And you proposed marriage to her and not the other way around, right?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“While we were up there on the summit, Alma told me about your proposing to Onya in just that way. She said she’d envisioned your proposal and wished the same thing would happen to her as happened to Onya.”
“So now you’re suggesting she wants me to propose to her?” He asked this facetiously to get a rise from his protégé and nephew.
“That’s not what I mean at all. Alma has thought it all through. She knows exactly what she wants. She’s convinced I’ll propose to her and we’ll be married. What should I do?”
Mornow looked his mentor directly in the eyes. He was looking for an answer that would bring clarity instead of ambiguity and doubt.
Wiglaff sighed. “Mornow, I can’t tell you what to do in this case. You’re going to have to make your own decision about marriage. I hope you’ll follow your heart. I don’t think I’ve told you the story of Ugard and his initial failure to win Onna. When he was thinking of retirement, he came to ask me to approve his proposing to her. That was appropriate because I was the male head of the family. I naturally approved because I knew it was the best for both of them. They’re very happy now. My marriage has been happy too. No two unions are exactly alike. Not every marriage is happy. I hope you haven’t any practical concerns that might adversely affect your judgment.”
“I have all sorts of concerns. The woman’s a spy. She’s half Roman and a priestess who envisions as we do. Brave enough to deal with Winna and Boadicea, she has no trouble talking with you and me as if we were already her family.”
“And your point is?”
Mornow sighed and pursed his lips. He looked aside and into the night outside the cavern. “I suppose I might grow to love her.”
Wiglaff laughed sympathetically. “That’s certainly a good place to start, but you don’t have to rush to propose because this woman has become infatuated with you.”
“I’m not so sure. I thought I’d try to envision what Alma saw.”
“Instead, I think you should try to envision what you want in your heart. If that accords with what Alma thinks she saw, then you may be in accord.”
Wiglaff paused. Then he shook his head. “I’m ti
red. It’s been an exciting day. Why don’t we get some sleep? I’d like another chew of willow bark, if you don’t mind.”
Mornow brought out a sack of the shredded bark and gave Wiglaff what he asked for. As Wiglaff chewed the medicinal concoction, Mornow had a concern. “You said you wanted to hear what I thought. I’ve given you my thoughts. What did you think about the events of the day?”
Mumbling because he was chewing the willow bark, he said “I’d certainly like to think Alma is genuinely going to help us in the way we want. She’s perfectly positioned, though she’s playing a dangerous balancing game. Today’s demonstration was according to form only. She took no chances and did what she’d been trained to do. I’m going to be interested in what she has to say about the historical scrolls tomorrow. Hiding a subterfuge is more difficult when you’re attempting analysis than when you’re mixing concoctions.”
“What do you mean, uncle?”
Wiglaff said, with an enigmatical wink, “It’s easier to taste a soup than to sort an argument.”
“Let’s talk for a moment about the worst possible case.”
Wiglaff folded his arms and his face became serious. “Okay, what do you think that worst case is?”
“Alma’s still an agent of Rome—or at least of her god Mercury—and her objective is to infiltrate our family so she can report our thoughts and visions to someone in the Emperor’s circle or her fellow religious people at her temple.”
“Don’t you think that’s exactly what she has to pretend to do anyway to stay alive?”
His right index finger touched his chin and his eyes squinted. “I see your point. I wonder whether she’s capable of the depths of deceit that would be necessary to continue a charade like that indefinitely.”
“You could, of course, ask her about that. I’d be interested in learning her answer.”
“I’ll give that deep consideration. On the other hand, let’s suppose she plans to stay on the knife edge between us and the Romans, as she was groomed to do anyway. What effect would that have on our objective of keeping the Romans at bay or at least keeping them on the other side of the Wall?”
Wiglaff replied, “That’s worth thinking about. While you’re at it, you should consider how being in league with a shaman and a shaman-in-training would affect her profession as priestess of Mercury. We haven’t yet discussed her beliefs and her faith enough to know where she stands. It may be true that she has taken the line of least resistance.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Now he spoke solemnly, as if he was sorting the situation out for himself. “Alma may have made no decisions about her vocation as we have about ours. If she’s not a deeply convicted person, what will her reaction be to your commitment to your role as shaman? Will she ask you to renounce your vocation? For that matter, will you ask her to renounce hers?”
He let those rhetorical questions settle before he pressed on.
“It’s apparent to me that your marriage, if it occurs, will certainly cause a major disruption in her life. She may have romantic notions about it now, but after marriage many things come into play. Families and children, for example. Sharing time. Making a home. For all you know, she’s desirous of going to Rome one day. And our village lifestyle is nothing like hers has ever been, her father being a Roman centurion. She may be half Caledonian, but she’s been raised as a cultivated Roman citizen.”
Mornow yawned and stretched, struggling to keep his eyes open. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, uncle. I deeply appreciate your honesty. Now I’ve got to get some sleep. I’m so tired, I might not be able to dream tonight.”
“Good night, Mornow. The bark has worked again. My headache’s gone.”
“I might try a chew myself because I feel a headache coming on.”
Wiglaff smiled and said in a voice that was both serious and joking, “You’ve no idea the headaches marriage will bring, so you’ll have to make another large batch of your special bark concoction. It’ll come in handy by and by.”
Early the next morning, Onya came to wake Wiglaff. Mornow woke up also and listened while Onya related her news.
“The village is in an uproar. Two Roman scouts came before dawn. Winna’s warriors captured them and took them to the vacant hut in Winna’s village for questioning. I have a bad feeling about this happening just when we’re playing host to Alma.”
“Did the Romans ask about Alma? Did they see her before they were taken away?” Wiglaff paced back and forth while he thought through the situation.
“No to both your questions. They did say they were searching for two men who went missing from the garrison at the Wall. One man was tall and slender with a scar. The other was short and fat.”
“Were the scouts armed?”
“They had knives, but no swords or armor.” She seemed perplexed.
“What’s happening right now?”
Onya shrugged. “I don’t know. Boadicea left with the women and the two prisoners. She said she’d be back as soon as the prisoners were delivered to Winna. Maybe she’ll have more news.”
“There’s nothing more we can do today, Onya. Thank you for bringing us the news. We’ll have to think about what it means.”
“I brought you a bag of grains, dried berries and nuts for breakfast.” She handed him the bag, and he accepted it with a grateful expression.
“Thank you, Onya. You’d better get back to the hut before something else happens. Alma was planning to come to discuss her scrolls. Will you let her know we’re ready anytime she’s willing?”
Onya nodded and walked back down the path to the village.
“Never a dull moment, nephew!” Wiglaff exclaimed.
Mornow asked, “Do you think the two scouts really were looking for the men Alma and Boadicea killed and buried in the forest?”
Wiglaff knit his brow. “The descriptions matched. It seemed unlikely that the two would-be rapists were working alone. I’m now wondering whether the Romans will make their disappearance a cause for war.”
“When did the Romans ever need a cause for war?” Mornow’s question was not rhetorical but genuine.
“You have to think like a Roman, Mornow. A casus belli must be put before the Senate for any funding of military action. Since we have intelligence that the Romans are massing their forces for a big push north, part of their strategy must be to manufacture a casus belli. I don’t think the disappearance of two men would provide that, but it might be the first in a sequence of events that would.”
“It’s very likely that the interrogation of the scouts will end in their deaths.”
“Boadicea might kill the scouts, but Winna wouldn’t.”
“Why shouldn’t the scouts be killed?” This was a logical question and surely an option everyone was considering.
“Let’s think it through. Two men are sent north. Then two more. Perhaps the sequence continues. Then, instead of two scouts, a large scouting party comes to take revenge for the disappearances. If we resist, the number of Romans swell. Not long afterwards, the Romans invade.”
“And if we take the scouts back to the Wall and let them go?”
“Two other scouts will be sent out, and if we take them to the Wall?” He was clearly implying the cycle would continue indefinitely.
“I see what you mean. Is there another option?”
“Winna has a special camp where Romans are impounded under guard.”
“What?” He was both shocked and intrigued at this new information.
“Early in the conflict random scouts, prisoners of war and deserters were plentiful. Winna had the bright idea that we could harvest information from the Romans and sort out which were spies and which were merely unfortunate. Perhaps these two scouts would join the others at Winna’s camp. It’s the only other option that we have.”
Boadicea ran up to the cavern entrance. Her cheeks were red from having run all the way from Winna’s village. “Good day to you both. The scouts are being interrogated
at the vacant hut right now. I wanted to kill them and bury them in the forest, but Winna had other ideas. I could do nothing more to help, so I came back to tell you what I know.”
“Hello, Boadicea. We were just about to have breakfast. Care to join us?” Wiglaff handed her the sack Onya had brought. She took a huge handful of the mixture and began eating.
“Thanks!”
Boadicea spoke excitedly, “Well, the two scouts are regular Roman soldiers garrisoned below the Wall. They were wearing disguises, but they never could have passed as Caledonians. They were too swarthy and short. Besides, their hair and beards were cut in the Roman way. What I can’t figure is why they went straight for the village below. The others went for Winna’s village.”
Wiglaff nodded and asked, “Maybe the others were following Alma, who led them to Winna’s village by default?”
Boadicea thought about this for a moment. Then she answered, “That could well be. Anyway, Winna will elicit the truth from them. She’s good at questioning prisoners.”
Wiglaff looked her in the eyes. “Was there any talk about transferring the prisoners to Winna’s camp?”
She shook her head. “No. The choices were to kill them or to take them back where they started from. Winna sent a messenger to Argentocoxos that we’ve taken two Romans prisoner.”
“I’ll guess the Caledonian Confederacy will become involved now,” Wiglaff said in dismay.
Alma came to the entrance of the cavern, breathless from running up the mountain path. “What was that about the Confederacy?”
Wiglaff laughed. “As you may know, two Romans were found scouting out the village before dawn.”
“I heard that from Onya.”
“They’ve been taken to the village where you and Boadicea had trouble with the would-be rapists. Apparently the scouts were looking for information about the missing men. Winna sent word to Argentocoxos that she had taken two Roman prisoners. If you haven’t eaten, why not have some breakfast?” Wiglaff held out Onya’s bag of treats. Alma took a small handful and began to eat. Boadicea looked at Alma and took another large fistful of the mixture, stuffing it in her mouth greedily.
The WIglaff Tales (The Wiglaff Chronicles Book 1) Page 15
