The Oath Breaker: A Novel of Germania and Rome (Hraban Chronicles Book 1)

by Alaric Longward

  Maroboodus left to punish Gernot even more, and I turned my horse to my friends. Odo had disappeared. Tudrus was in trouble, and I was indecisive, my wyrd uncertain once more.

  CHAPTER XV

  'We will go then,' I told my friends and rode out, with no ceremony.

  'Isfried lives in Grimrock. You are going the wrong way. That way,' Ansbor said, pointing south to a muddy road, and Felix was nodding from his small pony.

  I made a noncommittal gesture. ‘It's Grinrock. We go by the river.'

  He did not give up. 'It is over a day away from here, no matter what it is called. If we go my way, through the shaded forest pathways, it will be faster. We have to camp anyway, and there are great halls I know of, famous for the honey and berry mead on my route. Your way takes longer,' Ansbor grumbled.

  'Just follow me,' I told them irately. 'We will go my way.'

  'But this is the fastest way!' Ansbor complained.

  Felix agreed with him. 'There are nasty thickets by the shore. We will be scratched, and the hordes of bugs, by Minerva, will eat us!'

  Wandal grunted at them. 'The best way is through the fields in the southeast, eh?' he said. 'It is not the straightest road, but the roads are better, and there are halls with fine mead there as well.'

  My friends kept bickering about the way, and I guided us resolutely to the Rhenus, its beautiful waters flowing on their swift way to the grand ocean we often heard about. I longed to plunge into the cooling streams and leave all uncertainties behind, floating along to some peaceful place where I could start anew. On the other side was Rome. My father had made a fortune for himself there. I could, too, if all else failed. Or I could go to Tudrus.

  Yet I knew I would not. I was Marcomanni and still hoped to get my due. I had lost so much and lied; even killed. I would not give up until my cup was full.

  But I could not ignore I still had friends, either. Tudrus was one, as I patted the sack with the helmet. I dared not leave it behind. It was mine.

  I scanned the heavy brushes and foliage ahead. I had a fine reason to take that route. After some hours of harsh riding, it was evening. We had trekked the small ways of the riverbank due south, pushing through dense thickets. They were still arguing. Ansbor, the more intelligent one, reasoning and proving his points, Wandal just stubborn as a mule. 'Shut up, you,' I finally told them and we made camp on a moonlit stretch of grass amidst the trees, with Rhenus flowing majestically besides us. I sat there, brooding, and ate somberly. My friends did as well, though Ansbor was eating more than his share. Father's men would be somewhere out there, waiting for morning. 'Ansbor. My fat friend,' I called out. Felix snickered as he tended our horses.

  Ansbor glanced up from his meal. 'Yes, what can I do for you, lecherous one?' he asked sarcastically while wiping food from his beard and looking quizzical.

  'Do you know anyone in Hard Hill who could shelter you while we ride on to Grinrock?' I asked.

  'I can sleep at Euric's, if you are sending me back.'

  'Hraban is evicting you, eh?' Wandal laughed while drinking sour ale. 'I hope you find your way back home.'

  I made a waving gesture towards the north. 'I trust my father, but I need help. I offer to let you out of the merry troop heading for the permanently grumpy, madly suspicious, and possibly violent Isfried. No danger, that is a change, no?'

  'I suppose so, but I doubt it will be any safer since it is your plan,' he mumbled morosely. I nodded, for he was right.

  Wandal grunted, irritated. 'And why do you let the fat fool go? I am a better spear carrion for Isfried, perhaps. Eh?'

  I clapped Wandal's shoulder. 'Truth is, I do not know how they will receive us. I need you, just like I need Ansbor. Even Felix, if we need a sacrifice or lunch along the way.'

  Felix merely nodded and winked at me. 'A priest of Cerunnos put a spell on me, master. The man who kills me will die one hour after.'

  I ignored him. 'You will ride back, Ansbor, and you will go hooded, disguised. You will stay far from people Maroboodus knows,' I told him, and he had a worried look on his face.

  'What will I do there?' he asked. 'This does not sound safe.'

  'If Tudrus the Older is still on the hill, I want you to tell him Vannius is leading him into a trap tomorrow night. That he should flee immediately and silently,' I said apprehensively, and their eyes hardened. 'I have told him to go, but I want you to make sure he does.'

  'What is Vannius doing, and why? Who should I be afraid of, if I go?' he asked me.

  'My father,' I told him. 'Beware his men and him.'

  Ansbor grunted as he was thinking about the implications of my request. 'Tudrus is in such terrible danger? Of course I will go. You trust the runt not to escape and sing to your father?' He pointed a finger at Felix.

  I scrutinized the young Gaul. 'Did I come for you and Ermendrud, or did I not? Do you serve me or him?'

  We looked harshly at the young man, and his ready smile disappeared. He fidgeted and cleared his throat many times until he spoke. 'I learnt my lesson, Lord. I will be here tomorrow, and know not to cross those who give me more than promises.'

  Ansbor was embarrassed but asked me something that had been bothering him immediately after I asked him for a favor. 'I am to tell Tudrus he is in danger. But is that the truth?' He looked uncertain, and I cursed the fates for making me such a man as to be doubted by my friends.

  'It is the truth,' I said. 'Father is at odds with him. In addition, if you can, find Ishild for me. If everything goes wrong in Grinrock, we will take her and Ermendrud, and run like hares. If I die, go to Tudrus with whoever goes with you. He will take care of you, and give you what I cannot.'

  Ansbor's face went ashen gray. 'What? Find Ishild? How the Hel do I do that?' He pointed a quivering finger at me. 'That can get me slain in a horrible, lingering way. That puts me at odds with Tear and Odo! I stood up to them in the hall, but I want no wicked power of theirs to gnaw on my soul. Some nameless spirit to flay me until I beg for release? No thank you!' His terror was evident, and neither Felix nor Wandal mocked him for it.

  I nodded apologetically and got up. 'I am sorry to ask you, but you are the only one I trust, and the only one who can succeed. Hulderic taught me to give men tasks most suited to them. Wandal is a better fighter, Felix is still untrustworthy, and that leaves you, the one with good judgment. I cannot help you. However, I give you this,' I gave him the amulet of Mercury, the one I had stolen earlier from the harbor. 'The god of thieves will cloak you, Ansbor.' Felix's eyes followed the amulet. He was a thief, too.

  'Thief?' Ansbor said, his voice trembling tragically as he received it. 'First you call me fat, then you give me a fool's errand, and now you put me in the arms of a foreign thief god. I doubt I am the one with good judgment, since I agree to this. How will I ever find her?'

  I smiled gratefully at him. 'The hill is full of the Tear's servants. One of them must know where Tear lives. It is not in the hill but the woods where they reside, perhaps north of Hard Hill. I am not sure. Follow one of the curs. Torture one. Find out for me. Just in case things go wrong,' I looked at him pleadingly. 'She might very well be pregnant with my child.'

  He shook his head, weighing the amulet. 'I am not …' His shoulders sagged, and I clasped his strong shoulder. He nodded, his eyes reserved. 'Well, I didn't plan on having a long life anyway, having children of my own, a comfortable hall, modest riches and fame. Fool's errands, those,' he said dryly and nodded once.

  I returned the gesture, sad but resolved. 'We will ride out in the dark morning. We will take your horse, and ride hard. They should not miss you in the dust and the dark. As this terrible path is full of torturous brushes, you can hide well here, and make your way to the town.' He nodded, and I clasped his hand fiercely. 'I owe you again, friend.'

  'Yes,' he stated. 'I will lie down and walk back unseen. And Wandal, I will tell fair Ermendrud you ran away with a fine looking blonde from Grinrock, and perhaps I shall comfort her in her loss.' Wandal snorted and claspe
d his wrist.

  Felix grinned. 'See you when I see you, fat one.'

  Ansbor turned on Felix, his eyes slitted. 'You think, rat, that burying your coins in that wet coal pile by the smithy was a good idea, the ones you did not give Wandal. I shall have a look.'

  Felix went white from his face. 'Hraban told you not to go to the smithy!' he yelled but Ansbor laughed harshly, and I pulled Felix away.

  Next morning, we rode hard before the birds started to sing their song. We rode like that for much of the grueling day, not stopping for food. We were riding through forlorn, swampy forests, crying and cursing for the infernal flies and mosquitoes and finally, the evening was chilly and wet as we closed on Grinrock.

  Then, men hailed us from the shadows.

  I raised my hand, and Marcomanni rode out to regard us. I explained I wanted to see Isfried and then I told them who I was. They led us off to the south. They drove us hard through fields and woody pathways, over some hills and across pastured valleys, and when the evening fell, we saw Grinrock ahead. The town itself was on a shallow set of ugly hills, much more like our normal towns, with a multitude of scattered buildings, apparently very few people about, many small cows and a few rarer pigs eating their fares, the constant dog barking. It had a curious, half-finished planked harbor, evidence that Isfried had had similar ambitions for the town as Hard Hill had under Bero, and there was a formation of rocks stretching out to the river, sharp as fangs and near the Roman shore was a husk of a burned Roman ship. The rock formation did have a look of jaws, and they did grin, sort of.

  The Marcomanni of the south watched us suspiciously as we entered the village. Much was riding on this, much of what my father was to accomplish. I was doing him a dangerous service. I was terrified, but Felix looked bored. He threw his hand around as he looked at the villagers. 'Poor as beggars. They bring in crude ore from the southern mountains, but it just goes to Hard Hill from here. They should break away from your father.'

  'They will,' I said. 'For a while.'

  'Eh?' Wandal asked, but I waved him down, for we were getting closer to a hall, a grand hall with many window slits, unusual in our halls, and likely drafty in the winter.

  A host of wildly decorated standards were planted outside. Isfried's famous family, the whole leadership of his closest men was there. They were feasting, nervous, no doubt, and ready for Armin's plan and its dangerous part. The bustle of a feast and men laughing drifted out from the doorway. The man leading our troop told us to dismount and nodded towards the door. 'They come to see Lord Isfried!' he yelled at a guard. 'Son of Maroboodus.' The guard went inside, and we suddenly noticed an uncanny silence.

  'They seem to dislike you, Lord?' Felix asked, grinning. 'They could not be more silent if someone had announced a fiend from Hades.'

  'Fiend from Hades smells better and has a better reputation, eh?' Wandal said, sore because of our sweat soiled clothing and disheveled appearance while removing his shield and spear from the horse, watching the doorway.

  'At least a better sense of humor,' Felix grumbled.

  'My friends,' I told them gravely. 'What happens here, and soon after, is something you must understand as the commands of my father. Forgive me.'

  'What? You marrying Isfried? Eh?' Wandal asked, but I plunged inside, cursing him. He was not too far from the truth.

  There, a silence reigned. Bearded faces were staring at me. In the smoky room I saw many strong men clutching their varied weapons, the loyal family and chiefs of Isfried. I wished I was a fiend from Hades. In the threatening mood of the hall, I heard the thrumming sound of Woden's dance. I had no weapon, but I was ready.

  Felix poked his head inside for a second and then backed out. 'No way I am going there,' he whispered to Wandal, who pushed him in.

  The mood was broken by a young, blond man. Burlein, the one who had broken through Bero's bodyguard the night Father came to power. 'Peace, peace, friends! Come to our table, Lord Hraban, and you, our friends and relatives, get drunk!' He laughed conciliatorily and nodded at me grandly, motioning with his generous hand as I wound my way towards the table where Isfried sat, dark and forlorn, his bull-necked brother Melheim next to him, with an enigmatic smile. I was seated next to the grim lord. Eyes were on us, despite Burlein's words. Perhaps they knew what my coming meant. They would likely go and kill Maroboodus. But most of them looked suspiciously at me, as well.

  'They doubt you, Hraban,' mumbled Isfried. 'They are Marcomanni of my family, old as Aristovistus they are. They hold sway in the south, and they wonder why you should be here, a son to a man they hate. They think you are false, like him. Like your father. Only my brothers and I know your part in this, but to them, you are the man Bark hates, whom they should hate deeply for your rumored deed. Now we should trust you.' He did not look happy. But then again, he never did.

  I snorted bravely. 'Trust you did not show me when you sent more men than Manno to slay Father and others. Did you order them to slay me as well?'

  Isfried shook with soft, bitter laughter, but sobered soon. He did not answer my question. 'You came to tell me good news. Will your father be at a certain place, waiting for Bark? Soon? Informed so by Manno's tortured whisperings?'

  'He will be. Manno suffered, terribly, but broke.'

  His eyes grew hard on that. 'And why should we let you feast with us if all is settled?' Melheim asked, a question that Isfried did not dispute.

  'Is Bark around?' I asked them, taking some mead as if their question had not made me queasy with fear. 'I have something for him.'

  'Yes, why?' Melheim said. 'What do you have?'

  'Get him, lords, and hear me out,' I said. They scowled at me, but Bark was summoned. After an awkward amount of time had passed, the tar-bearded man came, his eyes dark and black as he stood before me.

  I nodded at him. 'I am tired of my father, Isfried, Bark,' I said. I saw Wandal nearby, his face betraying shock. 'Maroboodus, my bastard father is happy, for he is tired of you, Lord Isfried, and you, Bark, and the trouble you are causing. He will be there, waiting with hidden men to be rid of you, Bark, and he will war soon after, but not against the Matticati.'

  Isfried grumbled. 'Good, good. I am tired of him, too, Hraban. He has promised me Gunhild, and I helped him that day. I helped him well. Catualda has been here making false wedding plans, then retracting them. I am fed up. Marrying her was not a great sacrifice for him since Gunhild did not bear any children for our family in the first time around, but it was important to have her here wedded to us. It makes us more than just a gau of the lord of the Hard Hill, but allies to the real power, and that is how Marcomanni have worked so far.'

  'Perhaps it was the fault of your kin that there were no children?' I asked, and Burlein laughed.

  'Very possible! He was not, how do you say, interested in ploughing the field!' the young lord said, and his brothers scowled at him until he went silent. I liked Burlein.

  I laughed with him. 'Be that as it may, you are a fool, Lord Isfried, if you think Maroboodus will let any other man marry into the family of Aristovistus. That would spell trouble for him in the years ahead. That was Bero's plan, Maroboodus adopted it. He is to marry her.'

  We sat there waiting. It was fascinating to see Isfried tremble in his seat, not unlike Koun had, his cold, clammy sweat glistening on his face. He was gagging terribly, and cursing softly. Unlike Koun, Isfried exploded. 'You come here, to mock me, whelp. It is one thing to withhold her from me, but to mock me? She is to marry him? He is to marry Thusnelda. Were you not there? He shall not touch her! I need her. I need the prestige, and possibly the fine children, and this is what Bero promised to me until he betrayed me. And your father did, too. She will make children for us, even if we all try.' I kept calm as the man raged terribly, praying for my life. His words made my spine twitch with cold hate, but I kept calm. Bark did not move a muscle, his eyes on me. If he deemed me false, I would die.

  I finally saw Isfried was calming, drawing ragged breaths and waving th
e men around him to return to their feast, and I took my turn. 'He has betrayed me, too. Last evening, he beat me in front of the village. He has let my brother humiliate me for months in a way unfitting any free man. He thinks my mother was a whore. He hated Sigilind. I have served him well, when he has asked for it.'

  'Balderich,' Isfried hissed, 'trusted you.'

  'Balderich,' I retorted, 'was a fiend who schemed with Rome.'

  He glowered at me and then waved for me to continue. 'So, I am here. Armin told me I could serve you. There is none else. I hoped I could trust the man who has been duped as much as I have been.' I slammed my fist on the table so hard it cracked, and again, Isfried had to wave the men to continue their drinking and eating. I saw Bark's face twitch with amusement. 'And I want to stop the monsters Tear and Odo from destroying Midgard. They are trying to.' I tried to look reverent and like one would look if one believed in such silly things. My eyes were round with fear and respect of the gods, a fiercely holy look on my face. Bark's mouth twitched again, and I was not sure if he was amused, or convinced.

  Bark nodded. 'You know I wish that as well. Manno and the others failed to kill even one of them?'

  'They failed,' I said.

  'I will pray for Manno, and the brave men, then,' Bark said calmly, his eyes not leaving mine. 'Tear and Odo are dangerous. I know you know this.'

  'I know,' I said, 'hence I am here. Kill them, and we are all safe.'

  Melheim spat in disgust. 'Fools talking about foolish things.'

  'Silence,' Bark said, and Melheim stiffened, but held his tongue.

  Burlein grinned at me. 'Here, lord of lies. Have some mead.'

  'I am no …'

  Bark pointed a quivering finger at me. 'You betrayed Bero, no matter what he was. You would betray your father again, no matter what he has done. You are a boy who shifts to fish in waters rumored to be more bountiful than your own, forever looking at angles to profit more. Now you are here, fishing in these waters. Yet here, you do not fool anyone. None are ignorant of your deeds, and you know what happened to Wulf. You were there.' They peered at me silently, fingering their sharp weapons. Apparently, Isfried in his hate of father had started to think like Bark did.