To Love Again

Should anyone pass by, it will seem as if nothing is different here as long as the cart is hidden.'

'Do not leave me here alone,' Nellwyn begged them. 'I am afraid.'

'You and I will ride the mare together,' Cailin reassured her servant. 'The hall is uninhabitable, but soon we will repair it.'

They led the black mare into the hall, unhitched her from the cart and pushed the vehicle into a dark corner, where it was obscured from view even to someone entering the half ruin. Then the two women mounted the beast. Cailin rode in front, holding the reins, and Nellwyn behind her, clutching her mistress about her slender waist. Wulf led the mare from the building, and mounting his own animal, they headed off up the hills, across the meadows, and through the woods, to Berikos's Dobunni village.

They knew immediately as they approached the hill fort that something was very wrong. There were no guards posted, and they were able to enter the village unimpeded. The place was deserted, and upon closer inspection, they could see it had been so for some time.

'What has happened?' Cailin said, not just a little afraid.

Wulf shook his head. 'There were other villages, I know. Can you tell me where they were located, lambkin? The Dobunni cannot have simply disappeared from the face of the earth in the two and a half years that we were gone from Britain. They must be here somewhere.'

'There were other villages, but I never saw them,' she said. 'I spent my time here. I know, however, that these villages must be near, for Berikos's territory was not very large. Let us simply ride. We are bound to come upon someone.'

'I can think of no better plan,' he said, and so they began to ride slowly to the northeast, seeking signs of life.

At first the landscape appeared pristine, and empty, but eventually they began to see signs of habitation, cattle grazing, a flock of sheep in a meadow, and finally a shepherd, whom they hailed.

'Is there a Dobunni village nearby, lad?' Wulf asked him.

'Who be ye?' the shepherd asked, not answering their question.

'I am Wulf Ironfist. This is my wife, Cailin Drusus, the granddaughter of Berikos, the niece of Eppilus, the cousin of Corio. We have been away for some time, and when we returned, we sought out the hill fort of Berikos, only to find it deserted. Where is everyone?'

'You will find our village on the other side of the hill,' the shepherd replied, again not answering the question asked. 'Eppilus is there.'

They rode over the hill, and there, in a small, quiet valley, was the Dobunni village. Guards, strategically placed, watched silently as they passed by and into the center of the village. Wulf dismounted and lifted first his wife and then Nellwyn from the mare's back. They looked about, and when Cailin shrugged back her hood, revealing her face, a woman with two children clinging to her skirts gasped and cried out, 'Cailin! Is it truly you? They said that you were dead!'

'Nuala!' Cailin ran forward and embraced her cousin. 'It is truly me, and I have come home. How is Bodvoc? And Ceara, and Maeve? And what of Berikos? Does the old devil still hold sway despite his illness, or has Eppilus truly become chief of the Dobunni?'

'Bodvoc is dead,' Nuala said softly. 'He died in the plague epidemic last year that took so many of our people, Ceara, Maeve, and our grandfather among them. We lost almost all our old people, and many children. Corio survived, amazingly, and it never touched me or my children, despite Bodvoc's illness. These are my bairns. Commius, the boy, is the elder. 'Twas he I carried on my wedding day. The girl is Morna. Come, Eppilus will want to see you.' She turned away from Cailin a moment and said, 'Greetings, Wulf Ironfist.'

'Greetings, Nuala. I am sorry to hear of Bodvoc's death. He was a good man. But now I understand why you were not on the lands we gave you. A woman alone with two children could not manage such responsibility.'

'We barely had a chance to even settle on those lands, Wulf,' she told him. 'Antonia Porcius drove us away as soon as you left. She insisted that the Drusus Corinium lands were her late husband's, and now they were hers and her son's. Bodvoc felt we could not fight her.'

They followed Nuala into her father's hall. Eppilus, already aware of their arrival, came forward to greet the travelers. 'It was told us that you died in childbirth, Cailin,' he said, 'and then Wulf Ironfist disappeared. What happened to you, my niece? Come, sit by the fire. Bring wine for our guests. Who is this pretty girl with you?' He peppered her with questions.

'This is Nellwyn, Uncle,' Cailin said, smiling. 'She is my servant, and has traveled all the way from Byzantium with me, for that is where I was.' Cailin then went on to narrate her adventures and Wulf's to her assembled kin and the others who had crowded into the hall.

'Our hall has been partly burned,' she concluded. 'What happened while we were gone, and why is Berikos's hill fort deserted?'

'So many in Berikos's village died of plague,' Eppilus explained, 'that it was not practical for us to remain there. Antonia Porcius has a new husband. He is neither Celt nor Romano-Briton. He is a Saxon, and his name is Ragnar Strongspear. There are many Saxons now entering this region to settle here. Even this village is no longer completely Dobunni. Saxons live among us, and are intermarrying with our children. Nuala has taken one for a new husband.' He invited a pleasant-looking young blond man with mild blue eyes to step forward. 'This is Winefrith, my son-in-law. I am happy to have him related to me. He is a good husband to my daughter, and a good father to my grandchildren.'

'I greet you, Winefrith, husband of Nuala,' Wulf said.

'I greet you, Wulf Ironfist,' came the polite reply.

'Tell me about this Ragnar Strongspear,' Wulf Ironfist said to Eppilus, leaning forward, his interest apparent in his blue eyes. 'What kind of a man is he?'

'From what we have seen and learned,' Eppilus said slowly, 'he is a bully. He came swaggering across the land some months ago with a troup of bandits like himself. He slaughtered everything in his path, looting and burning as he went along. I expect that is when your hall was damaged. He stumbled upon Antonia's villa. He brought with him two wives, but he made Antonia his wife, too, though the gods know why. Antonia lives with the other women, her father, and the many children who always seem to be underfoot.

'This Saxon is already consolidating his hold on the surrounding countryside, demanding fealty and heavy tribute. He has not yet found our village here in this valley, but we expect he soon will. We will be forced to accept him as our overlord if we are to survive. There is no other choice.'

'Aye, there is,' Wulf Ironfist said. 'You can accept me as your overlord, Eppilus. Nuala says the plague struck down the very old and the very young. That means that most of the men I trained several years ago are still alive. If they will give me their service, we will be able to overcome the threat of Ragnar Strongspear. You will be able to live in peace beneath my protection. We are kin, Eppilus, and I will not abuse those I am sworn to defend.

'The times in which we now live are different than those we once knew. Your village, and the other nearby villages, need a strong man to protect them. You have a choice between either me or Ragnar Strongspear.'

'We would choose you, of course, Wulf Ironfist,' Eppilus said. 'We know you to be a fair and an honest man who will not mistreat us or our families. How can we help you?'

'First I must speak with the men. They must quickly refamiliarize themselves with their fighting skills. Perhaps there are even some new men in this village who would join us.'

'I will,' said Nuala's husband, Winefrith. 'I am a smith, and can make and repair weapons for you. Whatever I can do to make the countryside safe from Ragnar Strongspear, I will do, Wulf Ironfist.'

'Good!' Wulf said, smiling at the young man. 'Go and speak to the other Saxons who live in this village. Tell them it is not a matter of Saxon against Celt, but what is right against what is wrong.'

Winefrith nodded. 'There is no friction between Saxon and Celt here,' he said, and the others agreed. 'We are simple people trying to live together in peace.'

'I will need the roof of my hall rethatched, and cannot do it alone,' Wulf said, 'and I must put a wall about it for better defense.'

'We can help,' said Eppilus. 'I will send to the other two villages left in the area for aid. It is unlikely that Ragnar Strongspear will know we are repairing the hall. He rarely goes there, for he is very superstitious, and believes the hall haunted by Cailin's family. I expect that Antonia told him of the land's history, and he drew his own conclusions.'

'If Antonia told him of the land's history, it was done deliberately and for a purpose,' Cailin interjected. 'I