Smoke in the Wind

Osric shook his head firmly. ‘We had better things to do.’

Eadulf was surprised by the answer. ‘You did not?’ he pressed.

‘Why do you ask? Do the Welisc claim that they were raided by us?’

‘Some do. A Saxon ship was observed moored in a cove in that direction some days ago.’ He indicated the position with his hand.

‘That was my ship, the Wave-Breaker,’ agreed Osric.

‘Not far from where you anchored, Osric, there was a religious community called Llanpadern. The Father Superior was hanged and the community were taken. Several of the brethren were found slain on the foreshore and some Hwicce weapons were found nearby.’

‘I was not responsible,’ insisted Osric.

Eadulf decided to be bolder. ‘There was also a body of a stranger found at the religious place.’

Osric’s eyes narrowed. ‘I have a feeling, my gerefa friend, that you are going to tell me that this body is significant.’

‘It was the body of an Hwicce.’

Osric regarded him with a serious expression. ‘Describe the body to me.’

Eadulf did so, and the young thane let out a long, low sigh. ‘It was the body of Thaec.’

‘Who is Thaec?’

‘One of my crew. The night that we anchored in the bay you have described, he went ashore with another man. They both spoke the language of these Welisc and offered to attempt to pick up some intelligence. Only one man, Saexbald, came back.’ Osric suddenly glanced around at his warriors. ‘Saexbald! Come here!’

A tall warrior detached himself from the group and came running forward.

‘Saexbald, tell the gerefa here what happened on the night you went ashore with Thaec.’

The warrior turned to Eadulf. ‘We had scouted along the shore when, without warning, a group of Welisc horsemen came on us. We fought but Thaec was swiftly overpowered, even though he did his best to get himself killed rather than be taken as captive. I was separated from him in the fight and forced to abandon him. I only just managed to get back to the safety of the ship.’

‘Thaec is dead,’ Osric told the man.

‘May he have met his death with sword in hand and the name of Woden on his lips,’ the warrior intoned.

‘Did you know who these Welisc were?’ asked Eadulf.

‘Warriors, no doubt. They fought well.’

‘Did you hear any names shouted by them during the encounter?’

‘Names? No. The only shouting I heard was. . actually it was strange, come to think of it. One of the Welisc warriors seems to have been stung.’

‘Stung?’ queried Eadulf.

‘There was some shouting about a wasp.’

A slow smile of satisfaction spread over Eadulf’s face.

There was a resounding crash as the tree was felled. Almost immediately, the warriors started to strip the branches and the bark, using their powerful axes. Osric signalled the tall warrior, Saexbald, to return to his comrades.

‘Did they torture poor Thaec before he died?’ he asked.

‘He was not tortured. It seems that he was stabbed in the chest with a sword.’

Osric rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Do you think he died fighting?’

‘I am sure of it. I also know that he sorely wounded his assailant.’

‘It would be good to tell his parents that their son died with sword in hand and the name of Woden on his lips, so that he could be gathered up into the Hall of Heroes where the immortals live.’

Eadulf looked disapproving. ‘I cannot subscribe to pagan beliefs.’

‘A man of principle, gerefa? Yes, I suppose you are. But did you see or hear anything which would contradict the story?’

‘Nothing. But why would he have been taken to the community and killed?’

‘Are you trying to tell me that the Welisc religious would not have killed him?’

‘They would not have harmed him unless in self-defence. It was the Welisc warriors who captured him who killed him.’

‘I know nothing of this religious community. We anchored in the bay because it was nightfall and we did not know these waters.’

‘Did you not make a search for your missing crewman at first light?’

‘We do not abandon our own unless we are forced to. You know that, gerefa. Of course a search was made at first light. From the shoreline we saw that a Welisc peasant had spotted us and, finding nothing, we reluctantly abandoned the search. It was madness to continue after we had been spotted, for we did not know how many enemy warriors were in the vicinity.’

‘Just a minute,’ Eadulf said. ‘You knew that there were some. What of the band of warriors who took your man Thaec? Why did they not attack you at dawn?’

Osric made a gesture with his hand as if dismissing them. ‘They had disappeared. Taken Thaec and vanished.’

‘So what did you do then?’

‘We put to sea again.’

‘That brings me to another question. What are you doing so far from your own country?’

There was a pause and the young thane examined Eadulf’s expression for a moment as if searching for something there.

‘I answer because I think I can trust you, gerefa. I believe that you are a man of principle. We are chasing a Welisc ship. Have you heard of a prince called Morgan ap Arthyrs? He is the king of Gwent, a territory which borders our kingdom.’

‘I know little of affairs in this part of the world,’ confessed Eadulf.

‘Well, this Morgan is an enemy worthy of our steel. He is cunning and ruthless. He has ruled Gwent for many years.’

‘Morgan?’ Eadulf tried to remember where he had heard the name recently.

‘We are chasing one of his ships. He raided on our side of the River Saeferne which marks our common border. We gave chase and a long chase it has been. But the ship has eluded us. Now we must return to our own land to prevent our families mourning the loss of more than Thaec and Wigar. Wigar was lost overboard in a storm: the same storm which snapped our mast.’

He indicated where his men had finished stripping and trimming the tall oak tree.

‘It’s not the best of times to cut a tree,’ he observed, glancing to the sky, ‘but we cannot choose our seasons. So long as it gets us home we shall be happy.’

Eadulf nodded absently. ‘I still do not entirely understand. Ships often raid and chases occur. That I comprehend. But you have chased this one many a mile. Why are you so dogged in the pursuit of the Welisc, Thane Osric?’

Osric frowned momentarily. ‘You ask a lot of questions, Eadulf the Christian.’

‘It is because I hate mysteries,’ Eadulf replied spiritedly.

‘I will answer you, then. During the raid the Welisc took several hostages. Among them was Aelfwynn, the ten-year-old daughter of King Eanfrith. That is why I have pursued this ship of Morgan’s so closely.’

One of Osric’s men came forwarded and saluted him. ‘We are ready, lord.’

‘That is good. Let us prepare.’

The man turned and barked an order. The trunk of the tree had been rolled onto the long axe handles of the warriors and now they bent and picked up their burden as easily as if it had been a light branch. At another sharp command, the warriors began to move as one, returning on the path in the direction they had come from.

‘You are welcome to continue your journey with us as far as the land of the Hwicce,’ Osric offered, then