The squeal of a hunting horn came faintly through the gloom of the dark oak trees of the forest and the surrounding thick brush.
Gormán bent forward in his saddle, listening for a moment.
‘The dogs have made contact,’ he announced in satisfaction.
They could hear the hounds taking up the cry and suddenly the noise was joined by the sound of several horns echoing through the forest. The short staccato blasts rose to a volume that left no one in any doubt that the quarry had been sighted.
In front of them, Colgú raised his
‘Best take it easy,’ cried Gormán but, undeterred, Eadulf dug his heels into his mount.
‘I don’t want to lose contact with Muirchertach,’ he called.
Although he was the first to proclaim that he had little ability on horseback, he bent forward along his horse’s neck, his thighs tightening against its flanks, hands gripping the reins close into the neck, trying not to yank on the leather leads or hold them so tightly that they restricted the nodding motion of the beast’s great head as it moved forward after the others. He tried to focus on the piebald of Muirchertach but soon his own mount’s flying mane obscured his vision. He clung on and hoped that the horse knew where it was going.
Now and then low branches, and even bushes growing along the side of the track, seemed to rush towards Eadulf as if to strike him from his mount, but the horse seemed to pass them by easily with Eadulf clinging on firmly, almost lying on top of the animal’s broad back. He could just hear the thunder of Gormán’s mount behind him but he dared not raise his head to look back. He was trying to focus on the horses before him.
Soon the crowd of nobles began to draw ahead, in spite of the best efforts of Eadulf’s horse, which seemed aware of its rider’s limitations. At one point the track narrowed so much that the beast itself decided to slow the pace without any help from Eadulf. When it emerged into a clearing, with no sign of the riders ahead, Eadulf finally managed to halt it. Gormán came up behind him in a moment.
‘I’ve lost them,’ Eadulf said in disgust.
Gormán cocked his head to one side, listening. ‘I think that they’ve split up. Some have gone down that path to your left, some to the right.’
There came the sound of staccato calls on the horn to the right. They sounded close by.
‘That way!’ cried Eadulf, turning his mount. It responded immediately, believing another canter was required of it. But this time Eadulf kept to a steady, controlled trot, Gormán at his side.
The trees soon began to thin out and they came to shrubland, then open fields crossing the hills where crops had been planted. Stone hedges bordered some of the fields. Not far ahead of them, he saw some of the hunters on horseback and nearby some of the dog handlers and their hounds. The yelping of the hounds combined with the cries of encouragement from the men. They seemed to be surrounding something.
Then the something suddenly shot out of their encirclement.
A big, dark shape began to race directly towards where Eadulf’s horse was trotting forward. He caught sight of a great muscular animal with heavy shoulders, as tall as a large hound with four times the bulk. He saw sharp white tusks protruding from an open, snorting mouth, and sharp red pinpricks of eyes.
His horse reared back with a whinny of fright.
So suddenly did it happen that Eadulf found himself dislodged from his seat and tumbling back over the rump of his horse, hitting the ground with such force that the breath was knocked from him.
He heard shouts and cries of alarm from all sides.
He blinked, trying to recover his senses, and a strange feral smell assailed his nostrils. It was the fetid breath of a wild beast. He opened his eyes and was aware of the black bulk of something standing almost over him. He registered a red eye, pink gums, sharp yellow teeth and curved tusks.
He shut his eyes quickly and it seemed that his blood froze.
Then came a sound as if a hand was smacking flesh. An appalling squeal in his ear, and he felt the bulk shifting. It moved with astonishing agility. He could hear the grunting and squealing fading rapidly. He opened his eyes and it was gone. Then someone was pulling him upright into a sitting position. It was Gormán.
‘Are you hurt, Brother Eadulf?’
Eadulf, still sitting, examined his extremities carefully before, with Gormán’s help, he climbed slowly to his feet.
‘Bruised and winded,’ he replied in disgust.
He was aware of cries, yells and a band of riders galloping swiftly by. Behind them came running the men on foot with the hounds giving full cry. Then Eadulf and Gormán were alone again.
‘What, by all that is holy, was that?’ Eadulf asked, shaking his head.
Gormán grinned. ‘You have just encountered a wild boar. It nearly did for you.’
Eadulf shuddered. ‘What distracted it? I thought it had me.’
‘I smacked it across the snout with my sword and it turned off. Then the hunters came up. They have chased it back into the forest. I suspect that if it keeps in the cover of the trees and undergrowth, it will elude them.’
Eadulf rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head this way and that to ensure there was no damage from his fall. Then he remembered what he was there for.
‘Was Muirchertach with them?’ he inquired anxiously.
‘I didn’t see him,’ replied Gormán.
‘Devil’s teeth,’ swore Eadulf, annoyed.
Gormán mounted his animal again and waited while Eadulf clambered back into the saddle of his own horse.
‘Muirchertach may have gone off with the other group, when they divided back at the clearing,’ he suggested.
‘Let’s go and find him, then.’
They retraced their path back to the clearing, and as they reached it they saw a horse and rider coming along the path. It was the slight figure of a woman. She suddenly tugged on the reins of her horse as she noticed them and then, as if wanting to avoid them, plunged off along an adjoining path and quickly vanished.
‘One of the women following the hunt,’ muttered Gormán, ‘but I think she is going in the wrong direction. Shall I go after her?’
‘She is moving pretty rapidly,’ replied Eadulf, adding: ‘Did you notice who she was?’
Gormán shook his head.
‘That was Sister Marga, one of those who came with Abbot Ultán,’ Eadulf said. ‘I thought I recognised the horse. . that is the same horse that Ultán arrived on.’
Gormán pulled a face, expressing his disapproval. ‘Obviously, Sister Marga does not believe in following the proprieties. One would expect a time of mourning after her superior’s death.’
He suddenly glanced up with a frown. There came the sound of laughing and chattering and a band of riders appeared along the track in front of them. They were proceeding at a sedate pace through the forest. It was the rest of the hunt followers and their escort. The attendants carried baskets of food and drink and the ladies rode in a relaxed manner, talking and laughing as if out on some innocent picnic.
One of the attendants called to Gormán and asked him which way the main band of huntsmen had gone, and Gormán pointed along the path where they had last seen them.
‘My lord Colgú, the High King and their party were chasing a tusker in that direction only a short time ago,’ he told them. ‘Be careful, ladies, for the animal is large and strong.’
Little cries of excited horror came from them but it was all done with humour and laughter. The attendant thanked him as the party moved slowly off. Meanwhile, Eadulf had ridden a short distance along the second path to the left. Gormán quickly caught up with him.
‘The ladies seem to think this is an amusement,’ he commented sourly. ‘They don’t realise the dangers.’
‘Nor did I,’ Eadulf observed dryly. ‘I’m sorry. I neglected to thank you for what you did back there. You saved my life.’
Gormán gestured indifferently. ‘Smacking the animal across the snout? That was nothing. It was
