'I mean to collect my father's belongings, and then I am going home.'
'Once the council has made its decision, we will all be leaving -a few days at most, I should think, and then -'
'I have no reason to stay even a day longer,' Murdo said sharply. 'I did what I came to do. Now I can leave this place for ever.'
'Your brothers-'
'They are no longer my brothers,' Murdo replied bitterly.
'What I was going to say was that your brothers treated you very badly, but that is no reason to -
'Torf and Skuli have made their decision, and I have made mine. In fact, they have done me a valuable service. I know now that I am alone in this and cannot count on anyone else. Very well. That is how I began; that is how I will carry on.'
'Do not talk so,' the monk chided gently. 'Come back with me, and we will speak to the king. It would be well to allow him to release you from your vow.'
Murdo started walking again. Emlyn fell into step beside him. 'You go back if you wish,' Murdo told him. 'I will not be persuaded to return.'
'How will you reach Orkneyjar?'
'Many crusaders are leaving now. I will get a place aboard one of the ships at Jaffa.' When the monk asked what he would do if all the places were taken, Murdo said, 'Then I will buy a ship. One way or another, I mean to leave this place far behind.'
'Then I am going with you,' the cleric declared.
'You are one of the king's advisors; you cannot leave him like this.'
'So,' observed Emlyn, 'my vow prevents me, but yours does not? Explain this to me.'
Murdo sighed. 'What do you want me to do?'
'Come back and beg a proper leave-taking of your king. Allow him to offer you his blessing.'
'And if he does not?'
'That is his choice. He is the king, and you are his vassal,' Emlyn replied; taking Murdo by the arm, he turned the headstrong young man. 'Come, do not think the worst. Magnus is a reasonable man, and a most generous lord if you permit him to be benevolent.'
Murdo returned to the palace precinct, and to restless waiting. At midday, the lords emerged from their vigil to proclaim their hopeful assurance of a swift and just settlement of their demands. They spoke of their renewed zeal for one another's support and loyalty, and their eagerness to demonstrate their prodigious gratitude for the services of their warriors. Bohemond then departed with his noblemen to his quarters, leaving Magnus to hold court with his men.
There followed still more waiting while the king, besieged by anxious Norsemen, answered their questions and allayed their fears. At last, Murdo's turn came; with Emlyn at his side, he stepped before the king and said, 'Lord and king, I beg the boon of your indulgence.'
'Speak freely, my friend,' Magnus invited. 'But, pray, speak quickly. I am to rejoin Bohemond, and we must soon return to the council.'
Succinctly as possible, Murdo explained his wish to return home by the swiftest means. He asked the king to release him from his vow of fealty, yet pledged his continued loyalty and friendship, to which the Norse king replied, 'I, too, share your desire to return home. I ask that you lend me your patience yet a little longer. We will all be leaving Jerusalem soon enough, and when we do, we will depart as wealthy men.'
At hearing his request denied, Murdo's heart fell. The prospect of remaining in Jerusalem, even a day longer, filled him with dread. Plucking up his courage, he said, 'Forgive my boldness, Lord Magnus, but I will gladly barter my share of the treasure for your permission to leave for Jaffa at once.'
Magnus paused to consider this a moment. 'Your offer tempts me,' he conceded. 'Yet, I would be a false and unworthy lord if I agreed. The road between here and Jaffa is not safe, and I could not spare so much as one man to go with you. Therefore, I think you must stay, and content yourself with a goodly share of the plunder which Count Bohemond and I hasten now to secure.'
The king turned and started away again. Murdo, risking all he might gain, made one last attempt to change the king's mind. 'If I found someone to travel with me, my lord, would you agree then?'
Magnus made a dismissive gesture with his hand. 'If you can find anyone willing to forfeit his portion of the plunder, then you may depart with my blessing.' He chuckled mirthlessly. 'Even so, if I know my men at all, you will still be trying to convince them the day we sail from Jaffa.'
'I will go with him,' offered Emlyn, stepping forward.
Magnus frowned.
'If you would permit me, lord,' the monk hastened to add, 'I might accompany him as far as Jaffa, and await your arrival there. It would be no hardship to me, since, as a priest, I would not gain a share of the treasure anyway.'
'Very well,' agreed Magnus impatiently, 'let it be as you say. I will bow to my wise counsellor's judgement. Go, both of you, with my blessing. May God grant you safe passage. Now, if you will permit me, I must join Lord Taranto.'
As the king and his nobles went on their way, Emlyn said, 'Come, we will tell Ronan and Fionn, and bid them farewell. Then, we shall be on our way.'
They found Ronan as he prepared to attend Lord Magnus, and Murdo bade him farewell. 'Why farewell?' he asked. 'It cannot be that you are leaving.'
'I am,' said Murdo adamantly. He explained the bargain he had made with King Magnus, and Emlyn's offer to accompany him as far as Jaffa. 'The good brother will see me safely on a stout ship, but I would go with a better heart if you would give me a blessing.'
'You need never ask, Murdo, my heart,' Ronan told him. 'The High King of Heaven holds you in the hollow of his hand, and his angels stand ready to defend you.' He regarded Murdo fondly. 'If I thought anything I said could change your mind, I would counsel you to stay. It would be a waste of breath, I fear.' Stretching his right hand over the young man's head, he said, 'The Good Lord bless you and keep you, and be gracious to you, and may the light of his countenance shine upon you and give you peace wheresoever you may go.'
He embraced Murdo then, bade him farewell, and said, 'Have you told Jon Wing your plans?'
'You say fare well for me,' Murdo answered. 'He has gone off with the others.'
'Find him, Murdo,' Ronan urged. 'He will want to see you well away.'
'Tell him I am grateful for his care, and that if he should find me when next he comes to Orkneyjar I will fill the welcome bowl with good brown ale.'
The heat rising from the bare ground met the walkers' faces like the blast from an oven as they moved out from the shadowed tunnel of the gate. The sun was a harsh yellow glow in a sky bleached pale by the heat and dust. Black columns of carrion birds still wheeled in the dead air above the city; their screeks and squawks could be heard falling from on high with an abrasive incessance.
Upon passing through the gate, Murdo turned quickly onto the Hebron road rising towards Mount Zion and the Church of Saint Mary. 'How will you get your father's belongings to the ship?'
'You will see,' replied Murdo, and would say no more.
In a short while they came in sight of the little farming settlement where Ronan had borrowed the camel and Emlyn received his answer. Murdo turned off the road and onto the track leading to the farm. 'So, you think to borrow the fellow's camel again. Do you think he will give it to you?'
'He will when I show him the gold.'
They walked on, and arrived at the cluster of small, white-washed, baked mud buildings. As they entered the yard, a skinny brown dog came from around the side of the house and started barking. The farmer appeared in the doorway a moment later and started to shout. Then he saw who it was, and ran out into the yard, seized Murdo's hand and kissed it – all the while babbling in the queer speech of the Holy Land's peasants.
'What is he saying?' demanded Murdo.
Emlyn looked at the farmer and shook his head. 'He is speaking Aramaic, I believe. Ronan knows Aramaic, not me.'
Murdo rolled his eyes. Retrieving his hand from the farmer, he dipped the fingers of his right hand into his belt
