Читать книгу Arthur, King - William Speir - Страница 24

The next day, Merlin met with the engineers for most of the afternoon to discuss the viability of building a wall to enclose the village of Din Eidyn. Uther had wanted it done, and Merlin insisted on understanding the costs involved before making a decision.

Arthur, Cai, and Bedwyr practiced with their spears near the armory. They had wanted to go riding, but Merlin believed that it was unwise to let them leave the protection of the hillfort.

The setting sun made the clouds in the sky look like they were on fire as the squads of guards returned and marched through the gates – escorting six men bound with strong ropes. The Captain of the Guard saw Merlin outside the engineers’ workshops and ran to him.

“Lord Merlin, my guards have found the woodcutters,” the guard captain reported.

“Well done!” Merlin exclaimed. “Who are they?”

The guard captain shook his head. “I don’t know, my Lord. They’re not Saxons, and they’re not Picts or Caledonians. That much is obvious. There’s nothing about their clothing or their woodcutting tools that can identify them. They’re not talking, so I can’t tell from their accents who they are.”

Even from this distance, I can tell that they’re not Saxons. It’s impossible to mistake one of those blond giants. Picts and Caledonians are shorter, so they’re not from the north. Are they from one of the other kingdoms? We’re allies, so why go to the trouble? Irish, perhaps? We’re on the opposite side of Britain from the Irish coast, so why spy on us? Anglians then? Jutes? We’re too far north to interest them, aren’t we?

“What are you going to do with them?” Merlin asked.

“They’re being taken to the cell in the west wall guardhouse. We’ll start interrogating them tomorrow. If they won’t talk to us, then we’ll let them sit in the cell until General Galerius comes back. I hear he has a talent for extracting information.”

Merlin nodded and watched the squads of guards leading the prisoners to their cell. “Where did you find them?”

“Cutting trees behind Three Briars Tavern. They were clearing that grove between the tavern and the cattle pens. We found their camp nearby. Apart from bags of a liquor that we don’t recognize, it all looks like a typical woodcutters’ camp.”

“Did they resist when you caught them?”

The guard captain shook his head. “No. They saw us coming and dropped their tools. It was like they expected us.”

“Why would they be expecting you?” Merlin asked himself aloud. “Were they trying to get caught?”

“I don’t know, my Lord. They’d have to know that we’d bring them to the hillfort and put them in a cell. Why would they want that?”

Merlin grew concerned. “Did you search them?”

“Yes. My Lord.”

“How well?”

“We didn’t strip them, if that’s what you’re asking…”

“Then strip them, Captain,” Merlin ordered. “Leave them naked, and make sure that they can’t see or hear anything from their cell. If they wanted to get caught, then perhaps they wanted to get inside the hillfort, either to inspect our defenses or to escape from their cell and sabotage the fort while the army is away.”

“Yes, my Lord. I’ll double the guard.”

“Triple it,” Merlin instructed the guard captain. “And make certain that at least ten guards are watching them at all times.”

“Yes, Lord Merlin.”

The Captain of the Guard ran to the west wall guardhouse to carry out Merlin’s orders.

Merlin looked over at the three princes, who had stopped their spear practice to watch the prisoners.

Merlin hobbled across the soldiers’ training ground and reached the princes just as the last prisoner disappeared into the guardhouse.

“Why don’t you put your spears back in the armory and come with me to the great house?” he suggested.

“Are those the men that we saw cutting trees at the base of the cliff yesterday?” Bedwyr asked.

“Don’t you recognize them?” Merlin asked.

“I do,” Arthur answered. “Three of them, anyway.”

Merlin leaned on his staff and waited while the princes put away their spears. Just as they were returning, the Captain of the Guards approached Merlin.

“How did you know, Lord Merlin?” He held several iron tools in his outstretched hand. “Each one of them had these hidden in their shoes and in parts of their bodies that we wouldn’t normally search.”

Merlin looked at the tools. “What are they for?”

“Cutting ropes, opening cell doors, killing guards…” He pointed to a curved knife in a thin leather sheath. “Notice the curve on this knife. It’s designed to fit unnoticed between their butt cheeks. If we hadn’t stripped them, we never would have found these items. I believe that they definitely wanted to get inside the hillfort. What they were supposed to do when they got here is another matter.”

“Chain them to the walls of the cell so they can’t break free or help each other break free,” Merlin instructed.

“Already being done, my Lord.”

Merlin smiled. “Good work, Captain. If they try to escape, kill them. But make sure one remains alive for interrogation.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Merlin led the princes to the great house. I’m starving, and I’m sure the boys are, too.

As they walked, a thought kept nagging at him. Who would want to send six men to get inside the hillfort, and what were they supposed to do once they escaped from their cell?

The next day, the prisoners were interrogated one at a time. They never spoke, and they never cried out. The Captain of the Guard reported to Merlin just as the sun had set.

“No luck, my Lord,” the guard captain said. “They won’t talk.”

“Have you tried everything?” Merlin asked.

“No, my Lord,” the guard captain replied. “The Romans taught us many torture techniques that we haven’t used yet. I wasn’t sure if you wanted us to employ them or wait until General Galerius returns.”

“Dead prisoners don’t speak,” Merlin reminded him. “Unless you or your men are proficient in Roman methods of torture, I’d leave it to General Galerius. Just make sure that they’re secure in that cell.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

More than a week passed before General Galerius returned with the Gododdin cavalry. The weary horsemen passed through the gates at mid-afternoon. There were a few riderless horses, but the losses appeared light.

“You were gone longer than I expected,” Merlin said when he met Galerius at the stables. “What happened?”

Galerius shook his head. “I have much to tell you, but not here. Let me get my horse settled in his stall and my gear put away. I’ll come find you in the great house. Oh, and the princes should be there. They’ll want to hear this, too.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow, but he just nodded. “We’ll be in the great hall.” He left to find Arthur, Bedwyr, and Cai.

Galerius arrived in the great hall an hour later and found Merlin and the princes waiting for him. Servants had already brought food and drink.

Galerius poured himself a drink and reached for a piece of roasted chicken. After he finished the meat, he washed it down with the wine in his goblet and tossed the bones onto an empty plate.

“The battle went well, but things didn’t go as expected. The Picts invaded with more warriors than I’ve ever seen. But their objective didn’t make sense at first. They didn’t raid any villages, and they didn’t pillage livestock. They were trying to expand their territory and hold the captured lands without destroying anything.”

“Why is that?” Merlin asked.

“I’m coming to that,” Galerius replied. “King Ceretic’s men held the Picts’ advance in check when we arrived. Our forces hit them on their left flank, and their lines broke quickly. It was running battles all the way back to Strathclyde’s northern border. We killed nearly thirty percent of their warriors, and suffered few casualties of our own. Strathclyde’s army secured the border, and I decided to pursue the Picts. I don’t normally pursue an enemy into his own lands, but their attacks have been happening to frequently, and I wanted to teach them a lesson.”

Galerius devoured another piece of chicken. “We moved north and chased them for more than a day. That’s when things became strange. We had just reached a ridge and saw the Picts in a large mass below us. I deployed the men across the ridge, and just as we were about to attack, another army attacked the Picts from the north!”

“What army?” Merlin asked.

“An Irish one,” Galerius said.

“Irish?” Arthur exclaimed. “What’s an Irish army doing in Pictish territory?”

“I asked the same question when we got back to Strathclyde, my Prince,” Galerius said. “The Irish attack was furious, and they slaughtered the Picts left and right. I withdrew our forces in case the Irish wanted to fight someone else.”

“And what did Ceretic’s men tell you about the Irish?” Merlin asked.

“They’re colonists who arrived a few months ago. They’re Christians, and they left Ireland to establish a separate kingdom free from Irish rule. They call their colony Dal Raita, and they’re building a fortress at a place called Dunadd, north of Strathclyde’s border. They attacked the Picts just south of there.”

“I can’t imagine that the Picts are welcoming them with open arms,” Merlin said. “I doubt that the Caledonians are, either.”

“Oh, they’re not,” Galerius assured him. “King Ceretic told me that the Picts are barking mad that they lost land to Dal Raita. He thinks that’s why the Picts raided Strathclyde. They wanted to replace the land that they lost to the Irish.”

Merlin leaned back in his chair and took a drink. “This could work well for us.”

Galerius nodded. “Ceretic thought the same thing, but he reminded me that the Picts are a tribal people. The western tribes lost land to the Irish, but the eastern tribes haven’t. It may be a while before the Picts attack Strathclyde again, but we’re still at risk.”

“Is there a risk that these Christian Irish will try to establish more colonies along our western shore?” Merlin asked.

“I think so,” Galerius replied. “So does Ceretic. He’s writing to Ambrosius to inform him about the Dal Raita colony.”

Merlin shook his head. “Vortigern invited Hengist and Horsa to Britain to help repel Irish invasions and keep the Picts and Caledonians behind their borders. Now the Irish are colonizing over here, the Picts are raiding more frequently, and we can’t get the Saxons and their allies to leave Britain, because they don’t have a home to go back to. What are we going to do?”

“Protect what’s ours. There’s nothing else we can do.”

Merlin nodded. After taking another drink, he said, “We had something interesting happen here as well.”

“What?” Galerius asked, reaching for a leg of mutton.

Merlin told him about the princes’ expedition down the cliff steps and the woodcutters that they saw when they tried to climb back up to the hillfort. “They were cutting trees on the King’s lands, and that’s forbidden. I sent the guards to find them and bring them here.”

Merlin went on to explain how the woodcutters were captured, his concerns about them, and the weapons and tools found hidden in their clothes and their bodies.

“We still don’t know who they are or why they’re here,” Merlin said. “The guards have interrogated them, but they’re not talking. I told them to keep the prisoners secure and wait for your return.”

“I’ll get started on them at first light. Do you care what I have to do to get information from them?”

“If they’re spies, they’ll be executed. But if they’re not spies, I’d rather not kill innocent people over trees.”

“So you want me to be gentle with them?” Galerius tried not to be too specific in front of Arthur, Bedwyr, and Cai.

Merlin refilled his goblet. Then he shook his head. “Do what you have to do, General. The tools they had with them show that they’re not innocent. We just don’t yet know what they’re guilty of. I leave it to you to find that out.”

“I will,” Galerius said, taking his knife to the mutton leg to cut off another bite.

Two days later, Galerius still hadn’t discovered anything about the woodcutters. No matter what he did, they wouldn’t talk.

Merlin watched from a distance, but he wouldn’t let the princes watch acts of torture. He sent them riding with their escorts to keep them away from Galerius as he worked to extract information from the prisoners.

A messenger arrived from King Nudd-Lludd of Bryneich at mid-morning. In addition to letters for Bedwyr, there was a letter to Merlin.

We’ve intercepted a small force of Anglians from Ebrauc – about a hundred men altogether. They were trying to cross my kingdom, but they were heading for Gododdin. I have no idea why. They all died before they could tell us anything. There may be more Anglians operating in both of our kingdoms. I’m taking steps to find and kill them. I suggest you do the same.

“Anglians,” Merlin muttered to himself.

He approached Galerius just as the general finished lashing one of the prisoners down to four stakes in the ground. A horse was tethered nearby, and it dug at the ground with its front hooves.

Merlin showed Galerius the letter from Nudd-Lludd. Galerius read it and looked at Merlin. “Anglians from Ebrauc?” he whispered.

Merlin nodded.

Galerius smiled. “Now I have something to talk to them about.”

The general walked over to the prisoner and stood over him. “So you’re an Anglian? Don’t bother denying it. Your reinforcements from Ebrauc were caught trying to cross Bryneich. They were all killed. No one’s coming to help you.”

Galerius watched the prisoner’s face, and knew immediately that he had guessed rightly. The prisoner tried to keep his face steady, but he couldn’t hide his emotions when he learned that the men he had been waiting for had been intercepted.

“Do you want to tell me why you’re in Gododdin?” Galerius asked quietly.

The prisoner glared at him.

“Very well.” Galerius called over one of his soldiers. He whispered in the soldier’s ear, and the soldier ran to the barracks and returned a moment later with a cruse of oil and a torch.

Galerius took the cruse and poured some of the oil on the prisoner’s feet. “I’m going to set your feet on fire. If you won’t talk, then I’m going to pour oil on your legs. I’m going to keep pouring oil on you all the way up to your head until you talk or you die.”

The soldier lit the torch in a nearby brazier and handed it to Galerius.

Merlin couldn’t watch, and he turned his back and hobbled to the great house. He heard screams behind him, but he didn’t look back. The screams became shrieks of indescribable pain, and Merlin was grateful that he couldn’t smell burning flesh. By the time he reached the great house, he couldn’t hear the prisoner anymore.

Galerius found Merlin on the far side of the hillfort from the guardhouse where the prisoners had been held. His clothes reeked of smoke and burned flesh.

“They were Anglian spies,” he said. “They were supposed to be captured and brought inside the hillfort. Then they were to break free and kill as many people, start as many fires, and create as much confusion as possible. They were also to open the gates so their reinforcements could enter and finish killing everyone. King Nudd-Lludd’s forces ruined that part of the plan.”

Merlin nodded. “How many did you have to burn before someone talked?”

“Three. The fourth one took one look at their bodies and told us everything, including where more Anglian spies are operating in Gododdin and Bryneich. I’ve dispatched soldiers to find them and kill them. The rest of the prisoners were given a clean death.”

Galerius ran the back of his thumb along his neck, and Merlin knew that Galerius had beheaded the remaining prisoners.

“Thank you, General,” Merlin said. “Are the princes back yet?”

“Not yet.”

Merlin nodded. “Good. I don’t want them seeing the bodies.”

“The bodies have already been disposed of.”

Merlin looked at Galerius from head to toe. “You might want to wash and change before they get back.”

Galerius laughed. “You’re right, Merlin. This is a smell that no young man should ever have to smell.”

Galerius walked back to his quarters, leaving Merlin alone with his thoughts.

I have to inform our neighbors about what has happened and let Ambrosius know that Anglians are threatening the northern kingdoms.

Merlin heard Arthur’s voice. “Merlin? We’re back!”

Arthur, Cai, and Bedwyr entered the great house just as Merlin finished writing dispatches to be sent to the kingdoms of Strathclyde, Bryneich, Rheged, and Ebrauc. Merlin put down his quill and stood, grabbing his staff. I’ll finish the dispatch to Ambrosius after supper. The messenger won’t leave before morning.

He left his chamber and found the boys in the great hall.

“How was riding today?” he asked.

“Wonderful,” Cai replied. “We rode east along the river to the sea. Then we rode south to the plains and west before coming back to Din Eidyn.”

“I guess you’re hungry,” Merlin commented. “I’ll have the servants bring supper.”

Merlin called for a servant and told him to serve supper. “Have Niniane and Anna had supper?” he asked.

“No, Lord Merlin.”

“Have them join us, then,” Merlin instructed.

The servant left the great hall.

When they were alone, Arthur asked, “Did General Galerius learn anything from the woodcutters?”

Merlin nodded. “They were Anglians. They were supposed to get caught and brought here. Then they were to escape, set fire to the walls and buildings, and open the gates for a hundred other Anglians, who were intercepted by King Nudd-Lludd and killed. Their goal was to destroy the hillfort and everyone inside, and then raid the village. Thankfully, their plan failed.”

Merlin reached into a pocket and pulled out the letters from Nudd-Lludd to Bedwyr.

“Here are letters from your father, Bedwyr.”

Bedwyr took the letters and tucked them into his tunic.

“Why are Anglians here in Gododdin?” Arthur asked. “I thought they were all in Ebrauc.”

“I don’t know, my Prince. I’m writing to Ambrosius tonight to tell him what’s happened. Colgrin’s up to something. But I have no idea what it is.”