Housecarl (6 page)

The monastery was a huge complex
of buildings nestled on a hillside in the Clwyd valley. My uncle
halted us in the woods on the southern side of the valley. As we
peered down at the cluster of buildings I was amazed.  I had
only seen Jorvik which was a bigger place but this was in the
middle of nowhere. Ulf grunted.  “There are a thousand men
down there.”

“All monks?”

“Most are monks but they have
others who work the land.  There is much profit in the
Church.”

I knew that many warriors,
despite the pressure from the King, still favoured the old dark
religions which did not have priests but allowed a man to choose
his own god.  I suspected that Ulf was once such a
warrior.

“Now keep in mind we need them
to remember us.  Aelfraed and I will go down to meet with the
abbot while you two keep watch here.”

Laying aside most of our weapons
and keeping just a sword the two of us rode along the ridge to join
the track way which led first to the monastery and thence to the
coast. I was smiling as I did so, not because I was not afraid, I
was but Ridley had been petrified to be at the foot of the mountain
which contained the red Welsh dragon.  I suspected that Ulf
would tease him mercilessly.

The land around the monastery of
Elvae was well cultivated and terraced, using every part of the
hillside to maximise their crops. It was not yet dark and we could
see hooded monks toiling in the fields. A few looked up as we
passed but, seeing but a man and a boy they returned to their
work.  We were not a threat. The ash staffs we held were there
to mark us as pilgrims but I was not convinced that it would fool
anyone. We found ourselves on a wide road way which was obviously
the main entrance. We could see the gates in the palisade were
still open but there was a gaggle of monks gathered there,
obviously to greet us. We both dismounted when we were thirty paces
away and approached on foot.  I stood slightly behind my uncle
so that I could emulate and copy his actions. He bowed his head and
I followed.

“I am Aethelward of Medelai and
this is my nephew Aelfraed.”

“I am Brother Aidan.  What
brings you to our monastery?”

There appeared to be no
suspicion in his voice but his eyes darted from our faces to our
weapons and back. My uncle spread his hands. “We are here to seek
the shrine of St Asaph for I would have my nephew to be graced by
the Saint’s beneficence.”

The monk seemed to see the ash
staffs for the first time and looked to me. “And your nephew why
would he need the Saint’s grace? You are a wounded warrior I can
see that but the boy looks hale and hearty.”

The monk’s sharp eyes had missed
nothing but Aethelward had been prepared for such questions. “I
suffered my wound fighting the Norsemen when I defended the land of
Bede against the invader.” By invoking the name of that venerable
man of the church Aethelward was trying to get the sympathy of the
monk. “Had I visited a shrine before I fought then perhaps I would
have been protected,  I would like my nephew to be protected
before he fights the Danes.”

It seemed that Brother Aidan saw
me for the first time. “You would fight the Danes?  You would
fight the enemies of the church?”

His eyes seemed to burn into me
to discern if there was a lie within. I felt grateful that I would
not need to lie for I would happily fight the Danes although I was
not totally committed to the Christian ideal.  “I would.”

“Then perhaps you should meet
with the King and serve him.”

My uncle’s voice appeared
innocent but I knew the weight of his words. “He is at his court?”
The court of the King was but a few miles away from St Asaph at
Rhuddlan as Gwynedd was the heart of his kingdom.

“No.  He is with his army
in the south.  Perhaps if you travel that way you may meet
him.”

“I should like that Brother
Aidan for I have never met a King before.”

The monk smiled and nodded at
the passion of my simple assertion. He touched my head with his
hands.  “I will give you my blessing and then I will direct
you to the shrine.” I was not prepared for the feeling which washed
over me as the old man placed his bony hands upon my head.  It
seemed that I was warmed and I felt a glow spread through my
body.  I suddenly felt calmer and more at ease but I knew not
why. “May the grace of God protect you in your fight against the
Northmen.”

I impulsively kissed the back of
his hands as he withdrew them and mumbled a, “Thank you.”

Again he smiled and pointed down
towards the river. “If you go towards the river you will see the
shrine.”

“How will we know?”

Again Brother Aidan smiled, “If
you know the story of St Asaph then you will know.”

As we walked back to our horses
my uncle murmured, “That was well done Aelfraed but I think Brother
Aidan is still testing us.”

I had no idea who St Asaph
was.  I just knew that he had been a saint who had been with
Saint Mungo but I had no idea of his story.  I assumed, and
hoped, that my uncle would. As we walked along the well worn track
we saw a glow from a building at the end.  My uncle just said,
“Of course” and continued walking.

We reached a small wooden
building and before it was a stone circle containing a fire. 
Next to the fire were lumps of charcoal and coal and above it a
beautifully carved wooden cross. Aethelward knelt and I copied
him.  He placed a lump of coal on the fire as I did. “Tonight
we will sleep here.” I did not argue with him but I did wonder
why.

We fed and tethered our horses
and then made our camp. Night had fallen as we chewed on the dried
meat.  A light appeared down the path. I began to fear that it
was something ethereal until I saw that it was two younger monks.
They had in their hands pots.  “Brother Aidan cannot invite
you into the monastery for it is a closed order but he sent you
food.  Here is some freshly brewed ale, some of our honey,
bread and cheese.” He looked up at the cross.  “May St Asaph
watch over you. If you leave the pots here were will remove them in
the morning and, “he leaned in confidentially, “the saint smiles on
those who protect his fire.”

After we had eaten I asked uncle
what he had meant. “Saint Asaph famously brought hot coals to Saint
Mungo and carried them in his apron. That is why they keep the fire
burning as a reminder of the Saint and his deed. We brought the ash
staff as that is the sign of the saint much as the cockle shell is
the sign of St.James.”

I did not care for the reason as
the bread, honey and cheese were delicious and a welcome change
from the diet of dried meats we had endured. The beer was not small
beer it was a potent brew and soon I was asleep.  I slept
better that night than any other night on the road. I know that Ulf
would have said it was the ale but I believe that we were being
protected. That night I dreamed of warriors and dragons.  I
suddenly found myself facing a mighty warrior and behind him was
the prow of a dragon ship.  I was being beaten back and my
sword was struggling to defend me, I fell and saw the mighty axe
descending to my head.  All that I had to stop it was my sword
which suddenly changed to an ash staff and then the warrior
disappeared and I awoke sweating and breathing heavily.  What
did my dream portend?  I had not had as many bad dreams since
the arrival of my uncle.  Perhaps it was the mixture of
powerful ale and cheese.

The fire was still burning the
following morning and I made sure that it was fed before we left. I
looked up at the cross before we departed and it made me feel
better.  I gripped the staff and wondered about my
vision.  Was it the ale which had made my thoughts drift that
way or was it something more? As we rode in silence towards the
head of the valley Aethelward rode his mount next to mine. “You had
a vision?”

I stared at him.  Was he a
Wight?  How did he know?  “I had a dream… it was the
ale.”

“I do not ask you to tell me
your vision for that is yours; it is the mark of a warrior. I ask
you to think on your vision and to interpret it for all visions and
dreams have meanings.”

“How did you know that I
dreamt?”

“I heard you speaking and you
moved in your sleep.  I have seen it before.  Harold had
such a dream many years ago when he was but a young man. I
recognised the signs but, pray, do not ignore it.  Think on it
and use it.”

I nodded and looked at the ash
staff. “Uncle would this staff make a good spear?”

He took it from my hand and
turned it.  He looked down its length and then hefted it above
his shoulder. “Aye it would.  We will use one of the swords we
took from the bandits and make a spear head the next time we find a
smith.” He smiled. “It was wyrd that we came here Aelfraed and I
can see your mother’s hand in this.”

Ridley and Ulf had been busy
since we had left them; the mail armour had been cleaned and
scrubbed with the river sand and now looked as it should have
done.  Ridley’s face beamed as we rode into the camp. “See
master.  It is almost like new and Ulf says that we can repair
the broken links when we find a smithy.”

I looked quickly at Aethelward
who just said, “Wyrd.”

“Did it go well?”

“Aye Ulf and my nephew helped to
carry it off.  The monks believe that we are pilgrims and I
gave my name so that we should be remembered.”

“I still do not know why the
monks are important.”

“The King of Wales needs
credibility.  He has only ruled this land of Wales for a short
time and needs the support of the church.  This is the largest
and most important monastery in this heartland of Wales, in the
shadow of the dragon. ” I smiled as Ridley involuntarily shivered.
“The court of the King is at Rhuddlan and I know that men from the
court will visit the monastery before too long. The Welsh king will
keep patrols travelling along this road and they will bring news to
their king.”

“Which is why we will need to
avoid the road.” I saw the plan clearly.

“Precisely young Aelfraed and we
will head south eastwards towards the frontier towns. It would not
do to be seen as a party of four.”

With the pack horses loaded we
set off, Ulf as usual was at the front while Ridley took the
rear.  He did not mind the pack horse for it carried his
precious armour and, hung from the pommel, was his helmet now
scrubbed and polished.  I was a little envious.  He was
already well on to the way to be coming a warrior and he was well
armed. I absent mindedly stroked the smooth shaft of the ash staff.
Ridley might have his armour but I had had my vision and I would
get armour that I knew.

“Well we know that he is to the
south of us.  That means he will be with his army.”

“You are right Ulf for he has
only recently conquered that land.  We will head for Morgannwg
which borders the lands of Wessex. We can watch for signs of war as
we travel south.”

We had been on the road for
seven days when we crossed the trail of the warriors.  Ulf’s
sharp eyes picked up the signs and we halted. With the combined
attention of the two warriors we ascertained that at least a
hundred warriors had travelled south, in the same direction as we.
It was the first indication we had of warlike intentions.

“Well we can go to Earl Harold
now and tell him that there are warriors gathering on the
borders.”

Ulf laughed. “Would that it was
that simple.  These warriors may be heading for the newly
conquered lands in the south of the country and there are but a
hundred.  No it is a sign but we need to find out what it
means.”

I looked at Aethelward. “Then
how do we find out?”

“We visit the next town and
ask.”

“As simple as that?”

“No not that simple.  We
will visit the town and listen for people talk and a hundred
warriors passing through will be an event worthy of
retelling.  You, nephew, can tell of our visit to the
monastery and Brother Aidan. They will enjoy that news.”

The next town was in
Maelienydd.  I could not begin to pronounce it but it was a
prosperous looking place with a wooden wall and armed guards at the
gates. When my uncle explained that we had been on a pilgrimage we
were allowed to enter but I could see that the guards viewed us
with suspicion until we dismounted and they saw my uncle’s
injury.  It made them less suspicious.  We headed for the
hut which had a crudely painted picture of an ear of barley
outside. Aethelward nodded towards it, “An alehouse.  A good
place to begin. You need to listen although if they speak Welsh
then neither of us will understand them.”

Fortunately for us the woman who
owned the alehouse could speak easily with us.  Our coins were
welcomed by her and made us even more welcome.  There was
no-one else in the hut and we struck up a conversation. 
Aethelward asked her if she had rooms and flourished a silver
coin.  Her eager eyes lit up and she told us we could sleep
with the horses in her stable at the rear. I suspected that we had
paid too much for what would be basic accommodation but I knew that
we would be better off and warmer than Ulf and Ridley camped beyond
the town in the woods.

By the time other drinkers had
entered the woman, Morag, was talking with us as though we were old
friends and we were accepted as such by the locals who enjoyed the
chance to talk with strangers from beyond their borders. Aethelward
was correct and my tale of Brother Aidan and his blessing added
truth to the story for he was well known by all. It was Morag who
inadvertently gave us our first intelligence. “If you are heading
back to the land of the Angles then do not go south for there are
many warriors there and I think you will find neither rooms nor
food.”

“Oh many warriors eh? Thank you.
It is kind of you to warn us.”