Revelyn: 1st Chronicles - When the last arrow falls (48 page)

They stood in amazement as did the soldiers below for they had been roused when the fire was reported, and they could see the canopy glowing like a beacon. Grundig stood with his mouth gaping, part awestruck part in fury. But he found not a word would pass his lips.

‘The woman is a witch,’ said one lone old soldier, for the company of men were spellbound by the beauty and the magic of it all.

‘It is a beacon men,’ Captain Bach had regained some composure. ‘We may be under attack.’ But even he was seduced by the vision floating gently in the sky far above.

A gentle clanging sound brought Sylvion and Reigin back to reality.

‘Look! Sylvion exclaimed. ‘The cauldron has lifted clear of the roof.’ They walked around it in amazement. Only the several ropes to the battlements held it from floating off into the night.

‘You were right Sylvion. This is a most amazing thing.’ Reigin was truly awestruck, for whilst he had determined to serve this wonderful woman, he did not fully understand how it was possible to capture the air itself and fly with it to freedom.

‘Quickly Reigin for our fuel must not be consumed!’ Sylvion was now determined that the final and most dangerous part of her plan be carried out. In quick time they managed to secure all the charcoal sacks of fuel to the rope around the canopy opening. The heat of the cauldron made it a challenge but soon enough it was accomplished. Each had a smaller rope which led back to Reigin’s hammock which was little more than a canvas bag in which he would stand. This too was roped to the canopy. Sylvion’s hammock was on the far side of the fire so as to balance the cauldron as best they were able. They put water and food into their hammocks and lastly Reigin tied a long pole with a knife bound to one end to his hammock.

With all the added weight the cauldron still sat clear of the roof, and the canopy above pulled fiercely to the sky.

There were several sacks left sitting on the parapet so Reigin carefully tossed them into the cauldron. The fire rose around them and the canopy bucked and swayed with life.

‘Let us depart and see what lies beyond these solemn walls Reigin.’ Sylvion spoke with eager and almost breathless anticipation.

‘Let us indeed my lady,’ said Reigin almost reverentially for he was still in awe of what had come to pass.

They climbed awkwardly into their hammocks and put on cloaks and gloves. The cauldron suddenly clanged loudly for with their added weight there was now not enough lift to take them up. They looked at each other for it was the last difficulty and one which Sylvion solved in moment of pure inspiration.

‘Take my blade Reigin,’ she instructed, ‘and pierce the cauldron, low down around its base.’ The huge man obeyed without question for by now he had absolute confidence in this amazingly resourceful woman. With renewed vigour he leapt from his hammock and did as he had been commanded. He was amazed at the ease with which the beautiful blade went through the heated copper. As each hole appeared the air was sucked in and like a smithy’s forge fed by the bellows the fire increased in intensity. It began to roar so loudly that the soldiers watching, unmoving and awestruck far below, heard it clearly.

‘Do they have a wild beast up there with them?’ whispered the same old soldier who had spoken before. ‘I’ve never heard such a noise before. This is sorcery to be sure.’

And then suddenly, to a man, the two hundred soldiers of Captain Bach’s Brigade all gasped in amazement, for the huge beacon began to fly. It lifted slowly up and began to move south and west with the breeze. The roaring glowing cauldron became visible, and two figures hanging next to it. The woman prisoner was shrouded as ever. The
Wolver
was there too, alive and under her spell for a certainty. She waved down at them in a mocking manner, and suddenly let fall a small round object which landed with a thud at the feet of a pale and trembling Captain Bach.

He ignored it and cried out what he knew deep down was his final command.

‘After them men, for they are getting away.’ But not a single soldier dared to move for they were under the spell of the giant beacon, all lit from within and with dancing pictures shining down upon them.
How before all the gods did one think that they could capture such a dangerous and deadly beautiful object
?
They would all surely perish
,
for there was magic in the air
. And so they stood and turned and watched as this new thing, this amazing creature of the night, flew away off into the darkness, climbing ever higher until the sobs of captain Bach came clearly to them, for he had read the simple parchment note which Sylvion had tossed down wrapped up in one of Reigin’s rocks. He would not ever show it to any man, but all knew that it was his death warrant, for this woman whoever she was, had a hold over him now which would not be released this side of the grave.

Finally, far off and high up to the south and east they lost sight of the glowing creature, and in the gloom and destruction of the vault they did not know what next to do, and Captain Bach found he could think of nothing to say, for the mighty image of an angry and vengeful Zelfos filled his mind with terror.

But far off, Sylvion and Reigin were flying to freedom and a different Revelyn thereafter.

Chapter 14

Sylvion was amazed at the quiet. She had thought that to fly high above the earth at the mercy of the elements would have been like sailing, with the wind whistling through the rigging and a motion which the body found uncomfortable at best; but the experience was nothing like this. Apart from the mighty sizzling of the fire in the cauldron which sucked in air through the several vent holes Reigin had made in its base like some animal devouring carrion, it was quiet. It was also, almost motionless. Of course she knew they were moving, for the ground far below was passing by, but if she shut her eyes she could have been standing on the floor of the Vault warmed by the cauldron fire and not here, high in the heavens. She was exhilarated beyond words.

‘We are flying Reigin.’ She shouted across to her companion. ‘I can’t believe it we are actually flying. It worked, Reigin, it worked!’

Reigin stood in his hammock which Sylvion had stitched. It came to his waist and was held, like hers, to the canopy above by four stout ropes. He held firmly to two and laughed. He did not speak for he knew that no words were to be found for such magic and cleverness. This woman, once his prisoner, now his lady; she had done this. When all hope was taken from her, alone and friendless at the very end of her life she had brought into being that which had never been seen or known, and they had escaped, they were flying!  His laughter was from relief, and joy too; joy at the new life ahead whether short or long, whether they fell to earth and died, or he lived long in the service of this marvellous woman. Beyond that he could not think.

Sylvion watched him across the boiling fire. She watched him laugh and knew that it was something he had not done so easily in the past. It made her glad, for in him she had perceived a depth of character and goodness which the
Wolver
had not been allowed to realise. She turned back and spied the great Vault, now nothing but a dark shape on the far horizon. In the clear night air it stood silhouetted against the sky like a Gnabi vulture brooding over the plains below. The smoke from its fire was diminishing and made but a smudge in the air above it. She remembered the faces of the men below as her wonderful craft had taken flight for those first few moments; the shock and fear, and the unbridled loathing and terror on the face of Captain Bach.  In the instant that their eyes had met she knew as he did, in a moment of sudden realisation, that their positions had suddenly changed about, and he was now the Vault’s new prisoner, and she was free. Free to fly away into a new life.

 Sylvion started to laugh as well, and together with the huge soldier so changed and in awe of all that had happened to him and around him in the days past, they let their emotions fly as well. Not far below they failed to see the
carriave.
It flew true on a path which its tiny brain did not understand, but which by instinct it would follow until death intervened, or it arrived safely back in the capital of Ramos, long leagues to the south and west. Captain Piras Sleeman had lost no time in sending a report back to his masters. Neither had he wasted words, for there was little which needed to be said.

To the Commander of the Royal Night Guard. Ramos

Prisoner has escaped, by sorcery. The
Wolver
has joined her. Captain Bach unable to command. Await your orders.

Captain Piras Sleeman.

When Sylvion looked again, the Vault had disappeared behind some clouds. Realising that she needed a plan she turned back to Reigin and called out.

‘What speed do you think we are making Reigin?’

He shook his head and shrugged. The land below, bathed in the light of a three-quarter moon lay before them like a picture. He watched for a time and measured their movement against a hillside.

‘Perhaps four leagues to the span,’ he called back, ‘for it is a gentle breeze.’

‘And how long will our fuel last?’ Sylvion called again, for it was Reigin’s job to feed the insatiable cauldron. He was more comfortable with this, for he had watched the fire closely over the past few days trying to understand the way the fire burnt. He knew that the holes he had made in the cauldron at Sylvion’s instruction had meant the fire was more fierce and burnt more quickly.

‘We have two dozen sacks,’ he called back. ‘I think perhaps we get a single sack to the span, but the fire is fierce now, so perhaps we will get less. I think we have till dawn Sylvion, for we left at midnight and there is near enough eighteen spans to sunrise from then...’ he kept up the calculations in his head, trying to solve the riddle of the distance they might cover in that time.

‘That is about three score plus ten leagues,’ Sylvion called across to him for her quick mind knew the answer easily. ‘That will take us beyond Lockerbie, which is all I had planned.’

‘Could we make the mainland?’ Reigin replied. It was question which they both considered, for to land on the Cape and try to steal a boat for the treacherous trip across the Norz Gulf was not something either of them desired.

‘At this speed we will get about half way,’ Sylvion called back. ‘We will land in the sea!’

This statement ended the discussion and Reigin realised that the fire was fading a little. He pulled on the rope which held the long pole to which a sharp knife was lashed. It hung below his hammock and was easily retrieved. Using the pole he carefully cut away one of the charcoal sacks which were tied to the underside of the canopy on the double rope loop. The sack fell to hang on its own tether, also below his hammock. Reigin pulled it slowly up and when he had it in his grasp, used his belt knife to cut away the tether. The next bit required care, for he had to throw the whole sack into the cauldron. Whilst an easy task for the huge man with two feet on firm ground, but high above the earth, swinging in a canvas hammock he was unsure just how much effort he would need to use. Sylvion watched quietly for she had no advice on this. Reigin alone must solve the riddle, and they needed every sack of precious fuel.

He threw the sack easily, but as he did the hammock moved back. He felt it and adjusted the strength of his action; the sack arced quickly across the several cubits between Reigin and the cauldron. It hit the nearside and teetered for a moment before falling into the fire where it was immediately consumed by flames. Sylvion breathed again, for she realised that she had not taken a breath whilst she watched.

‘Well done Reigin!’ she called, and he smiled in relief.

Below them the barren Cape passed slowly by. There were farms and houses and even a few hamlets dotted about. Lights were few for it was early morning and most people were asleep. For the most part it was the hardy Cape sheep which watched the passing of the huge beacon, although a drunk lying half awake in a ditch saw the vision and would thereafter tell the story to any who would listen to his mad ramblings, of the fire in the sky and the visions from heaven.

Sylvion thought hard now upon what must happen next. The more she thought of trying to steal a boat in Lockerby, the more she realised that it was fraught with problems. But the Norz Gulf was a barrier which was beyond them at their current gentle speed, which was no more than a fast walk in the soft night breeze.

‘Reigin,’ she called. ‘We must go faster! We must carry the Gulf, for to land here is too dangerous. Bach may have sent a message to Lockerbie already and there are soldiers garrisoned there. To take a boat from the harbour will be impossible...’ She stopped and thought further.

‘I agree,’ Reigin called back but we cannot go faster by adding fuel although we may go higher!’ And suddenly she had the answer.

‘You are right Reigin that it is, we must go higher, for the wind will be surely stronger up higher. Often on a cloudy day you can see the highest clouds travelling fastest. We must go up Reigin and see what wind we can catch.’ She was excited once more, for to carry the Gulf was far more than she had ever hoped to achieve when first she had formed her mad plan. 

‘It will use up the fuel more quickly,’ Reigin’s voice broke through her excitement, ‘and we are hard pressed to make the distance at the present.’

‘That’s why we need more speed,’ she called back.’ It is a huge gamble Reigin, I know, but it is worth it. Besides, we can come down before we reach the sea if the wind is not as we need. We have enough fuel to find out. Let us try!’

‘As my lady wishes,’ Reigin whispered, and went to throw more sacks upon the fire.

Sylvion watched as Reigin added four more sacks of fuel to the cauldron, which was about as much as it could take, for the final sack almost rolled over the far side and was lost. Only by his quick action with the long pole and knife did he manage to slash the sack open in the cauldron and spill the charcoal out saving the fuel. The pole was quickly charred from the heat and the lashings holding the knife caught alight. This too would have been a disaster for without the pole and knife the remaining sacks could not have been cut away. Reigin was able to retrieve the pole and using his gloved hands extinguished the smouldering rope lashings and so kept their escape alive.