The Red And Savage Tongue (Historical Fiction Action Adventure Book, set in Dark Age post Roman Britain) (8 page)

     Some of the men were about to respond when Withred reached the group. He held up his hand to Egbert.
‘Wait Egbert, not so quick, you are forgetting that we’ve still not found the lad. I see here a replacement, or do you wish to eat Hubert’s cooking again?’

     Egbert considered this for a moment. Hubert, a skinny warrior with dubious personal hygiene, had been the camp cook before Tomas had arrived. His meals had been badly prepared and often undercooked, and Egbert had lost count of the number of times he had hurled his food at Hubert
, after attempting to chew on the stringy offerings before him. He had been surprised at Tomas’s adaptability around the campfire and was aware of the great improvement in both quality and quantity of food since his capture. He put this down to the boy’s background and assumed that all Britons knew how to cook. He looked at Simon and reasoned that a Briton as old as he must also know how to make swine tasty.

     He nodded at Withred.
‘You seem to be more and more pitiful these days heron, but maybe you’ve a point.’ He paused a moment as he considered the possibilities. ‘Okay … I’ll let him live for now—I can always kill him later if he proves to be no better than Hubert at cooking. As for the woman, she’ll make up for losing the boy. Let us hope Eadmund holds
him
as I speak.’

     The men looked back up the track towards the leafy hollow where they had left Eadmund to search for Tomas. Egbert shouted at them.
‘Well! Why do you stare? Go now and help in the search! Don’t forget we also seek the other Briton who killed two of our companions!’

Tomas lay still as Edmund’s probing feet finally kicked softly into his body. The barbarian’s arms followed as he grabbed the boy and pulled him triumphantly out of the leaves, his face contorted with happiness. He beamed as he thought of how his prestige would recover now that he had recaptured the defeated slave-boy. Maybe Egbert would stop pushing him around now.

    
Tomas’ eyes opened wide with surprise as he noticed the arrowhead sprout from Eadmund’s sternum. A bloody, frothy spluttering was the best that Eadmund could muster as he fell to the ground.

    He saw the group of three standing fifty paces away. Quickly, he waved his arms and shouted,
‘Don’t loose an arrow at me sir! I’m not one of them. I run from them like you. I was their slave and now I have escaped. I speak British. I
am
British.’

     Dominic shouted back,
‘Come show yourself lad, I’ll let you live if you satisfy me that you are a friend.’

     Tomas walked towards them with his palms outstretched.
‘See, I’m unarmed,’ he stuttered. ‘My name is Tomas and I’m too small to fight anyone.’

     Murdoc could not help but feel sympathy for the boy who stumbled towards them. His smock hung loose and beltless over his bony frame; his hose holed and muddy, and his brown hair ruffled and festooned with dead leaves. Murdoc
turned to Dominic who nodded in affirmation. ‘It seems that we now number four. What now?’

     Tomas smiled with delight at his
imminent acceptance, as Dominic looked in a westerly direction and quickly outlined his intention. ‘We need to get to country that I’m more familiar with, and where we can vanish into the woods.’ There was a grim cast to his eyes as he turned his piercing gaze upon Tomas. ‘You seem harmless enough … so yes … you can run with us, but you had better keep up because once lost, you stay lost!’ 

    
Tomas didn’t intend to fall behind or get
lost
even if it meant running until his lungs burst and his heart leapt out of his chest. Dominic continued his assessment of Tomas a while longer, causing the boy to shuffle uncomfortably.

    
‘No time to dawdle here,’ said Dominic, relenting. ‘Every minute is now precious. It’s lucky for the lad that we heard them diverted elsewhere and I took a look around. Now we need to move because they
will
be back.’ Turning on his heel, he ran towards an area of the forest where the vegetation grew thicker. He turned to the others. ‘Follow me now and keep up!’ he shouted.

They travelled at a steady pace for the rest of the day without hindrance or pursuit, and finally came to rest by a bank of bracken. Dominic carefully led them through a subtle break in the outcrop into a cleared area that was unseen from the faint trail they had left. It was one of many of his hidden stores, which he had scattered throughout his hunting grounds. He brushed aside leaf litter from the floor of the clearing and removed a rough, wooden cover set into the ground. From beneath the cover, he removed a wooden box containing dried, salted meat, edible plant tubers, and a cooking pot. With the use of his flint and iron, he soon had a fire going, and after filling the pot with water from a nearby spring, he prepared a stew from the ingredients before him.

     It was the first cooked meal any of them had had for days and for all of them the finest feast they could remember. After the meal, Dominic again looked Tomas in the eye.
‘Now lad, you say you was their slave, therefore you must have known of their purpose in this forest. Were they seeking people? Chasing escaped captives?’    

     T
omas shook his head. ‘No … a woman
did
get away at the village, but they soon give up the chase. It’s not worth their while to spend any more time chasing folk. Their purpose now is to find a way through the forest so they can report back any new land suitable for taking.’

     Dominic looked tr
oubled at the news. He knew the savages would find the main track soon. They headed in a northerly direction, so could not fail to. If they found the track, they would also find his camp. They must be prepared for this likelihood. He told the group of his fears.

     Tomas became agitated.
‘But what are we to do against
them
? Two men, and a boy and girl, against a band of warriors. I’ve seen what they do. We must continue to run and hide.’

     Murdoc
’s eyes blazed. ‘They are
not
warriors! What kind of warriors become fattened upon the blood of the weak and defenceless—they are cowards I tell you, stinking cowards!’ His anger subsided as he saw the boy cowering at his outburst, and after a pause, he placed his hand on Tomas’ shoulder and continued calmly. ‘But of course you are right lad; we can’t meet them man for man that’s for sure, and my first duty is to Ceola whose survival will be impossible if I perish.’

     Dominic rubbed the ache out of his shoulder.
‘We’ll all perish if we don’t rest, and here’s as good a place as any. I’ve spent many nights here, and on a night like this it’ll be dry and safe.’ 

    
They settled down and talked until dusk, enclosed within the shaded interior of the bracken barrier, where they spent the night comfortable and hidden.

     The next day
, Dominic was up early, and before the others had arisen, he had prepared a simple meal of forest fruit and dried meat. Murdoc was the first to wake and joined Dominic who was staring moodily into the forest. Sitting beside him, he asked, ‘You look grim this morning, man. What bothers you?

     Dominic gave a
thin smile and shrugged. ‘I was just thinking of how my life has suddenly changed. The simplicity has gone and though I long for it back, I now feel a duty to our folk.’ He looked at Murdoc, his eyes welling. ‘Like you, I’ve seen what they do to people. The sacked village I came upon provided me with enough scenes to fill a thousand nightmares. Women, children, the old, the weak—all of them mutilated and treated like offal. How can you pray to God, to your Jesus? He’s supposed to protect innocent people isn’t he?’

     Murdoc paused a while before answering.
‘I
do
struggle with it, believe me, but my faith is just about hanging on even though my own family was butchered. It’s said that God left men with the freedom to direct their own path to heaven or hell. Don’t forget that our old Gods were not innocent of bloodshed; many were sacrificed to please them before battle when Rome first came to these shores.’

     Dominic stood up and looked back to the sleeping Tomas and Ceola.
‘Well it seems that someone looks after those two for now. Be it God or providence we may never know, but I preach caution today. The bastards are in the same forest as us— that I do believe.’

     Later, when Tomas and Ceola were ready for the journey, Tomas approached Murdoc as he held his daughter. He looked embarrassed and awkward when he asked Murdoc.
‘May I carry Ceola for you?  She reminds me of my sister, and it would be good to carry her like I used to carry my sister … for part of the way at least.’

     Murdoc looked at Ceola, and the little g
irl nodded to him. Her condition after eating Dominic’s food and sleeping soundly had worked wonders to revive her spirit, as well as her physical wellbeing. He reluctantly handed her to Tomas.

     As they travelled, Dominic took the lead and occasionally would tell them to stop and be silent. Then he would run stealthily ahead
, checking the intended route. This done, he would emerge from the trees several minutes later and beckon the others towards him.

     They progressed like this for the rest of the day until they stopped beside a
wide-girthed beech. Dominic led them into a group of shoulder-high shrubbery behind the tree. ‘We’ve earned another meal and a night’s rest,’ he said. ‘Now where have I hidden my provisions?’

     He searched for a short while then lifted a crude but effective ladder from the undergrowth. Turf and leaves festooned it, as well as a long coil of rope. He shook the ladder to remove the accumulated vegetation and tugged firmly at the rope attached to its top rung. The others looked puzzled
. He laughed and pointed above into the canopy of the beech tree. ‘The ladder gets us as far as the first bough, after that the climbing’s easy. There is a platform thirty strides from the ground which as you can see, or should I say
can not
see, is hidden from view.’

     Murdoc grinned at Dominic.
‘How many more surprises can we expect?’      

    
Dominic shrugged. ‘This is just one of many shelters I use on my travels. They come in handy and I keep the best in good repair. In the trees or underground; I don’t mind as long as they keep me safe.’

     Ceola and Tomas were sitting under the tree talking quietly to each other. They had walked hand in hand all that day and a bond had begun to grow between them. Their shared misfortunes and horrors were drawing them closer to each other, and the young girl was comfortable being with Tomas.

     Dominic saw Murdoc look up, anxiously trying to locate the high platform. Dominic attempted to put him at ease. ‘Have no worries about Ceola getting up there, this old tree provides an easy route up to the hideaway. Once you’re past the ladder, just follow my lead.’

     He placed the ladder against the tree and nimbly climbed up to the first branch, eight feet above the leaf-strewn floor. Tomas and Ceola went next, with Murdoc the last to climb and ready to assist Ceola should she struggle. Dominic’s assurance proved true, and they easily reached the first bough. Then they picked a benign route through the branc
hes until reaching the platform—a concealed and roomy loft, high above the ground. Dominic pulled up the ladder with the attached twine.

     That night Murdoc dreamt he was an eagle fledgling ready to take his first flight from a lofty eerie. He sprang from the pinnacle and stretched his wings, only to discover that he was a flightless and foolish man, plummeting through the air. He awoke with a start and sat upright, feeling the rough but reassuring platform beneath him. Ever
yone else seemed to be sleeping—Ceola tethered to a branch as an extra precaution—so he lay flat again and returned to his sleep.

     The next morning, Dominic and Murdoc
awoke early and climbed down the tree, leaving Tomas and Ceola sleeping soundly.

     Dominic looked anxious as he peered into the distance.
‘I’d feel better if I knew their whereabouts. Every blind turn makes my heart race.’
     Murdoc nodded in agreement. ‘Then we need to find their trail. I’ll come with you if you want, as long as the young ones are safe here.’

    
‘If they don’t stray they couldn’t be safer,’ said Dominic, ‘I’ve spent many days and nights here and know it to be safe. Besides, I could do with your spear alongside my bow should things go wrong.’

     They explained the plan to Tomas and Ceola later that morning
, as Dominic provided them with enough food and water to last them a week, and gave them strict instructions not to stray from the tree. He also gave Tomas a spare bow and a quiver of arrows, which he had hidden months earlier in a hollow under the tree.

     Just before midday, Murdoc picked up Ceola and hugged her, before turning to Tomas.
‘Look after her Tom, and remember what we told you: don’t stray from the tree.’

    
‘We’ll wait for as long as it takes,’ said Tomas, ‘and will be up the tree as quickly as two squirrels if we hear any noise.’