7

It was well before dusk when we were hurriedly led back to the slender promontory and the marshland route for Athelney.

Geoffrey had sent a group of men back to the scene of Dilwyn’s death to cover our traces and to dispose of the bodies. We hoped that our action wouldn’t bring the villagers more than their already heavy share of troubles before they could get a message home, asking my father to help.

The finger of land began to flatten and widen and our guides, Paul and Hugh, led us off the top path to follow a gully that had been worn smooth over the years by the tramping of feet. This brought us to a hidden entrance in the reed wall and onto an almost-floating, walkway of sheep hurdles that had been laid on the top of piles of tightly bound willow faggots. The pale-brown reeded curtain rose to a height, higher than a man and effectively sealed off the outside world.

I had expected a muffled silence within these labyrinths, but the marsh was full of sound. There was a rustling and hissing of the breeze as it passed through the tasselled reed tops, the gurgling and bubbling of the muddy waters, the frightened call of warblers and the aggressive chatter of the little sparrows.

We followed this quaking walkway deep into the marsh before we scrambled up a short slope and onto a muddy, but firm bank. Here we stopped for a moment to check our back packs, I eased the straps a little and proudly refused to allow Edmund to take my share. As we moved off again, one of the guides, Hugh, looked at the deepening violet of the eastern sky, and bade us make more speed. We had to reach a staging post by dark where we would find some shelter and a small supply of fresh water.

At an easy loping trot the four of us set out along the serpentine route. Incredibly the two men led us around unmarked abrupt corners and, without hesitation, through cross-roads and junctions. Their skill was amazing and, just as the early stars were gathering strength, we arrived at a small grass hovel with a low thatched roof. Paul stopped outside the entrance and softly called a password. We waited in breathless silence but there was no answer, which meant that our lodging for the night was vacant. I was glad to throw off my load and take a turn to sip from the cool water that was in a hanging leather bottle. Hugh and Paul busied themselves with a food parcel and handed out pieces of the most succulent and moist smoked fish that I had ever tasted.

Within just a few moments of finishing our meal I fell asleep. A sound and deep sleep from which you almost always awaken with a slow and befuddled mind. And that was the unwanted state this time. I peered over the collar of my heavy woollen cloak at the shadowy figures that were gathered in the doorway. Some low night-clouds moved away and shafts of moonlight pierced the thatch and partially lit the scene.

Edmund had apparently been keeping a lookout at the doorway, when the challenge of the password had been hissed out of the night. Paul had woken instantly and from the entrance had given the answer. Stealthily, out of the deep, silver-blue shadows a young man slipped into our hide. He was one of the men that Sir Geoffrey had sent to hide the bodies of Dilwyn and his friends. He told us that they had arrived at the scene and had found only three bodies, which they had duly disposed of by weighting them down and sinking them in the mud of the marsh. They could see where a wounded man had recovered and had dragged himself a short distance to where it looked as though some horses had been tethered. The blood stained earth and other signs showed that he was badly, probably mortally, wounded.

When he got back to the village they told Geoffrey what they had found and the old man had questioned them in detail. He had been certain that there should have been four bodies and had sent this youth as messenger to warn us.

The young lad, not much older than me, was so upset that he seemed almost in tears. The situation was very serious he told us, they had tracked the horse and its wounded load and they were sure that it had been headed for Cynwit.

Geoffrey sent the message that we could expect a savage revenge attack. It would be advisable therefore, to keep moving and keep a careful watch. He also sent his apologies, but as they would be so obviously implicated, they had packed their belongings and were leaving the village to whatever fate may befall it at the hands of the High Sheriff. They would take a circuitous route through the margins of the marsh and make their way into the hills and up to Odda’s homestead, where they intended to ask for his protection. He would, of course, also give him news of our fate, but by the time they reached him, any assistance would arrive too late to be of any help.

It was obvious that the escaped thief was the one that had lain at my feet after being struck by our young pack pony. Neither of us had checked the results of the wounds he’d received. They had looked serious, but wounds to the head always bled profusely.

Hearing all this through my sleep-bleary senses, I became alert. I had not untied my pack, I’d fallen asleep so quickly, so it was a matter of only moments to fasten my cloak to the top strapping and make ready to move.

‘Thanks for all that you’ve tried to do, I’m sure my lord Odda will help your people.’ said Edmund.

‘Will you come with us now.’ I asked him.

‘No.’ he answered. ‘I must get back to help my family, both of my parents are old and my only brother is with you already.’ He looked up at his brother. ‘Not all of our people know these paths well enough to use them in the darkness. I was sent because I’d often travelled them to the fishing grounds with Paul.’

The young lad was tired, we gave him some of our food and water and Edmund thanked him again before he got himself ready to move.

We pulled on our packs and, moving away a few paces, left Paul alone with his younger brother. We could all guess what a turmoil our guide’s mind must be in. There was no doubt that he would want to return with his brother to help his family. Both Edmund and I were in a difficult position, we couldn’t go back and, without the assistance of these good people, we couldn’t go on. Edmund spoke quietly to Hugh.

‘Is it possible that the two of us could find our way alone. We have caused you all enough trouble.’

Hugh looked at us carefully before he answered. ‘If the Sheriff and his men hadn’t been so treacherous in their dealings, the situation would never have arisen. But, in answer to your question...no. I don’t believe you could find your way.’ Hugh shrugged. ‘It is my duty to see you safely across and onto the road to Athelney. And, by your leave, that is what I will do.”

‘Perhaps Paul should return with his brother.’ Edmund asked. ‘The Sheriff’s men may be moving already and two would stand a better chance of survival. Especially as one is almost exhausted.’

In answer to the question, the young man called a soft goodbye and disappeared silently into the velvet of the night. Paul was silent as we made ourselves ready to move. Edmund gave me one of the short stabbing swords that we had taken from the bandits and had me attach it to my belt. Both of the guides were armed with similar blades and Hugh assured me they would be ideal for any close-quarter type of fighting that we might encounter.

Hugh was to lead the way for the first leg, followed by myself then Edmund with Paul bringing up the rear.

‘Even with all our travelling last evening, it is such a tortuous route that, as the crow flies, we are still only an arrow’s flight from the shore.’ Hugh nodded towards the north. ‘While we are travelling this next section, we must be very careful not to make any sound which may give away our position to anyone on shore.’

‘With that in mind, it may be best if I follow at a short distance so that I can separate any sounds that we’re making, from those caused by any attempt to follow.’ suggested Paul.

‘ Aye...Good idea.’ said Hugh. ‘Anybody else have any suggestions?’ he looked at Edmund, he shook his head. ‘Right let’s get moving then. You two keep close up behind me and stop for nothing.’

On recollection, Hugh must have known what was likely to happen, for we hadn’t travelled far, when the sound of a tortured scream came to us through the gloom of the earliest of dawn’s moments.

‘The Sheriff’s men have arrived.’ whispered Edmund in my ear.

‘Stay here.’ hissed Hugh as he slipped past us heading back to reach Paul.

From behind us we heard a whispered string of Saxon curses.

‘Paul. Stay a moment.’ Hugh called softly. ‘It may not be your brother. And even if it is, you cannot help him now.’

The dark shape of Hugh’s hurrying form slipped by us once more, above him I could see the faintest greying tinge on the eastern horizon. But more clearly in my memory, I could see the face of that young fisherman and loyal son. I hoped that he was all right.

We ran on, slowing only briefly now and then to catch our breath and take a sip of precious water. As we rounded a sharp bend in the path we came upon a broad expanse of open water which reflected the pale sheen of the new day.

To the side of our path was a narrow area of raised ground which was topped with a dense growth of lush willow. One of the apparent islands in this sea of marshland. Hugh called a halt and carefully threaded his way through the slender willow branches to the top of the mound. He was only there for a moment and was back on the track before Paul came up to us. Hugh caught him by the shoulders and they spoke quietly. Whatever was said seemed to steady the younger man. Hugh turned to us,

‘We will stay here for a few moments and rest.’ Hugh gestured to the top of the rise. ‘It looks as though the Sheriff is preparing to set fire to the marshland reeds.’ he paused and glanced at his friend. ‘It shouldn’t trouble us too much. At least, with no wind it won’t. We will carry on in a moment and, when we do, we’ll leave the path and take a short cut. It’s not a well known route, and only possible after a long dry spell and a period of extra low tides.’ he pointed at the far bank. ‘It’s straight across the lake that you see there, in front of you.’

Paul stood and looked out across the expanse of water. Towards the centre they could all see the roughened telltale patch of a passing breeze. It seemed to be heading away from them.

‘It’s the way around here, that the wind will build with the sunrise.’ he looked back towards us. ‘Can either of you swim ?’ he asked.

We shook our heads nervously.

‘Don’t worry.’ he said. ‘It’s not far.’

Almost on cue the spindly branches of the willow rustled and waved. We watched Paul and Hugh search the bank for the pathway and the notion of a smoky smell came to us. The summer so far had been very dry and warm, the reeds would be tinder dry.

Edmund ducked low and crab-wise, scrambled carefully up the mound until he could see above the tall swaying wall of reed. He came down quickly.

‘They’re burning it all right. They’ve set it alight in a long line. We’re quite close to one end, so they probably don’t know where we are. Let’s get the packs on.’

Even as he spoke the smell of smoke became stronger, tickling at the back of the throat.

‘Come on you two.’ called Paul. ‘The way across starts just over here. It will cut the journey by quite a lot, but better still, it will put all that water between us and the Sheriff’s heated temper.’

We hurried over to Hugh who was binding together some parcels of reeds.

‘If we had time, we could make a usable boat out of these.’ he nodded to the small raft that he’d almost finished. ‘As it is, this will have to do.’ he stood up. ‘It may become a bit deep over there, near the opposite bank. If it does I want you two to hold on to this float, while Paul and I steer it and move us to the shore. Slip your boots off and put them on the raft with your packs.’

We all leant a hand to push the flimsy craft into the water, Hugh followed it and, wading around to the front, took hold of one of the roughly braided ropes. The water was brown and cloudy, like the colour of new beer.

‘We have to aim directly for that bare willow branch over there.’ he pointed to the far bank. ‘The water is cold and it will get colder as we move out towards the centre, so we won’t want to go too slowly. Let’s hope that they don’t spot us from the shore.’ he glanced at Paul. ‘All ready my friend?’ Paul nodded and slid into the water beside him.

‘You two follow along behind the raft, hold onto it, but try not to put any more weight on it until you need to.’

We slid into the shallow water, it came almost to my waist. He was right, the soupy brown water was very cold. Paul turned to us as we began to move off.

‘We’re outlaws now, as far as they are concerned anyway.’ he nodded towards a broadening cloud of smoke. ‘So keep a sharp lookout behind us, they’ll not be very gentle if they manage to catch us up.’

‘Outlaws! Good Lord, whatever will father say.’ I whispered to Edmund.

‘Don’t even ask me to think about it.’ he groaned. ‘I’m dreading finding out. I’m supposed to be looking after you!’

As fast as we could, we continued to push across the expanse of brackish, icy water which slowly crept past waist level. And still there was no sign of pursuit from behind. The smoke rose like a curtain until the breeze bent its top towards us. It looked to me as though the Sheriff’s attempt to bring us out with smoke and fire may have turned back upon its perpetrator. The breeze was carrying the thick pall across the reed bed like a screen, effectively concealing anything beyond it. The frightened calls of birds became clearer as the burning wall of dried vegetation approached the bank that we had recently left.

‘If we can make the opposite bank before the smoke clears, they won’t know if we’ve perished or escaped.’ said Edmund. ‘Not until it’s too late that is.’

Hugh and Paul looked over their shoulders at the darkened sky. Hugh nodded and with a redoubled effort we began to stir a foamy furrow in the surface of the muddy water. We hadn’t managed many strides before the level of the water began to rapidly rise towards my armpits.

‘Hold on tight.’ Hugh called to us as they moved to either side of the tiny craft. ‘Just kick your legs if you can, and try to stay calm. We’ll be out of here before you can say High Sheriff Morfann!’ he chuckled as they pushed off and swam ahead, towing us directly towards the now agonisingly close, south western edge of the inland sea.

It was a strange feeling to have my body totally immersed in the deep water. I marvelled at the ease with which Hugh and Paul seemed to take us through the water. Turning to Edmund, I was about to suggest that we ought to learn this skill, when I noticed that his eyes were tight shut and his body seemed as rigid as an oaken beam. Not the right time I thought, and concentrated on trying to kick with my heavy, numb-cold legs.

It seemed to take an age to reach the shore, but in truth it couldn’t have taken long and I was surprised to find that I needed help to pull myself from the water and up onto the top of the short steep bank. Everything was so heavy and I felt exhausted from the chill of the water. Hugh and Paul unloaded the raft and dragged that from the water too. Then we took a few moments of well earned rest, sitting among the scrubby bushes and gazing across the water at the flickering lights of our pursuing fire.

Try as I might, to stop it, I could feel myself shivering, and with difficulty I stood and flexed my stiff, aching muscles. We would all have to move on soon.

‘How much farther is it?’ I asked.

‘By making our way across the lake, we’ve more than halved the journey time.’ Hugh frowned and looked up at the sun. ‘It’s almost midday.’ he muttered, thinking aloud. ‘We are practically clear of the worst marshland now, you could be there by dusk.’ he looked at me and added. ‘But we ought to take a while for rest. At least long enough to dry ourselves.’

‘Will you come with us to Alfred’s court?’ asked Edmund.

‘We have friends in a village close to where we’ll meet the road to Athelney, and I for one, would like to head towards them.’ answered Hugh.

‘We’ll be able to melt into their village and be quite safe from the likes of cruel Morfann.’ added Paul. ‘I must try to find out what happened last night.’

Hugh nodded. ‘I think we must try to return to our people as soon as we are able. We are all on the Sheriff’s wanted list, and must remember that.’

‘I’m certain that I can find our way once we reach the foothills.’ offered Edmund. ‘If you would come with us as far as that, maybe we could coax a small fire to dry our things and ease our bones. But before we part we must arrange a way to get in touch again, so we can give you any news.’

And off we went, but at a much more gentle pace than recently. Across the lake, every now and then, we could see the fire flaring into bright, spiralling pillars. The wind was swinging around and seemed to be turning back upon our enemies. It would turn, or at least slow the fire, which would then burn out quite quickly, but it gave me some satisfaction to think of them peering into the hot smoke with red prickly eyes.

I wasn’t sorry to turn away from the scene of our escape and head towards the expected civilities of my new academic life.