Gaeth and his companion brought their craft almost under the bows of the vessel. Luckily the craft was so light that it made not a sound as it came into the shadow of the warship. Gaeth and one of the warriors put out their hands to minimise the impact of the craft against the wooden timbers of the larger vessel.
They heard a harsh voice calling from the stern.
‘Did you hear something?’
A sleepy voice replied from nearby.
‘Are you joking? Oystercatchers, terns and gulls — isn’t that enough noise for you?’
‘I thought I heard a cry.’
‘You are lucky to hear anything after a few weeks on this bird-infested island.’
‘We are supposed to be on watch,’ snapped the other voice.
‘Watch for what? The old man was killed, wasn’t he? Didn’t Olcan say as much?’
‘He was, but no one has recovered the body.’
‘We saw the naomhog floating away with the old man slumped in it. You could see the arrow sticking out of his back. Do you think he was going to recover, spring up and row that craft all the way to the mainland? You have a great sense of humour.’
‘Well, what of the woman and her companion? I suppose we don’t have to worry about them?’
‘We’ll collect them tomorrow morning. If they made it to that other island safely, that is. They took the last of the hermits’ canoes and it was a leaky one at that. That’s why Olcan didn’t bother to destroy it. No sane person would have attempted to put to sea in that. They are probably drowned anyway. I don’t think we have to bother looking for them.’
There was silence for a moment.
‘Well, Olcan wants us to look over the island anyway.’
‘Why does Olcan think that they have gone there? There are plenty of nearer islands to the north and east.’
The other voice laughed harshly.
‘When it was found they had escaped, a search was made, and Olcan spotted their canoe heading to the north-west. It’s the only island of any size in that direction.’
‘They will have probably missed the island altogether in the darkness… if they didn’t sink first,’ the other responded.
‘When Olcan comes aboard at first light we’ll go and have a look. He doesn’t want to fall into disfavour with the Master.’
‘Who would?’ said the other one and the words were uttered with a note of fear in them.
In the darkness, Gaeth was indicating towards the headland around which they had come. He and Gaimredan laid into their oars, quietly sculling the boat back around the rocky outcrop and finding a stretch of quiet water. Then they shipped their oars.
‘Did you hear that, lady?’ Gaeth called in a low voice.
Fidelma leaned forward. ‘I did.’
‘It seems as if someone called Olcan is in charge,’ Eadulf observed, feeling he should contribute something.
‘The point is, lady,’ the smith continued, ignoring him, ‘that the religious are prisoners here and well guarded. From what was said, when the old man tried to escape, these people had no scruples but simply shot him. That was the old hermit you found dying, wasn’t it?’
‘It was.’
‘It sounded as if someone else has escaped from these people and fled to one of the other islands,’ Eadulf pointed out.
‘Well, no use worrying about them.’ From behind them, Conri entered
Gaeth was rubbing his chin.
‘From what they said, they were heading to the large island to the north-west. I know it. But that’s uninhabited. If they made it, then our friends in the warship will doubtless recapture them tomorrow.’
Fidelma looked at him with interest.
‘What are you suggesting?’
The smith was reflective for a moment or two.
‘That it is pointless landing on this island. It is well guarded and we know now that the religious are prisoners there. It needs more men than we have to effect any rescue. We might also put ourselves in danger of capture and then we would be unable to summon help.’ He paused.
‘Go on,’ Fidelma urged. ‘Your arguments are logical so far.’
‘If the two who escaped have made it to the other island, we might be able to rescue them and find out from them what is happening and who is behind it.’
Conri was sceptical.
‘You heard what the two men said. The boat probably sank and they are drowned.’
‘On the other hand, the boat might just have made it to the island,’ replied Gaeth. ‘The choice is yours, lady.’
Fidelma hesitated, then asked: ‘Do you think you can navigate to this other island?’
‘It is a place where Gaimredan and I have often lifted crayfish. I know it well.’
‘Then the sooner that we start out, the sooner we shall arrive.’ Without a further word, Gaeth and his company pushed out and manoeuvred the craft back to the open seas. At once the winds rose and the waters became choppy.
Eadulf’s fears came back again as he clung to the side of the pitching boat and once more all four oars were used to propel it across the black sea. Eadulf hoped there were no hidden rocks in the black waters. To his eyes, the seas appeared petulant and heavy, although a seasoned sailor would have observed that the waters were fairly calm.
He eventually became aware of a dark shape looming, just discernible against the western horizon where the sky touched the sea. He was surprised by the height of the cliffs that rose up before them, but then
Gaeth and his companion began to manoeuvre the boat towards the north end of the island. Sheltered from the south-westerly winds, the water grew calmer but was black and fearsome. Eadulf could see the white edges of rocks here and there. Suddenly he saw that they were heading for a black hole in the cliffs, and as it grew closer realised that they were heading for a small cave entrance. He thought a landing impossible. But there were large boulders forming a storm beach at the cave and Gaeth manoeuvred the boat up into a small natural harbour. He was out first, taking the bow rope and holding it while gesturing for the others to climb carefully for’ard and out of the vessel. Once everyone was out, the smith and his companion heaved the boat upwards and on to the smooth boulders above the sea so that it would not be harmed by any rebellious waves.
The air was more peaceful now. While the whispering of the sea continued, a soft breath of a night breeze filled the air. Eadulf realised that he could hear a curious croaking sound. Gaeth, when asked, told him it was merely the male natterjack toads that made the island their home. Now and then came the angry sound of a disturbed tern or gull. He followed the example of the others by stamping his feet to restore the circulation, having been so long in the boat in one position and chilled by the cold of the winter night.
It was then that Eadulf realised just how resourceful Gaeth was, for the smith had removed a leather bag from the boat. From this he took an object which a few moments later revealed itself to be a storm lantern, which the smith lit with the expert deployment of flint and tinder.
He held it up and the others gathered by its light.
‘It looks a large island,’ Fidelma commented, peering into the darkness around them.
‘Not very large. There are only two places where a landing could be effected,’ Gaeth replied. ‘You have seen one. The other is midway down the eastern side where there is another cave. There is no sign of a boat here so if they have managed to make it ashore, the only place they will be is in the other cave.’
‘Do you have another lantern?’ asked Fidelma. ‘It would save time if
Gaeth had, indeed, foreseen the need for a second storm lantern. They were of a type Eadulf knew was called lespaire, made from bronze, and probably the smith had fashioned them himself. They were filled with oil but what type Eadulf could only guess.
‘I will go with one party and Gaimredan will lead the other,’ Gaeth announced. ‘We both know the island and it will be best if both groups have a guide.’
Fidelma and Eadulf chose to go with Gaeth to the second cave while Conri. and his men went with Gaimredan to make sure of the cave at the spot where they had landed.