‘I presume it was one of Glaed’s men?’ Fidelma said.
‘Not only that, but the man was one of those who had served Fidaig when he was alive. He was a brutal fellow. He saw me, and recognised me as the escaped bond-servant who used to work in Fidaig’s household. Giving a roar, he jumped from his horse, grabbing me by the hair as I turned to run. He threw me to the ground, striking me a couple of times.’
‘How did you escape?’
‘I heard him say something about taking me to Fidaig’s son for punishment – but that first I would have to amuse him. I know I lay helpless with the man bending over me and then I heard him squeal, a terrible animal-like squeal ending in a grunt as you hear when a wild boar is slaughtered. His body was heavy on me and then I felt it being dragged off. There was Corradain trying to help me to my feet. I saw my attacker lying on the ground with one of Corradain’s great wood axes embedded in his head.’
She shuddered and took another swallow of water, her shaking hands making her spill some of. Then she tried to continue in a more controlled fashion.
‘Corradain was anxious. He said that there might be comrades of the man about as he could hear the movement of horses below. I was dizzy from my injuries and scarce knew what I was doing. He led me around the back of the cabin, opened the wooden hatch door into the fotholl and told me to hide inside. He said he would try to disguise the entrance.’
‘That he did,’ muttered Enda. ‘He spread gorse over the trap door.’
‘After I hid I could hear a lot of shouting. I heard horses and excited movement – and then I heard the sound of crackling flames. I could feel the heat even down in the fotholl but, of course, thanks to my uncle, I was well protected from the flames. I have no idea how long I was there. I kept feeling dizzy from the blows the man gave to my head. Perhaps I passed out. Then I heard horses again. I was frightened. Suddenly the hatch was wrenched open, and … and you were standing there.’
Fidelma was nodding slowly. ‘We can only guess at what happened after Corradain hid you. Once he had attempted to disguise the entrance to your hiding place, he must have run back to the front of the cabin. Unfortunately, he did not have the chance to find another weapon by the time your attacker’s companions arrived. One of them, perhaps two, shot him with two arrows in the chest and he was killed instantly. Having found their companion dead with the woodsman’s axe in his head, they decided to wreak their revenge by setting the cabin alight. We saw it burning from a distance and by the time we reached here it was smouldering and destroyed.’
‘That seems to be the truth of it,’ agreed Eadulf. ‘What concerns me is that Gorman left here early this morning. It is now nearly twilight and he has not returned.’
‘Could he have come back while you were hiding and you did not hear him?’ Fidelma asked the girl.
‘I heard your horses so I think I would have heard his returning,’ Aibell replied in a troubled voice.
‘Maybe not,’ intervened Enda. ‘If he returned at the height of the fire, the crack of the flames would have been deafening.’
‘Yet, if he did, then he would have encountered the attackers whom we can safely identify as Glaed’s men,’ Fidelma said.
‘Were they stragglers following Glaed, or were they part of his main band?’ Eadulf wanted to know. ‘There are too many things unknown to start forming conclusions. The main question is: what has happened to Gorman?’
Enda pointed to the darkening sky. ‘Perhaps an even more pressing question is: where should we camp for this night? It will soon be too dark to see anything and, if these marauders are still about, we daren’t light a fire.’
‘But if we don’t light a fire, and Gorman is seeking to return, he will miss us,’ Aibell protested.
‘I am afraid it seems inevitable that something has already delayed him,’ Eadulf told her gently.
‘We must accept the realities of the current situation,’ Fidelma stated. ‘We can do nothing until first light. The only place we can pass the night is here. We can utilise the smouldering cabin for warmth by sleeping near it – we could even light a fire behind the remaining walls. I don’t think it would be seen from below this hill, but I would not advise it since it is not necessary. It won’t hurt us for one night to drink water and eat something cold.’
‘Well,’ Enda suddenly rose, ‘before I cannot see a hand in front of me, I’ll check out Corradain’s fotholl, in case he has stored something edible there that we could use.’
‘We should also attend to the horses,’ Fidelma said, looking around. ‘I suppose they made off with your horse, Aibell?’
‘It appears so. Corradain had an ass but kept his other animals at his son’s farmstead on the northern side of this hill.’
Eadulf had nearly forgotten that Marban had mentioned a farmstead run by Corradain’s son.
‘Have you been there?’
The girl shook her head. ‘Corradain told us about it. His wife is long dead and his son and daughter-in-law look after a farmstead down on the plain. Corradain preferred to dwell in the forest. His love was trees and the wild game of the woods.’
Enda reappeared, carrying some items. ‘Corradain was storing jugs of cold apple cider down there and there are apples a-plenty. Oh, and I found a jar of dried hazelnuts, some already-roasted acorns and a good supply of sweet chestnuts. We shall not starve.’
‘You are sure that they are sweet chestnuts?’ Eadulf was particular. As a child, he had once mistakenly thought all chestnuts were the same and ate an inedible horse chestnut. He was sick for a day.
Enda’s voice was pained. ‘Friend Eadulf, I would hope you thought better of my knowledge.’
‘We will have to share what covering we can,’ Fidelma said, changing the subject. ‘While the days are warm, the nights can be cold, so I suggest that as soon as we have the horses tethered safely, you find a suitable spot near the remains of the cabin to bed down. Tomorrow we shall have a lot to do.’
‘A lot to do?’ queried Eadulf.
‘There are two bodies to be buried,’ she replied. ‘And in the light we must find forage for the horses. Then, of course, we must decide what to do next before we move on.’
Eadulf had almost forgotten about the two bodies, and with the moon now rising, he suggested that he and Enda move them to the farthest side of the smoking ruins from where they intended to sleep. Night had fallen but the crisp white glow of the moon was such that their gruesome task was made easy. The only thing the moonlight could not do was differentiate the colour of the vegetation to identify any good forage for their horses and so they tethered them near the lower end of the brook so that at least the beasts had water enough.
Although they settled themselves, and ate sparsely of the nuts and apples, sharing in turn the apple cider, it was clear that they were not ready to sleep. They sat with ears tuned for any sound among the trees that might alert them to danger. Finally, it was Eadulf who made a suggestion. ‘We might as well discuss our next step now since sleep is not forthcoming yet.’
‘We must find out what has happened to Gorman,’ Aibell declared at once. ‘I am not going back to Dun Eochair Mhaigh until I know.’
‘I would support that,’ Enda said. ‘Gorman was not only my commander, he was my friend. I am duty bound to find him.’
‘We set out from Dun Eochair Mhaigh to find Gorman and I think that task should be fulfilled,’ Eadulf said. ‘The only decision to make is: where do we start? Gorman went to follow Glaed and the brigands. He promised to return as soon as he found out in which direction they were heading, but he hasn’t done so. The only course open to us is to set out in the same direction and hope to pick up his trail. Enda here is said to be a good tracker. If he cannot follow the brigands’ tracks then no one can.’