Pendragon

Yet, when Bedwyr and Cai returned, they said, 'The Boar and his piglets are leaving.'

'Truly?' wondered Conaire.

'It is so, lord,' replied Cai. 'Most of the ships have gone.'

'Indeed,' added Bedwyr, 'only a few remain, and those are even now sailing from the bay.'

'Then it is as I thought!' Conaire crowed. 'They were only looking for easy plunder. When they saw we meant to fight, they took their search to other shores.'

Gwenhwyvar, who had come to stand beside Arthur, turned to him. 'What do you think it means?'

He shook his head slightly. 'I cannot say until I have seen it for my self.'

As quickly as horses could be readied, we rode to the clifftops overlooking the bay, and gazed out on a calm, bright sea speckled with the black sails of departing Vandali ships. The last had left the bay only a short while before we arrived, and were following the others, sailing back the way they had come.

'You see!' cried the Irish king triumphantly – as if the sight vindicated him in some way. 'They will not soon forget the welcome they received at Conaire Red Hand's hearth.'

'I see them leaving,' Fergus replied thoughtfully. 'But I am asking myself where they are going.'

'That is what I am wondering, too,' said Arthur. 'And I mean to find out.' He turned quickly and summoned Llenlleawg to him; they spoke quietly. The Irish champion nodded once, mounted his horse and rode away.

We returned to Rath Mor, and spent the day resting and waiting for Llenlleawg's return. I slept a little in the heat of the day, and woke to a scattering of low clouds and a freshening wind off the sea. The caer was quiet as I made my way towards the hall.

Bedwyr called to me as I entered the yard. 'Myrddin!' he rose from the bench outside the hall and crossed to me quickly. 'I have been waiting for you. Arthur asked me to bring you as soon as you stirred.'

'Has Llenlleawg returned?'

'No,' he replied, 'and I think that is why Arthur wishes to see you.'

I turned towards the hall, but Bedwyr caught my arm. 'Conaire is there, and he has had too much to drink. Cai is keeping watch inside. Bear is in his hut.'

We walked quickly to the hut Arthur and Gwenhwyvar shared. Bedwyr ducked his head and pushed through the ox hide covering. 'Bear, I have brought -' he began, then halted abruptly and backed out the door again quickly.

I heard Gwenhwyvar laugh, and Arthur called out, 'It is all right, brother, there are no secrets between us.'

Bedwyr glanced at me and muttered, 'Not any more.'

'Come in,' urged Gwenhwyvar. 'Come in, both of you. It is all right.' The laughter in her voice reminded me of my own Ganieda, and the memory pierced like an arrow through my heart. Ganieda, best beloved, we will yet be together one day.

Bedwyr and I entered the hut. Gwenhwyvar was tying her laces and rearranging her clothing; her hair was tousled and her smile was full. Arthur was reclining. He raised himself on his elbow and offered us places on the hide-covered floor. 'You might have told me to delay a little,' Bedwyr said, blushing lightly.

'And you might have announced your arrival,' Arthur replied with a laugh.

'Dear Bedwyr,' Gwenhwyvar said softly, 'there is no hurt, and hence no blame. Be easy.'

'Llenlleawg has not returned?' Arthur said.

'Not yet.' Bedwyr gave his head a slight shake.

'It is as I feared.'

'Then you do not know him,' Gwenhwyvar began. 'He will -'

Arthur did not let her finish. 'It is not Llenlleawg's welfare that concerns me. I know full well that he is more than match to any trouble that finds him. But if the invaders had simply sailed away, he would have returned by now. I think it likely the Vandal host has come ashore again farther south. And if Amilcar's boast about having more warships waiting – ' He left the unsettling thought hanging.

In the wisdom of warcraft, Arthur had no equal. Likely, he was right. I might have asked him how he had arrived at this conclusion, but I accepted it instead, saying, 'What do you propose?'

'Conaire must ride south at once to renew the defence. I will return to Britain and raise the war host.'

'Will they agree to fight, do you think?' wondered Bedwyr.

'They have no choice,' Arthur said bluntly. 'How long will the Island of the Mighty remain secure with the Rampaging Boar just across Muir Eiru?'

'I agree, Bear. All saints bear witness, your words are prudence itself,' Bedwyr affirmed. 'But prudence is a virtue in short supply among the bull-necked British lords, as you well know. It may be that they will require something more to convince them.'

I agreed with Bedwyr, but Arthur remained confident in his ability to reason with the lords of Britain and win them to the campaign. 'We leave at once.'

'The ship must be readied,' I pointed out.

'I have already sent Barinthus ahead with some of Fergus' men," Arthur said. 'Bedwyr, fetch Cai.'

Bedwyr rose and paused at the door. 'What of Conaire?'

'I will tell Conaire what is to be done,' Arthur answered.

'Allow me,' Gwenhwyvar offered. 'You must not delay or the tide will be against you. Go now. I will explain to Conaire.' She saw the question in Arthur's eyes, and said, 'Spare no thought for me, my love; I will be well. Besides, Llenlleawg will soon return.'

Arthur rose. The matter was concluded and he was eager to be gone. 'Very well.'

We waited in the yard as our horses were made ready. Fergus and Cai emerged from the hall. 'It is better we were gone,' Cai told us. 'That Conaire is itching for a fight and I fear he will have one before this day is through.'

'You go,' Fergus said. 'Leave Conaire to me. I know him, and I will see no harm is done.'

'I leave it to you then,' Arthur said, swinging himself up into the saddle. 'Do what you must, but be ready to ride south as soon as Llenlleawg returns. I will send men and supplies as soon as I reach Caer Melyn.'

'Fare well, my love,' Gwenhwyvar said.

Arthur leaned down and gathered her in a quick embrace, and we then rode from Rath Mor and hastened towards the coast. The ship was waiting when we arrived, and the tide was already flowing. Wasting not a moment, we boarded the horses, slipped the line, and pushed off. Once into the bay, Barinthus raised the sail and the ship took wings back to Britain.

TEN

We entered Mor Hafren as soon as it was light and came within sight of the hills surrounding Caer Melyn. For two nights and a day, Barinthus and his crew had wrested speed from contrary and fitful winds to reach the trail to Arthur's southern stronghold as the sun broke the horizon in a blaze of red and flaming gold. Once more in the saddle, we flew through shadowed valleys blue with hanging mist. By the time we reached Caer Melyn, I could feel the heat of the day to come.

And I felt something else: a stab of foreboding, sharp and quick. My senses pricked.

At our approach, the gates of the fortress were thrown open wide and, as the others entered the yard to the acclaim of their sword brothers, I paused before passing the threshold. There was a cloying closeness in the air, a stillness that stifled, and seemed to me more than just the early warmth of a hot summer day. It was as if an enormous, suffocating presence, unseen as yet, though near, was shifting its immense weight towards us, thickening the air around it as it came. I could feel the ominous advance as that of a silent squall line of storm cloud drawing over the land. But there were no clouds; nothing could be seen.

Yet, despite the glad greeting we received from the Cymbrogi, my heart remained troubled by this strange feeling of oppression.

Arthur wasted not a moment. Even while he washed and pulled on clean clothes, he called commands to his battlechiefs. He sent riders to make for the realms round about to summon all the nearest lords to council and ordered ships to take word to the north. Gwalchavad, ever eager to plough the sea fields, led the ship-borne messengers; they departed the caer at once and were gone before the sound of their greeting had faded in the air. Arthur then commanded the Cymbrogi to ready the remaining fleet. There were provisions to load, weapons to assemble, horses to gather in from the grazing lands as, once more, the Dux Bellorum prepared for war.