After a while they heard the muffled whinny of a horse.
‘Do not worry,’ came Ségnat’s voice ahead of them. ‘My comrades have saddled your horses and brought them to the entrance just behind here.’
She moved on a short distance, holding the lantern high, and paused before a small aperture in the wall. It was just big enough for one person to squeeze through at a time. She bent and called through: ‘It is I. Is all clear?’ There came a faint sound of something being removed beyond and then a soft male voice answered, ‘All clear.’ She motioned them through, one at a time, and then followed.
They emerged under the dark shadows of the fortress walls into the blackness of the night beyond. Ségnat had left the lantern in the tunnel and there were no lights here so as not to attract the attention of any watchful eye. It took a short while to adjust their eyes to the darkness. Two men were standing holding their horses, which were already saddled.
Ségnat said: ‘Remember, this is the north side of the fortress. The land is boggy so make sure that you keep to the well-used tracks. My advice would be that you walk the horses along to that far clump of shrubs and trees. The ground is fairly solid to that point. Then you can mount and ride. Keep carefully to the track there too, and go as quickly as you can. We rely on you to persuade your brother, the King, to return with his warriors and destroy this place.’
‘Are you sure that you can’t come with us?’ demanded Fidelma.
‘There are about a hundred of us imprisoned here,’ replied the girl. ‘The elderly and infirm are now locked in and used as hostages for our good behaviour. So we stay to protect their lives. If we could get them all released, then it might be a different story.’
Fidelma felt reluctant to leave the brave girl and her companions. ‘Surely Cronán will know that you have helped us?’
‘Your horses were taken to the paddock outside the fortress. We were supposed to be retired for the night. We know nothing of who you were or where you were sent. He can say we are lying, but executing us will achieve nothing. Cronán is an evil and vicious man but he does nothing without a purpose. Remember that.’
The night sky seemed a lighter blue with its myriad twinkling silvery stars. No word was exchanged as they fastened their saddle-bags. Their horses stood patiently as their minders handed the reins to each of them.
Fidelma held out her hand to the girl. ‘I shan’t forget this, Ségnat,’ she said. ‘You have my promise that my brother will come and this evil place will be destroyed. You will soon see King Colgú’s warriors marching through the gates to demand an account from this man Cronán.’
‘We will place our trust in you, Fidelma,’ she replied. ‘Remember, when you leave here, head northwards for a while. Try to keep away from the obvious tracks towards the west because Cronán may well send his warriors after you, and they know this country. And try not to make any noise until you are well away from these walls. The sentinels are usually alert on the south side where the causeway is built, but on this side, because of the impassable marsh, they tend to be lazy — but they are not stupid. It is best not to chance matters. Go swiftly now.’
‘Keep safe, Ségnat.’
‘God be on every road that you travel,’ replied the girl solemnly.
Leading their horses in single file, with Gormán at the head, they moved out away from the dark shadows of the imposing walls of the fortress and up a steep embankment which brought them on to ground level. Although there were some clouds scudding across the star-filled sky, the moon was up and bright. Fidelma hoped there were no sharp-eyed warriors patrolling the walls, for they would surely see the shadowy forms of four horses and riders moving swiftly away from the abbey. She felt an urge to mount up and set her horse into a canter and get away, far away.
It seemed an age until they reached the blackness of the trees and shrubs and Gormán signalled that they could mount up. Then, with him leading the way, bent over his horse’s neck so that he could follow the firm ground of the track, they set off. There was a chill on Fidelma’s spine as she imagined hostile eyes observing them. It was only after an interminable time, when Gormán increased their pace, that she began to feel a little more relaxed. But she was acutely aware that it would soon be dawn. Cronán was sure to send his warriors after them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gormán led the way at a good pace due north across the flat boggy plain. There was now a faint glow of light permeating the eastern sky. Enda brought up the rear, trying to scan the surrounding countryside behind them. The day had dawned bright and clear when they reached a point where the track they had been following split in several directions. Fidelma suggested they halt for a brief rest while she considered what route they should take. Her main concern was to avoid pursuit from Cronán’s men. However, her purpose was also to catch up with Torna. Fidelma supposed that he would try to get out of Osraige territory as soon as possible, but she knew that Cronán would also come to the same conclusion.
To the west, the track was wide enough for two horses trotting abreast, and it would bring them into the territory of the Éile. Leading slightly towards the north-east was a smaller track. The third track seemed to lead due north. In all directions the land was mainly flat bog land, interspersed by streams and wetland. Here and there were little areas of woodland and shrub, and small isolated hills that seemed incongruous in that type of landscape.
‘Where now, lady?’ prompted Gormán after a while, casting an anxious glance behind them.
‘We’ll take that track directly north as it leads away from Durlus but is not so blatant a choice as the north-east one. Anyone following would think we might head back for the land of the Éile, while those with a devious mind might assume we will mislead them by going in the opposite direction. So we’ll take the middle path. We can change our direction as soon as it is safe to do so.’
Eadulf glanced at the comfortable wider western highway. ‘A pity,’ he said. ‘The sooner we are out of Osraige, the better I shall like it.’
‘No less than I,’ Fidelma agreed. ‘In fact, I would like to have discovered where all the so-called abbot’s new roads led to, especially those towards the east and Laigin. They were built for some purpose other than merely bringing pilgrims this way. Our task, however, is to get ourselves out of harm’s way and catch up with Torna. If he has sense, which I think he has, he will avoid paths where his tracks will be easy to follow.’
They turned on to the northern path. After a while they breasted a small hill and halted. They were in an area where the ground grew more undulating, rising from the low-lying bog land on to dry stretches of higher ground, connected by what seemed to be man-made dykes. There was a good view to the north across this countryside and they saw a line of low hills in the distance. They stretched along the horizon in a dark line.
‘The mountains of Sliabh Bladhma,’ Gormán identified them, noticing Eadulf looking at them.
Fidelma added for Eadulf’s benefit, ‘The River Suir rises among those peaks and comes down on to the central plain. It is said the mountains are the centre of all the Five Kingdoms. See that peak there?’ She indicated a tiny point that Eadulf found was almost impossible to discern at this distance. ‘That is called Ard Éireann — Éireann’s Height — and it’s the highest among the ten main peaks of the range.’
‘There must be plenty of places to hide in a mountain range like that,’ he said. ‘Perhaps Torna would make for those?’
‘I doubt it,’ Fidelma replied. ‘I think that Torna would head to Durlus as soon as possible. In spite of what Gelgéis said, I believe he is well-known there.’
Eadulf suddenly made a noise between his teeth, a cross between a hiss and a whistle. ‘I am so stupid!’ he exclaimed. ‘The man and woman who stayed with Ailgesach — those who rode north: if Torna was that man … have your forgotten that we found him without a horse and without a female companion, and encamped by the river seeking a boat to head southwards?’