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elsewhere. This danger has been shown to me, and I cannot ignore it. I will return as soon as possible,
but I must go. Now. Tonight.'
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'Bear,' Gwenhwyvar implored, 'he is right. Let him go. It may be the saving of many lives.' Arthur's gaze
swung from me to her, and she seized on this momentary hesitation. 'Yes, go to them, Wise Emrys,'
Gwenhwyvar urged, as if this had been Arthur's plan all along. 'Learn all you can and bring us some good
word.'
'I make no promise,' I warned, 'but I will do what may be done. As for rumours, say nothing to anyone
about this until I return.'
'So, it is settled,' declared Arthur, though I could tell the decision did not sit well with him. He stood
abruptly and cried out for Llenlleawg. 'Myrddin must leave us for a time,' he said. 'Since the valley is
swarming with Vandali, I would ask you to accompany him on his journey.'
Llenlleawg inclined his head in assent, his expression impassive in the firelight.
'I thank you,' I told them both. 'But I will travel more swiftly alone.'
FIVE
'At least let him see you to the boat,' Arthur insisted. 'Then I will know the barbarians did not stop you.'
Seeing he was determined to get his way in something, I relented. Bidding Arthur and Gwenhwyvar fare
well, Llenlleawg and I went at once to the horse picket to retrieve our mounts. We rode from the camp
as Arthur was sitting down to council.
I do not know which I pitied more: Arthur contending with his kings, or myself spending a sleepless night
in the saddle. Likely, I had the better bargain.
Llenlleawg and I kept to the hilltops till we were well out of sight of the barbarian encampment, turning
our horses into the vale as the sun broke red and raw in the east. Llenlleawg led the way, riding a little
ahead, keeping close watch on the trail and the bluffs to either side, lest we encounter any straggling
Vandali. But the trail remained empty and safe  until, rounding a blind turn just aftermidday, the Irish
champion halted abruptly. 'Someone is coming this way. Three riders, maybe more.'
My eyes scanned the riverside trail before us, but I saw nothing. 'There.' The Irishman pointed to the
rock-strewn riverbank ahead and to the right. The white sun high overhead shrank the shadows, making
everything appear flat and colourless. I looked where Llenlleawg indicated and saw that what I had taken
to be the grey shapes of boulders were in fact riders, slowly picking their way along the riverside.
'Did they see us?'
He gave his head a slight shake. 'I do not think so.'
We sat motionless for a time, waiting for the strangers to show themselves. Since the men were
mounted, I did not think they could be Vandali, but we waited just the same. The strangers were also
wary; they came on slowly, pausing often to scan the trail ahead, and the instant they sighted us, one of
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their number turned tail and raced back the way they had come, leaving the remaining two to continue on.
'Let us meet them,' Llenlleawg said, drawing a spear from behind his saddle. We moved ahead slowly,
and but a single spear-throw separated us when Llenlleawg gave a whoop and lashed his mount to
speed. 'It is Niul!' he called back to me. 'Lot's man!'
He rushed ahead, hailing the riders loudly. I galloped after him as Llenlleawg and Niul, leaning from the
saddle, embraced one another. 'What do you here, cousin?' cried the one called Niul. 'I thought it was a
very cruachag rising out of the river to carry us off.' He laughed, throwing back his head. One glance at
the scars on his shield arm and the notched blade ready on his thigh gave me to know this battle-wise
veteran feared little in this world.
Not waiting for Llenlleawg to present me, he turned and called: 'Hail, Myrddin Emrys!' At my surprise,
he laughed again. 'You do not remember me, nor do I blame you.'
As he spoke, a memory shaped itself in my mind. I remembered a room in a house  Gradlon the wine
merchant's room in Londinium the first time I had metLot. This man, one ofLot's chieftains, was there. 'It
is true that I do not remember your name, if I ever heard it,' I confessed. 'But you, I think, attended the
first Council of Kings in Londinium. We shared a cup of beer together, as I recall, sinceLotwould drink
no wine.'
'By the God that made you, Lord Emrys  ' Niul laughed, enjoying this meeting very much  'you are a
wonder. True enough. My soul, I was but a boy then. Yes, we shared a cup of beer.Lotwould drink
nothing else. But where is Pelleas? How come you keep company with this wild beast of an Irishman?'
'Pelleas is dead,' I told him. 'Several years ago.'
Sorrow stole the mirth from his smile. 'Ah, a sad loss indeed.' He shook his head. 'Forgive me, I did not
know.'
Llenlleawg spoke up. 'Niul's mother and mine were kin,' he explained. 'Niul was fostered in Fergus'
house. We were raised together.'
The urgency of my journey pressed upon me, so, at risk of rudeness, I said, 'Is Lot here?'
'He follows directly,' replied Niul. 'He is with the warband but a small distance behind. Come, I will take
you to him.'
Curving around the foot of an enormous hill, the valley bent and widened as it passed. Once beyond the
bend I saw, spread out across the valley floor, a warband of perhaps five hundred warriors  three
hundred on foot, the rest on horseback: a most heartening sight.
From the forerank of warriors two horsemen rode to meet us.LotI would have recognized anywhere: his
bold checked cloak of black and crimson, his braided locks, his great golden tore, the blue-stained clan
marks on his cheeks. He recognized me, too, and called out with evident pleasure. 'Hail, Emrys! I give [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]