this was only momentary, before he turned from me, saying:
‘Go home, Brother. Mine is not a pleasant pilgrimage. I have no place for passengers.’
He strode off after his companion, and I stood dejectedly as I watched him depart. But my heart was filled at once with the overpowering conviction that my words were absolute truth, and with sudden unshakeable determination I started to follow them.
Chapter Eight
We walked throughout the morning, and I followed precisely their arduous path through the mud and bulrushes as we circled the borders of the deeper marshes where men dare not tread, while a thin mist rose up, making it difficult for me to mark time. Occasionally Cadroc would look around and I heard his voice boom out over the open wetlands, commanding me to turn back, yet I kept moving doggedly onward, keeping them always in my sight. After a time I began to study my surroundings: the eerie, silent miles of dull grey reeds and steaming swamps. We encountered not another soul as we went, and I was struck once more by the sheer size and emptiness of this land, whose twisting tortuous pathways might turn the journey of an hour into a day and where a man feels he is led ever farther from the sight of God. It chilled me to my bones.
It was probably around noon that I felt the ground sink as I followed them into a kind of hollow, and the mist grew thicker as it swirled up to surround us. Soon I saw that a wide lake stretched before us. We skirted its edge, until a small collection of rotting huts appeared up ahead. As Cadroc and Aelfric approached them I saw dimly that an old man sat outside the door to one of these, his attention fixed upon the repair of a fishing net.
‘Greetings,’ Aelfric called to him. ‘We come here in peace.’
Suddenly aware of their presence, the old fellow cried out in fear and jumped to his feet, snatching up a spear from the ground beside him, straining with rheumy eyes to peer at them through the mist as he began to yell out at the top of his voice.
‘Good man, be calm,’ I heard Cadroc say. ‘Be assured that we mean you no harm.’ But the old man continued with his caterwauling, shouting out desperate threats as his spear remained defiantly raised. Then another, younger man appeared behind him, his own spear pointed at them, and he too began to yell and bluster, excited by the older man’s panic. Now Cadroc’s voice thundered out at them.
‘Fools! We are here upon God’s work. Do not dare to obstruct us, or you will suffer His wrath!’ He stepped forward and raised his arm, his finger pointing at them, then he swept it down in a masterful gesture as he cried out: ‘Lay down your spears!’
Their weapons fell to the ground, as if forcibly torn from their hands, and they quailed visibly before Cadroc’s words, until the younger one fell to his knees and I heard him hiss:
‘Father! Be still. It is Aelfric. He comes with a holy man! Forgive father,’ he implored. ‘He is old… your coming alarmed him… his sight and hearing are poor… he did not recognise you in the mist. You come to us in bad times. There is much fear everywhere.’
‘That is all right, Alfhere,’ Aelfric said cheerfully, and clapped a hand onto his shoulder. ‘Now get up. We need you to take us across the water.’
‘Of course, of course,’ Alfhere nodded eagerly. ‘But first you will eat and drink with us?’
‘No time,’ Aelfric shook his head. ‘Our mission is urgent.’
‘Then come,’ Alfhere replied. I approached as he led the others along the lake’s shore to where a coracle lay upon the mud. And as he dragged it into the water I knew with a sense of desperation that we had reached the point where I could follow Cadroc no further, and that I would be left here, many perilous miles from home, stranded in this desolate, hostile place. I moved to the side of the boat, waiting silently as Cadroc and Aelfric clambered into it, my gaze simply fixed upon them. Alfhere, assuming me to
‘Go home, Brother. Mine is not a pleasant pilgrimage. I have no place for passengers.’
He strode off after his companion, and I stood dejectedly as I watched him depart. But my heart was filled at once with the overpowering conviction that my words were absolute truth, and with sudden unshakeable determination I started to follow them.
Chapter Eight
We walked throughout the morning, and I followed precisely their arduous path through the mud and bulrushes as we circled the borders of the deeper marshes where men dare not tread, while a thin mist rose up, making it difficult for me to mark time. Occasionally Cadroc would look around and I heard his voice boom out over the open wetlands, commanding me to turn back, yet I kept moving doggedly onward, keeping them always in my sight. After a time I began to study my surroundings: the eerie, silent miles of dull grey reeds and steaming swamps. We encountered not another soul as we went, and I was struck once more by the sheer size and emptiness of this land, whose twisting tortuous pathways might turn the journey of an hour into a day and where a man feels he is led ever farther from the sight of God. It chilled me to my bones.
It was probably around noon that I felt the ground sink as I followed them into a kind of hollow, and the mist grew thicker as it swirled up to surround us. Soon I saw that a wide lake stretched before us. We skirted its edge, until a small collection of rotting huts appeared up ahead. As Cadroc and Aelfric approached them I saw dimly that an old man sat outside the door to one of these, his attention fixed upon the repair of a fishing net.
‘Greetings,’ Aelfric called to him. ‘We come here in peace.’
Suddenly aware of their presence, the old fellow cried out in fear and jumped to his feet, snatching up a spear from the ground beside him, straining with rheumy eyes to peer at them through the mist as he began to yell out at the top of his voice.
‘Good man, be calm,’ I heard Cadroc say. ‘Be assured that we mean you no harm.’ But the old man continued with his caterwauling, shouting out desperate threats as his spear remained defiantly raised. Then another, younger man appeared behind him, his own spear pointed at them, and he too began to yell and bluster, excited by the older man’s panic. Now Cadroc’s voice thundered out at them.
‘Fools! We are here upon God’s work. Do not dare to obstruct us, or you will suffer His wrath!’ He stepped forward and raised his arm, his finger pointing at them, then he swept it down in a masterful gesture as he cried out: ‘Lay down your spears!’
Their weapons fell to the ground, as if forcibly torn from their hands, and they quailed visibly before Cadroc’s words, until the younger one fell to his knees and I heard him hiss:
‘Father! Be still. It is Aelfric. He comes with a holy man! Forgive father,’ he implored. ‘He is old… your coming alarmed him… his sight and hearing are poor… he did not recognise you in the mist. You come to us in bad times. There is much fear everywhere.’
‘That is all right, Alfhere,’ Aelfric said cheerfully, and clapped a hand onto his shoulder. ‘Now get up. We need you to take us across the water.’
‘Of course, of course,’ Alfhere nodded eagerly. ‘But first you will eat and drink with us?’
‘No time,’ Aelfric shook his head. ‘Our mission is urgent.’
‘Then come,’ Alfhere replied. I approached as he led the others along the lake’s shore to where a coracle lay upon the mud. And as he dragged it into the water I knew with a sense of desperation that we had reached the point where I could follow Cadroc no further, and that I would be left here, many perilous miles from home, stranded in this desolate, hostile place. I moved to the side of the boat, waiting silently as Cadroc and Aelfric clambered into it, my gaze simply fixed upon them. Alfhere, assuming me to
Similar Books
