Wolves

Later that autumn, Ceredig married Maugli, one of the cooks in the castle kitchen, who he had been courting for a while. She had a son already - a boy of six years named Gwair - with Owain, Ceredig's brother. As I have said earlier, Owain had many children, and Gwair was born not a full year after the brothers had joined the Bedford garrison, thus being Owain's firstborn son. The first that he knew about, anyway, and soon to become the only one left. Be that as may be, Ceredig had been courting Maugli for some time, but her father – the miller in one of the surrounding villages – had forbidden her to marry someone who seemed to be more interested in the inheritance than the woman. But as he had been named a knight, the miller judged Ceredig to be honest about his courtship and hurried them off into matrimony soon after he had returned from London. The reason for this became obvious shortly afterwards when Maugli showed signs of pregnancy. Obviously, the courtship of Ceredig's hadn't been completely frowned upon by Maugli, and Pertacus claimed that he had heard the bride's father mutter "One bastard is enough" during the ceremony.

After autumn came winter, as is right and proper, and the snow fell deep upon the land. The cold was bitter and old people failed to remember a worse winter, climate-wise. Under lord Band's wise rule, the barns and cellars had been filled well, so there was little risk of starvation. Nevertheless, a sort of drowsiness crept upon us during those first chilly days of winter. We studied the snowfall and made remarks among us on how cold it was. So deep was the snow that there seemed to be little need to keep regular patrols out; we were content to spend the days in the warmth of the hall, keeping the stout log walls between us and the cold.

To alleviate this lethargy, Band announced a contest to all the men in the garrison, knights and soldiers alike. The man who could bring the most food in after a day – from sunrise to sunset – would be awarded with a very finely worked sword. There was no real need to fill the food supplies, since, as I have said, we had plenty, but the prospect of a competition stirred most of us. If I recall correctly, both Pertacus and Elffin preferred to remain in the warmth. I will not say they were lazy, but I have met many people from Lindsey and no one has struck me as being overly energetic. I might as well say right away that Oban won. He borrowed a boat and a net and spent most of his day fishing in the river. Most of the day, but not all, because he had to leave his work twice to save the lives of Owain, and a while later, Ceredig.

The brothers, as everybody else except Oban, had decided to go hunting, and teamed up with Rhodry and Dafwydd. They rode out from the castle at sunrise, waving at Oban who was already stationed on the river. He had dragged the boat out on the ice and put it in the open, unfrozen water in the middle of the river. Already there were some fishes in the wicker basket he had put in the prow. He waved back at them with his hand protected from the cold by a heavy glove, and they rode on westwards. The snow made tracking easy, and soon they found the trail of an elk. They had no dogs, for keeping hounds for hunting was a nobleman's privilege then as it is today, but they managed to corner the beast in a small clearing where thick bushes made its escape impossible. As they entered it charged, and Ceredig and Dafwydd responded in kind. Both their spears struck home and they veered away from the fearsome antlers of the beast that continued its charge, bearing down at Owain. At that point, his horse panicked and threw him off, but he managed to land on his feet. Having lost his spear while struggling with the horse, he drew his sword.

As the elk came upon him, he nimbly leaped aside and struck in one fluid motion, severing the throat of the animal, its blood splattering all over him. It fell dead down in front of Rhodry who hadn't dared to interfere when Owain and the elk were so close. This sudden appearance of a dead elk, its blood steaming as it ran out on the snow, made Rhodry's horse panic too. Try as he might, Rhodry failed to calm it and he was thrown off too.

"Well, brother", Ceredig said as he came riding. "It seems like you laid him down, but I trust you share the glory. After all, we shared the work and the danger, didn't we?"

"Oh, of course", Owain answered, looking at the carcass. "Hadn't you and Dafwydd hit him he wouldn't have been slow enough for me to react." Then he looked worriedly at his brother. "But my horse! He ran off! And Rhodry's too!"

"Don't worry about him, he'll manage", Dafwydd assured him. "What's important right now is taking care of this prize-winner" he added and looked down at the animal.

As if to reinforce his priorities, they heard a wolf howl deeper in the forest.

"Damn! We'll have to hurry, that wasn't far away", Ceredig said. "Here's what we'll do: we have ropes, so Dafwydd and I will tie it behind the horses and drag it to that large oak we passed a bit back. Then we'll throw the ropes over a stout branch and string the elk up, enough so that the wolves won't reach it. That way, we can borrow a wagon or a sled or something to bring it back home, after we've found the horses."

*        *        *

They dragged the elk to the oak, with Rhodry clearing the way ahead of them and Owain bringing up the rear, carrying the head he had cut off. It proved to be harder than they had expected to throw the ropes over the branch Ceredig had selected, so in the end Rhodry climbed up in the tree with the ropes and put them over the stout limb. With the help of the horses they hauled the carcass up, the ropes tied to its hind legs. When the front hooves were four feet above the ground Ceredig was satisfied and fastened the ropes.

"There", he said. "Even if the wolves find it they'll only manage to nibble at the front legs if they jump, and there isn't much meat there for them to spoil. Now let's find those cowardly horses."

"My horse is no coward!" Owain said hotly. "He's a fine and trustworthy animal and I worry about him. Let's go find him!"

With that he sat off, following the trail of his horse in the snow. Soon they found Rhodry's pony thoughtfully eating an evergreen bush.

"You go on", Rhodry said, "and I'll return to watch over our prize. If the wolves comes, you might want some warning."

Ceredig nodded in agreement. "Good idea. And if we see them, I'll sound my horn." Then he looked at the trail of his brother's horse heading towards the densest part of the forest they had yet encountered. "Take our horses with you. They'll be more hindrance than help if we're to follow Owain's silly creature."

Owain had already went on, and didn't hear the derogatory comment. Ceredig and Dafwydd dismounted and followed him in among the thick bushes the panic-stricken horse had forced through.

"Stupid animal", Dafwydd muttered as he unfastened his tunic from yet another thorn. "Why did he have to take the worst route possible? I'm ruining my clothes here. This tunic isn't even three years old and look at it now!"

Ceredig paused to look at his friend. True enough, the tunic was torn and ripped threads hung loose from it.

"Don't worry, you should be able to get a new, fine one later this year. Anyway, blue doesn't suit you."

"Maybe not, but I don't have that many to spare, don't you know. I say your brother owes me a new one."

"Well, that's his worry, not mine." Ceredig shrugged. "Come on now, we're getting behind."

After struggling through the undergrowth, the trail led them on towards the river. Soon they heard the horse's unhappy neighing and saw Owain stand by the riverbank.

"He's fallen down!" he yelled when his friends emerged from the forest. "He's fallen down on the ice!"

The horse had indeed fallen, or rather slid, down the muddy slope. The bank was steep here, and more than four yards high. The horse stood on a narrow strip of ice, caught between the cold water and the steep, slippery riverbank.

"I'm going down to him", Owain said, "he must be frightened there."

Without further ado he sat down on the edge and slid down to his horse, disregarding the effect this had on his clothes. He landed on the ice and promptly slipped, sliding towards the water. The ice was but a couple of yards wide, but with a shout he managed to get his dagger out and bury it in the ice before he fell into the water, stopping with his legs hanging out over the edge of the ice. His horse neighed and stamped on the ice worriedly, looking over his shoulder to see what was going on behind it.

"Great idea, Owain" Ceredig yelled. "And now what? How are you going to get up again? Will you take the horse on your back and climb?"

Owain looked up at him from where he lay holding on to the hilt of his dagger in a firm grip. The horse moved nervously as he cautiously hauled himself to his feet.

"Not so loud", he hissed. "You scare him."

"I would be more frightened of my situation if I was him", Ceredig responded in a normal tone of voice.

"I'll calm him first, and then we'll try to climb up."

"I brought some rope, if that's any help", Dafwydd offered. "Maybe we could haul you up, but I don't know."

As Owain carefully moved forward, towards his horse's head, the animal became increasingly agitated and started to move around nervously. Probably the smell of the elk's blood worried him, and the fall down the bank and the slippery ice must have been frightening.

"There, boy, calm down now", Owain tried to soothe him, laying a hand on his back.

But the animal was too frightened to be calmed, and as Owain touched him he balked and reared. As his hooves came down the ice shattered from the impact, and a scary, cracking noise could be heard.

"Woa!" Owain exclaimed, startled by the reaction his hand had inflicted.

At his shout the horse reared again and as the hooves struck again the cracking sound was much louder.

"Look out!" Ceredig shouted. "The ice is breaking. Jump for the riverbank!"

"I'll not abandon my horse." Owain muttered grimly and tried to calm his steed again.

As he carefully put his hand on the neck of the horse and whispered soothingly it finally calmed down. Unfortunately it was too late. Strained by the pounding of the hooves and the pull of the river, the ice they were standing on broke loose from the riverbank. In shock, Dafwydd and Ceredig watched as Owain and his horse drifted out on the river on a three by five yards large piece of ice. They began to run along the river and Dafwydd tried to throw the rope to Owain, but to no avail. Soon, the impromptu boat was in the middle of the river, where the flow was fastest. Helpless, Owain stood with his arm around the neck of his horse, looking ahead towards the falls he knew were just beyond the castle. Should they hit those, both he and his horse were doomed to die in the cold water.

"I'm sorry, boy", he said silently to the horse, "but it seems we are about to end this adventure. You've been a good friend."

Then he heard a loud laugh from ahead. It was Oban who came rowing towards him, with a big smile on his face.

"What on earth are you doing lad?"

"Drifting", Owain responded. "Do you think you could help us?" He always had a lot of respect for the grim warrior, and didn't really know what to expect of him.

"Well, I guess you could get a ride with me, but the horse is a bit too large, I'd say." Oban had brought the boat alongside the ice and held onto it with his dagger.

"Jump in", he said. "That way you're safe, at least."

"But my horse, he'll die!"

"Shut up and come here or I'll kill you and save the horse!" Oban barked, and Owain promptly obeyed.

As soon as he had entered the boat, Oban let go of the ice. Then he looked at his passenger who sat disconsolately in the fore of the boat.

"Do you know how to handle a boat, lad?"

"No, I don't think so, but I've never tried so I can't really say."

"In that case, you can't. There is a rope beside my bow and quiver under your seat; take it out."

Owain did as he was told as Oban began to bring the boat closer to the ice carrying the horse. As they were right next to it, Oban stretched over the rail of the boat and drove his dagger down in the ice, burying it all the way to the hilt. Then he inched the boat ahead.

"Put your dagger in the ice and tie the rope to it."

When Owain had done this, Oban brought the boat back again; keeping it in position as Owain tied the other end of the rope to the second dagger.

"Now, you'll have to try to get to the aft, and then we'll try to save your horse." Oban said as he pulled the boat away from the ice with calm strokes.

"What's an aft?" Owain asked, confused.

"The back of the boat, the opposite end from where you're sitting."

Very carefully Owain manoeuvred over the boat, past Oban and sat down in the aft, holding tightly to the rope. Oban began to row, towing the ice and its nervous passenger towards the shore. It was slow and heavy going, and Oban grunted with each stroke on the oars, but inch by inch they came closer to safety. His arms straining from the effort of holding on to the rope, Owain tore his eyes from his horse and looked ahead to see how far away the falls were. They were close, and the water foamed as it moved around the submerged rocks and stones. Dead ahead of them a sharp spire rose up.

"Watch out, we're going to hit a rock!" Owain yelled.

Oban glanced over his shoulder and intensified his efforts.

"I've been heading for that one", he grunted between clenched teeth. "Put the rope around it as we go past."

Putting all his considerable strength to the oars he managed to get the boat by the spire. Owain stood up in the aft and put the rope around it, then he let go of the rope and sat down again, looking at Oban who sat panting, resting on the oars. He looked up and smiled faintly.

"Now we can only hope the rope, the daggers and the ice holds. If one of them breaks…"

He didn't finish, but Owain understood. Tensely he watched how the rope held the ice, and how the stream forced it to swing towards the shore. At last it came to rest against the firm ice still stuck to the riverbank just before the boat drifted to a halt against it.

"There, lad. Take your animal to the shore, now", Oban said, "and give me the rope and my dagger."

Owain thanked him and climbed up on the ice. His horse took a few tentative steps forward, and as he noted the ground was not moving any more he relaxed. Owain led him a couple of yards towards the shore before carefully stepping out on the ice he had begun the voyage on. He untied the knots and retrieved the rope, and threw this to his rescuer together with the dagger. Then he leaped over the gap that was opening as the ice began drifting again and waved to Oban before leading his horse to safety.

As he climbed up the riverbank he found his brother and Dafwydd waiting. Ceredig nodded to him and took the reins of the horse. Dafwydd gave him a hug, relieved that all had gone well.

"I'll borrow your horse, brother", Ceredig said, "I am worried about Rhodry and the elk."

Without another word he sat up and cantered away. Owain looked after him in disbelief.

"He took my horse! But he should rest after all this. What was he thinking?"

"He wants to win the competition very much", Dafwydd said. "It would mean a lot to him, I think."

"Yes, but he took my horse!" Owain complained. "Come on."

He set out after his brother, running. Dafwydd looked after him and shook his head, then began to follow them both, walking.

*        *        *

When Ceredig came closer to the place where they had left the elk, he heard Rhodry's voice raised in song. He reined the horse in and sat listening in disbelief. It was a hymn to the Christian god, performed by a desperate voice. Clearly, something was amiss. When he tried to urge the horse forward it balked, and silently cursing Ceredig dismounted and continued on foot.

The scene that met his eyes as he entered the clearing was absurd. There were a dozen wolves beneath the carcass, jumping to try to bite the front legs. It swung slowly, with Rhodry sitting between the hind legs, singing a hymn with a despairing and resigned look on his face. Later he told me that the horses had run away when the wolves entered the clearing, and in a desperate attempt to save him self he had jumped up on the elk and tried to climb up in the tree on the carcass. He had slipped but managed to hold on to the hind legs. As the time passed without his friends returning he despaired. Sitting between the legs he said his prayers and tried to induce God to help him by singing hymns to his honour. The poor lad was sure something had happened to his friends and had fallen into despair. As he spotted Ceredig he began to sing even louder, to thank the Lord for sending someone to save him.

Ceredig drew his sword and rushed forward, thinking that if he could hold the wolves away Rhodry could come to his aid in fighting them. They became aware of him, and a couple wolves turned to meet him. He struggled on towards the oak and Rhodry, desperately trying to fend them away as they attacked him.

I'll keep it brief, since you already know they all survived. Ceredig was hard pressed, and at first Rhodry refused to abandon his safe sitting place, his singing sometimes interrupted by Ceredig's grunts and the wolves' howls of pain. His clothes torn and bloody Ceredig fought on, realising he would soon perish. One of the wolves jumped up on his back and he dropped his sword. Struggling to maintain his balance he reached up and took hold of the front paws that lay on his shoulders. The claws on the hind legs of the wolf tore through his tunic and breeches, but he managed to throw it off, scattering the ones in front of him. He quickly drew his dagger and slit its throat, then raised his horn to his lips and sounded a plea for help.

This was heard by Owain, who increased his speed and ran to his brother's aid. As he entered the clearing, he saw how Ceredig retrieved his sword and started to lay about him desperately, ignoring his wounded legs and arms. In that moment, Rhodry finally got hold of himself and jumped down from his seat. When he landed, he staggered and bumped into Ceredig who lost both his balance and his sword.

While Owain ran to help them, one wolf leaped at Ceredig's throat. Unarmed, Ceredig took a step forward to meet the assault and caught the wolf in an embrace. Its fangs snapped at his face and the claws of its hind legs tore at his groin, but with a strength born from desperation Ceredig grimly hardened his grip and with a sickening crack he broke the wolf's spine. Then he slumped over the limp body of the wolf, all exerted.

Ceredig grimly hardened his grip and with a sickening crack he broke the wolf's spine

Owain stood over his body and started to hack at the remaining wolves with Rhodry by his side. Suddenly, one wolf fell, then another, arrows protruding from their sides. At the edge of the clearing Oban stood with his bow, calmly killing off the remaining beasts. Owain slew the last with his sword, then kneeled by his brother's side. With the help of Oban he tended his brother's wounds.

"I had just put a basket of fish ashore when I heard the horn", Oban explained. "and came as fast as I could. If I had been later, Ceredig could have bled to death."

"Thank you, again", Owain said simply. Then a thought struck him. "Didn't you see Dafwydd anywhere?"

"No, but I see him now."

As if summoned by Owain's question, Dafwydd entered the clearing. He looked at the carnage and his bloody friends. Smiling sheepishly he came to his friends.

"Um, I heard the singing, and as I was listening I lost the way. Is everything all right?"

"No, it hurts like Morrigan's curse", Ceredig grumbled. "Are they all dead?"

"Oh you're awake", Owain exclaimed. "How do you feel?"

"It hurts and I'm cold. Can we go home now?"

"Well, all the horses have run away", Owain said. "Where did you put mine?"

"He's in the forest", Dafwydd said. "I passed him when I came. Why don't you, Owain, put your brother on it and bring him home while Rhodry and I track the horses down. When you come to the castle you can send people here to bring the elk in."

"Good, then I can return to my fishing", Oban said and rose to his feet. "It's still an hour ‘til sunset."

Owain helped his brother up and before they left Ceredig cut the heart out of the wolf he had broken the spine on. Before the astonished eyes of his friends he ate the bloody, steaming heart raw.

"I need to replace the blood I lost, right?" Ceredig growled, glaring at them.

No one replied to that.

*        *        *

When they arrived at the castle Ceredig slid down to unsteady feet and watched in disbelief how the concerned women gathered around Owain who was covered in blood. It took a while for him to explain that none of the blood was his, but that his brother was hurt. By then, Maugli had already helped him inside, washed him, laid fresh bandages on the wounds and put him in bed. The clothes were too torn to repair so she threw them away. The front of both tunic, shirt and breeches were torn to shreds, and she smiled faintly at the memory of how his manhood had shrunk when exposed to the cold winter air on the courtyard.

Rhodry and Dafwydd returned with the horses, and the men Owain had sent out returned with both elk and wolves. Despite this was the largest prey felled this day, Oban was declared the winner of the competition. He had caught more than two full baskets of fish, and the people in the castle had stood on the battlements and watched how he rescued Owain and his horse. At the dinner Owain also told all about the wolves and how Oban had come to their aid a second time. Upon hearing this, lord Band held a speech about Oban's exemplary behaviour, saying that this comradeship and solidarity was the paramount qualities of a soldier:

"Remember", he said, "that you are not fighting alone. Your friends are beside you, and if they need your help you should give it to them. You should trust and care about each other as if you were brothers because the life you save today may be the only one there to save yours another day."

Then he called on Oban who rose and went to the high table. Band shook his hand, gave him the sword and invited him to sit by his side. Barely suppressing his awkwardness behind a stony expression, Oban accepted.

Ceredig grumbled a little when he was told, but conceded that Oban had deserved it. He comforted himself with the five wolves he had slain, commissioning a mantle to be made from their furs. Owain was from this day on ever thankful to Oban, who had saved the two beings he valued the most: his brother and his horse. As I have said earlier, Owain would be the only one to defend Oban against the accusations of being a kingslayer later, but he would have to wait many years before he was told the whereabouts of Oban when those accusations were first voiced by Tyngyr.


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Text (c) Örjan Westin 1999, art (c) Ann-Cathrine Loo 1999.