Fionn: The Stalking Silence

  Chapter Three

  Bearach was visibly flagging as he neared the ráth. By the time he’d reached the causeway and made it through the stone gateway he was, literally, staggering. Cairbre and Aodhán, waiting inside the safety of the lis, sealed the gap behind him with a heavy door. A thick slab of hard oak lined with rows of iron bolts, its outer panels had been reinforced with strips of metal, its inner panels inlaid with leather straps. The latter allowed it to be manhandled into position, flush against the protruding stone then securely fixed to four iron rungs set into the gateway. Once it was in place, a wooden brace was wedged firmly between the door and a large boulder. The final barrier presented a substantial obstacle to anyone intent on storming Ráth Bládhma.

  With the entranceway secure, Cairbre returned to the gateway while Cónán was dispatched to the eastern side of the ráth to watch for any force attempting to outflank the settlement. Bodhmhall and Aodhán descended to the lis where Bearach was slumped against the wooden frame above the fire pit. Heaving great gasps of breath into the chilly air, he lifted a ladle full of water from a nearby bucket and poured the liquid over his head, sputtering and cursing at the cold of it.

  ‘Where’s the venison, brother?’ Aodhán rested his weight on the shaft of his javelin, patiently regarding his brother. ‘And what have you done to lose Liath Luachra?’

  Scowling, Bearach ignored his sibling as he struggled to his feet to face Bodhmhall.

  ‘A fian, Bodhmhall! At least twenty to thirty men.’

  The bandraoi stared at him in shock.

  ‘A fian! Out here in the Great Wild? Are you sure?’ She cast a glance towards the older sibling, hoping for some form of reassurance. The worried expression on Aodhán’s face did nothing to allay her fears.

  ‘Yes, Bodhmhall,’ the boy replied. ‘There’s no doubt of it.’

  Bodhmhall paused to look around at the surrounding embankment and its upper wall of log pilings. The defences, which had always protected them so well in the past, suddenly looked disturbingly ineffectual. She bit her lip as she recalled a conversation with Liath Luachra shortly after their arrival at Glenn Ceoch, when work had just commenced on repairing the ráth. At the time, the warrior woman had been explaining how the ring fort’s ditch and embankment were designed to protect its inhabitants from wildlife or opportunistic marauders. Even then, she’d made it clear that they would not be a meaningful deterrent against a determined attack from any kind of substantial force.

  And twenty to thirty men is a substantial force.

  ‘Liath Luachra?’ she asked, trying to keep the concern from her voice but unable to tell if she had succeeded. ‘Where is she?’

  Bearach nervously cleared his throat. ‘There was a fire -’ The youth paused abruptly to catch his breath. Gasping a lungful of air, he tried once more.

  ‘We saw a camp fire at Drom Osna on our way back to Glenn Ceoch. Liath Luachra went to go closer and get a better look. When she left, it was too far for me to see anything but I heard shouts and the sound of an alarm being raised. There was a lot of shouting so I ran.’ He averted his eyes, face scarlet with the flush of guilt. ‘I didn’t want to run, Bodhmhall. But she told me I had to. That I had to come and warn you.’

  The boy was clearly upset at having deserted his mentor. Bodhmhall attempted to console him, even as she did her best to ignore her own fears at her conradh’s disappearance.

  ‘Do not feel guilt, Bearach. If Liath Luachra instructed you to run then you can be sure that it was the correct thing to do.’

  She looked up at the slate-coloured sky. She sun had passed its peak and was starting its inevitable descent but there was little chance of darkness falling to shroud the settlement for some time yet.

  ‘Douse the fire pit,’ she instructed the óglach. ‘I don’t want the smoke to draw any strangers towards us. We’ll use the hut hearths for the next few days. The smoke seeps through the thatch and won’t be as visible.’

  Aodhán nodded. ‘Should we keep the livestock inside?’

  Bodhmhall shook her head. ‘No. But bring the cattle in to the near pasture. There’s enough grass there to last for several days. Whatever you do, don’t let them stray beyond the fences. The last thing we want is to have them wandering down by the entrance to the valley.’

  The bandraoi looked about the settlement again, creating a mental list of the various tasks that needed to be completed. ‘The pigs and goats can stay in pens for a few days. We won’t have time to round them up if the fian find us. Tell the others to remain close to the ráth. If luck is with us, they will bypass the valley.’

  Everyone remained resolutely silent on what would happen if the fian did not pass the valley.

  ‘And Liath Luachra?’ Bearach’s voice had a distinct tremor. ‘What should we do?’

  Bodhmhall looked at the boy, the fear in his eyes reflecting everything that she herself felt in her own heart.

  ‘We don’t know where she is, Bearach. Even if we did we don’t have the force to rescue her and could end up drawing the fian down on us.’ She shook her head and sighed. ‘No. We must place our trust in Liath Luachra’s abilities. For the moment, at least, I’m afraid our friend is on her own.’