Felix flicks off the blood from his daggers and resheathes them. He surveys the carnage around him and stretches.
"Good job friends! Let's move these bodies off the path."
Felix pets Pen on the head and throws him another piece of jerky from his pouch.
Magan dismounts, keeping his bow pointed at the man. He disarms the man, including pulling off his armour and passing everything up to Prasutagus. He drags the man back to the rest of the group, stopping off to pick up all his weapons.
He settles down infront of the new prisoners, letting the silence settle over them for a minute.
"Gadewch i ni ddechrau'n hawdd. Faint o bobl sydd gennych yn y gwersyll?"
Gawen nods at Kara's adept administration.
"Good. Thank you."
Seeing that the first man's bleed is now stabilised, he moves on to the other severely wounded man, and applies bandages to him as well, staunching the blood flow.
"Yn rhedeg allan fel hyn, gan ymosod ar ddieithriaid, dim ond bachgen sydd arnoch chi ar fai yno," he mutters to himself as he applies the aid.
With the second man also bandaged, Gawen moves on to inspect his companions' wounds. He shakes his head as he looks at the wound in her torso, before taking a vial from his bag and offering it to her.
"You could try drinking this - it won't heal the wound, but it should mask the pain."
The vial contains an extremely unappetising-looking green sludge.
Makes a face as she finally notices her wound. It wasn't the worse thing in the world she had suffered, and luckily it had missed some of her tribal tattooing. She was happen for that, and commented on it.
" It could be worse Gawen. Thank you, this isn't something you got from a old man in the middle of the road though is it? I hear that stuff is just vinegar. Nasty stuff. Mam told a story about the old Romans drinking it."
She does however take and drink the sludge, as he had proven to be knowledgeable in the healing arts. Afterwards she would help Felix remove the bodies. She would also take the time to even bury them proper, as was her custom. She is thankful they all survived the day, but more would be around the corner.
Prasutagus will move Aurelius over to Magan and the prisoner. Seeing that Magan has the situation in hand he will watch the path to make sure they aren't surprised by more enemies.
"Dylem fynd oddi ar y ffordd, Magan." Prasutagus says
Magan nods at Prasutagus, but he worries more about the carriage being spotted than them. He won't mention it out load in front of the prisoner though as he doesn't want any hint of it getting back to the camp. He continues to look into the eyes of the prisoner, waiting for an answer.
The bound man glances left and right at his unconscious companions. He looks like he has given up hope of getting out of this situation. He stares at the earth.
"Dim ond ei ben. Nid oes gennyf ddim i'w ddweud i chi."
After dragging the unconscious bodies off the beaten path, Felix turns towards the uncooperative man, slowly walks up to him whilst taking out his sharpest dagger. He squats down right next to the captive's face and removes his mask, mustering his most psychotic grin and whispers.
"Byddwch yn gweld eich ffrindiau yno? Maent yn dal yn fyw, sy'n golygu yn anffodus i chi, yr wyf yn cael i wneud beth bynnag rwyf am gyda chi. Byddaf yn araf blicio i ffwrdd eich rhannau'r corff, nes i naill ai chi ddweud wrthyf beth yr wyf am ei glywed neu os ydych yn marw , byddaf yn mwynhau'r naill ffordd neu'r llall ... Doeddwn i ddim yn dweud wrthych i redeg."
Still grinning, Felix darts out at the man's hand.
"Rwy'n credu y byddaf yn dechrau gan eich bys bach."
The man rapidly backs up away from Felix, as though trying to push himself up the tree he has been leaned against. He is clearly terrified.
"Yn iawn! Yn iawn! Mae Kenver tua thri deg o ddynion yn ei ddilyn. Yn ôl pob tebyg yn fwy tebyg i ugain yn y gwersyll ar hyn o bryd. Dim ond llogi ydw i! Dwi ddim yn gwybod llawer."
Magan smiles kindly at the man.
"Rydyn ni ar fin dechrau da. Peidiwch â bod yn besimistaidd, fe allwch chi ddod allan o hyn yn fyw eto.
Felly, lle mae'r eraill wedi colli pobl wedi mynd, a phryd y maent yn ddyledus?"
So where have the other five missing people gone, and when are they due back?"
The prisoner gulps.
"Dyna grŵp Arthek. Maent yn hoffi mynd ... hela. Hela ysglyfaethus a all sgrechian."
He shudders.
"Fel arfer maent yn dychwelyd ychydig ar ôl y nos. Maent yn aml yn dod â cheffylau, cyflenwadau neu aur, felly mae Kenver yn ei oddef. Pwy ydych chi chi beth bynnag? Beth ydych chi eisiau gyda ni?"
In the meantime, Brother Branok has heard the sounds of battle subside and after cautiously ascertaining that the Red Wolves have emerged victorious he slowly has the horses pull the carriage closer to the party. The little girl now sits with him atop the cab.
As they draw near enough to see the bloody mess spattered across the earthen surface of the road, he quickly hides the girl's face in his robes and himself brings a hand to his mouth.
Pen trots happily up to the carriage when he sees his two friends and props his front paws up on its side, wagging his tail rapidly as he pants up at the pair in greeting. His muzzle is stained red with ichor.
Magan ignores Branok's approach though he internally curses the priest for appearing.
Now I have to kill the prisoner.
Eyes never leaving the prisoner,he continues his interrogation.
"Da, ond does dim rhaid i chi ofyn cwestiynau. Nesaf, beth oedd diddordeb eich grwpiau gyda'r ffermdy i lawr y ffordd, a phwy oedd yno?"
The prisoner pales and gulps.
"Kenver yn adnabod y dyn. Roedd ganddo rywbeth y mae'r rheolwr yn ei eisiau - ddim yn gwybod beth - ond fe'i hanfonodd ef i ffwrdd. Roedd Arthek yn argyhoeddedig i Kenver i adael iddo roi cynnig ar bethau ar ei ffordd ... nad oedd hynny'n dod i ben yn dda. Roedd y pennaeth yn wallgof iawn pan ddarganfuodd. Bron i Arthek gael ei ladd."
Felix whispers to Magan in Saxon.
"Looks like this Arthek fellow is the one we are after, we should finish up here quickly and setup a trap for them."
Felix gives a terrified prisoner a side way glance and continues his whisper.
"Scaring the s#&$ out of him is fun and all, but I don't think he deserves to die here today. He didn't kill the family after all. Maybe, we can just knock him out and tie him up somewhere with the rest of his friends?"
Felix then turns to the prisoner to give him another psychotic grin whilst stroking the spine of his dagger.
After burying the dead, Kara would go to the wagon, still covered in the blood from the corpses, and try to wipe away most of it with a rag. The wound in her side would make the blood seem all the more messy, and she would stare at the prisoners from where she was. She had no idea what Magan and Felix was doing to the man, but he wasnt screaming, and she had expected screaming. Lots of it. She would murmer to Branok about how a young girl needed to see this, builds character, but if he truly wished to keep it from her, to move the cart back some. She would stay near by, as the wound kept giving her a slight trouble as she turned and moved.
"Gadewch inni dorri i wraidd y broblem. Beth yw pwrpas y grwpiau? Beth ydych chi wedi'i llogi i'w wneud?" Prasutagus says to the prisoner from atop Aurelius.
Edging away from Felix and his knife, the man looks to answer Prasutagus's question.
"Casglu Kenver ... pethau. Pethau. Gwrthrychau gwerthfawr. Dydw i ddim yn ei ddeall i gyd. Mae'n ein hanfon at bobl mae'n gwybod bod ganddo bethau. Eitemau penodol. Rydyn ni'n dod ag ef yn ôl ato. Mae ganddo ryw fath o gynllun mawr y mae ei hangen arnyn nhw. Mae'n uwch na'm gradd cyflog. Rydw i'n gwneud yr hyn rydw i wedi'i ddweud."
Magan listens intently as an idea comes to mind.
[i] He almost certainly wants the silver cat Kara showed me earlier. We may be able to negotiate with him if things don't go well. [i]
He scratches out a map of the camp from what he had seen with Felix earlier that day, into the ground.
"Pa un o'r degau hyn sy'n perthyn i Arthek? Efallai y gallwn ni atal mwy o ollwng gwaed heddiw"
Whilst he allows the prisoner to study the map he turns to the others.
"Let's start to get off the road and cover up our tracks, we need to rest, and prevent Arthek and his men from doing the same."
The prisoner points out Arthek's tent to Magan. It's on the south edge of the camp, between the treeline and the sheer rock face of the quarry, surrounded by the tents of his followers.
Kara approaches Magan and ask him in Norse, her voice showing her confusion and a hint of concern. " Hvem er denne Arthek personen? Er han leder? Vi skal drepe ham. De andre kan leve hvis de ikke hjalp med å drepe barnet."
She was not a pretty sight, side covered in blood and from the others blood, who she had helped bury, in a proper manner befitting them. However, she would help in the best way she could to cover the tracks.
Gawen has been standing nearby watching the interrogation with keen interest.
"Beth amdanom ni?" he asks. "Pam wnaethoch chi ddod i ymosod â ni?"
The prisoner frowns in concentration as he tries to make sense of Gawen's dialect, but the question is simple enough. His fear seems to be gradually wearing off and he rounds on Pen accusatorily.
"Dyna'r twyllod gwaedlyd hwnnw! Mae'n dod yn gwisgo i'r gwersyll fel peth cywilydd, yn troi dros ein cinio a'n coesau gyda chyw iâr Cadan! Os oes un peth, mae Cadan ddim yn jôc, mae'n fwyd. Roedd mewn sarhad dall erbyn iddo fynd i mewn i chi lawer."
He glances over at one the nearby corpses and gulps.
"Mae'n debyg nad oedd yn wirioneddol weithio allan ar gyfer y sid... ond rydych chi'n cefnogi'ch ffrindiau, ydych chi'n gwybod?"
"Dywedwch wrthyf fwy am Kenver. Pa fath o ddyn ydyw?"
Magan blinks at Kara
"Ost Arthex øks. Skål"
He grins and raises his water skin towards here as he takes a sip. The blinding anger he had been experiencing since the farmhouse was unsustainable, and his humour was gradually returning. His desire for justice had not subsided however and he turns back to the prisoner following Gawen's question. A kind smile on his face.
"Mae'n drueni bod rhaid iddo ddod i hyn. Yn anffodus, ni ellir gadael Arthex yn ddi-bwlch am ei weithredoedd yn y ffermdy ac felly bydd yn rhaid imi eich cadw yma. Ni allaf eich peryglu yn rhybuddio iddo ein bod ni'n dod. Unwaith y bydd hyn drosodd, byddwn yn eich rhyddhau chi a'ch ffrindiau sydd wedi goroesi erioed. Dim ond gofynnaf i chi beidio â cheisio dianc a byddwn yn gofalu amdanoch chi tan yr amser hwnnw."
The prisoner slowly nods warily at Magan. This is clearly not an arrangement he would have chosen, but he doesn't have much choice.
"Mae Kenver ... yn cael ei yrru. Gan beth, does neb yn gwybod yn wir. Mae ganddo ni yn cynnal y gwersyll hwn, yn anfon grwpiau allan ar wahanol swyddi, ond nid yw'n ymddangos bod unrhyw beth yn ei gysylltu. Nid y gallwn ni weld beth bynnag. Mae ganddi ryw fath o nod yn sicr, ond byddaf yn cael fy damned os ydw i'n gwybod beth yw. Mae'n smart. Hell o lawer mwy llym na Arthek, mae hynny'n sicr. Mae'n treulio oriau yn ei babell yn meddwl ac mae'n gwybod pethau ... weithiau pethau na ddylai fod yn gallu eu gwneud. Mae'n gadarn gyda'r buches, ond yn deg hefyd. Rwy'n credu bod Arthek hyd yn oed yn ofni ei groesi."
Having heard everything, Felix walks up next to Magan.
"Felly beth yw ein chwarae? Sneak i mewn i'r gwersyll tra ei fod yn cysgu ac yn clymu ei wddf?"
Looking down at the prisoners, Felix sheathes the dagger and grins, this time with no madness in his eyes.
"Peidiwch â phoeni, fe gewch chi gadw rhannau'ch holl gorff yr adeg hon. O ... ac yn ddrwg gennyf am eich ffrindiau."
"Almost." Magan switches to saxon as he leads Felix back towards the carriage. As they reach Errol, he pulls a pint of lamp oil from his belongings and passes it to Felix.
"Have you ever seen what happens in a tent fire? It is quite horrific. All we need to decide is whether you or I should deliver the message."
"I see, how good are you at setting this on fire? I don't usually work with flame you see, bad for staying unseen."
"Could we not just trade our three captives for this Arthek fellow? It doesn't exactly sound as though he's in good favor at the moment anyway, surely his life can't be worth that of three others."
Gawen thinks for a second more, then adds, "It might be worth questioning the others before we act anyway, they may be able to tell us more, or at least back up this man's story."
Mutters about blood loss and thinking weird thoughts. She didn't think the blow was that bad, but it seems it had taken a toll on her. After taking a second to gather her thoughts, she catches up on the plan. After a bit of thinking, and questioning her logic, she offers up " I feel we should do both? Would that not also be a good idea?"
Magan looks strangely at Kara.
"Set fire to the camp, and trade prisoners? If we have Arthek there seems little reason to start fires. Gawen, the trade may work, and if it did it would be a much easier solution, but if it doesn't we remove the opportunity to try and spread ill feeling between people at the camp. We are heavily out numbered and so our negotiating position is very weak."
He frowns, concerned at the lack of willingness to shed blood in his companions.
Sighs, and shakes her head at Magan, before explaining " No, we set fire to his tent, maybe leave signs the gods have disfavored him. Then we trade for him. That would help give us more power on the talks. I do not think we should kill men we do not need to kill." She didn't know anything about what was previously said, but you could tell she wasn't up for the slaughter of innocent lives.
"Rwy'n dweud ein bod yn mynd â thân yn y nos. Gall Magan a minnau fynd i mewn a lladd gwarchod fel tynnu sylw i Felix. Bydd hynny'n rhoi cyfle i ni wneud llwybr amlwg iawn hefyd. Yna, rydym yn aros tan y bore i weld a ydynt yn anfon grŵp bach i olrhain ni a gobeithio bod y Arthek hwn yn eu plith." Prasutagus says.
Whatever we do, let it be decided quickly so we can get off this damned path!"
"Hefyd, yn gadael i ffwrdd o'r llwybr hwn. Mae'r dynion hyn lle byddant yn mynd ar drywydd ci dros swper wedi'i golli, bydd eu cymheiriaid yn cael eu hystyried am ba mor hir y byddant i ffwrdd yn fuan." Prasutagus urges.
Gawen sighs. "I'd rather you not take the risk of getting captured and killed, but if that's the consensus then I'll abide by it."
Switching to Welsh for the benefit of Prastagus, he continues, "Rwy'n cytuno na ddylem aros yma, os ydym am aros, neu efallai y bydd Arthek yn ein canfod cyn i ni fod yn barod. A oes unrhyw un yn gwybod a oes unrhyw bentrefi cyfagos y gallem barhau iddi cyn y borelud?"
"Er dywedodd hynny, nid ydym am redeg arno ar y ffordd os gallwn ei helpu. Tybed pa gyfeiriad a adawodd i mewn?"
Gawen examines the ground by the junction towards the quarry, and either side of it, to try and get a sense of which direction Arthek and the others might be coming from.
The ground is a mess of tracks old and new. It's difficult to even tell apart what is from today or yesterday, let alone which set of tracks belong to Arthek's band specifically.
Once Magan and Kara have loaded the prisoners into the carriage, Branok turns the horses and heads a few hundred feet back up the road towards the farmhouse turning. The smell of smoke can still be caught drifting on the air. Branok hops down and examines Kara's bleeding side.
"If somebody can get a fire going to heat some water, I could sew that up dear," from the depths of his cloak he produces a small bag of various herbs, along with a needle and thread.
Grimaces as she looks at her bleeding side, and sighs. One could not fight if they did not take care of their body. She would nod, saying " I am not a bersarker. I can not fight through injuries like them. I thank you Branok. Maybe next time people will not chase dogs armed as if they mean to kill." She glares at whatever prisoners are awake. She was tired and ill from being hurt so early in their travels.
Branok produces a flint and steel, and quickly has a fire going. While the others keep watch he boils a small pot of water with which he cleans Kara's wound, heats a needle and sews it up. The whole process takes a little over an hour.
The wagon rolls on, and after a couple of miles has left the Westwood. From here the road runs between open fields and rolling hills. They pass numerous further turnings without incident and after about an hour and a half the small village of Davidstow can be seen in the distance. More a hamlet than a true village really, there is little more here than a farm, a few houses and a shrine.
Magan pushes Ealing onwards towards the village. The emotions and exertion of the day had got to him a little and he was keen to rest.
"Best we let the farm know we are staying nearby before we set up camp. We don't want them to worry."
Keeps checking her wound, noting the nice job that Branok did in the sewing shut. Now to just keep it clean, and I'll have no more worries. She thought as they rode. Once they made it to the town she nods and then asks " Would you wish me to ride in with you? I see no point in our whole group going. It might just scare them from coming out. Especially this close to that group."
Seeing sense in Kara's argument, Felix nods and says to her
"You have a point, maybe Magan and I should go and inform the town folks whilst you, Gawen and Prasutagus get started on the camp?"
"Mae hynny'n swnio fel cynllun da." Prasutagus will say. "Gawen, ble ddylwn ni gwersyll?"
Prasutagus will ride Aurelius where ever Gawen says will be a good area to scout it out.
Gawen nods in agreement and inspects the area.
As the rest of the group look for a place to camp, Magan and Felix head for the farm. Magan rubs at the remaining blood spots on his armour, making himself look as non threatening as he can.
Gawen spots a nice flat spot under an old oak where the road splits south and east. A small stream runs nearby for fresh water and it is near the village without being too close for comfort. Brother Branok nods in understanding and clicks to the horses, sending the carriage rolling off towards the little brook.
Meanwhile, a broad, bearded man with a pitchfork and a straw hat has come out from the fields. He stands by the farmhouse, warily eyeing the armed and armoured trio approaching his home.
"A allaf eich helpu chi?"
His accent is thick and decidedly Cornish. Gawen would likely struggle to understand him at all.
Hears someone approach, but decides to be peaceful about it. And there was a stream, and streams mean washing the blood off. Maybe Gawen will be able to understand this man. I just want the rest of this blood off of me. She was trying to see if the stream would be deep enough for a somewhat full bath, or a quick hand washing. Either way, one could tell she was more interested in the stream than the man who approached.
Magan waves at the man, approaching close enough that he doesn't have to shout.
"Pôt y cwot yw'r siaced, y mae ei esgidiau yn esgidiau hynny. Yno, aeth, fy beic, wedi mynd. Rwy'n hoffi defaid ac mewn gwirionedd unrhyw beth yn wlân. O iawn, alla i ffitio unrhyw stereoteipiau mwy i mewn i swydd."
The man looks Magan up and down sceptically.
"Onid yw neb 'syr' mab. Dim ond dyn sy'n ceisio gwneud llygad."
He looks over at the carriage and the others.
"Dychrynllyd lawer o bobl ac nid yw hyd yn oed hanner dydd. Beth rydych chi'n gwneud gwersyll?"
Magan gestures at his blood spattered armour.
"Tybed a fydd rhai swniau ar hap phlegm yn pasio i'r Gymraeg y tro hwn gllydd fedd llynfi"