Shadowland (17 page)

A burning light of hope filled his heart as he
crouched and studied the ground. Footprints were everywhere, but they were hard
to read. At last, after some searching, he found what he thought was the
footprint of a child. He traced his finger around the edge to define it further
and crouched staring at it from various angles. It might well be Clarise’s, but
he couldn’t be sure. What was apparent, however, was that several druids had
been here recently, and a child may possibly have been amongst them, but why?

Completing a full circuit of the stones confirmed
there really was no easy way out of the glade. How the druids came and went was
uncertain, but it wasn’t by any forest path that Meryn could see. He didn’t
like the idea of searching further, and certainly didn’t relish the thought of
spending the night in their glade, you never knew where you were with druids,
and after him taking their rusty old sword there was no telling how they would
react. Checking his direction by way of the sun, he forced his way back through
the brambles and into the forest to find somewhere to camp.

The
rain fell incessantly above the trees for three days as Meryn wandered utterly
lost. It reached the forest floor in a misery of constant drips from the dense
layers of leaves and branches above him, it felt like it had been raining
forever. He was wet to the bone, tired, and almost delirious with hunger. It
wasn’t that catching food was a problem. Several rabbits had fallen to his bow,
but finding wood dry enough to light a fire so he could cook them was
impossible. Worse still, he was beginning to think his sense of direction was
faulty. He couldn’t find the main path and the trees of the Weald appeared to
have no end. His optimism, which had flared at the druids’ circle after finding
sign of Clarise, was now ebbing, yet there was no alternative but to keep
plodding. He was forever expecting to emerge into open fields, always believing
them to be just beyond the next bit of forest. However, when he got there, all
that ever greeted him were trees, ferns, moss and more trees. Stumbling forever
forwards, he was soaked through, shivering and becoming convinced that the old
druid had cursed him back at the well. That he was doomed to remain wandering
the forest forever; or at least for several years until he staggered out in the
mountains of
Cymru
in the west, or to the sea in the
east as an older broken man.

Muttering to himself without realising he was doing
it, Meryn was tripping along a narrow deer-path, slapping wet branches away as
they reached out to taunt him in passing, when a long drawn-out wail echoed
through the forest, stopping him dead in his tracks. He waited unmoving for
another sound to follow the first, and didn’t have to wait long before it came.
It sounded like a woman, screaming in pain and anguish. With fresh purpose, he
picked up his pace and set off towards where he judged the sounds were coming
from, glad now for the rain as it covered his approach. Scanning the trees
ahead, he felt the threat of danger quicken his pulse and his mind became
sharper than it had been in days. Checking his sword at his belt, he hoped the
spirits of the forest had allowed his string to remain dry in its oiled pouch
so he could use his bow, and then another scream rent the air and he realised
he was close. He slowed his progress, calmly stringing the bow, as he crept
forward, and glanced over a low rise.

At first he was puzzled by what he saw, a small
group of people gathered at the base of a large oak tree. He judged four in the
group to be men, and he could just make out the skirts of at least one woman
standing with her back to him.

Another scream set the group in motion. The woman
pushed one of the attackers roughly aside, and a young boy broke from the
group, ran some way off and sat hugging his knees. Meryn could see the boy’s
eyes darting from side to side in obvious alarm and agitation, and when yet
another scream filled the forest, he covered his ears, shut his eyes tight and
began rocking back and forth. Meryn had heard enough. Whoever that poor woman
was he couldn’t just pass by and do nothing, not while she was being tortured.
With a fluid motion, he placed an arrow on the bow, drew back, and released,
the arrow flew across the distance and struck the tree, narrowly missing one of
the men.

‘Damp string,’ he mumbled, then pulled his sword
free and ran out at the group, shrieking his battle cry in an attempt to appear
as ferocious as possible, but as he ran up the cry died on his lips and came to
a stop, sword held high, it was blatantly obvious they were all ignoring him.

‘Wait, Maddie love. Please try and wait.’ It was one
of the men, appealing in a whining voice to someone Meryn couldn’t see. The
speaker was crouched down, desperately gripping the hand of whoever was lying
against the tree. Meryn lowered his sword and tried to comprehend what was
happening; still puzzled that none of the group was acknowledging him standing
there with a drawn blade.

‘They’ve gone to fetch the old woman,’ the man
continued, ‘she’ll be here soon, really. You just have to wait a bit longer and…’
Maddie, whom Meryn figured to be the woman against the tree with her knees up,
didn’t wait for the man to finish but screamed again, the shriek an inhuman
sound that shattered the stillness of the dripping forest. Screaming yet again,
she reached out with both hands and pulled the man and the other woman towards
her with a savage show of strength. They both struggled to get free, but she
held on, continued heaving herself forward, as she dragged them down, her face
echoing the pain of her cry. Everyone, including Meryn, gazed at the heavily
pregnant woman and wondered anxiously what they should do.

‘Breathe dear, just breathe and everything will be
all right,’ crooned the woman standing at poor Maddie’s side. As she spoke,
Meryn noticed she was desperately trying to pry Maddie’s clenched fingers from
her arm. ‘Jared has gone for the old woman, they’ll be here soon and everything
will be fine.’

‘Fine, Tilly?’ spat Maddie. ‘Do I look… like
everything is… fine?’ Her face contorted as another wave of pain took her. ‘
Aaaahhh
, help me… or a curse on you all!’

‘What do we do, Tilly?’ whined the crouching man,
thrusting his panicked face out towards her. ‘You’re a woman, you should know!’
The two other men standing over them shared worried expressions and one even
shook his head in resignation. The boy who had fled earlier still had his hands
over his ears and was rocking back and forth even faster. He was now humming
loudly, trying, to block out the sound of Maddie’s screams.

‘I don’t know… I… I… ’ Tilly glanced about, her eyes
finally resting on Meryn. ‘Do something, please. She’s come early…we was
gathering firewood, her waters broke and… please, the old woman’s coming but we
don’t know what to do.’

Maddie screamed again.

‘Me, I don’t know much, girl... hardly anything at
all,’ said Meryn, once the scream cut off. He instantly realised that it might
not have been the wisest thing to say. Everyone who wasn’t screaming was
staring at the man who had just professed some small knowledge of childbirth,
each displaying similar expressions of abject relief. The young father glanced
back down to his wife.

‘It’s going to be all right, Maddie. There’s a
fellow here who can help you!’ Maddie answered with another scream and Meryn
backed away.

‘Listen, I said I don’t know much, and I meant it.’
Wiping a hand across his face, he tried to think back to the time that he had
indeed witnessed a child being born. Back then, he had merely been an observer,
more as support for the expectant father than help for the mother. By the time
the village woman had handed the father the screaming infant, they had both
been slightly worse for the effects of the ale they had been consuming all evening
to ‘wet the baby’s head.’ Meryn cast about the soggy glade and decided that,
while there was nobody else present with a jot of sense, he might as well try
to do something.

‘Very well, I’ll do what little I can, but I warn
you, it won’t be much.’ Eager hands drew him forward as he hurriedly dropped
his pack and the rolled-up rusty sword.

He glanced across at the contorted face of Maddie
and tried to offer her a reassuring smile. She was squeezing her husband’s
hand, the man’s face reflecting the pain of her grip along with the feeling of
total inadequacy felt by every father at the birth of his child. Of course,
reflected Meryn, these poor souls are going through all this in the middle of a
forest on a rainy day with Meryn Link as their only hope of salvation. How did
I get in the middle of this? He looked up at Maddie, and then around at the
others.

‘Get something to put on the ground… for the baby
when it comes.’ He clawed at his thoughts. What else had they done? ‘How long
has she been like this?’

‘Some time now, but the old lady should be here
soon, she’ll know what to do.’ The husband smiled up at him then whipped his
head round as Maddie screamed again. Her legs drew up, her face went bright
red, and she looked set to explode.

‘I don’t think your
young
lady can wait for the
old
lady,’ observed Meryn. ‘This baby may well be here soon.’ He crouched down and
tentatively lifted Maddie’s skirts.

‘Hey! What are you doing?’ The husband appeared
shocked that Meryn should do such a thing.

‘He… has to... you… ’ Maddie’s face grimaced in pain
as she spat out the last word, ‘… fool…
aaahh
!’

 
Meryn glanced up from his quick surveillance of the
situation. ‘The baby’s head is showing. It’ll be here soon.’

‘Well get it! Help her,’ the husband implored.

‘I can’t just get it! The baby will come when it’s
ready.’ Meryn stared into Maddie’s pain-filled eyes. ‘Are you ready to give a
big push?’ She nodded, and bore down, squeezing hard on both her husband’s and
Tilly’s
hands in the process, all three screamed.

‘And again,’ instructed Meryn.

Maddie pushed, her face contorting with the effort,
and the three screamed out into the forest once more.

‘You’re doing really well, Maddie, I’m so proud of
you.’ Tears were tumbling down the husband’s face, but his words of comfort
were answered with a look of scorn and yet another scream.
  

‘Push!’ cried Meryn.

Another four monumental attempts and the efforts of
Maddie and the others were rewarded with the howling cry of a newborn infant as
it spilt with a rush between Maddie’s legs. Meryn scooped the little blue
bundle up, wrapped him in a shawl that Tilly handed over, and then placed the
baby boy on Maddie’s chest. Stepping back, he gazed down at the group that was
crowded round, cooing happily at the wrinkled little face.

He was just realising that it was over, his presence
no longer required, when a bustling black shape shoved him roughly aside with a
bony hand.

‘Maddie! Maddie girl, don’t you fret. I’m here now
and ready to care for you!’ The little old woman crouched down, lifted Maddie’s
skirt and then glanced up at the baby. Without further comment, she began tying
off the rubbery umbilical cord that still attached mother to child.

Meryn picked up his things and, with a last glance
back at the baby, walked off in the direction the old woman had come from, more
eager than ever to find the village.

A
cold wet drizzle was blowing in from the east as he emerged from the trees.
Above him, dark grey clouds tore past while even darker thunderheads built up
in the distance, threatening that an even greater drenching was to come. Yet
despite the threat of another storm, little could dampen Meryn’s relief at
finally escaping the clutches of the Weald.

A short walk later past a few outlying roundhouses,
and he was standing on the edge of the village of Rudge, a larger community of
maybe twenty dwellings gathered loosely together. He waited patiently as a
small flock of sheep were encouraged along the narrow central lane towards a
stockade, ready to be sold. Moving in further amongst the buildings, he saw
that a number of people were doing their best to set up benches in the mud
alongside the road. Some had even thatched rain covers to shelter their owners
while they peddled their wares to the small crowd filtering by. As Meryn took
it all in, relieved to be amongst his fellow man once more, two small children
dashed past him laughing happily, and a moment later, an older girl appeared,
calling out after them.

‘Ellen, Tom, come back, you little
good-for-nothings!’ As she pushed past, she bumped into Meryn, who was forced
to step back, almost tripping over his own feet. She came to a halt.

‘Sorry ’bout that... you all right?’ She glanced
after the fleeing youngsters then, shaking her head, turned back to regard
Meryn, taking in the sword and bow.

‘I’ll be fine. At least, I will be, if I can find
somewhere to dry out and get something to eat,’ said Meryn, offering the girl a
weak smile.

‘The warriors are gathering through there.’ She
waved a hand past the market. ‘Shouldn’t wonder you’ll find what you need with
them.’ The sound of stifled giggling drew the girl’s attention back to the
children and she sped off calling after them once more. Hoisting the sword and
pack onto his shoulder, Meryn walked on towards the bustling market.