Warriors of Camlann by N. M. Browne

Author:N. M. Browne
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 0100-12-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-two

Ursula ached in every bone and muscle of her body by the time they rode into the fortified camp. It was an impressive site. Deep trenches had been dug to enclose the camp and each ditch was surmounted by a high turf embankment from which protruded an object of sharpened stakes, shaped like a Christmas star and designed to impale anyone who tried to leap the ditch for the comparative safety of the turf embankment. The embankment itself was patrolled by armed infantrymen. They were given hot food and directed to the site, which had been marked out for their tents. Ursula being of high status had a tent of her own near that of the main command. She was relieved not to have to sleep near the disturbing presence of Larcius or, indeed, any of the other men. Although she had lived in Macsen’s world for many months she found the lack of privacy that everyone took for granted very difficult to accept. The men even sat next to one another and chatted on the loo. It was a relief to be alone. She removed her boots which were damp and cold. They ought to have been rubbed with fat to preserve and soften the leather but she was too tired. Instead, she warmed her feet on a hearthstone she had begged from the containing wall round the fire. Her feet were so cold and numb that the warmth was almost painful. When at last her feet were warm she slept, almost at once – the deep sleep of the physically exhausted, without fears or dreams. She was not sure her body could survive two more days of such heavy riding; the novelty had worn off and she wanted to go home.

Dan arrived at the camp several cold, wet, hours later. He too had been forcibly reminded of the discomforts and privations of this world. He also wanted to go home. Taliesin had managed to ride for about half the journey until his weakness forced him to hitch a ride on one of the wagons containing supplies. Brother Frontalis, who was built like an ox, had difficulty finding a horse that could manage his weight and so he joined Taliesin in the wagon from time to time under the pretext of resting his mount. Bryn rode stoically at Dan’s side; his endurance and good humour only increased the respect Dan had for him. Dan had always thought that he’d had a difficult time. His mother had died when he was fourteen and his father spent too much of his time and their money at the pub, but Dan’s difficulties were minor compared to Bryn’s. Dan had known that he was the sole survivor of his tribe. Dan himself had seen the corpses of Bryn’s sister and father. What Dan had not known was that Bryn’s four elder brothers had all died in conflicts with the Ravens and that his mother had died in childbirth, bearing him. Dan’s own shame at abandoning him in the Roman fortress increased.

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