Yseult by Ruth Nestvold

Author:Ruth Nestvold
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Then rolled his way the battle's furious flood;

Squadrons charged on him blindly; blows and blood

Showered down like hail and water; vainly drew

The whole war round him; still his broadsword's gleam

Flashed in death's front, and still, as wrapped in dream

He fought and slew, witting not whom he slew...

Paul Hamilton Hayne, "Tristram of the Wood"

The first challenge was in getting to the external baths, which were situated close to the eastern fortress wall. Drystan and the others came from the river side, using the cover of darkness and their own shields to protect them from the Erainn patrolling the walls, but no one noticed them.

Once inside the baths building, they made their way with torches and lanterns to the underground heating system, Bedwyr leading them through the stone maze in the direction of the fortress. All too soon, they were forced to tear down a wall and begin digging. Soon, Drystan's arms were sore and water was seeping into his shoes.

"We're not as close to the fortress baths as I had hoped," Bedwyr said behind him. "Why don't you take a rest and let Gormant take over."

Drystan was more than happy to do so.

The digging went on for the better part of a week, Arthur becoming increasingly short-tempered with each day. In the meantime, they had begun building a catapult, the west within sight of the fortress walls but too far away for arrows to reach. Warriors had become carpenters, felling trees, splitting wet, unaged logs, sawing planks to size, and drilling and chiseling the joints. The trained carpenters among their ranks became the leaders for a time, while others tunneled like moles beneath the ground, hoping their blind aim was true. The distance was more than Bedwyr had at first thought, and it was necessary to shore up the tunnel as they dug, otherwise it would fall and suffocate them in a muddy grave. The rain had let up, but the soil was still damp. This made digging easier but the danger greater.

At the end of each day, Drystan felt as if he would never be clean again. The smell of mud and dirt permeated every waking hour, the feel of it between his fingers and seeping into his clothes, the darkness barely relieved by the lanterns they carried with them. When he came out into the courtyard of the baths complex, night was brighter than his days.

Carpenters and builders were the leaders among those of them working on the tunnel; it was they who constructed the frameworks to keep the earth from collapsing and burying them while they worked. The tunnel did not have to be large — at first only Drystan was to crawl through. It would have to hold for more men, however; according to their plan, once Drystan gave the signal that the southern gate was free, the men on digging detail in the external baths would also try to gain access to the fortress through the secret entrance and give the Erainn an unexpected front within the walls of Caer Leon.

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