Merlin's Gold

Merlin's Gold - Chapter 21 - Dogs of War

Chapter 21 - Dogs of War

Grayle and Iseult joined the rush of men to the walls of the fort. The gates had been closed, and with the additional two hundred men Arthur had brought from Camelot, over four hundred people clustered together, peering through the small gaps in the wooden palisade or over the parapets to try and see what was going on.

The two of them joined Gawain next to one of the watchtowers.

"How many are there?" asked Grayle breathlessly, dragging Iseult by the hand through the crowd.

Gawain turned and smiled at the couple, his apparent joy fading as he looked back over at the massed horde in front of him. "We think there are about two thousand: they're just standing there at the moment."

As they watched, the front ranks of the host parted and three riders moved clear of the main group, a small honour guard following them. They stopped halfway between the massed men and the fort at the base of Silbury Hill.

"Oh shit," Gawain said softly.

"Gawain?" said Grayle in surprise. He'd not heard his friend swear before and the expletive sounded foreign and disturbing coming from the mouth of the young knight.

Gawain turned and looked at him. "The figure on the right is my mother," he said softly.

"Morgause?"

"She's finally done it," he whispered.

"Merlin, Gawain!" Arthur's voice carried over the hubbub of the defending soldiers. "I need you here." The authority of the high king's voice brooked no argument or delay, and with an understanding look from Grayle, Gawain made his way to Arthur.

Minutes later, the main gate opened and three horses carrying Arthur, Merlin and Gawain sallied forth with a half patrol of Gawain's command riding behind them to parlay with Hengist, Oeric and Morgause.

As the distance between the two parties closed, Arthur studied his opposite number in the Saxon realm. Hengist returned the inspection, taking in the high king's demeanour and confidence.

They met at the mid-point between the two massed forces, Hengist, Morgause and Oeric moving in front of their own six man escort. 

Arthur spoke first. "Good morning to you," he said to Hengist, sketching a small bow from his saddle. "While we always welcome a visit from our eastern cousins, we do tend to prefer a smaller party as larger groups tend to stretch the kitchen staff."

Hengist smiled thinly before rasping a reply. "As much as I'd love to spend the morning exchanging banter Arthur, why don't we get to the point? Retreat now and we will let you go without pursuit or injury: stay, and we will kill every last man we find."

"You dare to march onto my lands and demand anything? What gives you the right to come here against all the agreements we have made in the past? You have broken your word Hengist. Let me give you an ultimatum then if that's the way we're doing things. Retreat back your pitiful little huts along the south coast now, and there will be no retribution, and we will not follow you. Stay here and fight, and we will wipe out every man who comes against us."

"Your men have killed my son Octa, and I demand death levy in accordance with Saxon tradition," Hengist retorted, anger ripe in his voice.

"Ah, Saxon tradition. Let us explore Saxon tradition further shall we?" Arthur leaned forward in his saddle, his dark eyes fixed on Hengist.

"You have killed one of my Round Table Knights in cold blood, and kidnapped and tortured a king of the realm. You have plotted against us and tried to kidnap my daughter. If we're going explore a levy then I would suggest you owe me tribute, rather than the other way around."