Peter Tremayne - The Leper's bell

‘A respite only, my friend. That is, unless we can make a new tunnel and find a means of escape.’

Eadulf went to look at the hole his fellow prisoner had made. A large block had been lifted to one side immediately under the bed, which disguised it from anyone making a quick examination from the doorway. The man shrugged.

‘I saw the stone was loose and prised it away. Then I saw the tunnel beyond. Well, not tunnel exactly. You saw that it was scarcely a metre long. I think it must have been an air vent when they first constructed it. However, I had hoped it would lead into another room or give me some means of egress. I little dreamt that I would be entering a cell far worse than mine. Had you not been there, I might have attempted to climb down, broken my leg or worse and then wound up drowning myself.’

Eadulf gave an affirmative nod. ‘You have my thanks for your intervention, for what my thanks are worth. It seems that they may not be worth much. Once our captors discover they have not drowned me, they will come here. But my thanks for this moment of respite.’ He reached out a hand. The dark man took it. His grip was warm and firm. ‘My name is Eadulf of Seaxmund’s Ham.’

The man raised his eyebrows a fraction. ‘A Saxon?’

‘From the land of the South Folk?’ Eadulf nodded.

‘Truly, my friend, you are far from home.’ His companion smiled.

‘I would say that you must be even farther from home,’ Eadulf pointed out with an answering grin.

The man responded with a chuckle.

‘Forgive me, my friend. I am called Basil Nestorios.’

‘A Greek?’

‘A healer, but from Jundi-Shapur.’

Eadulf shook his head. ‘I do not know of that land.’

‘Ah, it is a city, my friend, in the kingdom of Persia. The hospital and college of Jundi-Shapur hold first place in the world of medicine and science. Do you not know that all the great courts of the kings of the world recruit their physicians from Jundi-Shapur? Pupils from all the nations of the world gather there.’

Eadulf smiled softly at the pride in the other’s voice.

‘Persia is a long way from this land, Basil Nestorios.’

‘I do not doubt it, for have I not travelled every metre of the path here? A long journey only to end in this fashion…’ He gestured disdainfully to the stone walls. Then he looked at Eadulf. ‘What are you doing here, and why have you been imprisoned by the Evil One?’

‘The Evil One?’ Eadulf frowned.

‘The leper with the unpronounceable name.’

‘Uaman?’

‘That is he.’

Briefly, Eadulf told him the story. The healer from Jundi-Shapur nodded sadly. ‘He is, indeed, the Evil One.’

Eadulf saw beyond his immediate problems as a memory came back.

‘You were travelling with a brother from Ard Macha and you passed through Cashel a short time ago? A Brother Tanaide? I heard your names at the abbey of Imleach.’

‘That is so,’ agreed Basil Nestorios. ‘I came to this land to discover what cultures and beliefs lay on the western rim of the world. Through intercession from a bishop in the country of Gaul I was put in touch with a bishop in Fearna, the capital city of the land called Laigin.’

Eadulf knew Fearna well and had nearly lost his life there. He sighed as he thought of how Fidelma had saved him.

‘What then?’ he said, thrusting the memory from his mind.

‘It was the bishop who gave me Brother Tanaide as my guide and interpreter. When it was discovered that I was a physician, the bishop and the king of Laigin begged me to stay awhile and practise my arts.’ He shrugged. ‘I suppose it was news of my cures that reached the Evil One …’

‘Uaman?’

‘The name is difficult for my tongue and lips. Ooo-er-mon? Is that how it is pronounced?’

Eadulf smiled encouragement. ‘Good enough,’ he acknowledged. ‘But are you saying that Uaman heard of you in Laigin?’

‘Truly, my friend. He sent word to me there that he would pay a large sum if I came to his palace to try my skill at curing him of the disease that had struck him down. In Jundi-Shapur we know much of this disease that causes disfigurement, skin lesions and sensory loss. We have several means of treating it and I had brought with me a box of the cures we use.’

Eadulf was interested in spite of the surroundings and the dire straits they were in. ‘I have studied some of the healing arts but do not pretend to be a healer. Here, it is usual to pound burdock leaves in wine and cause the sufferer to drink it as a way of treating the disease.’

Basil Nestorios grimaced. ‘Where I come from we have a herb called gotu kala … it can be taken both internally and externally. It is an ancient cure for healing wounds and curing leprosy. I brought some with me.’

‘So you arrived here with Brother Tanaide at Uaman’s request?’

Basil Nestorios inclined his head. ‘Cursed be the day when I crossed the mountains to this place.’

‘Where is Brother Tanaide? In another cell?’

Basil Nestorios shook his head. His expression was a mixture of anger and sadness.

‘The Evil One had him killed.’

Eadulf felt a chill run through him, but he was not shocked, knowing the extent of Uaman’s treacherous soul.

‘What happened?’

‘He was run through by one of the Evil One’s swordsmen and thrown from the tower into the sea. He was dead before he fell into the water.’

‘But why? Why, if you had come to cure him? Why did he kill your companion and imprison you? I do not understand it.’

‘Understand this, my friend. The disease of his skin is reflected in the disease of his mind. He is evil. There is no redeeming quality in him.’

‘So he has saved your life only for you to tend to him? Are you treating him?’

‘I am prolonging my life, that is all. Twice a day I am taken from this cell to mix and prepare my medicines and then treat the man. So far as I can see, he is beyond cure, either physically or in the darkness of his mind, which seems to nurse dreams of revenge on all who challenge him.’

Eadulf rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Twice a day? At what times?’

‘Something crosses your mind, my friend. What is it?’

‘Have you never thought to use your skills to escape?’

The physician frowned. ‘I am not sure what you mean.’

‘Simple. What can cure can also kill.’

Basil Nestorios looked shocked. ‘In my culture, my friend, a physician must do no harm. Many centuries ago there lived on the island of Cos a physician named Hippocrates who is regarded as the father of the physician’s art. He imposed an oath on his pupils which says that we cannot use our knowledge to inflict harm on people. We of Jundi-Shapur swear that oath even today.’

Eadulf smiled wanly. ‘So you would rather suffer from his evil, and allow him to inflict it on many other innocent people, than prevent it?’

Basil Nestorios raised his hands in a helpless gesture.

‘What can I do? The oath is absolute.’

Eadulf was thinking furiously.

‘When will you be called to treat him next?’ he repeated.

The physician glanced through the window, trying to estimate the hour. The sky was already darkening. At this time of year that implied that it was mid-afternoon.

‘The tide will be on the flow soon. Any time now the guard will come for me. I have watched their time-keeping for several days now.’

‘Then if you will not poison Uaman, surely you can make a brew that will render him unconscious?’

‘I could. But it would take some time for such an infusion to work. I will be brought back here and locked in. What then?’

‘I’ll be waiting behind the door when the guard brings you back. Get him to come into the cell on some pretext… I know … I’ll leave the stone out by the bed and if he doesn’t see it, draw his attention to it. Then I can jump him from behind.’ Eadulf began to get enthusiastic as he considered the idea.